80 barbies

Woke up this morning with half a voice, and am getting a wee bit worried about the workshops I have to give at the Surrey Writer's Conference next weekend. Downing lots of Vitamin C and echinichea (sp?).

Went to the cottage this past weekend with Helen and Brian. Slept a lot, also worked on my workshop prep. Brian made a fantastic Tandoori chicken, and Helen made apple pie from scratch that was so good that I had two pieces for breakfast the next morning (ok, maybe not the best morning fare to beat a cold, but I couldn't resist...it was so good!).

Barbies

Recently, my five-year-old niece Sara had a "play day" with a classmate. Apparently this classmate had EIGHTY BARBIES (I kid you not). I had one Barbie doll when I was a child. Actually, she was Barbie's tomboy cousin, Casey. She had bendable arms and legs, and nipple-less breasts. I remember mourning over her when my sister Ruth scribbled on one of her legs in indelible black marker during one of our fights (I recall her doing this in revenge for something worse I did to her doll, though neither of us can remember what, exactly).

jeff & inkspot

Yesterday was Jeff's first day officially home and working for Inkspot. Sadly, he was too sick to do very much...looks like we both caught the same bug from our beloved niece, Brittany. It's amazing how robust toddler germs can be. We ended up ordering out for pizza last night and watching the end of Volcano on tv (starring Tommy Lee Jones), surrounded by boxes of Kleenex(tm) and bottles of Nyquil. Tommy Lee was great, of course (yes, I'm a fan), but the movie was mediocre at best.

We still haven't moved into our new office space, as you might have noticed. Jeff is going to be getting Internet access arranged, a phone system, an alarm system, and also a new paint job before we move furniture into the space. I'm going to be away the next two weekends (this weekend is the Surrey Writers' Conference, the following weekend is OVFF), but Jeff and Doug will be working on getting the office space ready while I'm gone. Our goal: to move in by the end of the month.

I've gotten hooked on the desktop version of Brainforest Professional, by the way. If you have a Pilot, I highly recommend it.

figs

I tried my first fig the other day. Every so often I get the impulse to try a vegetable or fruit I've never had before. This time it was figs. Wow, are they ever weird-looking. Very ugly...the first person that ever tried a fig must have been pretty desperately hungry. I have to confess I was pretty disappointed when I actually peeled one open to eat. Lots of seeds, sort of gooey. Or maybe you're not supposed to eat them raw? The only types of figs I've eaten before have come in Fig Newtons. Fig advice welcome.

more barbie stuff

Kaarel (Sara's dad) pointed out in Blatherchat that the "80 Barbies" thing from yesterday was an unconfirmed rumor (i.e. Sara's classmate may not have been telling the whole truth about having eighty Barbies in her possession). But talking about Casey started me thinking about all my old toys, and I began to wonder if I could get hold of Casey again. So I checked eBay, of course. No Casey, sadly. Actually, there was a Casey listed, but the seller admitted that he/she wasn't sure if the doll was Casey. I can verify that it WASN'T, or at least the Casey I remember (short, pageboy blonde hair). I still haven't given up, though.

figs

I've re-installed the daily blatherpicture because Beckett said she misses it. :) I took it out because it was too much of a pain to change everyday, but I figure it won't kill you all to look at the same picture for a few days in a row, right? :-) Today's blatherphoto is of Beckett's husband, Paul Kwinn, in his younger (and much more shy, obviously) days. Their music group, Puzzlebox, has a NEW CD debuting at OVFF next weekend, by the way. You must all buy a copy!! (And I'm not just saying that because Urban Tapestry is on it :))

Spent most of yesterday doing workshop prep. Jeff picked up our office mail keys and checked our mail for the first time...sadly, there was only mail for the old tenants. I hereby send out a plea for postcards! We won't be officially moving in for a couple of weeks, but I'll still be checking the mailbox at least once a week. My office address:

Inkspot
67 Mowat Ave., Ste. 239
Toronto, ON
Canada M6K 3E3

More About Figs

I feel compelled to share a blatherchat comment from Luisa on my fig paragraph yesterday:

All about FIGS!! I know all about figs... my parents grow them (yes, in a Canadian climate!!). My dad first planted them for my grandmother, I think, who missed them much since she moved to Canada from Italy. They're planted behind the garage and he lovingly bends them over and covers them every winter. It's a big deal when they're ready in late summer. The figs he grows are green. They're quite soft, and you open them by grabbing them with thumb and forefinger on either side of the top pointy end and tearing them appart. They're chock full of slippery seeds with little black things on the end. So they look exactly like a squirming mass of maggots. (Suddenly, the romantic image I've painted turns nasty, eh?...). Which is why I can't eat them. "Here...", my dad says excitedly every summer, "have one!" as he tears it open and hands over a small green package filled with wriggling maggots. Then he starts laughing when I remembers I don't like them. (They actually taste nice if you can bring yourself to putting one in you mouth.) He says he regrets not taking me up north for a weekend, bringing nothing but figs to eat. The same regret he often mentions to my brother, only it features tomatoes - my brother can't stand tomatoes.

Luisa, by the way, is the one who got me hooked on anchovies. At one of her house parties, she made me a celery-anchovy stick (celery stick with anchovies on top). Looked pretty gross. But tasted great! So good that I went home and bought a tin of anchovies and a bunch of celery, and devoured the entire tin that evening. Wow, did I ever feel sick afterwards.

When we were visiting Luisa and Reid a couple of weeks ago (when our friend John Swain was in town; I mentioned this in my blatherings, I think), I was snooping around in their kitchen when I noticed their calendar had scribbled appointments, etc. on some of the dates. Overcome by a need to vandalize, I grabbed a pen and added a few "extra" appointments. One was something about sending me anchovies.

