Probably won't write another long post until next Sunday BUT....
I got invited to Romania to study traditional knitting there!!!
Archives
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The internet is just like home. I took the day off today. My feet really appreciate it. So do my clothes, which are now clean and hanging in the window drying the rest of the way (the dryer left them partially damp).... My feet have not walked on cobblestones today, nor have they worn shoes-- just flip flops, which do not touch any of the pressure points on my sorry, aging bones.
I'm sitting on my bed in the dorm with the windows wide open, listening to the birds sing, looking at green trees, and doing my homework. And surfing the web. At home it's stressful, because I try to get online in between all of my busy-ness and I check my email ever three and a half minutes. But here I haven't been online very much at all during the week, except for checking email once or twice a day, doing a few work tasks, and calling Dom on Skype. Taking time to read some blogs and look up some information I need feels like a free break on my day off. Surfing the web makes me feel like I am at home. It's something entirely familiar where everything else is unusual.
It's great to go to new places, especially for writers, because it makes you pay attention to all the details that surround you. Children do this all the time, because everything is new to them. But once we turn 20 or so, most adults stop paying attention. It's natural and almost impossible to avoid. When things become familiar, they fade into the background. But it's good to get out of the rut, even if only for a short time, every now and then to shake things up. I actually like to move every 10 years. But I have been in Colorado for about a decade now and I can't move for several reasons. So my trips abroad are meant to wake up my sleepy brain cells.
There was something else I wanted to write about today, but I can't think of it right now so it will come later -- or never, if I don't remember.
I'm sitting on my bed in the dorm with the windows wide open, listening to the birds sing, looking at green trees, and doing my homework. And surfing the web. At home it's stressful, because I try to get online in between all of my busy-ness and I check my email ever three and a half minutes. But here I haven't been online very much at all during the week, except for checking email once or twice a day, doing a few work tasks, and calling Dom on Skype. Taking time to read some blogs and look up some information I need feels like a free break on my day off. Surfing the web makes me feel like I am at home. It's something entirely familiar where everything else is unusual.
It's great to go to new places, especially for writers, because it makes you pay attention to all the details that surround you. Children do this all the time, because everything is new to them. But once we turn 20 or so, most adults stop paying attention. It's natural and almost impossible to avoid. When things become familiar, they fade into the background. But it's good to get out of the rut, even if only for a short time, every now and then to shake things up. I actually like to move every 10 years. But I have been in Colorado for about a decade now and I can't move for several reasons. So my trips abroad are meant to wake up my sleepy brain cells.
There was something else I wanted to write about today, but I can't think of it right now so it will come later -- or never, if I don't remember.
I don't really feel like writing on this trip. At least no so far. I'm just busy and then tired. But I'm hoping after this week of settling in and today to mostly relax (I was going to do some work but it's not happening), I will feel like at least writing in my journal every day. I have been doing some work on a book chapter I'm supposed to finish next week, so we'll see how that goes. I got a lot of good notes and ideas but I haven't written at all. So, moving on...
Yesterday the University had an excursion to Trakai, a wonderful town of about 7,000 about 40 minutes out of Vilnius. Trakai was the capital of Lithuania in the 14th century, after Grand Duke Gediminas went hunting there and really liked it. He ended up building a castle there, and it's recently been reconstructed.
As you can see, the castle is on a lake. It's on a peninsula now, but years ago the water level was higher and it was on an island. Most of the castles in Lithuania were built as defenses against the intrusions of Teutonic knights in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (I think those dates are right), at any rate, it was a period of wars that lasted about 200 years. The castle was originally surrounded by a moat, and this photo is taken from the drawbridge.
Interestingly, while most of Europe leaves ruins in their current state and tries to preserve them, Lithuania has reconstructed many ruins, leaving as much of the original portions as possible but recreating the parts that had formerly been destroyed. The castle at Trakai was originally stone and brick, as it is today, but as you walk through the different rooms you can easily identify the new and old bricks and you can tell which portions were original. Some parts, like frescoes that covered the walls of the main hall, have not been recreated. They were destroyed during the many years in which the building had no roof or floors.
The rest of the town, at least right near the castle, is a little tourist trap. There are also several marinas and lots of sailboats as well as rental paddle boats. I would have rented a boat for a while yesterday, but it was raining in the afternoon.
It's fun learning history that actually has something to do with me. Learning American history in school usually bored me because I was not English, Western European, Roman, or Greek (reverse chronology of what we learned about).... nor was I Native American. My family only moved to the US in the 20th century, so nothing we learned about in school was really about me. Lithuanian history is fascinating and I'll be writing more about it later.
OK, so I could write a lot more about Trakai, but I won't. I would like to come back again in the future when I could spend at least a few days there, with any luck with no rain!
Yesterday the University had an excursion to Trakai, a wonderful town of about 7,000 about 40 minutes out of Vilnius. Trakai was the capital of Lithuania in the 14th century, after Grand Duke Gediminas went hunting there and really liked it. He ended up building a castle there, and it's recently been reconstructed.
As you can see, the castle is on a lake. It's on a peninsula now, but years ago the water level was higher and it was on an island. Most of the castles in Lithuania were built as defenses against the intrusions of Teutonic knights in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (I think those dates are right), at any rate, it was a period of wars that lasted about 200 years. The castle was originally surrounded by a moat, and this photo is taken from the drawbridge.
Interestingly, while most of Europe leaves ruins in their current state and tries to preserve them, Lithuania has reconstructed many ruins, leaving as much of the original portions as possible but recreating the parts that had formerly been destroyed. The castle at Trakai was originally stone and brick, as it is today, but as you walk through the different rooms you can easily identify the new and old bricks and you can tell which portions were original. Some parts, like frescoes that covered the walls of the main hall, have not been recreated. They were destroyed during the many years in which the building had no roof or floors.
