Category Archives: Randonymity

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity, Reading, Reviewettes

Woe of the Toe

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Let Eryka know whether or not you attend craft shows and you could win a $25 KnitPicks gift card on December 31.

Thanks (?!??) to Van for alerting me to these fugly holiday sweaters… Swallow all coffee and cereal and brace yourselves before you click, ok?

Office a little quiet before the holiday? Make an origami reindeer from a box to keep yourself entertained.

You can blame all shopping malls on Minnesota. Sorry ’bout that.

Ever wondered what happens to those socks that vanish in the washing machine? Wonder no longer.

Here’s a clever trick to keep that poor right index finger from getting maimed by sharp needle tips.

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is having eight days of giveaways. The first giveaway (not romances!) will probably be over by the time you read this, but there are still seven more on the way.

Apparently “business is booming” at Minnesota’s public libraries due to the recession.

Reading Update
Ghost Moon (The Moon Series, Book 7) by Rebecca York. Enough with the excursions to the parallel universe, please. Thank you.
How To Knit a Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway. This is the first book in a chick lit knitting series set in Malibu. I’m looking forward to reading the next book!
Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Although published as a small hardcover, this is really a short story told by Thomas, not Harry.
“A Jaguar’s Kiss” by Lora Leigh, from Shifter. Yes, there were three other stories in this collection of paranormal romance, but I couldn’t get into them. Leigh’s story was ok, but definitely not one of her best.
Playing Easy To Get by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jaid Black, and Kresley Cole. Steamy. Very steamy. I liked the Kresley Cole vampire’n’Valkyrie story the best. The Sherrilyn Kenyon story wasn’t a Dark-Hunter story – it was from her B.A.D. series.
50 Ways To Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom. Vampires and witches and evil bunny slippers, oh my! This was a fun’n’fluffy paranormal romance – the next book is already in my to-read pile. (But please note – it’s really cheating to name a book based on a throwaway line in said book…)
I Want You To Want Me by Kathy Love. Apparently this is the most recent book in a series. Or it might just be the second book in a series. Not exactly easy to figure out. Anyway, this is a story about a sculptor and a lhampir (somehow derived from dhampir?!), set in New Orleans.

Still completely loving MaryLou’s sock pattern and am surviving my first top-down sock experience… mostly.

“But Mom, that’s my favorite bit because it matches me! I don’t understand why you’re cursing at it. And really, I’m not sure I’m old enough to hear language like that.” -Mayhem

And for a little color/preview of coming attractions… (I told May to watch out so MamaTulip doesn’t steal her toy!)  😉

*my toy my toy my toy my toy MY toy MINE MINE MINE* -Mayhem

Gluten Free, Randonymity, Recipes

Extremely tasty cornbread stuffing/dressing recipe, plus random linkage

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After reading about how many of you were about to head to the grocery story for ingredients yesterday, I’m looking forward to hearing many exciting tales of crafting candy from cryptic recipes! (I think Van would like someone to send him some peanut butter cups…)

If you ever see one of these lamps in someone’s house, you absolutely must take a picture for me! Ye gads. (Also? Probably your host is a vampire and you should run.)

I wonder what size knitting needle it takes to knit a couch?

Oh dear – ‘twould be mortal peril indeed for me to try this.

Did you know that heat is a leading cause of laptop problems? I’m a big fan of laptops stands for keeping your laptop from overheating – and my favorite is not the kind that contains USB-powered fans. Check out Lifehacker’s great list of DIY laptop stands – I love the three-ring binder variant (although I would probably cut vents in the binder to help cool the laptop).

Had I been thinking, I would’ve posted this recipe before Thanksgiving. But as Brigitte pointed out, some people do eat turkey for other holidays.

Cornbread Dressing
The day before you need the stuffing, make enough cornbread for a 9×13 pan. This should be a savory, not sweet, cornbread recipe. This works well for me:

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a 9×13 cake pan.

Combine the following dry ingredients:
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups GF flour blend (I usually use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose GF Flour)
6 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine the following ingredients in a separate bowl:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup veggie oil or melted margarine (I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 beaten eggs

Combine all ingredients quickly. Do not mix until it’s smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are light brown.

