It Isn't Finished Until...

 

..it's wet finished.

Or in reality, for someone who wants to sell their work, until it's sold.

One of the things that I've been doing for the past few months is remembering.

Remembering how Magic came to be - and how many years it took.  Remembering all the different shows I (we) did.  How many places I travelled to teach.

And reflecting on how the event horizons of my life have shrunk.  

In order to keep weaving (because that's what I love to do, above all else, despite the 'failures') I have chosen to stop doing a whole lot of things.

Each activity I chopped away from my calendar of events took time to grieve.  Well, I didn't 'take' it so much as it was part of the process of letting go, of accepting that it was what I needed to do in order to keep weaving.  Marie Kondo had it right - if it doesn't bring you joy, get rid of it.  When the aggravation and aftermath become too great, it had to go.  As a result, I am doing everything in my power to keep weaving.

For me weaving isn't just what I do, it's what I am, at a very core level.  

It means I look at things analytically, especially textiles, and I think about how the designer brought the various elements together to create the textile.  It's a puzzle, and one I find endlessly fascinating.

I anticipate problems by thinking through the processes and applying what I know about a situation and try to extrapolate what I know to a new problem to see if I can head off any issues before they happen.

And I carry this approach out of the studio into my life.

I'm a thinker and a planner, but I was that before I learned how to weave - it just seemed as though my attitude towards life integrated with weaving at a very deep level.  I just do it more consciously, now.

For the past few years I have been weaving tea towels.  I've sold some on my ko-fi shop, but one of the memories that got brought to the surface over the past few days was the fact that markets can become saturated.  

Have I saturated my tea towel market on ko-fi?  If so, then how do I sell them?

With Stories from the Matrix just launched, now comes the wait to see if I can sell 'enough' copies to pay for the costs of producing it.  I chose to self-publish via an online print-on-demand website.  The choice was made because I am well aware that my stories, my writings, are aimed at a tiny niche of an already niche market.  Stories may find interest beyond weavers, although that wasn't my primary focus when I wrote it.  But there is no guarantee it will be well received beyond my 'fan base'.

With all that in mind, did I stop everything else and pour all my attention into marketing Stories?  

Um, no, I did not.  While I'm not ignoring the marketing, there isn't much I can do until the reviews start appearing (I'm hoping for reviews in a couple of publications which received review copies.)

With all the memories stirred up, I've just spent the past few weeks - you guessed it - writing another, well, not sure if I can call it a 'book', yet.  Perhaps a 'pamphlet' or a 'zine'.

It's 'resting' right now.  I need time to let the files sit and, um, mature, kind of like cheese.  I need 'distance' from what I've just written, which was in some cases deeply personal and quite possibly Too Much Information.  Do I want to share those stories?  

So the files are with two alpha readers.  

And now, finally, I turn my attention to the long neglected things I've been meaning to do.  Yesterday I prepared the cloth for the aprons for the guild looms.  Today I hope to start serging the edges, a daunting task and one I may not be able to do all in one go, like I could have done even three years ago.  After standing too long at a too low table yesterday, I had too much pain.  :(   So I have to once again reduce my event horizon, learn to pace myself.

It's not the 'old', it's the decrepit...

In the meantime, if you are finding Stories (or The Intentional Weaver, because I still sell a few copies a month of that one, or for that matter Magic) and you are willing to share your comments about one or the other on my blog, contact me 

laura at laurafry dot com

The Learning Never Ends

 

July is ending and so have a number of 'projects'.

Stories from the Matrix launched on July 9 as scheduled.  It took a magnificent last days effort from my editor to get the file uploaded to blurb.com but it happened.  And then *I* fell down and didn't order the envelopes that I needed soon enough; then we hit a glitch in Staples website and the envelope order was delayed a week.  But never mind, they arrived and all of the pre-publication orders have been mailed.  Several people have let me know they are beginning to arrive.  

The Lace Weaves class with School of Sweet Georgia launched.  Similar delays with that as they hit some technology issues as well.  (So glad it isn't just me!!!)  But it is now live and last I looked 80 people were viewing the class.  (cockles of heart warmed!)

The content on SOS grows monthly.  I now have 3 classes live with one more to come in November.  But it isn't just me and it isn't just weaving.  SOS has an array of classes from rigid heddle to floor loom weaving, spinning, dyeing, felting, the list goes on.  Really excellent instructors are included like Diana Twiss and Kim McKenna (spinning) and knitters, felters etc.  They are working hard to expand their course offerings and really, the monthly (or yearly) subscription is a bit of a bargain because you not only get the class, you can ask the instructor questions via the Forums.  Or connect with other textile people, celebrate your triumphs (or disasters - and you know we all have *those*!)  

Better yet, you continue to have access to the courses so that you can review them if you forget something.   The courses are formatted as chapters so you can go directly to the section you need to review.  Pretty neat.  They also have extensive supports with class handouts, projects, etc.

Not everyone has a local guild they can access and if you don't, SOS is a good way to continue the learning journey.

You can subscribe here  or use the QR code (live link on the main page of my blog).

Personally?  I have managed to keep weaving (mostly) and have my 2/20 mercerized cotton reduced to such an extent that I am hopeful of getting it all used up (or donated, if there isn't enough of a colour to weave a towel) by the end of the year.  Maybe.  We'll see.  But that really is a light I see, not the headlight of a train coming through the tunnel...

Weaving has been interrupted too frequently of late but now that the major projects are complete I'm hoping I can get back at it.  OTOH, I *did* promise to teach one last in-person workshop for my local guild so now I need to drag that binder out and start re-doing the drafts.  Problem is, I donwanna.  :(

So...I procrastinate.  Not helpful!  Time to get over that reluctance and just do it.  You don't have to be a member of the guild to take the class, just in case you want to join us for my last in-person workshop (the guild has some looms to rent or a table loom is fine.)  Registration is open now.  (Masks will be required because I'm immune compromised.  Just saying.)

OTOH, I had a lovely compliment yesterday.  I sent a courtesy copy of Stories and a tea towel to someone who weaves different qualities of cloth than what I enjoy doing and they immediately took a photo of the towel and sent it to *their* mentor - an extremely knowledgeable weaver who has worked in the textile industry for decades.  His immediate reaction, I was told, was to go grab some graph paper and see if he could work out how I wove it because it was 'different' and intrigued him.  :D  It was such an ego stroke to think that I had caused intrigue and interest in someone who most likely knows way more than I ever will about textiles.  

With that bit of positive feedback, I went back and did the tweak to my most recent draft using that technique and polished the draft so that I was more satisfied with it.  Seems the 'fix' was pretty simple and it didn't take long.  And while I would have been satisfied with the not-quite-right version, I'm happy I went back and took another swipe at it.  

The difference is slight, but sometimes that's all it takes.

Now, all I have to do is weave off the current warp, dress the loom and get this one underway.

Easy-peasy, right?

Looking for Reviews

 

Now that the launch is done, I'm waiting for the reviews to come.  I've had one very lovely review, but it always helps people to decide whether or not to buy a book if they hear other opinions.

I routinely review other people's books because I know that word-of-mouth is the 'best' advertising an author can get.

One of the reasons I did the pre-publication offer was to get the book out into as many hands as possible during what is a very slow time of year.  Mid-summer isn't the best time to launch a book!  People are taking holidays or busy in their gardens (or, in the case of BC and elsewhere in Canada, casting a wary eye at the sky wondering if they are going to be put on evacuation alert due to a 'too close' wildfire).  

If someone has received a copy of Stories from the Matrix and has found it interesting and/or helpful, and they are willing to write a review that I can post here on my blog, please email me.  The review can be with or without the person's name included (not everyone wants their name listed), just let me know.

Please and thank you.

laura at laurafry dot com

Flexibility

I thought this week would be 'better' - as in, I would make my plans and then proceed to successfully complete my to-do list.

Um, nope.

I mean, I did get some things done, but once again it seems it is curve ball time, lemonade making time.

Sometimes the disrupted plans are not actually negative, like today.  Today was supposed to be a weaving day after yesterday disappeared in a wave of side stepping, back tracking and generally mildly frustrating day.

Doug has been spending a lot of time the past few weeks trying to find tradespeople to do small jobs that are needed to be done and generally meeting with delays of one sort or another.  But he had been making progress, getting onto lists for call backs, so we were hopeful that the maintenance on the house would get done - at some point.

And then the phone rang late yesterday afternoon.  One of the tradespeople had had their job for today cancelled, could he do us?

Yes!  Please!

It just so happens that the smoke level is low and having both doors open isn't going to cause issues, it's not terribly hot, just pleasantly warm, and it isn't supposed to storm.  Which makes getting this fiddly painting job the perfect thing to happen today and tomorrow.

But Doug has appointments, and that means I have to stay upstairs, not head for the loom with my hearing protection on.

However, the next writing project is just far enough along that I can sit in my recliner with a highlighter and go through the printed out pages one more time, sifting for typos and grammar issues.  And then correct the file on the desktop.   And then re-name all the files to reflect the new project title.  And then save all those files to a thumb drive so I can find them more easily than the document file on my desktop.  (Why yes, I do have hundreds of document files - don't you?)

I'm tired of lemonade, so this time it will be lemon meringue pie.  (Virtual)   

And I should be able to get to the loom this afternoon when Doug is back again.  

Fingers crossed.
 

Knowing when to Quit

 

binders of words

It is said that an author doesn't 'finish' writing a book, they just stop writing a book.

This was Stories near the stopping place.  The binders are not filled, but I had been filing the essays according to a rough categorization of each essay's content.  It made sense to me at the time and since the essays were not linked, as such, it seemed like a good way to keep an eye on what I was saying and if I was repeating stuff.

For the current project, the 'stories' are linked, sort of.  There is some overlap because some of the lessons I learned along the way didn't 'stick' the first time round and needed to be repeated at intervals.

So all there is right now is 'just' one binder.  I think I may have said everything that I need to say, other than a summation of what those lessons were.  A kind of check list of what my life has looked like and the lessons learned along the way.  If someone wants the Coles Notes version or a reminder, such a summary might come in handy.  Sometimes it's good to do such a summary for myself.  I may think of other lessons not yet covered and then I can go back and add those into the binder.

The current project is deeply personal and may have little to no bearing on someone else, especially a younger person just beginning their journey.  On the other hand, what I've discovered is that when people like me truly open their hearts and share their stories, the first thing they realize is that what we are doing is a very human endeavour.  The journey any human makes from cradle to grave is simply this - keep learning.

Many creative folk also seem to share another lesson to learn - how to get over the clamouring inner voices that sing a constant chorus of negative feedback that gets dripped into our sub-consciousness.  Part of this project talks about how I came to deal with mine.

And no, they are not gone, but now that I have practiced living with them for 70+ years, I have a better handle on coping with them.

Perhaps it's just because I'm 'old' now and I'm less inclined to try to please every other person on the planet.  For some people, pleasing others becomes the priority, over protecting ourselves from harm, be that criticism or other harm.  And by that, I am talking about protecting ourselves from injury which could be caused by poor decisions or poor ergonomics.

One of the big lessons I had to learn was that it is far easier to protect myself from harm than recover from it.  In the end, even though I always wore hearing protection when I wove (the fly shuttle was very noisy, then the computer assisted dobby added another layer of harm to my hearing) I now wear hearing aids when I need to do so.  I can only imagine how much sooner I would have needed them if I hadn't been so diligent about wearing hearing protection for my career.  And yes, I do still wear hearing protection.  I'd like to keep what hearing I have left.

I've sent a few of the essays out to alpha readers and will wait to see what they say.  In the meantime the project will simmer on the back burner.

There is a stack of paperwork on my desk that rather desperately needs to be dealt with.  And then the re-design of the drafts for the workshop in October.  Hopefully that won't take long, it's mostly making the warps wider and that's a matter of arithmetic.  Thankfully I have a calculator to help crunch the numbers.

With all that hanging over me, it is time to set the current project aside while I 'take care of business' as well as some personal stuff.  I'm still trying to market Stories.  Copies are being received - time will tell if they like the book.  Or not.

I have to remember that if people don't 'like' the book, that is not a criticism of me or my life and people are allowed to like what they like, and dislike what they don't.  

A lesson I am still learning.  Because those critical inner voices are not gone.  It's a process and one I need to keep working on.

Ultimately that is all anyone can do.  Keep trying.  Keep working at getting better.  It's the human thing to do.  But sometimes?  A project doesn't need to be completed.  Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, the song goes.  

Will I fold?  Or hold?  We'll see.  I need to let this one stew for a while longer and get some more feedback.  Then I will decide.

Figuring Things Out

 

the draft is not shown in its entirety - the left hand border didn't make it onto the screen

Since I've begun weaving the warp I beamed last week, it is, of course, time to think about the 'next' one.

I had a draft prepared but as I thought through my yarn and colour choices, I decided I wanted to weave off the red on a white warp, not on the dark blue I ordered in (for when I run out of white), then decided I didn't really want to weave that colour combination on the draft that was next in the queue.

What to do?

Generate a new one, of course!

It isn't 'perfect' - I could have fiddled with it some more, especially given that the weave structure at this density will - perhaps - elongate the motif a little bit more.  But I decided to go with it.

I could have done a couple of things, but the one I might have done if I had had the spoons, would have been to adjust the threading in the little upright 'petal' so that it became a little bit wider.  A little bit 'rounder', more in keeping with the horizontal 'petal'.  Who knows I may do that for another iteration.  Or not.

That would have meant adjusting the vertical 'stripes' to be narrower, and I kind of like the ratio of the two different elements.

And even if it isn't 'perfect' they will still dry dishes.

My week isn't going 'well' for me.  I'm not sleeping well, which means I sleep in, feel groggy, don't get my engine started and then don't get half of what I want done, done.

The days flip by and the thing I ought to be doing (re-doing the workshop handouts) sits on the floor, ignored.

OTOH, I did some major work on the 'new' writing project.  I'm going to set it aside for a while so that when I go back to it, it will be with 'fresh' eyes.  It's not a 'book' - yet.  I don't even know if anyone would be interested in it.  Right now it is still a 'pipe' dream, although it appears to be taking on some sort of shape that might be a book.  Or not.

Once again I was up in the middle of the night for a couple of hours (don't know why, old age? pain?) and Doug kindly let me sleep in.  But it means the morning has disappeared.  Time to get dressed, see if I can weave a towel, then head to the post office with the next bin of books to be mailed.

In the meantime, the smoke is somewhat less (we had a bit of rain last night), the smoke is less, and the heat is less.  It's grey and dreary, but I'll take that for the benefit of the others.

Doing the Same Thing

 

A couple of the tea towels designed after the great ah-ha moment

Now that the book is officially launched, it is time to turn back to more...mundane...matters.

I stripped all of the tea towels I had listed in my ko-fi shop with the intention of starting to list the towels I wove building on the technique I discuss in Stories from the Matrix.  (Still no idea what to call it - shifted twill blocks?  overlapping twill blocks?)

However, life has been complicated - as it so often is - and so far I haven't sorted the towels out in order to get 'pretty' pictures of them, count, measure and post.  That is one of my goals for this week.  I'm still dealing with mailing out the books and doing my marketing push.  Plus, oh yeah, weave?

I've sent copies out to people I hope will give a favourable review, so, fingers crossed.

And yes, I'm working on another...book?  pamphlet?  To be determined.

I used to give classes on how to run a weaving business (or any craft business).  Usually people wanting to start or who were trying and floundering to be a professional craftsperson didn't know the first thing about running a business.

Not that they weren't talented or intelligent, just...they didn't know about things like collecting and remitting appropriate taxes.  Didn't know they were supposed to do it, didn't know where to find the information.  Didn't know what a wholesale vs a retail price was and why it mattered.  Didn't know who held legal title to the product until the customer purchased it (i.e. consignment vs wholesale).  And they didn't know who their customer was.

All things I had to learn for myself.  I had a bit of a leg up given my rather eclectic background which stood me in good stead.  Like the year spent at the credit bureau learning about how credit works and why a good credit score was important and how to maintain one.  The year I spent working for the claims adjuster at an insurance company.  And so on.

The Office Practices and Law 11 courses I took in Grade 12 helped, too.  I knew what made a legally binding contract, what a promissory note was, how liability worked and so on.

What I seldom talked about during this class were the more personal lessons I learned as I continued re-inventing myself as markets changed and I had to find new markets, and new designs.  

While society has changed over the past 50 years, I thought it might be helpful if I documented some of what I did, especially when things changed.  

Someone commented after a presentation on being a professional weaver, that while they had re-invented themselves by completely changing careers, I had re-invented myself but always stayed a weaver.

I thought about that for a moment and said that weaving was not only what I did, a weaver is what I am.

Last night I sent one of the essays(?)  chapters(?) to my editor for her evaluation.  Is this information something that others need to hear?  Is what I have written 'worthy' of seeing the light of day?

The stories I tell about this stage of my life are deeply personal and may contain Too Much Information.  On the other hand, the vast majority of people have no clue what people like me, trying to make an income using their creativity and skills go through in a society that by and large doesn't value things that are made by hand.  Or teachers, either.

We have been conditioned to want the instant.  The disposable.  Dare I say it, the plastic?

As we dig ourselves deeper into the mire of instant gratification, eventually the wheels are going to fall off.  There may come a time when we can't get things like cloth (or food, for that matter) unless we make it ourselves.

At that point raising sheep or fibre crops, spinning and weaving (and other textile crafts) will once again become a survival skill.

Perhaps none of my lived experience will be relevant.  But while I was learning how to run a business I was also growing as a person.  And perhaps those stories will be the valuable lessons?

Dunno.  

Still writing, working out what to tell, how much to tell, how personal I should be.  Right now?  It's pretty personal.  Perhaps, Too Personal.

Again.  Dunno.

As usual, I'm writing my way to a conclusion while I try to figure things out for my own self.

All I really know is that if we keep doing what we've always been doing, we will keep getting what we've always been getting.  And when society changes direction, if we don't, we'll have to deal with the consequences.

The Insistent Muse

 

One of my many small publications - when I look back, I'm actually a bit amazed at how many I have produced.

Now that the dust is settling from the latest book launch, I'm entering the next phase - the marketing.

My previous books had long lead ups to launch so by the time they came out there was already a group of people waiting for it.

Stories from the Matrix went much faster and I didn't say too much about it so now I have to work on getting the word out.

In the meantime, the insistent muse is beginning to tap their foot and yes...I'm writing again.

Once again, I have no idea if what I'm writing will be of any interest whatsoever to anyone else.  But my muse keeps insisting I go to the desktop and punch the keyboard.  There will be a battle royale between my muse and my inner critic at some point in the future.  Because this isn't my first ro-day-o and I know how this cycle goes.

I had no intention to begin writing again right away.  Didn't have a kernel of an idea, frankly, but again a confluence of prods from various directions shoved me to the keyboard.

At this point I'm not sure what I have is readable, or if anyone actually wants to read it, given the work it is going to take to edit, edit, edit, then pay a 'real' editor to bring it into publishable state.

Instead of looking at what I've already written, I keep thinking of more things I want to include.  And I keep adding to the file.

Right now the files are 'out of order' which I will have to address very soon.  The content is chronological - sort of - in the way that life keeps spiraling back to the beginning so I can pick up on a lesson I thought I'd learned previously, but now understand on a deeper level, so need to review and retool so that I can build on the previous experiences.

I would worry about that except I've been reading quite a few biographies and the thing I'm noticing is that many of these memoirs (for they are mostly memoirs) do the same thing.  The person learns something about life, lives their life some more, then needs to go back and learn more about their past lessons in order to keep growing.  A lot like weaving, to be honest.

If I were to categorize what I'm doing with this latest effort is that it is about as close to a memoir as I will ever get.  If I choose to proceed with it.

Most of my life I have thought through challenges or issues that happen in my life by writing them down, thinking them through so I can process them as I search for the words to explain - to myself, mostly - what has happened and where the lesson is.

And this latest writing?  Is a lot of that.  But also, the lessons I have been dealing with are not unique to me - they are part of the human condition.  My lessons, my conclusions, may be different from someone else, but perhaps some people might find them helpful as they work through their own pitfalls on their life's path.

Dunno.  Right now I am writing for me.  An acknowledgement of the lessons I have learned in my life.  Which may, or may not, be useful to someone else, but in the meantime, they are useful to me.  And they may never see light of day.  

Time will tell.  Working title is A Thread Runs Through It.  There.  I've said it, right out loud.  

Learning About Weaving

 

What a busy week it was!  Hopefully things will begin to calm down now.  I haven't woven since Sunday and I'm missing my time at the loom.

The latest class at School of Sweet Georgia has launched.  A deep dive into the three 'major' lace weaves - huck, Swedish and Bronson.

Included in the class is a tutorial on how to do Bronson Lace using pick up so that you are not limited to the number of blocks you can use to create a motif.  But first you have to really understand how the weave structure works, so I hope that people take the time to work through the class before they tackle the pick up.  Or, if they already understand how Bronson Lace works, they will find the pick up technique intriguing.

Lace weaves are versatile and useful in so many applications.  Changing the density and using wool, toasty blankets can be created, while opening the density and using finer, smooth yarn can create a delicate lightweight cloth.  And everything in between!

If you have more than four shafts, there is information for 8 shafts as well, and a lesson on profile drafts.

The classes are paced, formatted in 'chapters' so you can go to the section you want to review (if you want to do so) without watching all the rest.  And of course I'm on the forums to answer questions if you have any.

Once a member of SOS, you have access to all the course content on the site.  

I also have information on lace weaves in The Intentional Weaver (signed copies available at Sweet Georgia Yarns) 

Today I'm having a 'catch up' day, trying to tackle the things that got put on hold while I dealt with books.  There are four bins of books ready for the post office.  They will go, one at a time.  But by end of next week, all should be on their way.

In the meantime, am I writing again?  Maaayyyybeeeeeeeeee.....

Folk Saying

 

field of flax (pretty picture for eye candy)

There is an old 'folk' saying (don't know which folk, just aware of the sentiment) to the effect that if you want to make god laugh, make plans.

Well, I'm a master at making god laugh because I always have 'plans'.

My life has been a constant struggle to deal with my plans going awry, sometimes through my own fault (foggy thinking leading to unrealistic expectations of ability to cope or complete); sometimes things happen.

The latest was an example of both.  I didn't think through how many padded envelopes I would need to mail those 50 (then 70) books, so was very late in the process ordering them.

And then Staples website ordering system glitched and my order got 'stuck'.  When the envelopes didn't arrive when they were supposed to, I stopped in at the local Staples store and asked if someone could check on the status of my order.

They couldn't get very far because it seemed to be something going on with the online ordering system and I was given the 800 number so I could talk to someone.

That person poked and finally dislodged the order from where ever it was stuck and suggested the order would be to me 'very soon'.

Very soon turned into 'soon' as the box finally arrived this morning while I was having coffee.

While I waited I fussed over the delay, but there wasn't much that could be done.  I had a few envelopes on hand so I used those to package up a few books and at least get those sent off.  (One arrived this morning, so the rest should start landing soon.)

Yesterday I pulled all the orders that consisted of multiple items (some people took the opportunity to order something else with Stories) and those are almost ready to go.  Just need to tape them and get them to the post office.  Friday is not perhaps the best day to go with a bin of parcels, but needs must.

Given the delay in getting the books into the mail, I extended the pre-pub offer to midnight last night and got a few more orders.  The 'late' orders will be processed once the others are done.  But I'll work on them all as quickly as I can.

After all of the orders and promotional copies are sent, two will be reserved for the National Library (to 'pay' for the ISBN) and the rest will be listed on my ko-fi shop.  If someone wants a signed copy, the only way to get one is to purchase it from me.  That means a higher cost because of the postage from me to them - cheaper to purchase from blurb.   (Just saying.)  All three of my books are available there, each of them available in print or pdf.

Weave a V by Kerstin Fröberg,which I organized to be published in English, here, is still available on my ko-fi shop.

Today I will also package up a copy to be sent to Handwoven in hopes of a book review.  For anyone interested in one person's opinion, Michelle Boyd (spinner and weaver) did one for Digits and Threads, an on-line publication.  The review is open access so anyone can read it.

Several people have let me know they are sharing the information for Stories with their guilds, and for that I give a heartfelt thanks.

For now, let me see if I can make god laugh.  Or at least chuckle.  I'm going to go finish getting the multiple orders ready to go to the post office and head to town.  And then tackle the rest.  I really, really want my work table back!

Wish me luck?

 

Marketing - it's a 'thing'

 

This week turned into a very special 'roller coaster'.  I had plans.  Boy, howdy, did I have plans!  It almost felt like the 'good old days' when I had deadlines up the yin-yang and energy to burn in order to meet them.

The universe served up a big old plate of 'learn patience'.  

It appears the knots have been untied - or cut through a la Gordian knot - and things appear to be getting back on track today.  Or at least, by end of day.

Now that the book is written and exists in the 'wild', it's my job to get the news of its existence out into the world.  That's one of the things you need to do as a self-published author - get it into the hands of readers!

