Wyvern's Peak Writing

Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

2011-09-20T13:22:00.000-04:00

Pros: sympathetic protagonist, good pacing, tension builds to a strong climax

Cons: some plot twists are predictable

Every morning Christine Lucas wakes up next to a stranger: her husband, Ben. An accident has robbed her of the ability to remember the past 20 years and to retain new memories.

She quickly discovers she has been keeping secrets from Ben, in the form of Dr. Nash, a doctor trying to help her regain her memories and a diary she's been keeping for the past few weeks. A diary that has, 'DON'T TRUST BEN', scratched into the front page.

This was a quick read that pulls you in from page one. The plight of a woman who has no idea who she is, who learns things each day and then forgets everything, is gut-wrenching.

Ben is alternately a sympathetic and sinister character. Christine discovers he lies to her, but isn't sure if it's to keep her from feeling grief over the events of the past or for another purpose.

I was able to guess a few things that would happen, but the climax was strong and contained a few twists I didn't predict.

Silhouette SD In Use

2011-08-06T08:09:00.001-04:00

It's taken a bit of time to get used to the software - I'm not the most photoshop literate - so I haven't made any full Silhouette cards until now. Yesterday I created a lily of the valley design (2 leaves, 3 stems and 16 flowers), cut them out and made a card. I also cut a frame for the inside birthday congratulations.

So, how does the Silhouette work? You create/open/download your design, resize it and lay out the pieces you want cut (pieces you want cut from other papers can be put off to the side of the cutting area).

Load your media (ie, put the paper onto the sticky carrier plastic and put it under the runners on the machine),

then send the design to the machine once you've specified your settings. In this picture you can see the green frame I'm cutting, while at the bottom, the center of the frame (in purple) won't be cut.

Cut your shapes, peel them off the backing and use. The knife will score into the backing sheet (you can see the frame in the plastic if you look closely), so be sure to use the correct one (along with the correct knife and cutting settings).

And here's the card I made:

And if you're curious about what it sounds/looks like when cutting, here's a short example:

Silhouette SD - Digital Cutting Tool

2011-08-05T15:09:00.000-04:00

I've been busy lately and haven't had the chance to blog about the awesome birthday present my husband got me: the Silhouette SD. It's a craft cutting system that allows you to design your own shapes to cut. This means you can cut ANYTHING you can draw (or find a shape file for, scan in and trace, etc.). You can resize shapes, use any font on your computer and more.

So, what's in the box? You get the machine, 2 cutting mats (for different thicknesses of materials), 3 blades (again, for different thicknesses of materials), the design software (now Mac compatible!), an instructional video on CD-Rom, 48 designs (with 50 included in the design software to get you started), a start up guide book and a $10 giftcard for their online store (for buying designs). And all your cords (power & usb).

While not particularly noisy it's also not a quiet machine. It's surprisingly melodic as it cuts designs. They come out crisp and professional - just watch how you reuse pre cut paper (I've tried to reuse larger paper from which I've cut designs only to have it catch while being pulled into the machine, knocking it out of synch).

Credit Valley Explorer Tour

2011-06-24T10:24:00.000-04:00

I don't know how my husband finds these things, but for my birthday he took me on a Credit Valley Explorer train ride. The train has grouped 4 person seating (so two of you go backwards each way) and has riders swap sides at the halfway point so everyone gets to see out both sides of the train. It also includes a 'light' lunch and drink service. The tour starts in Orangeville and goes south towards (but not reaching) Brampton.

After passing several golf courses, the train goes around forest and then farm land. We saw a surprising number of animals, specifically horses and cows.

There's even a nice waterfall. The train slows down a strategic spots to aide in the enjoyment of the view. Much to my surprise, they also served desert!

It's a fun tour and a great way to spend an afternoon. They run tours throughout the year, but I imagine the fall tours are packed.

The Mini Bonsai Kit

2011-06-10T11:20:00.000-04:00

Everything that comes in the box.

A few years back I got a mini bonsai kit for Christmas. It's been sitting in its box in my office since, as I waited for a time when the bookshelf in my office - one of the few places in the house that gets sunlight without fear of cats eating the plants or playing in the dirt - freed up. I've been using the spot for my winter herb garden, but now that the herbs are outside I decided to see how this kit worked. I was all ready to plant to seeds last week, when I read the instructions. Apparently the seeds need to be soaked in water for 24 hours, then given 7 days of cold stratification.

Now that that's taken care up, I was able to soak the soil pellet so it expanded, and, finally, plant the seeds. It's now sitting in the sun. Hopefully in a few days I'll see some sprouts and in a year or so I'll have a mini bonsai tree!

Library Day

2011-06-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

I've been hearing all sorts of doom and gloom stories on the internet lately about how libraries are defunct and should be closed. Of course, not everyone agrees that it's the right thing to do, myself included.

My local branch was closed for over a year. I got by by going to a further branch and trying to wait for my holds all to arrive before going so I wouldn't have to make the trek so often.

Well, I'm happy to report that my local branch has reopened today. Given all the talk about the usefulness of libraries (that everyone's using the internet at home for research and ebooks are cutting the need for paper books, etc.) I expected the place to be pretty empty. I mean, aside from myself, who would be anxiously waiting for the library to open again?

Apparently quite a lot of people. The library was packed. There were adults on the computers, youth in the youth section talking about OSAP and universities and how to pay for school when you can't find a job. The magazine section had lots of comfy chairs and a fake fireplace, where I sat to browse my findings. I heard students studying at a nearby table and saw parents getting their children books.

And the staff were ecstatic, welcoming everyone back to the library, raving about the renovations and dishing out suggestions for books as well as computers.

As I walked home I realized something. For all the home computers, for all the advances in ebooks, for all the other things that take up our limited spare time, I've never yet been to a library that was empty. We take for granted the free access to computers, books and professional help libraries offer. If we're not careful, someday our descendants won't have that luxury.

Stamping

2011-04-22T10:04:00.002-04:00

I picked up a lot of new stamps and equipment at the Creativ Festival, so I figured I'd try them out. The Local King Rubber Stamps booth had a great demonstrator showing off their stamps. Unlike regular stamps that give an outline which you then colour in, these stamps are designed to be coloured on, so the colours are blended on the stamp to create great images on their glossy paper. Alas, I should know better than to believe things are as easy as expo demonstrators make them out. They said you can use any markers, which is true - to a point. I bought some water based markers at another book (Stampin' Up) and some Copic markers to fill in the colour gaps from the set. Now, Copic markers are alcohol based, which means they dry faster than water based when applied to stamps, and the colours don't wash off. (You can tell I'm new to the idea of colouring directly on the stamps. It never occurred to me to make sure the markers weren't permanent before I used them.)

Here's what my stamp looked like when I was done trying to do my first picture. You can still see the black marker around one eye and the nose. That's all that made the glossy paper (see the stamp below).

So I did an experiment. I used the same stamp and tried it with my water based markers (the pink/red wolf). Much better, but not quite what I want in a wolf.

So I tried a third attempt. I used some cheap dollar store markers, the yellow, orange, brown and black (you always want to go light to dark or you'll ruin your markers). Not bad, but not quite card quality either. I'll have to invest in another set of water based markers, with earth tones (rather than the colour set I got, which should be great for birds, butterflies and flowers). I still noticed that the lighter colours had faded by the time I stamped the card. Maybe that's why the demonstrator emphasized that you don't have to look at what you're doing when you colour. You colour faster that way and end up with more ink still on the stamps when you stamp your page.

Compare that with the results of the rose stamp I got at the Stampin' Up booth. I used pigment dyes I bought as a 4 set (2 reds, green and gold) at another booth (I don't remember which booth this was, though I suspect it was either Art Tales or Memory Keeper. I bought a bunch of stuff there, including the Vanilla Smooch Spritz used to give the finished card a sparkly sheen).

My rose set is designed to have each picture stamped twice, once for the base, and again for the highlights. It was quick and easy and worked perfectly both times (though with the stamps having wood backing you have to watch your placing carefully or they won't line up). I did the main rose twice, then layered it over the sparkly background.

I'm hoping with practice I'll get better with the marker stamps. When done well they look fantastic.

A few hours after doing this post (set to publish the following day), I decided to do a search for the marker tip sheet the woman at Stampin' Up said she'd send me if I emailed. I was correct in thinking the search would be easier. And I found it. It's a pdf file you can download here. (Or you can do a search for "Stampin Up marker tip sheet", it's the fifth result). The first result, Using Markers - Stampin' Up is the one that taught me the best tip though:

3. Breathe on the inked image to remoisten the ink before stamping onto paper.

Such an easy trick! And it works. So you don't have to colour fast to get good inked images. Just breathe on the stamp to make the ink wet again. I tried a few of my stamps to practice. Here are the results. Much better. Now I just need black, grey and earth tone water based markers and I'm in business. :)

Creativ Festival Report

2011-04-21T14:04:00.000-04:00

So, I went to the Creativ Festival in Mississauga on the weekend. There were a decent number of booths with a variety of focuses - knitting, crocheting, stamping/cardmaking/scrapbooking, seweing maching embroidery and more. The free classes weren't as good as I'd hoped, but I did have fun at the one make 'n take class I went to (where I made the 'laugh' card in the 'things I bought' photo).

One of the coolest things there was a booth demonstrating the Turkish art of Ebru. For $7 you could try it and take your piece home. Here's the one I did:

Ultimately I had a good two days, and came away with some new techniques.

Creativ Festival

2011-04-14T12:05:00.003-04:00

I'm heading to the Crativ Festival this Friday and Saturday. Should be a ton of fun. I hope to learn a bunch of new sewing and card crafting tricks. :) I'll try to post some photos next week.

Sewing Book Review: Illustrated Guide to Sewing: Garment Construction, edited by Peg Couch

2011-04-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

Pros: step-by-step colour photos for everything, left and right handed instructions for hand sewing, progresses through basics to quite advanced techniques

Cons: some later instructions may be hard to follow without referring to the accompanying photos and even the glossary

The Illustrated Guide to Sewing: Garment Construction is a great guide for beginner and intermediate sewers who want to give their sewing a more professional look. It starts with the basics, touching briefly on some machine and hand sewing techniques, fabric preparation and essential notions. It assumes some knowledge and suggests reading through your sewing machine guide if you're a complete beginner before starting with this book.

This book teaches garment construction specifically. From the hand stitching techniques of basting (to check fit before sewing) to hemming, the book moves on to the correct construction order for garments and then to professional style finishing techniques.

Each set of instructions is accompanied by a series of full colour photographs with the different steps numbered for reference. The photos certainly help with clarity. Actual beginners will find themselves flipping to the glossary at the back of the book and to earlier sections where some procedures are given in more detail. I imagine many of the techniques taught (as with everything skill related) take time and practice to master.

The book recommends taking extra time with pre-sewing adjustments to ensure that you only sew once to create flattering, well constructed garments. And this is certainly a great book to help you achieve your sewing goals.

Hemming Pants

2011-03-25T11:19:00.000-04:00

I have that 'lucky' body type whereby I can either fit clothes to my waist or my height. Ultimately I choose waist (of course) and end up hemming all my pants to make them shorter. I remember, once, finding a pair of jeans that fit perfectly when I tried them on. No adjustments necessary. Alas, that's not the norm, so off to hem them I go.

I had no idea there was a tool designed to help you hem pants. I'd always worn them to measure how much material needed to be cut and hemmed for the pants to fit right, remeasured after taking off the pants, pinned the line, drawn a line to cut on, cut the excess, then measured, pinned, invariably pinned the wrong side of my pants, pinned again, turned under the hem and pinned one last time. Finally, the easy part: sewing. After an hour or more my pants would be hemmed and I'd be annoyed enough that I'd avoid hemming another pair for as long as I could.

But I was looking at sewing notions a few days ago and came across this: it's called a sewing and knitting gauge and it cost $1.20.

And I just happened to have a pair of pants ready to be hemmed. I put the pants on and pinned up the sides, so I knew where to begin, then I got out my new tool. There's a plastic slier you put to the measurement you want, then you stick it inside the groove and make sure the fabric is the same height all around using that measurement. It was very fast and required no pins.

I then decided where to cut for the hem, and used the measurements on the side of the tool to mark a pencil line for cutting.

After cutting, it was again easy to set the hem line, then turn down and pin the fabric. This is the second point where pins were needed, rather than the third or fourth.

In a fraction of the time it would normally take me to hem pants, these were done!

Punta Cana - Spa and Entertainment

2011-03-11T14:44:00.008-05:00

The Spa at the Majestic Elegance is very beautiful. You have to walk off the main resort, across a bridge of naturalistic swampland to get there. The front had a few lounge chairs and a large Buddha statue. Reception was tastefully decorated and had a metal staircase leading to the massage rooms.

As I said in my first post on Punta Cana, the overbooking of the hotel let to our being given a $100 spa credit. So I got a 55 minute aromatherapy massage. The room had 2 massage tables, sink and shower. The massage itself was amazing.

After it was done, I headed downstairs to go to the other half of the spa. Here they have a series of pools (hot, cold, jetted), a hot stone chair, steam room, sauna, aromatherapy room and nifty showers (each stall had a different shower, like a pull cord bucket and wall jets).

We attended one of the many bingo games (my husband won a bottle of rum, which we traded for a CD of local music), I did a karaoke number (Walk Like an Egyptian) and went to a few of the evening shows.

If you're in the area and have the chance, two shows were definitely worth it: The Michael Jackson show and Circus Chan-Chi. They had a few trapeze artists, a guy who balanced various things on his head, a fire juggler and more.

Circus Chan-Chi Fire Juggler from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

One day, the resort allowed some of the local artisans to set up a flea market. Let me just say that you have to bargain hard and if you're not used to it, you'll either end up paying a lot more than the items are worth or not enjoying the shopping experience. It was very different from negotiating in Thailand (and I wasn't very good at that either). Still, I got... decent prices for what I bought. Makes you appreciate set prices though.

