Perpetually 5k Words Behind and Other Updates

Two posts ago, I mentioned I’ve decided to embark on NaNoWriMo. Which, for those who don’t want to poke around that link, is an attempt to write a 50,000+ word novel in the month of November.

Amazingly, I have written almost every day this month. I think I’ve only missed two days so far. But while some days the words just flow, like yesterday, some days are pulling teeth to get anything down. Heck, I’m writing this post partially to avoid writing my novel…

If I write nothing today, I’ll be 5226 words “behind”. That’s not going to happen. If nothing else, I’ll write one word. But my hope is that by exercising my writing “muscles” here, I’ll get jazzed to get a thousand or so words there.… Continue reading →

“Beers that Taste Like Disappointment.”

“I just assumed you liked beers that taste like disappointment.”

This coming from Angelique. One of my best friends. A person who follows this blog and knows I’ve made something of a hobby of beer. A woman who loves beer, but has been known to ask me a question or two about beer and take my recommendation on beers.

Of course, all bets are off when it comes to pumpkin beers. As far as I can tell, there’s no more polarizing beer style. There’s a lot of love or hate for them, and a lot of opinions on what tastes good and what doesn’t.

Angelique and I both avidly try pumpkin beers and look forward to the season. This year, I have been particularly vocal on Twitter about liking “pumpkin-fruit beers[1].”… Continue reading →

Happy Halloween! New Adventures Start Tomorrow.

I love seeing Halloween costumes. I’d love to give out candy, but in the entire time I’ve lived in Chicago, I never have. Not one knock on any of my doors. Alas. I realized, this year, that I had no Halloween plans. So we made some.

Tonight, we’re moving a couch. In the rain. Good times. I’m going to try to make soup for dinner, though I don’t know if I have all of the ingredients.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow I embark upon a whole new adventure, mostly just to see if I can. Tomorrow is 1 November 2013, and I’m going to try NaNoWriMo for the first time in my life. While also traveling to the big, important birthday parties for my father-in-law (beginning of the month) and mother-in-law (end of the month).… Continue reading →

Taming the Mania

Note: I wrote this post on the 23rd & then had some issues getting it uploaded before I left for Baltimore. So please read it accordingly.

My home smells a bit like lovage today. Very faintly. I, as planned, stripped all the leaves off and chopped them very finely. They’re frozen in ice cube trays now. I put the stems out with hummus to see if they’d be an adequate celery snack substitute. Only Bill was willing to try them (I don’t like celery much), and he said the stems were entirely too woody for that kind of consumption. So, into the stock bag they went.

I also chopped the rhubarb into chunks and froze that on a freezing sheet[1]. I’ll dump that into a baggie today.… Continue reading →

Veggie Mania

The other day, I commented to twitter that it’s time to bring in my plants from outside. For me this includes a thyme plant, a lemon thyme plant (neither of which grew in the slightest, but neither of which died back at all either), and an asparagus fern. There’s also some really cute volunteer flowers and some volunteer chives in pots my landlords left, but those can stay where they are. I’ll harvest the remainder of the chives, chop them up and freeze them.

My friend, Ellen responded, “I stood by my back windows and contemplated the huge task of harvesting the backyard… Too much food.” Assuming she meant that there’s just a lot of work getting all the food from her copious garden into her house, I volunteered to help.… Continue reading →