S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 30

Little Boxes

I found this lovely video while looking through hand made art films. The maker has a shop

Tommy's Hut from Historia Films on Vimeo.

Sub Op

Here's an open call for a S/F survivor-themed antho: "In this SF/F anthology, we’re looking for stories of everyday trauma survival -- from a barmaid on an intergalactic space station who was abandoned by her parents, to a farmer’s son bullied by his peers, who withstands and resists their abuse. We also welcome stories with a war setting, such as stories about veterans and refugees. The key component for all of these stories is how relatively ordinary characters survive and thrive, given the traumatic experiences they’ve had.

Note: we aren’t necessarily looking for happily ever after. Trauma survival rarely ends in happily ever after, though it can, and hopefully will, end in closure and a coming to terms.

We’re soliciting speculative fiction up to 10,000 words, though we prefer 4000 – 8000. Payment is 3 cents / word for print and electronic rights, to be published by Lethe Press. You need not be a trauma survivor yourself to submit. Simultaneous submissions are fine."

Reprints okay, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: May 1st, 2016.

Serves Me Right

I'm having a lot of fun participating in Library Thing's Early Reviewers Program. I try to put my name in for at least a couple of books each month, mostly non-fiction that I want to read. Occasionally I'll request an author or title at random, but always in paper. I did request one electronic copy of a book that is part of a big trend. A trend that I have regarded with some mystification, if I'm to be completely honest.

When I put my name in for it, I admit, I thought "Oh, I'll never win that one." You know what happens when you think that, yes?

You win.

Which I did.

So yesterday a .pdf copy arrived in my inbox, courtesy of the author/artist:



I do think getting a book I can print out is very cool, and I will of course try it out and write it up. Perhaps I'll even fathom the whole trend once I do. This adult coloring book features travel-themed illustrations based on the city of Barcelona, Spain, which is a gorgeous place.

Now to find some adult crayons . . . .

A Tale of Two Pincushions

Quilt show season has arrived, and I was considering attending one of the national conventions to meet up with some friends and wallow in fabric. It's always a bit dangerous for me to go to the big shows, as there's always so much I want to buy, and I really don't have the money to splurge on anything. I managed to talk myself out of it after I sorted through my fabric stash last week; I probably have enough fat quarters and yardage to circle the planet. I'm also just now getting over the last dregs of my URI and I don't want to risk being infected by some sniffly attendee who should have stayed home. So this year I'll probably just go to the county quilt show next month and let that be enough.

I have been sewing quite a lot lately, and while I was cleaning up my work table last night I noticed the state of two of my pincushions:



The little china cup pincushion on the right is one I made myself. I got the cup from a thrift store and used some scrap fabric, a handful of fiberfill and my hot glue gun to make it. It turned out so pretty I hardly ever use it. I needed some short pins for some binding, though, so I grabbed it off the shelf where it lives and impresses everyone with how organized I am (not). This pincushion really symbolizes the sewer I wish I was: elegant, tidy, and always attractively engaged.

The sugar bowl pincushion on the left is one I bought from Kathy at Strange Notions, who also made it. It's my favorite "work" pincushion that is always parked at my elbow, and it's been working overtime since it arrived at Casa PBW. The dogs knocked it over and broke off one of the handles, which I then imperfectly glued back together. It's riddled with dressing making pins, and big pins for heavy-duty work, and at least one of each type of hand-sewing needle I use. It also guards my favorite thimble. This pincushion really shows the sort of sewer I am while I work: busy, untidy, and indifferent to appearances.

I admire the "order" pincushion -- it reflects the ideals all those quilting books and shows tell me I should strive for -- but I love my "chaos" work pincushion, because like me it isn't perfect.

Organization is wonderful, but creation itself is often a messy business. Don't kick yourself if you don't work in an atmosphere of 24/7 pristine perfection. I think the key to working well is to be comfortable in your work space, which is something only you can define. If that means embracing a little chaos over order, go for it.

Resource for the Novice

Most self-help books are fairly general, particularly when the author is addressing anyone instead of a targeted audience. 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumenthal suffers a bit from the one-change-fits-all approach, but still offers plenty of ideas and resources for those looking to make mindful changes in their lives for the first time.

I would not recommend following this book as the weekly guided program it was intended to be. Not all of the changes are small (Be a Guru) and some will be costly (Get Out of Town). While I appreciate many people will like the Get a Rubdown change, those of us who are disabled, suffer from chronic pain or simply not comfortable with being touched by strangers would absolutely not benefit from it. Any changes in regard to diet should be first discussed with your physician before implementation; some may cause problems with certain medications or conditions.

This book is well-written, and has much to offer the mindful-living novice, but it probably should have been formatted as a resource reference versus a program guide. If there is a person out there who can actually make and maintain all these changes in 52 weeks? I bow to you in advance.

Just as an aside, I am all about mindful living, and have been for quite some time. Out of curiosity I counted how many changes in the book I'd already made in my life before reading it. 42 out of 52 -- and that took me about twelve years, give or take. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from Library Thing's Early Reviewers Program.

Wishing You

Just Write Saturday

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day I'm going to have Just Write today, so I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Twenty-One (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 54.

For more details on Just Write, click here to go to the original post.

Cat Stories

There are a million zillion cat videos on the Internet, but this one is truly hilarious (with background music):

Stories we make up about our cats from Wiggly Piggly on Vimeo.

Dedicated to:

One Last Laugh

This is something I wrote when Jericho was only a few years old. It still cracks me up.

My Cat's New Year's Resolutions

1. I will not catch lizards. If I do, I will not eviscerate them on my human's bed pillow.

2. I will not cough up hair balls on my human's prized 1940 Dresden fan quilt.

3. When my human enters the kitchen, it is not always to get me Pounce treats. I will be understanding about this.

4. I will kiss my human before I wash my butt.

5. I will not grab my brother in a stranglehold and pretend to tear out his throat in front of my human's guests.

6. When I have gas, I will be polite and go fart in the other room.

7. I will not lie in the litter box pretending I am Simba Master of All He Surveys while my brothers are waiting to use it.

8. The flat cans with the smiling fish on them are not for me.

9. I will not knock over and rearrange the large stacks of paper my human produces to make a bed for myself.

10. I will not sit and stare at my human when she sits in the bathtub, no matter how weird I think she looks with those tea bags and that mayonnaise on her face.

11. I will stop plotting to get rid of the short humans.

12. I will stop trying to squeeze between the balcony railings to catch dragonflies. I will remember if I miss it's a three story drop into a canal.

13. Whatever my human drinks in those mugs is too hot and not for me.

14. I will not glare, hiss, or growl at the guests who smell like dog. I will understand some humans are simply not worthy of feline ownership.

and finally --

15. I will not sneak into the closet, climb into the big box and chew off the corners of my human's author copies.

Shelter Visit

I went to the local no-kill cat shelter with my daughter and a friend this morning so we could visit, and I made a donation to honor Jericho. That made me feel better than I have all week. I also successfully resisted the urge to adopt a new cat (a bit hard when I met a cat who looked a lot like Jeri; you can see him at the top of picture #14 below.)

As we're getting older we've decided to think very carefully before we bring any new pals into our household; we want to make sure we'll be around to look after them. In the meantime I'm going to volunteer more time to help the shelter and some other rescue groups in our county.

Here are some of the lovely creatures we got to cuddle with today: