Thanks to Claudia

House of Scorpio by Pat Wallace is a novel that has stayed with me for close to 50 years. I read the book for the first time when I was fourteen, and it became my second keeper (Mistress Devon by Virginia Coffman was my first.) It's a collection of six interlinked science fiction romances set on alternative world where zodiac signs are actual human races. Avon published this novel as a Gothic, believe it or not. It's also the book that taught me how to build a universe from scratch.

If you want to blame someone for the writer I became, Claudia Patrick Wallace Strother should be at the top of your list.

I loved this book because even to this day it is the most wildly inventive romance I've ever read. It swept me off to a completely alien world that I felt immediately comfortable with and understood right away (important world-building lesson #1.) It was a captivating story, told in six parts that all came together at the end beautifully. It was also a well-veiled attack on the sometimes hysterical racism in the 70's. For a kid who was dealing with desegregation at school and a panicking mother who was convinced I'd get my throat cut during homeroom, it was a blessing and a light during a very dark time.

No one will probably remember this novel in another fifty years. It will just be forgotten as more important, literary authors must always come first, and besides, romance has no real value, right? Unless you count me and all the novels I've written. The writer and the person I grew up to be is thanks to House of Scorpio. I will always remember this book.

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Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Store Closing Haul

The mega Books-A-Million store over in Sanford is closing, and offered an extra 20% off on their current stock -- all sales final -- so I went over to do some shopping. Safely but sadly there was no one in the store but me the entire time I was there. The Holly Jackson novel is for Katherine, the Halloween board book is for Oliver, and the copy of Garden Spells is to keep on hand because I give that book to everyone. The rest of the books are for me. I love Anne Cleeves, and the Galbraith novel sounded interesting (the first couple weren't, but I'm willing to take another chance.) The Escape Room is by a new-to-me author, plus it was cheap. The GreenCraft mag is just a guilty pleasure. Hopefully the smaller BAM nearer to me won't close. I don't buy many books from brick-and-mortar stores these days, but that's really the last one within reasonable driving distance.

Valerean

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