bread

Snapshot #140 | 10 Things for 17 November 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. underestimating… the windchill. I’m still figuring out the right combinations of coat+sweater for this weather.
2. trying… an apple from one of the trees that’s gone wild next to the parking lot of my apartment building. (What? I’ve been curious.) The verdict: tart-sweet and very crisp, reminded me of a russet in both taste and texture, but it didn’t have the leathery russet skin. No idea what it was, but it wasn’t just the result of some kid throwing away an apple core thirty years ago. (This was farm/church land 60-100 years ago, and I know that some of the apple trees are from that era.)
3. running… behind on pretty much everything blog-related. I’ll get caught up this week.
4. watching… Dolemite Is My Name. It’s one of those movies that makes me want to make stuff. So much fun.
5. making… some amazing bread.
6. planning… a couple of craft projects. Because I’m not busy enough right now, apparently.
7. panicking… because a technical glitch somehow sent my online pizza order halfway across the country. (I got it sorted—kind of—but it was still a nerve-wracking few minutes… and a late pizza. Also, I feel bad for the delivery guy in Ontario who may have had to go to what streetview suggests is a creepy deserted corner of an industrial park and didn’t even get paid for it.)
8. starting… to think that my running season might be coming to an end. I might have a week or two left before it’s consistently too cold.
9. painting… the living/dining room. Finally. Now I just have one bedroom, the kitchen, and the entrance to do and I’ll be done with this awful beige forever.
10. looking… forward to a (slightly) more normal week.

Inspired | October 2019

Links

Every month, I share the articles and sites that I found most interesting. Here’s what caught my attention in October: stories that are neither character- nor plot-driven, the good guy/bad guy myth, thoughts on digital privacy, the history of women’s restroom lounges, and more.

Continue reading →

Snapshot #135 | 10 Things for 8 September 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. having… one of those weeks when it feels like I own way too much stuff.
2. wishing… Parker made gel ink refills smaller than .7mm. I love the pen, and love the ink, but it takes up so much space on the page—I just want a finer line. (Yes. This is really bothering me.)
3. trying… to find a place where my pilea gets enough sunlight, but where the cat won’t destroy it.
4. writing… the synopsis for The Black Sun. I’ll still want to perfect it a bit, but… it’s good. Another step closer.
5. troubleshooting… a really annoying email issue. (If anyone’s trying to get in touch with me right now—or has tried recently and hasn’t gotten a response, since apparently this isn’t a new problem, I’m just discovering it now—I’m sorry. I’m trying to fix it. If it’s important, try the contact form.)
6. settling… into a good productivity system. I think. Still fine-tuning it.
7. thinking… about turning ‘likes’ off on the blog. It’s not that I’m against them, really, but too many spammers abuse the feature, and I don’t know that it’s worth it. Any thoughts?
8. hoping… they finish resurfacing my street soon.
9. making… bread for the first time in ages. I finally had a weekend when I could stand the thought of turning on the oven.
10. starting… the new draft of Violet Lane. This is going to be fun.

Snapshot #125 | 10 Things for 21 April 2019

Personal

Happy Easter–or Passover–if you celebrate! If you don’t celebrate either, Happy Cheap-Chocolate-Day Eve!

Currently…

1. finishing… the third(!!) draft of The Black Sun!
2. trying… the iOS version of Scrivener. So far, so good, though it does make it a little difficult to walk away from the story. (It gets weirdly tempting to edit scenes when the cat wakes me up at four o’clock in the morning. Not that she did that twice in the past two weeks or anything.)
3. getting… my tickets for Endgame. (And making sure I’ve got waterproof mascara on hand, because I have a feeling I’m gonna need it.)
4. figuring… out a way to organize Evernote that might actually work for me. Finally.
5. looking… forward to the Veronica Mars revival. Now I just need to figure out how I can watch it in Canada.
6. wondering… why all my library holds suddenly become available at the same time every time. It’s hard to keep up.
7. finding… everything I need for my first big sewing project of the year, and I’m so excited to get started.
8. buying… a new jacket. I wasn’t planning on it, and I’m not happy about the unexpected expense, but my old one finally gave up the ghost and it’s not warm enough for my denim jacket just yet. (At least it was on sale?)
9. making… hot cross buns. I’ve mostly got the recipe down–they taste amazing–but they’re still not very pretty. (Does anyone have advice for working with brioche-style dough? It seems to have a mind of its own, and I can’t convince it to stay in nice round buns.)
10. trying… to remember the difference between em-dashes and en-dashes. I never know which one to use.

Snapshot #123 | 10 Things for 24 March 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. loving… everything about Captain Marvel. So much. Including the kid two seats down from me who fist-pumped and shouted ‘yes!’ at the end of the mid-credits scene. (He also air-drummed his way through ‘Celebrity Skin,’ which was kind of awesome. On that note: the soundtrack was pretty much just one of the mixtapes I made in junior high. Which made the whole thing even better.)
2. worrying… about Lucy. She wasn’t feeling well, and had to go to the vet. But she’s doing better now, and the vet says that she’s otherwise in very good health. I had a couple of very anxious days, though.
3. realizing… that I still haven’t changed the time on the office clock. (Which should give you an idea of how often I look at it.)
4. looking… for Cadbury Creme Eggs. I can’t seem to find them this year, which of course means I really want one.
5. trying… to wear dresses and skirts more often. I’m out of practice.
6. making… a major breakthrough in my revisions on The Black Sun. You guys. It’s gonna be so good.
7. realizing… that it’s going to be time start running again soon. I need to make some new playlists.
8. spending… a little too much money lately. Time to rein that in.
8. giving… up on the sourdough starter. Just for a little while. I’ll try again when I’m a bit less frustrated with it. (It keeps almost working, and then… not.)
10. feeling… uninspired. It’s just been one of those weeks.

Snapshot #122 | 10 Things for 10 March 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. talking… myself out of buying a fantastic red statement couch for the office… to replace the fantastic red statement chair I bought for the office, and deeply regretted approximately two months later.
2. looking… forward to Captain Marvel. (I’m going this evening, and I’m giddy.)
3. loving… some of the photos I’ve been taking this week. It’s been a very good few days.
4. shovelling… snow. Twice in one day. The second time, in the rain.
5. sleeping… in. Sort of. Technically. This is the one day a year that the cat lets me.
6. daydreaming… about travel. I’m having a serious wanderlust moment right now.
7. approaching… the end of this draft of Violet Lane, and I’m really loving it. And I’m on track to meet my end-of-month deadline. (Assuming the final setpiece doesn’t give me as much trouble as the midpoint did… but even if it does, I think I have time to figure it out.)
8. figuring… out how to make all the intense writing sessions I’ve been doing fit into the rest of my schedule.
9. troubleshooting… my sourdough starter. I’ve figured out why it wasn’t working; the next attempt should be a winner.
10. falling… down some really fun research rabbit holes.

Snapshot #121 | 10 Things for 24 February 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. going… a little overboard on the coffee station (I now have a coffee grinder in my office…), but it’s seriously the best thing I’ve ever done for my productivity, so I’m not going to worry about it.
2. thinking… about trying to get my old MacBook Pro up and running again. I’ve got a weird emotional attachment to that thing, and I miss it. I’m not sure if it’s salvageable, though (at least not at a price I can justify).
3. making… another attempt at sourdough starter. (The first try was doing well, until suddenly it wasn’t.) Still not quite there. Sticking with my usual bread recipe for now.
4. trying… to be a little better at Twitter. (Pretty sure I go through a phase like this every six months or so, don’t I?)
5. reevaluating… the office setup. Some of it isn’t working quite as well as I’d hoped.
6. remembering… that the Oscars are tonight. I’ll be staying up. I always do.
7. finishing… my first sewing project of the year (you may have already seen it on Instagram; if not, I’ll show you tomorrow), and starting to plan the next one (which is significantly more complex).
8. feeling… really good about both of my current works-in-progress.
9. starting… my annual search for the perfect pancake recipe. (I’m picky.)
10. getting… used to Scrivener. I think. Maybe.

Snapshot #120 | 10 Things for 10 February 2019

Personal

Currently…

1. thinking… about trying my hand at short stories again. Maybe.
2. stocking… up on sketchbooks.
3. accepting… the fact that I need a new desk chair. Something that at least acknowledges the concept of ergonomics. (Fine. But why do they all look so terrible?)
4. wondering… how I’m going to get through the current stack of library books in three weeks. (Literally all my holds became available at once.)
5. eating… blood oranges. So few foods are truly seasonal anymore, it’s always a bit of a treat to find the things that really are only available for a couple of weeks.
6. making… my sourdough starter. I’ve been threatening to do it for months, and I’ve finally started. I’ll let you know how it goes.
7. standing… around in the most miserable weather of the winter, waiting for a bus that was a full hour late.
8. getting… back to that decluttering project.
9. trying… to find desktop wallpaper that I don’t hate. Still. I’m ridiculously picky about this kind of thing. When I do manage to find something that meets all my criteria—not too bright or too dark (unless it’s for mobile, in which case the darker the better), not too busy, quotes are good if they’re not too twee, I’m not a fan of brush lettering—I end up leaving it up until I’m thoroughly sick of it and desperate for something new, and… well. Here we are.
10. looking… forward to getting my days back this week.

Snapshot #97 | 10 Things for 25 March 2018

Personal

Currently…

1. craving… good coffee.
2. enduring… a cold and a power outage, at the same time. So that was fun.
3. doing… the same thing I do every time I start agonizing about creativity and productivity and life in general: reorganizing and pruning my notes in Evernote. (Show me a more perfect definition of “procrastination.” I’ll wait.)
4. wondering… if I’m ready for the level of commitment that a sourdough starter requires.
5. writing… actual words. Slowly, but it’s happening again.
6. hoping… that it’ll start to look like spring soon. I’m getting bored with the snow.
7. having… long internal debates with myself about art, and the point at which inspiration becomes distraction, and… ugh. (I’d say it makes more sense in my head, but it really doesn’t.) This month’s Sketchbook post might be a little late, despite what I said. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to say.
8. looking… for a good (healthy… ish) snack that’ll get me through the day, and that won’t bore me after a week or two.
9. starting… to think that Infinity War will be the next movie that makes me cry in the theatre. Because that’s apparently something I do now?
10. reading… too many books at once.