Write, Revise, Rewrite, Repeat

I just finished my first read-through of my manuscript and marked the first round of revisions. The good news is that I still think it's a good story and I still like it. The bad news is, there are definitely some places that need work. Timing, transitions, and descriptive passages during high-dialogue scenes are my main problems, and most of them occur in the middle to two-thirds through area. I love the ending chapters, which sort of amazes me since I've never been good at conclusions.

In fact, this novel is a lot like painting landscapes. I'm nearly always happy with the background and foreground; it's that slippery middle ground that gives me grief.

Onward and upward. Revisions to make. Then the momentous step of releasing it to limited public scrutiny in the form of read-throughs by friends and colleagues. Am I ready for this?

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A Little Parental Gushing

I'm amazed lately at how big my little boy is becoming. Desperately in need of new PJs (see photo below) he got a lot of them for Christmas. All looked impossibly huge. Surely they wouldn't fit for months. But they did. Perfectly. How did he get so tall?

Here's Calvin in his pre-Christmas PJs. Yeah, time for some new ones.
Also, he is totally asleep in this photo. Looks really comfortable.

Zach pointed out to me the other night when we were looking at him sleeping in his Thomas bed that he will soon be too tall for it. What?! That's crazy! He's now less than a head shorter than his cousin Violet (5) and just a little more than a head shorter than his cousin Annabel (7). How is that possible?

In some of his new Christmas PJs. 4Ts. Sheesh.

And he is in all ways a little boy and far from toddlerhood. He has funny ideas, tells bizarre jokes, plays with Legos, and enjoys a trip to the coffeeshop.

That's chocolate milk, not coffee. If Calvin drinks coffee he
"would puke and get sick" in his words.

He's rinsing off dirty dishes in the sink. He's sorting laundry. He gets up from playing and goes to the bathroom on his own. He feeds the dog. He feeds pop cans into the return machines at the grocery store. He's becoming quite the little helper.

And we found out last week that he has gotten to sit at the "star table" in his new classroom at school four times already, and he's only been in that room for 6 days. His new teacher wrote us a note one day that said that he is always a good listener, even when his friends are not. We're very proud of the sweet little boy he's becoming. If you ask Calvin why he's so sweet, he replies, "Because Jesus made me sweet." I think he's right.

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The Bay City Motor Company

I just found out today that my father's workplace, The Bay City Motor Company, is going to be featured on PBS's Under the Radar show in March. The company has five people on staff and is very small, but it buys, refurbishes, and sells some of the most incredible cars ever built. I doubt that my father, Dale, who is very much an under-the-radar kind of guy, will make a big appearance in the show, but I'm quite proud of him and hope that this show brings even more tourism and business to Bay City, Michigan, and to the Motor Company in particular.

Here's an article about the show and the filming.

And here's my current favorite car in the showroom. Drool.

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Dodransbicentennial

Today the incredibly awesome, fantastically beautiful, impressively varied, ever resilient, historically rich, and utterly unsurpassed state of Michigan turns 175. Michigan entered the Union and became America's High Five on January 26, 1837. I talk about my state a lot. If you want to see photos of some beautiful and interesting places in Michigan, click here. Or here. Or here.

Fun facts to impress your friends:

Michigan boasts the longest freshwater coastline of any state or country in the world (3,288 miles) and among the fifty states, if you include saltwater shores, only Alaska has more shoreline than Michigan.

Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "big water."

Michigan used to be under a tropical sea and thus the state stone (the Petoskey Stone) is actually fossilized coral. It also used to be under glaciers.

The only state in the Union with a more diverse agricultural base is California.

Parts of Michigan have been under the control of four different countries: France, England, Spain, and America.

Michigan has about 150 lighthouses, more than any other state.

Besides the Great Lakes, Michigan also has more than 11,000 inland lakes.

No point in Michigan is more than 6 miles from an inland lake or more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes

Michigan has the largest state park and state forest system of any state.

Dearborn, Michigan is home to the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East.

The predominant religion in Michigan is Christianity, with Catholics represented most, followed by Lutherans.

10 million acres of Michigan is farmland.

19.3 million acres of Michigan is covered by forests (53% of the land area).


I'm sure, if you don't live in Michigan, that your state is very nice. But it's not Michigan. Bummer. So sorry about that!

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Revising Your Life

It's that time again. That bleak, cloudy moment when you realize that there are people who live in warm sunny places who are picking oranges from trees while you gaze at the lackluster yard standing shamefully naked without a covering of snow (the yard, not you, I hope). The broken remains of the perennials you were too busy to cut back in November hunch weakly as great, fat brown squirrels tear through the garden pursued by spry red squirrels less than half their size. The dog comes in with mud on her feet—MUD!—when you should by rights be slipping down the driveway on packed ice while trying to bring the groceries in the house. You come to acknowledge the insidious fact that this winter has looked more like March, the ugliest month of the year, than it has like the normally enchanting January of memory.

