literary crushes, procrastination and doll making

A few days ago while procrastinating on twitter and chatting with a few of my best geek friends I got the worm of an idea to make a doll inspired by Neil Gaiman himself. Mr. Gaiman is one of my favourite authors, he is cool, nerdy and all around fantastic. So with very little encouragement from the twitter peanut gallery I set to work sewing a new doll and ignoring the housework. But don't tell my husband that.

The dolls and monsters I make start life as scraps of fabric, lace and vintage buttons. I sit at my desk and play with ideas and fabrics until the pieces come together with the threads of small stories and fairy tales in my head. For me making the dolls and writing their little stories are one and the same, an outlet for my creative side. I make them for the love of craft and making things. This doll won't have a story because he is the doll of a wonderful storyteller and you should own his books already and if not then run out and buy one today.

Neil Gaiman the doll is made with scraps of cotton fabric, toy filler, and vintage buttons (green as that is the closest colour to hazel I had in my modest button stash. I did my research). I thin grunged up the doll with a mixture of coffee, tea, vanilla and cinnamon to at an aged look and a lovely smell.

Wordless Wednesday: side table with Grandma's tatted doily

button bookmarks

ingredients:

vintage buttons

craft glue

wooden coffee stirrers (I saved mine from Starbucks but plenty of other coffee shops have them)

Instructions:

1. clean and dry your coffee stirrers so they aren't covered in coffee, sugar, and syrup.

2. choose buttons.

3. glue buttons to coffee stirrers. let dry and bookmark your place in a book.
crafter's notes: a tiny simple craft to keep kids occupied. If you can bare to part with a few buttons... and suffer through drinking a coffee while out and about in the shops. The burdens we have as parents sometimes. :o) a fun quick craft project that can travel well, so that you need only bring a few buttons and a smidge of glue or double-sided tape with you when sitting in a coffee shop. Any excuse for more coffee. :o)

little red suitcase

Today H woke us a little after 6am to shout Happy Father's Day to Matt, then run around finding all the cards he made and hid about the house this past week. After coffee (because before coffee I'm evil) I baked blueberry muffins for breakfast and we went up to Tansley Carboot for a wander around in the fresh air and look at an eclectic assortment of junk.


We wandered around for an hour, I found a book I wanted for 50p(Practical Demonkeeping ...because I don't have enough books) Matt and H found a brand new little science experiment kit for £1 (that cant go well) and H bought some geomag magnet toy for 50p (we don't have enough junk really). Matt treated himself to a bacon cob (because its Father's Day and I didn't have any bacon to fry this morning), and Harrison and I shared a hot dog. When I finished my bit of hot dog I left them to it and hightailed it down a few rows by myself and found this little red suitcase for £3. Its battered and scraped but it was such cheery red colour that I bought it and wandered off to find them swinging my new case along. I would have whistled but I'm a terrible whistler.

I brought the case home, wiped it down and have filled it with books, in part to counter the warping of the bottom of the case, but mostly they were on hand. And contrary to what Matt might say, I HAVE read some of the books in the case...just not all of them yet. I may store fabric in the case as I do in the little brown case but for now I'm happy its filled with books.

Now I must be off to tidy my craft desk, make cards, and possibly do some sewing before H pesters me to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 before I make Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken and rice for dinner.

Day 15 — A fanfic

I have read a few fanfics but on the whole I don't read all that many, and have written only a few which are probably quite terrible (no definitely terrible)but I figure that is was fanfics are for right?

I supposed the very first fanfic i wrote was when I was eleven or so and reading The Secret of the Unicorn Queen books. I loved the books to no end but they used the trope of the main character Sheila stumbling into an alternate verse where magic exists, she is loved, and fights the evil in that world then returns home leaving the friends who love her, the magic, and her pet unicorn, she left her pet unicorn and went home to her mundane life.

I hated the ending so I re-wrote the ending so that she went back to live in the magical world that she belonged in with her pet unicorn and everything was magical. I left the book with my written end of the story at school one day and someone stole it from my desk. I still carry a grudge about that.

