Hello world….!

Here is a blog I like enough to want to share. I hope you enjoy it too.

I will be sharing more blogs as I get the time – I follow quite a few.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Personal Update – June 5, 2018

Public: Hello there! Nice to see you so soon after your last post!

Me: Hi! Yep, I’m scheduling more time for blogging, but I’m not going to do it every day like I was because it becomes too much like a chore and isn’t much fun.

Public: We fully understand. So, what’s new?

Me: I took down my Etsy store – I hated the name was the main reason. I’ll open another one when I’ve had some time to really do some research. I can’t afford to put money into something that isn’t going to do much.

Public: We don’t think anyone does. Are you still making things for charity?

Me: Oh yes! I’ve just sent off a bag full of hats, nearly finished a lapghan, and I’m getting ready to make more squares for two granny lapghans I’m working on.

Public: Have you heard back about The Inbetween yet?

Me: No, but the submission said I’d hear back by the end of June so, still waiting. I’ve scheduled time to work on Mr. Nobody so I can get it on Wattpad by the end of the month. I’ve decided not to make it into a full novel because the story just won’t gel for me.

Public: At least you’ll be writing again.

Me: Very true. I’m also making time for reading, and I’m about to start on Jeffrey Deaver’s Solitude Creek.

Public: Sounds interesting.

Me: I hope it is. Well, I’ve got to go, I’ve got to work tonight so I need to get some sleep.

Catch you all on the flipside and don’t forget your towels and sonic screwdrivers!!

What’s Happening Now

In my little world, not much is happening. Across the street from the motel where I live, the Kentucky Fried Chicken has been renovated and is almost ready to reopen. Graduation at the local high school happened last week, and I was on duty that night at work – it was a major night for the business.

Other than that? Not much. I did close my Etsy store because I was unhappy with the service I wasn’t getting from Etsy itself on some things that were going on with the store. I know it’s not a big deal, but I thought I’d mention that. I’m shoppping around for other places to park my shop.

I took a test at work that’s supposed to help me get promoted, but I’m not holding my breath until that happens – I’d die first. Still, I’ve taken the test which I’m sure I passed – just need to wait for the boss to get back to me on it.

My son, Joe, is engaged to his lovely girlfriend, Macy, and they’re getting married some time next year. No time has been decided upon just yet. It’s going to be a Handfasting Ceremony 🙂

The annoying bird outside my door that has been voicing the same annoying sound since close to the end of winter is now making a softer sound and being answered by high pitched trills I can only imagine are babies. The bird and its mate made a nest in one of the light fixtures close to my front door so I’ve had to listen to this bird for months now. I never got mad at it because I figured it had a reason for the sound, and I was right.

That’s it for my random post. What’s happening in your little world? This inquiring mind would like to know – seriously.

See you all on the flipside and don’t forget your towels and sonic screwdrivers. A shotgun with salt filled shells wouldn’t hurt either come to think of it. 🙂

Supernatural – The Television Series

I’ve been binge watching this show off and on for a while now. I saw the first six seasons when they first aired and then, I moved to nights at my job so was unable to keep up. Now, I watch when I have time – usually while I’m loom knitting a hat for charity at the same time.

I’m up to Season 9 now, and the show has already lost most of its luster for me. The first six seasons had great story lines and lots of fun stuff to watch. Now, it’s just not as much fun to watch. As someone pointed out, “it’s monster of the week” episodes usually.

I still watch because watching sexy but not so smart Dean and smart but not as sexy Sam battling monsters is still fun. The kinda sexy Crowley and the cute Castiel are fun to watch with their own offerings to the show. Actually, right now the angel Castiel is human, and his own muddling through life is something I think is great for the show. It brings one of the larger than life all powerful denizens down to earth, literally.

Current story line: All the angels in heaven have fallen to earth, and a big group of them are hunting for Castiel because he’s to blame. Castiel, now human thanks to another angel ripping his “grace” away from him, is adapting to human life as best he can while hiding out from the angels. Sam, almost dieing(yet again) while attempting to close the gates of Hell, is possessed by the angel Ezekiel, but he doesn’t know it. Dean, knowing his brother is possessed, is having to live with the fact he’s lieing to Sam(again) while waiting for Ezekiel to heal Sam from the inside out. Ezekiel was also hurt during his fall so he’s healing himself while healing Sam – supposedly. Crowley is locked up in the dungeon of Sam and Dean’s “bunker hideout” and Abaddon, a demon, is taking over Hell while he’s gone.

