Rosemary Kirstein

Alas, the reason I have not posted lately is not due to being in a super-productive writing frenzy. It’s due to the fact that my DayJob is at a disaster recovery company. And it’s been hellacious out there. Even though I’m not front-line, the massive influx of work sloshes all the way back into the Accounting department. Plus: year-end tax issues.

Oh, and not to mention shoveling snow. Lots of it.

However -yay! – I am writing. Not as much as I’d want due to See Above, but progress is being made.

Oh, look! More storms on the way. Better hunker down…

Meanwhile, I invite you to enjoy the soothing ukulele stylings of Jake Shimabukuro, as he asks the musical question:

Can Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” be played on four strings?

On my Kindle, I had, waiting in the wings, Catherynne M. Valente’s This Is My Letter To The World: The Omikuji Project, Cycle One. I’ve had it for a while now.

But I had not started reading it, because I knew that if I did, I would use all my non-DayJob, non-gym time reading it. And I’m supposed to be using that time writing.

Yes, I was STRONG!

But then…

This morning, my Kindle automatically downloaded my pre-purchased copy of Jo Walton’s Among Others. Pre-purchased because it had not yet been released, but I knew I wanted it. But today it was officially released, so …

Zing! It shows up on my Kindle.

Oh, look, say I. Maybe I’ll just take a peek…

And you can guess the rest.

Seriously, this is such a lovely book.

I ought to read it really fast, so that I can get back to writing…

But I now feel I owe it to The Omikuji Project to read that next, because it’s been waiting so long.

Decisions…

Okay, I’ll finish Jo’s book, then spend some time fictionless (except for my own), and hit Valente’s book sometime next week.

Actually, I want to do everything simultaneously. Alas, not possible.

It looks like more snow tonight.

Yah. Now I’m getting tired of winter.

Meanwhile, from Minnesota, Wilson sends this:

If I didn’t have to be out driving in it, and didn’t have to shuttle my car around the parking lot to make space for the snowplow to work, I’d enjoy the snow a whole lot more.

In Other News:

Still writing.

Sabine and I just got back from a visit with pal and fellow Genrette member Laurie J. Marks and her wife Deb Mensinger.

You may remember Deb from the online auction that took place last year, to raise money for expenses related to a liver transplant… Well, Deb got the liver a week ago, and is already home!

It will take some time for her to be back at full power, and she’s not exactly comfortable right now, but we were amazed to see her walking a little (with a walker), eating blueberry pancakes, and bossing us around as we took down the Christmas tree.

So, if you bought anything at that auction, you are an angel, and helped save my friend’s life.

Just so you know.

According to frequent commenter Sean, some people used our Snow Day to head out to the beach:

Despite the rain…

Sean was the only person who answered my call for photos of the day from your own part of the world…. but this might be because I put it in the comments, and not as a post!

In other words… it’s not too late!

They told us yesterday at the DayJob that the company would be closed for the blizzard.

So, day off! Except, entirely without monetary remuneration. Unless you use up a vacation day.

Still, I was very glad not to be out driving in the blizzard.

Snow was knee-deep when I shoveled out a path to the birdfeeder….

And hip-deep when I went out to help uncover cars in a multi-unit collaborative car-clearing. Only hip-deep where it was new snow on top of last blizzard’s snow — but still.

I myself am buried in various projects, and trying to prioritize. When I don’t want to prioritize at all, I just want to play!

Because — hey, snow day!

I’m curious as to what it’s like where you are… I don’t think the comment box lets you drop in photos, but if you email a photo to my “contact me at” email address and let me know what part of the world I’m looking at, I’ll create a post of Views of Blizzard Day. (You took some pictures, you know you did. You already put ’em up on Facebook, right? Well, just slide ’em over here.)

Persons in the southern hemisphere are welcome to gloat. Bet you went surfing today.

Send us a picture of that!