Trippin'

We have two trips planned in the foreseeable future. Nothing major (sadly, the writers’ cruise to Mexico on which I was to be teaching was cancelled) but we’re really looking forward to both of them. So amidst everything else I’ve got on my plate, I’ve been poking around to make some tentative plans.

That’s where I need your help. If you have suggestions for either of these places, please let me know!

Boise, ID

This is our not-quite-annual motorcycle trip (which this year won’t even be via motorcycle, since Ken’s throttle hand won’t be up to par yet), called Curve Cowboy Reunion. Mostly BMW LTs, with other BMWs and other bikes mixed in for good measure, the point of this rally is a place with a gorgeous locale; pretty, fun roads to ride; good food; and often a whiskey tasting. Ken will be giving a talk on his IBR experiences one day, too.  :-)

Here’s what I’ve found so far: Old Idaho Penitentiary (opened in 1872, and hopefully haunted!), World Center for Birds of Prey, the historic train depot, the Morris-Knudson Nature Center, and maybe tubing down the river.

Is there anything else that’s a must-see/must-do in Boise? How about restaurants?

We’ll be there from Tuesday evening through Saturday morning.

Vegas, baybee!

The first annual Erotica Authors Association conference will be held in Sin City, as appropriate. We’ll be driving out there on Thursday—the conference is Friday and Saturday—and staying through Monday morning, since driving back from Vegas on a Sunday involves just sitting in traffic forever.

So that gives us Thursday evening (although we may hook up with other conference attendees) and all day and night Sunday for Fun Stuff.

We’ve seen the lions at the MGM multiple times, been to The Secret Garden to see the white tigers and the dolphins andandand!, and seen Bite (erotic vampire show set to 70s and 80s rock). We have no interest in gambling. So what would you suggest?

Possibilities are

• a nice dinner somewhere (Aureole at Mandalay Bay has a certain groovitude given that a faux version of it appears in A Little Night Music, but they appear to be booked and might be a little rich for our tastes anyway). So.
• a show. Morgana recommends Love; I’m curious about O (but holy moly, the price!). I have once again missed the Lipizzan stallions, snarfleblast! Any other recommended shows?
• the Mandalay Bay Aquarium
• the rides at the top of the Stratosphere. We stayed here a couple of years ago and bought the package for the rides, but I ended up with a migraine….
• The Secret Garden again. Because white tigers and lions and dolphins andandand!
• Hoover Dam. I’ve never been there!

We are weird, esoteric, geeky, and random. Onetwothreego!

Mystery fruit

Someone wonderful and lovely sent us another Edible Arrangement! But all the card says is "Get well soon we miss you"!

I know all of my readers are wonderful and lovely…but which one of you sent this? I can't send every one of you a thank-you card!

Soooo…spill!

Argh!

So, I’ve been terrible about keeping up with my Done lists. They seem to end up on my To Do lists, which I’m kinda not supposed to be keeping. But if I don’t, I forget stuff. Oh, the things that fall out of my brain….

Here's this weekend:

Saturday’s Done List

• put away four loads of laundry (one previous load plus three today)
• washed four loads of laundry (darks, lights, hoodies, and delicates)
• dishes
• swept and mopped kitchen
• took out trash and recycling
• put away stuff from Pirate Tourney (or at least put it in the sewing/garb room)
• made dinner (seasoned and heated a chicken dish from a friend)
• watched the second ep of Masterpiece Mysteries “Zen” as well as an ep of “Alphas” with Ken
• worked on lesbian romance collection  (pondered cover art, mocked up sample cover for ebook; finished writing notes for each story; made full document with intro, stories, about the author, etc.) 

Sunday’s Done List

• delivered message to tenant and arranged taking her shopping next week
• went out to lunch with Ken
• went grocery shopping with Ken
• did dishes. twice.
• scooped three litterboxes and refilled the Kitling’s food and water
• did paperwork with Ken
• did 13K words of a copyediting job
• made dinner (stuffed Monterey sole from grocery store, corn on the cob, brown rice)
• answered a bunch of email
• designed a thank-you card for the woman who found Ken after the accident and called 911 and stayed there until emergency services arrived (this involved photopaper, note card stock, and a glue stick, among other things. Fear my crafty power!)
• dealt with a few work-related emails

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s going to be a busy one:

• someone’s coming to replace the windshield on my car. Ken’s dealing with that. Which is a good thing, because they could arrive as early as 8 am
• our cleaning lady is coming to do windows and scrub out our fireplace
• Ken has his first therapy appointment for his hand and shoulder
• we’re having dinner with a friend

Somewhere in there, I have to…wait. I’m not supposed to be making To Do lists. ARGH!

