Author: Gailann

Fan of writing, knitting (& crochet), sci-fi, fantasy, and gay fiction, and everything How to Train Your Dragon.

Summer Is Coming

The azaleas are in bloom!  So the dogwoods can’t be far behind.  Because I’ve been hermit-like in my hidey-hole too much this spring, I was surprised at all the beautiful color when trekking (ok, driving) through a wooded area yesterday.

I should not have been surprised.  My best friend and her husband are celebrating their anniversary today.  Don’t ask me which anniversary it is, though—the ’90s are all a blur.

Here’s the reason I should remember this is a beautiful time of year:  my friend had been a docent at the John Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria and knew that’s where she wanted her reception.  It’s quite a popular site for wedding receptions, so the weekends fill up fast. Because of her docent status, she had preference and was first in line when registration opened.  The young couple behind her said they had scoped out Alexandria the  previous year to determine which weekend was the most colorful.  Turns out that happens to be the first weekend in May.  So, my friend snatched May 2nd from them.

And that’s the story of one of the most beautiful weddings ever.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the wedding.  My friend never got around to ordering any photos.  I do have one snapshot print of me, but I haven’t bothered trying to set up my scanner.  I suppose I could try taking a picture of it with my camera, but that’s too much work for right now.  Maybe later in the month I’ll get my act together.

And it’s a no-go for photos of the John Carlyle House.  The website won’t let me copy their photos.  And my work-around (to take a screenshot with my preferred graphics program) is a bust because I’ve yet to downloaded Paint Shop Pro to this computer.

The good news in all this is that perhaps I’ll have some pictures to share later in the month.

Shall We Write?

This blog needs some fresh blood, yeah? So how about a new theme? That’s the problem. There are so many themes available on WordPress.com, it takes a long time to sift through them to find just the right one. I end up spending so much time trying to pick a theme, I become overwhelmed. And then I don’t write anything. That’s back-ass-wards!

The blog needs new content! That’s more important that a new theme! But what’s there to write about? I’m not particularly interested in Outlander any more. Now, if Starz decided to do a Lord John Grey spinoff (he does have his own set of novels), I’d be there in two shakes of a martini lamb’s tail. But I’m afraid Lord John is destined to be just another Jamie Fraser fangirl.

I’m amazed at how commentators always find something to talk about every day. (Well, every weekday.) Granted, this is the nation’s capital region, so the federal government usually provides fodder for discussion. But oftentimes, the commentators discuss the frivolous. For example, one spent some time last winter discussing the weather, and how we mid-Atlanticans are wimps, complaining about 20-degree temperatures when Minneapolis boasted something like -30 degrees. (The commentator even chided himself for being a wimp, especially since he’s from Iowa and suffered through University of Wisconsin at Madison windchills.)

And see, right there? How I get sidetracked? Happens all the time.

I had an epiphany today. Why not try to write something every day this month? Yes, there is such an animal. It’s called NaBloPoMo, and I did it once, six years ago. But since today is May 1, it’s not too late to start this month, right? Heh. We’ll see how long this notorious quitter lasts.

Tuesday Ten: My Year in Books

Towards the end of 2018, Goodreads said I had read 73 “books.”  Considering I read a couple more after this tally, that brought my total to at least 75.  That’s 200% more than the goal of 25  I’d set.  Pretty good for someone with a (semi-undiagnosed) learning disability and possible dyslexia. But, to be fair, some of those “books” were short stories and novellas.  And most of the “full length” books were on the short side, under 300 pages.  Still, I’m taking time out to congratulate myself.

Then again, the majority of those books were of the m/m (male/male or gay) romance genre.  And to think romance novels never interested me.  I blame it on Diana Gabaldon and Lord John Gray, specifically, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.  It wasn’t a romance, per se, because there was a lot going on— mystery, political intrigue, military action, and a near-death experience.  But romance figured throughout.

But the year in books did include some diversity.  I’d planned to do a “Sunday Seven” featuring the non-gay-romance books I read, but there’s actually ten.  So let’s call it a Tuesday Ten.  Here they are, in order of longest to shortest (pages, not words).

  1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, Time’s Best Novel of the Year 2004 and many other awards. I even read all the footnotes!
  2. Past Poisons, an anthology of historical mysteries dedicated to Ellis Peters, by a whole slew of authors
  3. Ballroom by Alice Simpson, more boring than The Man in the High Castle—but the cover is pretty
  4. The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick, only slightly better than the extremely boring television series
  5. The Squire’s Tale (Sister Frevisse #10) by Margaret Frazer, featuring the return of one of my favorite characters from the first Frevisse novel, The Novice’s Tale
  6. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters, Brother Cadfael #1
  7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (Oz #8) by L. Frank Baum, not his best
  8. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of very clever short stories by Susanna Clarke, a kind of continuation of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
  9. King Solomon’s Mines by Allan Quartermaine H. Ride Haggard, it hasn’t aged well, what with all the animal cruelty and machismo
  10. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters, the second Brother Cadfael novel
  11. Nozy Cat #1 (yes, that’s its title) by Lyn Keyes, a cozy mystery with a talking cat.  The second book in the series is called Nozy Cat #2.

