Bye, Bye, Bouchercon

In my blog last week I said I was back.  That was partly true.  I also mentioned that I was off to Bouchercon next.  So was I gone again?  Yes... and no. 

Again, as I mentioned, it was sort of in my backyard--Long Beach, California.  I did in fact take the L.A. Metro there but only once, the first day I attended.  That worked out fine, but since I had to change trains and they both were locals, it took 1-1/2 hours to get to Long Beach and another 1-1/2 hours to return that evening.  That was fine on Thursday since L.A. traffic would have taken me as long as that or even longer.  But I stayed overnight in a nearby hotel on Friday since I had a couple of parties to attend on Friday night and my panel on Saturday morning was at 8:30 AM.  Commuting didn't sound very feasible.   

I also decided to drive on Sunday, when traffic tends to be light.  It did in fact take me about half of the 1-1/2 hour commute time each way to get to and from Long Beach.  The conference panels started at 8:30 AM again so I didn't have to leave quite as early as if I'd taken the Metro, and I returned home sooner to start writing again after my second hiatus in a couple of weeks.   

My recap?  Loved it!  Got to see lots of writing and fan friends I seldom see as well as some locals.  My panel Must Love Dogs and Cats was tremendous fun, and we had a good turnout despite the early hour.   Got to sign lots of my books afterward, too. 

I also met with editors from my two mystery publishing houses, Midnight Ink and Berkley Prime Crime, as well as the Midnight Ink publicist.  I got to sign and give away galleys of my first upcoming Barkery and Biscuits Mystery BITE THE BISCUIT, which will be a May 2015 release.  Parties?  Yes!   And I even got to see my dogs during a couple of the event's evenings, when I didn't stay in Long Beach.  Oh, yes, I saw my younger son, too, upon my return one night.  He'd stayed with the dogs the prior night when I wasn't there. 

The panels I attended were fun, but I unfortunately missed one program that I'd been really hoping to see: the cadaver dog demo.  Sigh.  A friend sent me some photos, though, and I'll buy the narrative CD. 

Did I enjoy it?  Absolutely!  Will I go to next year's Bouchercon?  Unfortunately, probably not.  It's in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the opposite coast from me.  And since I'm already signed up for at least three conferences next year I suspect I'll be pretty much conferenced out by then. 

But maybe another one sometime in the future.  I'd look forward to it! 

How about you--do you attend conferences about books?  Which ones?

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?  Maybe not, since my latest trip took me away from home after my Wednesday blog post and here I am again.

This was a short but busy trip.  I started out in New York City, where I had a delightful meeting with my Harlequin editor.  The next day, I attended the Baron Mutual Funds shareholder meeting... and was delighted that the main surprise entertainer this year was Sir Paul McCartney! 

Then I headed south toward Virginia, where I attended the first Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival.  It was held jointly by the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, the Suffolk Public Library and the Suffolk Division of Tourism, and it was great fun!  About a dozen mystery authors were invited, mostly cozy writers.  We got to meet local readers, sign books, read from our books, and participate in a delightful panel.  This hopefully will turn into an annual event, and I'd love to go there again. 

I'm home now but not for long.  Next weekend is Bouchercon, but it's a lot closer--in Long Beach, this year.  In fact, I intend to take the L.A. Metro there for some of the conference's days.  There, I'll be on a panel called Must Love Cats and Dogs--appropriate, don't you think?  It's about putting pets into mysteries.  I also hope to meet with some of my editors there. 

Maybe I'll tell you more about it when I post at Killer Hobbies next week.

Dental Chair Ideas

Blogging rocks!

What am I blogging about here today?  I'm still not entirely sure, but thinking about it yesterday really helped me get through an unpleasant dental procedure.  Instead of focusing on what was happening to me, I brainstormed about what I'd blog about. 

And it wouldn't be that dental procedure. 

I thought about what I should be doing that day: continuing my final edits on the manuscript for my second Superstition Mystery, which is due on November 1. 

I thought about the promotion I've been doing for my first Superstition Mystery, which will include my Orange County, California, launch party this Saturday at 11 AM at Mystery Ink, in Huntington Beach.  And the article on superstitions that I just sent to Fresh Fiction, although I'm not sure when it'll be up on their website.  And the remaining blogs and articles that I've committed to write, although nothing like the volume I undertook for my wonderful Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. 

I thought about last weekend, when I attended the Birthday Bash of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America on Saturday, and the regular meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter on Sunday. 

I thought of my upcoming fun at Bouchercon, which will be in Long Beach next month and the wonderful questions I just received from the moderators of the panel I'll be on at 8:30 on that Saturday morning, "Must Love Dogs and Cats."  Very appropriate, don't you think? 

I told myself I should check to see if there were any superstitions about dentists when I got home, which I did.  I didn't find any, but there are quite a few about teeth.  For example, you can make a baby's teething process easier if you put bag of others' teeth around his neck.  And of course there's the tooth fairy, who leaves money under the pillows of a child in exchange for the baby teeth that fall out.   Oh, and it's good luck to have a gap between your front teeth.  I wonder if orthodontists know they could be ruining their patients' futures.  

Anyway, my procedure was soon over and I was able to leave--to head home and start writing this post! 

How about you--do you find ways to distract yourself in a dentist's chair?

The Joy of Tangling

Ultimately what you offer the market is derived from how you live your life.
--Alasdhair Willis, Stella McCartney's husband, NYT Magazine, Feb. 26, 2012

Odd, isn't it? How the Universe works in synchronicity. Something or someone is called to your attention, and suddenly you hear/see that thing or person over and over. For example, I'd never heard of Max Planck, but last week I had a blow out on Highway 95. The only way I could describe my position to the nice lady at AAA was that I was on 95 near the Max Planck Florida Institute sign. Yesterday, while listening to "Says You," a public radio program, they mentioned Max Planck.

This week I joined 77 other people in Providence, Rhode Island, to attend a Zentangle® certification workshop. On the surface, we had little in common other than being a crowd mostly of women of a certain age. Over the next three days, we learned a lot about each other.

It started with a display table. People brought wonderful examples of their work to share. One lady tangled on gourds!

But the real magic happened when Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas assigned us homework: Come back tomorrow with your own new design and teach it to the group.

Oh, my! Above is a tangle--Kurtinz--and its phases (different looks) by Kate La Montagne.

Here is a grouping by Sampada Agarwal. As you can see, she used a notepad from our hotel to capture a variety of ideas. The one she presented is in the upper right corner, and she named it "Fandangle." Isn't it lovely?

Once our fellow tanglers shared their work, the connections between people began. "Teach me that!" we asked each other. From that point on, you would walk into the room and see a cluster of tanglers sharing ideas.

All this caused my head to kick into overdrive. You see, we're all "universes" unto ourselves. Until we share our cosmos with others, that world is hidden from view. But art allows us to be vulnerable. We capture the way we see the world and present it to others, who respond by saying, "Ah! Yes! Now I see the world that way, too!"

As authors, we incorporate this in our books as we create little worlds. As visual or fiber artists, we do the same. As Spock once said on Star Trek, it's a marvel how alone we humans are. But art builds bridges and that loneliness is vanquished. We meet each other in a new space. And of course, like the quotation above, we attract each other. Art allows our personalities to shine through--and who we are, how we live and see the world becomes clear to others. Then, if you sell your work, what people buy is that vision of the world, that reflection of how you live your life.
What was the last experience that set your brain on fire?

PS I'll be teaching Zentangle at Bouchercon 2012. I hope you'll come join me!

Making Other Plans

Life is what happens while you make other plans.  John Lennon

A week ago, I loaded the dogs in the car and drove with my sister, Jane, from Jupiter Island, Florida, up to Washington, DC. The plan was for me to spend at least a month and a half up at our loft apartment in the Tysons Corner area. Jane would visit and then fly back to Florida.

Packing for any trip is a challenge, as my blog sisters will attest. But when you are changing climates and in the midst of creative projects, it's especially daunting. Jane and I both suffer from RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome), a neurological problem that results in discomfort and pain in your legs, aggravated by sitting for long stretches. There had to be a lot of stops along the way so we could stretch. We arrived in McLean, VA, at 3 a.m. If you haven't been to the area lately, you can't imagine what a mess it is. They are adding three new Metro stations to the area. We found ourselves dodging orange barrels and trying to find our way along 9-lane roads marked "Changing Traffic Patterns" and newly constructed exits that were poorly marked. Even the GPS got confused. We wound up on a short dirt spit surrounded by construction vehicles. I sat there a minute, did a U-turn, and crept along until I found a familiar landmark and made it to the condo.

We arrived at 2 a.m.

Sadly, it became quickly apparent that the dogs would not adjust well to life on the 7th floor. The engineered wood floors--while beautiful--were too slick for poor Rafferty. The poor dude's three feet went out from under him! The floor in the elevator was marble and might as well have been pure glass. Once you got out of the elevator, you had to get both dogs across the marble foyer. Then you had to get them to walk almost a block away to "do their business." When we signed the lease, dogs were allowed in the green space directly in front of the building. But as my character Mert might say, "Not no more."

After getting the pooches settled as best I could, My husband and I flew on to St. Louis for my scheduled signings and Bouchercon. It was great to be back in the Gateway to the West, but I felt a little sick at heart. How would we deal with the dogs and the housing situation? How would my sister manage two dogs? One that couldn't stand up and one that HATES to walk on a leash? That's right; Victoria finds walking on a leash beneath her dignity. We've had dog trainers work with her to no avail.

Victoria (in the pink) is annoyed. "I asked for a limo! Not a grocery cart!" Raffi says, "To infinity and beyond! Hurry, lady, I've got to go potty."

Auntie Jane came up with an ingenious idea for getting both dogs outside at the same time. She put Vicki and Rafferty in a grocery cart. You see, there's a 24-hour Harris Teeter grocery store on the first floor of the condo building. All the residents borrow the grocery carts and take their bags of food up in the elevator, then return the carts. Jane realized that she could fit two dogs in the cart, navigate the elevator, guide the cart down the sidewalk to the grass where dogs were at least tolerated, unload her furry cargo, let them do their business, re-load them and go home.

"Auntie Jane? Um, is this safe? Hello?"

Smart cookie! Needless to say, the dogs and Jane received a lot of interested glances and comments.

Meanwhile, I was racing from signing to signing and to a doctor's appointment with my heart in my throat. How was this going to work? Sure, the cart was a good stop-gap measure, but long term? What would happen when there was snow and ice? Or rain? How would we manage when we had to call a dog sitter?

But I'm a lucky girl. My darling husband brought up the subject. "I don't think this is fair to Rafferty. He can't cope. If we just had Vicki, we could carry her. But Raffi weighs nearly 30 pounds! I think you'd better go back to Florida."

So Jane and I re-loaded the car. We arrived back here in Florida a little after midnight. The dogs hopped out of the car and puttered around in the grass. Both of them seemed relieved.

How about you? Are you often forced to make other plans?

MOVING DAY

It’s Tuesday, and here I am on Killer Hobbies. I’ve moved a lot in my life, but never quite like this. Usually moving calls for lots of boxes and weeks of settling in.

I had really settled into Wednesday. I wrote it Monday and Tuesday – sometimes just on Tuesday – and posted it early (really early) Wednesday morning. I got to post it early because I am up really early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I go to a water aerobics class (which I send my sleuth to in my Betsy Devonshire mysteries, too), the one they call “Early Bird.” It begins at 6:30 in the a.m., which is awfully early. On the other hand I’m back home around 8, washed, dressed, exercised, and ready for my day. Any of the other classes would put an ugly hole in my day, but not the Early Bird class.

