If you've been reading my LJ here for a while, you're probably not surprised by this. I'm going to be winding down my involvement on LJ. Lately, I've been using LJ less and less to post, preferring Twitter for daily updates. I'm interested in starting lifestyle blogging and have made some attempts at that, but will probably end up doing that on Blogger. Blogger seems to be more publishing-friendly and doesn't seem as reliant on networks of friends.

With the recent news about LJ, it seems like this is as good a time as ever to say au revoir.

I will keep my account (it's free) and probably still read my friends page to keep up with the few people I still keep up with here (but won't really be adding new ones). I may also still post with it to genrechallenge...

Otherwise, come see me on Twitter or on Blogger: thecottagewitch.blogspot.com

I need a little help here. I'm putting a list together of things everyone should know how to do. Basic things, that you should be taught growing up but just ... aren't. I know there are a lot of things I have forgotten (this is just the beginning), but please take a minute to look at this list, and let me know a few things in the comments that you think EVERYONE should know how to do.

( 25 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do: )

Okay, I think I'm going to get a new cat.

I don't know if I want an adult or a kitten; it might be easier to integrate a kitten into the household, so that Shakti won't feel as threatened.

I will probably go to SPCA, but I might also be willing to take a stray. Let me know if you have anyone who needs a home for a kitteh...

Hooray, we're in a recession!

The NBER has officially declared us in recession, and says we have been since December 2007. This is good news! Why? Because NBER is notoriously slow to declare recession. Usually, by the time they do, it's over or nearly over.

In this case, I don't think it it's over, but it might indicate a bottom.

Furthermore, check out the sidebar in the story I linked to. In the two worst post WWII recessions (the ones we're closest to now), the total length of the recession is 16 months, max.

If it did indeed start in December 2007, we only have to endure to the spring. (This matches everything else I've read that states the worst will be over by Spring - barring another catastrophe.)

Now, that doesn't mean that all will be awesome come May. I think recovery will be slow. But I do think there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

For the second straight year, I won National Novel Writing Month, where the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It's something like running a marathon, but with words.

Last year, I decided to do it at the very last minute, and soldiered through even though my story was pretty disjointed. At the end, I was proud of having written so many words, but I didn't feel like it was a "real" novel. Still, it unlocked a flood of creativity for me, and really got me past my self-imposed writer's block.

This year, I had a really good idea up front, and spent a lot of time researching and planning. And though this story is still very much a draft, I can see a solid framework in it. I feel like I've written a "real" story.

That said, I'm not quite finished. I'm about 2/3 of the way through my outline. I hope to finish the story in December (at someone of a more relaxed pace), take a few weeks' break from it, and come back and start polishing next year. I want to have something that people will want to read by the end of 2009...

But this is a good start to that, so .. yay, me!

This year, I swore I wasn't going to cook. And if I did cook (because who can resist a kid who begs for her mom's home cooking?), it was just going to be us. BUT I always cook so much it seems a shame to waste it on just us... BUT I have friends with nowhere to go... BUT, but, but...

So, of course, I ended up with 5 people around the table, and you know what? It was awesome.

The deal I made with Bailey was that no matter what, I wouldn't stress out, so I didn't. I took yesterday off and got almost everything made in advance: I brined the turkey, made a nice giblet gravy, did a cranberry/orange sauce and assembled the stuffing, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. I also made some ice cream. My friends were bringing mead, wine, rolls and pie, so I just concentrated on the main meal.

We also decorated the table really nicely. I got out my wedding china and we had little maple leaf place cards. I filled the cornucopia with real fruit, and put out the cranberry relish in a Mason jar. In spite of using Lenox china and Waterford crystal, it still had a really warm feeling to it. I also set up the buffet as a dessert/coffee bar, and decorated with orange lights and a pumpkin wreath. The food was on a separate table to the side.

By the time everyone arrived, the turkey was ready and all I had to do was pull out the casseroles. I felt very relaxed the whole time. Everyone gushed over the food (one guest said, "I've never had turkey that was flavorful before!"), and everyone had seconds. Bella brought an absolutely fantastic mead, and C's rolls were awesome.

We drank mead and wine and tea and ate ourselves silly. Then we sat in the living room, knitting and watching Supernatural and cracking jokes. I was worried, because none of my friends had met each other before, but you wouldn't have known that from how relaxed everyone was with each other.