Ken update: Hand, hand, fingers, thumb!

Sorry for the lack of Ken updates…it’s just that there hasn’t been much of anything to update. Until today, that is.

Rejoice! for Ken no longer has pins sticking out of his knuckles and a big clunky thing immobilizing his hand and wrist!  *\o/*

The pins themselves were almost anticlimactic—they just slid right out. He said it felt a little weird, but there was no pain. His hand’s swollen still, the skin is peeling, and the fingers are still stiff. He has his first therapy appointment on Monday, for both his hand and his shoulder. Twice a week for six weeks, and then we’ll see, I guess. He just wants his throttle hand back.  ;-)

Other than that, he still tires easily. For example, Tuesday we went to the Styx/Yes show at The Greek Theatre in Hollywood. We left at about 2:45 to miss traffic, and did so with such competence that we got there half an hour early, so we killed some time drinking tea at Starbuck’s. Styx went on first, so we ditched Yes (sorry…) but ended up going out for a late dinner with friends, so we didn’t get home ’til about 1 am.

He spent most of Wednesday napping as a result.

Thus we’re continuing to lie low and take it easy. Not too many outings, and keeping them short.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, visits are highly recommended to help him from going nuts. We can also go out for lunch or dinner, or the movies, if you’d like to meet up somewhere (provided we don’t have much else scheduled that day). Please. Really. We love our friends and we want to see you!

Busted!

So I was scanning blogs on GoogleReader today and noticed that Rachel Kramer Bussel mentioned an anthology she has a story in…as does Sophie Mouette (my alter ego with Teresa Noelle Roberts). And I thought, did I totally forget I had a story sale? Because I don't remember this one….  O.o

::laughs and laughs::

When I investigated more closely, I realized it wasn't an anthology edited by Rachel. It's Cleis Press's first-ever e-anthology, and they had solicited our story because it was one of their favorites!

So without further ado, may I proudly announced that "Busted" is now available in Soaking Wet: Lesbian Sex Stories!

How does this work again, exactly?

Cassidy, our holistic health coach (hi! We’re Californians!), challenged me today to keep a Done List. Not a To Do list (we’re working on how to suss that out), but a list of what I did today. Because I have a bad habit of ending the day with “crap, I didn’t do shit today,” when in fact I did a lot. Especially given the stresses I’m dealing with right now.

So. I didn’t write them down when I did them (some were before our meeting), but here’s what I remember:

• showered both of us (Ken’s right hand has to be taped up in a bag, etc.)
• took Ken to lunch at Baja Fresh
• bought a pirate hook for Ken for Pirate Tourney tomorrow at the party supply story, a new scale at Bed Bath & Beyond, and an accordion file at Staples for this year’s taxes
• chiro appts for both of us. I’m seriously messed up. The area above my right collarbone is all swollen. WTF?
• met with Cassidy
• went grocery shopping
• put away laundry
• assembled pirate outfits for both of us for tomorrow (Ken assisted)
• sewed lace thingies for my pirate boots (I felt like Ken: let’s wait ‘til the night before an annual event and redo my garb!)
• made dinner (leftover pork chop dish for Ken, whole grain pasta and sauce for me)
• made coleslaw and a pasta dish for the potluck tomorrow (Ken assisted), and printed out ingredients lists
• did dishes
• watched Haven and half of Deadliest Warriors (featuring our SCA friend Virginia!) with Ken
• answered a few emails

The problems here? 1. I didn’t get any work done (save for reading a few emails). 2. I still feel like I didn’t get nearly enough done today. Tons of “to do” things languishing…and it’s just after midnight and I have to get up at 7 am for the event. At which I’m running Gate, because the Exchequer is running Lists, because the Listmistress won’t be there.