This morning I woke up with a massive headache (yes, the smoke is less, but there has been far too much of it, and I'm allergic) and while trying to get my morning coffee into me, Digits and Threads sent their newsletter with a nice surprise.  

The review by Michelle Boyd is open access, so if you know anyone who might be interested but may not know about Stories from the Matrix yet, here's the link.

The 'extra' books I ordered arrived yesterday and one will be going to Handwoven, potentially (hopefully!) for them to post a review.

The envelopes are supposed to be arriving today at some point, with a nice letter from Staples with an acknowledgment that they dropped the ball and hope I wasn't inconvenienced too much.  Well, I was, but I wasn't.  My fault for waiting so long to actually look to see how many padded envelopes of the correct size I had.  Their website glitching was annoying but all it did was cause me to exercise my little bit of patience while they sorted it out.  And I must say, their customer support was pleasant and accommodating.

This week just seemed to keep on giving with the patience lessons, but we are nearly done the week and progress has been made.  

Given I'm still waiting on the envelopes, I've decided to continue the pre-publication offer until midnight (Pacific zone) tonight.  At midnight tonight the ki-fi listing for the pre-pub offer will poof away, I will fill the orders I have in hand, set aside the copies I need for marketing/promotion/gifts and whatever is left will be listed on ko-fi  - signed only.  (If you *want* a signed copy, the only place they can be found is directly from me.)

If anyone is interested in buying a signed copy with a free tea towel, to boot, go to my ko-fo shop and use the pre-pub link to purchase before midnight tonight, July 20, 2023.  

It will be cheaper for someone to go to blurb and purchase a book there (they have better shipping rates than I can provide) or even cheaper, buy the pdf and get the book instantly.

Next week is supposed to be 'quiet'.  We'll see how that turns out.  

Tick Tock

 

Now counting down the minutes until the books arrive.  Hopefully the envelopes will arrive today, too, but so far, no news on that.

While I'm waiting I will be marking the latest box of homework from Olds.  I can do that upstairs and keep an eye out for the delivery person.

Marketing efforts continue.

When I published Magic and then The Intentional Weaver, each took years to conceive and create.  Stories took months, only, and I no longer belong to a lot of weaving groups online.  It's going to take more effort on my part to get the word out.

For those people who noticed what I was doing, got a copy and like what I did, you can help by reviewing it for your guild newsletter - if you belong to one and they have a newsletter.  Or tell your friends.  :)  If you belong to an online group, you can share the link with them.  The book is available in soft cover or pdf.  

The smoke is 'better' today than it has been but it's still not great so I continue to wear a mask when I leave the house.  This afternoon I'm booked to meet with the vice-chair and we'll take a look at the big Leclerc loom, see if we can figure out what it will take to get it running again.  Plus I'll get her to help me cut the yardage for the loom aprons.  Then I can bring them home and get them sewn.

*After* the books are dealt with.  Right now my work table is full of books and like I told Doug, I'm not about to move them from table to...where?...and then back again just so I can do a couple of small jobs which can just as easily wait until the books are done.  If the envelopes arrive today, that could be as soon as tomorrow.  The first 50 mailing labels are already written and it won't take long to do the rest.  I just need the space to write them out, sign the books and then package them up.

Right now I seem to have a schedule of one really really busy week, then a quiet one.  So far it's working for me and I'm managing - just - to stay on top of things.

This morning the Looking at Lace class at School of Sweet Georgia went 'live'.  Click on the link to join us if you aren't already a member.  And do ask questions on the forum.

My patience is being tested today, and as usual, found lacking.  Time to at least start the marking.  Maybe when I'm not looking the delivery person will arrive.  

Curve Ball

 

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.  Right?

Well, I ordered a box of padded envelopes from Staples on July 13, expecting them to arrive today.

They did not.

Instead of filling envelopes and processing the rest of the orders and getting them to the post office as quickly as I can...I cannot.

I tried tracking the order on the Staples website and couldn't get anywhere, so on the way home from an appointment I stopped at the local Staples store and asked for help finding out what was happening.

Had I received the email confirming the order had been shipped?

No, I had not.  All I had was the order confirmation I received on the 13th that they had received the order.

A nice young man went into the back room to try and find out what was going on but couldn't find out anything so he gave me the 800 number so I could talk to someone regarding the website order.

When I got home I double checked to see if the billing to my credit card had gone through.  It had not.  Apparently somehow my order had gotten 'stuck' in their system and it was in limbo.

I waited on hold until someone could talk to me and got another nice young(?) man who took my information, got the details, apologized for putting me on hold again, but was back in very short order to say that the order was logged as still being processed so he had put a request in to fill that order and to expedite it.

He said I should receive a confirmation email, probably tomorrow, and that the order should come very quickly as he'd marked it to be expedited.  I thanked him and headed off to the loom to begin threading.  If I couldn't pack books, I could at least thread.

At shortly after 5 pm an email dropped into my inbox with the news that the order was shipped.  I don't believe that it will arrive on the 18th (because that's nearly over!) but hopefully it will arrive tomorrow at some point.

In the meantime I have a box of homework to mark and that will be my priority tomorrow morning.  If I can't package up books, I can mark homework.

Something about lemons and lemonade comes to mind.  

Can't think why...

Chomp

 

Yesterday I sorted the book orders into several stacks - the 'official' pre-pub payments, and the 'late' payments, then sorted the 'official' ones into Canada/US.  I had just enough envelopes to do the Canadian 'official' ones, so I dealt with those first.

Then I wrote out mailing labels.  By the time I finished those, there was a knock at the door and Doug carried the boxes of books down to the studio.  I'm glad I went with the more expensive paper - the photographs are crisper and it just looks...nicer.

Each of the books going out got a book plate and I signed it with the person's name to personalize it.  Selected a towel, carefully folded it up and slid both book and towel into the envelope.  Rinse repeat until the Canadian addresses were done.  Well, the 'official' ones, anyway.

Once they were all loaded, I sealed the envelopes and put a piece of packing tape over the mailing label.  I've had the labels scrape off in the past, so I always tape them down, now.

It all takes time and I have other obligations plus personal maintenance I need to deal with so I didn't want to wait to get started.  

The order of padded envelopes is supposed to arrive Tuesday, so I want to get these first few to the post office on Monday.

Once those were done, I opened the rest of the boxes and affixed the book plates to the rest of the books.  

