Mine own vineyard--& eyes & butterbeans
May. 20th, 2004 01:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkferengiYou know that part in the _Song of Solomon_ about "mine own vineyard have I not kept"? That's sort of what I've been doing the last few days, spending so much time commenting on other people's stuff, I haven't had time to do my own stuff.
After spending several days [re-]reading lots of cool books, I got way behind on everyone I'm trying to keep up with. There're so many cool people saying so much interesting stuff, & then there're the comments, etc., it seems like it never ends. The hands are only up for a couple of hours at the time; since cramp-stiffened hands are not much fun at all, I'm not about to repeat the mistake of a couple of weeks ago.
Besides, not that much has been happening around here anyway. Tuesday was a follow-up eye exam thing called a "field test." I always bring a big book along to any doctor's office; the 300-400 page range is usually good [so you can finish it that night, assuming you ever exit the office]. Altogether I spent over an hour & a half, with the main action involving trying to focus on widely-dispersed blinking lights while staring straight ahead at a light for 7 minutes per eye. While not as painful as dilating supernovas, it still wasn't much fun; my arms got tired. [Fingers are much better at covering the other eye than their eyepatch.]
Eventually the alleged doctor wandered through for 2-3 minutes, telling me how "great" I had done "for a first time." What was *that*? And why did the guy even bother sitting down? Anyway, it's purportedly more evidence that I can put the macula in immaculate, & I'm all about good news eye-wards. I just wish the yahoo hadn't congratulated me on a "short visit", when I'd been there over an hour and a half. With travel time thrown in, I was gone over 2 hours. Strong suspicions arise that, next year, when the Annual Perpetration of Optical Indignities [as opposed to the Other Kind
After spending several days [re-]reading lots of cool books, I got way behind on everyone I'm trying to keep up with. There're so many cool people saying so much interesting stuff, & then there're the comments, etc., it seems like it never ends. The hands are only up for a couple of hours at the time; since cramp-stiffened hands are not much fun at all, I'm not about to repeat the mistake of a couple of weeks ago.
Besides, not that much has been happening around here anyway. Tuesday was a follow-up eye exam thing called a "field test." I always bring a big book along to any doctor's office; the 300-400 page range is usually good [so you can finish it that night, assuming you ever exit the office]. Altogether I spent over an hour & a half, with the main action involving trying to focus on widely-dispersed blinking lights while staring straight ahead at a light for 7 minutes per eye. While not as painful as dilating supernovas, it still wasn't much fun; my arms got tired. [Fingers are much better at covering the other eye than their eyepatch.]
Eventually the alleged doctor wandered through for 2-3 minutes, telling me how "great" I had done "for a first time." What was *that*? And why did the guy even bother sitting down? Anyway, it's purportedly more evidence that I can put the macula in immaculate, & I'm all about good news eye-wards. I just wish the yahoo hadn't congratulated me on a "short visit", when I'd been there over an hour and a half. With travel time thrown in, I was gone over 2 hours. Strong suspicions arise that, next year, when the Annual Perpetration of Optical Indignities [as opposed to the Other Kind
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You know that part in the _Song of Solomon_ about "mine own vineyard have I not kept"? That's sort of what I've been doing the last few days, spending so much time commenting on other people's stuff, I haven't had time to do my own stuff.
After spending several days [re-]reading lots of cool books, I got way behind on everyone I'm trying to keep up with. There're so many cool people saying so much interesting stuff, & then there're the comments, etc., it seems like it never ends. The hands are only up for a couple of hours at the time; since cramp-stiffened hands are not much fun at all, I'm not about to repeat the mistake of a couple of weeks ago.
Besides, not that much has been happening around here anyway. Tuesday was a follow-up eye exam thing called a "field test." I always bring a big book along to any doctor's office; the 300-400 page range is usually good [so you can finish it that night, assuming you ever exit the office]. Altogether I spent over an hour & a half, with the main action involving trying to focus on widely-dispersed blinking lights while staring straight ahead at a light for 7 minutes per eye. While not as painful as dilating supernovas, it still wasn't much fun; my arms got tired. [Fingers are much better at covering the other eye than their eyepatch.]
Eventually the alleged doctor wandered through for 2-3 minutes, telling me how "great" I had done "for a first time." What was *that*? And why did the guy even bother sitting down? Anyway, it's purportedly more evidence that I can put the macula in immaculate, & I'm all about good news eye-wards. I just wish the yahoo hadn't congratulated me on a "short visit", when I'd been there over an hour and a half. With travel time thrown in, I was gone over 2 hours. Strong suspicions arise that, next year, when the Annual Perpetration of Optical Indignities [as opposed to the Other Kind <shudder, shudder>] is upon us, it will find us definitively elsewhere.
Of course, there was stopping by the library on a sunny afternoon [rather then by woods on a snowy evening, although the library's in some woods; does that count? :)]. Somehow, no matter where you are, the library's always right on the way to wherever you're going. There was a book to be picked up.
hornedhopper has been jumping up & down all over the email, hawking the books of one Julia Spencer-Fleming, three so far. After last week's shipping run, two of them had come in--numbers 2 & 3, naturally enough. Book 1 came in this week, so I can finally read them.
