pensnest | (no subject)

I managed to feed the visitors on Tuesday—lentil soup, bread and cheese, lemonade scones, and a birthday cake, coffee, with chocolate icing—although I had overestimated the amount of creative play we'd be able to get through in an afternoon, so the cards will have to attend our next get-together to be finished. But everybody had fun, so that's all right.

Today, I dyed some yarn with Kool Aid (Lemonade and Tropical Punch)… but somehow failed to secure the skein well enough. And spent, oh, five hours untangling it. But hey! It's better than writing! The deadline is a whole week away. No need to write just yet.

Also, I now have backache.

Speaking of procrastination, I have been wandering through the internet and came upon a True Gem which I had, alas, failed to notice when it debuted, although apparently it was Huge. Surely, surely it must be Performance Art? An author takes exception to a review. Oh, boy. *boggles* There goes an author who has already reached the peak of his artistic potential.

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That sounds like a fine autumnal feast, and - that sounds like much the best use for koolaid!

We're still finishing the cake - and it's still good :-)

I have not even been tempted to drink the remaining packets.

Amusingly enough, he is inevitably rude to anyone who points out a simple straightforward error in his work (or just ignores them).

The really sad thing is that the review was quite positive in many areas.

I know! Completely unable to accept any kind of critique. No wonder he self-published.

That all sounds delicious! It's been lentil-soupy weather here too, I really should make a nice big pot!

Deadlines that are weeks away are so distant as to be nearly nonexistent!

... for the next six days, at least. *wry g*

It's kind of a shame, 'cause you and I won't have the chance to try bouncing ideas off each other before we have to have submitted the pesky things. Ah well.

I'm doing a follow-up to 'Dragon Country' - are you doing more in the Pern universe?

That all sounds very yummy!

Recently had a creative get-together myself - a friend and my sister both came over with their beads and other jewellery making supplies, which we proceeded to spread all over the table. And the couch. And the floor. Basically everywhere. It was fun and we managed to finish several pieces, but we did it (on and off) for about 12 hours!

That sounds both fun and soul-restoring! I love creating Stuff, of many genres.

I...made it about halfway through the comments, and then had to give up, I was getting dizzy. *g* But...WOW. An object lesson in how not to respond to reviews. o_O

Mr Harper is certainly relentless in his refusal to accept even the possibility of critique, isn't he! To be honest, my eyes just skittered over his responses. When I did read his excerpts, I could not disagree with the critic!

Wow. Who'd have thought a guy who writes teddy bear sleuthing novels would have issues with instability?/end sarcasm

...yikes.

And he's as good as Fitzgerald and Keats, don't forget!

There goes an author who...takes himself too seriously? I suppose some people don't know when it's best to just...STOP! I did chuckle at the one responders haiku(s), LOL. THEY were obviously having a laugh.

I didn't know you could dye things with Kool Aid. Doesn't it make the yarn stiff or sticky? Doesn't it wash out? Interesting idea.

Kool Aid is apparently full of citric acid (no surprise), which is a useful fixing agent. If you're using mere food colouring for dyeing, you need a fixative, but the Kool Aid does it all! Not sticky, unless you are very foolish and add sugar, and apparently it shouldn't run. As home dye processes go, it has to be about the least painful one possible! (I understand it can also be used to colour hair. And people *drink* this stuff?)

It just makes me wonder how one gets Kool Aid stains out of their kids' clothing. Many coffees have dyes in them too, to the extent that if spilled on a carpet, even professionals cannot remove the stain. Yes, people drink that??? (I can't talk, I drink soda, and I'm sure 'caramel coloring' is another word for dye.)

My niece has dyed her hair blue. I wonder if she uses Kool Aid? LOL

Drinking strength is a lot more diluted than dyeing strength. Perhaps adding more cold water helps remove the stain? (It seems to be set by nearly-boiling.)

Rainbow intestines ftw.

Untangling skeins are not fun. Not fun. I've never dyed yarn before, now that sound fun ;)

Also, lemonade scones sound amazing.

No, indeed, 100m or so of *pain*. However, it does look quite pretty—a variety of shades of pink, since I started with something in varied beige.

Lemonade scones are very yummy and quick - you just add very thick cream, plus lemonade, to the flour (and salt), mix, roll out and cut. I shall adopt this method for all future sconage needs.

Sounds lovely! Have you decided what you are going to knit / make with it?

I will definitely have to try this holiday season :D