Day 13 — A fictional book

My dad gave me a dog-eared paperback of the Stand when I was a kid, 11 or 12, and of all the Stephen King novels I have read, and the books that I have read since the Stand is still one of my favourite novels. My dad taught me to love books. And more often than not you can find me with my nose in a book, lost to the world I am reading about. Much to Matt's annoyance when I don't respond right away because I'm off in another world fighting dragons, saving star ships, killing vampires and exploring ancient and alien worlds.

I have re-read The Stand 3 or 4 times and may read it again sometime soon, there is something addictive in the epic battle of good verses evil in a world struggling in the aftermath of a super-flu virus that kills 99% of the human population. Its not just the protagonists that I love but the small details from the initial outbreak of the super-flu, though the destruction of civilization, and the struggle to survive in the aftermath.

Book Sale

Charity Book Sale
Saturday 29th of May
7am till 12pm
The Red Lion
Ripley

My good friend Marina is hosting a charity book sale in Ripley, Derbyshire on Saturday the 29th of May. Hundreds of book and comics have been donated for the sale and I have been helping to sort them into some semblance of order. So please if you are a local blogger/crafter please pop by the Book Sale and buy a book or two. I'll be there lending Marina a hand and probably buying a few books myself.

All proceeds for the sale will be donated to CLIC Sargent

Day 04 — A favourite book

I probably read as much as I watch tv... more when I get into bookworm mode. I read mainly fantasy, sci-fi, horror, craft books and various paranormal/urban/fantasy/romance/horror/watchamacallit books. I love to get lost in a book and be somewhere far away from the mundane of everyday. I have so many favourite books and authors that I think I will pick something at random.


Illusion by Paula Volsky, I have read the book twice and would happily read it again if I hadn't inadvertently traded it in sometime in California or Idaho. I may need to order the book again so that I have it and can read it again. Its set in an alternative Earth of the French Revolution where magic exists. I really enjoyed the book it is beautifully descriptive and utterly fascinating.

shhhh I'm reading...

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Blurb at the back of the book: 'I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first. My nose isn't at its best when surrounded by axle grease and burnt oil ...' Mercedes Thompson runs a garage in the Tri-Cities. She's a mechanic, and a damn good one, who spends her spare time karate training and tinkering with a VW bus that happens to belong to a vampire. Her next-door neighbour is an alpha werewolf - literally, the leader of the pack. And Mercy herself is a shapeshifter, sister to coyotes. As such, she's tolerated by the 'wolves but definitely down the pecking order. As long as she keeps her eyes down and remembers her place, the pack will leave her in peace. Hardly a normal situation, but then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself...and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

Last Book Read before going on holiday I have a weakness for Urban Fantasy, and this was a great book. My friend Marina loaned it to me and the next two after it as well.

Book taken on holiday: Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders. I started reading in the car on the way to our hotel near Heathrow (obviously Matt was driving if you are worried about such things) I finished the book at my parents' house in Idaho. I enjoyed reading some of the stories, a few real gems that made you stop and think about the possibilities of things and the magic in the everyday. A few were a bit clunky but it was still an interesting walk around Gaiman's mind and I enjoyed reading the introduction and the brief blurbs about where the stories began.


Monster by A. Lee Martinez
cover blurb: Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don't like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady - for the future of the universe.

Monster runs a pest control agency. He's overworked and has domestic troubles - like having the girlfriend from hell.

Judy works the night shift at the local Food Plus Mart. Not the most glamorous life, but Judy is happy. No one bothers her and if she has to spell things out for the night-manager every now and again, so be it.

But when Judy finds a Yeti in the freezer aisle eating all the Rocky Road, her life collides with Monster's in a rather alarming fashion. Because Monster doesn't catch raccoons; he catches the things that go bump in the night. Things like ogres, trolls, and dragons.

Oh, and his girlfriend from Hell? She actually is from Hell.