My desk is a mess.

I’m going to bed.

Contest winners!

And the winner is…Herman! The story is off to Glimmer Train, and crzydemona, you’ve won the grand prize!

Actually, since there were three runners-up, I’m also going to give prizes to Anonymous (Ernie, is that you?) and Cayswann for Ernie/Ernest. (crzydemona also suggested Clarence, and I’m feeling generous, so she’s going to get two prizes.)

Here’s the deal, folks: Email me (or leave a comment here, but I think you three know my email address, unless Anonymous isn’t who I think he is) and let me know which you’d prefer:

1. An ebook of mine of your choice (I’ll give you a coupon for a free download from Smashwords), or
2. A print book. I have a pile of new or very gently used (as in, I've read them, but they were new when I did) books to give away over the next few months. I don’t have a list pulled together yet, but if you choose this option, I’ll let you know the genres (off the top of my head, I’ve got paranormal romance, erotic anthology, YA, and maybe a literary book or two), and if you pick a genre, I’ll give you the list. Or something. We’ll sort it out.

You have one week (by midnight Monday, August 1) to contact me.

Congratulations!  *\o/*

Let the voting commence!

Thank you to all the people who participated in my naming contest! Dudes, this was a hard one! I think next time I’m going to have to restrict it to one name per entrant.

Because it amuses me, I’m going to share with you my thought processes in narrowing down the field. If you just want to see the top three, skip to the end. But you’ll be missing all the fun.

First I had to take off the people I actually knew in high school, since this story is set at my high school (it came out of a writing exercise at the Short Story Workshop in June): Dwayne, Thaddius/Tad, Vernon, Joel (really? Teri, what’s wrong with Joel?), Maurice/Maury (well, I knew him when I was younger, but close enough).

Jeffery had to go because I have a relative named Jeffery, plus I think Jeffery/Jeff is a perfectly fine name. I also think that Joel and Drew are great names. I waffled a little on Spencer; I like it but I could see where it might be borderline. Theodore was close, but I think Ted isn’t bad. This whole process made me realize another criteria: If the bad name has a decent nickname, it doesn’t count. I know a lot of Bruces, and while they’re geeks in a good sense (SCA folks, etc.), I don’t think it’s a name kids would point and laugh at.

Then there’s Clancy. Are you kidding? What about Clancy Motherf*cking Brown?! Now I’m scared that Clancy Motherf*cking Brown will read this blog and come after me. (Morgana, of course, hopes she’s in the vicinity so she can tell him he’s her pagan lust god. Maybe that will keep Clancy Motherf*cking Brown from killing me.)

I voted against Sheldon and Howard simply because of The Big Bang Theory. Too obviously and currently nerdy!

Also, I’d said “not unrealistic names like Mortimer or Englebert.” Now, both of those are actual names, but in my mind it’s unrealistic that someone would saddle their child with that name nowadays. Not impossible, but pretty damn unlikely. So despite them being real names, I dropped Zephyr, Ignotz, Egbert, and Robespierre.

Besides, Zephyr is clearly homeschooled by his hippie parents (or is the long-lost son of Frank Zappa. Zephyr Zappa is such a freaking awesome name that I’m going to use it someday, I swear), and Ignotz is the weird kid everybody secretly likes because he has access to drugs and knows how to blow up the school in a way nobody would ever be able to trace back to him. Ignotz grows up to be Jackie Earl Haley’s character in Human Target, basically. Robespierre is an exchange student. Egbert…I just don’t know about poor Egbert. Which is why nobody names their child Egbert unless they live in the 9^th century.

I was leaning towards Eugene, but then pondered that it could be shortened to Gene, which isn’t as bad.

So that left me with the following:

• Alvin
• Clarence
• Claude
• Erin (for Aaron)
• Ernie/Ernest
• Francis
• Gilbert
• Godfrey
• Herbert
• Herman
• Lewis
• Norton
• Oswald
• Rupert
• Seymour
• Stuart/Stewart

I’m favoring Ernest, because I think Ernie’s just as bad (::waves hi to our friend Ernie::), but Ken doesn’t think Ernie’s that bad. Ken’s favorite is Clarence. But I confess there’s something about Herman that fits the bill pretty well, too.

