Taking a Break

My mom passed away last night. I need time to deal with my grief, so I'm putting the blog on hiatus for now.

Visitor

A beautiful corn snake tried to move into our garage last week.

He was super calm and friendly, and we like snakes, so it was hard not to let him stay.

Wild animals belong in the wild, though, so we relocated him to a safer spot on our property.

Just a cautionary reminder: never handle any snake unless you're 100% sure of what type of snake it is, that it is safe to do so, and it won't freak out the snake.

Garden Update

Thanks to the fine spring weather and a few days of rain the veggie garden is doing very well:

We didn't plant many radishes, but the few we have are ready to pick.

The cucumbers are going crazy. I'm expecting we'll have a lot to share with our neighbors.

Today I'm going to dry some chives and have a fresh little snack with lunch.

Today

"The day you wasted today is the tomorrow that someone who died yesterday so badly wished for." -- Chocolate

Quilt Fun

Stormy weather last weekend allowed me to finish hand-quilting and binding this strip quilt I started on Election Night last year:

The fabric for the top came from two jelly rolls I purchased for another project, but that didn't quite work color-wise. I cut the strips in random lengths before I sewed them together. I wanted to recycle some of my scraps for this quilt, so once I had the top sewn I used batting scraps, muslin and some bias binding leftover from other projects to put it together.

I took a long time to hand quilt it, but it was more about taking my time and enjoying the process than hurrying to get it done. I'm also trying to improve my hand stitching by going slower and quilting for shorter periods of time, which helped a little.

I usually make quilts for other people, but after spending all last year doing that I'd like to make a few just for fun. So this is fun quilt #1.

Sadly Sweet

Chocolate is a k-drama series that made me cry with almost every episode, but along with the sadness there is a lovely romance and a lot of understanding for people who must deal with family members who traumatize them. Much of the series also takes place at a hospice facility for the terminally ill, but I found the characters and storylines involved in that more reassuring than depressing. It also provides an important contrast to the conflicts created by a wealthy, privileged family squabbling and maneuvering in hopes of controlling their grandmother's medical conglomerate.

Childhood first love and a terrible tragedy link the lives of neurosurgeon Lee Kang (Yoon Kye-sang) and chef Moon Cha-yeong (Ha Ji-won), but they don't discover the connection until they begin working together at the hospice facility. Both of the main characters have had difficult lives because of their families, yet they also start off as adversaries due to the death of Kang's best friend, who was in love with Cha-yeong. Because the chef left his best friend Kang hates her, but after his dying friend asks for a dish only Cha-yeong can make he must go and ask for her help. That leads to more connections, entanglements and consequences for the protagonists.

There is a lot of drama in this k-drama, including plenty of very convenient Fate to go around for everyone, but I don't mind that. I liked that some of the more serious challenges the characters face were not neatly disposed of by the end of the series; that made it feel more realistic. All of the actors did very well with their roles, but Yoon Kye-sang and Ha Ji-won were one level up from the rest of the cast. I also thought the ending was perfect, something I usually don't with k-dramas. Available to watch on Netflix in the US.

By Design

I tried out an e-mail offer from Shutterfly.com for a "free" 15" X 18" canvas tote that I personalized with one of my own photos, and this is the result. To get these offers you need to register an account with them on their web site, and they send you promotional e-mails and offers pretty much every day. I usually take advantage of the "free" 101 4" X 6" prints they regularly offer, and occasionally get a "free" coffee mug or calendar I make with my photos as gifts for the holidays.

Nothing they offer is actually free -- you have to pay tax and shipping -- and my canvas tote cost $9.99 to ship plus $.70 tax,for a total of $10.69. The regular price for the bag is $16.50 plus shipping and tax, so it's a good deal. I doubt it cost $9.99 to ship, but the bag I ordered is roomy, well-made and sturdy, plus the photo image is clear, so I felt that I got my money's worth.

Plan B

I have a chance to pitch my series to a publisher I know and trust, so I'm thinking about setting aside my plan to self-publish. I need to get the first two books ready for submission, and decide how I want to negotiate and what I want if I receive an offer before I prepare the pitch.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I'd like to work with this publisher on the series, as long as I can have the final say on certain aspects of the process. It would be a relief to just handle the book writing and social media content, too, and have professionals manage the rest. I am not especially savvy when it comes to things other than writing.

I'm going to make my decision goal May 1st, which gives me plenty of time to put the final polish on the books and write up my pitch.