In a bit of unplanned entertainment, a mother duck and her chicks were seen swimming in the pool and wandering the grounds.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. We caught our shuttle back to the airport, where we waited in line, watching the windows computer 'error' message on the Toronto departure screen. At least the Big Ass Fans were there to keep us cool. And I mean that quite literally. We were fortunate to witness a nice sunset from the plane and arrived back home without problems.

Punta Cana - Food

2011-03-10T11:50:00.007-05:00

Let's talk about food. It doesn't matter how pretty the resort is, if the food's terrible it's not worth the money. People on TripAdvisor had alternating ratings with regards to the food. I heard a few people complain about it while I was there, but I actually loved the food. There was always a huge variety at the buffet, the restaurants had good food, but generally smaller portions. Ok, their sushi bar was kind of weird (pineapple sushi anyone?). On the whole though, I loved the food and loved not having to cook the food and getting the chance to try new things.

Their breakfast bar included omlet and crepe stations, cereal, fresh juices, hot chocolate (theirs is much richer tasting than ours), breads and sandwich additions. And let's not forget the pastries with chocolate to dribble over them and exotic (for us) fruits in syrup. And the not quite breakfast foods (mashed potatoes come to mind).

There were two buffet locations for lunch. The main buffet (Flavors) and See & Sea, by the beach. They had pasta stations, fresh salads, nachos, pizzas and desert spreads. One day they even had a barbecue with live music on the beach.

For dinner, the buffet was always themed, with a VERY high variety of offerings and some nifty decorations. Not sure what the 'American sauce' they put on the mahi mahi was (and chose not to try it to find out).

There were several a la carte restaurants, Italian, steakhouse, Japanese, French and seafood. Only the French and Japanese teppenyaki tables needed reservations. We tried all but the French restaurant. For people staying up late, there was even a fast food place open all night.

I ate a LOT more than I should have on this trip. And I seriously miss the buffet breakfasts.

Punta Cana - Beach and Pool

2011-03-09T10:53:00.009-05:00

Of course you can't spend all your vacation admiring the buildings or sitting in your room - however nice they all are. So, it was off to the beach. I bought an Olympus Stylus Tough camera for this trip, which can go underwater! I had to learn a few tricks on the trip, which was unfortunate (as my photos before I learned the tricks weren't as good as the ones I took afterwards), but it was nice being able to take photos everywhere, even in the water.

As I said yesterday, the beach was made up of fine white sand. The different resorts all had roped off areas for their guests, with occasional free areas where natives offered boat rides, parasailing and other services. And the area closest to the water is free for everyone to walk, so you can wander for hours down the beach...

Our resort (and this was not true of all of them, as I learned later) had a large number of shade palapas, palm trees and lounge chairs. It also had a beach bar service and a nearby bar/lunch & snack restaurant (at night it was the seafood restaurant). The stretch was also long enough that if you didn't want to join in the activities (at one side), you could read in relative quiet elsewhere. There were also geckos that came by your chair looking for food. One day we walked down the beach for over an hour and came to an area of shops on the beach. It had much better prices (and more reasonable starting points) than the people selling on the beach and the flea market that came to our resort.

After I'd gotten a decent sunburn that first day on the beach, I decided a day at the pool would be nice. There were 3 pool bars, two dry (spaced a ways apart) and one wet bar. A separate kids pool was supposed to keep the noise down (though there was only 1 noisy kid there when we were, and he stayed by our side of the pool, unfortunately).

The pool was lagoon style, with swim up rooms along one side and several bridges to cross over/under. A fountain on one end and 'jacuzzi' (it was jetted but not heated) in the middle made it varied and fun to swim in. And it was gorgeous to look at.

It was especially beautiful at night.

Punta Cana - The Majestic Elegance

2011-03-08T12:49:00.005-05:00

My trip to Punta Cana was in January, but I've been spending so much time reading I haven't had time to blog about it until now. The trip was fantastic. It was my first time to theCaribbean, and worth every penny.

After a lot of research, I settled on the Majestic Elegance. Not only is it a newer resort, it's got jetted tubs in all the rooms, white sand beaches and a lot of other perks. I particularly liked the lagoon style pools.

I was told that the airport was one where you leave and board the plane via the tarmac, but didn't realize all of the buildings would be open air with huge fans.

The Majestic is 2 resorts, that attach along a shopping strip which includes the kids club. Due to overbooking (which we learned later happened a lot) we spent our first night on the Colonial side. While this meant we had to change rooms the second day, it did come with 2 perks. First, that our bracelets allowed us to use the facilities on both resorts, and second, we got a $100 credit for use at the spa. :) The main lobby (shown above) was spacious and pleasant.

Down a double staircase from the lobby was a bar and the entrances to 3 of the restaurants. It also had covered walkways to the theatre and rooms on one side, and an outside bar, shopping area and other rooms on the other side.

The rooms circled manicured gardens and pools, with other gardens or the pool on the balcony sides. The rooms themselves were large, with double sinks, a shower with a regular head, wall jets and rain function, a jetted tub, balcony, separated sitting room, 4-poster bed (or 2 double beds), TV with DVD player and wall safe.

Coverstitching!

2011-03-03T11:35:00.003-05:00

I now understand why so many people online suggested getting separate machines for serging and coverstitching. Changing the machine from one to the other's a bit of a process. On the other hand, everything gets easier with practice, and this machine allows me to do a serged edge with chain stitching (for a very secure seam). So it's a toss up. I'll try to post either a video or photos showing all the steps involved in switching the machine over so other people with that question have 'all the facts' before they buy. People explained it was difficult, but no one said precisely what you had to do.

I finally got brave enough to try coverstitching. I'm fairly comfortable with serging, but have never coverstitched before so wasn't sure where to place the fabric (since the seam is down). Was I supposed to cover the seam or sew close to the seam and cut any excess fabric? The DVD that came with the machine didn't mention coverstitching at all, so I looked at a few online videos.

After some test strips, which helped me learn a bit about tensions, and making sure I'd threaded the machine properly, I coverstitched a new hem on a t-shirt.

And by golly it worked! Guess coverstitching isn't a scary as it seemed. What I have to work on is threading, and a better technique for finishing, so I don't have to cut the threads so close to my sewing (and then rethread the needles/looper).

Cookbook Review: Fast And Fresh Vegetarian by Marie Simmons

2011-03-02T10:59:00.007-05:00

Pros: colour photo center spread, tips at the start of each section, 'make a meal' box on recipe pages, lots of recipes

Cons: recipes require lots of ingredients and can be time intensive, some ingredients are hard to find

To review this cookbook I tested 6 recipes. Here are the results.

First up, Quick Supper Frittata. It took longer than the stated 30 minutes to

cook, and there were several mini steps (some of which are better prepared in advance rather than when you're cooking, like the egg mixture). I used roasted red peppers rather than piquillos and a sharp cheddar instead of Pecorino Romano. But for all the effort of making this dish, it was worth it.

Second I made the Lentil and Vegetable Soup with Smoked Paprika. I'm not a fan of celery so I left that out. It did make the soup less 'full' looking, so in future I'd try to substitute something in its place, like sliced cabbage. I also couldn't find smoked paprika (I finally located it a few days after trying this recipe). I used sweet paprika instead, which has a much mild

er flavour and didn't do the soup justice. My version was bland, so I added in some roasted garlic and red pepper spice. With the smoked paprika the spiciness would be fine. Also realize that if you're adding the yogurt or sour cream (which is what I used), you won't taste much of the spices anyway because the cream will supersede everything.

Next I did two recipes for a meal. Toasted Flatbread With Goat Cheese, Sauteed Greens and Crispy Shallots for the main and Roasted Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano Crumbs as a side. While the asparagus was easy to prepare, I found the amount of parmigiano used made it on the strong side for my taste. But the asparagus themselves were perfectly baked, cooked through yet crisp. For the flatbread recipe, again there was a fair amount of preparation involved and I didn't use enough of the greens (I halved the recipe to serve 2 people and didn't realize how much the greens would wilt, so keep that in mind). Even omitting the crushed chilies, the cheese and greens were flavourful enough that it wasn't a problem that the flatbread wasn't completely covered.

The one recipe I tried that I didn't really like was the labour intensive Broccoli, Dill and Lemon Spread. I think I'd have preferred this one had the broccoli not been boiled before pureeing all the ingredients. Making this required boiling the broccoli, sauteing the garlic and using a food processor. So in addition to the prep work, there's a lot of clean-up required.

Finally, I made the Lentils With Roasted Red Peppers, Dill, Mint and Feta. I was afraid the peppers would be too 'smoky' to blend well, but the combination - especially the feta - worked well. Eaten on rice, this was a filling and delicious meal.

Book Review: Dexter Is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

2011-02-01T12:18:00.003-05:00

Pros: lyrical writing, introspective, darkly fun

Cons: predictable

Dexter is astonished that upon the birth of his daughter his homicidal instincts desert him for more... human... ones. Suddenly he wants to be Dex-Daddy, hang up his knives and steer Astor and Cody away from the dark path.

But life intrudes in the form of his sister and a possible kidnapping/murder case involving cannibals. And a figure from his past starts to become cozy with his family, leaving Dexter disoriented.

This is a lighthearted novel that examines the darker side of life. Like the others in the series, it's light on the gore and heavy on the lyrical writing. Unlike the previous books, Dexter develops actual feelings. It's fun watching him reevaluate life and try to understand emotions he's only faked before.

While the story gets predictable towards the end there were some good twists I didn't see coming, like an unexpected request by Deborah.

One of the best of the series.

Health Book Review: Just 10 Lbs by Brad Lamm

2011-01-11T11:44:00.003-05:00

I know I said I wouldn't review the book until I'd gone through the diet, but I'm quickly realizing that sticking to a set plan doesn't work well for me. So I figure I'll review the book without my failure/success weighing in on my impressions of the book/plan itself. I do intend to try the diet and see how things work out.

Pros: the diet focuses as much on changing your attitude - towards yourself as well as to food - as it does on correcting eating habits and encouraging more exercise. The book encourages you to consider things you do well, on increasing your self-esteem and improving your body image - through a body map and other techniques. One of the first things you have to do is discover what kind of eater you are (do you eat because of an emotional imbalance? because you love the tastes and textures of food?, etc.).

I think there's an advantage to doing the diet for a month, including the 'mindful meditation' (prayer, yoga, some kind of exercise that focuses on your body-mind connection) and other practices. Once you're in the habit of doing the exercises, you're likely to continue them after the diet is over. You're also supposed to learn and be satisfied by proper portion sizes - rather than the significantly increased North American portions we generally have.

The book includes a sample meal plan, recipes and daily challenges/affirmations to keep you focused.

Cons: he suggests that farmers markets are cheaper to shop at than grocery stores and going to them is a way of ensuring more fruits/vegetables in your diet for less. This simply hasn't been my experience with farmer's markets, which are (in my area at least) significantly more expensive than shopping at grocery stores. But that's a minor point.

Another minor point is the idea that following healthy guidelines will prevent diseases. I don't like this because it implies that if you're sick you had an unhealthy lifestyle. Some diseases are preventable through healthy eating, exercise, etc. Others are not.

A more important point is that I don't like the idea of cutting an entire food group from my diet. I'm a firm believer that everything in moderation is good for you. Or at least, not harmful. I find it strange that with all the care he's taken on designing the diet he has no chapter on reintroducing grains/legumes (beans, lentils, rice, pasta, bread) back into your eating plan once you've lost the weight. There's no guideline of 'replace 1/2 the protein with 1 cup pasta/rice if using' to show what a portion size of those would be or what you should take out in order to fit it into a healthy plan. Are you simply meant to cut them out forever? I wonder how long it would take to gain back the weight you lost if you're not employing smart choices when bringing back otherwise axed foods.

And when he lists the approved foods it's hard to tell if you can add in other vegetables not on the list or if you should stick to what examples he's given (for example my favourite vegetable, corn, isn't on the list).

Ultimately, it seems like a healthier diet than many on the market, in that it focuses on the entire body and mind as a unit, rather than simply focusing on 'bad foods' or 'good foods'. And while it's not perfect, I'll still be trying to follow as much of the diet as I can.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-02T11:23:00.003-05:00

Sorry about the break. December's a busy month - especially since I had to work more around buying presents, etc.

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to... drum roll please... lose weight. Original, I know. But, I've already started working on it. Netgalley had a diet book on offer a month or so ago, and I've finally had time to start reading it. Unlike a lot of diet books that focus on big results, this one focuses on small, manageable results. Just 10 lbs, by Brad Lamm. I haven't had the chance to finish reading it, but I already like what I see.

Lamm's focus is to increase protein and vegetable consumption (reducing carbohydrates) while at the same time, getting you to increase your overall care of your body. The idea is that if you don't love your body - extra weight and all - you'll be more likely to fall off the diet and gain the weight back. It's also less a diet than a way of thinking (or not thinking) about food.

He starts by subdividing eating habits, you are how you eat. Do you eat out of habit whether you're hungry or not?, out of stress?, because you love the tastes and textures of food? If you don't know why you're eating more than you should, how can you stop?

And yes, exercise is mentioned.

In other words, it sounds like a plan that could work. I'm not too keen on the 'pray to a higher power to lose weight' component of his 10 step plan, but if I lose my 10 lbs I'll do it.

My problem now is wondering when to start. I need a week to get rid of the white potatoes and bread around the house. And sometime in January I'm planning a trip to the Caribbean, so that will affect things.

Ultimately, I suspect I'll start next week, and if the vacation interferes, I'll just restart when we get home. Regardless, I'll post progress markers, and at the end of my trial (which will be more than the subscribed month, after the vacation's added) I'll write up a review of the book/plan.

Other resolutions are to learn how to use all the functions of my new serger (including the special feet) and sew some clothes.

I also want to get my wedding album finished. It'll be two years soon... about time I'm done that project.

My New Serger Is Here

2010-12-03T12:37:00.003-05:00

When I got up I didn't have much planned for the day. Then the doorbell rang and my new serger arrived! I'm impressed with how quickly UPS got it to Canada from the States, but not impressed by the fact that I wasn't made to sign for this expensive package. In fact, considering the delivery guy was driving away as I got to the door, I wonder what would have happened to it had I not been home to collect it right away. I'd have been righteously angry indeed had someone stolen my serger because the delivery company left it on my front porch.