Read while in Idaho, at my parents, in coffee shops, on the way to yard sales and misnomered Estate Sales. I loved the book, just the right mix of humor, fantasy, a fast paced, light read. I left the book for my dad to read as we alread had a ton of goodies to bring back with us.

A Lee Martinez's Too Many Curses

blurb: A magical castle, an utterly wicked wizard named Margle, and Nessy, a kobold who tends the castle, lead the way in this diabolical story of good triumphing over evil. The many residents, all of whom have been cursed by Margle, include a hanged man in the library, Decapitated Dan, unmanned armor, chatty gargoyles, a loyal fruit bat, a silver-polishing gnome, and the very important Door at the End of the Hall. Soon after the wizard dies when one of his curses goes awry, Nessy realizes that the castle is falling apart, and it is her job to bring about order.

Read at the airport while waiting to see how much longer our return flight would be delayed (6 hours) but we did get home on the day we were meant to. Finished the book a few days ago, it was a fast paced, geekily enjoyable book.



Vampire a Go Go by Victor Gischler

next book on the pile on my nightstand.. technically I started reading it before we went on holiday but as Marina lent it to me I didn't want to take it for fear of damaging it or forgetting it in Idaho.







Pride Prejudice and Zombies by Sethe Grahame-Smith

the next next book on my stack of books to read is Pride Prejudice and Zombies, which was my Christmas present from Matt but I just haven't gotten around to starting it just yet.







other books bought while away Wreck this Journal (bought from the Barns and Noble in Santa Rosa, my old stomping ground while hanging out with Meg my best friend from my school day).. I had wanted this journal a year ago but put it back on the shelf as I bought a bunch of sci-fi/fantasy/urban fantasy/horror type books already and was getting too short on space. Matt has flicked through it and shook his head at me, I think it will be a fun exercise in creativity and doing things I would not normally do with a book.. like cracking the spine *winces*.

Flea Market Style Magazine- yes I know it's a magazine not a book but I found it very inspirational and have flicked through it twice (once at Spokane Airport and once as SFO )

I love Patchwork: 25 Irrestistable Zakka Projects to sew by Rashida Coleman-Hale --I haven't read through it properly but I bought the book at the The Kinokuniya Bookstore in Japan Town Mall in San Francisco. I was going to buy a Japanese book but decided on this one as it would be a good read instead of just something to look at.

what are you reading?

p.s. I will update with some holiday photos and babble on about what we did on our three weeks away in California and Idaho but Matt is still messing about editing the pictures and we are still a bit jetlagged... and in dire need of vast quantities of coffee and sugar to keep functioning at a semi-normal level.

Also I have no idea why this is italicized it just is and I cant change it and am too rusty at html to even try. *glares at blogger*

Multimedia oh my

I know I’m terribly behind on blog posts, and I will get around to that, I have been crafting a bit of sewing, burning myself with hot wax, cutting my fingers with a deadly round bladed wheel of death-and fabric cutter, knitting badly, and for some completely unfathomable reason I have been attempting to learn to crochet (don’t ask you really really don’t want to know how bad that is going.) Also I have been trying to work on my writing, a little fable/fairy tale that I wrote the notes for in my journal but every time I try to expand on the notes it all goes horribly wrong and I end up in a grump.

What else have I been doing? Aside from giving Peggy Bundy a run for worst housewife.

At the Movies:

Matt and I went to see AVATAR last week, in three dee, so I looked ever so fetching with 3D glasses over top of my glasses. The movie was visually stunning, it was amazing to see, and worth the ticket price (2 for 1 Wednesdays) and the headache. the cast was great if underused, but the dialogue was… terrible, ‘Unobtainium’ says it all really. I would still see it again, it was fun, the planet was vivid and I wanted to know more about the science and biology of the world than was on offer (all the alien creatures were 6 legged except for the 9ft tall kitty cats). I kept waiting for one of the Na’vi to say “You no can has unobtainiums.” but that was probably just me.