So I’m going to toss it back out to the masses: Vote for your favorite of those three. One vote per entrant. Vote here at Enchantments, not on Facebook/Twitter. Use the little voting thingie below instead of leaving a comment (but you are welcome to leave a comment to discuss the reason for your choice). Voting will close on Sunday at midnight Pacific time.

New Andrea Dale story available from Soul's Road Press

"Now You See Her"

A city couple finds erotic inspiration in high-rise voyeurism by spying on the woman’s old college roommate dominating her latest naïve assistant. A short story of sex in the city, complete with cameras and a dollop of humiliation and kink, from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Now You See Her” is a companion story to “Come to my Window,” also available from Soul’s Road Press.

To read an interview with Andrea Dale about “Now You See Here,” click here!

“Now You See Her” originally appeared in Peep Show: Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists (Cleis Press, 2009).

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Naming help needed

Okay, I need a name. A somewhat nebbish male name. A not unrealistic name (e.g, Mortimer or Englebert), but a name that a geeky high school kid should never have been saddled with, that just cements his unpopularity.

The story is modern (literary mystery).

"Who are we playing against?" I asked X who, despite having lived here his whole life (and his father is one of the janitors, because name your kid "X" and then kick him while he's down), cares even less about the [football] game than I do.

Please leave suggestions here (on the blog) rather than FB/Twitter, so I have 'em all in one place. The person who suggests the name I use gets a free book.  :-)

More Scary Kisses ebook

More Scary Kisses, an anthology of paranormal romances that includes my story "Matchmaker," is now available as an ebook! So if you've been waiting to read it on your Kindle, now's your chance!

"College Reunion" now available from Soul's Road Press

"College Reunion" by Andrea Dale

At her college reunion, a woman tells her husband a steamy story about overhearing a couple having sex in a study lounge. Little does she know the tale will inspire her husband to bend her over an old oak desk in the very same lounge and give her bottom a blistering she won’t soon forget…. A sexy spanking short story from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

"With stories like 'College Reunion' by Andrea Dale…who’s got time to study?"
— Cleis Press

“College Reunion” originally appeared in C is for Co-Eds (Cleis Press, 2007)

Cover photo by Forever Captured / iStockPhoto.

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Updatey-date

I apologize for the lack of entries lately. A combination of not much to report and too much stuff to do. Which seems like an oxymoron, but it really isn't. Also, our Internet has been flaky and/or completely out for two days, coming up on three. The iPad (and Bluetooth keyboard) helps a lot, but isn't ideal for certain projects. Like anything that involves an attachment of something that needs to be saved on a computer, or attached from a computer. Argh. So briefly…Wednesday I had an eye appointment, which Morgana kindly squired me to, as my eyes were dilated and I couldn't drive home by myself. I forgot that always makes my eyeballs hurt. Well, not so much hurt as just be there. One shouldn't be constantly made aware of one's eyeballs; it's just not natural. So I got little else done that afternoon. Although it was nice to learn that my verrrrry thin (lattice-like) retina in my left eye repaired itself with some scar tissue in the past year. Looks just like I got laser surgery. Only cheaper.

A friend of Ken's visited that day, and they categorized all the bits and bobs that had been delivered with Ken's motorcycle. Still no sign of his wallet (which had been in his jacket pocket, a pocket that was sliced through when emergency services dealt with him), his passport (which had been in his computer bag), a pair of earrings he bought for me during the rally (also in his computer bag), his radar detector (which could've gone flying during the accident itself), or the extra final drive he'd carried just in case (which had been in a saddlebag). Some of that seems a little suspicious, but there's nothing we can really do. We ordered new credit cards (thankfully he'd stripped almost everything out of his wallet beforehand) and have an appointment to get him a new driver's license.

Thursday he had an appointment with a hand surgeon. No big surprises there, and he has an appointment to get the pins taken out in three weeks. After that, it's 3–6 months of therapy, and his hand should be back to normal.