Blindsided

That Winter, the Wind Blows is an interesting k-drama series that pairs a handsome con man (Jo Insung) with a blind, possibly suicidal heiress (Song Hye-kyo) who believes he's her long-lost brother.

Framed by his psychopathic girlfriend for embezzling millions from the wrong people, con man and gambler Oh Soo hatches a plan to get the money from Oh Young, a blind heiress. Once he begins the con, however, Soo discovers Young's dismal situation and how she's been manipulated by the people in her life. He begins to develop romantic feelings for her as well, which of course he can't reveal as her faux brother. Jo Moo-chul, the wrong people's menacing enforcer, also hovers on the fringes of the con, promising to kill Soo if he doesn't come up with the money he owes. The psycopathic girlfriend then returns to throw herself in the mix.

I have to say that con men are my least favorite protagonists. There are also a lot of convenient set-ups in this story, such as the fact that the con man already shares the same name (Oh Soo) as the heiress's brother, and knew him, and (inadvertantly) got him killed. I also found a lot of the excuses used to keep from exposing the con man's ruse rather implausible. Despite this I still liked Soo's character, and I thought Jo Insung did a marvelous job handling this complicated role. Song Hye-kyo was absolutely stellar with her difficult task of portraying a blind woman.

The ending of the series is supposedly open to interpretation, but while it was a bit fuzzy on some of the details it made sense to me. Available on Netflix in the US.

Thought for Today

Something to Love

This vintage satin baby quilt isn't terribly old, or handmade, but it's a lap-size beauty. Something about it wrapped around my heart from the moment I saw it.

The previous owner said it was never used. It's been waiting all this time to find someone to cuddle and love.

I know just the perfect person for that. :)

Delicate

Our latest addition to the houseplant family. Hopefully it survives my dismal track record with orchids.

Ghostly Fun

Bring It On, Ghost is a romantic supernatural mystery k-drama about a haunted college student (Ok Taec-yeon) who can see ghosts and fight evil spirits, an amnesiac high school girl ghost (Kim So-hyun) who becomes his partner, a monk exorcist whose career is going downhill, and two idiotic sidekicks intent on profiting off the exorcisms. This series is a melting pot of everything from slapstick comedy to intense drama, and includes a moderate amount of violence and horror.

I liked the romance best, as it developed slowly and had an interesting arc. Kim So-hyun is very talented, and while this was the first time I've seen Ok Taec-yeon in a series I thought he did a great job with his character. The monk and the greedy sidekicks all came off as intensely annoying with their exaggerated antics, but in the end the three grew on me.

Kwon Yul's portrayal of the antagonist is impressive and seriously scary, and he doesn't use any special effects or gory makeup to convince you he's a monster. He's definitely an actor to watch no matter what role he plays.

Available on Netflix in the US.

Addicted to Tea

I brew 4 to 5 cups of tea per day, so I keep a big jar of black tea on the kitchen counter, and a stash of my favorite herbals in a drawer. Tea is also therapeutic for me; I use chamomile blends to relax at night, and organic ginger when my stomach is upset. Herbals with peach or lavender also work as aromatherapy for me; I find both scents soothing. I regularly use calming herbal teas instead of analgesics when I have a headache, and they almost always work just as well.

My grandmother got me hooked on tea when I was a girl. She'd brew a pot for herself in the morning, and give me a little cup half-diluted with milk. If it was raining we would sit in the back room and listen to the storm while we drank our tea. Those are my favorite memories of her, just sitting together with me in the moment.

It's more of a coffee culture here in the U.S., so I'm always happy to meet someone who prefers tea. I feel slightly subversive as I trade tea stories and recommend different blends. Still, it's a wonderful addiction to have.

Wishing

I believe in making wishes. Some of mine have come true, but those that remain in my heart are just as wonderful. To me wishing is no different than dreaming. I like to see my life as a secret garden of wishes; many are still waiting to bloom.

Hope is the act of wishing. In times of sadness and despair that brings comfort to anyone who suffers. As for me, I would rather dream in than be afraid of the dark.

Make two wishes today: one for yourself, and one for someone else. With those you'll start your own secret garden.

Image by Anke Sundermeier from Pixabay

Shot #1

My state has opened up Covid-19 vaccinations for everyone 18+, so my guy and I called to schedule ours last week. Yesterday we went to get our first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at one of our local health department's sites, about twenty minutes from home.

