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By infmom, March 18, 2010 9:05 pm

More than twenty years ago, I decided to try my hand at writing a romance novel.  Based on the content of the Harlequins I’d read (especially one flamingly ridiculous little number called Romance of The Rose) I figured, how hard can it be?

And in truth, if you can write, and tell a story, and format your story to fit within very rigid guidelines and follow the
formula, writing a standard issue romance novel isn’t that hard.  I know, because I did it.

The problem was, when I got done with it, I knew it was not the book I wanted to write.  The story wasn’t just about these two people finding each other again after all those years.  There were other people involved, and a backstory that needed to be told, and plot points that would not fit the standard mold at all.  Besides, in those days, romance characters had names like Blaise and Chanterelle.  From the start, I chose deliberately plain names for my main characters.  Well, that part wouldn’t have gotten my manuscript binned by the romance publishers, but not following the formula definitely would have–and this story rejected the formula with as firm a hand as a Harlequin editor would have.

So I set the manuscript aside for a while, and thought about it, and worked out another storyline that had to be woven in with the original, and brought in some new characters.  And started rewriting, till I came to a stopping point for some reason or other.  And there the manuscript sat.  I’d pull up the files from time to time and look at them.  I think I rewrote the first two chapters about five times each, but somehow I never got moving on the rest of the book.

I knew from the get-go that there had to be a second book that would tie up loose ends for some of the secondary characters in the first book.  I even knew the name of the second book and the name of the new character I’d bring into the small town I’d created.  Yeah, I knew all that, but I didn’t have the story beyond a very vague idea that we’d find out who the father of 10-year-old twins was, and who would complicate their mother’s life.  But last November, I decided to get off my literary duff and by golly write that sequel.  And I did.

So then I had a finished sequel to an unfinished first book.  And when I asked a few people to read my second novel, of course there were references to plot points from the first book that didn’t really make much sense because of course the first book wasn’t to the point of being readable by anyone else, yet.

So, a few weeks ago I dug in my heels and dug out that manuscript.  Looked at the dates on the files.  They were created in DOS Word, which I had to give up due to Y2K issues (pity, because it’s my all time favorite word processor).  None of the file dates were more recent than about 1994.  Shame on me.  (When I was cleaning up a pile of old floppy disks I found a version of the book from 1990… so yeah, twenty long years.)

So, I imported the whole mess into Word 2003, cleaned it up a bit, and exported it again so I could work on it with Scrivener on the Mac (my new all time favorite word processor).  And I started plugging away at it.  It was immediately apparent where I’d left off with the rewrite, because after a bunch of reasonably good chapters, all of a sudden I had a whole chapter that didn’t do anything, the subplot and new characters went away, and the main characters reverted to standard-romance mode.  Yuck.

I decided to at least go through to the end and tighten up what was there and put it more in line with the new storyline, and that job was finished two days ago.  Now, I need to get rid of that nowhere chapter, put in a new one that advances the new plot, and move along from there.

Bits and pieces of the backstory keep impinging on my consciousness from time to time, though.  Today, I edited some of the early chapters to bring that all in, in a natural way (if I do say so myself).  When I finished that, I was ready to dance on air.  Because all of a sudden I realized…  I LIKE this book.  If I hadn’t written it, I’d read it.  What a feeling!

No idea what I will do when it’s all finished.  Send it out?  Publish it myself?  Lots to think about.  But I do think it’s a good book, and thank goodness I wrote such a lousy romance novel and gave myself the chance to write something better–given enough time.

photo credit: dasjabbadas

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By infmom, March 6, 2010 2:12 pm

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I got The Evolution of God, by Robert Wright, from the library a few days ago.  I put it on the hold list so long ago that I don’t remember why I got the idea to do it–but I’m glad I did.

I’m only a few chapters in, but I’ve already determined that a library copy of the book is not good enough for me, I’m going to buy one of my own.  Because this is a book that deserves a thoughtful reading and re-reading.  It’s packed full of historical and linguistic information, some of which I already knew or had deduced on my own, but a lot of which is entirely new to me.

And yes, the title is apt.  Wright starts out with a discussion of hunter-gatherer spirituality (whether one can call it “religion” in the sense that we Westerners usually mean the term is debatable, since there’s no dividing line between religous and secular, in the way we understand it) and then goes on into a discussion of the beginnings of the Abrahamic religions (Judaiam, Christianity, Islam) and how we can still see how they changed over time.  (Interestingly enough, he says there is no word for “religion” in ancient Hebrew either.)

Let me mention, for people who don’t know me, that I’m not an Abrahamic believer.    That is to say that even though I was born into a Christian household and have been fascinated by the Bible and by Biblical history since I was old enough to read Egermaier’s Bible Stories on my own (I’m guessing around age six) I never got the idea that the stories were literally true.  I started reading Greek mythology at the same age and could never see a reason why one set of beliefs had to be “myth” while the other one was exclusively “true.”  That makes me, to this day, an interested heathen.

Some of the things Wright points out, I had already noticed in the Old Testament, and have had many a discussion with Christian friends about over the years.  Other things, I had noticed but had not considered them particularly noteworthy since they tied in with what other peoples’ gods were up to at the same time.   As I mentioned,  I’m still only into the first few chapters but already I’m so enthusiastic about this book that I wanted to take time out to say so.

It’s a book for believers and nonbelievers alike, and both groups will learn from it.  I recommend it.  But leave yourself time to do the reading.

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By infmom, February 26, 2010 1:51 pm

Anyone else ever watch James Burke’s wonderful series “Connections” on PBS, or read the accompanying books?  Burke made grand entertainment out of the simple premise that because this happened, then that happened, and because that happened, something else happened, and lo and behold we ended up with something completely unrelated to the event that set the chain in motion.

Well, that’s what life has been like for me lately.  I think my motto ought to be “It’s a good thing I LIKE doing this stuff,” because so often I have simply had to out-stubborn something till it worked.  (Not to mention that it is also a very good thing that I like learning something new every day.)

So here’s a typical recent chain of connections.

On Twitter, I get into a casual discussion about Twitter apps.  Someone suggests a particular app, but it runs on equipment I don’t own.  I make a casual comment about not owning the equipment.  Another commenter offers me an older version of the item, which commenter recently replaced with a new one.  Ooo.  Lovely.

For whatever reason, however, the item never arrives.  I chalk it up to “Well, it was sure nice to think about while it lasted” and move on.

However, as I think it over, it is clear that yes, I actually did want the item, which is simply too expensive for me to go out and purchase new or even used on eBay.  There is, however, a lesser-featured similar item which does most of the same things and costs noticeably less.

I mull this over.  And realize I’ve had a small inheritance just sitting around gathering dust (and about dust’s worth of interest) for many years, and I could for once in my life quit being the Queen of Older Versions and treat myself to something shiny and new.  I spot the item on sale and I buy it.

In the course of checking out assorted Twitter apps, I idly browse to my blogs and my main web page.  Ye gods.  My main web page has been totally wiped out and replaced with the very first placeholder version I put there when I first established the domain.  I hustle to replace the page, but it won’t replace.  I then copy the code directly from my web page software and upload that and it still isn’t right–all the custom elements provided by the software are missing.

I go back to the software and browse for my theme and…  it’s gone.  I can only conclude that the theme was old and the company discontinued it.  None of my other web sites were affected.

I endure pointed (and absolutely correct) comments from my daughter about people who rely on web page software instead of writing their own HTML.  Knowing that my HTML skills are rudimentary at best (but enough to create a placeholder while I figure out what to do next) I still opt for web page software, but no more NetObjects Fusion, thank you very much.  Relying on good reviews on Amazon, a reasonable price and a rebate offer, I choose Serif WebPlus X4.

The software arrives and, be still my beating heart, actually contains a printed manual in the box!  I’m in love.  This is my kind of software no matter how well it might work.    As it turns out, the software is easy to use, but the templates that come with it are nothing to write home about.  I therefore take my daughter’s advice and start creating my own page, using the software to ease the process along.

I have to create my own graphics, and in the process discover that the font I wanted to use, something I’ve had kicking around since the Windows for Workgroups days, crashes Photoshop Elements 4 like nobody’s business.

I discover that I don’t remember the ftp password to my site, and therefore have to go create a new one.  Then I discover that I’ve left one digit out of the username.  Then I discover I’m trying to upload to the wrong folder.  (See “It’s a good thing I LIKE doing this stuff,” above.)

Finally, the first working version of the new web page is in place.  It looks a lot better than the placeholder even though there is still obviously work to be done.  I have learned new software.  I have bought myself something shiny and new for the first time since I can’t remember when.

And it all started with a discussion about Twitter apps.

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By infmom, January 22, 2010 5:14 pm

Anyone who looks at me knows I’m not exactly an expert on the subject. 

But one of my goals this year is to walk, every single day, at least 5000 steps.  So far I’m doing well, even though the rain’s been coming down in buckets here in SoCal this week (not that I am complaining about that one bit, mind you).  Eventually I will make the goal total higher, but since I had been pretty sedentary for a while (you can’t write books while you’re walking around, or at least I can’t) I wanted to insure that I set a reasonable goal at first.

There are several things to consider when you’re committing to walking every day.  First and foremost, I’d say, is to pick someplace to walk where you won’t get bored.  Years ago I used to walk around our neighborhood every day and I have covered the same territory so many times I just don’t want to go out and do that any more.  It was impossible to get motivated to go traverse the same old streets.  So, first of the year, I began going over to nearby Griffith Park and walking on their trails.  Seeing parts of the park I never knew existed even though I’ve been driving through it (and occasionally walking along one stretch of road) for 25 years was more than enough motivation to keep going back.  Well, until the rains came down, that is.  Those trails get awfully muddy and full of puddles in this kind of weather.

When weather makes walking outside chancy, a large shopping mall is a good place.  Of course you have to go into it with the idea that you are NOT there to shop.    You have to walk as briskly as you can past all the displays and around all the mall rats.  If you can go during a fairly slow time of day, so much the better.  (Being retired, I can do that.)

You can also provide your own interesting environment by listening to an audio book while you walk.  Pick a good mystery and tell yourself to keep going till you’ve heard several chapters.  Or put on some really bouncy music (I am a fan of the Pointer Sisters in this regard).  Just don’t crank your headphones up too high or you’ll do more harm than good.)

You’ll read in many fitness articles that you should see your doctor before making any big change in your level of physical activity.  Most people don’t think that walking constitutes a big change, and for the most part I’d agree with that, but there is one good reason to see your doctor before you start putting a lot of miles on your sneakers.  Many people (like me) have legs of unequal length.  If the difference is noticeable enough, it puts stresses on your body that you will definitely feel when you start walking around more.  I have needed to use a cane on occasion in the past due to pain in my hip, knee, and foot, that I did not know was aggravated by the leg length difference.  I now have a lift in one shoe and the difference is nothing short of amazing.

Even if you don’t normally walk with a cane, it is well worth while to go to a good outdoors-supply or sporting-goods store and get someone knowledgeable to fit you for a hiking staff.  These are extremely lightweight and can really help you move along.  Make sure the person you talk with shows you how to use the wrist strap.  It’s not there for decoration, it’s there to support your arm and make it possible to use the staff without having a death grip on it all the time.  I got mine at REI and consider it money well spent.

If you want inspiration to get going, try the book The Step Diet: Count Steps, Not Calories to Lose Weight and Keep It off Forever.  It outlines a very simple plan for getting moving, and it includes a small pedometer.  There are certainly fancier pieces of equipment to keep track of your daily steps (I am using a FitBit) but that’s more than enough to get you started.  If you buy a more expensive pedometer or a FitBit, the fact that you spent the money on it might be motivation all on its own.  It certainly is for me. 

Anyone else have walking tips to share?

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By infmom, January 13, 2010 1:35 pm

I updated to a whole new database and a whole new WordPress installation.  The restore didn’t go 100% perfectly, so if you’re reading old posts you’ll see odd characters here and there.  But I don’t think I’ll go back and fix all that. 

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By infmom, January 5, 2010 11:10 pm

I keep telling myself I need to update more.  That’s one thing I’m going to work on this year, for sure.

So, like a lot of people, I resolved to do better on diet and exercise this year.  I got a little gizmo called a FitBit to help me with that.  It uses the same technology as a Wii controller and tells me in no uncertain terms how sedentary I am during the course of the average day.

So I have decided to change that.  Granted, it’s only been two days, but I’ve done OK.  I’ve gone walking in Griffith Park because I’m so freakin’ bored with our neighborhood that I don’t want to walk in it any more (after 15 years, yeah, you get burnt out).  For now I’m walking the same stretch of roadway that the December light show is on, a distance of about two miles round trip.  But there are a lot more walking trails to check out and I can see covering many miles before I get bored.

In a few months I am going to build myself a new computer.  This one’s at least six years old (I can’t remember exactly when I built it but I believe it was in 2004).  It still works fine, but it’s showing its age.  I’ll have to buy a new motherboard and CPU, new memory and new hard drives.  I’m already deciding which of my current software will make the transfer and which I won’t bother to reinstall.  I’m looking forward to the project.  I like building computers.

I need to do some serious work on my web sites and I think I should look around for different website software.  I have been happy with NetObjects Fusion, but I think the structure is more complicated than it should be and let’s face it, the templates it comes with are dull.  I am not yet to the stage where I can design the whole look of a site from scratch, though, so I need templates for the time being.   I’m looking around to see what the options are.

In November, I wrote a novel for National Novel Writing Month.  I am proud of that.  The book is a sequel to a novel I’ve been pecking away at for more years than I really care to admit.  My goal for the first quarter of this year is to finish that first novel, edit both books to make them a reasonable length, and then try sending them out for publication.  Or perhaps go the self-publish route.  There are a lot of ways to go about getting published, these days, and I figure I have piddled around way too long.  Being able to write a 55,000 word book in less than one month showed me in no uncertain terms that I can do this and I should be getting my fanny in gear and doing it.  Besides, then I’ll have the fun of telling people to treat me right or they’ll end up in my next novel. 

Even though it’s only four days in, 2010 is off to a good start.

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By infmom, December 4, 2009 4:27 pm

So, next year I hit the Big Six Oh.  This year, we went to Disneyland.  

A few weeks ago I found The Disneyland Encyclopedia at the library.  It’s a fascinating compendium of everything that’s been at Disneyland from the beginning to sometime last year (a few things have changed since then).  When we figured out that yes, we could afford to go this year, I went out and bought our own copy of the book.  It was well worth the investment.

I made copies of all the maps in the front of the book, and then marked the attractions we wanted to get a better look at, and we took those pages along with us rather than toting the whole book.  Thus, we spent probably 60% of the day walking around looking at interesting stuff, 30% riding rides and 10% eating.  We’ve been to Disneyland multiple times, but there was still a lot to look at that we’d never seen before.

For some reason, we’d never really gotten around to going into the shops that are on the right hand side of Main street as you walk toward the castle.  Made up for that this time around, and then some.  We found the Disney Gallery, which is now right next to the right-hand gate and much expanded from when it was upstairs over the Pirates.  We were delighted to see that the Big Thunder BBQ had been revived, but disgusted to find out what it costs these days (ate dinner at Casa del Zocalo instead).   I was dismayed to find out that the Jack Sparrow mouse ears I’d passed up buying two years ago were discontinued.  Pfui.  I did buy a pin with Minnie (my favorite character) as Princess Leia, though.

The benches in the center of the circle right by the entrance were amazingly empty when it came time for the Christmas parade, and thus we got to see it from nice comfortable seats instead of cold, hard pavement.  This is a definite plus for an old lady like me. 

We even braved It’s A Small World for the first time since we had small children.  They’d mixed Jingle Bells in with the usual music so it didn’t turn into an earworm.  And we got out just in time for the fireworks, and right by Small World is one of the best, and least crowded, places to watch.

We were there from about 45 minutes after the park opened till about 20 minutes past closing time.  I don’t think we’ve ever stayed that long.  And, thanks to the book, we never ran out of things to do.

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By infmom, November 14, 2009 5:13 pm

My parents, and my husband’s parents, grew up during the Depression, but they had vastly different experiences with it. While my inlaws were carefully taught to be frugal, to take care of their things, to not waste food, and never to get rid of something that was still good, my parents were insulated from all that. My father’s parents were wealthy, and while my grandmother went through a lot of hardships, my mother was tucked away at boarding school where everything they felt she needed was supplied.

Thus, my inlaws lived frugally, were as self-sufficient as possible and taught their kids that wasting food and throwing things out that were still good was something akin to a capital offense.  My parents were lah-di-dah about it all, and if things broke, they had no idea how to fix them, and were more likely to just go buy another one.  They also threw other people’s stuff out without a second thought if it got in their way. And it never would have occured to them to buy anything second hand.

When my husband and I married, our parents’ styles didn’t affect us as much as one might think.  For one thing, I was tired of my parents’ needless helplessness and utter cluelessness about money, and there was never a chance in the world I would follow in their footsteps.  I always assumed I could fix things, and I did all the kitchen stuff my mother wasn’t interested in, like baking and making jelly and so forth.

However, the business of “still good” and “don’t waste food” was a bone of contention.  I was not a member of the Clean Plate Club, and I saw no harm in disposing of food that was past its prime.  I didn’t just pick the moldy part off the bread or the cheese and eat the rest.  And while I was as frugal as possible (our financial situation dictated nothing less) I was not a fan of cobbling things together and making do.  When you’re as broke as we were, you do a lot of that, but there’s nothing that says you have to like it.

As time has gone by, and our lives have gotten steadily better,  I’ve been more and more adamant about not cobbling-together, and doing things right the first time.  I saw a book title that was appropriate:  If You Haven’t Got the Time to Do It Right, When Will You Find the Time to Do It Over? And yes, I sometimes toss out, or give away, things that are still good.  We donate bags and bags of books to the library and clothing and household items to the Salvation Army every year.  This satisfies my husband, because it means the items have a chance to be useful for someone else.

What got me going on this today?  Well, one of the things I am taking time to do right is fixing a longstanding problem in our kitchen.  When we moved in here, there was a battered, broken, stained, rotten looking ceramic soap dish (or more properly what was left of it) set into the tile backsplash in the kitchen.  I talked for years about knocking it out and replacing it with decorative tiles.  Even bought the tiles when we were on vacation in Arizona two years ago.  A few weeks ago, my husband dealt with the remains of the soap dish, and I installed my decorative tiles.  The only thing left to do on that project was to remove the ghastly, crumbling caulk around the sink (something else we should have done years ago).

My husband brought home a tube of name brand kitchen/bath silicone sealant that he’d scrounged from somewhere a week or two ago, with the idea of using it to caulk the sink.  Today, since he’s away for a training meeting all weekend and I have the chance to do the work on the sink my way (let’s just say our repair-work styles are mutually incompatible; I’ll talk about that some other day) I got at it with a razor knife and a screwdriver and scraped the last of that godawful old caulk out of there and left it to dry for an hour or so.

And then I picked up the scrounged tube of sealant.  There was an expiration date stamped faintly into the crimp at the end of the tube.  USE BEFORE 04/03, it said.

I got some more at Home Depot.

photo credit: van swearingen

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By infmom, October 24, 2009 8:38 pm

Our house was built in 1930 and has been only minimally remodeled since then.  In most cases, this is a good thing, given the fact that one idiot former owner took out the beautiful original wood framed windows and put in cheap aluminum framed jalousie windows, all of which are now falling apart.

But the kitchen is still pretty much original.  And in 1930, kitchen usage was a whole lot different from what it is today.  Looking at the size of our kitchen it’s obvious only one person was expected to work in at at a time, and of course the dishwashers were all humans.  There’s no way to install a dishwasher in there, because the counter is a different height from what we have today, and putting in a dishwasher would mean destroying one of the only two lower cupboards in the room.

Next to the kitchen is a very small room that we use as a laundry room and pantry.  I’m not sure what the purpose of that room was, originally.  It seems to have been set up so that people could walk into it from the outside, but be stopped from going further into the house by interior doors that locked from the house side.  I think the water heater was in there at one time, and there’s an electrical box that’s no longer being used.  The space is just large enough for our washer and dryer, some Elfa shelves and a bit of floor space.

It occurred to us a while back that if we got a stacking washer and dryer, we would then have room to put in a dishwasher.  We were figuring on buying a regular dishwasher, because they’re less expensive, and putting it in an enclosure from IKEA.  But we just hadn’t seen the washer/dryer stack we wanted to buy at a price we wanted to pay.

Last weekend in one of those “aha!” moments we spotted the perfect washer and dryer on sale at Orchard (which is owned by Sears).  Instead of being an all-in-one unit it was two separate front loading units.  And while we were talking about the purchase with the saleslady, I mentioned why I wanted stacking units and she pointed to a Kenmore portable dishwasher that was a floor model being sold for almost half price.  She offered to cut the price even more and I said “Sold.”

So, now we have a dishwasher for the first time ever in this house.  I’m sure the joy of letting the machine do the dishes will fade, eventually, but for now we’re all eager to run it and the amount of unoccupied counter space in the kitchen is downright unreal.

Tomorrow the new washer and dryer are being delivered, which means I better go get busy cleaning up the space where they’re going to go.  You know how it is, wanting to have the place not embarrass you in front of the delivery people. 

Oh, and we can now efficiently unclutter that whole space, too, and put things away on the shelves that were always blocked by the washing machine before.  Good thing I got the new book from Erin Doland on order:   Unclutter Your Life in One Week !
photo credit: tranchis

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By infmom, September 28, 2009 2:36 pm

Jenny Linsky, the kitten, is doing fine.  Tybalt, the prince of cats, is being a bit more tolerant.  However, whenever cats are present there are cat quirks to deal with.  Like food.

Jenny will eat just about any kind of canned cat food that she can get her face into (she didn’t like Iams).  Tybalt is getting pickier and pickier as he gets older and he just decided this week that the cat food he used to eat without question is not on the menu for him any more.

Jenny’s healthy and happy and lively, but she has the runs.  I have been referring to her as “stinkybutt” the past couple days.

So we have had to go in quest of different cat food.  I browsed the small-can selection at the grocery store yesterday and picked a bunch of tuna based foods for Tybalt, since he loves it when I drain a can of tuna onto his food.  So far we’ve found that he likes the pureed stuff and doesn’t care much for the chunks.  He absolutely positively does not like the special healthy-coat all-ages food we’ve been giving Jenny.

I figured that food might be too rich for Jenny’s digestion, so I asked the kind staff at Burbank Pet Plaza for advice.  They pointed me to the kind of food they feed the kittens in the store (and I must say they have cages full of extremely healthy looking kittens there).  I had also read on veterinary sites on the internet that adding probiotics to kitten food often helps clear up the runs.  So I also bought a can of powdered probiotic/enzyme additive stuff.

I’m going to add that into Tybalt’s food too, because Jenny eats so much of it.  The way we can tell if Jenny’s been into Tybalt’s food dish?  It’s not just empty, it’s licked clean.

Never a dull moment with cats.

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