Yopping Update #21 - another pair of socks

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Well, I did cast on another pair of socks (Vroni on Ravelry), and finished them, so once again I have nothing on my needles.  

How cute are these stash busters?

Well technically I did cast on another pair of socks in undyed yarn, and I plan to dye them once they are socks, but I am not sure I want to tackle the complexity of the pattern at this time. The Ravelry pattern is here. I am leaning towards getting out my crochet hook and starting the Weeble doll and its clothing, so time will tell. 

Mostly this week I have been writing and keeping up with the Nanowrimo challenge.  I am over 36,600 words now, and I feel confident I will get to the 50,000 words by the end of the month.  It will need lots of editing and the story will not be finished so the writing will continue on after the 30th but it won't have the pressure of the minimum 1667 words a day that I have set for myself.  It has been a good exercise in writing discipline for me.  

My writing spot is on the couch with my laptop on, well, my lap!  I usually write before breakfast.  Most of the time between 10am and noon.  It works for me to write first thing in my day, and then get on with my errands and swims or walks.  I have started the process of investigating getting my first novel printed and it is looking possible.  I will get another quotation this coming week. 

As I mentioned last week, I have a free promotion of White Rabbit starting tomorrow and running until the 26th, so if you are interested the price is right!  I think it is only running on Amazon.com and maybe also Amazon.uk because I didn't seem to have the option to change it.   I am definitely learning as I go. 

Thanks to Liz I now have an author's page on GoodReads, and if you have read my book it would be great if you could put up a review on either GoodReads or Amazon.  I am not very good at self-promotion, but I am trying to put myself, and White Rabbit, out there with some hesitation, but also a good amount of pride. 

free Nov 22 -26th

Last night my brother and his wife came over for supper.  We haven't seen each other since the summer of 2020.  It was a great evening.  Lots of laughter and of course HUGS!  

Slowly but surely I am starting to see friends and family again.  I mostly feel safe and confident, but of course if I get the sniffles or wake up with a wee cough I fret that I have contracted the virus.  My husband got the invitaion for his booster because he is older then I am.  I don't expect to get my invitaion until the new year.  

I will leave you with another excerpt from my newest novel.  It doesn't yet have a title.  It started out as one kind of story and then the main character took hold of me and it has gone in a whole other direction.  

Regardless here is a bit of chapter 14:

As she continued on her way she saw that the olive tree was standing stoically and no-one else was around.  She always liked leaning against the great cedars that grew in her yard at home.  She felt they gave her strength and life-force.  She wondered if a 1500 year old olive tree would do the same.  She walked up to the tree and found a perfect niche that she could wriggle her back into.  She leaned back and looked up at the leafy expanse.  Olive leaves were such a different colour of green than she was used to.  The wood felt warm, and the sun dappled as it came through the leaves onto her face.  She breathed deeply.  More  deeply than perhaps she had for days.  She imagined all the history this tree had borne witness too.  How many epidemics, and pandemics.  It had survived.  In fact it had thrived.  So, she decided resolutely, would she.

Have a good week everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!

Yopping Update #20 - Done and done

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I am not always sure where the time goes from Sunday to Sunday, but I do have two finishes.

Shield Maiden 

and I stayed up until almost midnight to finish my matching toque to my Grace's Cardigan.

This means that at this very moment I have nothing on my needles.  Nothing. Nada.  Zilch. 

I do want to start another gansey, and I also have a few sock patterns all ready to go with the wool and colours picked out, plus that little Weeble Doll is beckoning me, so stay tuned, I am sure something or somethings will be on the go very shortly. 

I have been busy writing all week with Nanowrimo.  I have written almost 25,000 words and most days I get the writing done before lunch.  Further White Rabbit news is that I have scheduled a five day promotion from November 22 - 26th in which my ebook will be free.  I think it only runs on Amazon.com (the instructions were kind of unclear), but we shall see how that goes. 

My sister, brother and I are investigating the cost of self-publishing our books in paperback copy.  Stay tuned, as it looks promising. 

I have managed to get to the pool only once this week.  Tuesday the pool was closed when I got there due to a power outage, but I managed to find a trail that started at the pool parking lot which was quite lovely and for the hour I was walking the rain let up. 

follow the yellow leafed road!

I did manage a successful swim on Thursday though, and the other days I was either walking or raking up cedar leaves.  Oh my, the cedar leaves that I have in my yard are epic. 

As I reported last week I had given away eight handknit shawls, and yesterday I bundled up 9 pairs of socks, 2 cowls, 1 shawl, 3 hats, 1 baby sweater and two adult sweaters to send to my sister who is putting together christmas hampers  on her little island.  It felt good to know my handknits will be going to good homes.  I put another pair of socks aside for a dear friend.  It has been a good week of de-stashing handknit things that just sit forlornly waiting for their turn to be worn.  Of course I already have started a wool order with YarnCanada.  I just have to push the 'pay now' button.  God help me - I don't really need to add to my stash - but oh the colours, and oh the fisherman rib shawl pattern I want to make!

So that's my week, writing and knitting, knitting and writing, with a few walks, some raking and a swim thrown in for good measure.  

I hope your week has been good as well!

I will leave you with an excerpt from my latest novel.  Working title is "Letter to my Granddaughter".

“I did finally hear from Ante”, said Connie.  “They are off the coast of Africa, and the work is going well.  It seems like this virus has not affected Africa the same way it has Europe. They are at sea for another month or so and then he should be coming home - six weeks at the most. He laughed at our dilemma of you being there and me being here.  He said it was typical of you and I because we don’t communicate clearly enough! “,  she chuckled.  “I think it is just that he doesn’t understand the whole concept of doing things impulsively - he hates surprises!”

Connie continued to chuckle, more to herself than to Sarah, and Sarah could see in her daughter’s eyes and hear in the softness of her voice how much she loved Ante.  Their angels had certainly brought them together - a chance meeting at a pier when Connie was busking - and the rest, as they say, is history or herstory.  They had married in a small seaside village just south of where they are living now, and Sarah was glad she and Tom had been able to attend.  That was eight years ago.  Eight years!  Where does the time go?