It has a thread of interesting wrapped up in episodes of stupid which I fast forward through.

Anyway, just thought I’d share before I head off to work.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Sharing a Blog

I read blogs as often as I can. I have email notifications set up so I can read them in my email feed rather than jumping around to all the blog sites they come from – I just don’t have the kind of time any more. Anyway, I am a long time reader and admirer of J. Money the blogger of Budgets Are Sexy. Just the name of the blog is enough to make you want to take a peek – yeah?

Well not too long ago (like February of this year), he posted an entry with the title: Why I Am Obsessed With Cemeteries. If that title doesn’t just reach out and grab your attention, I don’t know what would.

Reading the title had me wondering what cemeteries had to do with building wealth and learning about finances. So, I clicked on the link and read the whole thing through in one sitting – something I don’t do normally. As usual, the entry was well written, amusing and witty as well as full of interesting things.

After reading the entry, I did something I do very very rarely: I contacted J. Money via email and asked him for permission to share his blog entry. I don’t usually share other people’s blog entries because most of them I just hit “Like” and other people can go to the entry on their own. This time, it was different. I was so taken by the entry I had to share the link via my own blog in the hopes all my readers and anyone who wanders past, would go read the entry for themselves.

The title of the entry again is: Why I Am Obsessed With Cemeteries. If you like this entry please, let me and J. Money know!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and screwdriver!

As Promised – Kafka Mini Reviews

Just finished reading the last short story in the collection, and I am ready to write the mini reviews I promised you ages ago. 🙂

The last story I reviewed was The Stoker so I begin this with In The Penal Colony.

This short story, In The Penal Colony, was written in 1914 and published in 1919. It is described as a parable. I agree with this. It’s describes a torture device that is actually put to use. The description of that scene is pretty graphic and if you don’t like blood, you won’t want to read it. It’s not scary, not by a long shot, just puts too much emphasis(in my opinion) on the bloody nature of the device. It’s also one of his longer stories.

A Country Doctor is next. It was written in 1916 and published in 1919. This story must have been one of his “dream logic” stories because it was quite confusing. Either that or the doctor, while freezing to death waiting for a horse to take him on a house call, loses his mind; said mind going on one last house call that made very little sense. Read it if you like, but I saw nothing to recommend it except Kafka’s emotive writing. His use of words to convey surrealism on the verge of horror is fantastic.

An Old Leaf was published in 1919 with no mention of what year it was written – most likely 1916 along with A Country Doctor. Not sure what this story was trying to say but at least it wasn’t that long.

A Hunger Artist, written in 1921 and published in 1924. This short story is about an actual hunger artist who can’t seem to come to terms with how society viewed his idea of “art”. People used to flock around people who were actual hunger artists but only because of the morbidity and oddity of these “performers”. I found it interesting from a historic perspective. I wouldn’t have considered these performances as being art.

Josephine, the Singer, or The Mouse People was also written in 1921 and published in 1924. It’s a longer story, but it also deals with an artist who can’t come to grips with the way her society actually views her “art”. I found this story to be boring. I won’t lie since that would be a disservice to you, the readers of this review. Read it for yourselves as you may get more out of it than I did.

The last story in the collection is actually part of a larger novel. Before the Law, written in 1914 and published in 1919, is part of his completed novel The Trial which was published posthumously in 1925. Before the Law is very short and doesn’t make any sense at all to me. It might to you. Personally, I think I’d rather read The Trial as context might help it make sense to me.

And thus ends my mini reviews of the remaining short stories of Franz Kafka. As always, I urge you readers to read this body of work for yourselves because only then can you truly know how you feel about them – know completely what you have brought away from reading them. I am no expert on anything and thus, you have no need to take my word for anything in regards to this body of work or any other. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s for that matter – find out for yourself!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

As Promised – Peacock Project

I actually finished this project several days ago, but I had so much other stuff going on I didn’t have time to sit down to write a post until now.

This piece was originally supposed to be for an accent pillow. I found the pattern in a vintage pattern book circa 1915 – The Priscilla Filet Crochet Book No. 2 in fact. The pattern called for size 300 thread which I had no clue about so, I used what I had. The piece is now 47 inches wide by 55 inches tall. I am selling it on Etsy too –

https://www.etsy.com/listing/588687694/filet-crocheted-peacock

If the above link doesn’t work, please let me know. So far, it’s working.

That’s it for now folks, more to come, so see you on the flipside. Enjoy and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Kafka and More

I’ve almost finished reading the collection of short stories by Kafka. I’ll do a quick overview of each one as soon as I’m done. Writing complete reviews of each would rather spoil things for you, if I haven’t done so already with my other reviews. Kafka is well worth a read because of the way he writes and not just what he writes. I’m looking forward to reading at least one of his novels in the near future.

Working the mid shift I’m on at work has thrown my life out of whack. I can’t really plan things like I could before. I only have so much time before and after work to do things. What makes things harder is that my back issues are getting worse since I started work. I don’t lift heavy things but I do a lot of walking, bending over and other things which is causing me a lot of pain. I have to force myself to work a full shift because by the time I’ve been there an hour my feet feel like I’ve been on them for days. I’m going to call the doctor tomorrow to see about getting an appointment. I need something done so I can keep working.

My filet crochet project of the peacock is nearing the end – only about 30 more rows to go – if I don’t decide to add panels to the side of it. It is looking quite lovely, and I’ll be posting a picture of it when it’s done.

I messed around and missed the deadline for entering Mr. Nobody into the contest for FunDead Publications, but that’s okay because I’m going to turn the short story into a full length novel called The Demon’s Rules. 🙂

I joined Soldier’s Angels, a volunteer agency that links volunteers with soldiers and groups of soldiers here at home and abroad. They have many teams doing things from writing letters to sending care packages to providing items for baby showers and other things as well. All branches are served by this group, and I’m happy to be a part of the team.

I’m also loom knitting hats for cancer patients and veterans here in the States. I’m only making one a day due to my schedule, but it’s still something.

So, I’m working, reading, writing, and crafting every day – very busy schedule. 🙂 How are things with you?

See you all on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Kafka-Metamorphosis

I recently was given a book that is a collection of short stories written by Franz Kafka. It’s a Barnes & Noble Classics version published by Barnes & Noble Books, Copyright 2003. The Introduction, Notes and Further Reading were all done by Jason Baker while the translation of the short stories from their original German was done by Donna Freed. Like I did with my version of Candide, I skipped over the incredibly long Introduction section as well as the World of… section.

Franz Kafka was born in Prague, Germany in 1883. He was not well known until close to his death and defying his last request, Kafka’s friend, Max Brod spent the rest of his own life getting the rest of Kafka’s work published, including three novels, The Trial(1925), The Castle(1926) and Amerika(1927).

I’ll review each short story in the collection starting today with Metamorphosis – just because it’s the first story in the book.

I was caught by this story and couldn’t stop reading it. It’s a sad story about a young man named Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman and his family: Herr Samsa, his father who later becomes an employee of a bank, Frau Samsa, his mother who later begins sewing lingerie for private clients and his sister, Grete, who becomes a salesgirl at a store.

Poor Gregor, after spending many years slaving away at a job he hated all so he could help the family – he was the only one employed at this time – wakes up one morning as a giant creature. The way he’s described, I’d say he’s a doodlebug, but a charwoman calls him a dung beetle so I’ll go with that.

Kafka shows most of the action from Gregor’s POV as well as using 3rd person narrative to tell the story. The story tells you what happens to poor Gregor and his family once it is discovered he is no longer human.

I won’t give away the story, but I will caution you to take it like it is. Jason Baker says his fiction doesn’t make sense. I see it as a vignette – a snapshot of something that happened to a man and his family – like a scene from a one act play. Sorry, it’s hard to explain. I was confused by the story – it’s just a story. But it does show how familial obligation and self identity were treated during Kafka’s time.

In short, I liked the story. It’s not very long so reading it wouldn’t be a major waste of time if you don’t end up liking it. Me, I’m going to read another short story soon.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!