Please take part in this year’s Earth Hour.
Check out the Earth Hour website.
(Gayle still recovering from the flu but planning to take part.)
It seems that it’s been quite a while since I did an update. Partly it’s because I’ve been busy. Partly because I’m been a bit under-the-weather. And, partly because everything I’m trying to do has a “but first…” clause.
But first you have to do this before you can do that but before you can do that thing you need to do this other thing. I swear I’m in the midst of some sort of infinite loop part of my life. Eventually, I’m sure I’ll make a break out of this loop — there’s got to be a stop condition somewhere.
Meanwhile, I started a scarf. I needed something I could do a little bit on when I’m waiting for CPU cycles to finish up. I’m trying to break myself of wasting time playing games. If I knit while waiting at least I’ll have something to show for all those 15, 20, 30 second time wasters.
We’re also gearing up to get the February issues of SFRevu and Gumshoe Review up and online for February 1st, 2011. Gumshoe Review will have a new original short fiction story by Douglas Campbell in February. Since it’s near the end of the month most of the reviews and content materials are coming in to be formatted and proofed. It should be a great February issue.
In the scheme of things it’s not much … hardly a heavy dusting, but it has been snowing off and on most of today. It varies from tiny hard little bits to big thin pancake flakes.
I’ve always liked the big flat flakes. They seem to just float down from the sky in lazy drifts. It more like the idealized memory of snow than the reality of plowing, shoveling — getting wet and tired.
But when you can sit with a book and a cup of coffee or tea and just look out every now and then there’s a beauty to it. A calming effect. Maybe it is the silence of snow. Have you ever noticed how hushed it seems to be when it snows — as if the world is holding it’s breath. Or wrapped in cotton — safe from all harm — padded and protected (except cold).
What are your thoughts on snow? Like? Dislike? Life – a long as you don’t have to shovel?
People who know me know that Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Not for gifts (we don’t really do them in our family — just to our mothers and my son). I love the season because people, in general, just seem to be making an extra effort to be pleasant and friendly.
A friend sent me this link to a flash mob event in a food court. Since it is the season. Enjoy.
I remember singing this in high school when I was in chorus. At the time I was a soprano … can’t believe I used to be able to hit those high notes. Still love the song though.
It was a beautiful day in our neighborhood today — engines being revved as someone worked on it, the birds in the trees, and some strange cracking and breaking of branches in the woods. We had to get up early for an appointment, but then spent most of the day on the deck with the cat, just enjoying the chance to be outdoors while it wasn’t hot enough to melt one’s body or cold enough to freeze.
But listening to the sounds of nature, I realized that woodpeckers and sewing machines have the same sort of sound. A rapid buzz or series of taps and stop. Repeat indefinitely. For the sewer it’s to reposition the fabric and continue — especially when sewing short seams like in a quilt. I’d imagine the woodpecker gets a headache from banging about on the trees trying to impress the females with his drumming.
Then the cat took a lot of naps. At one point he stretched out to about twice his usual size and twisted his upper body to the east and the lower to the west as he laid on his back. Cats must have the best backs of the universe. I envy him his ability to twist about and not feel pain. Sigh…if only humans had it so good.
We never figured out what animal was crashing about in the woods. Usually when it’s deer you can see them as they move through the trees, but not today. We’ve seen turkey, quail, possum, and hedgehogs but today it was just noises.
Picked more tomatoes from the garden and the butternut squash (since the vine was dead). Lots more tomatoes ripening. This was also a pretty good year for the garden.
Finally, a weekend day with no appointments or meetings scheduled. Managed to do the shopping for food and mail out books and made it to the bank before checks were too old to cash. Didn’t get to recycling though so guess that has to collect until next week — we don’t have a trash pick up where we live and we pay a private company to pick up the trash. Then since we recycle, we have to take all the recyclables to the center ourselves. Question why does doing the right thing always mean more work?
Heard a noise on the porch a while ago and Paul went to check it out because last night two raccoons were out there eating the cats food. Tonight, we thought they were back but it was a feral cat who dropped by for a late snack with our Emnot. However, Emnot decided to hide behind the blueberry bushes we have on the deck until it finished eating. The feral just moved away to the edge of the car port and sat to wait. Paul put some food out downstairs — maybe the feral will come back. We could always use another good mouser/moler out here in the woods. Since Emnot came to live with us the side yard is much less spongy to walk on with a less holes than it did have.
Actually got some vegetables this year. Then garden is winding down and I’m going to miss the fresh tomatoes. The thing is there are blossoms on the tomato plants and the green pepper plants but the night are dropping down to the 60’s and 50’s at night now. Though today was in the high 70’s. You can almost taste fall in the air. Bought a small orangey-red mum to brighten up the living room.
Got to finish up some reviews for here. Hope to post a review of One Fine Cowboy (Joanne Kennedy) and Bad Heir Day (Wendy Holden) this coming week so watch for that.
Dropped some bookmarks for Capclave at the Border’s in Bowie and Waldorf. Hoping it spreads the word our our local science fiction convention in Rockville, Maryland in October. The Guests of Honor are Connie Willis, Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer. I’m this year’s chair of the convention — luckily, I have a great committee but as the date gets closer I get more anxious that everything turn out well for the participants and attendees.
Have you ever been to a science fiction convention?
We’ve lost power off and on this evening but this last time it’s seemed to stick and we’re still without power after 30 minutes. I realize we’re lucky but nothing has happened near us this evening the storm was hours ago at 3 p.m.-ish and it’s now 11 p.m. Oh, well, guess I get to try out that early to bed, early to rise makes one healthy, weathly, and wise — not.
I’m going to get the flashlight and read because I’m running on battery power here on the laptop. So, what do you do when the lights go out? Play games? Charades? Read by candle light or flashlight? Sleep? Wondering what options others have taken when there’s no electricity?
Today many people will gather together and celebrate a holiday. They’ll gather with family and friends and enjoy a day off from work and perhaps see some amazing fireworks. We’re celebrating our Independence Day. Some may even stop to think that we’re celebrating our freedom to be who we want to be, to worship as we please, to have a say in our own government. Lately, I’ve watched the people of this great country become afraid, to forget that we’re all immigrants, if you go back a couple of hundred years. We’ve always fought for freedom for ourselves and for other oppressed people — maybe we need to rethink what we’re doing and where we’re going now. Do we continue on the road we’re on, or rededicate ourselves to the premises on which our country was founded?
I wanted to put up a video to help celebrate the day but it was difficult to find “America the Beautiful” that focused on the many beauties of this great land. But I finally managed to find one. Enjoy.