The rest of the town, at least right near the castle, is a little tourist trap. There are also several marinas and lots of sailboats as well as rental paddle boats. I would have rented a boat for a while yesterday, but it was raining in the afternoon.
It's fun learning history that actually has something to do with me. Learning American history in school usually bored me because I was not English, Western European, Roman, or Greek (reverse chronology of what we learned about).... nor was I Native American. My family only moved to the US in the 20th century, so nothing we learned about in school was really about me. Lithuanian history is fascinating and I'll be writing more about it later.
OK, so I could write a lot more about Trakai, but I won't. I would like to come back again in the future when I could spend at least a few days there, with any luck with no rain!
Friday, June 27, 2008
More blog posts coming on Sunday. I'm really pooped and I have homework and blah blah blah. I have some photos from our tour of Old Town yesterday, but I skipped the tour of the university today because my feet hurt and because my backpack broke and I could not carry it around that way for the whole tour, and there was nowhere to put it. So instead, I went to buy a new backpack, had a milkshake, and went grocery shopping. Tomorrow we are taking a bus trip to Trakai and then Sunday is off, so I will just be doing laundry, some work (my office travels with me), and not much of anything else.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I don't feel like blogging but here's a quick update. I made it to the dorm, it's not very nice, the view outside my window is fantastic and I can hear all kinds of unknown-to-me birds, and there is wifi here!
Here are inside & outside photos.
The Forest (actually it's a small bit of woods but the directions to get here called it a forest)
I guess it's a good thing I won't be spending too much time here but I do have to study and work!
Here are inside & outside photos.
The Forest (actually it's a small bit of woods but the directions to get here called it a forest)
I guess it's a good thing I won't be spending too much time here but I do have to study and work!
Monday, June 23, 2008
I made it to Vilnius without a hitch. Well, my flight from Denver to Chicago was delayed two hours, which would have made me miss my connection to Poland. They sent me to a looooong customer service line, but instead of going there, I went directly to the gate of an earlier flight to Chicago, told the clerk that I was going to miss my flight to Poland and she put me on that flight even though it was full and there were a bunch of people already on standby. So thank you to United Airlines for that. I am sorry to whoever didn't get onto the flight that wanted to, but I bet your schedule wasn't as messed up as mine would have been. I think there's only one flight from Chicago to Warsaw each day, so I would have had to sleep in the airport.
Anyway, there's wifi here from the hotel across the street and I have a list of a ton of free wifi hotspots around town. Assuming the list is correct, I will not have a problem being online to work every day for a few hours, and to post on the blog at least once or twice a week. Probably not more than that because I have other writing to do as well.
Right now I am just killing time because I do not want to fall asleep until 10:00 so -- with any luck -- I can avoid jetlag. I slept about 6 hours on the flight last night, and I've been awake all day since then. It's 9pm here (noon in Denver), and the sun is just starting to go down. I expect it should be light until about 10:00, since this is the longest day of the year. There's a big celebration and it's a major holiday here, going back to the 12th century at least, to before Christianity was introduced to the area. A lot of the old pagan customs are still popular in Lithuania, and some are mixed with Christianity the way old customs are mixed with Catholicism in South America. I think about 85% of Lithuanians, perhaps more, are Roman Catholic.
I haven't taken any pictures yet. I am staying in a hotel recommended by a friend and had a taxi pick me up so I didn't have to worry about lugging my bags or finding my way around after the long flights. Tomorrow I have to lug my bags and find my way to the dorm to get checked in and then language school starts on Wednesday. So tomorrow should be relaxing, assuming I get checked into the dorm OK. Otherwise I don't know where I'll be sleeping tomorrow night!
Anyway, there's wifi here from the hotel across the street and I have a list of a ton of free wifi hotspots around town. Assuming the list is correct, I will not have a problem being online to work every day for a few hours, and to post on the blog at least once or twice a week. Probably not more than that because I have other writing to do as well.
Right now I am just killing time because I do not want to fall asleep until 10:00 so -- with any luck -- I can avoid jetlag. I slept about 6 hours on the flight last night, and I've been awake all day since then. It's 9pm here (noon in Denver), and the sun is just starting to go down. I expect it should be light until about 10:00, since this is the longest day of the year. There's a big celebration and it's a major holiday here, going back to the 12th century at least, to before Christianity was introduced to the area. A lot of the old pagan customs are still popular in Lithuania, and some are mixed with Christianity the way old customs are mixed with Catholicism in South America. I think about 85% of Lithuanians, perhaps more, are Roman Catholic.
I haven't taken any pictures yet. I am staying in a hotel recommended by a friend and had a taxi pick me up so I didn't have to worry about lugging my bags or finding my way around after the long flights. Tomorrow I have to lug my bags and find my way to the dorm to get checked in and then language school starts on Wednesday. So tomorrow should be relaxing, assuming I get checked into the dorm OK. Otherwise I don't know where I'll be sleeping tomorrow night!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Religion and knitting. Two of my obsessions in one. How can I not post about this? But I am out of time (I am writing this before I leave on Sunday) and so I will just refer you here, where revere has some comments on PZ's quote in Expelled about how religion should be more like knitting.
For more about how knitting can be a source of spirituality, see The Knitting Sutra and Knitting Heaven and Earth (the second is one of my favorite books and I can't recommend it enough) by Susan Gordon Lydon and Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning.