I opened the box and found my extra thread, 8 serger feet, workbook and DVD on top. Underneath was the serger in it's factory box. I set it up and started reading the manual before realizing that once I got going on that all blogging would be ignored and I had an interview to post.

So now that my blogging obligations are done, it's back to the serger I go. :)

Serger

2010-11-30T11:54:00.003-05:00

So, after debating the issue for a while, I finally put in an order with allbrands.com for my serger. I went with the Juki MO735. All brands threw in all 8 serger feet, thread, needles, etc., so it was a pretty good deal. I was leaning towards to separate cover stitch machine, but in the end, I probably don't sew enough to justify the expense, and looking at my sewing table, I'm doubtful I'd be able to fit a third machine. And this machine is said to be their best, with up to 5 thread capacity for knit fabrics, and 2 thread chain stitch.

I got notification today that my machine has shipped, which means I can (after a year) finally return my mother's serger to her. I've also been stocking up on patterns (fabricland had sales for several of the pattern companies), and baby fabrics. Not for me. I have a relative who's having her first child and figure this will be a great opportunity to use my sewing machine and get to know my new serger, while at the same time making one of a kind gifts. :)

Life is wonderful.

Book Review: Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

2010-11-25T12:04:00.005-05:00

Pros: wickedly funny, returns to the style of the first 2 books

Cons: story arc is getting repetitive

The third Dexter book, Dexter in the Dark, took the series to places I didn't want to go, so I was very happy to see that Dexter By Design returned to the fun style of the first two books.

Dexter is working on his 'disguise' by taking Rita to Paris for their honeymoon. A bizarre art exhibit reminds him that his dark passenger hasn't played for a while. Back in Miami, a serial killer has started arranging bodies as art objects and Dexter is at a loss as to how to explain it.

After someone close to him is hospitalized, he makes an error of judgement that threatens his new family and the disguise he's worked so hard on.

It's a quick read, with Lindsay's characteristically wicked humour. My only complaint is that it seems any cops who start to wonder about Dexter, find themselves no longer in a position to do anything about him by the end of the book. It's a little too convenient for Dexter. Still, it's a minor complaint and didn't impact my enjoyment of this instalment of the Dexter series.

The Complete Serger Handbook by Chris James

2010-11-11T12:26:00.002-05:00

As part of my decision process to buy a serger, I read through some books to see what a serger can do and what in particular I should look for when buying one.

And so I came across Chris James' The Complete Serger Handbook. It's got a lot of colour pictures to illustrate the text, and sections on needles, thread, tension, stitches, techniques, etc. I especially liked the subsection on elastics and rolled hem (didn't know you could do that!). Most of the information was great for a not quite beginner. A few times the text was outside my experience level, so it's probably a good guide for beginners to intermediates.

To Serge or to Coverstitch...

2010-11-10T14:54:00.003-05:00

I've been researching sergers the last 2 weeks. I want to make more clothes and it's time I return my mother's Janome 3-thread serger and get a proper 4-thread of my own.

The thing is, I'm also interested in coverstitching - as that's the best way to hem stretch fabrics and do certain types of decorative stitching. So I was going to get a combined machine. But everyone complains that it's a pain to covert the serger for coverstitching so I've been debating my options.

1) get a combo machine and potenti

ally not use all the features (if it is a pain to switch over or I'm too lazy to do it)

2) get separate machines, which costs more and takes up more room and potentially not do as much sewing as I currently feel I will...

Of course, it's possible either way that I won't sew enough to make back the investment I'd put into a serger. Especially since good models are pricy.

I'm currently deciding between the Juki MO735 (which is a serger that does coverstitch) and the Juki MO654DE (which doesn't).

I've picked Juki because I've heard the manufacture is top notch, with industrial strength materials used and a better blade than most sergers have.

Any advice or suggestions?

The End of the Garden

2010-11-04T11:38:00.005-04:00

So I finally got around to digging over my garden. I put a lot of work into my garden over the year but only managed to harvest some lettuce, one zucchini and lots of tomatoes. So, I obviously put the tomatoes in a better location (last year I think I only got one or two).

I put compost all over after, hoping to improve the soil quality. I've added fertilizer and top soil already - digging it in in the spring so the plants have more of a chance to survive. Still, it's a lot of work and I'm starting to think that if my yields are as small next year I might give up and just go to the farmers market more often during the summer. It worked this year.

National Geographic's Great Migrations

2010-10-27T16:27:00.003-04:00

November 7th, the National Geographic channel starts airing their new program: Great Migrations. I had the opportunity to see the first episode this Monday after the Random House Kids Preview for booksellers. It is phenomenal. The photography is gorgeous. I also managed to win one of 4 prize packs they had (and I never win at these things). Inside the bag was the adult hardcover that goes along with the show, and 5 kids books - one generic about the show, 4 dealing with the migratory patterns of specific animals (with quizes, vocab and ways to help).

A bit about filming the show, from the kid's guide. The photographers spent:

350 hours perched in trees

400 hours underwater

150 hours in helicopters

250 hours filming at night

800 days shooting

I suspect the DVDs for this program - and the books - will find their way under many Christmas trees this December.

Jeff Lindsay in Toronto

2010-10-22T14:02:00.005-04:00

Last night I was privileged to attend a special bookseller event to meet Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter (good guy/serial killer) books. He's in town promoting his most recent book, Dexter is Delicious and will be doing events at the International Festival of Authors. I brought my copies and talked to other booksellers as we waited for him to arrive. The poor man's flight was delayed, so after coming in for a quick 1 question Q&A, he signed our books then ran to his next appointment, giving a pre film speech for a special showing of Casablanca.

My video taping wasn't the best, so I've put a still photo over the voice track of Mr. Lindsay explaining where he got the idea for the Dexter books.

The Inception of Darkly Dreaming Dexter from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

Can't Blog... Canning

2010-10-21T20:52:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the paucity of posts recently. I've been busy with life things. Like canning. This week I did 4 bottles of pizza sauce, 3 bottles of chopped tomatoes and 5 of hot mixed vegetables. I've only done a bit of home canning as an adult (my mother did a LOT when I was young), so I decided to start with smaller batches to avoid major problems (like fermenting my german pickles last year). Hopefully all will turn out well with these attempts.

Next week I've got to dig over my garden and prep it for the winter. And sometime soon I really ought to vacuum...

Kitty Moment

2010-10-15T11:01:00.003-04:00

I finally managed to achieve a measure of peace in my office with regards to the kitties. The one who meowed outside my door got to sit on the bookcase below the window and look out. The other one could curl up on the second chair in the room. Ah, peace.

Alas, I had to repot my herb garden so it fit into one planter and move it inside. The only place where it can get light is my office bookcase - where I kept my seedlings this spring. The cat didn't like being supplanted. I tried to keep her out at first and gave that up. I thought she might jump up on the bookcase and sit opposite the window next to my plants and be good.

Nope. She wanted to be between the planter and the window, and as I watched, she started eating my herbs. So now she's not allowed in my office again, and I have to put up with her begging outside my door.

Corn Maze

2010-10-14T12:53:00.004-04:00

(Canadian) Thanksgiving Sunday, my husband and I went to a corn maze. There'd been rain that week so some parts were muddy, but on the whole it was a lot of fun. I love how the walls are high enough that you can't cheat and look over, nor can you see anyone more than a few feet away.

Instead of making the maze solvable, the owners turned it into a game. You're given a map with numbers on it - the corresponding spot on the map has the clue for a word puzzle to do once you've found all the evens or odds.

The shot with people is to give you an idea of how tall the stalks really are.

Roladin

2010-10-12T12:35:00.006-04:00

This is a German dish my mother used to make for special occasions (when we didn't have turkey with all the trimmings instead :P ). I've heard there are lots of varieties, so I'll explain how my family makes them. Like most home style recipes, amounts depend on how many servings you're making so I didn't list any here.

Ingredients:

beef 1/person (see note below)

chopped white onion for sprinkling on the beef

thinly sliced uncooked bacon (optional - I leave it out)

plain mustard

salt & pepper for seasoning

cotton thread for tying

1 beef bouillon cube

1-2 cups water

flour for thickening the broth

Notes on the beef:

- I typically buy actual roladin cuts at European grocery stores, but at times I've had to get creative and have therefore also used shabu shabu sliced beef in Japan and fast fry beef in Canada. You're looking for beef that's about 1/8" thick, 8" long and 3" wide. I'm pulling these off the top of my head, so anything long enough to be rolled without making the rolls too thick should do it. And you do want the beef fairly thin.

- If you make extra beef rolls, you get a richer sauce and both the sauce and meat freeze and reconstitute well.

Instructions:

- wash and dry each slice of meat

- put a thin later of mustard on top, followed by salt and pepper, onions and bacon

- roll up the meat and tie it with the string

- brown the meat rolls in a pot (once you add water they won't brown anymore)

- add water (the more water you add the less flavourful the gravy will be, so start with 1 cup depending on the number of meat rolls, taste the broth and adjust accordingly), bouillon cube and bring to a boil

- reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes

- remove the rolls, cut off the strings

- whisk flour into the broth to create gravy

- return the roladin rolls to the pot

In my house, roladin was typically served with egg noodles, bread or potato dumplings, mashed potatoes, corn and red cabbage. I've started adding stove top stuffing and yorkshire puddings to that list. Oh, and the leftover sauce is fantastic on rye bread.

** I found out the last time a bought meat for this dish from the international grocery store that it's actually spelled rouladin, though a google search brought up both spellings. As I learned most of my German via culture rather than through school I guess I shouldn't be so surprised I was spelling it 'wrong'. I wonder if the German uses an umlaut... as that would explain the variation.

Flowerworks

2010-09-30T19:42:00.002-04:00

I've been doing a lot of work on my other blog, so this one's been a bit neglected of late. But here's a video we found via Vidque called FLOWERWORKS. it's by Alex Hammond.

Flowerworks from Alex Hammond on Vimeo.

Desserts 4 Today - Cookbook Review

2010-09-28T11:46:00.011-04:00

By: Abigail Jhnson Dodge

This dessert cookbook has an interesting hook. Each recipe requires only 4 ingredients. There's little room for adjustment, though the author gives substitutions and additions in the 'switch-in' and 'gussy it up' sections of each recipe.

Basically this makes the recipes quick and easy - and surprisingly elegant.

The book is separated into 5 sections: cookies, creamy desserts, frozen desserts, fruit desserts and pastry desserts. I decided, for the purposes of review, to try one recipe from each section. Here are the results.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Buttons (Cookies)

(Sorry for the quality of the photo. I photographed a screen to get this rather than typing it out. I wanted to show the page layout, which I thought was well planned.)

The dough was quick and easy to make (I forwent the hand mixer and it still didn't take that long). The fact that there's no flour in these means they're safe for those with flour allergies. When they come out of the oven you have to wait a few minutes for them toharden enough to lift off the tray - but fresh from the oven they're the best peanut butter cookies you'll ever have. I also used smooth pb rather than crunchy, and added in mini m&ms.

Mini Bitter Chocolate Cheesecakes

With this recipe I subbed in milk chocolate (which I habitually keep at home) for the bittersweet called for by the recipe. As a result, I also had to lower the amount of sugar I used to compensate. The recipe makes 3 ramekins or 6 mini cheesecakes using muffin cups. The cheesecakes are VERY rich, so I'd go for the 6 cups in future. I found a ramekin was too much, with half being a good amount for one serving. And because they're smaller than a regular cheesecake, they don't take as long to bake.

For the frozen dessert, I picked Frozen Chocolate-Covered Banana Nuggets.

These tasted great and, with a little practice, would look quite elegant for a fancy party. The addition of butter to the chocolate made it easier to dip the banana pieces in and made the chocolate taste very creamy.

For the fruit dessert, Classic Baked Apples, I followed the recipe faithfully.

Be careful not to punch a hole in the bottom of the apple when you're coring it or you'll lose the sugary goodness in the apple. Recommended for eating with fork and knife.

Lastly, I chose the Raspberry-White Chocolate Tart for the pastry.

Here I cheated for time, using a pre-made graham crust and frozen blueberries for the topping. I wouldn't use frozen berries again for something like this (didn't have the right texture and leaked into the filling) but the crust and filling were fantastic. And once again it only took a few minutes to mix up the ingredients and prepare dessert.

Ultimately, this is a great dessert book, with recipes that look great for entertaining and are quick and easy to make. There are some more complicated recipes as well, should you get bored of the easy ones. :)

Kitty Moment

2010-09-24T11:38:00.002-04:00

No picture again today, just a story.

"Jessica was cooking in the kitchen. The weather was gorgeous, so she opened the balcony door to let in some fresh air. The kitties meowed, so - having previously determined it's safe for them - she let the cats onto the balcony. They sniffed around her herbs and settled down to enjoy the fading sunshine.

Jessica went back to cooking, knowing her husband would be home soon. Then she heard it, the garage door rumbling open. He was home and the food wasn't quite done yet. Jessica hurried to finish things up.

Downstairs she heard the door open. Suddenly there was a horrible cross between a scream and a meow at the balcony. Jessica looked over to find Sam, the white male cat, clawing his way up the screen door. Her husband was now upstairs and Sam was clamouring to greet him (he normally greets him at the front door). With a bit of trouble we managed to get the cat down and inside."

Seriously, the cat climbed half way up the screen door in his attempt to get back inside.

Crazy cat.

Seen in a Cemetery

2010-09-23T10:36:00.006-04:00

Cemeteries are places of sadness. They're the final resting place of loved ones. But the love of those who mourn is expressed in sculpture and words in ways that are touching to others simply passing by.

These photos are from a local cemetery. The cemetery joins a hiking trail by a river, and is thereby easily accessible to others. I was amazed at the artistry on the tombstones and loved the little statues placed around the grave markers.

On the Decline of Proper Grammar

2010-09-22T10:12:00.002-04:00

I like grammar. I'm no grammar nazi, but it does annoy me when people say certain things wrong. Texting really irks me, not because things are being shortened so they can be written faster, but because the spelling is somehow 'kewl'. As a writer, words are my tool. My use of words determines how well my message will get across. You mess with my tools and I'll get angry - just as any craftsman would. Experimentation is fine. Shortening things is fine. But please tell me you don't write essays the way you text.

