I almost always avoid talking politics here, because that just isn’t what I want from this blog or this site. Talking politics nearly always devolves into nastiness, and I want this to be a comfortable, enjoyable site to visit. I do have to post this one video, however, not because of its politics, but simply because while the production value is quite low, the humor factor is quite high. Enjoy it for a laugh thanks to the amusing lyrics and hilarious facial expressions, and don’t worry about the politics of it:
Meanwhile, I’ve reviewed Mercedes Lackey’s Foundation and Candace Havens’s The Demon King and I. Coming up: reviews of some Cuisipro cookie cutters, measuring spoons, and a pastry blender; reviews of two cookbooks.
If you’re thinking of buying any of our beaded bookmarks [link] from our etsy shop—now’s the perfect time! I just got a shipment of new bookmark making supplies in after using up my original stash, and in celebration I’ve marked ALL of the previous bookmarks down by 20-30%! They make great stocking-stuffers.
Although I’ve seemed relatively quiet these last few weeks, I haven’t been idle. Today’s book review is of Deidre Knight’s Red Fire, a paranormal romance involving Georgia and immortal Spartans. Really.
I’ve been taking a ton of photos while out and about, mostly of plants and flowers; here’s a sample:
I’ve also been putting together (and posting at our etsy store) plenty of jewelry and beaded bookmarks. Of course what with the economic crisis this was exactly the wrong time to start such an endeavor—I hear even the long-time sellers at Etsy with large followings have made few sales in the past weeks—but I have patience. I can wait until things get better, and in the meantime I’ll build up our stock of lovely things. I’m getting much better at taking photos of items, thanks to a light box and lots of practice:
If you want to buy any of them, the photos at DeviantArt have links below them to their listings at Etsy, or you can go directly to our etsy store (errantdreams.etsy.com). There are a few items that are more expensive—usually jewelry sets—but there are also plenty of items that are under $10.
Plenty more things to come soon! I have some cookware to review, as well as a ton of books. I’m in the middle of reading Ad Hudler’s Man of the House, and we’re making recipes out of some cookbooks I haven’t reviewed yet. So stick around!
…for, “my cat just tried to ‘help’ me do the step aerobics program, but I successfully completed it AND didn’t step on her.” And it should give you some sort of bonus points on your score. ‘Cause let me tell you, that’s a whole ‘nother level of difficulty!
Speaking of cats, the latest book review is of Jane Seabrook’s Purry Logic, which is just plain cool! I’m sorry that was it for reviews this week; Monday was a holiday, and then I spent most of the rest of the week working on other things. We’re THIS close to opening that Etsy store; I made a bunch more of those cloth bags; and I kind of got hooked on playing with a fractal program and turning the results into pieces of art:
I’ve also spent a lot of time working on our upcoming level 80 designs for Cafepress; speaking of which, all level 70 designs are on sale—and we’ll be phasing most of them out eventually, so get ‘em while you can!
There are at least three upcoming book reviews, though: of a health care book, a cookbook for cancer survivors, and a pricing/business book for crafters, most immediately. In the meantime, here’s a random bit of fun: (more…)
At least, I have a magpie’s fascination with shiny objects. I don’t actually wear much jewelry at all; I’m a jeans and t-shirts gal. But that doesn’t mean I don’t drool over shiny things. So, it seems I’ve taken to beading rather naturally.
When I was a kid I loved little artsy-craftsy kits. But I also have a practical streak a mile wide, and didn’t have the patience for the kind of things they put out for kids—you know, crafts that come out looking big, blocky, and useless. The kind of things you give to your relatives at the holidays, and they smile with that fake, plastered-on smile that you reserve for ugly things your family gives you that you’ll never use but have to pretend to like anyway.
So, I stopped doing crafts. I picked up sewing briefly in the 90s, but tendonitis scrapped that and I stopped again.
Then I saw one friend of mine sewing beads onto trim for garb-making several weeks in a row, and another friend of mine happened to mention having a catalog for Fire Mountain Gems. The lure of potential shiny objects sent me to the website, and I was a goner.
Ever thought about doing something, and just KNEW it was the right thing to do? That’s how I felt when I looked at beading. It never even entered my mind that I’d make cruddy stuff or no one would want it—it just felt right. So I picked up a bunch of materials and set to work. I posted photos at DeviantArt. I’m thinking of opening an Etsy shop (just at a hobby level for the moment), but haven’t yet, and someone already asked if they could buy one of my pieces. I posted some photos for critique at Craftster and several people said they didn’t look like beginner pieces—they looked pro.
Yeah, I’m bragging. I’m really proud of that last bit. It’s slowed down my reviewing a little, but I AM still reading books for review, and making anywhere from one to eight pieces of jewelry at a time (24 done so far!). Who knows—it might or might not turn into a business later down the road, but right now it’s incredibly fun.