I don't have quite enough books to fill all of the orders, but the additional books should arrive by July 26, they say.  The blurb website keeps me advised of the status of my order, lets me know when the courier picks up the boxes, and provides tracking numbers so I can follow the journey as they make their way here.  They have generally been either on time or earlier than their shipping estimates so hopefully that will continue.

So far two people who ordered directly from blurb (one from the US, one from Europe) have let me know they have already received their books.  One person has read the courtesy pdf and is writing up a review for their guild.  And the interview and review appeared in Digits and Threads last week.

There are still two more 'official' pre-pub requests to be paid.  Until they do I will be leaving the link on my ko-fi store open.  I mean, I do still have 20 more books coming.  :D  Until the link goes down, I will honour the pre-pub offer (ie, book, signed, with lagniappe of a free tea towel, of my choosing) for $68.00 Canadian.

If you don't care about a signed copy or a tea towel, you can go to blurb and place your order now.  The default is for US prices, so if you aren't in the US, choose the appropriate 'flag' (upper right hand corner on my desktop).

If you want the 'extras' go to my ko-fi shop and purchase there.

As for today?  We are still under a thick smoke pall and have little desire to leave the house where the air filter has been running on high most of the time for the past week.  There is a hint of rain to come on Monday - *after* two days of more t-storms.  The situation here is...not good.  My plan for today is to weave.  I'm very nearly finished the current warp and hope I can get it done before the envelopes arrive on Tuesday.  But that will mean that I need to get to the loom for the next three days.  The loom may sit empty for a few days while I deal with sending out books and other obligations.  Right now the studio is full of books, bins, tea towels and I really need to clear that rubble so that I can beam the next warp.

So that's my coming week.  How's yours?

Busy Beaver

 

While the beaver is not unique to Canada, it has come to represent Canada in a number of ways.  

"Busy as a beaver" is a well known phrase I heard frequently throughout my youth in part because if you know anything about these busy rodents, you know they work steadily to keep their homes secure.

This morning we woke to smoke again (still!), which is slowly getting worse.  The desire to hunker down and not leave the house is at odds with the fact I really should go to town and do a few errands.  But it's also Friday, the local mall I prefer is currently under siege from a huge flock of gulls as their fledglings learn to fly, but can't quite get off the ground and their parents try to protect their babies from the metal monsters prowling the parking lot.

Trying to decide if I really do need to go there or if I can stay home, inside, with the air filter on high.

And the books.  The books are in town.  Not sure if they will get delivered today, but they might still make it onto a truck and come this afternoon.

That means I really do need to start writing up the mailing labels.  I ordered more padded envelopes last night because it occurred to me I don't have enough!  They will arrive Tuesday.  I have enough to begin shipping books - just as soon as I can get them signed and packaged up.

There are also things that I've promised to do for the local guild, first and foremost replace the aprons on the rest of the guild floor looms.  I expect I will get to those next Wednesday when I meet with the vice-chair about refurbishing the big old Leclerc that sadly needs work to get it back up and running.  Once we get the first four shafts weaving, we'll look at installing the other 8 and then the guild will (might?) have a 12 shaft loom for members to use.

I have an eager student wanting to dress her rented guild loom (yay!) but wants some 'adult' supervision while she works through the process after a hiatus.

I have agreed to teach a 'beyond beginner' workshop, called Mug Rugs and More.  I'm thinking that since I have to re-edit the drafts for that workshop I should do it with an eye to perhaps publishing the drafts on my ko-fi shop for my subscription members.

And then, who knows, I could maybe build on those?  

In the meantime, the yarn I ordered from Brassard should be here in about 10 days, while I still have enough yarn for two more white warps.  And right now with the smoke, the heat and the general malaise, I'm lucky if I manage one towel a day.  :(

Since I only have so many spoons in a day (and the number is variable, depending on my pain level) I try to use up every spoon available.  Because I never know if tomorrow there will be more - or fewer.

When my expectations of productivity are simply unrealistic, I have to learn to adjust my expectation to meet my supply of energy and stay in gratitude for what I *did* do, not beat myself up because of what I *didn't* get done.

A hard lesson, but necessary, in order to keep going.

Unexpected

Gotta admit, I didn't expect a whole lot of orders for Matrix.  I mean, it's summer, I didn't get a lot of chance to do pre-publication promotion so the word hasn't gotten out yet.  No reviews had appeared.  Very few people have had a chance to read it.

But suddenly, orders have begun coming in and when I added up the 'official' pre-pub requests, my courtesy list, plus the two for the National Library, plus, oh yeah, my own copy...I didn't have enough books coming!

So late last night I ordered 20 more.

Now, books ordered from me are going to be more expensive than ordering directly from blurb because I don't get the kind of shipping discounts blurb does.  But if you want a signed copy, you'll have to order it directly from me.  

One of the things about using an on-line on demand print service like blurb is that they also act as a retailer for people like me.  They accept the orders, process the payments, collect/remit the appropriate taxes, ship the orders out, then pay me my share at the end of the month.  Win-win!  Plus, they have printing facilities in other countries so people in, say, Europe or Down Under don't have to pay international shipping rates.

Yesterday Digits and Threads published a book review and interview with me by Michelle Boyd.  We had had a great time chatting for two hours(!) and she wrote a lovely article and review.  Once I have the books in hand, one of the print copies will be sent to Handwoven in hopes of a review (or at least a mention) in their magazine.  I'm hoping someone will do a review for the Guild of Canadian Weavers Bulletin (anyone?) and maybe a mention in other publications.  (Complex Weavers???)

But marketing is a slow steady repetition of the information sent out, repeatedly, in order to get the word out.  Especially for a niche topic for a niche market.

I have not yet taken down the entry in my ko-fi shop for the pre-pub payments.  So you know, just in case anyone is interested, they could, like, slide on over to ko-fi and pay for one?

It's Aliiiiiiiiiiiive!

 

Yesterday the 'sample' copy of Stories from the Matrix arrived.  It looks better than I expected in some ways, and of course, me being me, it...isn't 'perfect'.

And I decided what the hell.  You gotta be warped to weave and all.  So what if we didn't get the 'accepted' format.  It's still a book.

My editor offered to re-tool the formatting but she has other high priority items on her desk at the minute and the books are already printed and will be arriving any day.  Who knows, I may get her to reformat next month when her schedule is less fraught and these early editions will become...collector items????