Anyway, here's an amusing video about things we say wrong.

Konapun - Japanese Fake Food Toy

2010-09-21T11:53:00.003-04:00

We stumbled across videos of konapun a while back. It's a Japanese toy. I'll let the video poster, RRcherrypie, explain:

(1) It's not edible.
(2) It doesn't cook with actual heat. It is just powder and water with the sound effects.
(3) The fake food made of Konapun will rot soon.
(4) It's not for children under 8 years old. And must do play under the adult.

Basically, it's chemicals that are made to look like food. The kits make elegant looking meals and deserts, so it's a shame you can't eat them. There are a lot of videos and they're rather addictive. Visit RRcherrypie's site if you'd like to see more.

Kitty Moment

2010-09-17T11:13:00.004-04:00

A few months ago I bought my husband a remote control helicopter as an early birthday present. The kitties love it. That is to say, they're terrified of it. And yet, at the same time, fascinated by it. They try to get as close to it when it's in flight as they can without actually touching it. Occasionally they'll take a swipe at it, but for the most part it's like they're hypnotized by its flashing lights.

Terra Cotta Conservation Area

2010-09-16T11:06:00.005-04:00

Part of Credit Valley Conservation, Terra Cotta C.A. is about an hour NW of Toronto. The area includes 1 lake, 2 ponds and several walking trails covering both water and forestland. We walked two trails, some of which loop back to the parking lot while others simply veer into woodlands. The Terra Cotta trail, which loops around Wolf Lake, is a converted roadway, so is easy for hikers of all experience levels. The McGregor Spring Pond trail starts out close by a pond and then takes you through easily navigated forest. Enough trails intersect that you can lengthen your route should you choose. We also took the A.F. Coventry Nature trail, which headed up a few more hills and across some valleys (via wooden bridges).

The park has several picnic areas and an information centre so families with children will have plenty to do. There is no wide open space though, so sports, etc. aren't feasible here.

As for wildlife, fishing is allowed during certain times of the year and in certain places. We saw a lot of dragonflies, crickets, frogs and one great blue heron.

Libraries Will Survive

2010-09-15T10:22:00.004-04:00

This is a video done by the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Virginia. The first part is a demonstration of all the services libraries offer, and how they've suffered due to budget cuts. The second is a music video by the various branches in the region set to "I Will Survive". The video was written, directed and edited by Sean Bonney. I got it from Crrl's youtube site.

Reimen - Korean Cooking

2010-09-14T11:37:00.005-04:00

I first learned of reimen (冷麺) while living in Japan (it's a Morioka specialty), and therefore mistook it for a Japanese dish. But it's actually a cold Korean soup. Alas, I don't have a recipe for it, I've either used kit dinners from Japan (brought back with me from trips and soon missed) or strained sweet chili spring roll dipping sauce and added kimchee for spice. I know that's not how you're supposed to make it, but when in 'desperation'... And it works, after a fashion.

So, reimen. Cold rice noodles in a spice broth with kimchee, a slice of beef, cucumbers, a boiled egg and fruit (I've had it with watermelon and nashi - Japanese pear). If you've never had it before, I highly recommend it. And if anyone knows the proper recipe for it (I've looked online before without luck), please send it my way.

Kitty Moment

2010-09-10T10:54:00.003-04:00

No picture today, just a story. In my last Kitty Moment, I mentioned how our cat likes to sleep on things, despite having lots of carpeted flooring. Well, a few days ago she decided to mess with my mind. I saw her sleeping on, you guessed it, carpet. Regular, nothing on it, carpet.

I noticed this and picked her up, petting her for a while. When I put her down she immediately walked over to the wires on the floor and laid down on them. It made me wonder if she'll sleep on comfortable carpet when no one's watching, then switch to something uncomfortable just because a human's in the room.

Kitties are strange.

Spiders

2010-09-09T11:20:00.002-04:00

I hate spiders. Always have. Seeing Arachnophobia as a kid didn't help. I can kill spiders. I lived alone long enough that I had no choice but to 'man up' and deal with them myself when they invaded my apartments (especially the basement I lived in for 1 1/2 years).

I find myself in a truce with a spider at the moment. It's big (about 1 inch across, including the legs). It's pretty scary looking. And it's living on my tomato plants.

It hides behind a leaf, waiting for something to fly or crawl onto it's rather large web. I removed a few other spiders from my garden, but for some reason I've left this one alone. Maybe because it's huge and all I can picture is it jumping on my face as I try to whip it away with a stick. Maybe I know that if I do remove it another spider's going to find that sweet spot in a day or so so I might as well stick with this one and be done with it. It has kept a lot of the bugs away, which is good so long as those bugs aren't the ones I need for pollinating my plants.

Maybe when the growing season's officially over I'll ask my husband to get rid of it for me...

Mysterioiusly Yours - Dinner Theatre

2010-09-08T11:08:00.004-04:00

I first head of Misteriously Yours several months ago when researching things to do in Toronto. So this past weekend, myhusband and I decided to go. All we knew in advance was that there's a dinner and a show with audience participation. Beyond that, it was all a mystery.

You enter the theatre via a short hall that goes directly down a flight on stairs (the theatre is not wheelchair accessible). There you meet the host and get your table assignment. You put on a name tag (so the actors can identify people) and head down a second flight of stairs to the dining room/theatre.

The room is gorgeous, dark carpeting, split level flooring, gilded mirrors along one wall, green and orange tinged lanterns hanging from the ceiling. There's a lot to admire while you wait to be served.

The dinner menu is small if comprehensive. For a set fee of $25 (sans drinks) you get an appetizer (choice of soup or salad), an entree (vegetarian pasta, chicken, ribs or fish) and desert. Be warned, while the food is delicious (especially the duo chocolate mousse my husband had for desert) the portions are on the small side.

The actors begin mingling at tables around the time desert is served, or 8:00, whichever comes first. They're great at eliciting responses from the guests, and set the stage for the mystery. In this case the mystery was Dr. Jekyll, There's Nowhere to Hyde. The setting was a criminology symposium, run by Marie Curie and attended by Alexander Graham Bell, Dr. Henry Jeckyll, Ivy Leege (Jekyll's assisstant), Prof. Jan Jansky and Dr. Sigmund Freud. They each had an opening pitch to explain who they were and why they were at the meeting. It helps if you're willing to ask questions and play along with them. They all had great senses of humour, necessary for this type of acting.

When they've set up their first batch of ~~victims~~ 'volunteers' (people who have birthdays, anniversaries, etc., who have actually been volunteered by whoever made the reservation), the show actually starts. Marie Curie welcomes you to the symposium and introduces the other attendees. Periodically an actor will call on an audience member to stand or respond. For example, one gentlemen was handed a hat and told to put it on. He was then introduced as Sherlock Holmes. Around 8:30 the murder victim is discovered.

This is when things get interesting. The actors uncover secrets about each other while playing up their individual quirks. Mr. Bell had a can on a string that acted as the first telephone, to which he added facebook and texting! There are 2 intermissions during which the 'clues' end and you have the chance to talk to the actors, asking questions or just playing around. Finally, the guests get to guess who done it, and those that guess correctly have the chance to win prizes.

It was a fun evening and I'd definitely do it again. The shows change periodically, and they also do harbour cruises, brunches and this winter a Caribbean cruise (where there will be 3 murder mysteries).

Plum Dumplings

2010-09-07T16:19:00.006-04:00

One of my favourite German dishes, plum dumplings take some effort but are definitely worth it.

Here's my mother's recipe for them:

1 pound grated potatoes

1 pound flour (adjust this based on the dough)

1 pinch salt

1 egg

6-12 plums (depends on the size of the plums)

[assume 3 large or 4 small plums per adult]

Topping:

2 tablespoons ground poppy seeds [I use a mortar & pestel to grind them - and remember to store the seeds in the fridge]

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

Take the boiled potatoes and grate them. [Two notes here, first, don't cook the potatoes in the microwave or you'll get tough skins, which mess up the dough. Second, if you don't want to grate the potatoes on a cheese grater (which is what I used to do) I used a potato masher the last time I made them and it worked. It's not the same, but it's close enough and saves a lot of effort.]

Once the potatoes are well mashed, add the egg, salt and flour. Mix into a dough. Wrap the dough around washed, but not pitted, plums [wet your hands a little when doing this to keep the dough from sticking to them].

Place the plums into boiling water [if it's not boiling you risk the dough falling off], and let boil 10-15 minutes OR UNTIL THEY FLOAT. Mine typically float in about 5 minutes, so check to be sure the dough is fully cooked but be careful not to overcook them or they'll taste unpleasant.

Top with the butter, poppy seeds and sugar.

Kitty Moment

2010-09-03T11:19:00.003-04:00

Our cat has this odd propensity for sitting on things. The floor will be perfectly open, lots of nice comfortable places to sit, and she'll find the one piece of paper that's fallen down and sit on that, making sure her body's only on the paper. While we were getting the windows replaced all our electronic equipment was moved aside. That resulted in a pile of wires on the floor. Even once things were put back together, some wires remained. Despite having swathes of open carpet to lie on, our cat heads straight for the wires. Bizarre.

The Apostrophe Song

2010-09-03T10:55:00.002-04:00

As a former teacher, I can appreciate wanting people to use correct grammar and punctuation. This is a great little song to help with apostrophes. I'm actually surprised by the number of people adding punctuation where none's required. This is taken from Cool1000Rules's youtube channel.

Busy Busy Busy

2010-09-02T13:33:00.002-04:00

I've been doing double posts on my other blog, which, on top of all the other things I've had to do this week, leaves me little time to post here and little energy to come up with post ideas. I made plum dumplings and canned senf gerkin (German mustard pickles), started and finished a rather short but interesting book, etc., etc. Once my Fan Expo posts are out of the way I should have more time to dedicate to this blog.

In the meantime, Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games series, awaits!

Kitchen Tip

2010-08-31T17:27:00.002-04:00

I can't remember where I read this, either in Cooking for Geeks or Cook Yourself Thin Faster. It's a way of taking low or no fat yogurt and turning it into Greek style, thick yogurt. Take a metal strainer, put a coffee filter on top, and strain the yogurt into a container. Leave it in the fridge for half an hour or so and your yogurt will be thicker and the liquid will be in the cup. It's a great tip and I've used it several times now.

Kitty Moment

2010-08-27T14:02:00.003-04:00

And here's Mittens with her bear. She doesn't play with him too often, so I was lucky I had my camera ready.

Cottage Birds

2010-08-27T13:58:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the birds the bluejay from my last post chased away from the feeder.

Blue Jay at the Cottage

2010-08-25T17:48:00.004-04:00

I'd intended to write a longer post with more video clips and pictures, but the kitties seem annoyed that we went away for the weekend and won't let me do much work in my office. So you're getting this, a quick video of a blue jay at the cottage where we spent the weekend. It chased away the goldfinches and chickadees that were giving me quite a show. Still, I've always love blue jays.

Freezing Herbs

2010-08-24T17:59:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I tried something I've never really done before. I've actually tied up dill into bundles and hung it from my ceiling before, but if you can believe it, this is the first time I've tried freezing herbs.

In my defence, I only discovered the joy of using fresh herbs a few years back when I decided to try growing a basil plant. I can't stand little dried herb bits in my food, getting stuck in my teeth, so I'd only cook with ground herbs. Fresh has so much more flavour! And it's a better flavour too. Alas, it was short lived, as I soon moved to a basement apartment where I couldn't grow anything.

Years passed and I'm in a house now. I tried a balcony herb garden last year and it bombed because I didn't remove the mint early enough (when I did remove it to pot it separately, it had already sent roots beneath all the other plants and so ripped them out with it).

This year I didn't try mint. I did try basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, dill, chives (didn't work well on the balcony), sage and green onions. I loved grabbing basil, sage, dill and green onions for salads. I also started throwing in oregano. I'm not as good with using the thyme and rosemary (thicker herbs seem much like the dried bits I disliked before).

Anyway, I decided I didn't want my herb usage to vanish simply because fall was coming, so I decided to freeze some for the winter.

I washed the herbs (mostly to remove the dish detergent I've been using as a pesticide) and let them dry. I then laid them on a baking tray and tried flash freezing them so they wouldn't stick together once frozen. This gave mixed results. The rosemary, sage and thyme turned out ok, but the basil was pretty useless. I stuffed them all into labeled baggies anyway because when winter comes I probably won't mind the texture (and from frozen I won't expect it to look like it was fresh) and the taste in dishes will be worth it.

I've also heard that cutting up the herbs and freezing them in ice cube trays with water works well.

Have you tried freezing herbs? If so, how did you go about it and how did they work when you used them?

Kitty Moment

2010-08-19T12:03:00.005-04:00

Our cats are pretty partial to anything dairy (and turkey) related. But I never would have expected them to love yop of all things. Here they are, one being bottle fed the other drinking from the cap.

Organizing My Freezers

2010-08-18T14:11:00.007-04:00

I have a tendency to stock up on food and then toss it months later after I'd forgotten I had it and it's gone bad. Therefore, I have wanted something for years that would let me program in what food I have at home and how long it will last. And with the iPad Ifinally have one. My husband did the footwork, looking through the possibilities. There were some dedicated apps for this purpose but none of them were quite what I wanted. Then he found hanDbase. It's a database that is completely customizable. There are several categories, and within them you can arrange your database however you like.

Let me show you.

The main screen shows your file folders. We put my freezer file in the 'personal' file. My husband set up the initial file, but given how easy adding new items is, I can't imagine it was that hard. To add a new product, simply hit the + button at the bottom of the screen. That gets you the 'edit records' screen. Then you touch each line to set the criteria. If you discover a criteria is missing, simply hit 'edit' on that pop-up screen and add it. You can also alphabetize the criteria once you've added something, so everything's easy to find.

(Image 1: the main screen. Image 2: the 'edit records' screen)

(Image 3: 'edit record' with the location subscreen. Image 4: editing the locations)

(Image 5: food inventory, sorted by expiry date. Image 6: food inventory alphabetically sorted by item.)

