Stacyverb

IceJam2014, aka Pajamapocalypse

Yep, the south has once again come to a complete stop because of a little weather. I'm not scoffing--yesterday consisted of constant freezing rain, and that's nothing to mess with. Everything non-essential was closed. We were home, and we were safe.

At some point, I went out onto the porch to get some fresh (cold) air and it was so weirdly quiet outside. Nothing but the sound of ice falling from the sky and hitting the ice that was already on the ground. As trees and power lines became more and more coated, we waited to see if we'd keep electricity.

In the meantime, we did what needed to be done. For those of us who work from home, a snow day is a normal work day. And we made sure phones and flashlights were fully charged, and cooked big meals that could be re-heated on the gas stovetop, just in case.

We were some of the lucky ones whose power stayed on all night. And overnight, the stuff falling from the clouds turned to snow and we woke up to this.

 

View across the side street, into the wilds that border our semi-industrial neighborhood.

 

Frozen lantana bush...so elegant.
 

This is not a black and white photo.

 

The snow-frosted kudzu vines are my favorite.

 

Ah, southern snow days are THE BEST. Nobody expects us to be anywhere (and there's nowhere to go anyway, because everything's closed). We get the beauty and the coziness without the pain-in-the-ass-ness. And it'll be gone in a day or two. In the meantime, there are way worse things than being "trapped" inside with my favorite person, pets, food, books, etc. I hope everyone reading this is faring as well.

Getting there (and beyond)

First, heartfelt thanks to everyone who reached out to me here on the blog and elsewhere to offer condolences about Little. They are very much appreciated. It's a sad time for us, but it helps to have so many kind wishes coming our way.

Speaking of kindness, take a look at this:

That's right--with more than two weeks to go, I'm already at 92% of my goal! A huge THANKS goes out to everyone who is contributing toward making this dream come true for me.

As I close in on the number that will pay for my residency and get me to Vermont and back, a few people have started asking what I would do with any money I receive above and beyond my goal. Fair question, as exceeding the target amount seems quite likely to happen.

Of course, it would depend on how much extra money actually comes in, but this is how I would prioritize and budget it.

1. Invest in expanding my library of books about the craft of writing, some of which I would take to Vermont with me.
2. Get Mimi a thorough vet check-up before I leave town, so Anthony won't have to deal with any unexpected "elderly cat" issues by himself while I'm away.
3. Put money in savings toward a future writing event (conference, class, another residency, what have you).
4. Treat Anthony and myself to a special night out before I go, and/or to celebrate my return home.

Meanwhile, this whole thing is starting to feel pretty close. I mean, now that it's February, I can technically say I'm going to Vermont next month. End of next month, but still! It's very exciting.

This is my gift

For Christmas, Anthony gave me a mysterious large box. Unwrapping it, I found layer after layer of tissue paper and decoy items, all labeled "This is not Stacy's gift." Deep inside the box was an envelope proclaiming itself to contain my real gift--tickets to see the amazing Jason Isbell.

I can't even list all the things I loved about this present. It was a total surprise, and clever, and not a piece of stuff that would just take up space. And while Jason Isbell had already passed through Atlanta when I couldn't go, these tickets were for the show in Knoxville, Anthony's hometown, at a theatre where he used to do plays as a teenager. I'd never been to the Bijou, so I was excited about that. Plus, on this leg of Isbell's tour, my girl Holly Williams was opening for him!

So this week we drove to Knoxville on a gorgeous clear winter day, stayed with Anthony's mom for a couple of days, met his high school best friend for dinner at The Bistro (loved it) and went to the show. It was really kind of a magical night. Really damn cold, but magical.

You ever have the experience of witnessing somebody do something they're really, really good at--whatever that might be--and you just want to say, THANK YOU? Thank you for sharing this ability you have, this thing you have created! That's what this show was like. It was an honor just to be in the room to hear these songs.

Isbell's Southeastern was my favorite album of 2013. I don't write songs, but this music just plain makes me want to be a better writer, period. A musician friend of mine described Isbell's writing as "precise," and yes, that's exactly it. I love plenty of artists who write abstract lyrics, but the words that really stop me in my tracks are the ones that create a picture that I can't get out of my head. It's a matter of riveting storytelling, and lyrics that make you see things in new ways.

And that's what listening to Southeastern is like for me. Some of the songs are really raw, powerful slices from Isbell's life. Others, like "Yvette" and "Elephant" are devastating, self-contained stories that come from his imagination. Make no mistake, folks--this music is literature. That precision of language that my friend talked about? It's what creates a new way to express ideas we've all heard countless times before. Isbell doesn't say, "A woman left me, and I miss her," he says, "The songs that she sang in the shower are stuck in my head/ Like 'Bring Out Your Dead'/ And 'Breakfast In Bed.'" He doesn't say, "Hey, baby, let's do it all night," he says, "Girl, leave your boots by the bed, we ain't leaving this room."

During this song, the whole room sat perfectly still in their seats, then rose in stunned applause. An amazing thing to witness. A great gift.

 

Nonfiction November, week 4: New To My TBR

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! I'm happy to have many things to be thankful for. Among these are good books and the ability to connect with other book lovers via blogs. On that note...

...this is (obviously) the final week of Nonfiction November. I've really enjoyed getting to know some new blogs and bloggers through this event, not to mention having the chance to write about books I love and to learn about ones I now look forward to reading.

Our topic this week was:

New to My TBR: What nonfiction have you added to your toppling TBR pile this month? Be sure to credit which bloggers you heard about titles from (if you can remember)!

Disclaimer: I've been terrible about keeping track of where I read about what. And I'm pretty sure I discovered some of these titles outside of this event. But, anyway, here are some recent additions to my nonfiction to-be-read list.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital  by Sheri Fink  This book takes a look at what happened at one New Orleans hospital during and after Katrina. I've been hearing a lot of good things about this book from a variety of sources, so I'm very interested in reading it.

Their Life's Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now by Gary M. Pomerantz  It's practically impossible to imagine my childhood without my family gathered around the TV to watch our beloved Steelers in their heyday. This book sounds like an important contribution to sports history journalism.

Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove I learned about this book via Kim, pre-NonFicNov. Although I never participated in theater, the process of blue-collar kids becoming interested in any of the arts is always a fascinating subject that's near and dear to me.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan This is one I know someone blogged about during NonFicNov, but I can't remember who it was--sorry! (If it was you, please pipe up so I can give you a proper shout-out.) It sounds like a truly gripping story about Cahalan's experience with a sudden and terrifying illness that mystified doctors as they tried to save her life.

At Least You're in Tuscany: A Somewhat Disastrous Quest for the Sweet Life by Jennifer Criswell Hey, I actually remember that it was Lovely Bookshelf who recommended this one! As someone who doesn't get to travel nearly as much as I would like, I'm a sucker for a good travel memoir. This one looks funny as well as dreamy.

Thank you, Kim and Leslie, for hosting Nonfiction November! It's been fun!

Nonfiction November, week 3: Book Pairing

Welcome to another installment of Nonfiction November! Our topic for this week is...

Book Pairing: Match a fiction book with a nonfiction book that you would recommend.

Right now I'm re-reading one of my all-time favorite novels, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. I could write a whole post about all the ways I love this book (maybe I will do that sometime). To me, it's a contender for the elusive, unofficial title of Great American Novel (hmmm...yes, okay, definitely need to do a whole post about that).

This book is epic in scope, but to describe it briefly, it tells the story of two cousins, Sammy Clay and Joe Kavalier, as they collaborate to create a new hero during the Golden Age of comic books--The Escapist. Brooklyn- born Sammy is a young man with many ideas. Joe, a talented artist, has just arrived in New York after fleeing Nazi-occupied Prague and needs to raise money to help the rest of his family get out of Europe. This is a novel about culture and commerce, family and politics. Love, lust, history, dreams...it's about all of that. It's funny and exciting and beautifully written.

