Tap, tap, tap ...

Hey!  (blowing off the dust)  Is this thing on?

It has been fourteen years plus forever, it seems, since I've written anything here.  Oh, sure -- I told you about adopting Nero -- but that wasn't exactly a wordy post like you're used to.  Forgive me, Gentle Reader.  It's been a period of ups-and-downs and growing pains.  Nothing too catastrophic -- don't worry -- but just enough to keep me relentlessly preoccupied.  Forty is the new eighteen, I guess, and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up! :)

You know when you meet someone who inspires you, and just by talking to them for a little while, you can tell the creative parts of your brains are humming along at the same frequency?  I met such a lady a little while ago and just blogged about her on The View From the Market.  Go read it. It's okay -- I'll wait here.

I've been doing a little bit of rughooking lately, but I'm really being drawn to the dye pots for the first time.  I have started accumulating tools (pots, spoons, Cushing's acid dyes...) but I've been a bit timid.  So this week I decided to start off with a kinder, gentler dye project.  I used Kool-Aid!

Aren't the colours just gorgeous?  I'm completely in love with the Tropical Punch red, and the Orange makes me crave Creamsicles.  I've designed a geometric rug to use these on, but haven't gotten it transferred to backing yet.

In other news, I've applied for a job that I'm really, really hoping I get.  I haven't heard anything yet, but my fingers are still crossed.  The job would mean steady income at a decent rate, and would allow me to do the Masters of Science in Space Studies.  It would also go a long way to helping me replace my aging car.  I love Betsy the '98 Malibu, but at her last safety inspection, they said she only had about a year left in her, and it's just a matter of time before the rust takes over completely.

In other news, I began gearing up for NaNoWriMo on October 1st.  Although this is my fourth year giving it a shot, I'm determined that this is the year I make it to 50,000 words.  And in a legitimate way.  I mean, I could have my characters act in a production of Romeo and Juliet and then just paste the Bard's words in as dialogue, but hey.  Where's the challenge in that?

So I'm writing an outline.  A detailed outline of what I should expect to accomplish each day.  I'm normally more of a write-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type, but that hasn't gotten me to the finish line of NaNoWriMo yet.  So it's time for a change.  And when November 1st gets here, and the starter's gun sounds, I'll be ready!

And now, a confession: After seven months of "sobriety," I've fallen off the wagon and am drinking Diet Pepsi again.  Well, actually it was more of a swan dive.  But how I missed it!  I feel awake for the first time in months.

Not sure if I told you or not, but the non-credit creative writing course I was going to be teaching at the university was cancelled, along with all of the other non-credit courses for the fall semester.  It was a red tape thing, with there being problems in securing classroom space.  We're all hoping that things can fall into place in time for the winter semester.  I was really looking forward to teaching, but here's hoping for a second chance.

Anyway, I should go hang out with the pets for a while.  With Nero's arrival, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Piper are feeling a little bit displaced, so I'm making an effort to give extra snuggles and ear skritches.  Talk soon!