So in the spirit of summer laziness, here's what I like about the knitting analogy: it suggests the conditions under which religion would be relatively harmless, maybe even useful. Knitting is a private, or at least personal avocation. Knitters don't want everyone else to be a knitter. They are satisfied to knit on their own or with other people who like to knit. A knitting club. It's social. Knitting is a way for many people to relieve tension, or, when times are tough, to occupy themselves. For these people, knitting is comforting. If you've ever seen the products of really good knitters, it can also be creative, so knitting is a source of creative inspiration. Knitting is socially acceptable. It doesn't set a knitter apart from their non-knitting fellow citizens. Whether you are a knitter or not isn't a matter of personal worth. It is assumed that knitters are just as good people as non-knitters.
In short, knitting is unobjectionable because it is kept personal, it is not the source of invidious distinctions, it can be fun and lead to pleasant social interactions, it is a comfort for many people, and is a source of creativity and even inspiration. If religion were like knitting, I wouldn't object to it.
But religion isn't satisfied to be like knitting. It's even outraged to be compared to knitting. Religion takes its knitting needles and uses them as weapons, not to knit with in private but to attack others in public. So while religion isn't really like knitting, I agree with PZ. If it can attain the Revelation of Knittingness, there might be hope for it.
For more about how knitting can be a source of spirituality, see The Knitting Sutra and Knitting Heaven and Earth (the second is one of my favorite books and I can't recommend it enough) by Susan Gordon Lydon and Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
There's only one thing left on my to do list and then I leave tomorrow. I have to leave the house at 9:30 in the morning to get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time. Here's the flight schedule:
Flight 1
Depart 12:31PM Denver (DEN)
Arrive 3:54PM Chicago (ORD)
Flight 2
Depart 5:25PM Chicago (ORD)
Arrive 9:50AM Warsaw (WAW) +1 day
Flight 3
Depart 11:45AM Warsaw (WAW)
Arrive 2:10PM Vilnius (VNO)
With the 9 hour time change, that mean's I should be arriving in Vilnius at 5:10 am on Monday morning, making it about 20 hours of travel time, including the taxi to the hotel.
Everything fit in the suitcase, but I decided to keep the day pack out of the suitcase for a couple of reasons. 1) I can put my knitting, book, notebook, water bottle and other niceties in it to put under my seat on the planes, and then the clothes and other stuff can go in the overhead. 2) I think Polish Airlines considers carry on size to be slightly smaller than the US standard, so if they make me check my bag with my clothes, I can take the laptop and my meds out of it, put them into my half empty day pack and still carry on everything important.
Well, not sure if I'll be writing any more before I leave of exactly when I'll get online after I arrive. So enjoy the weekend and the summer!
Flight 1
Depart 12:31PM Denver (DEN)
Arrive 3:54PM Chicago (ORD)
Flight 2
Depart 5:25PM Chicago (ORD)
Arrive 9:50AM Warsaw (WAW) +1 day
Flight 3
Depart 11:45AM Warsaw (WAW)
Arrive 2:10PM Vilnius (VNO)
With the 9 hour time change, that mean's I should be arriving in Vilnius at 5:10 am on Monday morning, making it about 20 hours of travel time, including the taxi to the hotel.
Everything fit in the suitcase, but I decided to keep the day pack out of the suitcase for a couple of reasons. 1) I can put my knitting, book, notebook, water bottle and other niceties in it to put under my seat on the planes, and then the clothes and other stuff can go in the overhead. 2) I think Polish Airlines considers carry on size to be slightly smaller than the US standard, so if they make me check my bag with my clothes, I can take the laptop and my meds out of it, put them into my half empty day pack and still carry on everything important.
Well, not sure if I'll be writing any more before I leave of exactly when I'll get online after I arrive. So enjoy the weekend and the summer!
Friday, June 20, 2008
I am bring a PC laptop, not my MacBook.
First, all of my work software is PC. Second, it's a spare laptop so if it gets stolen, lost, or broken, oh well!
First, all of my work software is PC. Second, it's a spare laptop so if it gets stolen, lost, or broken, oh well!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I usually read sci-fi and fantasy when I fly. It's fun, entertaining, keeps the brain alert, and well, it's my favorite fiction genre. But that's not going to happen on this trip, even though I asked a friend for some suggestions on paperbacks to check out, because I don't really keep up with my fiction reading when I'm not traveling. Just like I'm addicted to knitting lace shawls right now, I'm also addicted to reading travel books. So here's what I got:
Paperback: Mishima's Sword: Travels in Search of a Samuri Legend by Christopher Ross.
Audio book: They Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin.
I bought it from iTunes but you can't link there or copy & paste the description. Here's the description from elsewhere:
I'm really embarrassed to admit that I've never read this book before. So now, with a 17 hour flight (including layovers in Chicago and Warsaw) and about 10 hours of audio files, I have no excuse. Well, unless I sleep. Even so, I will have enough time to get about half of the book "read" on the way and half on the way home.
On November 25, 1970, the world renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima committed seppuku with his own antique sword. Mishima’s spectacular suicide has been called many things: a hankering for heroism; a beautiful, perverse drama; a political protest against Japan’s emasculated postwar constitution; the epitaph of a mad genius. Part travelogue, part biography, and part philosophical treatise, Mishima’s Sword is the story of Christopher Ross’s journey to find a sword and maybe an understanding of Mishima’s country. The cold trail the author follows inspires a tale of the most engaging-and occasionally bizarre-sort, with glimpses of the real Japan that is not seen by tourists, with digressions on, among other things, bushido and socks, mutineers and Noh ghosts, nosebleeds and metallurgy-and even how to dress for suicide.
