Wish I could say I had a good excuse for being absent for so long, but really it was just life. Late November/early December was spent editing my novel and crocheting holiday gifts. January: more editing. In December I’d started reading it aloud to myself, chapter by chapter, and that takes a long time – especially when you decide to do two passes. In January I also created a personal Wiki on the project. (Wikidpad can be a really useful way to organize your notes, and it’s hard to beat free. Hat tip: I learned about the program ages ago listening to Writing Excuses. Neither of these groups know me from Eve.) February had an unexpected trip out to Portland for family stuff, which is now sorted. And March was largely catch-up. So, in the spirit of catching up, here are some quick notes about what I’ve been up to.

Costume Pics

Months and months ago, I promised you pics of how my Isabeau costume turned out. So, here you go.

I don’t have the boots or the greaves yet, and my intention is to spray-paint one of those telescoping lightsabers for the final costume. The obi needs a little work, but I’ve got time to fine-tune it before GenCon rolls around again.

Food

Back in December I went to a local library sale, and one of the books I bought was Food Heritage of India by Vimla Patil. (Again, the author has no idea I exist. I just like the product.)

I am loving this cookbook. I haven’t contacted the author for permission, so I’m not going to share the recipes today, but suffice to say the only recipe that didn’t turn out fabulous was the one I burned. Even it seemed to taste good, the little bit that made it past my eyes. Unfortunately, burned pureed spinach looks like toxic sludge. Stuffed tomatoes: very good. Pork (or chicken) Vindaloo: excellent. Make it all the time now. Santara ni Basundi: amazing. It’s what orange creamsicles are supposed to taste like. DH, who’s ambivalent towards citrus and doesn’t like cardamom, has said he “wouldn’t mind” having it again. You can Google that one; the recipes I saw were very similar to the one in the book. Sadly, I was in a rush so I didn’t get to take a photo the night I made it.

Novel

So I think I’m finally about ready to start submitting my novel to various publishers, and possibly agents. But based on what I’ve been reading about the publishing industry lately, I know where I want to start (and it’s not with an agent). Don’t want to say too much and jinx myself or something, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Linkage

What’s happening in Albuquerque right now is, quite literally, dreadfull.

On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum, this sounds like it came out of Hollywood. I’m just going to leave you this link and say it’s the most entertaining write-up I’ve seen of the story: http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/03/28/leland-yee-super-villain/

Let me be clear. I believe your tactic of using the budget bill to defund Obamacare was a stupid one, with no chance of passing (as, obviously, it didn’t).  So long as Obama is President, I do not believe we will be able to rid ourselves of that monstrosity in its entirety. However. Now that we’re here. Now that the Federal government has shut down, I beg of you:

Don’t blink. Under no circumstances – not even the risk of a federal default when the debt ceiling kicks in – should you surrender.

Let the people of the US discover exactly how little most of them rely on the federal government. I was thirteen at the time of the last government shutdown, and if it hadn’t been on the evening news I wouldn’t have known it happened. I’m betting most people my age would say the same.

Let Treasury divide the money it has between the interest payments on all our sovereign debt, even if the amount each debt gets is less than interest. Many of us have student loans which the cost of a college education, inflated by federal subsidies, made necessary for attendance. Because of the job market at the time we graduated (caused in large part by federal policies and redistributions), we have jobs with subsistence wages and we are on income-based repayment paying far less than interest every month – but making payments every month. Perhaps, if Capitol Hill is forced to do the same, it might learn some restraint.

Stand your ground. Now that we’ve reached this impasse, it’s the single best thing you can do.

And thus I will be largely incommunicado for the next few days… not that I’ve been posting much anyway. My honey determined he wasn’t in good enough shape to cosplay the demi-fiend this year, which meant I got an extension on the Isabeau costume I’d been working on. I’ve nearly finished the jacket, and I’ll post what I did and photos of how it came out once I’ve finished sewing. My new goal is to have it ready for Halloween, although the weather this year might not allow for a summer-weight costume in October.

Speaking of photo posts, I also intend to post photos from GenCon sometime next week. Until then, I hope you have a good weekend. I’ll be filling my head with Writers Symposium panels and catching up with some of the people I met at Mo*Con last May.

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