In Common with Humans

Waving flags, sounding klaxons, and so on, because this is late notice!

For anyone and everyone who may be attending Boskone 45 this weekend (Friday, February 15 – Sunday, February 17, 2008), I will be doing a reading from Mortal Touch during the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading on Friday evening at 9:00pm.

As as matter of fact, I’m organizing the Rapid Fire Reading, having volunteered to do so a few weeks ago. The Boskone committee just got back to me yesterday saying that we could have a space on the schedule (I’d e-mailed them three times! …but I do appreciate what goes into organizing these kinds of events, that’s why I so intrepidly agreed to do the Rapid Fire Reading). Because of the late notice, we may not have as many readers as these events often do, but we’ll see! A Rapid Fire Reading, BTW, is a group of writers who read short excerpts of their work in quick succession. It’s sort of like a wine and cheese tasting, but more entertaining!

So, I will get a chance to perform my work–and if you can make it, you’ll hear some other excellent women authors reading as well!

I wore out my exercycle. A metal part sheared right off! I bought it 11-1/2 months ago, I do use it heavily, and it was a cheapie to begin with–that’s all I could afford. I don’t think I can repair it, since the assembly involved those “permanent” non-reversible bolts, for safety reasons. Drat, drat, drat. I’ll have to see if anyplace is having a sale. I’d like a different model, anyway. The handlebars on this one only got in the way, I pedaled much too hard and fast to keep my hands on them. *sigh*

Anyone seen any sales on exercise equipment lately? 🙁

The rabbit is eating the cats’ dry food. He loves it! The cats are very upset.

Should I be worried? (visions of “Night of the Lepus” going through head…) No wonder that dratted rabbit is so fat!

updates under cut

personal stuff under cut

Personal health stuff under cut

Twenty years ago today, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera opened in the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.

Last spring, I bought some “forced” flowering plants in little pots–a hyacinth and some mini-daffodils. When they died back, I intended to plant the bulbs out in my garden–but I never got around to it.

A few weeks ago, I was amazed to find that the hyacinth was sending up a shoot. It was sitting on a dim, low shelf in the laundry room, and the soil was dust-dry. It hadn’t had a drop of water in months, and the only reason I noticed it at all was because the bunny knocked some things over on that shelf.

So, I started watering the shoot and put the pot out on a sunny windowsill. The cats knocked it all over the floor at least three times. Each time I carefully collected the potting soil and replaced it and the bulb in the pot (and yelled at the cats).

Despite these adversities, the hyacinth bloomed anyway. Here it is, on January 23rd. It wasn’t “forced”–in fact, it had every possible discouragement! It’s a little scruffier than I’d like, but it probably could have used some fertilizer. It smells wonderful.

Maybe this little hyacinth is trying to send a message to all of us who are going through rough times, or struggling to achieve the impossible: “Don’t give up. Ever.”

With all the gruesome tales we hear about cruelty to animals, it’s nice to get a balance, and be reminded that more people love animals than not.

Cat stowaway makes it home again

I’m touched by the fact that not only did the kitty survive that ordeal, but the surprised stranger made an effort to return it, and wanted to keep the cat himself–he even had a name for it!

For several years now, I’ve been seeing deer tracks around my house–not only in the snow, in winter, but any time during the year when the ground was soft enough. Once or twice I’ve stepped outside at night and been startled by the crashing sound of ungulates bounding away through the brush (you’d think they were elephants from the racket they make). I’ve seen them on or near the road when I was driving. But I had never actually seen one of them in my yard–until today. This morning when I got up–and I’m not an early riser–there were three of them, right out in broad daylight, and in no hurry to go anywhere. Here are two of them; the third was backlit too brightly to get a good picture.

(Other wildlife I’ve seen in my yard or within a tenth of a mile from my driveway include foxes, some truly gorgeous ring-necked pheasants, and I’m almost positive, a coyote. I’m just waiting for a bear to turn up. They’ve been spotted in most neighboring towns.)