Shannon

Mark’s mother left on the train yesterday. It was a very nice visit, even if she did leave us with a jigsaw puzzle half-done. Of course she did the easy parts. Well, it’s not as though we haven’t done the same thing to her. More than once. Even so! She should be better than us, […]

We had a lovely time on the Oregon coast (just south of Lincoln City), though the weather was fairly dreary. But we were mostly resting and hanging out with family, so that was all right. Curious Seagull came by our condo every morning, looking for a handout. Friday night we came back to town, and

I got to type “END” at the bottom of the LAST CHAPTER this morning! Well, actually, it wasn’t the last chapter–it was the coda, which cometh after the last chapter. EVEN SO. And, rather not coincidentally, Mark and I have fled town for the coast. We’re hiding in this lovely timeshare-condo-place that his mother’s cousin

Busy times! Good stuff. Mark’s mom’s flight arrived just a tad late on Friday–so that we got to experience the full-on Portland rush hour bringing her home from the airport, oh well. At least we had plenty of time to get caught up in the car. Then I barbecued hamburgers, and they were MUCH better

I bet you think I finished the rewrite of Our Lady of the Islands weeks ago and just forgot to tell you. Um, no. But it’s really really close! I know I’ve said that before. Oh but it’s REALLY really close now. Two more scenes to go–and one of them is quite short. Trouble is,

I was walking home from the grocery store today when I saw a chicken on the street. Yeah I know people in Portland have chickens (I want to have chickens!), but…on the street? It ran around the corner as I approached, and then clearly wanted to get back onto the other side of a fence.

As I think I mentioned the other day, I am rereading Kalimpura (after finishing rereading Endurance) as I finish the rewrite of Our Lady of the Islands. Because they are in (different parts of) the same world, and I want to at least not get it jarringly wrong. It’s…odd…to read these books. Especially right now.

1. I took a small thermos of milk to bed with me last night–well, to the nightstand–so that when I woke up at 2:30 a.m., I could drink some milk without getting up and turning on lights and going downstairs and all that. Indeed, I did wake up at 2:30 a.m.; I drank the milk,

I may have mentioned the squirrels before. You know, the ones that the neighbor feeds with his DOZENS OF PEANUT-DISPENSERS in his trees. The ones that then come over and dig up our yard, and plant the damn peanuts. “Come take a picture of this,” Mark said. “Come–you’ve got to get this.” Yes, that is

So this thing is happening more often than not lately: I go to sleep fine, and then I wake up at 2:30 a.m. and like my skin is on fire, I am drenched in sweat, I need to throw all the covers off, and the window is already open, and Mark is all happily sleeping