Time story

Rand's brother David is in the cover story of the current (Nov.22) Time magazine. You can see an excerpt of the story here.



First spread of the article. Rand's brother is on the left.

November 2004 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

lifestuff

I saw the Incredibles for the third time last night, with first-timers Jeff and Ray. I so adore this movie. Can't WAIT until the DVD comes out. I want an Edna t-shirt that says: "NO CAPES!"

Session tunes I've learned by heart (all reels so far):
The Swallow Tail, The Donegal Reel, The Galway Rambler, Cooley's Reel, The Boyne Hunt, The Sligo Maid, Drowsy Maggie. Working on Ms. McLeod's Reel. Last night, I discovered that the front hall of my sister's house has WONDERFUL acoustics for practising the whistle, much better than my home office.

I find myself obsessed. I carry a penny whistle around with me and practise whenever I can. Tunes run through my head all the time, itching to get out. Best of all, playing the whistle isn't nearly as tough on my tendons as playing the guitar or even my metal flute. Ju showed me how to play the whistle with flatter finger positions rather than feeling compelled to always cover the holes with the tips of my fingers; this also makes it easier. I used to keep a guitar in my office within reach for noodling and songwriting; now I keep a penny whistle.

Finished Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (anxiously awaiting the second book to come out in paperback!), just started The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and Good Poems by Garrison Keillor. And of course my beloved German grammar books. :-)

Lifestuff (ultimately good but making things crazy and stressful right now) is happening that I can't really talk about yet, but it means I will likely be more incoherent and sporadic than usual. Thanks for your patience.

November 2004 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

scaryvoice

Cold still hanging on. Mostly a sore and froggy throat in mornings and evenings, daytime seems to be ok. Doesn't really affect my work since I generally don't talk to anyone all day anyway. Jeff says my froggy voice alternates between sounding sexy and kind of scary. :-)

Novel rewrite's going well; I'm up to 20,000 words (averaging between 1000-1500 words/day right now), still aiming to have it finished and sent off by the end of the year. No, I was not tempted at all by Nanowrimo this year, no sirree, no way, uh-uh. (shaddup, Parki!)

A sprained elbow and accompanying tendinitis flare-up earlier in the year set me back in my schedule, but I'm back on track again. Found writing gigs through Guru.com and Craigslist.com recently while researching for Inkygirl.com, have another article due soon.

Don't think I'm going to take up any new sports this year, or go skating in the winter. I would really, REALLY like to get my right arm fully healed.

Penny whistle update ... So far I've learned:

The Swallow Tail
The Donegal Reel
The Galway Rambler
Cooley's Reel
The Boyne Hunt

Next up: The Sligo Maid!

Jim Leonard has his OVFF photos up, for those interested.

November 2004 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

POLL: Costumes? Hallowe'en?

I recently had a conversation with a friend about whether we were Hallowee'en/costume or non-costume people. He said he was definitely NON-Hallowe'en. I lean more toward the Hallowee'en/costume end, but it does depend on whim and mood. I used to get dressed up as a witch when I lived in a house and handed out treats.

A Hallowe'en Season and Costuming Survey:

Do you celebrate Hallowe'en? Do you like or dread the whole trick-or-treating ritual?

Are you a costume or non-costume person?

What costumes have you worn in the past that you find especially memorable, whether good or bad?

Do you make your own costumes?

Do you spell Hallowe'en with an apostrophe? (thanks to Rand for the additional poll question idea)

My first costume: Snow White (see below)



Ruth and me, Hallowe'en night. I'm dressed up as Snow White.

My most memorable costume: When Jeff and I went as the Way-Outs to a friend's Flintstones party. As I recall, Andy went as Betty Rubble. Kaarel went as a bowling ball.

My favourite costume: Performing in medieval dress at the Tolkien Gathering last year with Allison and Jodi! I never expected to enjoy wearing Tolkienesque garb so much; now I only wish that there was more opportunity to do so AND that it didn't take up so much room in one's luggage. :-)



Urban Tapestry performing at The Gathering in December.

October 2004 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

Austria trip, Part 5: the last day

Sat on the bank of the Schloss moat for a while and
watched the clouds go by.


Erin and Rand have gotten me hooked on Carbon Leaf. I'm curious: has anyone else out there heard of this group?

(Trip report continued from Part 1, Part 2 Part 3, and Part 4. Also check out my gradually expanding Austria trip photo album.)

And so we come to my Last Day in Austria.

While the others went out to tour castles and small towns, I decided to stay back at the Schloss. I knew I'd be missing out on wonderful sights but I decided that I wanted my last day to be different, taken at a more leisurely pace.




Painting in a stairwell at the Schloss.


So I spent the day wandering the Schloss and its grounds, exploring nooks and crannies, snooping through the bookshelves, walking in the forest, absorbing as much of the place into my senses and soul as I could in these last hours.





After getting together with Allison and Jodi a few nights ago, I realize I should clarify something I said in an earlier trip report post, that if I had only one afternoon in Paris and a choice between spending it touring the Eiffel tower and sitting in a cafe people-watching and sampling local cuisine, I'd choose the latter.

I'm NOT saying that I'd prefer avoiding all tourist attractions, and that I want to spend all my trips sitting in cafes. :-) The cafe example was exactly that: an example, not an itinerary item.

What I meant was that everyone has a different approach to travelling, and mine tends to lean toward exploring a place on my own at my own pace or with like-minded friends rather than automatically going through a checklist of "must-see" tourist attractions and careening through as many as I can in what little time I have, just to be able to say I saw them.




A tree with personality. I must put it in a book someday.


It was with this underlying intention that I opted to hang out at the Schloss on the last day. First thing I did after everyone left was to have a last long soak in the tub; we were leaving very early the next morning so there would no time to wash up. I did a bit of packing. Then I went wandering.

Here are some of the photos I took:





Lot of fruit and nut trees around the Schloss. Especially chestnuts:





Found this odd arrangement of rocks in the forest behind the building:





Also kept finding tennis balls in the oddest places, like along a trail in the woods:





And on a window sill:





There's a moss-overgrown tennis court, but I'm still curious about the story behind these tennis balls. Hm, reminds me...I must look up the German word(s) for "tennis balls."

I also chatted with some of the staff in German, which was fun (and one of my trip highlights). They wanted to know more about my drawing: did I do it professionally, for instance? Perhaps illustrate children's books? No, I told them, it was just for fun. But I wrote down the URLs to my online comics as well as to my Blatherings, where I told them I'd be posting a report.

At one point I ended up sitting on one of the outdoor couches near our picnic spot from earlier in the week, beside the moat and the weeping willows. The couch was wonderfully soft and cushions so inviting that I lay down and watched the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the leaves above, the horses grazing in a nearby paddock. Dozed off for a while, a warm breeze caressing my cheek.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, really.





I finished off my day by having a sauna; I think I was the only one of our group to use this room during the trip. VERY nice, reminded me a lot of the one at the cottage except it was bigger. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall for a while, soaking in the heat.

I was sorely tempted by the giant hot tub, but by then the others were returning to the Schloss and it was nearly time for dinner.

As had become the ritual that week, we all shared our day's experiences as well as writing them down in the "Schloss Nachrichten", a daily trip diary I had set up for the group. When we got back home, I would send everyone a copy as well as a CD of all the photos I had taken.

For me, the day was one of the highlights of my trip, and the perfect way to end the trip. The Schloss was a magical place, and the Countess and her staff were wonderful. I would go back in a heartbeat. And I love Austria; it's definitely one of my all-time favourite places to be in the world.

Thank you so much, Arline, for masterminding this trip!

October 2004 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments