The Cliffs of Insanity

5:16PM - more books

Ok, so i didn't so much do well at keeping up with my books. But here is a link to some of the books i've read lately. including:
Flora Segunda
The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes
The Dragon of Trelian
The Thread that Binds the Bones

and others, but I liked those best.

8:10PM - pressie

Because I want the shmemily love I am offering a hand knit something or other to the first five people who comment on this entry. it will arrive sometime before January 13. 2010 and be hand knit. i don't know what it will be, but it will be awesome.

5:02PM - Eris - ~2001-2008

Eris
~2001-2008
Eris, my little black and white hell-spawn cat is dead. She was killed sometime today by the dogs that live in the yard behind mine. Drew is burying her beside skippy in the backyard.

11:11PM - birthday!

Happy Birthday to chalcopyrite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5:15PM - Book list

Book list



Ok, so we've all seen that I'm horrible at keeping up with this sort of ongoing list. But, I always try to come back to it! So, here, as far as I can remember , are the books I've read since this whole thing started with the boy-nugget and the books…



Agnes & the Hitman by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer - audio

I listened to this on audio and it was quite the little romp. Agnes is a chef/food columnist with a penchant for hitting cheating fiancés with frying pans (non-stick). Shane is a hitman for the government. Joey, the only man Agnes really trusts, is a retired mobster who runs a café and Lisa Livia, Agnes's best friend, is a mob princess. Rhett is a hound dog that is suddenly the hottest property in Keys, South Carolina. Agnes has one week to ditch her latest fiancé, put on a southern/mob fusion wedding, save her house from it's lying, cheating, murdering former owner, figure out if Shane is the next Mr. Frying Pan, save her dog, and uncover the truth about a 25 year old murder and a missing $5,000,000. Fortunately, she's got a 'Cranky Agnes' apron, a quick hand with a frying pan, and a hitman with a heart of gold.



Don't Look Down by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer – my house



Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Cruise – drew's house



Anyone But You by Jennifer Cruise – my house



An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspeare - audio



Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspeare - audio



Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda



Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (in progress) - audio



Stalking Ivory by Suzanne Arruda (in progress) – my house



The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway – drew's house



Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (quit)



House of Many Ways by Dianna Wynn Jones



Page by Tamora Pierce – audio



Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce – audio



Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce – audio



The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis - audio

9:03AM - worst voting experience ever

so, i got up at 6:30 today so that I could pick mom up and go vote before work. polls opened at 7 and I needed to be at work by 7:50-ish. no problem, i thought, having been lured into a false sense of security by the primaries. so i picked mom up and was in the parking lot of the polling place by 7:05. this was my first mistake. i should have been approximately two blocks away where the closest open parking space was. but that's ok. people are getting out and voting. so good for them.

when mom and i finally make it across the park and to the polling place we observe the line. seriously, the last time i saw a line like that it was for the georgia cyclone at six flags. this thing was huge. but we got in it and remained cheerful. then we got inside. it was a mass of three twisty lines; a-g; h-n; and o-z. mom got into h-n and i hopped into a-g. 10 minutes or so in line for me. i got my ballot and confirmed the procedure for assisting mom to vote.

there was a big poster on the door into the building that said the voter assistance requires 4 steps:
1. the voter must request assistance and name the required assistant.
2. the voter must present id.
3. the voter must sign the voter list in column 4 (the one labeled "voter requesting assistance")
4. the assistant must sign the log in column 5 (the one labeled "individual assisting the voter")

the ladies at my line said yes, this is correct. so i said swell, got my ballot voted quickly, turned it in, stuck my sticker on my cheek, and got in line to assist mom.

silly me. i then tried to follow the directions on the giant sign on the door. mom identified herself, handed over her id and said that she wanted me to assist her. then we tried to sign in. i had taken the log and turned to the correct column on the correct line. and the tiny turtle man at the desk began to get huffy. he made mom sign in column 1. then i said, well, ok i'll just sign on column 5 like i'm supposed to. "no no no no no no!" said the turtle. "that's what the sign said," said i. "no no no no no!" said the turtle again. "you must sign beside her. here!" and he stabbed his bony finger down on column 2 (labeled "voting official confirming identity of the voter"). "here?" i inquired. "not there?" i asked pointing at column 5, clearly labeled "individual assisting the voter." "i'm just trying to do what i'm supposed to," i said. "you have to sign here," said the turtle. "thank you for signing here." and again he stabbed at column 2.

so i signed in column 2. and fumed a bit because i am, in fact, capable of reading and following directions. i did quite well on that in school and have testimonials going back to the second grade saying as much. so, i'm pretty sure i fully and correctly comprehended the sign i'd read, the labels on the voter logs, and the directions i'd confirmed with the people at the head of the a-g line.

but in the end, mom and i voted. on most things. she skipped a couple of amendments. and i've got a sticker. so it's ok. unless my candidate loses in which case it will be ok because i'll be moving to ireland.

12:04AM - books

so... i have this problem. it's with books. i love them. i love their tasty little words; i love their crinkly little pages; i even love their delicate little spines. this leads to me buying lots and lots and lots of books. of course, now that i work in a bookstore it's even worse becaus now the nice publishers give me books. ultimately, what this means is that i can build a scale model of new york with the books in my house.
i have alot of books. i have leaning towers of books in the living room, piles of books in the bedroom, stacks of books in the study, heaps of books in the dining room, haphazard books in the kitchen, masses of books in the craft room, and yes, i've got a few in the bathroom as well. what i don't have is any sense of organization, or, for that matter, empty flat surfaces in my house.
in order to combat this situation, my boy-shaped nugget has come up with a plan, which i have agreed to. starting next monday, november 10, there will be a moratorium on books entering my house for the purpose of staying. i can still bring books in that i've purchased for other people. i can still read books at work and at the boy-nugget's house. i just can't bring any more books of my own into the house. there are 5 exceptions: the next Tamora Pierce book, Bloodhound, due out in April; the next Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse book, which is due in May I think; the next Arianna Franklin book also due sometime in the late spring; and two books I can choose later when i realize that i must go home and read them in one night.
here's the catch... at the end of 2009 any book i have not read that is not an academic reference book gets donated to the local library. (it's going to be a good year for them i think.)
i started the sorting process tonight. I got one bookshelf and several random piles and stacks sorted. my coffee table is currently covered in books while i think about what sort of shelving/storage system i want to employ. i've also found about 15 books i don't really want anymore and an additional 10 or so that were meant to go to other people. also several duplicates of things. so, there will be free books soon. i'll try to post a list sometime tomorrow.
as this year of book purging goes forth i shall try to keep a little annotated list of my reading material so that you can get an idea of what i've been hording in the house lately.
my current book is called The Gone Away World there are ninjas. and an apocalypse. the cover of the hardback is fuzzy. and pink. it's totally awesome. i'm not terribly far in yet, but the boy-nugget really liked it and he usually has pretty good taste. (usually)
(x-posted to myspace)

7:38PM - scarf progress

a wedding scarf, two baby blankets, and a pair of booties later i'm back to the scarf.
i'm still working through the box of yarn lj user="eilonwy"> sent me then on to donations of yarn. and i'm still not completely done with my original box. this may work!

2106 / 48000 inches. 4% done!

7:54PM - scarf update

The scarf is growing. i know i've been away a long time, but i've been working on that durn shawl for the wedding. However, the wedding is in 2 weeks, so i'll be back to full time scarf production soon. i'm kind of bummed that i can't take the scarf on the plane with me. but it could all too easily turn into a horror movie with the scarf taking over and some random action hero having to save us all with a seam ripper.
i'm still working my way through the last giant box of yarn that eilonwy sent me. and it's still awesome. pictures soon. i promise.

1965 / 48000 inches. 4% done!

11:28AM - i have hopes for my writing career

Knight's Fork
Contributor(s): Cherry, Rowena (Author)

ISBN: 0505527405 EAN: 9780505527400

Publisher: Love Spell

US SRP: $ 6.99 US - (Discount: REG)

Binding: Mass Market Paperbound

Pub Date: September 2008

Annotation: An idealistic knight, a jaded princess determined to become pregnant, and a new-age chastity belt add up to a delightfully wacky and highly sensual alien-god romance. Original.

This item is Returnable



Rose Brungard, Romance At Heart
I never laughed so hard in my life at the antics of Tarrant-Arragon and Djarrhett in this book, Knight's Fork. Poor 'Rhett is in a terrible position thanks to Tarrant-Arragon, and it is made even worse by his father's attempts to benefit and manipulate the matter to his own ends. Add to that, misunderstandings and meddlesome women, and Rowena Cherry gives us yet another fantastic read!

From the Inside Flap
"I'm at your service in this, Ma'am. I've never refused a fight."


I've never lost one, either!


To his surprise, instead of making a pass at him, she sauntered over to join him at the service niche. She took up an Imperial armorers' sponge in her fingers, and began cleaning and disinfecting the blade of an epee, which showed that she knew what she was doing.


Her curled hand stroked firmly up and down the long shaft, leaving a gleaming trail of moisture where the sponge in her palm had pressed. The erotic suggestion was almost certainly deliberate.


Two could play at that.


Two probably would. They both had a lot to learn, and most of it was about sex, one way or another.


"Are you ready to demonstrate your prowess at sword-play, Your Majesty?"


"Let's make this interesting," she whispered. "I challenge you to a proper duel. To the drawing of first blood. If you lose, you will impregnate me."


He untangled his weapon and stepped back. It was such an unusual reversal of the way these things usually played out that it took a moment to come up with a suitable rebuff.


"If I lose, I impregnate you?" he rasped a follow up question when their actions brought them close enough to whisper again.


"And if you win, you don't have to." She was breathing heavily, and her words were audible.


She was shameless! She turned morality upside down. She was in sore need of a very stiff lesson.


"It seems to me," he said slowly, striving for the right balance of arrogance and legal pedantry, "that I don't 'have to' anyway."


Her heart rate increased. Hearing the faster beat excited him. As they circled and feinted, he found himself eyeing her with indecent interest.


The superb, layered cut of her outfit allowed for a surprising range of movement. When she twirled, the panels of her coat-dress top flew wide, revealing a glossy, lipstick red lining. Her reflection in the long wall of mirrors showed her long, slender, racehorse legs.


Nice legs. Shame about the ... morals.

From the Back Cover
"Carpe Scrotum. Seize life by the testicles."


The Queen Consort of Volnoth needs a sperm donor, and only one green-eyed god has the right stuff. Little does she know that she has pinned her hopes on the loins of the fabled Royal Saurian Djinn. Not only is her the son of her greatest enemy, but he has taken a vow of chastity.



The Saurian Knight is caught between a father who has all the moral integrity of a Mafia Don, and a married princess who will stop at nothing to have his seed in her belly. No matter which way he turns, he is "forked".



Taking the wrong lover, in the wrong place, at the wrong time is dangerous. And when the High and the Mighty intervene, it can be fatal. Can true love and a pure White Knight's virtue triumph, when society loves a right royal scandal?

3:36PM - Scarf update

the scarf is on vacation while i work frantically on a shawl for a friend's wedding. the shawl is, theoretically, my olympics training project so it should (hopefully) be done soon and we will return you to our regularly scheduled scarf program.

11:41AM - scarf

1860 / 48000 inches. 4% done!

yay me. and i just got a giant box of eilonwy-yarn!!!

10:23AM

1557 / 48000 inches. 3% done!

also, eilonwy yarn

9:32AM - Feeling my Egyptian knitting roots

things got a little wacky at the knitathon. i got there at 8:30 pm and left at about 7:20 am. rebeccah and i watched "hairspray" and "deffinately maybe" and got very very loopy around 4 am.

2:59PM - go potty on yourself funny

11:24AM - progress!

1394 / 48000 inches. 3% done!

2:08PM - scarf

1232 / 48000 inches. 3% done!

7:17PM - scarf update

1117 / 48000 inches. 2% done!

this is the scarf that does not end.
it just goes on and on my friend.
one day i started knitting it, not knowing what it was.
and now i'll be knitting it forever just because...
this is the scarf that does not end.
it just goes on and on my friend.
one day i started knitting it, not knowing what it was.
and now i'll be knitting it forever just because...
this is the scarf that does not end.
it just goes on and on my friend.
one day i started knitting it, not knowing what it was.
and now i'll be knitting it forever just because...
this is the scarf that does not end.
it just goes on and on my friend.
one day i started knitting it, not knowing what it was.
and now i'll be knitting it forever just because...
this is the scarf that does not end...

9:45AM - scarf

1050 / 48000 inches. 2% done!

2:46PM - scarf length

917 / 48000 inches. 2% done!


that's approximately 1/13 of the height of the chrysler building.