I bought it from iTunes but you can't link there or copy & paste the description. Here's the description from elsewhere:
In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on an expedition that, in his own words, determined my whole career. The Voyage of the Beagle chronicles his five-year journey around the world and especially the coastal waters of South America as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. While traveling through these unexplored countries collecting specimens, Darwin began to formulate the theories of evolution and natural selection realized in his master work, The Origin of Species. Travel memoir and scientific primer alike, The Voyage of the Beagle is a lively and accessible introduction to the mind of one of history's most influential thinkers.
I'm really embarrassed to admit that I've never read this book before. So now, with a 17 hour flight (including layovers in Chicago and Warsaw) and about 10 hours of audio files, I have no excuse. Well, unless I sleep. Even so, I will have enough time to get about half of the book "read" on the way and half on the way home.
As you all know, I have been too busy this year. I have had several books in the works and freelance editing and my day job which increased in scope (and pay). It's very exhausting and I'm making some changes after I get back from my trip. One of the projects that I'm behind on right now is my book about Dorothy Reade. I wanted to have that finished before I left, and that did not happen. I have the tech editing half done and the writing of the other parts about half done. So I'm bringing the writing with me. There's some stuff with the publisher and photography up in the air right now and I can't get that solidified until I finish the chapters that I'm working on. I want to give you a preview of why I am so interested in Dorothy Reade's work, but I don't have time to write anything long. So here's a scan with some great pictures and info. I hope you can read it. I had to make it small enough to fit on the blog page.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Oh ye of little faith! I just did a test pack and it all fits -- including a pair of jeans and my laptop -- in the rolling carry on bag, with the day pack holding the electronics and writing supplies stuffed inside the main bag for trudging around the airports and bus stations!
Of course, on the way home, I may have to buy another bag or ship my clothes so I can carry my new knitted treasures. But that's OK.
Of course, on the way home, I may have to buy another bag or ship my clothes so I can carry my new knitted treasures. But that's OK.
Monday, June 16, 2008
I'm only taking 1 carry on with me to Lithuania. I don't want to check bags and I don't want to lug a bunch of stuff around the airports -- or worse the bus stations. I will bring a purse, so there are a few small personal items that you won't see listed here.
Do you think this will all fit? Did I miss anything important?
CLOTHES
** wear one outfit from this list **
1 pair of jeans
3 pairs of knit pants
1 pair of capris
6 short-sleeve shirts
1 cardigan
1 raincoat
1 shawl
1 set of PJs
1 pair of sandals
1 pair of closed toe shoes
5 pairs of socks
Underwear
HABA
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dental Floss
Deodorant
Soap
Travel shampoo
Comb
Sunscreen
Rx and non-Rx meds
Razor
First aid kit
Nail clippers
Tweezers
OTHER
Clothesline, sink stopper, soap
Umbrella
Laptop
Small camera
iPod
Clock
Flashlight
Towel
Pillow case
Zip lock bags
Electrical adapters
Batteries
Paperback book
EVERYTHING ELSE
If I need anything else, I will buy it in Lithuania.
Do you think this will all fit? Did I miss anything important?
CLOTHES
** wear one outfit from this list **
1 pair of jeans
3 pairs of knit pants
1 pair of capris
6 short-sleeve shirts
1 cardigan
1 raincoat
1 shawl
1 set of PJs
1 pair of sandals
1 pair of closed toe shoes
5 pairs of socks
Underwear
HABA
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dental Floss
Deodorant
Soap
Travel shampoo
Comb
Sunscreen
Rx and non-Rx meds
Razor
First aid kit
Nail clippers
Tweezers
OTHER
Clothesline, sink stopper, soap
Umbrella
Laptop
Small camera
iPod
Clock
Flashlight
Towel
Pillow case
Zip lock bags
Electrical adapters
Batteries
Paperback book
EVERYTHING ELSE
If I need anything else, I will buy it in Lithuania.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
So, planning my time in Lithuania, in addition to language school, research about knitting, and work (I can't afford to take off without pay for 6 weeks), I want to make a little writing retreat for myself.
Today, while I was in Borders, I stumbled on a little book called A Writer's Space. I liked the title so I pulled it out to take a look. As I was skimming through the pages, I thought, "This sounds like something Eric Maisel would say." I looked at the cover, and sure enough, Eric's name was right there staring at me. I'd planned to buy this book when it came out but I forgot about it. It has 36 short chapters with exercises at the end of each. I'm going to take this little book with me and read a chapter every afternoon or evening, then work in my journal for an hour or two. I bought a small notebook to take on the plane and for my first few days, but I plan to pick up some more, and maybe a couple of nice pens, once I get settled.
I guess I won't get the schedule figured out until after the first week, but here's what I need to do every weekday:
Go to class
Do homework
Work
Write
Explore
Relax
Sleep
Shower (etc.)
Eat
On the weekends, I can leave out the first three items on the list and spend more time writing and exploring. I'll probably blog once or twice a week, but I'm not planning to do daily blogging on this trip.
My research will be sporadic while I'm in Vilnius, because it's mostly concentrated in the last two weeks of the trip. But there are a few things I want to learn about while I'm in the capital city.
Today, while I was in Borders, I stumbled on a little book called A Writer's Space. I liked the title so I pulled it out to take a look. As I was skimming through the pages, I thought, "This sounds like something Eric Maisel would say." I looked at the cover, and sure enough, Eric's name was right there staring at me. I'd planned to buy this book when it came out but I forgot about it. It has 36 short chapters with exercises at the end of each. I'm going to take this little book with me and read a chapter every afternoon or evening, then work in my journal for an hour or two. I bought a small notebook to take on the plane and for my first few days, but I plan to pick up some more, and maybe a couple of nice pens, once I get settled.
I guess I won't get the schedule figured out until after the first week, but here's what I need to do every weekday:
Go to class
Do homework
Work
Write
Explore
Relax
Sleep
Shower (etc.)
Eat
On the weekends, I can leave out the first three items on the list and spend more time writing and exploring. I'll probably blog once or twice a week, but I'm not planning to do daily blogging on this trip.
My research will be sporadic while I'm in Vilnius, because it's mostly concentrated in the last two weeks of the trip. But there are a few things I want to learn about while I'm in the capital city.
Here's an outline of my plans for traveling in Lithuania.
First, here's where Lithuania is on a map of Europe for those who are not familiar with the Baltic region. The A marks the location of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
This map shows all of the locations we are planning to visit. Our plans are not firm yet, but I'm pretty sure we'll make it to most of these places.
Here's the tentative agenda. I've linked to various tidbits of interest about each place.
Vilnius -- go to language school, visit museums, wing it, try to make a side trip to the spa town of Druskininkai in the south
Anykšciai -- visit a vet and farmer and the sheep breeder's association
Biržai -- visit a museum and a women's craft group
Panevėžys -- visit a museum and a women's craft group, there's also a women's prison here where they have knitting classes but I'm not sure if we'll get to visit
Šauliai -- visit a museum, the market, a woolen mill, and meet with several knitting designers
Klaipėda -- go to the beach!, visit museums and the market, meet with some knitters
Vilkija -- visit a museum and folk art school and meet with a folk art teacher
Kaunas -- visit the National Art Museum and an open air museum with demonstrations of historical crafts
Marijampolė -- visit a museum and a women's craft group
Žagarė -- visit a woolen mill, several women who spin and knit, and a knitwear designer
Vilnius -- spend the night and go to the airport to return home
First, here's where Lithuania is on a map of Europe for those who are not familiar with the Baltic region. The A marks the location of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
This map shows all of the locations we are planning to visit. Our plans are not firm yet, but I'm pretty sure we'll make it to most of these places.
Here's the tentative agenda. I've linked to various tidbits of interest about each place.
Vilnius -- go to language school, visit museums, wing it, try to make a side trip to the spa town of Druskininkai in the south
Anykšciai -- visit a vet and farmer and the sheep breeder's association
Biržai -- visit a museum and a women's craft group
Panevėžys -- visit a museum and a women's craft group, there's also a women's prison here where they have knitting classes but I'm not sure if we'll get to visit
Šauliai -- visit a museum, the market, a woolen mill, and meet with several knitting designers
Klaipėda -- go to the beach!, visit museums and the market, meet with some knitters
Vilkija -- visit a museum and folk art school and meet with a folk art teacher
Kaunas -- visit the National Art Museum and an open air museum with demonstrations of historical crafts
Marijampolė -- visit a museum and a women's craft group
Žagarė -- visit a woolen mill, several women who spin and knit, and a knitwear designer
Vilnius -- spend the night and go to the airport to return home
Saturday, June 14, 2008
I have a love-hate relationship with writing.
The thing I hate about it is that no matter how much you write, you are always a beginner. Every new project feels like you never wrote a word in your life, never strung a sentence together, never formed a coherent paragraph. And you don't know if you'll be able to.
The thing I love about it is that no matter how much you write, you are always a beginner. Every new project feels like a first kiss, the excitement of starting a new book is electric, the anticipation of finding out what you think about a new topic and trying to organize your thoughts is delicious. And you can't get enough.
I'm in the hate phase right now, but hoping to be in the love phase once I get to Lithuania. The problem is that I have too many projects in the works. And they are all in different phases. I need to make myself slow down and only work on one book at a time. Why? So I can relish the good parts, and have enough non-writing time to enjoy the rest of my life.
Here are two books that every writer needs to own, to help you sleep on those nights when writing feels like a million tiny cactus needles that have gotten under your skin. Both are by Ralph Keyes. At most times I have one or both of these books on my night stand so I can read them when I wake up in the middle of the night with writing terrors or despairs.
>The Courage to Write -- This book has kept me writing more times than I'd like to admit. Why is writing frightening? It can't kill you like skydiving, right? One of the writers Keyes interviewed for this book compared writing to dancing naked on a table. And, wow, I can understand that one. No, I've never danced naked on a table (or anywhere else but in the shower for that matter), but I can certainly understand the comparison. Writing, when it's done well, is baring your soul for strangers to gawk at. And many writers, including me, don't even like to bare our souls to our close friends. So why do we go naked on the internet and in the pages of books and magazines? I don't know. But it is both thrilling and terrifying. This book will help you go on when the terror seems to overwhelm the thrill.
The Writer's Book of Hope -- This is the one I'm re-reading right now. Why? Because I'm looking for a publisher for my de-conversion memoir. My agent loves it and has been shopping it around. So far I've gotten a bunch of rejections, some of which have been lovely, but rejections nonetheless. Even though I know the decision to publish a book is very subjective and rejections may not reflect on the quality of my writing, and even though I didn't expect a New York publisher to understand or be interested in my project, it still feels like getting a bucket of ice water dumped on my head every time another rejection sneaks into my email inbox. I can't wait until we get to the next phase where we are pitching smaller presses who have already published books that are similar to mine. (That said, if one of the NY editors who is still considering my memoir decides to publish it, I will not say no!) I didn't think I'd need to re-read this book, because I've been so lucky and successful in getting my knitting books published with almost no rejections. But here I am, a beginner again, wanting to write about other things besides knitting, and finding out that my experience and platform (read: tiny bit of fame) count for zilch.
