Robin McKinley's Blog, page 183

Guest blog by Jeanne Marie

Proud Teacher, Part 2

 Monique is 50-something, and grew up in a household that did not enjoy or experience music.  Her dad did not appreciate "noise" of any sort, so her family did not play the radio, or listen to records, or play instruments in the house – nothing of that nature.  Nevertheless, when she was in junior high school, Monique decided to sing in choir.  After a few rehearsals, her choir director told her she couldn't sing, and therefore should drop choir and take up the clarinet i...

Robin McKinley, Famous Author and Deputy Ringing Master

 

Aaaaaaugh!  I've been had!  I've been busted!  Dranglefabbed!  Zackblowed!  Blah!  Agh!  Argh!  Mrrgggff!  I was elected Deputy Ringing Master at our annual tower meeting tonight!

            I have a variety of reactions to this, primary being Agh!  Argh!  etc, as above.   My other chief reaction is, Remember I told you that Edward standing down from being Ringing Master was a disaster, because that leaves us with only Vicky and Niall as our good reliable ringers?  It's even worse than I...

Reformation (sort of. Maybe)

 

I am sitting here surrounded by huge tottering piles of old newspapers and magazines.  And it's all Fiona's fault.  This catalyst thing can go too far.

            Those of you with disgracefully tenacious memories* may remember that I went to the Steeleye Span concert** back in November with a friend named Fiona.  Fiona runs a folk-music club*** and sings for a little local band who might well be wealthy and famous if they weren't all cripplingly shy and polite.†  Which is to say that Fiona ...

Guest blog by Bratsche

 

Each year when I play the Britt Festival, our normal cast and crew arrive in southern Oregon at the very end of July….conductor, orchestra, stage hands, festival staff, the weather.  Since we're playing more or less outside*, the weather is as much a member of the festival as any person.  It can be 108ºF for a week straight, or mid-60ºs for a few days, or anything in between.  Sunny days with highs in the mid 90°s is the most common weather.  In that area of the country, it doesn't tend to r...

The Washing Machine Man Cometh

 

And he couldn't find ANYTHING WRONG.  The beastly machine behaved PERFECTLY while he was there.  Do you know what washing-machine call-outs COST?   Besides the fact that hanging around waiting for an elderly*, semi-green** washing machine to FUNCTION or, of course, not function, takes forever, which may have some influence on call-out cost, but it means you're standing there wasting time and money.*** 

            Siiiiiigh.  So he went away again saying in a kind and gentle voice suitable...

Signs of life

 AKA SHORT Monday*

 

 

So, this time last week:  

Those tree limbs on the left are Mme Alfred Carriere and Mme Gregoire Staechelin–which is to say slender little rose stems.   Plus snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This used to be a garden.

 

 

 

 

 

So yesterday and today with the snow gone** I've been looking for signs of garden life.   A lot of it, I have to say, isn't.  But there's a surprising amount that is.  I know, I know, people garden in Maine.   There are lots of plants that will make it through a lot worse than t...

More Bell Follies

 

I think I was too blasted on Friday to tell you that Vicky had come in to tower practice breathing a certain amount of ladylike British fire and smoke, and that she nailed Niall and me more or less on sight because the three of us are probably the three biggest saps . . . I mean, the three New Arcadia ringers most likely to be willing to ring an extra service to help out a local tower.  Niall and Vicky are certainly the top two, and I think I may be finding myself in the third position by...

Guest Blog by Black Bear

Going to pot

This past summer, I finally fulfilled a long-held dream of taking a class in wheel-thrown ceramics.  I am, as in most things, a cheerful amateur about my involvement with clay; I knew it would be difficult, and that I wouldn't produce anything of true beauty and style in an 8 week course at the local Art Center.  I'd not worked with clay since I was 10, and I have no illusions about being innately talented at something as challenging as wheel-throwing.  But when my friend...

Complete Sentences Optional

 

Majorly knackered here.  Fridays are always a bit of a sprint because I have both piano lesson and home tower bell practise.*  This week there has been the additional drain on resources of trying to relearn how to use Finale.**  I am totally glad to have composing software and, since Finale is what Oisin uses, I'm very glad to have what he can bail me out of.  But . . . oh . . . gods.***  I didn't get nearly as much shoved and rammed into the computer as I meant to because I wasted so much t...

Another day, another ratbagfest

 

So, do you want the bad news or the bad news?*  I dug out what used to be the rest of the first draft of PEGASUS, back when it was all one book.**  There's about sixty pages of it, which, as first drafts of my novels go, might be about a third of PEG II.  There are two characters I'm very glad to see again;  I thought about trying to winkle one of them into part one, but decided against it.  He's not really someone who can hang around semi-invisibly in the background.  Once he's on he's...