How Do You Spell "Hhhhhhhhhggggmmm"?

I have been absent.  Sorry.

I don't know why, but I've been in a rather, erm, lethargic mood lately.

I also have failed to write several posts that I have promised to write, about Amazon, and others.

I have been totally failing, and I'm working on it.

I would like to share a great link with you: http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/asana-vinyasa-series/  It's a very informational site.

Also, check out the free books on Amazon in the Kindle Store.  I got some great ones.

That is all, back to our usual programming.  See you tomorrow!

I Made Something Pretty!

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but events that I will write about soon happened instead.  So enjoy this 18 hours or so later than originally planned.
-J

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So, as you all know, I received an Amazon Kindle as a graduation present from the awesomest parents in the world.

Now, this wonderful invention can't just sit in the box that it came in and it can't just sit out, I want to protect it.  IT'S SO PRETTY!

I spent some time searching the cases on Amazon, Google and Etsy, but nothing looked like it would work for what I want/need.  And they're expensive.  I want to be able to read the the Kindle anywhere, including the beach.  I want to have a personalized case, one that speaks to my individuality.  I want it so be soft, but firm to cushion and protect it.

Nothing I saw was what I wanted, or in my price range.  Then the thought struck me, or maybe Adam suggested it, to make my own case!

Hmmm...

Hmmmmm.....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.........!

I didn't even know where to begin to make a pattern for a Kindle, no clue!  But, once again, Etsy to the rescue!  I stumbled onto Red Hippo Studio's Etsy Shop and she has a Kindle 3 Case pattern for $6 (and IPad and Nook).  It's a PDF that she created and sells. It is the same pattern that she uses to make the completed Kindle 3 cases that she sells.  Obviously, you can use it for personal use only, you can't sell the covers you make using her pattern.

This particular pattern is perfect for what I want in a case because I could easily adapt it.  However, I didn't make any of those adaptations for my first cover.  I also did a terrible job making the first cover, just awful.

I also didn't like the materials I had chosen (Vera Bradley Napkins bought at Trillium in Mount Pleasant)  together as much as I thought I would.

Because of this, I spent a considerable amount of time at the Joann Fabric and Crafts in Frandor on Friday.  I looked through all of their fabric, and I mean all of it.  I finally found a very pretty yellow fabric with bright pink flowers and a white fabric with swirly yellow thingies on it that matched very well.  While I was at the cutting counter, I saw a Belle applique that I really liked - she's my favorite Disney Princess, because she loves to read.  Then I saw a Minnie Mouse applique and the pink bow matched the pink flowers and would make my case a very personalized thing, just like I wanted!

I got the fabric I needed, the appliques, heavy duty pattern plastic, fusible fleece, table cloth plastic, a zipper and velcro.  I also got a magnetic pin cushion that I absolutely love and a seam ripper with a longer handle that doesn't hurt my hand.  Both of those impulse purchases turned out to be spectacular investments, I used the seam ripper A LOT on Friday and the magnetic pin cushion is just so handy.  You throw the pins at the head of the cushion and keep on trucking sewing.

I arrived home with my supplies ready to begin anew with my very own Kindle case.  Since I was altering the pattern to fit what I wanted it took several hours to complete.  I went through two pieces of table cloth plastic before I got it the right size, and a couple squares of the pink flower fabric for the corners.  I also broke my last sewing machine needle on the zipper, so I had to trek to Joann's again later, but ended up at Michael's, long story.

I cut out all of the fabric, fleece and plastic.  At this point I need to stop and apologize because I don't have in-progress pictures because I get so focused on finishing a project, that I forget to take pictures along the way. Anyway, I cut everything out and started stitchin'.  I also ironed on the appliques to make my case all fancy.  After several attempts with the plastic and the zipper and the inside of the case where there were several casualties of fabric, plastic and metal, I finished step one of my modification, a zippered, plastic pocket to keep the Kindle safely in the case, always.

My second modification was to insert a hard plastic in between the inner and outer shells before sewing them to each other.  Soft from the fleece, firm from the plastic and totally awesome.

I originally had ironed the Belle applique in what would have been the center of the front cover, but that was in the way of the velcro.  Whoops.

Of course, once I pulled it off, I couldn't iron it on again.  Shoot.  So I hot glued that baby right on there. I also realized that I had sewn the pieces together without sewing the spiky side of the velcro on.  So I hot glued that on too.  I'll hand stitch both once I find my cloth pin cushion.

Minnie Mouse!! Also, pockets that are big enough for my Kindle to fit in.  They are currently holding the Kindle User Guide that comes in the box with the Kindle and a one quart Ziploc (TM) bag. 

 You probably want to know why I have a 1 qt Ziploc (TM) bag in my Kindle case.

It's so I can have an added layer of protection for my Kindle whilst I am at the beach.

Yes, it fits, I checked. :)

And it's pretty.

It's That Time of Year

Graduation time, of course!