Last night we watched The Bucket List (as in "what do you want to do before you kick the bucket?"). In the film Morgan Freeman's character asks Jack Nicholson's character to answer two questions: 1) have you found joy in your life? and 2) have others received joy from your life? I'm happy to say that I can answer "yes" to both questions, and it is through my knitting books that I am most comfortable answering the second. Whenever I hear that my work has inspired someone else or given someone joy, I find renewed energy and the desire to continue writing -- right through the fear and despair. I hope I can begin again and achieve the same results writing about other topics as well (but don't worry, I've still got a few more knitting books up my sleeve).
The thing I hate about it is that no matter how much you write, you are always a beginner. Every new project feels like you never wrote a word in your life, never strung a sentence together, never formed a coherent paragraph. And you don't know if you'll be able to.
The thing I love about it is that no matter how much you write, you are always a beginner. Every new project feels like a first kiss, the excitement of starting a new book is electric, the anticipation of finding out what you think about a new topic and trying to organize your thoughts is delicious. And you can't get enough.
I'm in the hate phase right now, but hoping to be in the love phase once I get to Lithuania. The problem is that I have too many projects in the works. And they are all in different phases. I need to make myself slow down and only work on one book at a time. Why? So I can relish the good parts, and have enough non-writing time to enjoy the rest of my life.
Here are two books that every writer needs to own, to help you sleep on those nights when writing feels like a million tiny cactus needles that have gotten under your skin. Both are by Ralph Keyes. At most times I have one or both of these books on my night stand so I can read them when I wake up in the middle of the night with writing terrors or despairs.
Last night we watched The Bucket List (as in "what do you want to do before you kick the bucket?"). In the film Morgan Freeman's character asks Jack Nicholson's character to answer two questions: 1) have you found joy in your life? and 2) have others received joy from your life? I'm happy to say that I can answer "yes" to both questions, and it is through my knitting books that I am most comfortable answering the second. Whenever I hear that my work has inspired someone else or given someone joy, I find renewed energy and the desire to continue writing -- right through the fear and despair. I hope I can begin again and achieve the same results writing about other topics as well (but don't worry, I've still got a few more knitting books up my sleeve).
Friday, June 13, 2008
A knitted dissected rat? WTF? And you can buy it on Etsy from the CraftyHedgehog. Check out her other cool knitted items, too. Most are not dissected.
Knitted Dissected Rat
Prima Donna Frog
And here's a fabulous lace scarf by Kieran Foley on Knitty that was inspired by my work! I want to make this.
This scarf really floats my boat!
That's it for today. Back to Estes Park to teach an Amish Oval Rug workshop.
Knitted Dissected Rat
Prima Donna Frog
And here's a fabulous lace scarf by Kieran Foley on Knitty that was inspired by my work! I want to make this.
This scarf really floats my boat!
That's it for today. Back to Estes Park to teach an Amish Oval Rug workshop.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I am not going to get everything on my to do list finished before I leave for Lithuania. That means either
a) I leave some stuff to finish in August
or
b) I bring some stuff to work on in Lithuania
I'm not sure what I want to do. I know I'll be in classes in the mornings and I'll have homework and some afternoon field trips. I am fine with spending a couple of hours each evening working at a cafe with free wifi, and working half a day on Saturday and Sunday as well. I do want some free time just to hang out and explore Vilnius and talk to people, too. But since Dom won't be there, I'm not sure I'll have enough to keep myself busy all the time. I don't really like to travel alone, and I haven't in many years, except to teach or work at trade shows, which sort of doesn't count because it has built in activities.
I also decided to bring some knitting with me, so I've rolled a ball of Tilli Tomas Voile de la Mer and cast on for the Bigfoot Shawl from Wrapped in Comfort by Allison Hyde. The shawl name makes it sound hideous, but it's actually a variation of feather and fan, which is quite pretty. It's made on size 8 needles, so it will knit up quickly and perhaps I'll even be able to wear it while I am in Lithuania. Alison said it took her 5 days to make that shawl, and 5 days to make the Michelle Shawl as well. I've already made the Michelle shawl, and it did go very quickly. Maybe I will even finish it on the 17 hour flight (including layovers in Chicago and Warsaw).
a) I leave some stuff to finish in August
or
b) I bring some stuff to work on in Lithuania
I'm not sure what I want to do. I know I'll be in classes in the mornings and I'll have homework and some afternoon field trips. I am fine with spending a couple of hours each evening working at a cafe with free wifi, and working half a day on Saturday and Sunday as well. I do want some free time just to hang out and explore Vilnius and talk to people, too. But since Dom won't be there, I'm not sure I'll have enough to keep myself busy all the time. I don't really like to travel alone, and I haven't in many years, except to teach or work at trade shows, which sort of doesn't count because it has built in activities.
I also decided to bring some knitting with me, so I've rolled a ball of Tilli Tomas Voile de la Mer and cast on for the Bigfoot Shawl from Wrapped in Comfort by Allison Hyde. The shawl name makes it sound hideous, but it's actually a variation of feather and fan, which is quite pretty. It's made on size 8 needles, so it will knit up quickly and perhaps I'll even be able to wear it while I am in Lithuania. Alison said it took her 5 days to make that shawl, and 5 days to make the Michelle Shawl as well. I've already made the Michelle shawl, and it did go very quickly. Maybe I will even finish it on the 17 hour flight (including layovers in Chicago and Warsaw).
Monday, June 09, 2008
Well, maybe one kind of lace knitting, anyway. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was reading Apples are from Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins. I really enjoyed most of the book and learned a lot about a country that I knew virtually nothing about (I didn't see Borat, so I had nothing to unlearn either).
Today, while I was doing some reading about Orenburg lace shawls, I stumbled on this in Gossamer Webs by Galina Khmeleva and Carol Noble:
Hmmm. That's something Robbins missed in his research. And it doesn't sound like that's when down knitting arose at all, but rather that that's when the Russians became aware of it. Orenburg lies very close to the border of Kazakhstan so perhaps these are really Kazakh lace shawls!
The "A" on this map shows the location of Orenburg, Russia.
I zoomed out so you can have a frame of reference.
I'd love to do some research on knitting in Kazakhstan but I already have too much going on. The country is changing so quickly, like so many of the other former Soviet republics, and their national heritage was suppressed so much by the Soviets, that it's possible that their knitting traditions have already disappeared. That would be very sad.
Today, while I was doing some reading about Orenburg lace shawls, I stumbled on this in Gossamer Webs by Galina Khmeleva and Carol Noble:
According to historians Peter Ritchov and S. A. Davidova, down knitting arose in the seventeenth century, when the Russian Cossacks consolidated their hold on the south Ural steppes and began to trade with the local population. The Cossacks found that their fur coats were not warm enough for the severe winter climate with its constant fierce winds. They observed the nomadic Kazakhs and Kalmuks who spent their days on the steppes under the open winter sky and in the biting wind, riding small shaggy horses. Underneath their light felt outerwear, the nomads wore padded jackets and knitted shawls of very fine local goat down."
Hmmm. That's something Robbins missed in his research. And it doesn't sound like that's when down knitting arose at all, but rather that that's when the Russians became aware of it. Orenburg lies very close to the border of Kazakhstan so perhaps these are really Kazakh lace shawls!
The "A" on this map shows the location of Orenburg, Russia.
I zoomed out so you can have a frame of reference.
I'd love to do some research on knitting in Kazakhstan but I already have too much going on. The country is changing so quickly, like so many of the other former Soviet republics, and their national heritage was suppressed so much by the Soviets, that it's possible that their knitting traditions have already disappeared. That would be very sad.
I posted this on Skepchick this morning because this blog was down, and I've already pissed off a bunch of people. I can't help it. I'm not in love with America any more. I want to break up.
I am so glad I will be out of this country (the US) for the summer. I already wish I did not have to come back. I am quite sure that the best part of my trip will be that I won't have to read crap like this in the news. And, ha, here's the rub. I'll be in a frakking ex-Eastern Bloc country. Waddya know. A former Soviet republic with more freedom that people in the capital of the so-called "land of the free and home of the brave."
Yeah, ya think? There's got to be a way to curtail crime without turning local police into the frakking KGB.
Sorry for the outburst but after 5 or 6 crappy news stories in a row, I just couldn't take it any more. Enjoy the day. Especially if you don't live in the US.
I am so glad I will be out of this country (the US) for the summer. I already wish I did not have to come back. I am quite sure that the best part of my trip will be that I won't have to read crap like this in the news. And, ha, here's the rub. I'll be in a frakking ex-Eastern Bloc country. Waddya know. A former Soviet republic with more freedom that people in the capital of the so-called "land of the free and home of the brave."
When D.C. police begin stopping cars at a "checkpoint" this weekend in the Trinidad neighborhood, they will record all license plate numbers, verify residents' addresses and ask others for phone numbers of those they are visiting, according to a directive issued by Chief Cathy L. Lanier.
Lanier, who has been working on the "neighborhood safety zone" program for two months, said the checkpoints can expand to any neighborhood in response to violent crime. Police said it is a tool they plan to use to increase visibility, make arrests and gather intelligence.
...
Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said the plan could be viewed as an infringement on civil liberties.
Yeah, ya think? There's got to be a way to curtail crime without turning local police into the frakking KGB.
Sorry for the outburst but after 5 or 6 crappy news stories in a row, I just couldn't take it any more. Enjoy the day. Especially if you don't live in the US.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
OK, I don't mean that I hate what I write (although sometimes I feel that way too), but that I hate the way I write, my writing process. Again, not the hours of the day in which I write or the way I sometimes write in a notebook with a fountain pen and sometimes on the computer or that I go to the coffee shop for an hour or two every day and write until I reach my word-count quota.
What I hate is that I write everything piecemeal. A couple of sentences here, a paragraph there, a scene or set of instructions in a third place, jumping around a manuscript back and forth, up and down, right side up and upside down! Sometimes I don't even write real bits of text, but include things like "BLAH BLAH" or a key phrase or question or a bulleted list to show where I intend to insert more information, explore a topic further, or flesh out the list-outline into another major section.
And yet somehow it all, slowly, starts to turn from a jumble of rough thoughts into a cohesive narrative text. I really want to write a whole draft of something -- even a blog post or an article, but ideally a whole book -- from start to finish and then go back and do the molding and editing. But I have no idea how to do that. I sometimes feel like my writing process is more like painting, adding layer upon layer over the whole canvas in an iterative process until a picture starts to emerge. (Did I actually just make my process almost sound good?)
I have not heard of anyone else who writes like this, but it's the way I've always written, even when I was working on technical manuals. * Research, outline, fill in, add more notes, outline more, rearrange, revise, fill in more, make adjustments, do more research, repeat from * until smooth. Although I may only print out 4 or 5 "official" drafts of each file, I am sure I go through each one at least 100 times before it's done.
I guess that's how I work on other things as well. I generally can't stay on the same project or task for more than an hour or two at a time. So I keep going back and forth on the items on my to do list until a chunk of them have finally been crossed off. I wonder if there's a name for this work style. It's terribly efficient for me, so I don't think "disorganized" applies! Maybe it's hummingbird style?
Well, it's my bedtime. I hope I don't wake up at 2:00 thinking about this or my trip or work or the two books I'm working on or the two books I'll be working on next or.... :-)
Sorry I don't have more knitting content. Working on books and one shawl (got 3 repeats done while I was in Florida last weekend), prepping for my classes at the Estes Park Wool Market on Thursday & Friday, and deciding if I should bring any knitting to Lithuania or go shopping for yarn and needles after I get there... but all in all, not guilting about how much knitting content is or is not here is making it much easier for me to blog.
What I hate is that I write everything piecemeal. A couple of sentences here, a paragraph there, a scene or set of instructions in a third place, jumping around a manuscript back and forth, up and down, right side up and upside down! Sometimes I don't even write real bits of text, but include things like "BLAH BLAH" or a key phrase or question or a bulleted list to show where I intend to insert more information, explore a topic further, or flesh out the list-outline into another major section.
And yet somehow it all, slowly, starts to turn from a jumble of rough thoughts into a cohesive narrative text. I really want to write a whole draft of something -- even a blog post or an article, but ideally a whole book -- from start to finish and then go back and do the molding and editing. But I have no idea how to do that. I sometimes feel like my writing process is more like painting, adding layer upon layer over the whole canvas in an iterative process until a picture starts to emerge. (Did I actually just make my process almost sound good?)
I have not heard of anyone else who writes like this, but it's the way I've always written, even when I was working on technical manuals. * Research, outline, fill in, add more notes, outline more, rearrange, revise, fill in more, make adjustments, do more research, repeat from * until smooth. Although I may only print out 4 or 5 "official" drafts of each file, I am sure I go through each one at least 100 times before it's done.
I guess that's how I work on other things as well. I generally can't stay on the same project or task for more than an hour or two at a time. So I keep going back and forth on the items on my to do list until a chunk of them have finally been crossed off. I wonder if there's a name for this work style. It's terribly efficient for me, so I don't think "disorganized" applies! Maybe it's hummingbird style?
Well, it's my bedtime. I hope I don't wake up at 2:00 thinking about this or my trip or work or the two books I'm working on or the two books I'll be working on next or.... :-)
Sorry I don't have more knitting content. Working on books and one shawl (got 3 repeats done while I was in Florida last weekend), prepping for my classes at the Estes Park Wool Market on Thursday & Friday, and deciding if I should bring any knitting to Lithuania or go shopping for yarn and needles after I get there... but all in all, not guilting about how much knitting content is or is not here is making it much easier for me to blog.
Friday, June 06, 2008
I'll be teaching at an internet telesummit on Internet Strategies for Writers this September.
Check out the website to learn more and to sign up!
When?
Thursday, September 4th through Sunday, September 7th, 2008. 24 great sessions. 6 one-hour sessions over four days, conveniently scheduled to suit your needs whether you live on the East Coast, the West Coast, or anywhere in between. (And if you live elsewhere in the world: all sessions are recorded!)
Where?
Right in the comfort of your own home or office!
Who?
You won’t find this many knowledgeable, successful – and genuinely helpful – industry professionals in one place, talking directly to you and taking your questions, except at The Writers TeleSummit. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity. Not only is our roster excellent, our presenters will be focused on telling you what you need to know to really move your writing life forward. The things they wished they had learned starting out. The keys. Their very best tips.
Unlike an ordinary writers conference, with The Writers TeleSummit you don’t have to choose between sessions or choose a track. At a regular writers conference you get one or two keynote speakers and then you have to make choices. Here all of our 24 speakers are keynote speakers. You get to hear them all and learn from all of them as they present—and listen to them again at your leisure.
You won’t find a roster like this at any writers’ conference, and the cost of The Writers TeleSummit is a fraction of what it would cost you to travel to a regional or national writers’ conference. You’ll see a breakdown of costs a little later on, but the difference is obvious: no flight, no hotel room, no meals, no expenses whatsoever. No worries about feeling out of place or out of step. No chance of spending more time shopping at the conference bookstore than furthering your writing career. No need to worry about making pitches to agents and editors obligated to field (and deflect) them. With The Writers TeleSummit, you learn, absorb, and really grow.
Check out the website to learn more and to sign up!
Wanna bet these switch locations before I leave for Lithuania? It rained almost the whole time I was in Vilnius last July and that's the wettest month of the year. In Colorado summer is usually bone dry.
Isn't it interesting that the temperatures are about the same in Colorado and Vilnius? I think so. Lithuania is way up there at around the same latitude as Glasgow, Scotland and Sitka, Alaska. The highest elevation in the country is 293.6 m (963.3 ft).
Isn't it interesting that the temperatures are about the same in Colorado and Vilnius? I think so. Lithuania is way up there at around the same latitude as Glasgow, Scotland and Sitka, Alaska. The highest elevation in the country is 293.6 m (963.3 ft).
Thursday, June 05, 2008
That reminded me that I needed to post an update about my next book!
If you haven't checked out Ethnic Knitting Discovery yet, you'd better hurry up because Ethnic Knitting Exploration is coming out soon!
Here's the skinny from Amazon:
Donna Druchunas extends readers' knowledge of traditional knitting designs and techniques, presented in step-by-step fashion. Working as she did in Ethnic Knitting Discovery, she covers three new regions and more complicated structures, including raglan, yoke, and saddle-shoulder sweaters. Each section includes a small introductory project that familiarizes knitters with the skills, followed by pullover sweaters that apply them. A supplementary chapter shows how to adapt pullover designs to make cardigans.
This book moves forward from the basic shapes in Discovery to more fitted shapes that curve around your shoulders, while still providing the 1-2-3 approach to sweater design. I include designs from Ireland, Lithuania, and Iceland.
I'm just finishing up the manuscript for the third book in the series, Ethnic Knitting Adventure, that includes instructions for designing fitted sweaters and a special chapter on working from Japanese patterns. It's been much harder to write and has taken me longer than I thought, but if all goes as planned, that book will be out in fall 2009.