So, across my screen are a box to click if the package is open, what the food item is, what category it is (meat, vegetable, etc.), where it is in the house, expiry date, countdown to expiry, purchase date and notes. Clicking the top row labels allows me to sort the list using all the variables. Want a vegetable, simply click 'category' and it will show what comes up under each, alphabetically. The most useful is the expiry category. This calculates how long each food item has left.

I spent part of yesterday categorizing my freezers. Next up is the fridge and the cupboards. It's a lot of work, but it should make meal planning easier - as I'll know what I have and what needs to be used TODAY.

Watermelon Carving

2010-08-17T14:40:00.004-04:00

I've seen carved carrots and cucumbers and smaller fruit before, butI was quite surprised to see a carved watermelon at Carassauga this past May. More recently, I stumbled upon a video showing how to carve a watermelon. Looks like a lot of work, but they're beautiful when they're done.

This is Vid Nikolic carving a watermelon.

Watermelon carving from Vid Nikolic on Vimeo.

Kitty Moment

2010-08-13T11:17:00.005-04:00

One of our cats likes to meow outside my office door. She doesn't do it because she wants attention, because once I'm outside she ignores me, she just doesn't like me in my office. She was banned from there for jumping on my desk and being a pest, so now she sits outside the door. And meows.

I decided to let her in again to see if she'd be good and let me work. She likes sitting in boxes, so I moved an empty box I had next to my reading chair and brought it close to my work chair. She entered the room and went straight for my desk. I introduced her to the box, which she sat in for a moment or two, grooming herself and liking it immensely. Then she jumped out and settled elsewhere.

Meanwhile our other cat decided HE liked the box, and sat there for a while.

All that silence got me antsy, so I looked for the first cat. Guess where she was sitting? On the floor by my reading chair, where the box used to be! Crazy kitty.

Soul Tunes - Cartoon Themes

2010-08-12T10:35:00.003-04:00

For those of you who loved cartoons from the 90s, here's a great acapella singer, doing some of the 'hits'.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Kitchen Island Shelf

2010-08-11T10:43:00.004-04:00

Last year we bought a kitchen island to give me more counter and storage space. But I'm the type of person who acquires a lot of clutter, so this island is constantly a mess. In order to help with that, I decided to put a shelf on it. At first I looked at mini shelf units, to see if any would fit without taking up too much room. No luck. Then we tried the hardware store and stumbled across an already cut metal shelf. We bought it for $3 and brought it home.

The original idea was to suspend the metal shelf from the metal bars already in the island, but then my husband came up with a much better plan. And here it is. My new island shelf. I plan on storing things like freezer bags and tin foil on it - the things otherwise in a cupboard 'far' away from my cooking area and always falling over as they're stacked on top of each other (and the one I need is always on the bottom).

I love having a handy husband. :)

German Homestyle Potato Pancakes

2010-08-10T13:39:00.004-04:00

I've been making my mother's potato pancakes for years. But for the interests of this blog I decided, the last time I made them, to go back to the recipe. To my surprise, the recipe I've been using (memorized after numerous uses) isn't the recipe I got from her!

Oops.

So, here's what I've been doing vs what I was 'supposed' to be doing. I'll just say that both recipes make great pancakes, though my mother's come out fluffier (due to the flour). And use yellow potatoes. I kept forgetting which work best and so alternated for a while. The white turn out VERY sticky once cooked (like the packaged stuff), so make sure you use yellow (Yukon Gold work well for this).

So first, my recipe

3-4 raw, peeled potatoes (for 2 adults)

1/4 onion

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt (watch this, too much and it's inedible, too little and the pancakes don't taste as good - I generally make up the mix with a bit of salt and then try the first cooked pancake to see if I need to add more)

1 tbsp flour (to thicken the mix, only if necessary - this will make the pancakes fluffier)

This recipe makes a fairly thin mix, which is great if you like thinner, crispier pancakes.

1. either grate the potatoes by hand on a cheese grater or put them through an electric grinder (I throw everything into my Vita-Mix - it's a high tech blender with dull blades that crushes everything in the container. It makes a smoother mix then grinding and grating though, which some people might not like.)

2. add the other ingredients and mix well

3. pour onto a well oiled, heated frying pan

4. brown on both sides

5. serve with red current sauce, sour cream or grated cheese

Here's my mother's recipe:

5-6 potatoes (ground raw)

3 eggs

5-6 tablespoons flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

1. mix ingredients

2. fry on stove in well oiled pan

One note of caution, I mix everything in my Vita-Mix, and found for my mother's recipe that the mix separated after a few minutes, so I had to stir it before pouring it onto the frying pan or I'd get one very fluffy pancake and one mostly made of liquid.

And if you have access to red currents, here's a sweet and sour sauce that goes great with potato pancakes:

1. put the currents into a pot and boil them 1-2 minutes (you may need to add a bit of water)

2. add 2 tbsp cornstarch (depending on the amount of currents used, adjust as necessary)

3. sugar to taste (2 tbsp)

Enjoy!

So, are there any recipes you use that you found out you've been doing 'wrong' for years?

Kitty Moment

2010-08-06T12:12:00.003-04:00

In Tuesday's post I mentioned I tried the 'No Machine Ice Cream' from the Cook Yourself Thin Faster cookbook. Well, I modified it a little. Instead of using cocoa powder and making a chocolate ice cream I used a tsp of maple extract and added score bar candy pieces. Oh, and since I have one I put it in my ice cream maker so it would finish faster.

My husband and I thought it was delicious. The recipe's use of sweetened condense milk meant no extra sugar was needed, and it was plenty sweet!

But most importantly, our cat liked it too.

He's Just Not That Into You - Movie Review

2010-08-04T11:23:00.005-04:00

Director: Ken Kwapis, 2009

Pros: showed several types of relationships (including a gay relationship in a positive light), showed several types of men (jerks, decent guys, beer drinking sports fans, players), realistic and practical advice

Cons: all of the women were portrayed as needy and obsessed with marriage, ending had a mixed message (explained in spoiler section)

He's Just Not That Into You was based on the book by that name written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. The book was designed to show women that they often delude themselves into believing men have more interest in them then they do. Once women realize this, they can move on.

The film starts with an interesting, and unfortunately true, image. A little girl is insulted by a boy and told by her mother that this means he likes her. Seriously. And this HAPPENS. I remember being told and telling this very same, very pervasive lie. When women are trained to believe that being treated badly is a sign of love what sort of relationships will they settle for?

And the movie brings this out well. The film is told through several storylines that converge at various points in the film. There's the office worker desperate for a relationship who obsesses over guys, constantly waiting for her most recent date to call and making excuses for why he hasn't. There's the sexy babe who's convinced she's met her perfect mate, even though he's already married. There's the couple who have lived together for years, but the woman wants a ring and he dislikes the concept of marriage. And there's the player who teaches lady #1 that the guys she's dating just aren't that into her. And why.

Periodically the action stops as a group of people are asked a question posed in the book. It's an interesting technique and works some of the time. The pauses draw attention to whatever misconception, is going to come next, providing some measure of foreshadowing.

The storylines are interesting. Some characters grow and change, some stay the same or even regress with regards to their relationships. And not everyone ends up happily connected at the end.

I liked how the portrayal of men was varied. There was the guy willing to cheat on his wife, the guy who wouldn't dream of cheating on his girlfriend, the guy who treated women like dirt, the guy who was the perfect friend, gay guys giving advice and the jocks who would rather watch TV then help out around the house.

The women were less varied. All women are apparently obsessed with relationships and marriage. I disagree. It worked for the film but I think it did a disservice, ignoring that some women are happy alone and are more interested in their careers than starting a family.

If you haven't seen the film and don't want the spoilers, stop here. The movie had enough funny parts that my husband wasn't bored and enough truths that most women should watch it because we perpetuate a lot of myths about relationships, and a healthy relationship doesn't include myths like 'he treats me badly because he loves me' (and vice versa).

**** SPOILERS ****

I liked most of the ending. I was glad the woman who broke up the married couple didn't end up with the man. Her actions proved she wasn't mature enough to have a relationship, so seeing her realize that and decide to be on her own for a while worked for me. I also liked how the nice guy she confided in and used as an occasional sex partner eventually moved on and found someone who would appreciate him for who he was.

My complaint with the ending dealt with the couple who'd lived together for years and broke up because the woman wanted to get married. The film was very clear about showing that a committed relationship is worth more than a piece of paper. I know two couples wherein the 'husband''s parents went through a messy divorce so the IDEA of marriage doesn't appeal to them. Despite not being married their relationships are committed and monogamous. And that's fine. I think it would have validated those types of relationships had the couple in the film decided that the marriage paper wasn't the most important thing to them, their love was. By having them get married it showed that no matter how much they loved each other, that paper and ceremony were more important. And it showed the woman's desire to have the marriage ceremony as more important than his deep sated (though unexplained) dislike of the institution. Marriage and relationships are all about compromise, and the wedding scene upset the compromise they'd made in their reconciliation scene.

Cook Yourself Thin Faster - cookbook review

2010-08-03T11:30:00.005-04:00

by: Lauren Deen

The premise of Cook Yourself Thin Faster, is lowering the fat content of the individual dishes, so you can eat well and still lose weight. There's a snack list for staying under 100 calories, notes on losing weight (including keeping a food diary) and success stories scattered among the recipes. I tried several of the recipes, with mixed results.

The 2 deserts I tried (no machine ice cream and white chocolate delight) turned out extremely well.

Of the main dishes, the stuffed peppers with orzo and olives was great (the orzo didn't dry out during baking the way rice does, and the olives added flavour to the stuffing mixture), and the pizza with sweet peppers and goat cheese was very flavourful (but follow the recipe and use 2 bottles of peppers as one won't cover a full pizza). The fettuccine con funghi and the white pizza with roasted mushrooms were underspiced. With the pasta, adding salt or another spice fixed the blandness, with the pizza, the ricotta cheese used as a base was too bland to work without more flavourful toppings than those requested. Of course, everything with cooking is (as with most things) a matter of taste. So what I considered bland others might find very flavourful. So take my comments as intended, as an indication that adjustment might be required depending on your own personal tastes.

The author is clever with her substitutions. Using sweetened condensed milk and half and half cream for the ice cream rather than whole cream and sugar still gets a sweet (almost too sweet) ice cream but without a lot of the fat content. The secret to the cream sauce for the fettuccine con funghi is mixing heavy cream with nonfat evaporated milk. These are easy tricks to lower the fat without sacrificing taste. And it really works.

The cookbook has over 75 recipes and a menu planner in the back.

Here's a sample:

Stuffed Peppers with Orzo and Olives

1/2 cup whole wheat orzo

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

1/4 tsp salt

1 zucchini, diced

1 tomato, cored and diced

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and halved

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a 13X9-inch baking dish with aluminum foil.

2. Cook the orzo until al dente according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, just until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the tomato, olives, and orzo.

4. Divide the orzo mixture among the peppers and arrange in a single layer in the prepared pan. Bake until the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes.

Kitty Moment

2010-07-30T11:59:00.003-04:00

Ok, so it's not a 'kitty' per say, but it's still cute and fuzzy and you just want to go up and rub it's tummy. Provided it doesn't attack you first.

This is a photo I took at the Toronto zoo.

Cooking For Geeks, Cookbook Review

2010-07-29T16:48:00.005-04:00

By: Jeff Potter
Publication Date: August 3, 2010

Pros: a lot of extremely detailed information about cooking methods, equipment, reactions, etc., interviews with people who cook creatively

Cons: not many recipes, some information is well beyond what most cooks will use/need

This is an interesting cookbook. I would consider the first 5 chapters worth reading if you plan to do any cooking and want a better understanding of what's happening or if you like experimenting.

If you REALLY like experimenting the last 2 chapters will be perfect for you. If you don't feel like buying lots of chemicals to try new (and not necessarily edible) things, they're not as

useful.

The cookbook was written specifically for computer geeks who are afraid of doing things in a kitchen. The opening chapter has a lot of references to thinking of cooking techniques with regards to computing. If you don't know computer programming, you might consider this chapter skippable, but you'd miss out on some hidden gems of information, like the difference between all purpose and baking flour (gluten content).

Chapter 2 is an overview of cookware, a chapter I'd normally not find interesting. Here again, there were interesting tid bits of information, like what to look for in knives, how they get teflon to stick to the pan, and the 1-2-3 crepe recipe I posted about recently.

Chapter 3 is where the experiments start. This is not so much a recipe book as it is an experimentation guide. Mr. Potter explains the theory behind something and then gives you a recipe with which to test that theory out. Often there are two recipes to compare and contrast. It's here I found the watermelon feta salad recipe, as an example of how you experience taste. I tried it, and it was very surprising. I would never have expected raw red onions (soaked in water to take the sting out) to work well with

watermelon. And the saltiness of the feta added something that the watermelon alone couldn't do. In the end, it was a great experiment and I learned a few things about taste combinations.

Also from this chapter, I tried the white bean and garlic soup. It was different (a thick, almost gravy consistency) but worth trying again.

Cooking times, heat and food safety are dealt with in chapter 4, followed by the necessity of air in baking. If you're like my friends, though you've used them often you probably don't know the difference between baking soda and baking powder. This book will teach you. It will also tell you what gluten does, and how to use different kinds of yeast.

Finally, the two chapters that require a lot more specific ingredients and equipment. Chapter 6 deals with chemicals in cooking (notably food additives, which is interesting even if you don't do any of the experiments - I wanted to try the s'mores ice cream, but couldn't find liquid smoke anywhere). Chapter 7 explains the principles of sous vide cooking and other specialized techniques.

I highly recommend the book for anyone serious about cooking. The tips and tricks it teaches are useful for everyone. And if you're adventurous, some of the experiments sound like a lot of fun.

Fun at the Toronto Zoo

2010-07-28T15:37:00.002-04:00

We went to the zoo this past weekend. It was hot and humid in the morning, hot and raining in the afternoon and evening. Here's a video of a grisly bear cooling off, and having fun, in a pool.