Anyway, it's the words that count, amirite?  

Last night we did an unboxing video (because it's what all the cool authors do!) and now I need to get the rest of the payments for the pre-pub orders so I can begin writing out the address labels, see if I have enough padded envelopes on hand or if I have to make a dash to Staples for another package.

Today we are under a thick smoke pall.  Still not the 'worst' we've experienced, like the day the air (not just the sky) was orange and it became night at 10 am again, but still, not pleasant.

I have to go out unless the physio cancels the appointment due to poor air quality.  I won't mind too much, frankly.  I'd rather not leave the house myself.

When the sky becomes filled with smoke like this, anxiety increases, generally, but people also begin to become sick from breathing in the smoke - sore throat, headaches, sinus issues.  I'm allergic to smoke (particulates in general) so I'm having the 'usual'.  If I do go out for my 11 am appointment I'll take a Benedryl to help reduce my symptoms.  And just be a bit more 'comfortable.  

But everyone is on edge.  We are ringed by wildfires and this smoke isn't going to go away any time soon.  What most people who haven't lived with this situation don't understand is the tier of wildfires - out of control, controlled, out.

'Out of control' generally means it is spreading, sometimes exponentially.  The forest animals are racing for their lives, people who may be in the way of the advancing flames need to get out.  Sometimes very quickly.  To say a fire is 'controlled' doesn't mean out.  It just means it isn't advancing any more.  Usually what it means is that it continues to burn up whatever fuel might be left, smoldering and sending out thick smoke, usually staying close to the ground.  'Out' sometimes doesn't happen until summer is over and the rain or snow arrives.

But we are currently in drought conditions for the northern half of the province (and parts of the southern) so any fire that starts from the strings of t-storms that have been rumbling through will catch quickly given the extremely dry forest floor.  If it gets big enough, a fire will generate it's own weather, up to and including...lightning.  If it 'crowns' it can move extremely quickly as the wind shoves it further and faster.  Sometimes a remote community only gets minutes to evacuate.

More and more people are beginning to understand that these are not 'once in a 1000 year' events, but our new 'normal' and keep a go-bag near the door.

It is long past time to deal with climate change.  

In the meantime, I continue to weave.  Why?  Partly because it brings me relief from current events, but also?  Weaving is a survival skill.  The more people who know how to do it, the better, imho.

The book is 'alive' on blurb.  I'll be mailing the pre-pub books as quickly as I can as soon as they arrive.

All in Good Time

This morning FedEx tells me that Stories from the Matrix will be delivered Monday, July 17.

Now is the time to pay for your order (if you still want it - let me know if you do not) and as soon as the books arrive I will get them signed and package them up ready to head to the post office.

In the meantime, I'm trying to juggle too many flame throwers and stay on top of what I want to do and...what I *need* to do.

All under a smoke pall.  And I'm allergic to smoke.  So on top of all my other health issues, I'm dealing with massive sinus headaches and all the rest that goes with that.

However, with that delivery schedule, I'm pretty sure I can complete the warp currently in the loom and who knows, maybe get the next one beamed, before the books arrive.

In the meantime, I keep plodding.  Still juggling health/maintenance appointments and a distinct lack of energy.  The weather continues to be 'too hot' - thank goodness I invested in a/c back in the 1980s when I was weaving full out.  

Anyway, I did get some promising news on the health front this morning, plus I've made contact with a physiotherapist and am hoping they can help me with some stretches/exercises to keep my back from deteriorating - or at least, slow it down.

Because I still have way too much yarn to weave up and I really want to continue to explore the matrix series.  I'm so close to finishing off the mercerized cotton that the incentive to keep going with that is high.  Yesterday I finished one colour and hopefully today I can start on another and get that one woven off, too.

The next two drafts are ready - they just need the loom to be nekkid.  I have one more draft I'm still ruminating on - a variation of the 'waves' draft.  Actually a third variation - one of the two that is ready is also based on the waves.  I keep thinking of ways to play with the lines, and while it looks 'ok' on the page, you never really know until it's woven if it will actually work in cloth.

Because threads shift and  move to areas of least resistance and suddenly that nice even 'grid' is gone and the threads don't line up the way you thought they would when you were fiddling with them on the paper or screen!

So, today is a bit of a pull me, push you day.  Some good things, some not so great things, all through the haze of the smoke.  When I go to the studio I may put the hepa filter on 'high' again.  Because the smoke is also in pockets on the ground and if it gets into the house even more, my allergies are going to be even less happy than they are now.  We bought the filter for covid, yes, but also for smoke.  Because over the past 10 or so years the wildfire situation has only gotten worse.  And this year is going to be another record setter.  We currently have a fleet of planes flying in and out of the airport trying to douse some of the t-storm started fires that are too close for comfort.  The good news is that at least one of them is now out and they are working hard to get the others out, too.

In the meantime, the sun continues to rise in the east and set in the west, and time marches on.  Things will happen in their own good time, no matter how impatient I may be.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to the loom I go!

Splash

 

 I was up early enough this morning that I got to see the splash of light coming through the fan light.  

Yesterday was the official launch day for Stories from the Matrix.  I was nervous about doing it.  Didn't know if anyone would attend.  If they did, would they find the two essays I read of interest?

The response was positive, and I feel like I can climb down off the tenterhooks, and just do the work of getting the books shipped out when they arrive.  The sample book will arrive soon, possibly tomorrow as it crossed the border yesterday.

OTOH, after a string of t-storms over the weekend we have smoke pall.  Again.  There are fires all around us, but not near enough to us to be of concern - other than the smoke.  That may change, of course.  In the meantime my covid mask is also filtering out the smoke.  As much as it can, of course.  I don't wear a respirator, just a mask rated to N95.  But since I rarely leave the house I don't fret too much about either hazard.  

Someone urged me to go to the pool and do aquasize.  I pointed out I can't wear a mask in the pool and that I knew two people just in the past week who came down with covid.  I pointed out that it's not over.  Not for me, certainly, but also?  It's just NOT over.  We have, as a society, simply given up.  

Given the rather negative effects of Long Covid, that every Covid infection increases the risk of developing Long Covid, there are thousands of people who are about to discover (if they haven't already) what living with a chronic health condition feels like.  

I read a report that the current variant of Covid is not easily detected by the rapid test and that a person can HAVE Covid and test negative repeatedly with rapid tests.  I suspect that there are a lot of people walking around with summer 'colds' who are spreading Covid.  So, no, I'm not going out without a mask for the foreseeable future.  I don't want your 'summer cold' either.  