Or try too, before Balticon, since no one wants to leave home with library books due. Then there's trying to get the tivo cleaned off, so there's room to set our stuff for nearly a week. It's hard to do that & keep up with this at the same time, which brings us rather nicely back to where we started, don't you think? :)
Oh, and butterbeans--during my mission we were supposed to write our families every week. I started with a two-page list of people to write to [which is hard to do, by hand, with only 2-3 hours out of the whole week to do it in, especially if you want what I call a "real" letter, more of which anon]. By the end, it had gotten down much smaller, but featured prominently thereon was my grandmother, who, bless her heart, wrote me every week.
Of course, her idea of a letter was one page of 4" X 6" notepaper, with maybe two lines on the second page. During the mission, we were working 60+ hours a week, studying for hours every day, plus fitting in personal study & journal time, exercise time, etc. We were learning, thinking, growing, having insights all over [kind of like poison ivy, & occasionally as painful]. My idea of a letter was several pages of meaningful insights, deep thoughts, cleverly & humorously expressed. If there must be gossip, let it be interesting and witty.
That just wasn't Grandma's speed. She's probably the wisest person I've ever met, but it only showed in person. She'd write her short notes of things like "we picked butterbeans today." But she wrote every week & was my most faithful correspondent by far.
One reason I delayed starting this thing for so long was a desire to avoid the same butterbean trap of "we went here, we did that", which might as well be "Dick saw Spot, Spot chased Puff." There should be *more* than that. Only, sometimes there isn't. So then I decided, if there must be butterbeans, let them at least be interesting and well-written butterbeans.
How'm I doing?
After spending several days [re-]reading lots of cool books, I got way behind on everyone I'm trying to keep up with. There're so many cool people saying so much interesting stuff, & then there're the comments, etc., it seems like it never ends. The hands are only up for a couple of hours at the time; since cramp-stiffened hands are not much fun at all, I'm not about to repeat the mistake of a couple of weeks ago.
Besides, not that much has been happening around here anyway. Tuesday was a follow-up eye exam thing called a "field test." I always bring a big book along to any doctor's office; the 300-400 page range is usually good [so you can finish it that night, assuming you ever exit the office]. Altogether I spent over an hour & a half, with the main action involving trying to focus on widely-dispersed blinking lights while staring straight ahead at a light for 7 minutes per eye. While not as painful as dilating supernovas, it still wasn't much fun; my arms got tired. [Fingers are much better at covering the other eye than their eyepatch.]
Eventually the alleged doctor wandered through for 2-3 minutes, telling me how "great" I had done "for a first time." What was *that*? And why did the guy even bother sitting down? Anyway, it's purportedly more evidence that I can put the macula in immaculate, & I'm all about good news eye-wards. I just wish the yahoo hadn't congratulated me on a "short visit", when I'd been there over an hour and a half. With travel time thrown in, I was gone over 2 hours. Strong suspicions arise that, next year, when the Annual Perpetration of Optical Indignities [as opposed to the Other Kind <shudder, shudder>] is upon us, it will find us definitively elsewhere.
Of course, there was stopping by the library on a sunny afternoon [rather then by woods on a snowy evening, although the library's in some woods; does that count? :)]. Somehow, no matter where you are, the library's always right on the way to wherever you're going. There was a book to be picked up.
hornedhopper has been jumping up & down all over the email, hawking the books of one Julia Spencer-Fleming, three so far. After last week's shipping run, two of them had come in--numbers 2 & 3, naturally enough. Book 1 came in this week, so I can finally read them.
Or try too, before Balticon, since no one wants to leave home with library books due. Then there's trying to get the tivo cleaned off, so there's room to set our stuff for nearly a week. It's hard to do that & keep up with this at the same time, which brings us rather nicely back to where we started, don't you think? :)
Oh, and butterbeans--during my mission we were supposed to write our families every week. I started with a two-page list of people to write to [which is hard to do, by hand, with only 2-3 hours out of the whole week to do it in, especially if you want what I call a "real" letter, more of which anon]. By the end, it had gotten down much smaller, but featured prominently thereon was my grandmother, who, bless her heart, wrote me every week.
Of course, her idea of a letter was one page of 4" X 6" notepaper, with maybe two lines on the second page. During the mission, we were working 60+ hours a week, studying for hours every day, plus fitting in personal study & journal time, exercise time, etc. We were learning, thinking, growing, having insights all over [kind of like poison ivy, & occasionally as painful]. My idea of a letter was several pages of meaningful insights, deep thoughts, cleverly & humorously expressed. If there must be gossip, let it be interesting and witty.
That just wasn't Grandma's speed. She's probably the wisest person I've ever met, but it only showed in person. She'd write her short notes of things like "we picked butterbeans today." But she wrote every week & was my most faithful correspondent by far.
One reason I delayed starting this thing for so long was a desire to avoid the same butterbean trap of "we went here, we did that", which might as well be "Dick saw Spot, Spot chased Puff." There should be *more* than that. Only, sometimes there isn't. So then I decided, if there must be butterbeans, let them at least be interesting and well-written butterbeans.
How'm I doing?
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Date: 2004-05-20 11:12 am (UTC)What are the Spencer-Fleming books? Topics, titles, whatever...
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Date: 2004-05-20 11:23 am (UTC)As for the Spencer-Flemings, they're mysteries. The first one, _In the Bleak Midwinter_ won the 2001 Malice Domestic award. It's about the first female episcopal priest in a small town in upstate NY. The next two are _A Fountain Filled With Blood_ and _Out of the Deep I Cry_. The author is apparently a recovering lawyer, but I have yet to check out her website, juliaspencerfleming.com.