Dear Mr. Cameron,

you have oodles of money, peons and slaves galore please use your resources to hire some writers. Because seriously ‘unobtainium’? Also stop writing fanfic about Ferngully, Dances with Wolves, and mutant Smurfs.

yours,

Meri

.........................................................................

DVDs:

Zombie STRIPPERS: ridiculously bad… so obviously we loved it. Zombies, bad acting, stripper, Freddy Krueger.

REPO the Genetic Opera: Fantastic, absolutely loved it from the very start. It is completely bonkers, but fabulously so. I had to download the soundtrack because I NEEDED to listen to have the songs playing on my ipod while I cook dinner.

Star Trek: Fantastic, though the Boy got upset that he couldn’t find his phazer while watching it. T loved the gag reel and the making of documentary too.

TV:
Most of the good shops seem to have disappeared before Christmas and haven’t returned yet. Glee started the other week and I love it (although some of the cheesier songs make me hide behind a cushion.) Dollhouse is ending soon which is a sad as it is a great show. oh and CSI’s Vegas and New York are still on the sky plus but mostly we sit and mock the awful descriptions of the tech used.

Books:

I have a new Literary crush on Neil Gaiman, over the last few months I have read Stardust, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Coraline, The Graveyard Book and Neverwhere, and one of his Sandman Graphic Novels. American Gods is my favourite thus far I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it.

Devine Misdemeanours: Laurell K Hamilton… pure trash. Paranormal Pulp, but I love the idea of it, the world is good and the books are entertaining if you ignore the pulp.

Coyote: by Allen Steele .. epic sci fi/space opera novel of interstellar exploration, colonization. Apparently it is a reworking of his short stories which I just found out, praise wikipedia, it was quite good, I might read the second book but I’m not so sure about the others after reading some of the reviews on Amazon.


I have another 4 or 5 books that I’m partway through and quite a few more I haven’t started yet.

webcomics

xkcd A webcomic of romance,sarcasm, math, and language. Sometimes the math loses me, but otherwise its a fantastic webcomic.

Questionable Content: very funny webcomic that I have been reading the last few days from the begining. Its great but I only know one in ten indie band refrences.

so what have you been watching, reading, listening to?

.........I’m cold, I think its time to put the kettle on and go watch a DVD or the idiots audition on American Idol.


this blog post has been specially brought to you by the shape cup and the number 4 and the letters C, O, F, F, E and E

Banned Books Week

This week is Banned Books Week, a time to celebrate the freedom to read. There shouldn't be a need to have a Banned Books Week but unfortunately there are thousands of books that have been burned, banned and continue to get challenged by individuals, groups and governments that find them offensive.

The books we read expand our minds, and make us the people we are. Books have always been an important part of my life, I can still remember my dad reading me stories when I was small, some of the books have been challenged. Every Christmas and Birthday I would be more excited about the books I received than the toys and clothes I got. One Christmas my dad gave me a copy of A light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, I sat in a nest of torn wrapping paper and read my brand new book of poetry from cover to cover.

Literary exploration is so important, I read a book a night to my son, stories and poetry, including some of the very same books that my father gave me, books that have been Challenged, and Banned. I fear for the future, if these books that shaped me became banned and children and young adults the world over could not read them.

Books that have been Banned or Challenged at some point are not all masterful works of literature, but that is the magic of books and the stories they tell of history and unknown worlds to explore. I have read quite a few books on the Banned list, and not all of them I loved but they did make me think and I was glad to have read them.

The following list of some of the Banned Books I have read:

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  
• The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I have read the series more times than I can count, and hope to read Farm Boy to H when I can get a copy of it)
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also by Roald Dahl
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• The Call of the Wild, Jack London
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein(II read this every week to my son)
  
• Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein (pure magic)
  
• The Giving Tree, yet again by Shel Silverstein (it still makes me cry)
  
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding (yes its disturbing but it was one of the few required reading books that I absorbed)
  
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (I read but didn't really appreciate and to this day I still don't like Steinbeck's writing but it is important to have the book available to read)
  
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ( I was forced to read it in school because it was a Banned and Challenged book, and despite it's being a Literary Classic I never loved Holden)
  
• Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
• Forever by Judy Blume

currently I'm reading 1984 by George Orwell for my Book Group, I have a huge stack of books to read though but I plan on getting a more Banned Books on the Book Group Reading list.