(Crap!  How did that list turn into 11? When I added them up initially, I swore there were only 10.)

My favorites and highly recommended:  The Ladies of Grace Adieu, One Corpse Too Many, and A Squire’s Tale.  I’d recommend reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell before The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and Sister Frevisse #1, and A Novice’s Tale, before The Squire’s Tale, to get a better understanding of Roger Fenner.  One Corpse Too Many can stand on its own, I think.

Any favorites you’d recommend?  (Oh yeah, I tried reading The Great Gatsby for a second time and didn’t even get as far as I did the first time.  Don’t recommend it, please.)

Technology vs Standards

Warning:  this post is laden with trademarked technology devices.  Not because I like namedropping all my high-tech shit, but because it’s necessary to understand what works with what, and what doesn’t.

Also, I was going to take a pic of all my incompatible devices, but that will come later.  I’ve already waited far too long to post this.

Not all Bluetooth is created equal.

Are created equal?  Is Bluetooth singular or plural?  How about this?

Not all Bluetooth devices are compatible.

Yes, there are variations of Bluetooth, and not all Bluetooth versions work with all devices.  And here I thought Bluetooth was a standard.  I call “Foul!”

The Saga of My Bluetooth Wars

Continue reading “Technology vs Standards” →

Forgotten Sundays

This week’s Sunday Seven has been interrupted by a cut of unknown origin on the index finger of my right hand.  The bandage makes typing annoying; and since I can’t feel the little nub on the J key, I find I’m writing entire phrases wuth ny rught gabd ibe jet iver,  Very annoying.

Plus, I can’t think of anything to write about.

Speaking of forgotten Sundays, I woke last Sunday morning having not finished my Seven Favorite Outlander Season 3 Episodes post.  I thought about taking the easy way out and saying “This week’s Sunday Seven is usurped by the Super Bowl.”  Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Super Bowl was Feb 4, not Feb 11!  In my defense, I was without cable for two weeks.  And when the cable was restored, I discovered I had no patience for television.  (That affliction has since abated somewhat.)  And apparently, I didn’t go anywhere because the only time I listen to the news is when I’m in the car.  Talk about media blackout!

Sorry, Natalie. 😥  (But not sorry, Philadelphia.)

 

Finally, a Final Season 3 Outlander Sunday Seven

Finally!  Have you forgotten all about  Outlander?  What’s it been?  A month and a half since Outlander’s season 3 ended?  Longer?  Blame some of it on my goddamn 2-week cable outage!  Well, at least part of it.  Onward!

My Seven Favorite Outlander Season 3 Episodes

It should come as no surprise to you (if you’ve read each episode post) that I have a favorite Outlander character.  Of course, those are going to be my top four.  I have a second favorite character.  Those two episodes follow.  And we’ll round out the list with the appearance of a familial-adjacent character.

Continue reading “Finally, a Final Season 3 Outlander Sunday Seven” →

Let’s Just Forget January 2018

[All in the form of a “Sunday Seven,” but on Friday instead of Sunday.  Apparently, my mind only works in increments of seven now.]

Two Weeks in Hell Heck

Two weeks ago—TWO WEEKS!  FOURTEEN DAYS!—on January 19, I was working on my Outlander season 3 favorite episodes post.  I began having difficulty saving the in-progress post as I had no internet connection.  Not a big problem, I thought.  My router is getting old and it sometimes “burps” offline for a few minutes.  I had the backup plan to write the post offline, then copy and paste when the time was right.

Continue reading “Let’s Just Forget January 2018” →

Laughter: the Best Christmas Present

The streak continues!  How long can the “Sunday (& Not-Sunday) Seven last?  Who knows.  Take bets!  Start a pool!  At least now I’ll try to get them posted on Sunday.  Unless, of course, I don’t.  :/

I actually have three Sunday Seven posts started, but with it being Christmas Eve, I thought of something more appropriate to the season.   Every year around November/December, I receive the Signals catalog.  It’s “for Fans & Friends of Public Television,” (that’s what it says on the cover) which I support.  It boasts unusual games, DVD sets, jewelry, pottery, clothing, and more; many items are made in developing countries.  It also has a bevy of T-shirts with silly sayings.  Here are seven my favorites.  They’re in no particular order because I couldn’t determine which ones I liked best.  (See #6 below.)

Seven Silly T-Shirt Sayings (Ha!  Alliteration!)

  1. Hyphenated.  Non-hyphenated.  That’s irony.
  2. The engineer’s motto:  If it ain’t broke, take it apart and fix it.
  3. Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with catsup.
  4. People who wonder if the glass is half full or half empty are missing the point.  The glass is refillable.
  5. I prefer my kale with a silent K.
  6. My decision-making skills resemble those of a squirrel trying to cross the street.
  7. 99 bugs in the code
    99 bugs in the code
    Take one down
    And patch it up
    132 bugs in the code.

And that’s a wrap!

Merry Christmas, all!

Woof!
Woof!

(Photos  and quotes ©2017 Signals catalog)