I think we're all fighting a low-grade depression in our house right now.

It is in this soul-crushing grayness that I find myself revising my recently finished novel (which, incidentally, takes place in the summer . . . how cruel). I go through chapter by chapter, line by line, word by word, cutting out the fat, culling the phrases that hold the story back, choosing a more precise or less cliche word here and there. I'm trying not to allow myself indulgences—favorite sentences that don't work very hard—and I begin to see that revising a manuscript is rather like revising the contents of your home or the way you spend your time.

There are things you just don't need that you hold on to for no more reason than a bit of sentimentality or potential usefulness in some far off future that will never really come. There are things you do for no more reason than they seem amusing or you feel you need to fill some time, but in reality you could be doing something much more useful, like keeping up with the laundry or calling your sister just to chat.

So once I'm done savaging my manuscript with red pen, I may turn my attention and my revision skills to my life. I realize that the beginning of January is a more traditional time for such activities, but I've been so fiendishly busy with work and sewing and exercise avoidance that I only now find myself mentally capable of such considerations.

But what should go? What should stay? I'm seriously contemplating making use of that old practice of assigning to each day a chore: laundry on Monday, ironing on Tuesday, grocery shopping on Wednesday, mending on Thursday, tidying the house on Friday, deeper house cleaning on Saturday, resting on Sunday. Until there are serious outdoor chores to work on in the Spring, I believe this could be a workable plan. To kick it off, I may take a few days off work after the catalog is at the printer in order to de-clutter and rid the house of dead weight. I have the sudden urge to find beautiful empty space and then protect it from encroaching hordes of stuff. I am feeling penned in on all sides (especially in my office) by creeping piles of stuff that needs shelving or filing or pitching. Mentally I feel rather the same.

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Help Me Choose My Next Project!

I've been so busy lately with sewing projects that I'm nearly three weeks ahead of myself for Sew Weekly challenges. My UFO is done (way back last summer I was sewing a dress for my cousin's wedding and never finished it), my red item for Valentine's Day is done (and if you work with me or live near me you may have already seen me wear it—three times!), and my two items (what is wrong with me?) for the Down Under challenge (in which we sew for the opposite season because the Australian contingent is busy enjoying their summer vacations whilst us northerners freeze) are moving along quickly. Here's a sneak peek.

Why all this working ahead? I sort of can't help myself at the moment and I know I'm going to need some extra time built in for the Feb. 20th challenge: Oscar-winning movie inspired projects. Here's the deal; I have two ideas running around my head for this and I'm having a wee bit of trouble deciding. Maybe you can help.

First, Gosford Park (Best Original Screenplay, 2001). I love Gosford Park. I love that era of fashion. However, I don't have a lot of use for a floor length satin evening gown (no, really). So I was thinking an outfit inspired by the ones the women wear when they go out to meet the shooting party for lunch at the rotunda (Valerie, is that the proper name for it?).

I have some good fabric in the stash I could use for a British tweed-inspired outfit (though I'm sadly lacking in the fox stole department). I've borrowed a 1930s suit pattern from my dear friend Valerie, which I think is simply wonderful. But I'm a bit worried that it will look too costumey. Where would I wear it?

Option number two, Chicago (Best Picture, 2002). I love Chicago. I love that era of fashion. However, I don't have a lot of use for a beaded-flapper-cabaret-showgirl outfit (no, really). So I was thinking a dress inspired by the one Roxie wears in the number where she's a ventriloquist's dummy for Billy Flynn. But again, I don't want it to look too much like a costume.

Oddly enough, I have a pattern from the late 1920s or early 1930s that is very similar to that dress.  I've tentatively picked out a thin navy knit (too thin to wear unlined) and a navy and teal sheer (too thin to wear unlined) that may or may not be big enough to cover the need (the knit would act as the lining, perhaps?).

The thing that is a bit more complicated is that the pattern is a very large size and would have to be carefully sized down, the "directions" leave something to be desired, and my stash fabrics are not ideal for this pattern.

These are the directions. That's it. And a few of them make no sense to me.

There are a lot of factors up in the air for this one. But I think it could be awesome if it all worked out.

So my big question is, what's your opinion?

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The Finished Corduroy Coat

I was so grateful for a beautiful covering of snow last week, not only to cover up the dead grass and mud (finally, it feels like January!) but also to serve as a lovely backdrop to photos of my second Sew Weekly challenge success.