————-

The next day, cube the cornbread (I made 1+” cubes) and toast in the oven at 350F until lightly browned. Meanwhile, saute the following in a little bit of olive oil or butter:

1-2 onions, chopped
4-6 stalks celery, chopped
1 c portabello mushrooms, chopped
1 apple, chopped (do not peel)

————-

1 sweet Italian turkey sausage, cooked and cut into very small cubes
1 4 oz can chopped black olives
1-2 T parsley flakes
1+ T poultry seasoning
1/2 – 1 tsp fennel
32 oz gf chicken or turkey broth

In a large bowl, mix the toasted cornbread, sauteed veggies, turkey sausage, chopped black olives, and seasonings. Add the broth and mix well. You may need to add some water to make the dressing sufficiently moist.

Bake at 325-350F in a 9×13 pan or in a casserole dish for 30-60 minutes, until dressing turns golden on top.

“So tired… who knew how exhausting it was to be a princess?!” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

And sometimes the title well runs dry

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Life in Minnesota has been very cold and snowy this week. Enough said.

Zonda’s celebrating her third blogiversary with a contest! Leave a comment by December 23 for your chance to win a cool calendar or lovely yarn.

If you have a little time and effort to put into it, you could have the chance to win a Sony ebook reader.

To find more reading-related contests, Literary Escapism and Vampire Wire always seem to have links to a few.

Worth reading: Lilith Saintcrow’s column about urban fantasy, including how the first (but not the recent) Anita Blake novels kickstarted the genre. Not sure which is more over-the-top – the column or the comments!

Huh. Socket antlers. I’d guess they’re not recommended for homes with children or pets…

Look! A holiday greeting from the cats! I never thought of Chaos and Mayhem as deprived… until I saw this. More on the thumb issue… Oh, that reminds me. Recently, I was cutting kitty claws and was grousing to myself (as usual) about how hard it is to trim May’s dewclaws. Why the heck is it so easy to trim Chaos’ dewclaws and so hard to trim May’s?! And then I realized… Chaos has protothumbs, not dewclaws. O noes! (Looking for a good dewclaws link led me to this Wiki article…)

Reading Update
Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson. More nicely done romantic suspense! And even better, it looks like Gibson has other books related to this one.
Shadows on the Soul and Hungers of the Heart (The Guardians of the Night, Books 3-4) by Jenna Black. Ok, I’m obviously totally sucked into this series, no matter what misgivings I have. That doesn’t mean I can overlook the massive plot weaknesses/gaps in the fourth book. Sheesh.
The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist, Book 1) by Jenna Black. This is some pretty extreme stuff. Not sure I want to read more of the series, as this book left me feeling vaguely queasy.
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. With stories by Lilith Saintcrow, Keri Arthur, and more, this was by far the best short story collection I’ve read in a very long time.
Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo. An enjoyable cozy mystery about Maggy Thorsen, PR executive turned coffeeshop owner. This mystery is set in “Brookhills,” Wisconsin, which is apparently based on the real Brookfield, Wisconsin. I’m the next person on the list at the library for the second book in this series.

“Ends? What ends? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mom. Were you installing some socket antlers for my further chewing pleasure?” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Little of this, little of that

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Congrats to the various winners of the contest! Prizes are going to Mouse for her Greta and Stanley caption, Jeanne B. for her Chaos caption, and kitkatknit for her combo of both photos caption. Special honourable geek mention to pao for his executable caption.

Author Barbara Bretton is giving away two skeins of light blue Kid Silk Haze because knitting it drives her to distraction. She’ll announce the winner this evening (Thursday, December 11).

If you donate to Toys for Tots by December 20th and let ikisti know, you will be entered in her contest! She reports that the drop boxes are looking pretty empty this year…

How could I resist this silly little quiz? 😉 (We’ll see how much of the formatting remains after I publish this post – I’m having a bit of a fight with the output…)

Which creature of the night are you?

Your Result: Werewolf
 

You are a vicious fighter and a vicious lover, absolutely dedicated to your pack. You are pushed to anger by disloyalty and injustice and have a tendency toward sudden, periodic bursts of wild behavior.
Ghost
 
Cthulu Spawn
 
Sorceror
 
Incubus/Succubus
 
Demon
 
Vampire
 
Which creature of the night are you?

Talk about an amazing cake!

