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Sep. 19th, 2011
the day off
Sep. 19th, 2011 02:08 pmI’m not working today, which doesn’t mean I gave in to my slothfull tendencies. I watered the flowerbeds. I weeded. (“Again?! How big is your backyard?”) The backyard is quite large, but there’s one 100x70 area that normally is bare dirt, but, now that we’ve finally been getting ample rain, that area has responded the way one would expect. I’ve been plucking weeds away for at least one hour every weekend day, usually until it gets too hot or until gnats become especially irritating. I’ve got something to show for my labors anyway, and a 20x10 patch is all that’s left. Unfortunately part of it shares space with a cactus, which means I’ll have to be very prudent unless I want the cactus debris to turn my fingertips into pin-cushions.
After all that yardwork fun, I loaded our huge old TV and DVD player into the minivan to see if Goodwill was interested. They were so off the van it went. They wouldn’t take the TV’s desk so I brought that back home, where I took the circular saw to it so that only parts small enough to fit into the garbagecan would be left. I then put some summer stuff away in boxes in the garage.
As a result of all this activity, I haven’t been able to do any of the reading I had hoped for, but c’est la vie. Besides, by doing this today, I won’t have to spend time on it next weekend. I guess I’ll now write a short blog entry about some of the reading I have been able to do. Then I’ll be off to the vet… The results of Cagney’s tests came in and the little guy does have a bladder infection. They want to take an x-ray, and give him some antibiotics. He should be ok though.
After all that yardwork fun, I loaded our huge old TV and DVD player into the minivan to see if Goodwill was interested. They were so off the van it went. They wouldn’t take the TV’s desk so I brought that back home, where I took the circular saw to it so that only parts small enough to fit into the garbagecan would be left. I then put some summer stuff away in boxes in the garage.
As a result of all this activity, I haven’t been able to do any of the reading I had hoped for, but c’est la vie. Besides, by doing this today, I won’t have to spend time on it next weekend. I guess I’ll now write a short blog entry about some of the reading I have been able to do. Then I’ll be off to the vet… The results of Cagney’s tests came in and the little guy does have a bladder infection. They want to take an x-ray, and give him some antibiotics. He should be ok though.
from the Realms of Fantasy
Sep. 19th, 2011 05:03 pmLate last night I finished getting caught up with the latest issues of magazine ”Realms of Fantasy".
My favorite tales in the April issue… First there was Lisa Goldstein’s ”Little Vampires”, in which we are reminded that not all vampires drink blood and that not all of them are supernatural. There was also Von Carr’s ”The Strange Case of Madeleine H. Marsh (Aged 14 ¼)”, in which geeky teenager is quite upset to find that Lovecraft’s Elder Gods have taken residence in the house’s basement and how will she explain that when her parents come back from their trip?
June… In David D Levine’s ”The Tides of the Heart”, a lady plumber who specializes in watery problems of a supernatural origin finds herself with a hard case to solve when a water nymph can’t escape from the pipes of a very old Portland house scheduled for demolition and her efforts to free herself are causing seismic disturbances. My favorite in that issue is Thea Hutcheson’s ”The Good Husband”. It’s set in the last days of the Civil War and, in one part of the country, one woman holds the key to the land’s fertility, but she’s alone, until one man comes back from the War.
August… Kate Riedel’s ”Collateral Damage” is about a woman whose life was completely thrown off tracks when her kid sister disappeared decades ago in a blizzard, only to reappear today in another blizzard. W.R.Thompson’s ”Snake in the Grass” has an accountant who wishes he had made better decisions about his life and strikes a deal with You-Know-Who. My favorite was Naomi Kritzer’s ”Isabella’s Garden”, in which a very young girl turns out to have such a Green Thumb that any seed she puts in the ground will grow, even if the seed is a jelly bean or a quarter.
There is plenty more to enjoy in the Realms, especially Theodora Goss's "Folkroots" column.
My favorite tales in the April issue… First there was Lisa Goldstein’s ”Little Vampires”, in which we are reminded that not all vampires drink blood and that not all of them are supernatural. There was also Von Carr’s ”The Strange Case of Madeleine H. Marsh (Aged 14 ¼)”, in which geeky teenager is quite upset to find that Lovecraft’s Elder Gods have taken residence in the house’s basement and how will she explain that when her parents come back from their trip?
June… In David D Levine’s ”The Tides of the Heart”, a lady plumber who specializes in watery problems of a supernatural origin finds herself with a hard case to solve when a water nymph can’t escape from the pipes of a very old Portland house scheduled for demolition and her efforts to free herself are causing seismic disturbances. My favorite in that issue is Thea Hutcheson’s ”The Good Husband”. It’s set in the last days of the Civil War and, in one part of the country, one woman holds the key to the land’s fertility, but she’s alone, until one man comes back from the War.
August… Kate Riedel’s ”Collateral Damage” is about a woman whose life was completely thrown off tracks when her kid sister disappeared decades ago in a blizzard, only to reappear today in another blizzard. W.R.Thompson’s ”Snake in the Grass” has an accountant who wishes he had made better decisions about his life and strikes a deal with You-Know-Who. My favorite was Naomi Kritzer’s ”Isabella’s Garden”, in which a very young girl turns out to have such a Green Thumb that any seed she puts in the ground will grow, even if the seed is a jelly bean or a quarter.
There is plenty more to enjoy in the Realms, especially Theodora Goss's "Folkroots" column.