Huntington photos

I got a wild hair and uploaded my photos of our trip to The Huntington Library already! Enjoy!

Blink, blink

I had an ophthalmologist appointment today and thus had my eyes dilated, which means I spent most of the afternoon peering at the TV (three eps of Northern Exposure!) because I couldn't focus close-up. Thus I'm entirely behind on everything I need to be doing, and a group of us is off to the The Huntington Library tomorrow for high tea and rose-sniffing, so most of tomorrow is shot as well.

So, in lieu of actual content, a couple of pictures. The first is from our Shire's Twelfth Night celebration in late December, and the second is from last weekend's Black Oak Lodge. Both taken by Cat Ellen. Full sets of pictures can be found here (click on 2007 for Twelfth Night and 2008 for BOL).

We are just too cute, aren't we?

If you can spare a dime...

Our friend Julie has MS, and every year she participates in a MS Walk to raise money for research. Go Julie!

I know we're all bombarded every day by requests for money. We have to pick and choose who we donate to. That's cool. As long as we give something somewhere... But if you can spare some change, please consider this one. If you can't, or if you have other charities you prefer, that's just fine.  :-)

Here's what Julie says:

Let your friends and family know that they can make a tax deductible donation online through my MS Walk website (the link is at the bottom of this message). They can also sponsor me with a check. Make it out to the National MS Society and mail it to me. I will make sure it gets logged in my sponsor sheet and I will forward it to the MS Society. My address is:

Julie Holbert
P.O. Box 1285
Twin Peaks, CA 92391

Any gift large or small will make a difference in my life and in the lives of all people with MS.

Thank you!! You'll never really know how much your kindness and support have meant to me.

Hugs,
Julie

Click here to visit my personal page.

Click here to view the team page for Mountain Movers.

Goodness

Finally, a hint of good news! Harlequin Blaze has asked to see a partial and synopsis for Out of the Frying Pan, based on the query letter we sent them. Not a sale, of course, but after two form rejections, it’s awfully heartening to get a nibble of interest.

And more good news! Not only is my hair purple again, but my Fabulous Gay Hairdresser agreed that there was finally enough white hairs in the clump at the front of my head that he could start pulling them out and not dyeing them. Of course, it’ll take a few months for them to grow out, but next time I go in he’s thinking about lightly bleaching them to hasten the progress. He thinks I’m hilarious for wanting to do this. :-)

And I came up with some stunningly awesome ideas for Ghosted while I was sitting under the dryer reading a book completely unlike Ghosted. Go figure! Now, to get my butt in the chair and finishing writing the darned thing!

Tonight I wandered over to Morgana’s to do some sewing, and finished my messenger bag for SCA events (all it needs is a button and buttonhole, which requires me figuring out the new sewing machine, which has approximately 762 buttonhole feet and options), repairs on a small pouch and a pot holder, and a kumihimo braid (Kingdom award cord).

Happy news to post about are A Good Thing. I’ve been feeling vaguely under the weather; nothing specific, just general malaise and minor complaints. Not enough sleep, etc. It’s a boost to have some things to celebrate!

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Currently Reading: Magic Study, Maria V. Snyder
Lately Listened To: Oh, the stupid songs I’ve had stuck in my head; you really don’t want to know.
Recently Watched: New Amsterdam

Mary Anne Mohanraj interview!

Come on over to Lust Bites today to read my interview with the insanely multitalented Mary Anne Mohanraj. She's a writer, editor, academic, new mom, artist, cook... Is there nothing this woman doesn't do?!

This is the universe calling...

I just took an online quiz (I don't take most of them, because they're either so obvious that I can manipulate the results or they're asking only either/or questions and my response is "it depends) to find out what Winnie-the-Pooh character I am, and the answer was Rabbit.

It said I expect too much from everyone, including myself, and I should cut myself some slack once in a while.

If that wasn't a rigged quiz, I don't know what it was...

::looks around nervously::

Hit and miss

Happily back from Black Oak Lodge (where it hailed!). I’ve just finished a cup of tea and a ginger-lemon crème, and I feel almost human again. (I’ll feel fully human after I shower, and truly settled once we’re unpacked and the laundry’s in.)

Came home to cats who tried to convince us the nice tenant lady hadn’t fed them and, in fact, they were quite certain they hadn’t been fed in several weeks prior to our leaving.

Also waiting for me were two rejections: from Talebones for “Testing the Waters” (two things underlined in the form letter: “didn’t hook me fast enough” and “try me again”) and from Weird Tales for “Heaven Has Eyes.” I’ll find some time this afternoon to determine their next markets, plus I have two other stories to print and postally submit to the UK.

In good news, there was also an e-mail from our friends Nanci & Lenny letting us know that Fish (former lead singer of Marillion and a brilliant solo artist in his own right) is playing the Hollywood House of Blues in June! Tickets have been purchased! The last time we saw him in the U.S. was 1997, and we only managed to see him once in the UK when we lived there.

Oh, and the hives had pretty much disappeared by Friday night, so hurrah for that! I feel ready to hit the ground running tomorrow…which is a good thing, because we have to take the cats to the vet between 7 and 8 a.m.…

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Currently Reading: The Dark Garden, Eden Bradley
Lately Listened To: SCA-type songs
Recently Watched: Torchwood, Northern Exposure