Hee hee. Hmm, does it look like Chaos is moving appliances on the side or what?

Have you heard about Free Shipping Day? If you haven’t, check out the list of online retailers who will provide free shipping if you order on December 18… and guarantee delivery by Christmas.

The perfect t-shirt for my arachnophobic readers? 😉 This martial arts and crafts t-shirt was pretty funny. And how true is this ‘nip t-shirt?!

Reading Update
Billionaires Prefer Blondes and A Touch of Minx by Suzanne Enoch. Rick Addison has made my fictional crushes list. Obviously, I continue to enjoy this romantic suspense series.
Killer Charms by Marianne Stillings. This is related to Stillings’ novel Satisfaction (which I’ve read) and Arousing Suspicions (haven’t read yet).
Magic and the Modern Girl by Mindy Klasky. I was cranky at this book (the third in a series about Washington, DC, witch Jane Madison) for about 90% of it, but the ending finally redeemed things.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley. Extremely well-done urban fantasy set in a world that’s similar to ours. Recommended if you’re looking for vampire books that are different from the usual.
Suite 606 by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas. Well, at least the Eve Dallas and Roarke (mmmm…. Roarke) story was good. And “Wayward Wizard” by McComas was fun.
Ravish: The Awakening of Sleeping Beauty by Cathy Yardley. This was a good read, but be warned that it is extremely racy.
Secrets in the Shadows (The Guardians of the Night, Book 2) by Jenna Black. Still not the greatest vampire series, but I’m curious to see what happens with the characters.

“What legs? Are you sure I usually have legs?” -Mayhem

Randonymity, Tunes

Ten on Tuesday: My 10 or 20 or so Favorite Holiday Songs, presented in no particular order

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Yeah, who knew I was a member of Ten on Tuesday, eh? 😉 Obviously, I don’t participate very often, but I couldn’t resist the holiday songs topic.

I’m not religious. At best, I’m agnostic. I’m a fan of SuperGuppy Kat’s term “gwfgwf” (pronounced “gwif-gwif”: “generic winter festive gathering with food”), which would include Christmas, Hanukka, the Winter Solstice/Yule, Kwanzaa, etc. (Tangentially, Wikipedia has an impressive list of winter festive gatherings believed to be inspired by the Winter Solstice.) So the holiday songs that I prefer tend not to be religious. Often, they decry commercialism or address holiday loneliness. Even Charlie Parr’s Biblically themed song “Bethlehem” is definitely not traditional.

  1. Greg Lake (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer) – “I Believe in Father Christmas” – listen
  2. Dar Williams – “The Christians and the Pagans” – listen (the audio stream is only a snippet, but the video’s the whole song)
  3. The Therapy Sisters – “Pachelbel’s Tantrum” – listen
  4. Charlie Parr – “Bethlehem” listen
  5. The New Standards – “River” (originally by Joni Mitchell). Since I can’t find anything about this song online (although you can order their holiday EP by scrolling to the bottom of this page), how about the Captain Polaroid version of “River”? listen
  6. Annette Walowicz – “Time Goes” listen
  7. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – “Cold White Christmas” listen (hey, it’s set in St. Paul!)
  8. Neko Case – “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” (originally by Tom Waits) listen (hey, it’s set in Minneapolis!)
  9. Gentleman Auction House – “Home for the Holidays” listen
  10. Jim White – “Christmas Day” listen
  11. Johnny Bertram – “Merry Christmas (You Won’t Get What You Want)” (from Peace On Earth: A Charity Holiday Album)
  12. Love Axe – “All I Want for Christmas Is What I Can’t Take Back” listen
  13. Okkervil River – “Listening to Otis Redding at Christmas” (from their Golden Opportunities Mixtape, which was a free download in 2007)
  14. The Priestess and the Fool – “Fairytale of New York” (originally by the Pogues) (you have to download their free Christmas EP, Ride On, Santa to listen)
  15. Steve Earle – “Christmas in Washington” listen
  16. Sufjan Stevens – “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever” listen
  17. Chris Hatfield – “Born Again Pagan” listen
  18. Trailer Trash – “Hard Candy Xmas” (you can’t listen to this song at their website, but you can listen to some of their other holiday songs)
  19. Aimee Mann – “I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas” listen (the audio stream is only a snippet, but the video’s the whole song)
  20. Wormburner – “Bells of St. Ignatius” (you can listen to a preview via Amazon)
  21. Young Bison – “Lee Winters’ Last Christmas” listen
  22. Lightning Love – “Holidays” listen
  23. Sleeptalker – “This Is Christmas” (from Peace On Earth: A Charity Holiday Album)
  24. Bing Crosby & David Bowie – “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” (you can listen to a preview via Amazon, if you haven’t already heard this hundreds of times – I was a huge David Bowie fan when I was an adolescent, and I have fond memories of watching that tv special)

