Author: Shane

In which I see a harlot

/ Shane / Leave a comment

There aren’t a lot of famous knitters, or at least not a lot of people who are famous for knitting (yes, I am aware that any celebrity who has ever held a pair of needles has been photographed with said needles and plastered all over the Internet). So paying to go see a knitter is certainly not something that a lot of people do, and something that I probably never thought I would do. However, that’s precisely what Sara and I did over Thanksgiving weekend, when we went to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, otherwise known as The Yarn Harlot.

Technically I am in this picture!

Sara is an avid reader of her blog, and it turns out that she happened to be in Fort Wayne while we were there. I was a little skeptical at first, suspicious that I wouldn’t fit in, but actually it was a pretty good time and an excellent date night! I struggled mightily before hand to get my current knitting project into a shape where it could be seen by others. However, I did manage it, and it was pretty fun to sit and knit with a ballroom full of people. It was predictably female-dominated, but there were more than a few other men in the room (although some of them were not actually knitting). I’d say we represented.

The talk itself was more of an inspirational knitting speech about why knitting is great, why it should be more respected, and most importantly, why knitters should respect themselves and their crafts. It was funny and it was perfectly fine, however, I felt Mrs. Pearl-McPhee really shown during the Q&A section. The “Bacon Powder” story and the one about getting locked out of her hotel room were absolutely hysterical, and worth the price of admission.

If I’m being totally honest, I was more interested in her as a story teller and blogger than as a knitter. She definitely has a gift for storytelling (which is not as easy as it might sound!), and I think that is what sets her apart. A lot of people are excellent knitters, but not all of them are cut out to be Yarn Harlots. If I’m being totally, totally, TOTALLY honest, I think it would be pretty damn cool if I could stand in front of people some day and tell stories, even if they’re stories about dumb things I’ve done. And Stephanie made it seem possible. She’s just a regular person who started a blog about something she loves (and, you know, wrote 9 books). On the other hand, the travel schedule sounds pretty brutal, so I’m sure it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Anyway, I’m really glad that I went, and I got a LOT of knitting done over the weekend!

The Potato Olympics

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Here we see our two contenders, ready to once again revive that age-old Thanksgiving day test of skill and determination: the potato olympics.

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Tools are selected and the competitors are ready to begin.

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What’s this? A paparazzo has actually climbed a ladder outside to get a sneak peak at the peeling event in progress!

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Despite an extremely serious wound, this competitor soldiers on. Not even blood loss can prevent him from completing the event.

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After multiple bandages are applied to various parts of the hand, and the sobbing children have been escorted from the room, the competitors prepare for the third and final round; the cutting event. No more accidents please!

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After a laborious and scientific judging system is enacted, the score is all tied up! Who will win the coveted bragging rights?

Based on a last minute steal of an opponents potato, swift cut, and subsequent taunting dance, a style point is awarded to Rachael! It’s all over folks! It’s all over! In a surprising finish, Rachael has taken the victory for the 2013 potato olympics!

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Quote Monday prefers the written word

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Evie recently drew a picture of our family:

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So Evie and Sara are apparently pretty happy, Ollie’s in a timeout, and I’m screaming. I’m not sure if I’m screaming in terror, or screaming at Ollie. I guess “screaming” is just how Evie sees me all the time. However, my favorite part is that I’m wearing a Baconfest shirt.

Evie is certainly no stranger to making signs or leaving threatening letters. However, I just happened across two hilarious letters she wrote awhile back, which we saved for posterity of course. I don’t believe I’ve blogged these before. This one is from Feb. 2012:

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Allow me to translate:

No Mom. 2-11 Love Evelyn. I don’t want to hear any more from you. 2012.

Signed and dated.

Just to show you that one’s not a fluke, here’s another from about a year later:

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Mom and Ollie, please don’t yell or bother me. It is Evie who you don’t bother. The End. Today, 19/2013/February.

Although her spelling has gotten a lot better since then, the messages haven’t changed much. She obviously believes in the power of the written word.

I think we have a potential future blogger on our hands…

Downsizing Pluto, now in audio!

/ Shane / 1 Comment

An audio “reprint” of my story “Downsizing Pluto” is now live at the Cast of Wonders podcast. This story previously appeared in Daily Science Fiction. My story is a part of a “tiny wonders” episode that includes 2 other very short (and very excellent) stories. I recommend you listen to the whole thing, but if not, my story is 3rd and starts at about the 16 minute mark.

There is something so amazing about hearing one of my stories in audio. So far I’ve been gifted with amazing narrators. I was giggling the whole time about the professional, serious, news reporter voice of Bob Eccles contrasted with the silliness of the story. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the point where I stop going, “This awesome voice reading my silly story?”

Cast of Wonders is a “weekly YA fiction podcast featuring a wide range of stories of the fantastic.” As far as I know, it’s the only young adult speculative fiction podcast. As a parent, I think it’s a great idea to have stories that are pre-screened for content to be age appropriate. And I have always specifically thought that this story was a good fit for YA, so I’m glad that they agreed!

Anyway, Cast of Wonders is consistently one of the best produced audio fiction podcasts, and one that I have listened to many times before being published there. If this story piques your interest and you’d like to listen to more, I recommend starting with the “Best of Cast of Wonders” list put together by Diabolical Plots.

Favorite Thanksgiving Foods

/ Shane / 1 Comment

Thanksgiving is a holiday centered entirely around gluttony. I used to think it was THE holiday centered around gluttony, but I think if you extend gluttony to the full sense of the word, then Christmas takes the cake (no pun intended). Thanksgiving is more relaxed. Thanksgiving is kind of a simpler, gentler form of gluttony, giving you a nice, warm tryptophan haze through which to view football, rather than a manic, anxiety ridden, grin-plastered-to-your-face-bolt-it-down-so-we-can-get-to-the-next-hedonistic-present-fest, Christmas-style gluttony. Thanksgiving lets you push all that rampant consumerism to another day (specifically the next day, on Black Friday).

As you most likely know, I have a very large extended family. Both sides. And in either case, no one person could ever possibly feed them all. Because of this, all major functions tend to be potlucks.

I’m a big fan of potlucks. They simply cannot be improved upon. I would much rather have a lot of little bits of many dishes, and get a chance to try out everything, than one big helping of even my favorite foods. However, because of this, I’m not sure I’ve really developed certain dishes that are a “must have” for Thanksgiving.

Turkey, of course, and I always like mashed potatoes when I can get them. Stuffing is kind of hit or miss; when it’s good, I really like it, but there’s a good chance I won’t. I usually try for a piece of pumpkin pie because I don’t often have it, but honestly, I prefer apple. Other than that, I have three family-specific dishes that come to mind: grandma’s pickles, grandma’s buns, and Aunt Kris’ brown sugar bacon wrapped weenies. However, I do get those last three at multiple family events throughout the year, so I’m not sure they count.

How about you, gentle reader? Anything in particular that says, “Thanksgiving” to you? What’s your favorite dish?