Now Tuesday is my day to sleep in. I try not to schedule anything too early on Tuesdays so I can luxuriate in bed. There are two problems with that. One is, I wake up early anyhow – though not as early as on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and the second is, my cat Snaps has an uncanny ability to sense when I am awake, even when I lie still and breathe gently. And if I’m awake, he thinks I should get up. He’ll nudge and bump and paw, purring ecstatically because this is a great game to him. If I lose my temper and rise to toss him out of the bedroom, closing the door on him – well, I’m up, aren’t I? And annoyed enough that I can’t go back to sleep.

But we’ll see how this works. Though I won’t be posting before six anymore, we’ll see if I can’t post before seven.

One of the great things about Bouchercon by the Bay – San Francisco, that is – was the chance to meet some of my fellow Killer Hobbiests. I got to teach a class on counted cross stitch. Camille Minchon, late of this blog, was wonderful, there ahead of time, ready to help anyway she could, bringing supplies, offering advice. I am not a great crafts teacher – heck, I’m not that great a stitcher – so I was pleased there was also a great stitcher present who had taught classes on counted cross stitch, and who was especially helpful with a young woman who had never tried the craft before. (I even learned a few things from her!) I had volunteered to assist Angela Daniels in her craft class on Saturday, and Joanna Campbell Slan came in with all sorts of handouts. Angela showed us how to take an old book and turn it into an exotic gift box, or perhaps a place to hide a small valuable. Very clever and not desperately difficult. It’s something I think I’d like to try again, as soon as I find that rarity, a book I don’t want to re-read or sell to Half-Price Books.

My thirteenth Betsy Devonshire mystery, Blackwork, is now out in paperback, and I’m looking forward to the publication of the fourteenth, Buttons and Bones, due in bookstores December 7.

The Last Bouchercon Story

It’s been a week of Bouchercon stories. My trip was a little longer. I spent a few days before and after in Chicago. When I finally got home, I awoke in the middle of the night and thought I was in a hotel somewhere and was worried about check out time. What a relief to realize I was in my own bed.

Like Monica, I was worried no one would show up for my crochet project in he craft room, or if they did, I wouldn’t know how to teach them. I’m glad to say I was wrong on both counts. There was a nice turn out and I was able to help those that needed it. Then just like any group of crocheters, we sat around and talked while we worked. I certainly enjoyed it.

I went to one of the other craft room events, as well. Sally Goldenbaum had a knit a square to send to South Africa project. I quickly realized I’d forgotten how to cast on, but Sally showed me a new way and I was able to get started.

It’s very humbling to try something you’re not good at. I can fly with a hook, but I stumble with needles. Everyone else was making fancy variations to their square, while I kept taking out mine and starting again. When I finally got going on it, I realized I didn’t know how to end it. The only knit project I completed was a coin purse that kept decreasing until you had just one stitch. It ended just like crochet, by pulling the yarn through.

Sally showed me how to cast off, but the lesson went out of my head as soon as left the room. I ended up finishing it while in Chicago where I had a book on knitting that explained how to do it. I sent my not quite square square to Sally. I hope good intentions count for something, because my lopsided square is full of them. It’s a happy thought that it will become a part of a blanket for scarf to keep someone warm on the other side of the globe.

Since my deadline is looming, I spent a good deal of Bouchercon writing. I had left my computer in Chicago, so it was all yellow pad and pen, but I wrote 30 pages.

My favorite part of Bouchercon was meeting all the people. Even with the cold drizzle, I enjoyed talking to Camille and Ann Parker on our way back from the Etlejorg museum. I pushed myself to circulate at the Berkley party and was surprised at how many people I knew. Afterwards, Maggie Sefton, Sheila Connolly, Kate Collins, Kate Carlisle, Darryl Wood Gerber and I went to the revolving restaurant on top of the hotel and had a fun dinner. We stayed long enough to make two complete revolutions.