For a non-fiction book to pair with Kavalier & Clay, I've chosen Art Spiegelman's Maus. Widely considered to be a graphic masterpiece, Maus ties in pretty well with K & C, I think. In comic book form, Spiegelman tells the story of his father, who lived through the very Nazi horrors that Joe Kavalier manages to escape. Chabon and Spiegelman both address the ways in which the survivors' guilt later affects their relationships with other people. It's often heart-breaking, but such a compelling story and so beautifully rendered.

As an added connection between these two books, K & C and Maus both won Pulitzer Prizes!

What are some fiction-nonfiction pairings you'd recommend?

Nonfiction November, week 2: Be The Expert

I'm really enjoying participating in Nonfiction November*. This week's subject is:

Be the Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert:  Share a list of nonfiction books on a topic you know a lot about. Or, ask for some advice for books on a particular topic. Or, put together a list of nonfiction books on a topic you’re curious about.

Those of you who are regular readers (and I know there've been a lot of new readers lately as well, so *waving* "HI!" to you newcomers) won't be shocked that I've picked knitting as my topic of expertise. The word "expert" actually makes me uncomfortable, because in knitting there is always more to learn, but I do work in a knitting shop and make part of my living by teaching people to knit, so it's pretty safe to say that I know more about knitting than most people do. So, here are five books I recommend on the subject.

 

Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller When Stoller, co-founder of Bust magazine, came out with this book about ten years ago, it introduced a whole new audience to the idea that knitting can be very cool. I love this book for that influence alone, but it's also a fantastic beginner guide that teaches the basics and contains dozens of patterns for easy (but fun) projects.

 

Knitting From The Top by Barbara G. Walker Once you're ready to dabble in designing your own projects, this book--frumpy cover notwithstanding-- is indispensable. Barbara G. Walker is a knitting legend. I got to meet her a few years ago. She was 75 years old at the time and wearing an anarchy t-shirt. She signed my book. We had lunch. She read my tarot cards. She sold my friend a sparkly hand-knit jumpsuit for a Ken doll. That was a weird day. Weird, and AWESOME.

 

440 More Knitting Stitches from The Harmony Guides series  An intrepid knitter armed with a good stitch dictionary is pretty much unstoppable. This is one of my favorites because it has a bit of everything--basic textures, cables, lace, colorwork, etc. For a craft that only has two basic stitches--knit and purl--the number of possible variations is mind-boggling. Some are easier than others, of course, but the challenge can be part of the fun. If you can't get inspired looking through the Harmony Guides, you might not have eyeballs.

 

Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy  "Knitting your own socks?!? What a colossal waste of time!"--me, years ago. I was a skeptic for way too long, but eventually I succumbed to peer pressure (fellow knitters can be very persuasive) and gave sock knitting a try. It's fun! And you can make socks that fit you impeccably (a bonus for weird-foot-sized people like me). This book is the perfect intro to sock knitting. Its instructions are extremely clear and it offers a variety of styles to make.

 

Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch  Of course, if you're like most people who get hooked on making socks, you won't be content to stick with the basics. This book opens up a wide, crazy world of socks for every size foot in every thickness of yarn, using a variety of techniques. You could literally make thousands of pairs of socks using this book and never repeat yourself. With this book, you'll never need to buy another sock pattern again. Having said that, there is also a sequel, just in case.

 

*Missed my post for the first week of Nonfiction November? Here it is.

Nonfiction November, week 1: Favorites

This month, Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness and Leslie at Regular Rumination are co-hosting an event called Nonfiction November and have invited other book-loving bloggers to join them in blogging about nonfiction books. As someone who tends to lean more to the fiction side of the reading spectrum, it's an interesting challenge for me to think about what kinds of nonfiction I gravitate toward.

After a quick glance at my bookshelf, here's a sampling (in no particular order) of ten nonfiction books I love. All of these are books I'd give four or five stars out of five.

On Writing by Stephen King

Just Kids by Patti Smith

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner

Who Are You People? by Shari Caudron

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe by Laurie Lisle

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

Love Is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

There isn't necessarily any common thread tying them all together. I do tend to be drawn to books about artists/writers/musicians and the creative process, and I also like to read about people immersing themselves in new places or subcultures. A pop culture angle can be a plus sometimes.

Mostly, though, as with any book, it all comes down to the writing. None of the books on this list would be so compelling without the authors' skillful storytelling and passion for their subjects. Although I'll always be a bigger fiction fan, when a nonfiction book is well done, it can be just as much of a page turner as any novel.

Overstimulated at the fair

On a recent dreary Monday, Anthony and I decided to liven up our mutual day off with a mini road trip. We headed to Perry, GA, about two hours south of Atlanta, to spend the day at the Georgia National Fair.

When I go to a fair, carnival, or anything of the sort, I basically start vibrating all over the place. There's so much to see and I don't know where to look. Everything fascinates me. The aroma of fried food infiltrates my brain and I start taking pictures of anything that will hold still--and some things that won't. It's pretty excellent.

 

Gigantic, ribbon-winning papier mache sculpture in the art exhibit. Very imposing!

 

Piglet racing! They compete for Oreos and have names like Snoop Hoggy Hogg and Spamela Hamderson.

 

This is a watusi. Amazing-looking animal with horns eight feet across.

 

I could have spent the whole time looking at the paintings on the midway. Didn't care at all about actually going inside any of the attractions.

  I mean, come on. Just LOOK at these (and click to embiggen, please). Nothing that might have been inside those haunted/western/tropical/etc. funhouses could've pleased me more than what I saw on the exteriors.

 

Loved the top of this carousel. Not that I bothered to ride it or anything (I have issues with carnival rides--but that's a topic for another post). Bonus points to me for capturing the reflection of the "FRIED OREOS" sign in the mirror!

 

Wacky photo ops abound at the fair. Make your own fun wherever you go, people!

Dog-stalking at Bark In The Park

I'm a huge fan of dogs. I grew up with and around dogs, and loved them all. As an adult, though, I became a full-on cat lover because dogs just don't fit my lifestyle very well. I appreciate the independence of kitties. Sorry, dogs--I know my limits, and I just can't meet your needs. It's not you, it's me.

Having said all that, I'm pretty shameless in my adoration of other people's dogs. I've been known to cross the street for the chance to pet a cute dog. So when I got this super deal on Braves tickets and could choose any home game I wanted, I purposely chose Bark In The Park day so I'd be able to meet some canine sports fans.

During Bark In The Park, the dogs hang out in the Sky Field area, where the stadium sets up wading pools to help the critters keep cool. There's a special seating section for the dogs and their humans, which is not where our seats were. But did that stop me? Of course not. I took a break from the game, hopped on the elevator, and headed upstairs to where the action was. (Click photos to enlarge the cuteness.)

So. much. fun! It was a magical doggie wonderland up there. Canines of every size, shape, and color. Smooth dogs, fluffy dogs, accessorized dogs. Everybody was so well-behaved, and the people were more than happy to let non-dog-section tourists (I wasn't the only one) give their four-legged friends some love. What a happy afternoon.

As for the Braves, they lost. But we don't need to dwell on that, because...DOGGIES!

The National

There's something extra exciting about buying tickets to an event way in advance. The date is marked on the calendar, and you have something to look forward to.

That's what happened with The National show. Knowing that the September show date was near my birthday, I told Anthony that's what I wanted as my gift. So in June we got our tickets and had been eagerly anticipating the event for the past three months.

It was worth the wait! These guys put on an amazing show. They sounded fantastic, playing a 20-song set and a 4-song encore, with not a dud in the bunch. I found new appreciation for a song or two that I was kinda indifferent to on the album ("Heavenfaced" comes to mind), once I heard the artistry of the live performance. Also, kudos to whomever does the lighting design, because it was truly gorgeous.

 

*swoon*

 

Ninth row seats, by the way.

 

"Bloodbuzz Ohio": my favorite!

 

Matt roaming the crowd during "Mr. November"

 

  Acoustic "Vanderlyle" crowd singalong: last song of the night. *chills*

 

Anthony took these photos, by the way. He had a better (taller) view and I was too busy doing this:

  Apparently that's what it looks like when I rock out. WOAH. I guess I kind of felt like that, too. In a good way, of course!

How about YOU? Whether it's great live music or something else, what makes YOU feel like a white hot blur?