A Professional Dilettante

I went to the post office this afternoon, to mail my two annual Christmas packages (to my mother, and to my friend M. in North Carolina -- everyone else I exchange with is local), and to mail the penultimate round of a six-round set of quilt block swaps (I'm the swap hostess -- everyone mails her blocks to me, then I swap them all out and mail them back to them), and I only had to wait in line for about ten minutes. The clerk I dealt with was very pleasant and friendly, too.

Not bad for the fifth of December.

Oh, and here's the samples I made when I was soliciting swappers (wow, does that not sound like what really happened), if you're interested in what we're swapping. The block is called spinning star or ribbon star, and it's six inches square. Every six weeks starting last June we've swapped another color, so this month was orange, and the end of January will be red.



I just got my Christmas tree out of the garage and set it up, too. I'll decorate it tonight. Yes, I'm being brave. This is the first time I've put up the full-sized tree since Teddy and Ivan came to live with me. I'm really hoping they won't destroy it.

It's beginning to feel like the holidays!

Posted on the Bujold list by Lois herself, and boy, is it on the money.

http://maggie-stiefvater.tumblr.com/post/68515543753/novelist-error-messages

I just got Cross-Country's paper proof copy in the mail late last week. I just finished proofing it today. It's really quite amazing how many more typos and other small badnesses I pick up reading the paper copy than I do reading on-screen (e-reader or computer). Anyway, now all (all, hah), I've got to do is make all the corrections I've marked in the proof copy in the electronic copy, then re-do the InDesign file, then submit it again, then submit the e-copies to Smashwords and Amazon, then I think I'm done with it. Well, except for marketing.

Whew! One thing they never tell you about self-publishing. It's really hard to be an entire publishing company, even if it's only for one's own books.

Oh, and here's the cover:



I hope to have it all done and up (both e and paper) by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. It will, of course, take time after that to percolate out to all of the sales sites.

iraunink, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hug your husband (albeit from a safe distance, since you're in Minnesota and I'm near Seattle). I hope you don't mind.

sraun found me a simple way to fix the tab from hell! It's here: http://www.extendoffice.com/documents/word/903-word-show-hide-tab-characters.html#a1 Following these instructions makes the tabs deletable!!!

I am so happy I could pop. Thank you, Scott!

Google is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. And it's nifty.

So. I have switched webhosts, from having my ISP host my website to the unusually-named A Small Orange (who, BTW, have terrifically good customer service -- I think I mentioned that I was looking for fast champagne help on a slow beer budget? -- this definitely qualifies). This a) will be saving me just over $200 a year for two websites (my ISP charged $9.95 a month per website, ASO charges $35 a year all inclusive up to a certain number of websites which I will never reach). And b) means that I will now be able to use WordPress.org instead of WordPress.com, not just for my blog, but for my entire website, if I like.

I do like. I mean, I'll miss my cute little hand-coded pages and all, but WordPress.org has plug-ins for things I'd really like to have, and, in theory at least, is supposed to make them easy to use (as opposed to having absolutely no idea how to hand-code the equivalent). Not to mention the whole never having understood how to make CSS work on my part [g].

However. I am finding WordPress.org's dashboard and infinitely branching list of choices I have to make exceedingly overwhelming. Wordpress.org's own help screens are obviously meant for someone who's got more website experience (and who is much better at making decisions without knowing the ramifications until after they're made) than I do. Starting with choosing a theme. Apparently, "ooh, that's pretty" is not the only criterium I should be using.

Also, I have no clue how to set up a site (like http://www.angelahighland.com/, for example) which is mostly static with a blog, as opposed to a blog with a static page or two, which is what I need.

Can anyone tell me of a resource less intimidating than WordPress.org's own that's geared towards someone whose main experience with website design is setting up a WordPress.com (which doesn't even do customized plug-ins but just gives you a standard set to work with) blog and building a few simple pages by hand? Who's not good at infinitely branching choices? I've googled, but in this case that's actually increasing my sense of being overwhelmed, not lessening it.

Anyone? Bueller?

Seahawks over the Minnesota Vikings, 41-20. Ten and one on the season.

Best. Season. Ever.

Did you know that the Washington State Health Care Exchange website will not take names that are first initial, middle name, last name? My name, what's on my social security card, is first initial, middle name, last name. When I try to fill out the online form for the health exchange, the form kicks me back out because a) the form does not take punctuation in names, or b) the first name has to be at least two characters. So I can't put my name in with or without the period. I refuse to mangle my name any further than that, to the point where it won't match my social security card, just to fit their damned form either.

I have emailed the exchange multiple times. The only answer I got told me to put the initial in without punctuation, which does not work because first names have to have at least two letters. When I emailed back to say so, I never got a response. I have called almost daily for the last three weeks and not been able to get through, either.

This has got to be the most idiotic reason for not being able to sign up for health insurance ever.

I have contacted Get Jesse (a local TV station's problem solver guy) and my state legislators. I am not holding my breath for either one.

But I need to get this settled by the end of December, as without going through the exchange my premiums will double.

I really like the concept of health care reform, and I realize the current kafoffle will blow over and things will settle down, but this is ridiculous.

ETA: I just received a call from my state legislator's office as I was writing this less than half an hour after I emailed him. His assistant is promising to look into it for me. I'm pleasantly, absolutely gobsmacked.

After two games of barely squeaking by two teams with losing records (the Jaguars were 0-7, for crying out loud), the Seahawks came roaring back today and beat Atlanta 33-10.

They're 9-1 on the season. Nine and one. Best record they've ever had. Ever.

Wow, that was fun.

1) My former neighbors (who still own the unit next door and rent it out, and who are between tenants right now) came over to work on their unit to get it ready to rent again, and J the female half of the couple got out and cleaned up their side of the front flower bed for the winter, inspiring/guilting me into getting out there and cleaning up my side of the front flower bed, with bonus conversation and catching up.

2) I went to the monthly sew-in at one of my local quilt shops and was social for a couple of hours while quilting on the fall throw that was to go to my sister before we quit speaking to each other (not sure what I'm going to do with it now, but I want to finish it, anyway).

Too much of my life lately is solitary. I really, really needed to be social this week. I was sort of overwhelmed yesterday at the quilt show by strangers being nice to me, too.