The Paranormalist gets cozy.
Posted: December 3, 2011 Filed under: *Macabre Media, *Paranormal Curiosities, *Writing & Editing, Bipolar II, Horror Writing, Knitting, TV: Broadcast & Cable | Tags: Agatha Christie, bipolar II, book sculptures, hypomania, Knitting, Midnight Syndicate, Miss Marple, PBS, Renae Rude, Stephen King, The Paranormalist, writing, writing horror 9 CommentsLast night, instead of watching another great horror flick, I settled onto the sofa – properly equipped with a cup of tea and my knitting – to enjoy a Miss Marple mystery. As my cats passive-aggressively dueled for my lap-space, and my dog warmed my feet, I added another 2-3 inches to the baby blanket I’m hoping to finish before Solstice eve. (One of my goals is to knit an item for charity each season. This one, I think, will be dropped off at the hospital with a request that it be given to the next baby born to a young single mother.) When the movie finished, I went to sleep. It was not yet three o’clock in the morning.
Last night was a portent of things to come. My blog is likely to … soften a bit in the next month – for two reasons:
1) Despite my general dislike of the yuletide season, I am not entirely immune to the warm fuzziness of Christmastime, with its sentimental music, uplifting movies, and incessant good cheer.
2) My autumnal bout of hypomania has all but faded away. Coming to this realization so quietly is a good thing. By acknowledging and accepting what is happening, I am less likely to spiral into a depression. With luck, I will simply shift gears and become more domestic for a little while.
This month I will cook and putter more. I will stay home as much as possible. I will dote on and pet my menfolk as much as they will allow. I will make a point of taking the dog for a walk in the brightest part of the day. When the real cold comes, I will fret about the chickens and the feral cats, and make warm meals for them. (A grain and veggie mash for the hens, a kibble and gravy mush for the felines.) Despite my resolution to not fuss over the holiday, I will probably decorate something with twinkle lights. I will listen to classic standards by the likes of Mel Tormé and Bing Crosby. I will watch White Christmas. Probably more than once. Because it features the incomparable song and dance man, Danny Kaye.
But I will also re-read Stephen King’s It, as I have done, during winter break, for the past 25 years. And, if I follow my pattern, I will spend more time in my closet-office, with the door closed, wearing my headphones, listening to Midnight Syndicate, writing about witches and ghosts, pretending it is whatever season my characters are living in.
Here in the blog, I might not write about haunts and horror as much, but my interests will remain skewed toward the mysterious and the magical. In that vein, let me point you to a wonderful web find: Edinburgh’s mysterious book sculptures.
Watch a news clip about the sculptures HERE.
I’d recommend that you search the web yourself for more information. I poked around enough to learn that a total of ten sculptures were gifted to libraries in Edinburgh, and that the artist has indicated she is female. I don’t really want to know any more than that – I prefer that some mystery remains.
Renae Rude - The Paranormalist 
This time of year brings mixed feelings for me, also. Sounds like you are doing the best you can for yourself.
I love Miss Marple and Agatha Christie!
Here’s a dumb question from a non-knitter: Are mittens hard to knit? I wonder if I could pull that off as a beginner project? My sister taught me to crochet many years ago, but not sure I could knit (or even remember to crochet).
We take care of feral cats, too. Sadly, an endless supply of them around here. We get them all fixed and then another pregnant female shows up.
How is this for a random, rambling comment?!
If you an absolute beginner, I’d recommend the classic scarf. It knits up quick and gives one confidence.
The only trouble with mittens is that you often have to deal with the thumb and the narrowed end. Often that means switching to double-pointed needles – something that I find awkward. http://www.finecraftguild.com/how-to-knit-in-the-round-video/
I make fingerless gloves instead. They work well for keeping me warm as I knit and type – and I don’t have to use the blasted 5 sticks-from-hell 🙂 I use a small-circumference circular needle to do it.
I love your random, rambling comments 🙂
I had no idea it would actually insert the video! How cool is that?
That sculpture is beautiful!
I, too, tend toward the more domestic pursuits in the winter and hope they help me stave off the inevitable seasonal depression.
Have you thought anymore about setting up a virtual writers’ meeting? I’m thinking we should do it in January – when the winter is getting long and we could use a pick-me-up.
I’ve been clear about hating all things wintery, but I did find a fun thing to do last night – we put the dog in his halter and let him pull us around on a sled. You must have something big enough at the farm to do that with 🙂
I am now totally picturing a pig in a halter …
I think January would be a wonderful time to kick off a virtual writer’s group. I’ll do some investigation of our options.
In the meantime, a pig pulling a wagon for you.
There are several pictures like this one floating around the internet. A few of them actual look like they are probably American Guinea Hogs — one of the breeds we raise. My boar, Jasper, would be more than capable of pulling us on a sled. I suspect he’d not be appreciative of the halter though.
Hmmm, wonder if I can train him to pull cut/fallen trees out of the woods once we get a good snow cover…
I think your plans for the season sound wonderful. I especially like the sled idea 🙂 Sounds like a Hallmark movie 🙂
Thanks so much for the video and for the information about mittens. The thumb part does sound difficult, now that I think about it.
I do want to try a scarf, though. Oh, boy, now I’ve committed myself in writing!
I love the comments about animal cart pulling. This was apparently a fine sport in the days my day was a boy on the farm in the 20 & 30s. Any animal that would submit to the halter was fair game. 🙂
I’ve met a few knitters on my blogs. I think we should choose a day of the week and post a pic of our current project – just as an incentive to keep working 🙂