The Fresh Start of a New Year

Whoa. January 7 already? A whole week of this brand spanking new year gone? Man - this time flying stuff is catching me off guard.

Not that the year hasn't started off in an interesting way nor that there aren't some major events up ahead. Some of them any day now. woo woo lucky TheQueen!

It's just that I don't feel the familiar verve to put word to paper - even virtual paper. I do feel a sort of nagging guilt to do so - because:
a. I like to blog
b. I have always talked to much anyway
c. I have a secret yen to be a writer - as in, ya' know, a real writer.

But even a real writer has to have something to say. And, perhaps, right now I am all about the experiencing, not the saying.

In an effort to stimulate my writer-self, I looked back over some previous January 1 posts here and in the original LikeTheQueen blog. At first it was hard because the past few Januaries have been full of missing Mama and while it was fun to see old photos of her - OUCH - there was also that pinch. Lawsie I miss that woman. The "missing" is sliding into the good pain zone - where the missing of Pop and Grandma lives - but it's still a little raw.

The older posts are all about knitting and not buying so much durn yarn and trying to lose weight and declutter and oh - be more cool. And all sorts of cryptic things about werk because - well - one does NOT blog about one's job. At least, not about the trials of it -even if it's the looming monster waiting to devour; the banshee outside your bedroom door (there is a story to that, btw).  I can promise there will be more cryptic posts in the future because - still werkin' ya' know.

So - nothing in the past prompted my creativity. And my present is all about the snow. As in - it's snowing today and we're promised 7 inches. That makes today just right for this




and this:

I could post about my New Year's Resolutions, but I think I'll let Calvin say it for me:

Perfect as I am, though - I think I shall make this commitment: I shall blog at least twice a month. And to help me find something to say I have bought a pretty little journal of writing prompts. I'm supposed to write in that but I know I won't. I already have enough pretty journals to hand write about the Life-0-TheQueen. These are "make your life better" journals and it doesn't matter if I mix up all the letters that are circles with tails in these. One is for cooking. One is for more personal stuff.

But to practice wrapping my thoughts up in beautiful words I'll be blogging about oh - you know - My Favorite Piece of Art and Why. (of course who could have a real favorite piece of art - do you love that hunky David more than the Boating Party? Yeah. I'd have a hard time picking too.

 

Still and all - I'm gonna give it a try. After 3 months I'll revisit this idea and decide if I want to continue. So. Stay tuned. (I used to think they were saying state tuned when the TV announcer said that - like whatever I was watching was specific to Virginia.) And stay warm. 

Oh My - Thank you Margaret!

Thank you for nominating me for a Stylish Blogger Award. Margaret is my Canadian Virgo Cyber Twin who's blog Margaret Blank, Fibre Aritst: One-of-a-kind textile art  is chock a block full of the most beautiful stitchery - knitting, sewing, fiber dyeing. We've been buddies for nigh on to a decade now, watching each other as we've grown as artists; encouraging, sharing, and frequently laughing at how our lives parallel.  She is an ISTJ and I am an ENFP - so on the Meyers Briggs scale we're complete opposites - which I think, being the E that I am, makes our friendship a perfect compliment. 

And the deal with this award is that I must share 7 things readers might not know about me. Now this is a challenge, Little Miss Extrovert that I am, and as old as this blog is, I can't imagine there's much left to tell about TheQueen. But I shall try. 

1. How my blog got it's name - which isn't exactly fresh information. Still, if  you're new to TheCastle, you might think that a name like this signifies I'm just the Queen of Arrogance. But the name "Bess" hasn't been used since the Truman administration - although it suits me to an absolute T. I once took a class from the world's most unctuous and snotty psychology professor who talked down to the students to such a monumental degree it was hard to sit still. He particularly disliked me and refused to learn my name. Mind now, I'm a Front Row Sitter and always participate in class. The third time he gave me a sneer and asked  "What's your name, again?" I put on my coldest, deadliest, Madame Defarge glare and said "It's Bess. Like the Queen". The name stuck.

2. I am a Lucid Dreamer.  If I don't like what's going on in a dream I can almost always tell it's just a dream and change the story line. Of course, sometimes I let the dream unfold, knowingly, just to see what might happen. I've always looked on sleep and dreaming as recreational activities. 

3. I have an uncanny knack for guessing the plot of movies and television shows. I suspect it's an ability to recognize a certain class of patterns because I can also do that with  music (as long as it's tonal music) Certain things happen in a story line and I can tell what's going to happen next, or how it will all turn out. Thank goodness, BD admires and enjoys this trait - we even stop DVD's and he'll ask me what happens next  as a game. Of course, the cinema tends to deal in cliches so maybe this isn't such a wonder, but I also have to keep my mouth shut when I'm at movie with friends. Most people don't like the assurance of knowing how it will turn out  having the story spoiled.

4. I don't like a lot of contemporary  fiction  which seems to be filled with bad tempered bitchy women and weak sniveling men. This is tough, since I'm a librarian and buy a lot of that stuff. But every time I use tax payer's money to buy it, I feel guilty.

5. I love Barbie - at least, I loved playing with my Barbie ... back when she cost a day's pay and her clothes were more expensive than my own. Of course, my Barbie was a Russian spy, a mountain climbing photographer for National Geographic, a star of the British stage and a corporate leader of a Fortune 500. Nobody ever made her do homework or clean her room. She could also fly.  Interestingly, my Barbie was never a science girl. Neither am I, of course. Nor was I ever jealous of Barbie's figure and I never aspired to it. I don't think I ever thought about it, actually.  She was just that illusive goddess I longed to be: A Grown Up! I will gladly play Barbie with little girls whenever they ask. Love me some Barbie. 

6. I love math. Applied math. Applied-to-real-life situations math as in:

If I am 40 inches around and I'm getting 5 stitches to the inch and I want to insert a 16 stitch lace panel and 4 cables that are 3 over 3 stitches, how many stitches do I cast on?

OR

 Sure I'm not popular in high school, but that only lasts 4 years. I will be cool as a grown up - which lasts 50 or 60 years. What's 4 years against 60?

OR My Favorite

 If Bess gets 5 stitches to the inch 

and 
She has a 24" circular needle 
and 
She is subscribed to 4 knitting magazines 
then 
How many hours will it take to explain the 10 balls of cashmere on the VISA bill?


To me, math is like crayons - it's the building block of so many wonderful things.


7. I talk too much. What? You hadn't noticed? natter natter natter.


Now the hard part: to nominate (only) 3 other bloggers for this award. 


Erica's Fillyjonk's Progress is a daily favorite of mine. We both read and write blogs, first of all, for the joy of words, though both of us do include images in our blogs. She is a science girl so it's fascinating to me to hear her point of view about things. Her whimsical knitting projects are always a delight.


Clara's Window .... from Clara of Knitters Review, of course. Clara is the author of KBoy and KBow and her latest book - KBos - all from Potter Craft - Random House's craft book division. Her blog, though, is a tiny peek into the rest of her soul - a soul of unusual charm and artistic perspective. 


C's Bossy Little Dogs is a daily must-read for me. Of course, now we are friends so it's only a part of the way we communicate and share and stuff. Our friendship has actually moved on from cyber to IRL. She was my roomie the last time I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool and though she is a knitter and fiber buddy and that's how I got started reading her blog, I continue to read it for her style - for the way her sharp eye focuses on the absurd or the unusual or the trenchant - and the crystal clear way she can share what that eye sees in words worth reading.


Erica, Clara and C can choose to accept this award or not. Promise. My feelings won't be hurt if you don't have time to play along with this. But if you do, please link back to this post, blog 7 lesser-known things about you to share, and nominate 3 more bloggers.


Hugs to you all - and there will be What's the Point Mitts photos tomorrow!