There was breakfast with Sandy Harding, who I would like even if she weren’t my editor. I met James Scott Bell in the elevator who it turns out to lives in a nearby San Fernando Valley community. I rode to the airport with Mike Befeler who I seem to run into everywhere. Last time was at Left Coast in Hawaii. I introduced myself to Charlaine Harris and told her how much I enjoyed her panel. Everywhere I went, I found people I liked, to talk to. Mystery writers and fans are the best.

I felt like the ugly ducking who’d finally found the swans.

Adventures at Bouchercon

That "Check Engine Soon" light turned out to be a killer. We stopped in Peoria – on our way to Indianapolis for Bouchercon – and the next morning asked our lovely new GPS how to drive to the car dealership at the address we entered into it. I was so grateful we had the device, as the way there was long and complicated! And it turned out the problem was serious. It cost us a lot of money and many hours of waiting for it to be fixed.

As a consequence, we arrived in Indianapolis hours later than we intended, continuing a series of misadventures by stopping at the wrong hotel – the Conrad (as in Hilton) instead of Embassy Suites. Wow, it was great to be treated as celebrities for a brief while. Polite and efficient men descended in a small horde, unloaded our trunk, signed us up for parking, and guided us to the hotel’s check-in counter. Where the clerk had, of course, never heard of us. But the horde was as efficient as reloading us as they had been in unloading, and our actual hotel was only half a block away. Where we had exactly one person come out with a cart to help us unload our suitcases and my four fancy hats – which, when I think about it, is one person more than we usually get at our motel stops. And he was very nice. Funny how fast we get used to first-class treatment, isn’t it?

The misadventures continued when Ellen slipped in the shower and slammed her forehead and nose into the toilet tank, releasing a large amount of blood and scaring both of us half to death. Over the next few days – including up to the present – a beautiful black eye formed, changing shape and color as time advanced.

Meanwhile, the convention went on. I taught a class on how to cross stitch a bookmark with an argyle pattern. I was SO NERVOUS before it started. I had never taught a needlework class before, what if they couldn’t understand my instructions? Worse (better?), what if nobody came? Well, they came, nearly thirty of them, and they understood my directions. I spent the whole class on my feet, walking among them, answering questions and making suggestions. It was great fun, and the students seemed to enjoy it, too.

My panel, Retail Murder, was likewise very well attended, and the audience seemed appreciative. Other panels I attended made me head for the dealers’ room to buy books by authors I had not previously heard of. Which, of course, is one of the reasons authors scramble to be on panels.

Here’s another misadventure: I couldn’t keep track of what day it was and so managed to miss the Berkley Reception given for its authors on Friday evening.

The great Bazaar, at which about 200 authors gave away hundreds of copies of their books, was a jam-packed success.

But one memory I'll always treasure from the convention is of the fan who caught up with me in a hallway to say she gave up stitching when her vision started to fail, but then read one of my books and it so strongly re-awakened the desire to do needlework again that, even though she can only do the simpler patterns, she has taken up her needle and is rediscovering the pleasure she once knew. Now isn’t that nice?

Notes from the Road

I’m writing this early and setting it up to post on my blog day. When it posts I'll be in Indianapolis at Bouchercon without my computer. It’s really Tuesday and I’m in Chicago. It’s amazing how the leaves have changed since I was here a month ago. The trees are still full, but the green is different. Some of the leaves are a bright yellow as if they have captured the sunlight. Sunlight from some other day since today is cold and gray. But then its cool and rainy in L.A.

Okay, this is just weird. I have the television on as I’m writing this. I don’t have cable or satellite here, so I end up watching mostly PBS. Nova just came on with a show about the mission to repair the Hubble telescope. I hear the name of one of the astronauts and it grabs my attention. I babysat for him. Immediately I have a memory of the first time. He was a year and a half old and in wet diapers. He’s changed a lot - obviously.