Book reviews posted since my last entry: Easy Beading from BeadStyle magazine; Ace is Wild by Penny McCall; Jinx by Jennifer Estep; and Into the Shadow by Christina Dodd.
1. After reading an entertaining texturizing tutorial, I started seeing textures in everything around me and couldn’t help taking photos galore. So if you’re looking for some free stock textures available for unrestricted use, I’ve made a bunch available through my DeviantArt account. More to come, I’m sure. Please do show me if you use them for anything cool!
2. The wii is freaking awesome. A couple of great friends of ours (the ones whose wii we tried in the first place, thus getting hooked) found a wii and called us to ask if we wanted them to grab it for us. Boy howdy! (Isn’t it good to have friends?!) We got it home late Sunday night, hooked it up last night, and promptly got hooked on doubles tennis. It’s amazing how much of a sweat you can work up playing a video game.
3. I’m pathetic. Today I tried out the wii sports fitness test, which gives you your ‘fitness age.’ Dare I admit that my fitness age is twice my physical age? I think I just did. *hangs head in shame*
4. We gave in and ordered a Little White Thing You Stand On (aka wii fit) through ebay. It should arrive tomorrow. This is where I have to admit that it was actually the parody ad that made me want the dang thing:
I found this little frobby through allykat at DeviantArt and just had to try ‘raising’ a dragon from an egg. Go ahead—raise your own. And come back now and then to see how this little guy is doing!
I went out to check on our tomatoes after neglecting them for a few days, and found we have baby tomatoes! Wheeee! It seems my first tomato experiment is coming along! In that vein, here’s today’s book review: How to store your garden produce, by Piers Warren. Great resource!
Totally unrelated, but read this post over at Stainless Steel Droppings about an art scholarship set up in memory of a young artist who passed away, and see if you can donate a dollar or two. If not, at least go and look at the amazing artwork and read about this young lady, and/or pass along the link on your own blog.
Since I don’t have any review cookbooks in hand at the moment (not that I need any more books to occupy my time!), we’re cooking from older cookbooks that we never got around to reviewing, and planning to review those. The lentil & hot dog soup from The Bean Bible was absolutely amazing, particularly made with a package of uncured, all-natural hot dogs that have SO much flavor! Next will be a recipe of lentil cakes with a date & tamarind chutney, and, from a different cookbook, a crustless cheesecake (yum!).
It isn’t often that I feel the need to gush over a writer’s ability, but twice in the last year I’ve been bowled over by an author’s debut of one sort or another. First time it was Tobias Buckell’s Crystal Rain, and now it’s Bettie Sharpe’s Ember. And in the case of Ember, I wasn’t even asked to review it—it was posted as a ten-part serial at Dionne Galace and now is up as a free ebook at Bettie’s site. I just loved it so much that I had to review it—not just so you can go read it, but in the hopes you’ll go check out Bettie’s first ebook, A Thief in the Night, released today (I’ve got my copy!). Both books are erotic romances, and they’re so far from formulaic. Ember is an incredibly fresh and unique take on the Cinderella story that totally tickled my fancy.
I also have to pass on one other odd fiction-link: I Am a Zombie Filled with Love by Isaac Marion. It’s poignant, insightful, and funny, all at the same time.
I don’t normally link to artwork here; I secretly use Stumbleupon to fulfill my photography and art needs, and most of my favorite picks come from photo.net and deviant art. Unbeknownst to anyone except, perhaps, my husband, I have an enduring fetish for both photos and art. I prefer items awash with saturated colors; serene, empty, stony beaches at sunrise or sunset; the unusual and the unexpected; and, of course, cats, big and small. There is no one style I favor, although there are some I tend to avoid unless I find a specimen that moves me in unusual ways. Skill and talent matter more to me than milieu. The other day I found something particularly unusual; it has some of those saturated colors I mentioned, but it’s the content that particularly struck me. I think a true artist is someone who can look at something ordinary and see—and communicate—something extraordinary in turn. When I look at a turnip I see a turnip, or maybe roasted vegetables or a soup or stew. An artist, however, might see a naked mole rat and a bloody landscape:
If you like animals you just have to check out these deer-and-dog photos. A dog adopted a fawn, and the picture of the dog bottle-feeding the fawn (no, I’m not joking) is the most adorable thing ever. Link found on fark, naturally.
I now have another favorite design in our cafepress store besides loot tax:
I just couldn’t help myself with that one. It popped into my head and wouldn’t leave.
The contractors we got to do our furnace and A/C were awesome. They’re the kind of guys who seem to have fun with their work–and believe me, you’re more likely to get good work out of folks like that than folks who hate what they’re doing. They really paid attention to the little details, which is something you so rarely seem to see these days–right down to things like cleanly tying back all the wiring and such. It took them all of Saturday and much of Sunday to do the job, but they really did a thorough job.
