In The Pipeline

Welcome to In The Pipeline, the most random feature going here at the Chino House. One part news, one part links and one part blatant self-promotion. It’s the weekend though, so let’s celebrate by wearing warm slippers and trying not to cry when the sun goes down at 4:30pm. Just me? Ok.

Also I am trying to catch up on my writing goals for NaNoWriMo. I hit 18500 words today, and though I am pretty sure they are all total junk, I am proud to still be plugging away. Favorite pep talk this week was from Catherynne M Valente. These words helped me keep writing:

Write something true. Write something frightening. Write something close to the bone. You are on this planet to tell the story of what you saw here. What you heard. What you felt. What you learned. Any effort spent in that pursuit cannot be wasted. Any way that you can tell that story more truly, more vividly, more you-ly, is the right way.

So holler. Tell it loud and tell it bright and tell it slant and tell it bold. Tell it with space whales and silent films or tell it with quiet desperation or tell it with war or tell it with dragons or tell it with tall ships or tell it with divorce in the suburbs or tell it with dancing skeletons and a kraken in the wings.

Tell it fast before you get scared and silence yourself. You’ll never wish you’d held back a little more.

 

Yes!

Ok, more links!

I did a bit of riding around London on a bike last week, something I am keen to do in new cities since I discovered how much fun it was in Dublin. I just used the Barclays Bike rentals around London, but here are five different ways to see London by bike. I might try another one next time!

Also while I was in London I rode this wonderful cable car over the river where you can glimpse the city from the sky for just a few pounds. It is much less expensive than the London Eye and super fun. We rode it at night, but here are some gorgeous photos of it during the daytime.

Maybe my favorite thing I did in London was attend this amazing Eating London Food Tour! Another blogger I was with did a great write up of the tour so you can read all about it if you want! I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in London. It’s an amazing way to spend a day in the city, plus at the end you feel like a local because you know where the all the hip places are!

My 14 year-old’s take on our trip to the Lake District.

Have you ever seen one of these walls? I love this idea! What would you write in one of the blanks?

Um, I need this t-shirt.

We’re supposed to get snow next week. Um, yikes! But apparently it’s already snowing in lots of places in Europe. These pictures of the snow in the Black Forest of Germany are making me hope our snow will be this pretty.

A BBC TV show about the harbor (harbour) in  Aberdeen. It’s still a hard life out on the sea.

Y’all know I’ve been struggling with my tiny kitchen so this made me smile.

Bookmarking this list of unusual things to do in Scotland.

Insanely useful info for anyone running their own business. Or thinking about it. Oh, and this too. Even better? Working generosity into your business!

Last week I won a photography award. I was extremely flattered, especially since I don’t really consider myself a photographer. The most exciting bit is that I won a camera! Now I just need Whitney to come teach me how to use it!

I hope you guys have the best weekend ever! We’re going to try to make the most of our fewer and fewer hours of daylight way up here in Aberdeen!

LOVES!