I ended up taking care of him and his sister for years until they moved to the suburbs. He wasn’t much of an eater and his parents were thrilled that I made smoothies for him with raw eggs in them. They weren’t called smoothies then and raw eggs weren’t viewed as salmonella carriers. The drinks made such a mark, they gave me a blender as a wedding present.

It’s making me claustrophobic just to look at the inside of the space shuttle. And watching them standing out in space trying to unscrew the old camera gives me the hebbie jebbies. I guess its lucky I didn’t want to be an astronaut because I’m sure I would have washed out.

I’m glad my only challenge tonight is to crochet a washcloth to use as a sample in my craft room demonstation.

On The Road - Again

We’re in Peoria, Illinois, on our way to Indianapolis for Bouchercon, the country’s biggest mystery convention. It’s a little late and I’m tired, but trying to compose my post for tomorrow – when you should be reading this. Somewhere a little west of Cedar Falls the “check engine soon” light came on. The car seems fine except for a very faint whirring or clickety sound, but we’ll have it checked in Peoria before continuing.

Our little GPS is working very well, warning us of upcoming exits and keeping us on track. We’re taking a fairly complicated route, coming down I-35, then onto Iowa 18 and 218, then I-80 and now I-74.

We left a city covered in snow – the second snowfall so far this October! The first one, on Saturday, was more a dusting, but this one left more than two inches on the ground. We often get a little snow towards the end of October up in the Twin Cities – one year we had a blizzard on Halloween, but that was a rare exception. Snow this early is not unheard of, but it’s rare. What made it odder this time is that a lot of trees not only still had their leaves, but they were still green.

This past weekend I was a guest at Gaylaxicon, a GLBT sci-fi convention. I write mysteries, so in that regard I was a little out of place. On the other hand, there’s Goddy. He’s a major running character in the Betsy Devonshire mysteries and he’s very, very gay. Plus the newest entry in the series features Leona Cunningham, who is a witch. She casts spells, uses charms and is suspected of using a curse to murder a man who has been making her life miserable. The book is called Blackwork and I think it’s pretty good.

The con itself was very like other sci-fi cons I’ve been to over the years. A high percentage of young computer and science geeks, who are by and large intelligent, educated people, made up the attendees. I sponsored a beer tasting seminar which was not as well attended as I’d hoped, and so our larder is now well-stocked with exotic beers. Raspberry limbec, anyone?

I think Bouchercon is going to be great fun. I’ve got a panel with fellow authors Juliet Blackwell, Maggie Sefton, Kate Collins, and Madelyn Alt. We’re going to talk about how we weave the problems and joys of owning a retail store into our mystery novels. And, I’m teaching a class on making a counted cross stitch bookmark. Plus my publisher is holding a reception for all Berkley authors in attendance. Look for a report about the con next Wednesday.

Crafting a "Riff" on Other Projects

In my preparation for Bouchercon, I've been "kitting" up the stuff for my scrapbooking class where we'll be making the page above. (See the Sunday post below for details.) Unfortunately, the creative bug hit me hard in the midst.

Maybe that happens to you, too? You're supposed to be doing "A" but you suddenly feel the urge to do "B," and away you go. I couldn't help myself. I stopped everything to see if I could translate the page above, to scraplift the design, and make a similar page in the Halloween spirit.

After a couple of false starts--I couldn't decide what paper to use for the branch--I came up with the page below:



Can you guess what I used for the branch? The owl was a hand-drawn and colored piece I created last year. I have a file of these, and frankly, I can't recall what was the original inspiration. Sometimes I'll look at a rubber stamp or clip art or even a purchased embellishment and decide to try for my own version.

I liked the finished page pretty well. One problem was replicating the border on the big area of yellow/gold paper. I did it with scalloped scissors and a hole punch, which totally wrecked the palm of my right hand. I've injured the muscle connected my thumb to my palm, and I never seem to let it heal right. Somehow I roll my hand when I put my purse on my shoulder in a motion that keeps ripping the same spot.