This blue corduroy ($5) coat has six buttons (five functioning ones in front and one decorative one on the back yoke) and fit the buttonhole technique challenge nicely.

I used my automatic buttonholer rather than doing bound buttonholes, which would have looked nice but taken much longer.

I lined the coat with the batik ($0) I dyed earlier this month.

As far as I can see, the only good thing about our warmer temperatures (until the last few days, that is) has been that this is a very comfortable coat to wear in the 30-50 degree range.

The thing that makes me extra proud of this coat is the fact that I lost (and still have not found) the second sheet of directions (i.e., most of them, including all the stuff I was not 100% sure about how to execute) but I managed to finish it without them. Kudos to me. See more information about the project on The Sew Weekly.

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Hunter

This guy has been hanging out in my backyard a lot lately. I haven't seen any successful hunts, but it's not for lack of trying.

I believe he is a juvenile red tailed hawk, so he's still learning how to hunt effectively. But even adult hawks will usually only have a 10-20% hunting success rate.

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Snowy Symmetry

For two days, this is what has been falling softly to the ground and staying on my nose and eyelashes.

It makes me smile.

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The "Bandanarama" Skirt

My first creation for The Sew Weekly had to be built around or inspired by an accessory. I'm not a huge accessory person, and I was just going to skip that challenge and work on the one for next week (where you'll get to see my finished corduroy coat!) but then I remembered that I had six 1970s bandanas that Valerie passed on to me.

Those, plus some scrap corduroy and a stash zipper made up this altogether free skirt in about two hours (and it would have been less time if I used my ruffler foot more often and didn't have to re-figure it out every time).

Photos were taken by my dear husband in our old haunt of Bay City, Michigan, on a cold and windy morning.

To see this featured on The Sew Weekly (with more details about construction and that white oval thing I'm standing in front of) click here.

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A Wedding in Three Languages

On Sunday one of the Chin friends I tutor in English got married. Ni Iang (the woman on the right) married her boyfriend Thang Li (I hope I'm spelling his name right) in a service at our church, officiated by my husband in English, translated by a Burmese pastor into Burmese, and with music in Chin, Ni Iang's native tongue. She was an absolutely gorgeous bride in her traditional beaded dress. Makes me wonder why we Americans choose boring white when there's no law dictating what we wear to get married.

Cultural differences are so fun to observe. The wedding party never smiled (it is a solemn affair) until after the wedding was over and they posed for photos (and most of the men never did, even when I said, "Smile!"), and from what I could observe, the couple never made eye contact with Zach or each other. But the guests were far more casual than any wedding you've probably been to. People came and left all throughout the affair and children tore up and down the aisles (this behavior is normal in their church services, says my husband, and parents almost never make a move to retrieve their children). So by American standards it was stoic and chaotic at the same time.

Afterward we all went down to the fellowship hall to eat. Though our family had eaten lunch just a few hours before, and while we attempted to get a little bit of everything to be polite (except the fried fish heads), our attempts to take a modest amount of food failed as dish after dish of fish heads, pork, chicken, soup, and more pork were thrust upon us by our gracious hosts. Our friend Amawng, who speaks excellent English, told us that we (thankfully) would not offend anyone if we couldn't eat it all, and we took most home in a box to show our appreciation.

Despite the fact that many of these wonderful people don't yet have jobs and are living extremely modestly (certainly below the poverty level) they tried to pay Zach for officiating and pay for use of the church. They are fantastically generous with what little they have. We accepted payment so that we would not offend them, then added that money to the money that was being collected as gifts to the bride and groom. The only reason I feel comfortable mentioning this is because I'm 99.9% sure they don't know about this blog—and because our English lessons are going very slowly. ;)

It was so fun to attend this wedding and to see my friend looking so incredibly beautiful. May God bless their marriage richly with love, prosperity, and children.

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The Sew Weekly

Folks, I've been following The Sew Weekly almost since Mena started it in 2010 and now I'm happy to be one of the contributors to the site. What this means to you is that my sewing creations will be posted first to The Sew Weekly (as all contributors are contractually obligated to wait to post on their personal bogs until after a new creation appears on The Sew Weekly). But don't worry. I'll continue to post them here for you too!

It also means that if you like sewing and don't know about The Sew Weekly, you need to get over there and start immersing yourself in this truly international endeavor to make our own clothes. There are about 250 contributors from all over the world for 2012 and each weekday one will be featured. But all of the wonderful creations from all the ladies (and men? I'm not sure if there are any out there among the contributors but it's possible!) will be posted.

I'm looking forward to using The Sew Weekly challenges to help me in my stash-busting efforts this year. Hope you'll check it out!

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The Shaving Machine

Calvin noticed a Cars-themed "shaving machine" on the 23rd of December and told his father, "I want that shaving machine for Christmas." Zach informed him that it was too late to ask for more presents, however he had actually already purchased the shaving kit and it was sitting under the tree at home. He was so excited to give it a try.

It's so hard to conceive that one day he will actually have to shave. It gives me the same sad feeling I got when I saw his adult teeth in an x-ray at the dentist, just sitting there, waiting to push those baby teeth out. I never thought I'd be someone who was sad to see a child grow up. But I guess that is a feeling you really can't understand until you have a child of your own. I wasn't sad when he left babyhood for toddlerhood. But seeing him slowly exit this stage of his life is bittersweet indeed.

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THE END

Back in July, before we left for a week at Camp Lake Louise, I wrote this. I was frustrated.

Then while I was sweating it out at camp during the hottest week of the year, I started a novel.

In early August, I wrote this. I was fearful.

Then yesterday, on my 32nd birthday, I finished a novel.

Frustration and fear were removed from the process of writing. And for the first time in my life, after half a dozen attempts or more, I finished a novel.

What a great birthday gift. Thank you, God.

Oh, and by the way, I can already check something off my goals list for 2012. Take that, mediocrity!

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32

On this day 32 years ago I was born to my parents (who were also both 32).

I'm happy at this stage of my life to be settled in a home I love with a family I love. I'm happy with my job, my hobbies, my writing pursuits. I'm happy that I have now perfected the art of poaching an egg. I'm happy that I have a whole new year spread out before me waiting to be experienced. I'm happy that the Christmas decorations are all put away.

I'm happy that it snowed for my birthday.

You can still see little blades of grass through it. But I guess you can't have everything.

These photos are from New Year's Eve, which I spent partially with the boy playing with various trains (our house is overrun with them) and partially alone, writing away on my novel. Zach was at church filling up the baptistry (which, because we're Baptists and immerse adults and older children, takes about four hours). At midnight I was still writing when from all around the house came the sound of fireworks and gunshots (yes gunshots, and keep in mind that I live right in the city, not in the Old West).

When I put away the Christmas decorations I decided to shake the mantel up a little bit. I brought up a large framed puzzle I got from a neighbor for free after her garage sale. It's obviously from the late 1960s or early 1970s. It's obviously not Zach's favorite. But we needed a little color in that room and the puzzle matches the new rug I put in there a while back.

Flanking the puzzle are a watercolor painting I did a while back that I really like (and has been hidden away for a while), and a watercolor I got at a flea market for a quarter. Various vases and bowls in green, along with some birch branches finish off the look.

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Corduroy Coat - The Preliminaries

What better way to start the year than with a new sewing project?

When I acquired a huge stack of very cheap fabric due to a connection my mother had, included in that haul were 6 yards of gorgeous blue corduroy (the tag indicates that it was purchased from Kmart, of all places, for $6, probably in the late 1970s or early 1980s). I have decided to make it into a coat. One problem: there are strange bits that look like the dye was more concentrated or it somehow got water or sun damaged or something.

Into the washer it goes to see what it looks like clean. (Unfortunately not a whole lot better, but we will work around it. I'm not wasting that much fabric, even if it was super cheap.)

Also from the stash is a green and purple batik I got free from a church member's hoarder sister-in-law who was told by her husband that some of her fabric had to go. There were bins and bins and bags and bags of fabric to go through. Now, I like batiks, but I've never worn one and I just wasn't sure if this particular print was just too out of my comfort zone. I considered doing a long summer dress, but it seemed too beachy and mid-Michigan is lacking in beaches.

So I got the crazy idea that I could dye the batik just a bit more blue and use it to line the coat, because the fabric is very soft and would make a very comfortable lining. And I'd be killing two stash birds with one project stone. Huzzah! Into the washer it goes to see what it looks like blue. (After dyeing it, I'm not sure there is a huge difference but I'm telling myself that the green has been "toned down a bit." This sort of reminds me of a recent hair dyeing experiment about which I guest blogged at Mabel's House. Do go take a look at it when you're done here for a chance to win a copy of Liz's new book!)

And this coat will be my first foray into Project Runway patterns. I'm planning on doing the long coat (seen in a fairly hideous orange on the pattern envelope). I've been wanting a long coat and needing to replace a couple in my closet.

This coat will be my primary sewing project for January. My other January priorities? Finish my novel manuscript (very, very close now at 76,558 words) and stick to my diet/exercise regimen.

Best of luck to all of you as you clean up your houses, get your lives in order, start projects, work on resolutions and goals, and look forward with a sense of anticipation to this brand new year where anything is possible.

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