I know, I know. I took another blog hiatus and left you all wondering where I’ve been. OK, the four of you who read this actually DO know what I’ve been up to, but it looks really bad to not have blogged for weeks on end.
No, I wasn’t run over by a bus and in the hospital. I didn’t win the lottery and run off to Tahiti with a hot young thing. I wasn’t buried by an avalanche of paper and dust bunnies. And I wasn’t chained to my desk at the office and fed bread and water until I finished a project.
Really, there just hasn’t been much to say. I have a boring, regular life that just doesn’t lend itself to blog material. And no one has given me food for thought lately.
But to update you on the last month, we lost WebDoggie Kenya to the brain aliens about a month ago. It was painful to let her go even though we didn’t want her to suffer. Her passing left a big hole in our hearts and lives. One of the big things we noticed right away was how quiet the house was. We had gotten so used to her constantly following us around the house, dragging the nails of her right front paw across the linoleum. And since she thought she was a lapdog (at 65 pounds!), she was always up in our chair next to us. Suddenly it’s quieter and we have extra room in our chairs and our bed. But we continue to miss her silly antics and beautiful face.
On another front, I flew off to Seattle to attend the Emerald City Romance Writers Conference. I caught up with Malibu Pam and Claire Delacroix/Deborah Coooke (who gave Saturday’s keynote address) and had a wonderful time visiting with both of them. Sadly, while I remember the catch phrase “Remember The Tartar Sauce!” from Deborah’s keynote, I can not longer precisely recall the reason for it. Must remember to ask her again.
While in Seattle I managed to make a expedition with my partner-in-yarn, the aforementioned Ms. Cooke, to a shop called Little Knits. Fulay Little, owner and hostess-with-the-mostess-yarn, graciously opened her store to us on a day when they were officially closed, as it was the only time we were going to be able to get there. She showed us every nook and cranny and bag of yarn they had in stock and it was all I could do not to grab some of everything. Little Knits does a fantastic web business, selling high quality yarns, often close-out colors or blends, at rock-bottom prices. I escaped with two bags of Noro Island Cashmere, two bags of a Jo Sharp DK wool in basic black (you can never have too much black), a ball of Kauni that Deb said I had to have, some gorgeous Dovely laceweight, and two hanks of an Estonian merino in a striking black and red colorway. (Deb showed more restraint than I did, bless her heart.)
Other than that, I’ve taken Cherry Adair’s “Finish the Damn Book” challenge to have a completed, polished manuscript by next year. Which really means I’ve come back from Seattle with renewed purpose and motivation to put some characters to work on paper.
The weather here in St. Louis has turned unseasonably cold and wet, meaning we went from summer to fall without a lot of transition time. Methinks the wee trick-or-treaters will need to plan to bundle up this year! The Bob has been internet house shopping in Hawaii, under the fantasy that we’re going to win the lottery and escape to the islands.
So, if I go offline again for, say, six months…look for me in Hawaii!
