My so-called vacation

I have not been writing.  I should have known better than to expect an uninterrupted half hour a day at my computer while visiting my parents.  I'd had great hopes for getting through the next few of my new draft while here, but the constant social whirl has gotten in my way.  In the week and a half I've been here, there has been only one night that my parents haven't had guests or gone out to some social event or other, which I am also required to attend.  

When I complained, my mother said, "It's only the evenings!" 

You might think so, but it's amazing how a dinner party can cast its shadow over the entire day. Last night, for example, we had a few relatives around for dinner.  When all was said and done, that meant 11 adults and Nova.  My mother and I spent a good while in the middle of the day figuring out a menu, whether anyone else could be counted on to contribute, and going shopping, all the while speculating about whether certain people would or would not come, and whether we would have to set up an extra table.  I'd estimate it as 2-3 hours, what with all the phone calls and back and forth.  Then we started cooking around 4:00. I think everyone was gone by a little after 9.  That's about 7 or 8 hours of dinner-related activity. 

These dinners can happen four or five times a week around here, especially in late August.  

The long and the short of it is that I haven't done any writing at all in the past few days, and I'm throwing in the towel until I get back to Ireland.  I have, however, read Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, which was probably a useful writing-related activity, even if I didn't do a single one of the exercises.  It's a pretty good book, and got me thinking about a few different issues in my current project.  I found the discussion of outlining systems particularly interesting, and the appendixes are a good touch -- I'll be able to photocopy them and not have to lug the whole book back across the Atlantic.

I've also done a bit of sewing and set up a photobucket account.  Here were the two main projects, a podegi and a mei tai:  

 I've been using these new carriers instead of my ergo since I finished them sometime last week.  I like the pod because it's pretty, and the simplicity and flexibility of the design are appealing, but the lack of a waist strap means that when you take the baby out, you have to immediately do something with the carrier, too, which is a hassle.  I'm used to leaving the ergo dangling around my waist for hours on end, and I can do that with the mei tai, too.

The other things I like about the mei tai are that the strap fabric is much nicer and it seems to be especially good at getting Nova to sleep.  The difference in strap fabric is what I get for shopping on line.  When fabric.com said heavy twill, they meant HEAVY. That yellow stuff is super stiff!  The indigo denim, on the other hand, is nice and soft, just sturdy enough without being too heavy.  

I'm using some of the rest of the yellow twill to make hats.  More photos coming soon!  

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