Then Ken decided that the back tire of the bike had to be swapped out right now, because he wanted the bike dealer to pick up the bike Friday (so they could officially proclaim it totalled, thus moving the insurance paperwork along). Right now. No, I didn't have time to put away the few bits of food I'd picked up on the way home from the doctor's. No, I didn't have time to change out of my clean shorts before smearing tire gunk on myself. No, I didn't have time to arrange someone else to help with this so I could have a little time to get stuff done. Oh, nooooo…. (It's a good thing I love him!)

Today our cleaning lady came, and it's hard to describe how good a clean house feels. It was long overdue. When she does the big stuff, I feel like I can maintain, and that's a stress relief right there.

I was supposed to have a hair appointment, but my Fabulous Gay Hairdresser called to say he was moving salons and thus wouldn't be working today. Seems a little last-minute to tell me…. But I'll follow him to his new place, and he'll be calling me next week to reschedule. Unfortunately, this comes on the heels of me rescheduling twice (because of travel), so I rather look like Captain Caveman right now….

The bike dealership picked up the bike this afternoon, and then we toddled off to the local Urgicare, which is also a dr's office, because we don't have a GP and it was time for the stitch in Ken's side to be removed (where the chest tube drain had been). It looked a little red to me, so I didn't think we should wait 'til Monday. After almost two hours waiting there, they read Ken's temp as 101°, and the doctor didn't feel he had all the necessary equipment to do a post-op (which is not…oh, nevermind), so he directed us off to the hospital ER. By the time Ken was seen there, his temp was 99°, the redness was just the pinkness of healing, and the price of having on stitch removed and a prescription for just-in-case antibiotics filled was $350. O.o

However, it was worth the price of admission to have the doctor ask Ken if he smoked (no) or drank (rarely). To which Ken added, pointing at me, "She's my vice." Love is a drug, baby, and you're on good painkillers. Hee.

By then it was 7 pm, so we grabbed dinner at a new burger place (okay, but nothing to write home about, despite a couple of steampunk-esque light fixtures that I couldn't get decent pictures of), and have spent the rest of the evening napping (Ken), sitting with the kitlings outside (me), and watching various TV (both of us).

As for tomorrow…well, Grimoire is showing clear signs of at best another bladder/urinary infection (he and Eostre both get them about every two months, for no reason anyone can fathom) or at worst kidney disease, so I'll be carting him off to the vet. I also need to pick up Ken's prescription. I'd like to sneak off to a coffee shop to have Internet on a Real Computer [TM], but we shall see. I will likely be calling the cable company. Other than that…no promises!

(Remember: Visits to Ken are the best present you can give him right now! Call to schedule!)

Help needed

We do need help with a few things, if you can spare the time:

• Someone to change the tire on Ken's bike. He can supervise/instruct. Preferably early on Friday so he can have the BMW dealer pick it up later that day.

• Someone to go to Costco with me to schlep heavy things (cat litter, flats of soda). Sometime next week is fine.

• Folks to visit Ken. He really does need friends to keep him from going stir crazy. Call or email me to schedule.

Thank you!

To do, doing, done

I actually accomplished a fair amount yesterday…guess my To Do list was the right level of gentle but do-able:

• made appt with orthopedic surgeon re: Ken’s hand
• wrote and enveloped check to lovely friend who rescued Ken’s bike from the tow yard
• wrote and enveloped letter to Nevada Highway Patrol requesting a copy of the accident report
• did dishes
• put away laundry (finally)
• threw in another load of laundry
• bought a battery for the garage door opener and ink for the printer (allowing me to print letters, contracts, etc.)
• printed, signed, enveloped contracts for short story sale
• canceled flights to Colorado for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• emailed re: how to release tickets for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• made rice and steamed broccoli to go with leftover tilapia dish
• toddled over to Textile Guild to say hi to everyone for a bit

on deck for today:

• eye appointment (oh yay, I’ll spend the afternoon with my eyes dilated)
• many, many Chronicler emails
• work emails
• cuddle with Ken and watch another show or two
• wrap sister’s family’s long overdue holiday gifts
• call tree guy to cut back our lemon tree now that a good portion of it has fallen over
• call gopher people to ask question about bill
• call sisters
• no doubt more dishes
• put away latest load of laundry (no worries; it’s small)
• writing…

Question for my foodie friends

A generous local friend made some food for us, which is awesomely awesome, and I have a question about one of the dishes in terms of reheating.