And from the Australasia pavilion, the jellyfish.

Titly's Busy Kitchen

2010-07-27T11:45:00.007-04:00

I stumbled across an interesting video (below), that led to a very interesting site: Titly's Busy Kitchen. Titli Nihaan does cooking demonstrations for various recipes, with a slight humerous slant. They're both fun and informative. I've also embedded her most recent video, how to make chocolate mousse. Yummy. Check out her site for more video recipes.

Jane Austen's Fight Club

2010-07-25T11:53:00.005-04:00

I found this on Janet Reid's blog. It's a pretty funny video wherein Austen characters create a fight club.

Kitty Moment

2010-07-23T10:42:00.002-04:00

As a quick addition to yesterday's post about painting window frames, be careful when removing the taped edging. I accidentally took some of the caulk and wall paint when I removed it. Oops.

Here are the kitties examining my work.

Window Frame Painting for Writers

2010-07-22T15:46:00.003-04:00

The wasp nest was taken care of and yesterday our new windows were installed. That left me painting the plain wood frames today. As the paint shop inexplicably closed at 1 pm yesterday I had to go today to get the paint. I wanted a flat white paint thick enough so I wouldn't have to do more than one coat.

Well, apparently that paint doesn't exist. I was told you can't get paint that thick and flat paint can't be wiped clean so it's not as good for indoors. So I got a white pearl (that's the glossiness not the colour) latex paint and a 2 inch brush.

I'd already taped the inside and outside of the windows to make things go faster today (which takes longer and is more annoying than you'd think). Now, as to the writer portion of this story. If you've got a character doing any house painting with a brush and you haven't done such painting recently, here are things to consider.

1) Painting around the window handle is difficult, even if you've taped the handle so it won't get mucked up. I wanted the streaks to go length wise down the frame, but the handle was so low that those parts were a royal pain.

2) The paint brush has a slight angle to it to make corners easier.

3) After holding the brush for 5-10 minutes you hand starts to cramp so you have to keep changing how you hold it (or change hands. And painting with your off hand's not as hard as you'd think, just don't plan on doing the finishing strokes with it).

4) Painting a window over a sink is painful. I basically had one foot on the ladder an the other alternated between kneeling, standing and sitting on the sink to reach different places and alleviate the pain from the awkward positioning.

5) Also, windows near cabinets make doing the sides of the frames difficult. I kept painting bits of cabinet by mistake, and wiping that paint off invariably took some of the frame paint (as there wasn't enough room to maneuver).

6) Wait a few hours for the paint to dry and then spot paint areas that don't look good.

7) Oh, and when you clean the brush, don't leave it sitting upright in water. Rinse it under running water and dry it flat.

I actually managed to cover the frames well enough that with a bit of spot painting I won't need to do a full second coat. Yay!

Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story

2010-07-21T11:03:00.004-04:00

This is a powerful TED talk detailing why it's dangerous to only have a 'single story' or one viewpoint about individuals, races and countries. It's a fascinating look at how stereotypes work and what makes them so dangerous (the 13 minute mark has some great quotes).

For some reason the video doesn't show up in google reader, so here's a link to the TED page for this talk.

Crepes from Cooking for Geeks

2010-07-20T11:42:00.006-04:00

I've been going through several cookbooks, looking for new - good - recipes to try. One I got as an eGalley from NetGalley is Cooking for Geeks. It's coming out August 3rd. I'll have a full review of the cookbook once I finish reading it (there's more text than recipes, but as it's fascinating text I don't mind).

The recipe I tried is crepes. I've never made crepes, despite their relative simplicity and ability to adapt to the occasion. Now, though the author, Jeff Potter, emphasizes reading the recipe through before starting, I didn't. Which caused problems when I got to the actual directions. So, the recipe, as printed in the book (*actually it's pretty long so I'll condense it after the ingredients and the 'let rest' segment I messed up).

1-2-3 Crepes

Whisk or puree untilentirely mixed, about 30 seconds:

1 cup (250g) milk (preferably whole milk)

2 medium (70g) eggs

1/3 cup (40g) flour (all-purpose)

pinch of salt

Let rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, so that the gluten in the flour has the chane to thicken the batter. (Stash the batter in the fridge if you're going to leave it for more than half an hour.)

- ...expect to completely screw up the first few you make...

Butter: Grab a cold stick of butter with the wrapper partially pulled back, and using the wrapped part as a handle, spread a small amount of butter around the pan.

Wipe down: Use a paper towel to thin out the butter over the surface of the pan, wiping up almost all of it (and on repeats, any crumbs left behind from the previous crepe). The pan should look almost dry; you want a super-thin coating of butter, not noticeable streaks

Pour: Pour in the batter while swirling the pan: pour about 1/4 cup /60ml of batter into a 10"/25 cm pan, adjusting as necessary...

Flip: Wait until the crepe begins to brown. ... Once the crepe has begun to brown around the edges, use a silicone spatula... to push down the edge all around the circumference. This will release the edge of the crepe so that it lifts off the pan. Carefully grab that little edge to flip the crepe with both hands.

Flip again: Let the crepe cook on the second side for half a minute or so, until it's cooked. The first side should come out a uniformly brown tone, so flip the crepe again before adding the fillings. This will leave the better-looking side on the outside of the finished crepe.

Well, the author was right on that first point. My first crepe looked pretty horrible.

But first, my adjustments and what that meant for the crepes. Instead of all-purpose I used whole wheat flour. I also 'messed up' my packaged hollandaise sauce (for the better) by adding all but half a cup of my remaining milk. So, while the sauce was very creamy, the crepe batter ended up a mix of half milk and half water. Which probably explains why the half hour I letit stand didn'tthicken the batter as much as I expected.

Oddly enough, this didn't cause any problems. Yes, the batter was thin, but it worked. Instead of using butter I used oil on the pan, and after using too little for the first crepe and trying to turn it too soon, I added more oil and waited until I could swish the crepe around the pan (indicating the bottom was cooked) before I tried to flip the rest.

The recipe gave 4 large crepes. I filled two with sauteed asparagus and mushrooms, topped with the hollandaise sauce, and the other two with a nutella/milk cream spread and bananas.

Guess which one tasted better?

The cookbook gave some ideas for fillings, but I picked the meal one from a website, and the desert one from memories of crepes I'd had in the past.

Cloud Atlas - Book Review

2010-07-16T12:15:00.003-04:00

A friend recommended this book to me years ago and I'm glad I finally picked it up. In fact, it's a book I wish I'd read in university. Not only would a professor's insights into the novel be worthwhile, but having to reread it and write an essay on it would give me the time and opportunity to learn more of what David Mitchell was doing with the story and help me put my thoughts in order properly.

Pros: brilliant writing, a set of interconnected stories with thought provoking messages

Con: each story is interrupted to tell the first half of the next, when you get back to it you've forgotten minor details that are important in understanding the novel as a whole

Cloud Atlas is a novel told through six interconnected stories. For example, the musician of the second story is reading the journal written by the man in the first. And the reporter of the third story reads the letters written by the musician and listens to his music. Each protagonist also bears a comet birthmark between their collarbones and shoulder blades, giving the idea that they might be the same person, living over and over again.

The novel begins with The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing. He's a notary on his way back to America from delivering papers to a client's heir in Australia. His ship has stopped at an island to resupply, and there Adam makes the acquaintance of Doctor Henry Goose.

In the second story a disinherited English musician ingratiates himself into a ailing Belgium's home, intent on helping this man finish his musical works, and bettering his own position.

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Ray Mystery shows her meeting a scientist working on a new atomic energy plant, and discovers that this so called safe energy might not be so safe after all.

I won't detail the other stories as it's fun discovering what comes next. My favourite of the novel however, was An Orison of Sonmi-451. It's basically a science fiction story showing how commercialism has overtaken the world and had resonances of Soylent Green, 1984 and Battle Royale. In fact, this is a novel that on the whole, reads easier if you're well versed in literature. I recognized a few other references, but I'm sure I missed a lot of others.

And as the stories start completing themselves, messages of when you save the lives of others you're really saving your own and how our actions, big or small, shape the world around us - even if we don't live to see the effects, come to the fore.

Ultimately, it's a fabulous novel. If you like thinking about the books you read, I'd highly recommend picking this one up.

Avner Mandelman and David Mitchell Bookseller Event

2010-07-15T12:41:00.009-04:00

Yesterday the Toronto Random House office had a bookseller reception for authors Avner Mandelman and David Mitchell. Each author spoke briefly about their books and had a signing.

Mr. Mandleman spoke first about why it took 36 years to write The Debba. The novel is about a former military assassin whose father, a war hero, has died. Once in Tel Aviv, he discovers that in order to receive his inheritance, he must stage a play called the Debba, which his father wrote, and which was only staged once, causing a riot at the time. From the book flap, "The Debba is a mythological Arab hyena that can turn into a man who lures Jewish children away from their families. To the Arabs he is a heroic national symbol; to the Jews he is a terrorist." Sounds interesting.

David Mitchell spoke on his new book, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I took the liberty of video taping his talk, and am glad I did. He's a very personable author and his talk, though short, was full of humour. I especially liked how he mentions that writing isn't just ideas, it's also discipline. And that writing different genres is harder than it seems.

Windows Vs Wasps

2010-07-14T10:43:00.006-04:00

Installers came by yesterday to replace our second floor windows. They had blankets they put on the stairs and floor. They had new windows, beautifully wrapped so they wouldn't get damaged. They had a vacuum cleaner. They had tools.

What they didn't have was bug spray to get rid of the wasp nest they discovered hanging on our soffits in the backyard under the ivy. They found this out by pulling the ivy down after removing the two side panels of the rear window. It was decided the condo should remove the nest. After some tense moments getting the side panels replaced in the frames the installers took their ladder away. Alas, the ladder was holding up the ivy they'd partially ripped down, and once removed, the ivy fell, bringing down half of the wasp nest.

The installers ran and avoided getting stung. They thought the wasps would dissipate over the next day or so and resolved to come back today. That's not going to happen because the wasps have decided to rebuild. Why? One, a large portion of the nest is still hanging, with wasp larvae intact. Two, the wasps have a very convenient food source in the area, my garden.

And here I'm conflicted. The installers can't put new windows in with the wasp nest there. The noise disturbs the insects and the installers shouldn't have to endure numerous wasp stings so I can have new windows. I want those windows installed. Our living room had to be completely dismantled so the back window could be accessed. I would like to put the room back together again.

On the other hand, my garden's growing amazingly well, and I bet I have those wasps to thank for it. I'm actually embarrassed it didn't occur to me there might be a nest nearby as I always see bees and wasps in my garden. I'd like a way for the windows to be put in and the nest stay put. The wasps haven't done me any harm and I can't believe the amount of little tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini I have coming.

Unfortunately, I know the wasps are going to lose this round. The condo will send someone to exterminate the nest and take it away. The windows will be replaced. And my garden won't be quite so grand in future.

David Mitchell Author Event at the Toronto Public Library

2010-07-13T18:26:00.003-04:00

It's late notice, but if you're in the Toronto area tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 14th) and enjoy great literature, author David Mitchell will be at the Toronto Reference Library at 7 pm (doors open a 6, admission is free). Here are all the details.

I'm almost finished reading his novel Cloud Atlas, and it is fantastic. Look forward to seeing a review of the book soon. And, if lucky, some photos from tomorrow's bookseller reception for Mr. Mitchell and Avner Mandleman at the Random House office.

David Mitchell Author Event in Toronto

2010-07-11T14:11:00.004-04:00

A close friend notified my recently that her favourite author, David Mitchell, would be in Toronto. The event takes place at the Toronto Reference Library on Wednesday, July 14th at 7 pm. I was also notified that there's a bookseller reception with Mr. Mitchell earlier that day (which I will be attending). In preparation, I started Cloud Atlas, a novel of his that came highly recommended. I'm a little over half way through and I'm loving it. Look forward to a review of the book and notes on the event!

Cold Soup Calamity

2010-07-09T14:09:00.004-04:00

Alright, maybe it's not a calamity, but I've now tried 3 cold soups (all from 300 Sensational Soups by Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds) and only 1 has turned out well. To be fair, I have been fudging the recipes - substituting ingredients on hand for what's requested in the cookbook, and I had the same problem with hot soups (several duds before I got the hang of them and they all started turning out well) but still, it's a little disappointing. I'd hoped my hot soup skills would help with cold soups. Nope.

The first I tried, carrot soup, tasted better hot than cold. Of the second and third (done together for the dual tone bowl pictured) I liked the bloody mary soup (my husband doesn't like tomatoes, so he was lukewarm about it) and the avocado soup was a total bomb.

Who'd have considered avocados are so thick that blending up the requested 4 would need more than the 3 cups of water the recipe asked for? I ended up adding another cup or two, greatly watering down the flavorings. In the end, it was tasteless and creamy. Though, when mixed 1 part to three of the bloody mary soup it gave it a pleasant creaminess that made both taste better. So the cookbook's suggestion to pair those was a good one. :)

And spooning the two soups into bowls at the same time did create a nice presentation.

With 18 cold soups in the book I'm sure to find something else I like before I have to return it to the library. I think I'll try the cucumber soup next - and make fewer changes to the recipe.

Are there any cold soup recipes you know that taste great, or should be avoided?

Here's the Bloody Mary Soup recipe from the book:

2 cans San Marzano tomatoes (28 0z/796 ml)
1 cup beek or chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped green onions [I used red onions]
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vodka [I omitted this]
2 tbsp prepared horseradish
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 tsp celery salt
1 tsp black peper
1 lb chilled salad shrimp
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a food processor or blender, in batches, puree tomtoes [and everything but shrimp and cilantro] until smooth. Transfer to a large pitcher, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Thin with more stock or water, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

2. Pour into chilled bowls and garnish with shrimp and cilantro.

And here are some proper reviews of this cookbook if you're interested.
O Chef, Cooking Nook.com, Hub Pages, Cookbooks 4 Every Kitchen, Recipes For Life Today

New Beginnings

2010-07-08T10:49:00.002-04:00

Ok, obviously I have more to talk about than just science fiction and fantasy (my other blog) so I'm restarting this one. Look here for reviews of non SFF books, cooking and sewing foibles, trip pictures and photography experimentation, gardening info and more.

