The Girdle of Melian

odge Podge No. 10! I've passed 1200 posts! Normally I'd have some sort of contest for this... I'll have to think about something fun. An art contest? A story contest? Visit Faded Page for thousands of free books in the public domain! Here are all the artists and creators I support on Patreon : Amanda Palmer music Alice Fraser comedy and interviews Jenny Dolfen art (including Tolkien-related art) Jherek Bischoff music Knitty knitting magazine Monica Byrne writing The Prancing Pony Tolkien-related podcast Knitting and baking from the last week or so: Baby hat! Baby blanket! This one is in progress. I need to find a flannel backing for it. The first time I have made this kind of cake. I haven't separated eggs in a long time. It came out perfectly! If anyone wants, I can share the recipe in English. I made ice cream! I cup milk, some chopped up chocolate, and a spoonful of sugar (I used maple syrup sugar) in a bag; put this bag in another bag with ice and half a cu...

odge Podge again! First, the webcams , which are so interesting and soothing: The moose migration in Sweden ! It's over for this year, but happens annually. The eagles in Decorah ! Now in its tenth year! The Tolkien Society has been hosting weekly quizzes, which are like mini-cryptic crosswords. Here's the latest one: A bit tricky... ROW80 : I've changed up my goals a bit, as I'm not getting any editing or research done on captive of the Sea. Instead, I'm writing a piece in the style of National Geographic for school, and completing the 500-word short story exercise at thelitforum.com! WRiTE Club is on! Drop by DL Hammons' blog to vote in the bouts! "How about a little WRiTE CLUB history? The virtual contest started off as a modest competition loosely derived from the movie FIGHT CLUB, and from there it has grown into a writing community sensation. There are other versions (usually LIVE face-to-face events), but they a...

ore music! A while back, Matthew shared a post on Facebook that asked players to choose one song per decade of their life. One song? I can't narrow it down, so I've tweaked the categories a bit: Some of my favourite songs from the number 1 chart for the year in which I was born : "Heart of Glass" Blondie "Don't Stop Me Now" Queen "Sultans of Swing" Dire Straits "The Logical Song" Supertramp "I Don't Like Mondays" The Boomtown Rats "My Sharona" The Knack "Breakfast in America" Supertramp "Cars" Gary Numan "Message in a Bottle" The Police "Video Killed the Radio Star" The Buggles "Tusk" Fleetwood Mac "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Queen "The Eton Rifles" The Jam "One Step Beyond..." Madness "Walking on the Moon" The Police "Confusion"/"Last Train to London" Electric Light Orchestra ...

oday is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day! This month's question is: Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share? If given the space, I definitely do! I need a latte in a bottomless mug , my favourite pen , a lovely notebook, some music ... However, I usually have very limited time to write. This is not a problem when working on the first draft, because then it's not work; the ideas simply flow and I'm eager to get writing. But for all the subsequent editing stages, I have to squeeze them into the daily round whenever I can. The best thing for me is to have a goal or deadline, or both, usually in the form of a contest I'd like to enter or an open call from a publisher with a firm end date. Which reminds me, WRiTE Club is starting soon! As for ROW80 , I've been caught up with work and distance learning and so on, and haven't really progressed on research for Captive of the Sea . But our print...

nitting! I've been doing a lot of this... Mini-projects, so I get the satisfaction of seeing something completed! A hackey sack I made for use in a homeschooling assignment! Hat 1... All the scrap wool left in the house... Lots of baking going on, too... A new-to-me pattern! Also trying to advance my crochet skills a little... My first-ever square! Hat 3 Hat 4 All six hats! Hat 7. On I go... The incomparable Jean Little has passed away. This was the moment I found out Guelph Today obituary I've blogged about Jean Little and her books often in passing. She and her stories have meant so much to me over the years. Currently, I'm very excited to be reading the Ramona Quimby and Mary Poppins books with my daughter (my nth rereads and her first time!). I really can't wait till she's old enough to read Jean Little, though. A to Z Challenge 2012 Favourit...

nitting in the wild! I haven't had one of these Knitting in the Wild posts in quite a long time. This one is a continuation of our trip to the Canada and impressionism exhibit in Lausanne . Knitting by H Mabel May My little shadow Have you seen any crafts in the wild recently?