erin

seasonally inappropriate

Hey, remember how about a month ago I promised photos of my new scarf that took me ages to knit? Apparently I’m just as slow at posting things as I am at knitting.

Months ago now, one of my dearest far-away friends sent me a box of this gorgeous red wool eyelash yarn.

I’m not particularly good at following patterns, so I decided to turn it into a fairly basic scarf.

It’s actually more like a boa.

And now that it’s practically summer out (seriously, it was almost 90 here yesterday), I have finally gotten around to modeling it in dramatic sunshine for the interwebs.

red scarf

It proved rather difficult to photograph despite the helpful sunshine. You’re just going to have to trust me that it goes down to my knees.

I kind of love it. And of course, now it’s far too warm to wear it. I did wear it out once or twice in March, but it’ll have to wait until next year to get into heavy scarf rotation.

(For those of you who haven’t seen me in awhile: Yes, that is my hair. It is both that short and that straight.)

By erin, ago

cake & kitten

Other than the fact that I am still coughing, after over a month of lingering chest cold, this weekend was lovely and springy.

Not really knowing what to do with myself now that I am out of Revisionland for the moment, I thought I would bake muffins. But then I couldn’t find poppy seeds and I really, really wanted lemon poppy muffins. So while I wandered dejected and sad-faced through Whole Foods, the boy & I stumbled upon a tower of bundt cakes, and one of them was lemon with this lovely drippy icing and white chocolate shavings on top and we decided it was like muffins, but better.

So we pretty much ate lemon bundt cake all weekend in the sunshine.

dramatically lit bundt

It was really good. Likely better than any thwarted muffin attempt.

While I had the camera out I tried to take photos of Tessa, and while she is usually a very photogenic kitten she was not particularly obliging this time.

tessa tongue

I set this photo as the wallpaper on the iMac and I keep laughing maniacally at it. I think this was actually mid-tail-lick rather than proper yawn.

I spent the cake-less, kitten-less hours of the weekend reading and cleaning the studio while the boy read the new revisions. Other than some minor things that still need tweaking, he really likes the major changes so that’s good. He’s read like, every incarnation of this thing and he’s a Virgo so I’m going to take that as a sign that I’m on the right track. Still have it out with other beta readers, so I’m going to try not to obsess over it while I wait and actually get other, non-revising things done for a change.

Also, my windows are open and it is sunshiny and that is happy-making.

By erin, ago

flax-golden tales: secret wishes of stuffed tigers

secret wishes

secret wishes of stuffed tigers

The kids that play outside make fun of the tiger in the window simply because it is there, and thus fodder for amusement.

Stupid fluffy baby toy.

And the tiger cannot move from the window, so it is forced to watch and listen. It accepts their taunts with unblinking plastic eyes.

The neighbor glares from her window across the way. It is impossible to tell if she glares at the children or the tiger or both.

The tiger doesn’t mind. The tiger is patient.

It knows that if it wishes hard enough, someday it can be a real tiger.

Then they’ll be sorry.

About flax-golden tales. Photo by Carey Farrell. Text by Erin Morgenstern.

By erin, ago

tales from the revisionland hotel

I’ve been missing in action because I’ve been sequestered in the Revisionland Hotel.

It’s a lovely place, really. The bar is lively and full of characters and complimentary beverages of questionable content. Room service brings pens and paper, chocolate and caffeine.

I’ve been here so long I started managing the place. I wish I was kidding.

But really, I knew I was going to have to rip my manuscript apart and rework it heavily in November.

I took November off to write the first draft of a different novel.

I took December mostly off because it was holiday-ridden and cold.

I started working on it, really working on it and not just thinking about it and jotting down notes, in January.

It’s going to be done tomorrow. This is not an April Fool.

I still have a few things to change and I think I need to adjust the end a bit, but it’s novel-shaped again and I think it’s shaped like a better novel than it was before, but I need some second opinions.

Sometime tomorrow this massive overhaul of a revision will be sent off to the wonderful world of beta readers.

Once they have it I think I’ll be hanging out in the Hotel bar for awhile.

By erin, ago

flax-golden tales: seasonal technicality

seasonal technicality

seasonal technicality

The equinox has come and gone but winter didn’t seem to pay it any mind. Perhaps it likes it here and wants to stay. An extended holiday.

So there are no singing birds. No crocuses pushing up anxiously through the dirt.

Not yet.

The ground is still mostly frozen and boot-crunchy underneath the leafless sketchbook trees.

Bare branches reaching for blue sky.

Longing for spring.

When technically it’s already here, as far as the movement of the sun is concerned.

About flax-golden tales. Photo by Carey Farrell. Text by Erin Morgenstern.

By erin, ago

bucket in spring

Today is Bucket’s birthday. She is seven years old.

Normally she is an equinox baby, but this year the equinox was yesterday. Maybe that’s why she was so cranky about letting me take birthday photos.

bucket age 7

I tried. I did. She would not look at the camera no matter how I pleaded and waved things. I think she was shunning me because I brushed her first.

Ah well. She is not as much of a camera lover as her sister, but she’s still a pretty princess.

bucket age 7 closeup

Happy Birthday, fluffiest of Fluffy Buckets!

By erin, ago