I'm Discontinuing This Blog, Check out Sci-Fi Fan Letter

2010-02-10T13:44:00.001-05:00

In case people still find themselves here, I'm sure you've noticed the paucity of posts in the past few months. Well, I keep trying to maintain two blogs and with all the other things going on in my life it's not working. So, I'll be dedicating more time to my scififanletter.blogspot.com blog. Please look there for interviews, book and movie reviews and sf and fantasy related reading lists.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - Book Review

2009-12-10T16:45:00.003-05:00

I did a proper review of this book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print, over at my Sci-fi fan letter blog, wherein I posted the table of contents and some of the basics about this book. Here, I thought I'd expound a bit on what I learned from reading it.

First off, the book is great. If you want to improve your writing go out and buy it (or borrow it from the library :) ). After finishing this book I came up with a significantly better opening for a book I'll need to reedit in the future. Not my current project, but it's nice to know that even an older project can be improved, and potentially edited to the point where it is more professional and saleable.

The first chapter deals with something all writers are familiar with: Show and Tell. What Renni Browne and Dave King do, however, is point out that a balance is required. Showing and telling are both important tools for a writer, provided you know how and when to use each one to improve your novel.

My favourite aspect of their book is the 'checklist' at the end of each chapter, point form notes of things you should examine your manuscript for in order to improve it. And these are not simply 'remove this' pieces of advice. They want you, the author, to understand what your doing in each paragraph, each word of dialogue, each word period, in order to make your story the best you can do.

Wish You Were Dead - Todd Strasser

2009-11-10T11:44:00.003-05:00

Todd Strasser's new book, Wish You Were Dead, is like a modern technology Christopher Pike novel. I loved Pike's books as a kid, and I think today's teens will enjoy this book just as much.

The book is told through three mediums. The first is a blog. The blogger has been tormented by the popular kids at school, especially Lucy Cunningham, for years. So when Lucy disappears the blogger is glad. Then we see through the kidnapper's eyes and learn what happens to those who vanish. The book is predominantly told through the point of view of Madison, a high school student whose popular classmates are disappearing one by one. She's friends with these people, though she's considered more of a goody two shoes in that she's polite and kind to those 'below' her in the school popularity chain. Though her cyber stocker still thinks she's a little too stuck up.

People paying close attention will figure out who the kidnapper is before the end, but the book is a lot of fun to read and shows some of the dangers of airing all your personal grievances on the internet. The characters are realistic high schoolers - in all varieties (the cool, the cruel, the picked on, the jocks, etc.). The story is quick to read and seeing the kidnapper's viewpoint keeps things tense and fast paced.

Scheduling Writing Time

2009-11-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

I wrote a post about this several months ago. Guess I should have listened to my own advice. I finally got around to doing up a basic schedule showing when I get up and when I have to have all my work done (when the hubby gets home). Then I wrote down the various chores I needed to do during the day and you know what? I realized if I get up late I can eat lunch late and my afternoon doesn't have to start at 12 like everyone else's. It can start at 1:30 or 2, or whenever I want it to. I have this idea that at 12 I need to have lunch and that's when more active chores should commence. But if I push that back, then my morning writing time doesn't vanish because I had too many emails to read through or because some chore *needs* to be done NOW. I can see (because it's all written out) that there's plenty of time. Indeed, if I waste less time on the internet there's more than enough time to write, read and do everything else that needs doing.

And so this morning I sat down to write and actually got some writing done. Not just editing, which is where I've been spending time lately (I've made some changes to major characters that needs some back editing in the segments already written in order to go forward). Today I found a few side scenes that needed to be written, and it's a lot of fun to be writing new scenes again. And I LIKE editing. I think I've been working on this novel much too long (over 3 years, though to be fair I spent 1 1/2 years of that writing a different novel).

Recipe For Death - Mystery Reading List

2009-11-03T13:34:00.003-05:00

I've been posting my SF & F reading lists over at my scififanletter blog for years, but it occurs to me that I prepared several mystery endcap displays at the store and I might as well post those here. This list is a few years old so I'm sure the authors have 1 or 2 new books. The list was not meant to be comprehensive, merely to fill a display. Each book deals with food or drink. I highly recommend A Debt To Pleasure, though it's a tough read and definitely not for everyone. The books are in no particular order.

A Debt to Pleasure - John Lanchester
Rueful Death, Rosemary Remembered, Thyme of Death - Susan Wittig Albert
Death Dines In - Claudia Bishop
Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite - Selma Eichler
Creeps Suzette, Just Deserts, Legs Benedict - Mary Daheim
Shades of Earl Grey, Jasmine Moon Murder - Laura Childs
Death Du Jour, Spice Box, Stiff Risotto - Lou Jane Temple
Chocolate Quake, Crime Brulee, French Fried - Nancy Fairbanks
Crepes of Wrath, Custards Last Stand - Tamar Myers
Catered Murder - Isis Crawford
Courting Disaster, Cook In Time, Red Hot Murder - JoAnne Pence
Fudge Cupcake Murder, Strawberry Shortcake Murder - JoAnne Fluke

Cat Who Cookbook - Julie Murphy (a cookbook based on the 'cat who' mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun)

My historical Pet Peeves + Europe's Inner Demons Book Review

2009-10-27T13:12:00.006-04:00

There are two items of 'common knowledge' that really bug me as a history graduate. The first (which I won't discuss here) is the idea that 'everyone' believed the world was flat during the time of Christopher Columbus. How people continue to believe that when navigational instruments of the time required a knowledge of a circular earth in order to work astounds me (and yes, I'm sure some peasantry in Europe didn't know the earth was round and probably wouldn't have cared either. My complaint is that the people who were in charge WOULD have know and WOULD have cared).

The second historical 'knowledge' is the idea that the witch hunts were a medieval invention brought forth from the smelly dirty time where people had no sense of reality. Luckily we were saved from this nasty brutish existence by that wonderfully golden age the renaissance.

I just finished an incredible book, Europe's Inner Demons by Norman Cohn. In it, he examines where the ideas of the witch hunts come from. Yes, the roots of the beliefs came out of the middle ages (based off of beliefs attributed to heretics, folkloric beliefs and the practice of ritualistic magic) and yes, there were a few isolated witch hunts (or, more accurately, heresy hunts in which heretics - proved or not - were burned singly and en mass). But the witch hunts from popular imagination did not take place during the middle ages. They were a later invention. Read the book to find out his reasoning. It's extremely well documented and carefully considered. He examines the secondary sources from which the idea that the middle ages started the witch hunts and then examines the primary sources they quote in order to check their validity. What he discovers is quite remarkable, and debunks much that is considered 'common knowledge' with regards to the witch hunts.

About how the witch hunts actually started I'll quote a little from his book, page 215. Information in [ ] brackets is supplied by me to explain things the author explained earlier.

"Almost throughout the Middle Ages - very generally until the thirteenth century, in some parts of Europe even to the fifteenth century - the accusatory form of criminal procedure obtained. That is to say, the legal battle was fought out not between society and the accused [as was the case in the witch hunts and heretic trials, where the Church was often the accuser and could employ torture to achieve 'confessions'. This was also the case when asking an accused to denounce others, something that wouldn't happen in trials brought forth by an individual.], but between the accused and a private person who accused him. In this respect there was no difference between a civil and a criminal case; in the latter as in the former the individual complainant was responsible for finding and producing proofs such as would convince the judge.

The accusatory procedure was derived from Roman law, and it retained all those features which had characterized it under the later Empire. By and large it favoured the accused rather than the accuser. The accuser was obliged to conduct the case himself, without the assistance of prosecuting counsel. Moreover, if he failed the convince the judge he was likely to suffer as heavy a penalty as would have been visited upon the accused if he had been convicted. This was known as the talion.

The intention behind the talion was simply to discourage malicious or frivolous accusations, but the effect was far more sweeping. How was the law to distinguish between a mere mistake and deliberate calumny? In practice it seldom distinguished; everyone knew that an unsuccessful complainant would almost certainly be penalized, whatever his motives. ...

Everything possible was done to impress the would-be accuser with the risks involved. When notifying the judge of the proposed action, the accuser had to give a written undertaking to provide proof and, if the proof were found inadequate, to submit to the penalty of the talion as a culminator. And that was not all: once the inscription had been accepted by the judge, the accuser could not withdraw without incurring the penalty of the talion."

Now, this does not mean people were never tried for maleficium (witchcraft) and punished. Nor does it mean the middle ages were an entirely lawful time, as lynching of suspected witches sometimes and maybe even often took place. There are a few isolated group trials of heretics and others performed during the middle ages by religious fanatics. But by and large the majority of witch hunts as considered in popular belief were, at best, late medieval and renaissance inventions.

Mr. Cohn concludes his work with the idea that later Ecclesiastes and bureaucrats were more willing to accept the truth behind accusations of witchcraft and evil doing in ways that those of earlier times were not. Allowing for miscarriages of justice where individuals were forced into confessions and then forced to denounce family and friends as being participants in an underground movement wherein the practitioners had denied Christ and begun worshiping the
Devil and performing malicious acts upon their neighbours.

At any rate, the book is fabulous - though it is fairly dry and scholarly - and the topic is fascinating.

Wikipedia's entry on the witch hunts is accurate and is a great jumping off point for learning more.

Infinite Flickr: The Movie

2009-10-24T15:01:00.009-04:00

A couple years ago my husband (known as "Monkiineko" on Flickr) put together all the photos posted (at the time) to the Flickr group, Infinite Flickr, and set up animated transitions from one to the next to make a continuous video from the images entitled "Infinite Flickr: The Movie". It's pretty cool.

The music is "Tribute" by Eric Hamilton - check out his royalty free music at www.dilvie.com and click on the "Music Archive" link in his right hand navigation column.

If you wish to download a high quality version of this video, you can use the following link:

105 image version (H.264 codec, 640x480, 30fps) 167 seconds, 19.5 MB
(right click the link and use "Save Link As..." or "Download Linked File")

Patty Froese Ntihemuka - Author Interview

2009-08-07T11:36:00.004-04:00

Novels:
Mary: Call Me Blessed
Mary and Martha
The Woman at the Well

Website: http://pattyfroese.com

> What made you want to be a writer?

I've always wanted to be a writer. It doesn't make financial sense to write. You get paid is little chunks that are never enough to cover the bills, it seems, and you certainly can't count on a regular pay cheque! But I have to write. It's a need I have. If I don't write, it feels like a gear in my head starts to grind, and I need to express myself creatively in order to get back to normal. I've heard it said that writers don't retire, they die, and I think I can understand that. I'll keep writing, even after I stop making sense! It's not about "the job" so much as "the need."

> In the books you’ve written, who is you favourite character and why?

I think my favorite character so far is Nilloufar from "The Woman at the Well." She is the woman who meets Jesus at the well. She had five husbands and is living with a man. In Biblical times, this was horrific. She was really fun to write because she is such a survivor! She might go through men, but she doesn't let them ruin her. She isn't "good" or virtuous in any way, but she doesn't just get run under, either. She does what she needs to do to keep going. Getting into her head was really cathartic because I could experience her passion and drive without having to tame her down to keep her "good" in the cultural view. I loved that!

> If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Not a chance! I do horrible things to my characters. I break their hearts, I mess with their love lives, I dash their hopes, I marry them off to inappropriate people... No, I would never change places with them! Drama is great to read about, safely in a book. I wouldn't want that kind of drama in my real life!

> What was the first novel (published or unpublished) that you wrote and how long did it take to write it?

The first novel I wrote was called "Love on the Links." It was a romance novel, and it was truly terrible. As you might have guessed, it remains (thankfully) unpublished. It took me about six weeks to write it. While it was a terrible piece of work, it taught me a lot about planning a novel and writing it. I was also very proud of myself to have finished an entire novel. It was an achievement!

> What was the hardest scene for you to write?

The crucifixion of Jesus. I hate violence, and the Romans were some pretty brutal people when it came to executions. Having to focus on the torture was difficult for me. In fact, I almost abandoned the book I was writing because of it. I ended up finishing the book, but it didn't get accepted. It might have been that the readers could feel my discomfort with the topic. I'll certainly never attempt that scene again! There are too many ways to get around it...

> Share an interesting fan story.

The only time I have ever received fan mail, it was a package that someone sent to my publisher and asked that they redirect to me. In this package, the person had photocopied pieces of articles that someone else had written, and they highlighted the highly racist parts, in essense telling me that I was a bad person for having married a person of a different race from me. I was really shaken by the experience. It still makes my heart pound a little bit to think about it!

> If you still have one, what’s your day job? If you don’t, how long did it take before you could support yourself only on your writing?

I have worked all sorts of different day jobs. I tended to work part time so that I could focus on my writing. I've worked retail, worked as a bank teller, managed a retail store, and worked as an interior decor consultant. When I had my son, I quit working outside the home to be a mom and write whenever I could squeeze the time in. At this point, I probably make the same amount of money I did at a part time job. However, I'm pretty confident that I can get that up to a full time income with freelance work once my son is in school.

> What is your university degree in?

English Lit.

> Any tips against writers block?

Nope. Sometimes, if I have a deadline coming up, I don't have the luxury of writer's block. Other times, I watch entire seasons of TV shows, episode after episode, until I either finish the entire show, or feel guilty enough to get back to work and produce something that will make me some money!

> How many rejection letters did you get for your fist novel or story?

I actually don't approach things in a traditional way. I picked a market (for me the Christian market) and then picked a publisher and researched what they wanted. My options were limited, since most publishers want an agent. Then I just kept writing piece after piece until they finally accepted something. I think I sort of battered them down, after a while! It worked for me... What can I say?

Writing

2009-08-06T11:57:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's determination to start writing daily stayed with me. So, this morning I sat myself down at my computer - and though a few things tried to distract me - I managed to stay in my chair and write/revise chapter 1 of my novel!