It's tilapia, sliced lemons, and celery in a lemony sauce. There's a bit of something else green I can't identify; possibly green onions?

Anyway, it arrived last night just-cooked and was quite yummy. Tonight I reheated just the fish and celery and sauce in the microwave, having discarded the lemon slices that were on those pieces of fish. It was still yummy, but something in it had taken on a bitter taste.

Is it the lemons, and should I remove them immediately? Is it because the original dish is in a metal pan and that's reacting to the lemons?

Is it the celery?

Is it because I reheated the fish in the microwave?

Or is it something else I'm not thinking of?

We have two more helpings of this and if I can minimize the bitter taste for Wednesday night's supper, that would be groovy.

Thanks!

I dunno. You tell me.

Many of you, upon learning of Ken’s accident, made a point of reminding me to take care of myself during this crazy time. And I appreciate that, because while I intellectually know that I can’t be there for Ken if I’m not mentally and physically healthy and rested (and I always give the same advice to others), I’m not necessarily good at putting it into practice.

Also, I know I’m not good at asking for help. It’s hard for me, for whatever reason. Oh, there are some projects where I’m just peachy fine at delegation, but when it comes to everyday life, not so much. Morgana even offered to set up a Yahoogroup for me (as a friend of ours did when she had a hysterectomy)…but here’s the problem:

I don’t know what help I need.

I mean, folks have already brought some meals, and that is absolutely a huge help. I don’t enjoy cooking, and although I picked up ingredients for several meals, it’s nice to know I have a few things I can grab out of the freezer when I just can’t face cooking.

I kinda want to say it would be nice if someone could do the dishes, but really. It’s just some dishes.

Admittedly, I was feeling overwhelmed before Ken’s accident even happened, and had a bit of meltdown the day I drove down to Ontario for the IBR finish. I was planning to talk to Ken about how I needed help and he needed to take over some of the responsibilities of the house. (Hah.)

And yet…I can’t look at anything and see where I could ask a friend to pitch in. Most of this stuff is stuff I just need to do, or would take so long to explain to someone that it would be faster to do myself.

I made what I hope is a gentle To Do list for tomorrow, and there’s nothing on it I can foist off on someone else, except maybe the errands, but it would do me good to get out for a little bit. (Ken’s self-sufficient enough that I can leave for an hour or two—if I thought I needed to be out longer, I would ask someone to come and hang out with him.) The rest of my list is things like phone calls and emails and wrapping some presents so I can mail them and get them out of my house, and canceling my flight to Denver because I can’t go to the Styx show at Red Rocks (did I mention I screwed up tickets to both the Greek and LA County Fair shows, so this would have been my only front-row show by a long stretch? Yeah. Fuck.). I have managed to get receipts input into Quicken, and I’ve done laundry (still need to put it away, though). The cleaning lady is coming on Friday, which will help immensely.

So what do I ask friends to do, when they ask if they can help? They can’t write my emails, or write my novels or submit my stories (and yes, I could take time off from this, but I’m actually itching to write right now—too long without words and I get all out of sorts).

I guess all I can ask for is this: Schedule time to stop by and see Ken. He’s going stir crazy. For that matter, so am I, so feel free to call me or come over and hang out for a bit.

And if you can think of something you can help out with, let me know. Because I’m fresh out of ideas.

Home, the longer version

So. We are home. Home sweet home…. Since June 7, I have been home 4.5 days. I really don’t want to leave again for a good long time, so it’s a good thing most of this month has been cancelled! We’d been saying we wanted a rainy weekend to curl up and burn through the shows saved on the DVR and even a few movies…well, now we have it.

Anyway. For the IBR, Ken had purchased insurance that would cover transport from an accident site to a hospital, as well as transport from that hospital to one near home. I pinged the insurance folks the day after I arrived in Reno to confirm what coverage Ken had, and on Tuesday (once Ken was stabilized and the holiday weekend was over), I called them. Turned out they contract with folks in London, and I was told I’d get a call from them in about 15 minutes. Didn’t happen. I called back the next day, which finally got the ball in motion. Sloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy.

