General updates and comments

Here we sit on the eve of another big storm. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. The most that the forecasts agree on is that out here, we’ll get 7 to 8 inches (18 to 20 cm) of heavy snow and then sleet, or freezing rain, or rain. That’s on top of the 8 inches (20 cm) of snow we already have on the ground, a little of which has melted or evaporated in the last 24 hours, since it was above freezing yesterday. Today it’s only about 21 degrees F (-6 C). It hasn’t gone up or down all day! Oddly enough, the barometer is very high at the moment. We’ve had a lot of days way below the normal average for December, and we’re getting another below-normal blast after the storm goes by. Last year, the first part of December was way above normal!

I almost never go to the post office on Saturdays, but I decided to run over there this morning because I’m waiting for one more package to arrive. Yowsers–the post office lot was so full, every space was taken and there were cars lined along the edges of the parking areas on both sides of the building. The line inside, from the counter, stretched the length of the lobby and around a corner! I parked my car at the DPW yard next door and walked to the post office, which was tricky because there is no sidewalk, and the edge of the road was former slush with deep plow tread tracks that had frozen rock-hard and slippery. Good thing I’m so fit! 🙂 My package hadn’t arrived. I came home and hauled in firewood.

I had all my major shopping done–much of it online–and all my Yule cards mailed by December 10th. I added a lot of new names this year and sent out about 47 cards. (If you’re reading this and aren’t on my list, and would like a card, send me your snail-mail address!) I made most of them on the computer, which I enjoy doing, but it means a lot of time spent hunting for just the right photographs. I also had two December birthdays to honor with gifts and cards. Those cards were also custom-made, and the gifts had to get out on deadline, so they took priority. Last week, I participated in two conference calls for Independent Publishers of New England, and now I’ve joined the Board (unless there are major objections from any current members). Then I was accepted to Blogcritics, and needed to meet a 24-hour deadline to get an article done for them.

This week, I spent nearly two whole days doing cards and finishing gift orders, so they would be done, and I could forget about them until my sister and her family arrive on the 25th. Subsequently, my computer came down with a virulent piece of malware, and on Wednesday I spent about seven hours involuntarily off-line while I cleaned malware off one laptop and upgraded the virus protection on the other one. At least I got some cooking done! Although whether I actually need all these iced gingerbread cookies (100% whole wheat, honey and molasses, about four times the spices the recipe calls for and enough grated fresh ginger root to clear your sinuses–now that’s comfort food! *wry smile* ) is another story. With the computer problems finally settled, I needed to write another article for Blogcritics, because they ask writers to contribute at least once per week. That was uploaded yesterday morning, and then I worked on adding social bookmarking tags and links to my own blogs. Along with these accomplishments, I’ve written to [self-publishing] listserv and several individuals at length about various publishing-related questions, and I helped a moderator in the OVC with a very, very nasty troll problem on one of the messageboards (so nasty that that messageboard has been shut down and deleted! Long story…). Not to mention the cumulative hour or so I spent shoveling snow!

I got my hair cut yesterday, and I gave my hairdresser a card with a holiday “tip,” since she’s been cutting my hair now almost every month for a couple of years. She told me that her sister, who is only 37, was just diagnosed with breast cancer. “Cancer’s going around,” she said somberly.

I haven’t gotten around to any holiday decorating. I bought a plain balsam wreath and trimmed it with wreath decorations I had, and hung it on the outside of the front storm door so it really shows. Trouble is, my house is set back so far from the road, no one can really see it unless they’re coming up the driveway. The wreath seems to be all I’m in the mood for. The living room rearrangement I did in October was so drastic, it’s still a novelty, and it precludes most of the decorating I used to do. Last year’s lights really jacked up my electric bill, too–I was a bit shocked at how much. So, no lights or tree this year, so far, anyway.

Hmm, don’t mean to sound all lugubrious and depressed. I’m not really a big fan of the holidays. On the plus side: Saturday is my shortest workout, and I’ve got a new loaf of bread rising, so I can have warm fresh bread for supper. I have the 2008 Celestial Guide date book, which I depend on to organize my life. 🙂 And I just got a positive comment on my new Blogcritics article (I’m bracing for negative ones–I wrote about this news story about the post-doc research assistant who has filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution just because he said he doesn’t believe in evolution. You can read my article here). More comments coming in…which is good, I want Blogcritics to regard me as a valuable contributor!