It's a great feeling, knowing I'm working towards my goals again! Here's to keeping up the good work! ^_^

Procrastinating Again

2009-08-05T17:29:00.003-04:00

An author friend of mine recently recontacted me. She asked how writing was going and I wrote back all sorts of excuses as to why I wasn't writing. Good excuses. Logical excuses. But excuses all the same. It's time I buck up and start writing again.

So I took a walk. I used to walk everywhere in Toronto, and since I knew where I was going this gave my mind time to wander, to go over problems in my novel, work out plot points, characterization and even craft entire scenes. I lost that. First by getting a bicycle and then by getting an MP3 player. I lost my thinking/planning time. It's time to get that back. So I went for a walk. It was supposed to be a quick walk, from which I'd come back invigorated and ready to work. It turned into a 2 hour walk and I got back exhausted (but with 2 cheap but nice shirts!). Wow, procrastination strikes again.

I did buy a calendar which I intend to use the plastic holder for making a daily schedule. I've wanted to get back into this habit and it hasn't happened. The idea is to plan out your day, hour by hour to show that you have time to both write and get all the other work done you need to. Yes, it means less websurfing and doing all those things that make hours vanish. But writing happens - and that's the important thing because writing gives me a great sense of accomplishment and makes me happy the rest of the day. What I need to do now is find a good new writing time. Writing in the morning doesn't work for me anymore. I used to work at night but with my husband coming home then that won't work either. The late afternoon is when I tend to feel tired so... That's why I went to mornings. But somewhere in the day is enough time to write 100, 250, 1000 words. And I need to find and use that time.

So my new goal is to make a writing schedule. If I have to juggle things from day to day until I find the time that's best for my writing that's ok. So long as I get some writing done, every weekday, in the meantime. The only way to be a writer is to write!

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has a 'Freelancer's Guide', that I stumbled across today in which she has a lot of great information. I'd highly recommend the posts on discipline and priorities.

Her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, has some excellent posts about writing as well. Time, and how much is needed per day to write a novel if you want to get technical. And his post on setting goals.

Time management for writers

2009-07-10T11:44:00.003-04:00

A few years ago I went to Ad Astra and heard what was probably the best writing advice for someone like me (by which I mean someone with a lot of time but also a lot of 'projects', housework, etc with which to occupy myself). That ideas was: planning your time.

The speaker showed how if you plan your week - writing down all the chores, work, your writing time and actually allotting time for other projects, you can see how much time you have and GET EVERYTHING DONE. I tried it when completing my chick lit. Up until then I had the idea that chores should be done first, while realizing that by the time my chores were done I was too tired to write and ended up reading and doing other things with the rest of my day. By scheduling chore time into the day I could see that I had the time to write - when I was most awake and excited - AND time to do chores and other things. As an 'achiever', someone who needs to check things off my to do list in order to feel like I'm accomplishing something, it made writing time something I could schedule in as a necessity rather than a hobby. It became work - and work to be done before all my other work. I also learned I didn't need to rush myself when writing. I could spend an hour or more before moving onto daily chores because THE TIME WAS THERE.

I've been trying to get back into the habit of scheduling my time again. Not only did I waste less of it by surfing the internet or watching TV, I also get a lot more writing done.

Writer's Block

2009-07-08T12:05:00.004-04:00

I've always assumed that writer's block only referred to that time when you sit down at your computer and stare at the white page in front of you. You want to write. You just can't seem to get started.

But writer's block can also be that time when you have no motivation to write at all. When you feel that novel you want to write weighing on you. I read once that a project like a novel is so large that it takes your brain a while to accept that you're actually going to try it. Until it can accept that fact, it simply stares blankly at the screen, waiting for something to happen.

I recently went through a period of this. I think in some way it's a good thing. It clears your mind. Allows you to do other work that might distract you once you get the 'inspiration' you're looking for. I've noticed in my own writing there are times when I feel the NEED to write - when the story WANTS to be told and I have to work on that novel every day in order to get it out of my system and into the world. That's when I do my best writing. When I know where the story is going and how to get there. If I'm not in one of those 'phases' writing is a chore. It's dull and uninspired. It's boring - both to write and read. I've found it's best to wait out those 'dry' periods while my brain works itself around whatever issue with the story is causing problems and start writing when my brain clicks back into knowing what to do and how to do it.

In the mean time, there's lots of other things to keep me occupied.

Show Don't Tell

2009-06-07T14:24:00.003-04:00

This is the advice given to most writers when it comes to, well, everything. Telling your audience that the protagonist likes to eat pizza on the weekend isn't as effective as having the person simply order the pizza and enjoy eating it while watching TV.

I just read a post by Paperback Writer, where she relates a story that happened to her in a restaurant. She'd recently had surgery and her eye was affected by it. Her waitress believed - due to the 'shown' information, that her husband had hit her and treated the couple accordingly. Paperback Writer concludes with the moniker that we need to be aware that our readers may not see our hints the way we intend, and that sometimes we need to tell to get the right message across.

This actually brings up a different question for me. How much of stereotypes, how much misinformation about people, races, cultures, religions is due to literature showing rather than telling? We've been trained to take a few pieces of often disjointed information and pull together a so called composite picture from that.

If you saw a woman, sitting with her back to the room at a restaurant, wearing sun glasses that - once removed - prove she's sporting a black eye, what conclusion would you jump to?

What about the black man standing in line behind you, one hand in his coat pocket, obviously covering something? Would your first thought be that he's holding his wallet because it's a bad neighbourhood? Or would you think it was a gun - because that's the stereotype we've been trained to assume is the truth?

How about the Muslim woman wearing the hajib. Do believe she's wearing it because her husband is forcing her to or because she's a pious woman who honestly prefers it?

And why are we too afraid and ashamed to ask and discover the truth?

I'll never forget reading Black Like Me by John Griffin. I shook my head at a lot of the racist slurs being perpetrated against the African American population as described in his book. Growing up in Canada, born after the civil rights movement ended, I had never heard these things before. Nor had I realized how many people believed such slurs to be the truth. Or how many people continue to perpetuate such insidious lies rather than discover - or accept - the truth. The truth that people are inherently all the same. We have the same needs: food, shelter, heat and love, the same wants: to provide for our families, be successful and find happiness.

Maybe we need to discover a better way of writing. One that doesn't require jumping to conclusions. Or perhaps we need to realize that jumping to conclusions about characters in a novel is harmless - while doing the same with real people can be devastating.

Book Expo America 2009

2009-06-02T15:05:00.002-04:00

I just came back from BEA in New York City. It's a forum for new ideas, mixing publishers, booksellers and more in conference sessions and a trade show. And boy, did it ever give me ideas. I'll be busy with my scififanletter blog over the next few weeks, but I intend to start planning and writing my novel in conjunction with that, so stay tuned for what I hope will become regular posts.

Back to the Drawing Board

2009-05-21T14:56:00.003-04:00

Several years ago I started writing a fantasy prequel to a novel I'd completed. I took a break and wrote my chick lit because the romance was flowing and the fantasy was not. Once I'd finished the chick lit I thought it would be easy to get back into the fantasy. It was and it wasn't. I had the drive to write but the story just wouldn't budge. I wrote chapters - invented whole new scenes I hadn't planned on writing - but the actual story just wouldn't move forward.

So I decided it was a flawed idea and quit. Or thought that perhaps the idea was simply too big and I didn't have the skills to write such an epic story at this point in my career.

I've since come to the conclusion that I was too hasty in that pronouncement. The problem was: my timeline was simply too long. The chick lit took place within a few months. My previous fantasy was just over one month in duration - from the start of the novel until the end. This fantasy had the temerity of taking place over several years - years in which nothing happened. So there was a lot of detailed action, nothing and then more detailed action. I simply couldn't figure out how to make that 'nothing happened' realistic while at the same time explaining that, yes, of course stuff DID happen, it just wasn't important enough to write about.

The solution? Reduce the timeline. Why does this war have to take place over 8 years? Can't things progress faster while still showing the horrors of what war can do? Yes. It won't be a short timeline - it is a war after all - but it will be a timeline I can confidently write. This novel has too many good elements for me to simply toss it by the wayside. A few days to reconsider my outline, and then I can get to writing again!

Spelling

2009-04-21T12:26:00.002-04:00

It's tough trying to get a foot in as an author when you're not the best speller. There's only so much help spell check can give. Sometimes the errors are simple typos. Sometimes they're not. The odd thing is, you can read quite well over the errors without (for the most part) losing the meaning. Yes, there are times when a letter seriously affects the meaning of the word, at which point you lose a lot of credibility, but it's amazing how much you can read with typos.

I read a chain email once that, using typos, explained that humans only need the first and last letters of a word to be correct for their brains to tell them the words, even if all the other letters are scrambled. Incredible. And yet, as impressive as our brains are, we like words spelled properly. It drives me nuts when I see posts using short forms that don't 'officially' exist. Or even non short forms, that just seem 'cool'.

And it's strange. When I read books (and other things) I hate finding typos. It feels like the person was being sloppy when, in fact, their eyes probably passed over the words, reading them as if they were spelled correctly. And it's so easy to miss letters and mistype them yourself. I find with my own work I often have to let it sit for a while and then print it out to find typos. If I edit on the computer I tend to read what I want the words to be rather than what they are.

In the writing business it's important to catch spelling mistakes before you post or submit work though. Editors look for any reason to disregard you, and bad spelling - even just one typo - seems to be a favourite reason to send work to the discard pile. It almost doesn't seem fair. Yet, from their point of view, if you have one typo you'll surely have more...

So, does anyone have tips on editing so that they can catch these tiny (or not so tiny) errors? Do you use spell check, beta readers, let the work rest for a while or some other tactics?

Bad Blogger!

2009-02-10T20:36:00.002-05:00

Looks like I haven't posted here in several months. Oops. In my defense I've been busy planning a wedding (mine) and had to get all the preliminary work done fast. Now I've got a bit of breathing room.

So...

For months I thought I'd post chapters from my chick lit. I know, I know. I'm a SciFi nerd and fantasy freak. Why did I write a chick lit? I can't tell you either. I didn't want to write it. I purposefully tried to get all the chick lit ideas out of my head so I could go back to my nice respectable fantasy but it just wouldn't let go. I like my chick lit - though I've rethought a few things and will probably be editing it sometime in the next few months (ah for more time in the day).

To keep things simple I'll post the chapter in a new post. While I've had several working titles, the one I like the most is:

Dating Plan Desaster

Enjoy.

Calling It Quits

2008-12-03T09:11:00.003-05:00

How do you know when to throw in the towel? I've been working on this particular manuscript (a prequel to a completed manuscript) for over 2 years now. Granted, one year of that time was spent writing my chick lit novel. And another half year was spent trying to type a word here, a paragraph there. I've come to the conclusion that the reason this story is no longer flowing for me is because it's flawed. And rather than spend the next 10 years trying to complete it, it's time to close the folder and move onto a different story. Maybe in 10 years, when I'm a better writer, I'll be able to come back to this manuscript and fix it so that it works, but I don't have the skill to do that now and it's time I realize that and stop staring at the blank screen wondering if I'm cut out to be a writer. I know I am. I've finished two novels. So if it's not me, it's got to be the story. Part of the problem could be the fact that I've been working in this world since I was 12 and, as I'm significantly older than 12 now, it's time for me to do something different, something fresh. Another concern is that the more I learn about writing and sales and the more I read other people's novels the more cliched my ideas for that world sound. I did come up with the ideas for it when I was younger, so while they have evolved over time they're certainly dated. As I said, it's a flawed manuscript. But it's hard to just throw out a year of your life. I spent a lot of time on that manuscript. I love the characters. I did some fun things. I have some great passages. But is it worth stagnating over? No. So it's time to move on.

Logo

2008-10-30T10:49:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I put up a logo on this page that I designed last year for my business cards. Unfortunately, in my haste to try something new, I posted the WRONG image (an earlier attempt at my logo that I didn't like as much). Seen here:

Notice the tail is a bit stubby and the image is choppy. The writing is uneven and slightly unclear. Though I did get the appostrophe tongue, which I liked, the image is less than stellar.

The image I should have had up was this one, which is a bit wider than tall, and better defined. I figured out how to type the words rather than free hand them, so they look much clearer and are level. Given my lack of skill in using my imaging program it's also less dark than I'd have liked, but I couldn't figure out how to make it black. And when it printed I got little bluish dots around the letters, as the background wasn't perfectly white and the image not as crisp as it should have been.

It's unfortunate that I had the wrong image up because my boyfriend, who is much better at computer graphics than I am, therefore took the worse of my two images to touch up into the beauty that's displayed on this blog. Here's one verson of his finished image in gradiated black, and a second in red. He added a shadow effect that I think looks pretty cool and made the background transparent so it wouldn't interfere with the background colour of the blog.
If I'd realized my error earlier I could have made this process easier on him by giving him a better image to start with. Instead, without complaint, he spent a fair bit of time reworking the image I didn't particularly like - and making it into an awesome logo.

I have the best boyfriend in the world. :D

Thinking Time vs Writing Time

2008-10-29T11:40:00.000-04:00

I think one of the problems with writing the middle of a novel is that the beginning and end come in so clear (for me anyway) - almost like you're watching them on TV - while the middle doesn't. The middle requires more thought to know where the action is headed and what events must occur in what order to get to the end. And that requires sitting down and actually plotting the novel.

Now, I tend to do this before I start writing, put down a tentative outline of what needs to happen and when. I don't put in too much detail, because the outline tends to change with the writing anyway, as I get new ideas (generally better ideas) and become aware of inconsistencies and problems that need to be worked out. Which requres a lot of sitting down, after the book has been started, and organizing my thoughts and ideas so that I can keep writing. The problem is, that thinking and planning time doesn't feel like work because you can't see WRITTEN PROGRESS. And yet, without careful planning and thought you get a worse book (just stuff happening that isn't necessarily requred to tell the story you set out to tell - you know, like that scene in the movie that LOOKS cool but makes you ask, "Is there a point to all this?").

So I've had to revise my writing schedule to allow for planning time. That is, time when I'm in my comfy chair with a pad of paper and a pen, jotting down ideas and hashing out the problems rather than at my computer trying to write a scene that just isn't coming (because I haven't decided where it needs to go).