In October I will be doing the 'last' in person workshop here in Prince George.  I will request the students wear masks because I am *still* immune compromised.  Catching Covid is not a 'nothing burger' for me.  So I will continue to get any vaccines for Covid on offer and wear a mask.  I am getting exasperated with health care folk who don't understand *why* I continue to wear a mask.  Willful ignorance is very frustrating.  But De Nial is a powerful drug and far too many folk are swimming in it to the cost of people like me.

For those people who wonder why some of their friends just don't want to 'socialize' anymore, find out if they hesitate because of the risk of Covid and maybe offer to meet outside and offer to wear a mask.  If you value them in your life, maybe be a little bit 'uncomfortable' for a couple of hours in order to have them be present?

I am fortunate in that I have several local friends who DO mask up for me.  And I have lots of contact on line.  I'm not exactly a 'hermit', even though I've been called 'paranoid' and folk worry about my 'mental health'.  I'd have a lot less anxiety if more people would mask.  Just saying.  

Anyway, I'm going to get to the loom today.  I worked on the next two weaving drafts so I'd like to get the current warp off the loom and the next one on.  The heap of 2/20 mercerized cotton continues to slowly shrink, but I need to keep going to the loom. 

Onwards.

Poised

 

Poised.  Such a small word.  So many connotations.  Just like with nearly every other English word.

A lot of people would tell me that I was always so 'poised' so 'self contained'.  Little did they know that underneath I was usually scrambling, trying to juggle too many sharp knives, or flaming torches.

And so I find myself this Sunday morning (a 'Sunday' child, I was born on a Sunday 73 years ago) 'poised' once again.

Poised, is in standing on the tip of the diving board about to dive off.  Plunge in, down into the deep end of the pool.  A 'swan dive', perhaps?

Stories from the Matrix came together so very quickly it's almost hard to believe that it is published, ready to be launched out into the wide world.  Will it fly?  Or flapping it's pages wildly, fall to the ground?

I don't know.  I just don't know.

But like my textiles, the job isn't done until I get it (them) sold.

So today, I'm poised.  Ready to begin the full on marketing.  Truth to tell, I started about two weeks ago, before it was actually complete, actually ready to be uploaded to the website.  Because I'm doing it myself, I don't have a marketing department.  I'm selling what is a niche topic to a very niche market.  

Will the book of essays sell?  Or flounder and sink?

I'm not looking for empty praise, here, but if people DO find it interesting or useful, a note in the comments here or a private email will help me know that I did it.  I managed to contribute something worthwhile.

I'm not saying this just for myself, but for any writer of any book - if you like it, let the author know.  That goes for magazine articles, too.  I only know how well my articles have been received because I see comments from time to time on groups that someone is using one of my designs from Handwoven.  Sometimes they use it directly as given, sometimes they personalize it to better suit their needs.  But they have been kind enough to reference the magazine article and my name.

In one of my essays I made the observation that I have done more things, been more places than I ever dreamed of when I was a kid, even when I was terrified out of my mind - I did it anyway.  And here I am today, book #3.

Will there be another?  Dunno.   I've said twice before that there would not, and look at me!  So I'm not saying never.  I just have no idea at this point what a #4 would look like.  But until December last year I had no concept of Stories, either, until my inner muse tapped me on the shoulder and said - commanded! - WRITE THIS!  And I did.  Because when you ignore that ethereal command, it will not let you do anything other than what it wants.  So I wrote.  

And now, here it is, launch date.

Launch Day (tomorrow!)

 

Well, it's been a trip, as they say!

When you do stuff, it seems like there is always something more to learn, but tomorrow is finally The Day.  Book Launch Day.  My birthday.  :)

I had to think long and hard about doing a pre-publication offering, and I decided I would because who doesn't love a 'special' offer?  But that closed on July 4 and now I wait for the books to arrive next week.  In the meantime, people who contacted me about the pre-pub offer can now go to my ko-fi store and pay.  

For people outside of North America, I recommend buying from the website.  Blurb.com has printing facilities in Europe and other locations so people don't have to pay for international shipping if they order directly.  The pre-pub offer was just for those people who really wanted a signed copy.  As soon as the books arrive, I will get them signed and begin shipping them out, as quickly as I can.

In the meantime, I went ahead and hit the button to make the listing 'live' this morning where people can purchase the softcover book or a pdf (or both?).  Honestly, people who order from blurb will likely get their books faster than ordering from me.  Because they have to come from the US eastern seaboard, all the way to the west side of the continent and then back out to...wherever.  

Someone asked me if blurb was a 'vanity' press and it isn't, really.  It's a print on demand service that also manages sales for the people who use the site.  For me it's been great, especially as I slowly 'retire'.

When I launched The Intentional Weaver I had about 250 pre-pub orders, with just 30 for this one.  And that's fine.  Dealing with mailing out 250 books was an enormous undertaking and we are grateful to those 30 who indicated an interest, but also that it is 'only' 30 books.  ;)

I ordered more than 30 because I still have folk I want to give a complimentary copy to for reasons, and the next price break was just a few more copies.  So I will likely have some copies left once the initial orders and gifts are taken care of.  I will list those on ko-fi once I know how many there are.

But ordering from me will be more expensive than ordering via blurb directly because of the shipping costs.  International postage to the US has shot up and it is no longer cheaper to mail to Florida than Nova Scotia.

The blurb website now defaults to US prices, so if you are Canadian, click on the Canadian flag (on my desktop, upper right corner of the screen).  If you are in a different country, check for your flag for appropriate pricing/shipping.

Today I will choose which essays I will read tomorrow and select some show and tell.  The Zoom launch will be recorded and uploaded to my You Tube channel.  And feel free to come with questions.  This will also be an 'ask me anything' opportunity.  :)

I know not everyone will agree with everything I have to say about weaving.  Change one thing, and everything can change.  But what I *hope* is that people will think more deeply about the craft, about what is happening when they take threads and weave them together - whatever, however, they do it.  

Here is the Zoom meeting link:  

Topic: Stories from the Matrix (Ask me anything)

Time: Jul 9, 2023 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82416979306?pwd=dlFVTy9LYnViKzhnU3ZOVlJ5dk9ZUT09

Meeting ID: 824 1697 9306

Passcode: 030247