The site was in an old store that went out of business last year, and looked quite busy. Despite there being about a thousand people waiting to get vaccinated, everything moved along very quickly; we never stood for more than a few seconds at any point. We checked in, and then went to registration to sign the consent forms, all of which took about 15 minutes.

After that we went straight to the nurses, who gave us the shots (neither of us felt the needles) and then to a waiting area where we sat for 15 minutes before leaving. My arm felt a little sore, but that was my only immediate reaction to the vaccine. Total time it took was about 45 minutes.

While I was with the nurse getting my shot they also scheduled an appointment for my second dose in three weeks at the same location. All things considered, the process seemed really speedy and completely painless.

I felt tired yesterday afternoon, and my arm remained a bit sore, but I experienced no other changes from being vaccinated. It's been over a year now since the pandemic began, and in all that time I have not visited friends, dined out or gone anywhere but the grocery store and the pharmacy. I will still mask up and maintain social distance in public, but I'm finally feeling hopeful.

OT8

Eight thoughts on my biases* while watching the music video for Ateez's hit Fireworks (I'm the One)

#1: Wow. Good thing Yeosang isn't afraid of heights. He should always wear black and red, too.

#2: Yunho needs to steal that very fine bat-sleeved shirt -- or just borrow the Hummer to take the boys on a joyride.

#3: I actually teared up a little when FIX ON appeared on the transceiver and Mingi started rapping. Miss him a lot.

#4: No one can top San's dancing -- except San, of course. Those vaults he does always scare me a little, though.

#5: Wooyoung's vocal performances keep surprising me; his voice sounded really beautiful in this song (seriously).

#6: Jongho looks like he got tired of snapping apples and set fire to the tree. P.S., I would not mess with Jongho, ever.

#7: If Seonghwa gets anymore intense and dangerous . . . hang on, I said the same thing after Wonderland, so no doubt he will.

#8: If Hongjoon's blue jacket goes missing I'm the one who stole it. Also, his legs look six feet long from one camera angle.

If you'd like to check out Ateez's comeback music video -- which I should mention got over 21 million views in one month -- click here.

*I'm a one true eight fan -- love them all. :)

Haiku

Be the calming one
cool waters for troubled hearts
help them bloom not burn.

Image by Incygneia from Pixabay

Easter Wish

May yours be joyful.

Image by silviarita from Pixabay

Charming

There is so much to love about the k-rom-com series Romance is a Bonus Book: books, copywriting, editing, mystery, the challenge of reinventing yourself as a working woman, and a friends-to-lovers romance that is subtle and slow to build yet delightful. I also fell head over heels with how beautifully the characters were crafted, and how well the wonderful cast depicted them.

Award-winning copywriter Kang Dan-i (Lee Na-young) is at the end of her rope. After taking a ten-year break from her professional career to be a stay-at-home mom, and losing everything when her unfaithful husband dumps her, she discovers no one wants to give her a job. On the verge of absolute disaster she rips up her impressive if dated credentials and applies as an entry-level gopher at her childhood best friend Cha Eun-ho's (Lee Jong-suk) publishing company. She lands the job and does everything she can to become a stellar employee, but her expertise at marketing starts showing through, naturally. She also discovers that Eun-ho, now a successful editor, author and lecturer, has been in love with her since they were kids -- but her old friend also has another secret.

It's very difficult to reinvent yourself; this series could easily be any professional woman/mother's start-over story. I thought the lead actors were very convincing in their roles. Also noteworthy is Kim Yoo-mi, who in particular gave an amazing performance as the director of marketing at Dan-i's workplace. Yoo-mi took on the portrayal of a seemingly cold, hateful woman and slowly developed it into something real, touching and quite inspiring. She also reminds us never to judge someone when we don't know their story.

Available on Netflix in the U.S.

Garden Update

We've had some lovely warm weather, so the cucumbers are going crazy in the kitchen garden.

They're already flowering, too.

The radishes are not as enthusiastic, but so far with one exception they've done okay.

The exception is this monster. :)

Other than Candy

No April Fools pranks here, sorry. I can never think of anything clever to do.

My favorite female person isn't especially fond of candy, so I decided to do something else for her this Easter. During the week she's busy with lab and field research at a university in the city, and she's been packing her lunch in the old bags she once used in high school. I decided to get her a new insulated lunch tote, and added a bento box and a reusable tumbler that works for hot or cold drinks. All of these are in colors she likes.

I liked the little message on the inside of the bag, too.