I graduated May 7 from CMU with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre, Interpretation and Dance.  As I have mentioned before, I learned so much in the last year and a half.  I loved my time in the theatre department at Central.

But that is not what this post is about.

My parents, who are totally awesome!, decided that they would get me an Amazon Kindle for completing my undergraduate education.  THANKS MOM AND DAD!!



I have had it for about four days and I love it.

I mean, I knew I would, but I mean, I LOVE IT.

Of course, there are things I would like to see improve, but I will start with the positive.

First, I love that I have a Kindle.  And it has my name on it.  I'm also craaaazy.

Second, I love that they offer some books for free at varying times!  I like to expand my horizons, and if I can find new authors to love without going broke, I will!  I mean, I got like 50 books for free last night!  Ok, maybe not 50, but a lot.  I spent my evening downloading and organizing into collections, which is another feature I like.  I like being to able to go from having 8 or 9 pages of books listed out to a little over one page of collections.  And you can add books to more than one collection.  For example, I can put Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau in History and in non-Fiction.  Or any of Jane Austen's works into Classical Literature and Jane Austen (I love her, so she gets her own collection.  So does Nora Roberts.)

There are so many books that I would love to read, that I am now able to read because they are free on the Kindle.  Some I read in High School that I want to read again, so I can better understand them, some I haven't had the time to read before, but now I do and I don't have to carry it around with me and try and fit a huge book in my purse.

I also like (most) of the book prices.  I wonder what the point of having a Kindle is, if a paperback copy used or new, is so much cheaper than the digital copy.  But then there are shining examples of awesome.  For example, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything That Your American History Book Got Wrong by James W. Loewen is $4.55 for the Kindle Edition and the list price is $26.95.  That is what you expect from getting a digital copy that requires no paper or shipping.  It is also a very interesting read so far.



But then we look at Nora Roberts' books.



I just purchased Vision in White on recommendation from a friend (Hi Lisa!  I really enjoyed it, a really nice, feel good story, just like you said :-) ) and it was $12!?!  The list price? $16.  The paperback price? $9.60.  That is not what you would, or should, expect.  Despite the fact that I love Ms. Roberts and her books, I am disappointed in the pricing for the Kindle Edition of all of her books.  All of the ones that I have looked at are more expensive than they should be for a digital copy, no matter if the titles are new or old.  I do appreciate though, that a lot of her books are available in Kindle format.  I like that a lot.  In my research for this post, I found that a lot of Ms. Roberts books cost the same or more in Kindle edition than in print.  A large number of them are the exact same price, $7.99, for the hard copy and the Kindle edition.  Which is slightly easier to stomach than having the digital version be more than the hard copy, but still not ideal.

I find this to be ridiculous.  It should never cost more for a digital copy of a book than the print copy.  Ever.  And there is no way that it costs that much to format the book for Kindle or other eReaders.  Even if you write out your first draft of a book with a pen and paper, to send it to print, it needs to be put into an electronic format, I assume.  And I would guess that if you don't live within walking range of your publisher, you wouldn't want to spend the money to ship the book when you can email it to them for free.  So, I feel that there are no excuses, only greed, for Kindle books to be as expensive - or more - than a hard copy.

I also spent some time searching the site for my favorite books, and requesting to the publisher that they be made available for the Kindle.  Although, I feel that if I have already paid for a book in hard copy and it becomes available in a digital format, such as the Kindle, I should not have to pay for it again.  I already paid for the right to read it as many times as I want, so I shouldn't have to pay for it again.  But, you can't get everything you want.

Another feature that I wish was easier to figure out is moving books from Kindle to Kindle.  I have a couple books on the first generation Kindle that Adam has and I want them to move to mine, but I can't figure out how to do it.  I have searched and searched on the Amazon website.  Oh! And as I just took a last gander under 'My Account' I think I figured it out!!  I will post step by step instructions once I figure them out!

*EDIT* I did not figure out how to transfer.  I will write more about the lameness of loaning and gifting in a later post.

Anyway, I would like to finish this post with a positive note about print books.  There is nothing quite like cracking open a new book.  The smell of the paper and ink, the stiffness of the binding and the feel of the pages.  I love buying new books, but if I can save a few dozen trees by buying books on the Kindle and forgoing that feeling, I will do it gladly.  And if I have them on the Kindle, they are much easier to move.  And take on vacation.  And take to the gym.  And a lot of other things.

I <3 all books, no matter the format of delivery!!

I Never Could Get the Hang of Thursdays

Oh, wait, it's Friday isn't it?

Well, I'm rather busy today, so I am going to have to short list all the excitement of Friday.

-Went to a Yoga class this morning: Good.
-Discovered my credit card number was stolen whilst in Europe: BAD, which I will describe later.
-Moving tomorrow: Good, I think.
-Wings lost last night: Disappointing
-My parents got me a Kindle for graduation: GREAT! THANKS MOM  AND DAD!!!


Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!