Question Authority and Read Banned Books!

a few links:
the ILA: Books Challenged and Banned in 2008 2009 a pdf
The American Library Association has a list of Banned and Challenged books
the School Collection list of Challenged Children's Books
Amazon list of recently Banned and Challenged Books
Amazon list of 100 Banned and Challenged Books

10 books Meme

Name ten books that have stuck with you, and have helped to shape your world.Don't take too long to think about it , simply list the first Ten books that you can think of in ten minutes or less. Books you have read that will always stick with you. tag 10 friends if you wish to share the meme. This meme was on facebook but I thought I would share it here because it was an interesting exercise.

and here goes in no particular order


1. The Stand by Stephen King - my dad gave me this book to read when I was around 12 and it was fantastic, it is by far my favourite King novel, it is very complex with a wide assortment of characters, good vs. evil, plague, apocalypse, the end of civilization…

2. Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic by Shell Silverstien- My dad got me these for two consecutive Christmas when I was a kid and I sat all day reading the poems and was thoroughly enchanted.

3. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder- my great aunt got me the set of books when I was too small to read them, they sat in my room for years until I was old enough to read them, and realized that they were the real stories of what happened to Laura and not just the tv show which I adored. I spent whole summers playing in the fields pretending I was Laura living on the prairie with just the dogs and cats as my companions.

4. A Thousand Words for Stranger- Julie E. Czerneda- the author is a biologist and as such creates a vivid world of aliens, star ships, and worlds beyond ours. I have read this at least 3 times and I fall in love with it every time I read it.

5. Illusion by Paula Volsky- it’s the French revolution with magic, I have read this twice and it broke my heart and mended it both times, the book is so vividly written that I fell into it and couldn't put it down. I think the book is at my parents’ house in a box somewhere I must dig it out next time we visit if I can remember to.

6. Merry Gentry and Anita Blake novels by Laurel K Hamilton- I’m lumping them together even though they are 2 series with at least 20 books between them. Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, whatever flavour you want to call them, I love the worlds Hamilton has created, especially that of the dark fairies.

7. Enslaved by Virginia Henley historical romance/time travel/destiny….in late high school and college I had a thing for reading historical romance.. And sci fi/fantasy romance.. There wasn’t so big a “Paranormal/Urban” romance section back then, Henley packs a heavy punch with some of the historical details in her novels. (I was such a history geek at the time.. though where all that knowledge has gone I'll never know)

8. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen .. I didn’t read it in high school, I got lumbered with All Quite on the Western Front and Jane Eyre, both I loathed and skimmed through the cliffs notes to write papers and pass the tests for. Pride and Prejudice was on my list for years, I loved the BBC mini series but never got around to reading the book until a few years ago, and I loved it almost as much as the mini series and I probably never would have loved it in high school.

9. The princess bride by William Goldman ..what can I say but …My name is Inigo Montoya you killed my father prepare to die!

10. The Secret of the Unicorn Queen series by various authors.. Its a series written for tweens or young adults.. My parents bought them for me for my birthday and I was hooked read them over and over again, except for the last book I got mad at it because the girl choose to go home to boring Earth instead of staying in the world of magic and her own unicorn.. I wrote an alternative ending (my first fan fic I suppose) the book got stolen when I was sick and left it in my desk at school but I still have the rest of the series in a box at my parents house.

I'm not saying these books are classics or that they are the best books ever, but they are a part of me because I love them, and reading has helped to shape me into being the person that I am. No matter how scatterbrained that may be.

craft goodies from the States and some lavender sachets

little lavender sachets

First before I get into the pile of crafty things I brought back from the states I would like to show off two little lavender sachets I made yesterday morning. The little owl is my favourite made with linen mix fabric, with onxy bead eyes, and "Owl" stamped on the back with my lovely alphabet stamps.I adore my abc stamp set

metal embroidery hoops

I don't know if you followed my twitter feed or not while I was away, it did tell more than drinking vast quantities of coffee, honest. While in Idaho we went to a few yard and estate sales, at the first one we visited in the "free" box by the door I found two metal embroidery hoops. They were in excellent conditio, I would have happily paid for them, but as they were free that was even better.

fabrics from Bear Paw

Near Fred Meyer's grocery store there was a quilt shop, Bear Paw Quilting and Bernina, I only got to go in for half an hour but I had a fab time. I don't quilt, I'm sure Katy or Leah will say I should add "yet" to that statement, but I had fun looking at fabrics and bought two fat quarters one with little numbers and a retro-y one with children and toys (I know I'm bad at descriptions today). There were some really fantastic fabrics and quilt patterns, and classes too, I may have the chance to visit my parents in summer and it would be fun to take a class or just buy a few more pieces of fabric.

vintage button assortment

My mother found these vintage buttons at a few yard sales she visit last summer and kept them for me. I don't know what I will be making with them but they are very pretty, the mother of pearl ones I found in Wiggits antiques in Coeur d Alene and as they were only small and cheap I treated myself to them, before going to get an iced latte, from Starbucks naturally. I also visited a Michael's crafts and bought some lowercase alphabet stamps that were on sale and some embroidery floss, I attempted to do some embrodiery while at my parents house but it didn't work out.

pretty little fabrics

My last stop for craft things was to Esther's Fabrics on Bainbridge Island, Wa. We met up with Selena of Apron Thrift Girl on the Island after meeting her and her husband for lunch the day before in the University District of Seattle. Selena lives on the island and we met for coffee and pastries at the lovely Blackbird Bakery and She showed us around the little town and then took me to Esther's Fabrics for a nose around all the pretty fabrics, I was spoiled for choice, especially with the cute selection of japanese fabrics.

Alexander Henry Tattoo fabric

After heming and hawing for an indeterminate time I bought a small selection of pretty fabrics to play with, under the guise of them being an birthday present. I have ideas for the tattoo fabric, a very belated birthday present for a friend because what I made for her just wasn't quite right, the rest I don't know butI'm happy just looking at them.

vintage copy of the Wizard of Oz

One last item, Selena gave me this fantastic abused vintage copy of the Wizard of Oz, its great I never read the book so I'm going to read it then take it apart for my art as its in very poor condition which is exactly what I have been serching for for months. You just can't find a copy around here anywhere. I read the first few pages aloud to H on the ferry back to Seattle so I will see if he wants me to read him any more. Though if he likes it I will probably have trouble taking it apart for my art. Selena also found a art neveau book in Polish that should though would look pretty painted on. I'll be dragging my paints out in the next week I think, though I still have pleny of pages from a vintage copy of Alice in Wonderland to work with first.

random chapter

book meme

Total number of books owned: um a few hundred here, and probably the same amount at my parents.

Last book bought: the last Laurell K Hamilton, Meredeth Gentry novel

Last book read: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Book that means the most to you: Stephen King's The Stand, one of my favourite books from when I was 12 or 13 my Dad gave it to me to read and I have read it 3 or 4 times unabridged.

Book you re-read time and time again? The Stand is one, but there are quite a few I have read again and again, A thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda, Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel. more but I can't think of the titles right now.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic, or Horror? Sci fi, fantasy and horror (I have been quite addicted by Urban Fantasy/horror recently) and I am reading my first graphic

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? can I say all? it depends on the book and author, I prefer to hold a paperback, but sometimes I want a new book so badly that I will buy it hardback.

Heinlein or Asimov? Asimov, but to be honest I haven't read as much of their works as I should.

Amazon or real book shop? real, there is nothing better than wandering around a real bookshop, I love the smell of new books, and of old books too, add a cafe and I'm in heaven.