“But I don’t want to be the first cat famous for singing gwfgwf music, Mom.” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity, Reading, Tunes

And we’ll keep on linking ’til they take our linkiness away

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Knit’n’Lit is having a contest – suggest a pattern for one of the listed sock yarns and you could win a mysterious prize. Contest closes midnight CST, December 5.

O noes! Itty bitty kitty vampires! Run away!

I’m pretty sure this isn’t Mayhem. I think things would be a lot messier if she was involved… This lol gave me a flashback to when Mayhem arrived.

What an odd usb hub!

Aquarium Drunkard asked an interesting question yesterday – which sentence from their lyrics would best summarizes a particular band’s entire output? My contribution was for the Mountain Goats – although I’m still thinking about a few other artists. The comments are definitely worth a read!

How to stay in shape while you use your laptop?

Just in case you’ve missed the spiders. 😉

Isn’t this an intriguing bookcase concept?

Remember the very amusing Romance Apologia Scale on the Dear Author blog that I mentioned last week? Yesterday, Dear Author had an excellent (albeit lengthy) post that went further into the attitudes and beliefs behind Romance Apologia.

SciFiGuy.ca lists the forthcoming fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal releases for December.

Reading Update
Succubus in the City by Nina Harper. All about a fashionista succubus living in NYC and hanging out with her demon gal pals. Started out well, stretched on a bit too long, and lost it at the end as it lurched to an abrupt stop with a sequel obviously in mind.
Living with the Dead (Women of the Otherworld, Book 9) by Kelley Armstrong. Initially, I was disappointed that this was another book about Hope and Karl, but the story sucked me in and got me completely involved.
Valentine’s Day Is Killing Me by MaryJanice Davidson, Leslie Esdaile, and Susanna Carr. Three utterly unparanormal short stories about Valentine’s Day.
Don’t Look Down by Suzanne Enoch. The sequel to Flirting with Danger might not be quite as good as the first book, but it was still darn good romantic suspense. I’ve already started Billionaires Prefer Blondes and A Touch of Minx is on its way to my library as I type. (I just realized that Samantha and Rick remind me a bit of Eve Dallas and Roarke, with dash of Stephanie Plum and Morelli/Ranger tossed in to lighten things up a bit.)
Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer. I’ve read a few of Strohmeyer’s mysteries featuring Bubbles, but stopped reading them partway through one of the books (can’t remember exactly why anymore). This novel was a pleasant surprise.
Beyond Fearless (Beyond, Book 2) by Rebecca York. Paranormal romance featuring psychics – no vampires or werewolves or other things that go bump in the night.
Watchers in the Night (Guardians of the Night, Book 1) by Jenna Black. Not the greatest vampire series I’ve read, but I did get involved in the story and I’m curious to see what happens next.
The Magical Christmas Cat by Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Linda Winstead Jones. Other than the extremely dorky title, this was a fun collection of cat-related paranormal romance. Mmmm… hunky were-leopards.

“Mom!!! I can’t get this most super cool toy free of the packaging! Help me!” -Mayhem

Ok, sweetie. *rustling and ripping sounds* Hmm, I wonder what Chaos is doing? (Yup, more of that foreshadowing stuff.)

Randonymity

Trying to catch up

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So! How was everyone’s Thanksgiving (or Thursday past, for my non-US friends)? Here’s a picture from our Thanksgiving table:

Coming soon to a theater near you? I know, I know, you’ll be fighting amongst yourselves to join us next year, eh? 😉

This is what to my wondering eyes did appear Sunday morning when I sprang out of bed:

Fortunately, most of it’s gone now.

A while ago, Cheryl sent me a package of gluten-free goodies, kitty treats, and a great yarn containment bag. Everything was a huge hit – thanks, Cheryl! (Pay attention to everything in the pictures below, because you’ll be seeing some of it again… why, yes, that was extremely unsubtle foreshadowing. Thanks for noticing!)

*sniff sniff sniff* – Chaos

“What is this?! This is so cool! I love this!” -Mayhem

“Mmm… nip. Although I have my doubts that this little packet is actually 50 pounds.” -Chaos

“Oh, this is great! The best! Best thing ever!” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Laughing at myself

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Why am I laughing at myself? Well, if you remember from all my whining, last winter was bitterly cold. And gosh, my car just never seemed to warm up on my way to and from work. I resorted to wearing big ol’ winter boots any time the temperature dipped below +15F. When I had my car in for its annual oil change (synthetic oil, plus I don’t drive very much) last week, I asked about the heat. Turns out that the thermostat was stuck open. One new thermostat later and my car is toasty warm again. D’oh! Why didn’t I take it in last winter?!

Ali’s having a recipe contest and is looking for recipes containing cranberries or sweet potatoes. Write a blog post with such a recipe, or leave her a comment with a recipe or a link to a recipe by midnight CST, November 28, and you could win some gorgeous skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca yarn.

Don’t forget your Black Friday Bingo card before you go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving! Actually, if you’re braving the madness, make sure you do your homework first so that you actually get deals and don’t just get caught up in it all.

CursingMama has some great information on how the online world makes her “real” world better.

Hmm – this could be either Chaos or May… Oh oh. Eeek! This must never happen.

If you read romances, you can find out where you fall on the Romance Apologia Scale. Hee hee – this is my favorite question from it: “Is that a naked man on the cover of your book? 1. Is it? I hadn’t noticed. A friend recommended it to me.” Suuuuuuuuure. Uh-huh. 😉

Reading Update
Get a Clue by Jill Shavis. Completely non-paranormal trashy romance. Heavy on the trash. So-so.
The Undead Next Door (Love at Stake, Book 4) by Kerrelyn Sparks. This one read like it was hard work to write. That’s not really a good thing.
The Rogue Hunter (Argeneau Vampires, Book 10) by Lynsay Sands. Sexy vampires at a lake cottage two hours north of Toronto – and possibly the first ever instance of a vampire jet-skiing/sea-doing.
Mysteria Lane by MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, P.C. Cast, and Gena Showalter. Unsurprisingly, this is the sequel to Mysteria (the mythical Colorado town, which “was ‘accidentally’ founded by a random act of demonic kindness”).
Satisfaction by Marianne Stillings. Another completely non-paranormal book of romantic suspense. Not bad. Not great.
Flirting With Danger by Suzanne Enoch. Now this is how romantic suspense should be! Here’s hoping that the sequels (Billionaires Prefer Blondes and Don’t Look Down) are as good. Please note that Enoch seems to write mostly historical romances, if you’re looking for her books. Not my cup of tea, those.
Blood Lite: A Collection of Nerve-Jangling Tales with a Humorous Bite by the Horror Writers Association. The story by Jim Butcher (a Harry Dresden tale) was my favorite. The stories by Charlaine Harries, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Kelley Armstrong were ok, although not part of their “worlds.” Many of the others were disappointing. Please note that a familiarity with the Cthulhu Mythos might help with several of the stories.
Howling at the Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 1) by Karen MacInerney. The surprisingly good story of a fashionista auditor who was born a werewolf. Poor thing – when she transforms, her back legs are all bare from her shaving them as a human…

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US! (And happy regular old rest of the week and weekend to everyone else.) SoC will be taking a long holiday weekend – back on Monday!

“Mmmm… I hope Mom brings home a turkey for us to catch and eat! I bet that’d be real tasty.” -Mayhem

Personal history, Randonymity

I’ve got Friday on my mind… wait, it IS Friday?!

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Pass the soy mocha, will ya? It’s been a heckuva week.

Me, January 2001, hungover in some random cafe in the New Orleans Garden District…

“Mom?! Mom?? I feel all weird. Maybe I’ve been working too hard. Or I’m melting.” -Mayhem

Have a relaxing and recuperative weekend, all! Let’s hope I have my other notebook computer all set up again before Monday, or I’ll have to break out the burro photo…