Another problem: Page protectors are generally smaller than 12 x 12 inches. It's a cheat. So after you make your page, you often find it won't fit in the plastic protector. Hence, the wonky trim job. After the scan I also noticed my jerry-rigged border isn't completely straight.

But the biggest bug-a-boo I have with the page is the owl. Other crafters would either have to download a copy of mine or get their own. I puzzled over that most of the weekend. In fact, my husband David and I were invited to Robert Duvall's farm in Virginia, so we had a nice, long drive in the country side. Mr. Duvall--Bobbie--talked to me about seeing an osprey grab a fish once only to have it snatched back mid-flight by a bald eagle. He said that image has never left him.

So, I've had birds on the brain.

This morning, I used my punches and created the owl below. The main paper is a sort of corduroy paper I had with ridges on one side and smooth on the other. I used a large oval punch twice. One oval is the body--with a flat piece trimmed off the bottom. I split the other oval and trimmed the interior edges to be concave for the wings--then I flipped these over onto the flat side of the paper. I have a neat punch to create file tabs in 2 1/4 by 3/4 inches (by McGill). I used it to create the head with the tufts of ears. Yes, I trimmed it, but I think you can still make out the base shape. The eyes are 1/2 inch circles of white with a 1/2 inch brown flower (daisy) stuck on them. Then I added two black brads even though owls' eyes are more like cats'. Finally, I used that daisy punch again and turned a petal into a beak.

How'd I do?

PS Happy Columbus Day! I hope you have the day off to do some crafting.

Packing It All In

I have to set aside working on the next crochet mystery to get ready for Bouchercon. I love to travel, but hate to pack. This trip is more of a challenge to pack for. Beyond the usual clothes and incidentals, I need to bring along crochet samples, bookmarks, autographed by author stickers and the pens that write on glossy bookmarks.

This year at the big mystery convention in Indianapolis named for Anthony Boucher, there is going to be something new. Since there is a whole niche of cozy mysteries that revolve around different crafts, they are having a craft room. From Thursday through Saturday, different authors will have about an hour to lead an activity. My blog sisters Joanna, Camille and Monica are all taking part along with me and a whole list of other authors.

My project is a Molly Pink Dishcloth, which is pictured at the top. It’s easy to make and hopefully can be made quickly. I sent the directions a while back so they could be copies and the woman I’ve been in contact with assured me they are getting the supplies. Good. If I had to bring 30 balls of cotton yarn, it would either be a clunky suitcase or no room for clothes. Still I want to bring samples of completed dish clothes and one made just to the point of adding the edging.

Then there’s my book. I might have set it aside tonight to get my stuff together, but I will work on it while I’m gone. That means taking along my notes. Notes that hopefully are all together. Thank heavens for laptop computers and flash drives, even though I’ve been known to carry along a hard copy.

Picking my crochet projects to work on during the trip is easy. There is the neck piece I want to finish on the plane so I can wear it at the convention, and the vampire scarf I’m working on for my next book.

Clothes are just an afterthought.

By the way, there is still room (at least last time I looked) in all the craft room activities. So, if you’re going to Bouchercon go to http//www.bouchercon2009.com/specialevents.html to sign up for any of the craft activities. There’s no extra charge.

More Random Thoughts

I didn’t play golf yesterday, I had to make a return trip to New Ulm, Minnesota, to do a little more research on the owner of a needlework shop there called Nadel Kunst, Cindy Hillesheim, and interview the owner of a German-style restaurant called the Kaiserhof – plus have lunch there, of course – and talk with someone who works in the Visitors Bureau of the Chamber of Commerce, who told wonderful stories about the charming little city. I don’t know how much of the material gathered today I will use. I always gather more than I’ll need, but I never know in advance which portion I’ll use.

My husband’s fiftieth high school reunion is this weekend, and I’m going along to see what it’s like. I haven’t been to any of my reunions, but I may go to my fiftieth, coming up in a few years. Fewer than I’d like to think, actually.
Buttons and Bones is still trotting along. Not galloping, which I’d like, but trotting is better than walking. I’m starting to envision the end, which seems kind of quiet this time. I had an exciting end to That Die, and there will be another one in Blackwork, so it’s a little disappointing that I don’t envision yet another one for Buttons and Bones. Still, it should be a satisfying one, which is always nice.

I’ve been reading books by the authors I’m sharing a panel with next month at Bouchercon. I sometimes find I’ve gotten into a rut in my reading, so something like this is good for me. I’m enjoying all of them, so far – I’m actually reading three at a time, keeping them by my bed. I just reach out and grab one and read a couple of chapters before I go to sleep. I’m not having any trouble keeping the plotlines separate, which says good things about the authors.

Michaelmas is coming. It’s September 29th and the official name of the holiday is The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. There is a very old superstition that if you eat goose at Michaelmas, you won’t want for money for a year. We’ve been following that maxim for a great many years and it seems to work; that is, we haven’t had any fiscal emergencies for a very long time. Of course, a great deal of the credit must be shared with my husband, who is very fiscally responsible. Me, I’m on the spendthrift side, though less so as the years have worn me down. Still, we wouldn’t dare stop the goose feast now. Besides, it’s fun, and roast goose is delicious.
　

Favorite Tool

I was a little bit nervous when I saw the assignment to write about my favorite tool as this week’s theme. What would a stitcher’s favorite tool be, if not a needle or floss? Then I read the first two blog entries and laughed out loud.

So all right, my favorite tool is a size 24 tapestry needle. Unless it’s a size 26. But on reflection, my second favorite isn’t floss, or not exactly. It’s a wooden cabinet with three shallow drawers that holds cardboard "bobbins" of DMC floss sorted by number. I don’t update it daily or even weekly. I dump new skeins of floss into the section covered by a slanted cover, then now and again get a "let’s get organized" jones going and will sit down and wind bobbins for most of a morning or afternoon. Before I started using this cabinet, my floss was just in a box and I didn’t know what I had or didn’t have and so would buy new floss for every new project. Now floss isn’t expensive, but after awhile even I noticed I had six skeins of partly used up DMC 434. Now at least I can check to see if I need to buy a certain color or if I already have it.

Work on the crewel piece of sheep in a meadow is moving along. When I get frustrated or overwhelmed by working on what I hope will interest a producer into making an offer for the rights to the Betsy Devonshire mysteries or on Buttons and Bones, I can sit down with the sheep. I’m usng some exotic floss – it’s a mix of oranges with lots of slubs – to make an autumn colored tree and so far I think it’s working. I’ll know when I get a little more of it finished. Then all I’ll have left are the touchups – there are always little places left uncovered with stitches, and maybe even a place that needs to be "frogged" (rip it, rip it) and done in another color or stitch.

For the producer, I am supposed to come up with a bio sheet on Betsy and then six synopses of episodes for him to read. I’ve got five and a bare start on the last one. Deadline: August 1. I think I’m going to make it. Then I’ll have to work like a son of a gun on Buttons.

I have been working on Buttons and Bones, just not as hard as with the other project. The research I did up in Cass County is proving very valuable.

I thought my eyes were improving but they aren’t. Last time I saw my eye doctor, he said there were glasses that would correct the double vision, but he wanted me to wait another month. That was only a week ago. What I don’t understand is why squinching up my eyes helps.

No golf in a week; every time I’ve had the time, it’s rained. Like yesterday, for example.

I got my information packet from Bouchercon (the biggest of the mysery conventions, held in October) on Tuesday. They are asking everyone who is coming to read the same book: Rex Stout’s Some Buried Caesar, and actually include a copy of it with the packet. I haven’t read Rex Stout in many years, though I was a big fan back in the day. I had never read this entry, so I’m really looking forward to this. They promise some of the programming will revolve around the book. Clever of them!