They stayed a good long while, and I sent everyone home with doggie bags. At the end of the day, it was just what I wanted: delicious food, great company and very low-key.

I've tried a lot of things in my quest to lower my monthly expenses, including driving less and lowering the thermostat. (One victory: my electric bill last month was half what it normally is. My goal had been to lower it 30%.)

I didn't expect that getting a job would help, but apparently it did. Since the bank offers free checking, savings and reward credit cards to team members, I set that all up today. I'll save on my checking account (which I've had for ten years, so didn't get a good deal on) and on my savings. Plus, I'll earn more in rewards on the card.

In addition, they have a commuter benefit which will let me save a substantial amount on my bus pass. I was saving money taking the bus over my old commute to WM even without the discount, so this is just icing on the cake.

So, all told, my new job will shave an average of $40-50 a month off my expenses. Not too shabby.

So I'm odd, but easy public transportation excites me. Getting quickly and easily into the city every day with no more stress than locating my bus pass makes me happy. I like to drive on a quiet highway with a beautiful view; in a raging city? Not so much. I don't like the traffic, I don't like parking lots, I don't like not knowing where I'm going.

For the most part, I have easy access into most of the city's hot spots through BART. I take a short drive up the hill, hop on a train and am on Market street in 20 minutes.

The one area of the city that has been hard to access is Golden Gate Park and the associated museums there. Sure, there's bus and MUNI train access, but it's not easy. When I went to the RenFaire, I spent $20 on a cab one way, and then took an hour-long, stressful train ride back to the BART. I have been hoping for a better way.

Now, there's CultureBus. It's a bright yellow public express bus that starts on Market street and goes out to Golden Gate Park, dropping off right at the new Academy of Sciences (which I have not yet visited, because I didn't want to drive). On the way, it stops near all the major museums and cultural spots, including Union Square. The total round trip is 30-40 minutes, depending on traffic.

A pass is only $7, and is good all day with on-off privileges. So, you could go to as many of the Museums as you wanted, using the one bus, then get dropped right off at BART. Plus, the buses are eco-friendly. Apparently, SF has already seen Museum attendance rise.

So, chalk this up in the "good use of taxpayer dollars" column. And I'll be making a trip to the California Academy of Sciences very soon. :)

( Check out the routes! )

Okay, the three cookbooks I ordered for my birthday came yesterday, and I got to go through them last night. Here are my preliminary thoughts (with the caveat that it's hard to tell on a cookbook til you've tried the recipes):

( The Cookbooks )

All of my parents' kids (there are four of us - not counting the halfs) have birthdays between August 10 and November 5. My brother, the favored one, kicks off this birthdaypalooza in August.

Now my parents have this interesting thing where they have to spend the exact same amount of money on each of us. If they spend $100 on me for Christmas, everyone else gets $100. Exactly. Now, since my brother's birthday comes first, he dictates how much we all get for our birthdays. (That and the fact that they spoil him as the only boy, but whatever...)

Unfortunately, brother doesn't care much for things and never asks for anything. So he usually gets a gift certificate to Wal-Mart. Which means WE all get gift certificates to Wal-Mart. Hooray.

Except this year, for some odd reason, brother decided he wanted a $250 toy crane. (What the...?) So, my parents dutifully got it, and that meant that all us girls got $250 birthday gifts!!

SCORE!!!

My mom donated $50 to NaNo toward the Night of Writing Dangerously in my name, then shot me a gift certificate to Amazon for the rest. I have been frozen trying to decide. I was pretty sure I wanted kitchen stuff, but should I get all cookbooks? Or blow the wad on an expensive pot? I couldn't decide.

B. solved my dilemma by blurting out "Ice cream maker!" the minute I mentioned it. I've always wanted one, but could never justify it, so what better for a birthday gift?

I decided to combine the cookbook/cookwares theme, and got matching cookbook for each piece of equipment I bought. Here's what I got:

--The Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence Ice Cream Maker
--The Perfect Scoop Ice Cream recipe book by David Leibovitz
--Wilton's revolving cake stand
--The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
--The Kyocera ceramic blade mandolin slicer (for slicing potatoes)
--Great British Cooking: A Well-Kept Secret (for using potatoes)
--A Tramontina tea kettle, since mine looks like I tied it to my car

Not a bad haul at all!!

So, as many of you know, I completed NaNoWriMo last year - writing my first novel. It was an incredible experience - not only the thrill of actually completing a 50,000 word novel, but the floodgate of creativity it opened up for me. It was as if all I needed was something to prove that I could do it.

I'll be participating in NaNo again this year, and this time I'd like to give back. They have a fundraising drive this year, and I'm participating. The great thing is, because I'm in the SF area, if I meet their goal, I can participate in something called "The Night of Writing Dangerously" (sounds awesome, huh). It's basically a chance to get together with other authors and write in a fun environment for an evening.

To do that, I need help!

Here's my fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/jennajayroe

Every little bit will help, even just $5 or $10. It's totally secure and the money is sent directly to NaNo. This would be a great birthday gift. :)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sorry I haven't been around much. Long story.

Just wanted to say that Cassie, my 20-year old, cranky, wonderful cat...has vanished.

My guess, if you ask me what my gut says, is that she is no longer alive. That she went off somewhere to be by herself. I'm still looking, but I don't think I'll find her.

It makes me very sad, but she had a good long life, and it's like her to go on her own terms.

Take care, Cassie-Cat.

Oh, dear.

Oh, dear, oh, dear.

I love Patrick Kennedy. I really do. But this...? It's like someone gave him a list of talking points and he's just reciting them .. all out of order.

I mean, the question was 'What are you excited about...', so...

What's he like when he's bored??

For the next few months, I will be completely submerged in my novel. I'm going to throttle back on any non-necessary writing (though I may do some stories if the feeling moves me and I need a 'break'), but mostly I'm going to focus on the book. That means that I will probably not be as regular about GC or the other communities as I have been; sorry, but I have realized that my 'bandwidth' is limited, so to speak, and this is important to me.

That also means that for most of October, I'll be immersed in Russian history and folktales, poring over maps of medieval Russia, and sketching the floorplan of a Palace.

Have patience with me. :)

(And if I start speaking Russian, just slap me around...)

Well, today has flown by, but the Novel Cram was definitely the right place for me. The teacher is FANTASTIC, and really helpful. The first part of the day was spent focusing on "prewriting" - determining the goal of the piece, your main character, their character arc, the inciting incident that starts off the piece, etc.

We all met then tonight and started talking about the inciting incident, the problem for the main character and their goal to solve the problem.

I was surprised when she suggested I skip right to writing Chapter One, instead of focusing on the plot outline tomorrow. I'll of course participate in the session, but for me, she wants me to do writing instead of putting together a plot chart. I was the only one she asked to do that; everyone else will be doing the charts.

I was pleasantly surprised; apparently, the story feels more solid than I thought it did...

Anyway, I'll give more info later, because I'm obviously exhausted and have more writing to do!

I'll say right up front that I'm while I'm conservative, I do agree with this bailout plan, think it's absolutely necessary and hope that they get the thing passed. I also adore Paulson and Bernanke. I think they're geniuses. Love them.

That all said, I am highly amused by this Republican "revolt" over the plan. (I mean, amused in an annoyed, sickened sort of way, since they ambushed the plan and they don't really have a viable alternative.) This is the administration's plan!! This is W's Treasury and W's plan. It was W who was on TV saying "We must do this!". The Dems got behind him, and at the 11th hour, his OWN PARTY blows this up???

You know, maybe this has happened before, but I can't remember it. I can't remember ever having seen a President screwed over like this.

If it weren't so serious, I'd be laughing my ass off.

I remember as a History major, getting the lists of the 'worst Presidents of all time' as considered by historians, and always kind of feeling bad for Ulysses S. Grant for always being on the top of the list. I've been kind of excited, in a perverse way, at the thought of Ulysses being knocked off his pedestal by W.

I mean, we have the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, both of which are turning out badly, and at least in Iraq, there are serious questions about its legality; we have Guantanamo Bay, which suspended rights and weakened our international standing. The Bush Doctrine (which is basically: we can do whatever we want.) Warrantless wiretapping. Katrina. The economic meltdown. And now this.

All poor Ulysses had was some corruption. And I think if someone digs enough into Cheney and Halliburton, they can find that, too!

Come on, W. Just a little further. You can do it! And poor, poor Ulysses can finally rest in peace.

Sorry I haven't been updating here as frequently. I've become hooked on Twitter, where I can post snippets about what I'm doing no matter what I'm doing - or where I'm at. Super convenient...plus, fun!

Still, I don't want to neglect LJ, so...

( What I'm up to: )