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From the point of view of Paksworld, the trip produced some interesting pages, and once I’ve pulled them off the thumb drive and entered them into the main file, I’ll have an idea how much I accomplished. Word 2010, which is on the netbook, is even more annoying than the version of Word on my main work computer, so I will have to undo a lot of unwanted formatting and use the magic four-letter Words of Word-Doom a lot to get it straightened out.
The first day on the train I didn’t even try to write, just knitted and soaked up scenery and being away from phones & email. The second day produced some ideas and finally (in the evening, on the next train) some actual pages. Third day, truly gorgeous scenery so not as many pages–and then I was at the convention by day’s end. But did a little every day, and more on the way home.
I am nursing a very unhappy knee, which restricts how long and in what positions I can sit, so progress may be slow for the next few days. I’ll be doing some walking therapy for it. (Slow walking, with attention to how I place my foot, and on nearly level ground, is good for this knee. We have a long history together.)
Knitting made significant progress on the trip, until the evening on the train, when I pulled out the larger project to work on and the tip on the end of the needle came off, spilling stitches. This was not at the end of a row. In trying to get it out far enough to see the loose stitches and retrieve them, I lost more stitches, and then spent a considerable time putting the stitches I could “catch” onto spare needles (they weren’t all at the same level) and finally running a length of spare yarn (purple. Someone on this group knows exactly what purple yarn!) through all the gaps so it wouldn’t run farther.) Then I started trying to rebuild it, but the train was lurching enough that I decided to leave it until I was home and rested. Very annoying; I’d made a lot of progress on it. I switched to the small project (so useful for working on in a small space or with little time) and it’s now over two feet long.
Laundry’s in progress at the moment, and I’m about to do a therapeutic short walk for the knee’s sake.
Oh–I don’t think I’d mentioned that a French publisher has bought the first three Paks books. That’s definitely in the “good news” category (and proof of my scatterbrained condition…) Mac horse is fine–no more problems with him. Cloud Pavilion, the new rain-barn, has all its trusses up for the roof. Husband’s helper, J-, cut his finger opening a box of screws or bolts (I wasn’t there) and bled a lot but is OK. One of those stupid plastic box things (in my day, she quavers, you bought nails and bolts out of open bins in the hardware store. Yes, dear, I tell my oldest self, but it’s not your day anymore.)
Comment by Lauren — June 3, 2011 @ 12:12 pm
When I was a kid, I loved the open bins at the hardware store. Like a treasure hunt.
Now, they pack the screws in little bags of eight, so you have to buy more than you need. So often, “progress” means getting the customer to pay for things they don’t need.
I will totally come out and fix your dropped stitches if you let me read the next book!
Comment by Genko — June 3, 2011 @ 12:44 pm
Yes, I’ve also done some bleeding trying to open various plastic packages. The last one was a very large bucket of dishwasher soap, and those (*!?@*) plastic tabs weren’t cooperating. I was just about to look around for some pliers (!), when it came apart, cutting first one index finger, and then the other, both in about the same place. I figured that took talent, of sorts. We actually do have a hardware store nearby and another big one a little farther away that have bins. And when I went in looking for a particular tiny nut to fit one of our exotic instruments, they were able to find one for me. Charged me something like 17 cents, can’t remember exactly. I love good customer service.
Comment by Kathleen — June 3, 2011 @ 12:55 pm
So glad interesting stuff came out. I had hope to go to Balticon and say hi — but life happens…
Comment by Jenn — June 3, 2011 @ 1:39 pm
On my first cable knitting project I was 2/3 up the back of the sweater when I saw that I had reversed a cable 7 turns below!!!!! I had no desire to rip out more than 50 rows of work so I dropped the cable and picked it all the way back up properly. That when I figured I may be good at this and my love for knitting began. (everything but argyle)
I hope you were able to pick up your project stitches with minimum difficult.
I agree with you on the “anti-plastic”. I prefer anything to plastic with the exception of the bread bag holder (the thingy that can double as a guitar pick if you are desperate) I hate twist ties. you untwist it only to discover you were twisting in the wrong direction and have to twist even more all the while DYING of hunger for a piece of toast! My life is just soo difficult. : )
Comment by Naomi — June 3, 2011 @ 4:46 pm
Delighted to hear that a French publisher bought the first 3 Paks books, I have several friends whose English is excellent but who would far prefer to read it in their own language, great news as I’ve been raving about the books for years! How about German (I lived there for six years and their bookshops are great).
Comment by iphinome — June 3, 2011 @ 6:40 pm
Did you ever get the lucet figured out or did that plastic fork break?
Comment by elizabeth — June 3, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
The fork didn’t break, but the movement of the train made it very difficult. I’ll try again another time. It was after I quit that, that the safety-tip came off one needle end of the big project and I had a mess to deal with.
Comment by elizabeth — June 3, 2011 @ 9:07 pm
If I remember correctly, the Germans have picked up only the Serrano-Suiza books. If those didn’t sell well, then German publishers wouldn’t be interested in the others. However, if you have German friends who want to read Paks in German, tell them to bug their publishers. My agent has German sub-agents and also goes to the London Book Fair every year to try to sell books in countries where they aren’t yet. Personally, I’d have thought that the Norwegian and Swedish editions would’ve interested German publishers in doing a German edition, but so far no luck.
Comment by elizabeth — June 3, 2011 @ 9:12 pm
Kathleen…I do understand life happening. I hope what happened wasn’t catastrophic, just annoying and delaying, which is bad enough.
Genko: My grandfather had a hardware store and I spent early formative years there while my mother worked in the store. I particularly hate sealed up packages of fasteners because you can’t tell the quality of the metal…I learned good iron and steel and so on by smell and feel when I was a small child. Some of this stuff now is useless, bad metal.
Comment by FrancisT — June 4, 2011 @ 12:11 am
I learned good iron and steel and so on by smell and feel when I was a small child. Some of this stuff now is useless, bad metal.
Wonders whether in Paksworld the rock folk do the same ting (and refer to the bad stuff as nedross). I assume so but perhaps there’s a complication so they can’t.
Comment by Steve — June 4, 2011 @ 10:08 am
I have just finished reading the Serrano series again and would just like to say a big thank you. It is a superb set of books and why nobody has turned them into film and made you very rich as well as staggeringly talented I don’t know.
Thanks again
Comment by elizabeth — June 4, 2011 @ 10:59 am
Dross and nedross are used for stone only and refer to its structural integrity–whether it wants to fall on you or not. They have different words for good and bad ore (and I am guessing still others for good and bad jobs of refining and mixing metals…hmmm…will have to think about this awhile.)
Comment by Kathleen — June 4, 2011 @ 1:44 pm
Thanks for asking. I just had to help a family member thru a hospitalization. Everyone is home now and ok as they can be.
Comment by Tina Black — June 5, 2011 @ 12:36 pm
We have an antique-style hardware store in KC, where you can buy screws, washers and bolts without packaging — and I use it as my first line store for hardware.
Comment by Jeremy — June 17, 2011 @ 4:58 am
Mrs Moon,
Just finished the new Book! WOnderful, absolutely wonderful. I was wondering if the tentative date for book 3 is MArch of 2012’ish?
Comment by elizabeth — June 17, 2011 @ 6:40 am
Hi, Jeremy. For some reason, your comment arrived in the queue twice, but carry identical “numbers”. Which suggests that if I delete the extra, they’ll both disappear. But if I clear moderation for #2, will there be two #15s, or will they merge? Only one way to find out (goes off to approve the twin.)
The tentative date for Echoes of Betrayal (book III) is indeed March 2012, but until it’s in the catalog with a hard date (and sometimes even then) the publisher can nudge it forward or back.
Comment by elizabeth — June 17, 2011 @ 6:41 am
Huh…the twin comments got renumbered; now I’ll delete one of them.