So slowly that by the time they got their I’s dotted and T’s crossed, no doctor at the local hospital would admit Ken, because he was well enough to be released. (Ironically, part of the delay was the insurance co’s concern that Ken wouldn’t be stable enough for air travel.) In other words, Epic Insurance Fail.

The hospital had an ICU full of patients recovering from the holiday weekend who really needed beds in the regular ward, and there was nothing else they could do for Ken. When we got the word on Friday that there was nowhere to transport Ken to, we booked a rental car, I picked it up, we packed our stuff and Ken into the car (with the hospital’s stellar help), and off we went.

I want to segue here to say we have nothing but gushing praise for Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Every single person who worked with Ken was utterly amazing. From the great surgeons who removed his spleen and put his right hand back together, to the social worker who called to calmly tell me he’d been in an accident, to the nurses and assistants who cheerfully and efficiently cared for him every day, you have our undying gratitude. You rocked the house.

As I mentioned in the last post, what then transpired was a 9.5-hour drive home, with two brief stops for food and gas and whatnot. We debated stopping partway (since my night vision isn’t the best on the less-lit highways) but we really wanted to be home with the kitties, and it was the best decision. We debated the difference between a meadow and a lea and a pasture (not to be confused with the bog/marsh/fen deliberation), listened to various XM radio stations (hair metal, 80s in 8, vinyl classics), and discussed what bands/artists we want to see (both possible and “if I had a time machine/Holodeck”) and where in the world we still want to travel.

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Ken’s dad and his wife visited us today, bringing lunch with them, which was fantastic, because I’d used the last two eggs to make Ken’s breakfast and hadn’t had the chance to shop yet. (The milk was still good, praise the gods, so I was able to have tea. I don’t know if I would have survived on only 4 hours of sleep* without tea.) They brought my car (which had been rescued from the hotel in Ontario CA by our friends Nanci and Lenny—thank you again, awesome friends!) and went with me to return the rental car, at which point I was also able to do a good food shopping. Alas, by supper time I was so exhausted that I ordered pizza. I’ll get an earlier start on food tomorrow—plus a local friend has cooked some meals for us that will be delivered tomorrow.

I also managed to do laundry (but not yet put it away), unpack my suitcase, and sort mail. And Ken and I did watch episodes of Leverage, Covert Affairs, Graham Norton, and Craig Ferguson (the Neil Gaiman interview, which I saved because I thought Ken would be amused by it).

I have a bazillion and one things to do (I haven’t even mentioned the Short Story Workshop, or the latest stories that are available for sale, and I want to talk about my sister, and…) but I’m taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow Ken’s mom is coming to visit, so I’m going to do a Trader Joe’s run and fill our water bottles and maybe get a few other errands done.

And write. I’m sorely in need of the writing….

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*Remember when I said “If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay”?  ::laughs hollowly::  First one of the neighbors decided to start yipping, then the lawn guys showed up to mow, and then the neighbor kids started shrieking, and Grimmy really wanted attention/breakfast, and….  O.o

Home

We are home. We left at about 5 pm and arrived home at 2:30 am. I never want to drive that fucking long in my life again. Although Ken was adorably loopy on pain medicine.... "I am agreeful," he said at one point. Which is one of the reasons I love him, of course.

Did I mention that on Hwy 14, a fucking coyote was in the middle of the road?

It's 3 am and Ken is asleep on the media room couch and I've scritched the kitties and had my much-needed glass of wine. I'm going to bed. If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay.

New stories from Soul's Road Press

Two new lesbian stories from me as Andrea Dale!

"Subtle"

Two lesbians discover whips and chains aren’t always necessary…that sometimes, it’s more fun to submit in psychologically kinky ways. A steamy hot short story by a legendary erotica heavy hitter.

“Subtle” originally appeared in Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage (Alyson Press, 2006)

Cover image by Artem Merzlenko / iStockPhoto

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

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"Your Gift to Me"

One lesbian teaches another that her body is worth expensive, frothy scraps that reveal more than they show. A sweet, sexy, and romantic lesbian short story about the joys of pretty lingerie, by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Your Gift to Me” originally appeared in Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear (Alyson Press, 2006)

Cover image by Tatyana Ogryzko / iStockPhoto

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords