http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog A Keeper of Archives Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:13:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last fall, I planted bulbs in the front planter and a small patch of the back garden. I drew a map so I'd know what they were when they started to grow, and I know I put it someplace clever where it'd be easy to find... The bulbs are starting ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2010/03/07/almost-spring/ A recent blog post at Writer Unboxed talks about how audience development is an important step for authors - even writers who aren't yet published. The author (Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest) says writers (and aspiring writers) should: * Interact with friends and other writers on a social network * Develop relationships with ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2010/02/21/audience-development/ Between the shade, the hard rains that smushed the lettuce into the dirt to rot, the bugs carving holes in the rutabaga and cabbage leaves, the squirrels digging up seeds, and something (rabbits?) taking chunks out of almost everything), I don't think we're going to have much to eat. Next year, ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2009/07/13/it-could-be-bunnies/ I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers group ages ago. I'm not a huge superhero fan, but I enjoyed the book. The lack (more or less) of secret identities plus the way the aces worked with various government organizations made it seem more realistic to me. It's ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2009/07/04/busted-flush-edited-by-george-r-r-martin/ Last Saturday I took before photos of the yard and gardens at our house for future reference. Yesterday I planted the vegetable garden (with some space saved for things that need to be planted in a few weeks). (No, I didn't plant sticks, I used them to remember where things ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2009/04/26/garden-what-were-starting-with/ I got a free ARC of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers group by promising to review it. It's an entertaining enough read that I had no problem finishing it quickly. Although there were aspects of the book that bugged me (sympathizing with Crusaders, and the main character being so self-centered), ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2008/12/26/a-song-in-stone-by-walter-h-hunt/ Any Given Doomsday, A Respectable Trade, The Yiddish Policeman's Union, The Thirteenth Tale, Drowning Ruth Any Given Doomsday, Lori Handeland I went into this with low expectations based on reviews in LibraryThing. Unfortunately they turned out to be justified. The book is readable, but it has very little going for it to ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2008/11/03/book-mini-reviews/ My parents visited several weeks ago, so we went to see the prairie at Meadowbrook Park , the prairie grove at Busey Woods, and Kickapoo State Park. The latter, a former strip mine, is slated to close on Nov. 30 due to state budget woes, though that may change. Monarch ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2008/09/28/parks/ Sunday I went to Meadowbrook Park in Urbana, which has a patch of restored prairie. The prairie is larger than you might think given the line of trees; it extends quite a bit off the left of the picture. More photos behind the cut; click for larger versions. Some kind of coreopsis. There ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2008/06/17/flowers-meadowbrook-park/ Some months ago my husband decided he wanted chocolate cake, but had trouble finding a recipe that called for cocoa rather than chocolate. (He eventually found one. That was the night of the icing fire.) After that I asked my mom for her Wacky Cake recipe, which I finally made ... http://www.scriniary.smallinfinity.net/blog/2008/01/12/wacky-cake/