A couple of days ago, I received a small package in our mailbox, obviously hand-delivered. Inside was a tube of anchovy paste and a note that read: "Mon. Oct. 18, 1999, 1:10 pm -- Deliver anchovies to Debbie, as per instructions on calendar. Substituted Anchovy Paste for Anchovies ... more versatile. Please forward any complaints to (Luisa's e-mail address here)". I've never had anchovy paste before, and had the opportunity to try it on a pizza that Jeff and I ordered the next day. Looks even more gross than regular anchovies (I actually typed what it looked like here, at least to me, but decided to erase it). Tasted great on pizza, though.

Hmmmm...I just realized that I can't remember what other "to do" tasks I added to Reid's and Luisa's calendar. I think I'm scared.

Not sure how much time I'll have to blather tomorrow, if any. I have an early afternoon flight to Vancouver for the Surrey Writer's Workshop. My workshops are on Friday morning and Sunday morning...wish me luck!

surrey writers' conference

Got back from Vancouver very early this morning (about 1 a.m.). Had an absolutely wonderful time at the Surrey Writers' Conference. My two workshops (Promoting Yourself Online, Online Markets) actually went okay, considering how nervous I was. People participated, were interested, shared info. I got lots of good feedback afterwards, which was nice, and the conference organizers have asked if I'd be interested in coming back next year. :-)

Still have a bad cough, unfortunately. Took a package of Fisherman's Friends (thanks for the suggestion, Luisa! they taste AWFUL but work pretty well) and only had one bad coughing fit during my workshops. Also a froggy voice...one woman at the conference was surprised when I apologized for my cold; she thought my voice ALWAYS sounded like that. :)

Met Diana Gabaldon and bought her new book, The Outlandish Companion. Very nice, energetic, warm, full of dry wit. Met my romance columnist, Judith Bowen, for the first time! :-) Bought one of her books at the trade show. Eventually I hope to meet ALL the people who help me with Inkspot. I'll be meeting Fox, one of my assistant editors, shortly after the UK filk con next February. I'm also hoping to make a trek out to the west coast next year to visit with my markets editor (Saratoga, CA) and associate editor (Mountain View, CA) and Arkansas and New York to visit with my assistant editors.

Back to Surrey... Speakers were treated VERY well at the conference. In addition to getting my airfare, they gave me a huge room on the Executive Club level (the type with fluffy terrycloth robes in the closet and someone who comes in to turn the covers in the evening and put a chocolate on your pillow :)), with a passkey to access the Executive Club hospitality suite on the floor above where I could get a free continental breakfast, snacks, cold drinks, appetizers as well as lounge about with the other speakers (and the agents and editors who were there for one-on-one sessions with conference participants). All our meals were included, and we also got a generous honorarium. In return my duties were as follows:

• Two workshops (one 90 minutes, one 45 minutes)
• Several hours of on-on-one sessions (Blue Pencil Cafe)
• Casual Connections (more casual setting where local writers can meet and talk with speakers)
• Make myself as available as possible to local writers during the rest of the conference.

The work above was fun but also pretty gruelling...there wasn't a lot of downtime, and I never had a chance to attend any other workshops. However, it was *definitely* worth it and more than a fair trade, as far as I was concerned, and I'd be very interested in going back again.

I used to turn down invitations to speak at conferences because I used to be deathly afraid of public speaking. However, my experience at the SCBWI conference in L.A. a couple of years ago (I was invited to give a brief talk at a Regional Advisor meeting) persuaded me to give the Surrey Conference workshop opportunity a shot, and I also figured it would be good for me :-). And now the Surrey experience has given me a bit more confidence...I still may not LOVE public speaking, but not nearly as closed to it as I once was. My experiences with Urban Tapestry have also helped with this. :-)

Speaking of music, I even got a chance to play my penny whistle at the conference. :-) I tend to always have it with me these days, and on the last morning of the conference, I pulled it out on impulse while in a casual chat corner. I ran into several musicians, actually...Charley Snellings carried his guitar with him and strolled around singing some rockin' blues and bluegrass, often original songs with a writing-related theme (e.g. "Slush Pile Blues"). I bought one of his CDs, and he gave me another to use as a freebie on Inkspot. I had hoped to have more time to hang out with Charley and perhaps even jam a bit, but alas...not enough time.

Moving into our new office!

Jeff went out to IKEA and bought most of our office furniture today. Tonight, he, Doug, Scott Murray and I are going to the office and moving the boxes into the space...perhaps even putting together a few desks. :-) I'm very hyped! I went out earlier to get a four-wheel trolley in preparation, as well as getting a short lesson from someone at the property management office in learning how to use the freight elevator. Wish us luck....

Still more about figs

Frances S. pointed out that I missed out on the beauty of figs. Frances writes:

Figs are enjoyed most when:

You eat them in Australia
You steal them from the neighbours tree that overhangs your lane
You beat the green parrots to the feast
You get them slightly overripe, just before they fall making goo in your garden
You push your tongue deeply into the red and white fruit and you think improper thoughts
and you ignore all those statues and statutes
You share them with your love as you walk.

new york visit

Back from New York, but leaving for Confusion in Michigan today.

Had a couple of business meetings in NYC, also saw some friends. The Knight's talk at Christie's was more entertaining than I expected...he's a very good speaker. The atmosphere at Christie's (an art auction place, VERY posh), tho, was a bit more formal than was comfortable for me. I felt like I wasn't wearing NEARLY as much jewellry and elaborate hair-gear as I supposed to. :-) Plus I couldn't help noticing that I was the only non-Caucasian in the whole place (!!). I'm sure I impressed them all with my Wile E. Coyote vest. :D

Have a good weekend, everyone!