Borders or Waterstones? Borders as its American and smells almost the same as Borders in the states, *sad geek*

Hitchhiker or Discworld? Hitchhiker as I haven't read Discworld (Frizbe says she will bring me some)

Bookmark or Dogear? bookmark! though my favourite bookmarks are empty giftcards from Old Navy

Alphabetize by author, by title or random? vaguely by author, but most of my books are in the attic and not in a book case (I working on that though)

Keep, recycle or Sell? keep, occasionally I will trade in books I wasn't blown away by, and sometimes I lend/give them to friends. (I promise I will send you those books soon Flame)

Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep

Read with dust jacket or remove it? remove it while reading, but carry it around with me and recover the book when I put it down for the night.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? not read either, though I did watch the Lemony Snicket movie and thought it was much more fun and dark then whingy old Harry.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I try for chapter breaks, but most of the time I just leave my bookmark card under a paragraph break.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?" once upon a dark and stormy night!

Buy or Borrow? buy *mine mine mine*

What makes you buy a book, reviews, recommendation or browse? browsing more often than not, I like to look at the book, at the cover read the back and read the first sentance/paragraph/page that is what buys the book for me.

Lewis or Tolkien? Tolkien, only because I have read Lord of the rings and not finished Alice in Wonderland (its on my list I have the book and only used through the looking glass for my art)

Hard SF or Space Opera? Space Opera, I don't mind some Hard Sci-fi but sometimes its a bit much and you loose the store in the science.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? tidy.. I hate when you read a book and get to the end and its a to be contined in the next 75 books, book 2 due out in 3 years time. argh

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? nighttime

Standalone or Series? both,

Urban fantasy or high fantasy? both, though I have been reading more urban fantasy lately

New or used? both

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? A thousand Words for Stranger by julie E Czerneda, noone I know but me has very read it.

Favorite genre books read last year? Urban Horror/dark Fantasy

Favorite genre books of all time? Fantasy

Favorite genre series? laurell k Hamilton's Anita Blake books (the first 3, and a few in the middle and the last one, some of them are pulp inbetween*

Favorite genre short stories? fantasy/horror ...occasional fanfics.

Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria- toadstool

Yes I have been painting again, I just love painting on books pages, there is something romantic and pretty about it and don't forget that element of recycling. I Have parceled all my storybook pages off with M to the studio to be scanned for future prints, and to sort out some mounts and then with a bit of luck I want to put them in my Etsy shop. I'm not sure how to price them yet, originals or prints, but I'm really proud of them, I look at them and think that they are something that I wouldn't mind in a frame on the wall and I think that's about the best compliment I can give them. I'm not the most confident of people, I'm not very popular I'm not cool, and I have never been one to have much self belief, but I actually think these are pretty good. Would you want? would you buy them even?

M says he likes the Toadstools at the top the best, and wants to keep it, or at least a copy, I do to because of the Tolkien quote about Faerie, all of these paintings were made on the pages from a Tolkien book that I got from a library sale last week, I love Tolkien's writing and because the book was so badly damaged I thought it would be a great way to mix my love of books with my love of painting. There is something so magical about the written word, I have often dreamed of being a writer, but I have always lacked the discipline to get the stories, and characters that swim about in that dark and cluttered recesses of my mind. I do write things, little drabbles, little bits of stories, and dream, and very rarely the odd poem, no body ever reads the poems though, I am a terrible poet, the rest though I sometimes share with the world, or at least the 2 people that have ever visited my drabble blog. And one of those is probably my dad. I don't often add things as I have been so obsessed with jewellery making and painting the last few months. Perhaps sometime soon I will swing back into writing mode, there are a few things that have been swirling around my thoughts for awhile.

But for today I'll stick with painting pictures on words.T hanks for taking the time to read my blog, to look at my art, and jewellery, and cakes too. And thank you to those of you who take the time to leave a comment, they really do me the world to me. Thank you.

Grizelda the Goose

Rapunzel's Tower

Little White House

Butterfly Blue