One Thousand Gifts-18

Captain’s Log, Stardate 12.05.2006

I’m participating in the “One Thousand Gifts” list from Christian Women Online. Click on the picture to find out more about it.

451. My new laptop just left Alaska.
452. Orange black tea with cranberry juice—good for me, hot, and very tasty
453. I got paid yesterday! My check for turning in my accepted, revised manuscript for book one.
454. The satisfaction that at least 2/5 of my writer’s finances are accurately entered in my Quicken program. That program has given me hassles since it’s not that user-friendly, but I’m hoping it’ll make it easier for us to get our finances to an accountant for taxes next year.
455. I got some great card ideas off of the Stampin’ Up website and am using one now.
456. I got the Stampin’ Up Winter mini catalog! The stamps are very cool and I got some great ideas from the pictures.
457. Heather’s moving in 7 days!
458. I made healthy bean burritos for a snack
459. I exercised yesterday!
460. I had an apricot for a snack, too. That was yummy.
461. Bought some ebooks at discount on Fictionwise.com
462. Mark Goodyear linked to my Story Sensei blog post yesterday. So nice of him. He also gave a good tip about dialogue that I’ll be posting on my Story Sensei blog tomorrow.
463. Extra dark 72% chocolate Pastilles
464. Adagio Teas. I always want to order more tea except I need to finish what I have first. Their samples are perfect for trying out different flavors very inexpensively. If you want a $5 gift certificate, let me know and I’ll have them e-mail one to you.
465. My dog barking to protect her mommy (or at least to protect her house)
466. My standing compact fluorescent standing lamp. It’s the perfect brightness for my office (although right now it’s blocked a bit by boxes) and it doesn’t give off a lot of heat, which is helpful in the summertime.
467. Heroes is the most awesome show ever! So many twists! Gosh, I want to write like that. Lord, can you please help me to write like that?
468. Cuddled with my honey on the couch. The dog was jealous. It was quite amusing.
469. Controlled myself at dinner last night! Ate only one serving.
470. Tried some Rodney Strong port. It’s a little sweet, which was a nice drink after dinner.
471. Had this really neat white stilton cheese with mangoes and ginger! Very yummy, although I couldn’t taste the ginger very strongly.
472. I love the look of a clean sink. Or maybe it’s the lack of guilt for not washing dishes since there are no dishes to wash.
473. The nutty smell of baked chicken parmesan—so healthy, too! I used boneless skinless thighs, salted and peppered, dipped in egg, then coated with Italian herb bread crumbs and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and then baked.
474. I happened to have two boxes at just the right size so that I can elevate my keyboard and mouse and work standing up, which eases the pressure on my lower back.(and burns more calories, I’ve heard)
475. The new natural honey I got, locally made but from a different company than the last one I tried, is really good. Not gamey tasting at all. Very thick and sweet.

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Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

A List of my Free Blog Reads

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No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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Behind the Scenes: Original Cover

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Kickstarter postponed (yes, again!) and book release news

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Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter