June 16:

Writing -- Finished novel outlining for now but haven't gotten into basic revisions yet -- just putting stuff into the chapters where it eventually will belong. Did finish the "Imagination's Edge" column I wanted to, and the copyediting project is going well.

Health -- The stupid foot still hurts just about every day, sometimes a lot, but I've discovered that popping a few ibuprofen in the morning pretty much manages the problem. The foot isn't stopping me from doing anything.

Over the weekend, Doug and I went to see Neil Simon's Broadway Bound at a local theater. We rode our bikes. The trip was an hour going there and then a little longer coming back -- in the dark, we took a longer route with less car traffic. It was a fabulous adventure, especially zipping around the lakes in the dark. The play was okay. We grabbed a cheap, filling dinner at a Noodles next door to the theater. I'm really looking forward to going everywhere I can by bike.

Reading -- Still on Miéville's The Scar. Like it lots. There's just a lot of it.

Family -- We figured out that AJ's aggression towards Bill had started when the backyard fence went up. We weren't walking her every day anymore, because she had a fenced yard to play in. Therefore, she didn't get to piddle far and wide, and in a smaller territory, a territorial dog will become more territorial. We've (mostly Doug) started walking her regularly again, and the aggression stopped. AJ and Cubby *love* playing chase games and ring-around-the-rosy and I've-got-the-stick-and-you-don't. All the dogs like to eat the chives -- I'm going to have to transplant them -- and have onion breath and flavorful farts.

The other day, I walked Cubby past a dog-friendly coffee shop. A pair of women came up with their four-month-old, female Yellow Lab puppy. The dogs sniffed noses. Then Cubby lay down so the puppy could climb all over him. Another day, Cubby was attacked by a loose pit bull. Cubby just sidestepped the other dog's charges a few times until the owner showed up. That pit bull is damn lucky that Cubby is such a mellow dog. Had I been walking AJ, the outcome would have been very different.

Home and Garden -- Got the kitchen cleaned up, finally. Tomorrow will be another yard work day. Got to weed, mulch, bundle up more branches, probably mow. I've promised myself not to start any more projects, not until fall. I want to spend the time writing instead.

Fun -- Take a virtual tour of the Sensory Garden Project. It's a garden that's especially designed to be accessible to the disabled and to be very soothing in every respect. Also, read this report from Reuters to find out what the Portuguese Association of Friends of the Siesta is up to. I say, "Go naps!"

June 8:

Writing -- Made real progress on the cyberpunkish detective story. Found the novel document files and began filling in the outline with all the stuff I've developed in my head over the last year. Wrote a critique for Fangs.

This coming week, want to finish another two "Imagination's Edge" columns (so I'll be done through October) and make more progress on the story and the novel.

Health -- Been biking a lot, doing yoga and weights, eating more healthy than I can remember ever doing before. Today, Doug and I rode our bikes across town (about a 40-minute ride), saw Frida, a movie about Frida Kahlo, wife of Diego Rivera and a world-class artist in her own right. Selma Hayak does a magnificent job in the title role. Then we had dinner at a coffee shop across from the theater, and then we rode our bikes back home. The path along Minnehaha Creek was beautiful, and the hills must burn some calories.

Reading -- Finished Nicola Griffith's The Blue Place. Have started China Miéville's The Scar. So far, it's both more readable than Perdido Street Station (he seems to have his prose under control, or he got a no-nonsense editor) and more emotionally committed.

Family -- AJ has decided that Bill must be subdued (or possibly murdered), so we have to keep them apart. We have no idea what her problem with Bill could be -- he's the most innocuous dog in the world, wanting nothing else than to live out his senior months or years in peace. Fiona finally scent-marked Cubby's nose the other night, to his great delight. I think Fiona finds Cubby's visits to the basement stimulating -- she's been much more kittenish lately.

Home and Garden -- I keep seeing more things that need to be done around here. Last week, I bundled a lot of branches and put them by the alley for pickup. Then it started raining, so I've started cleaning up inside some. All the new plants are in and doing well, except the chrysanthemums would do better if large dogs would stop stepping on them. This coming week, I should be able to get the outside into maintenance mode for a while and begin focusing in earnest on the inside. Getting rid of stuff will be a big priority.

Fun -- Not fun at all for the infected, but interesting: Humans catch monkey pox from pet prairie dogs. Truly fun: A period of preeminence is passed through by each and every canine. and other proverbs written badly.

June 1:

Writing -- Start a novel dare today. I'm also going to pull out the beginning of a cyberpunkish murder mystery that I want to finish and submit to Fangs.

Submitted a bunch of panel ideas for Diversicon, which will be second weekend of August.

WisCon rocked. Fellow Clarionites were there: Aynjel Kaye, Jennifer Baumer, Stuart Dimond, Jim Gilmore, Gavin Grant, and Trey Thoelcke as well as instructors/board members Greg Frost, Suzy McKee Charnas, Kelly Link, and Karen Joy Fowler (present last year and missed this year were Mark Rudolph and David Findlay). Met two Fangers I'd never met in the flesh before: Karen Perry and Alyx Dellamonica. Lots of folks from the Twin Cities were there, too: the Wyrdsmiths, including Kelly McCullough, Naomi Kritzer, and Harry LeBlanc (Lyda Morehouse plans to come next year with partner and baby); Eric Heideman and other people I know from TOTU and/or Diversicon; and lots of friends including Hilary Moon Murphy, Catherine Lundoff and partner, and a host of others. Saw people I only see at cons, like Mary Anne Mohanraj, whose very cool art was on display. Got to do a mini-workshop on plot with Pat Murphy. Helped a panel discussion, which had come to a screeching halt because of an intrusive audience member, get going again. Was both exhausted and energized by the time we left on Monday.

Health -- Some jeans that used to be horribly tight now fit pretty well. I think I'm marginally better at yoga than I was a few months ago. I'm riding my bike a lot, and we may sell the car this week, so then I'll be riding it a lot more. My blood pressure is 100/60, and my blood glucose is fine.

However, I discovered that my cholesterol is bad: total of 237 and HDL of 39. National Institute of Health guidelines say you want a total less than 200 and an HDL between 40 and 60. So no more pizza, omelets, or greasy popcorn for me. I'll get it tested again in a few months and see if all the bike riding and home-cooked meals have made it better.

Family -- The dogs survived a long weekend in the kennel, sharing a run, without killing each other. We picked up Cubby first, and he cried when he thought we were separating him from his AJ. Saw a hummingbird at the kennel! Haven't seen a hummingbird since I was a kid. The dogs are enjoying the privacy-fenced backyard a lot. AJ is an obsessive-compulsive stick fiend. Cubby loves being groomed. Doug finished in the top half of his age/sex group at the Mad City Marathon and wants to run it again next year.

Home and Garden -- This deserves its own section. To put in the fence, I had to take out a large bush from the front corner of the house. As long as I was taking out that one, I removed all three monstrous evergreen shrubs and am replacing them with perennials that don't need pruning (that actually fit in the allotted space). I'm transplanting stuff that likes shade from where the dogs are trampling it in the backyard (hostas, astilbe, ferns). I've also ordered a bunch of cinnamon ferns and spreading junipers (not very imaginative, I know) and one yellow rose bush, which will get the sunniest spot. I also hauled a bunch of dirt from the pile in the backyard (a result of various projects) to the front to make a little grade and help the water run away from the house. The barberry and other perennials I put in last spring on our hill (replacing grass that was horrible to mow on that slope) are mostly thriving, though I'm disappointed in most of the Carpet Bugle so far. It isn't acting as hardy or aggressive as I'd hoped.

Reading -- Picked up a couple of bags of books at WisCon. Just finished Karen Joy Fowler's Sister Noon, about San Francisco circa 1890. Beautifully done -- captures the essence of that time and place the way a nonfiction history book would be hard-pressed to do.

Nearly done with Nicola Griffith's The Blue Place. It's a suspense/thriller with no speculative elements. I get the sense that Griffith is not entirely comfortable with or perhaps passionate about the conventions of the suspense genre. There's some of her awesome writing, and then there's stuff that's just in the wrong place, like phrasing that just doesn't occur in normal dialog. The novel has a lesbian protagonist, and from the cheap cover (I assumed it was a small-press publication when I picked it up), I'm thinking that Avon is marketing this at the GLBT segment, assuming those customers will buy whatever is in their section of the bookstore. That's a shame, because this book could compete with John Patterson's stuff -- if it was marketed the same way.

Fun -- Lots of websites carry the "worst country music song titles." I like George Hupka's page: http://www.downstream.sk.ca/country.htm. By the way, one of the titles is attributed to The Austin Lounge Lizards, which is actually a kick-ass, eclectic, folk band that does a lot of country send-ups. I highly recommend their album, Paint Me on Velvet.

May 26: Have pruned and straightened much of the website. Soon to come on this page: news of WisCon 27, Doug's running of the Mad City Marathon, and my cholesterol test results. How much more excitement can you get than cholesterol test results?

Fun -- Thanks to Barbara Davies for pointing out this website: Surreal Compliments. Also, thanks to Barbara for the link to this article by fantasy writer David Gemmell in The Guardian; he makes the case for the importance of heroic storytelling in our world.

May 11:

Pictures are here!

Writing -- The best news of all is that my day job has finally given me a final date: May 30 will be my last day, and until then I'm effectively part-time. Hallejulah! I can turn my attention full time to copyediting, prepping for my Writing-World class and writing my column, updating my market list, and -- yes, yes, YES!!! -- writing fiction. I've already started cleaning out (mucking out is more like it) my office. Also, I turned in the line edits for my story, "Seven Names for Tabitha," which will appear in Tales of the Unanticipated this summer.

Finally caught up with Fangs by turning in a crit this weekend. Now I think it's my turn to hand in a story this Thursday. [gulp!] I think I know what I'll give the group, but I know it's pretty rough. Oh well, what the hell are crit groups for but to help polish rough things?

Unless AJ has complications from being spayed (see "family" below), I should be able to attend WisCon, and Doug should be able to run the Mad City Marathon that same weekend. We need a vacation soooooo badly!!!

Health -- Doug and I bought bicycles! I haven't been on one in . . . 18 years?!?! But it's true what they say: you never forget how to ride one. I rode it home from the shop. The next day, I rode it to the downtown Y, took a BodyFlow class, and rode back. Since then, I've been pretty sore, especially in the quads and lower back! It rained all weekend (at least we didn't get any tornados here), but it's supposed to be nice most of this week, and I'm looking forward to riding it to work and the gym every day.

Doug ran a half-marathon in New Prague, MN, yesterday and a 5k race, to raise money for breast cancer, today. The weather was perfect for the half-marathon -- 50 degrees F and a stiff breeze -- but it was pouring rain and downright cold during the 5k. He had a hamburger and chocolate cake for lunch, though, and then went down for a nice warm nap with AJ, and is feeling much recovered. :-)

Reading -- Still desultory, not worth mentioning here.

Family -- More dogs, dogs, dogs. Doug and I nearly had nervous breakdowns Friday/Saturday. There's always some dog who's unhappy about something. And don't forget the cats. Neither of us has had a normal night's sleep in forever. The good news: Cubby is fully recovered from being neutered. More good news: AJ is spayed and thinks she's ready to take on the world (although we're going to force her to go through another week or so of convalescence, which will drive her and us crazy). Even more good news: The rest of the backyard fence is scheduled to go up tomorrow, if all the rain hasn't put the contractor even farther behind, meaning we can let the dogs out just by opening the back door instead of getting dressed, putting leashes on them, and taking them out one at a time -- and then they refuse to go potty so they can get a longer walk. Aaaaarrrgh!!!

Pictures of the beasts!

Bill in front of lilies
AJ in front of lilies
Cubby in front of lilies
A fine view of AJ's tail
A fine view of Cubby in all his grandeur
AJ and Cubby playing -- he'll hold the toy while she chews on it
Bill and AJ getting Doug's attention -- Doug looks bemused and resigned, LOL!
Bill and Cubby getting Doug's attention -- same expression on Doug!

May 1:

Writing -- Got two Fangs crits done yesterday -- late is better than never, right? Read the story for the next crit and have some ideas. Need to decide what I'm going to submit when it's my turn on the hot seat.

Health -- The foot was incredibly painful for a couple of days, but I wore the walking cast and kept going to the gym, and it got mostly better. It's sore now but not zapping me. Whenever I work out twice during the day, I feel awesome. Yesterday's workout was transplanting tulips, daffodils, lilies, and snow glories so the fence installers wouldn't trample them. I dig up what I think is one bulb and discover that it's divided into four bulbs, just barely clinging to each other. So then I go on this mad search with a shovel for more empty patches of soil to dig up and put bulbs. Next week, Tuesday, I start swimming lessons at the Y. The lessons are free to members. I want to improve my crawl stroke technique, and I want to learn a correct breaststroke.

Reading -- I do two crosswords and a decryption puzzle every day. Does that count as "reading"? Oh well, doing crosswords is supposed to ward off Alzheimer's, and I can probably use all the help I can get -- LOL!

Family -- Dogs, dogs, dogs. We dropped off AJ at the vet to get spayed but got a call a few hours later: she'd gone into heat. Vets prefer not to spay a dog in heat because the engorged uterus is more prone to bleed. So we took her home intact. The instant she is no longer in heat, she's getting spayed. I can't deal with this anymore. Cubby still has his stitches from being neutered, and he still has his hormones -- big time! He and AJ are 5ex maniac5, and he may still be able to impregnate her, so they have to be kept apart. Nights, Doug sleeps on a beanbag chair in the living room with Cubby, while I sleep in the bed with AJ and Bill. I have got to rearrange the bed so that my pillow isn't next to the front window -- I'm too old and AJ's too big to share my pillow. A couple of days ago, Cubby pooped, peed, shredded a pillow, and chewed holes in the beanbag chair while we were at work -- all out of sexual frustration. Good thing I got home early, or who knows what he would have gotten into! He no longer gets the run of the living room when alone; he has to stay in the kitchen. I don't care how much he cries.

I had a chance to hike through the off-leash dog park near Minnehaha Falls last week, while Doug was running a 10k, and while it's too unstructured for AJ and Cubby, it's a perfect place for Bill. Hilly, wooded, and having several beaches along the Mississippi, it will give Bill a chance to experience his "inner wolf" and dabble in the water. I just know he'll love it.

Fiona the cat survived a dental cleaning with three extractions; she's doing great for being 16 years old, and she loves the canned food she gets for her sensitive mouth.

The fence posts are up. On Monday or so, after the concrete's set, the crew should come back and put up the rest of it. Also on Monday, I should pick up pictures -- I dropped off a roll of film with shots of all the dog-babies. I'll scan and post them ASAP.

Fun -- How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb? Answers.

April 21:

Writing -- Got another Fangs crit done, only a few days late this time. Now I'm behind on two crits (we had a two stories on the schedule this last time) plus another crit that I'm not yet late on (Hi, Trey!). I've also got my next "Imagination's Edge" column about half written -- that's due June 1.

I thought I'd be cranking away on the fiction, especially on the "quasi-dryad meets neighborhood activist" novel, this month. However, my day job got extended and then extended again -- through May now, I think. I'd been putting off all kinds of things (writing, updating the market list, volunteering for the Cedar Cultural Center, mucking out the house, adding more exercise to my schedule, etc.) until the day job ended. After all, I reasoned, why stress myself out trying to get things done around the day job, when the day job will go away soon?" So now I'm behind in a lot of things, plus I still have the day job. The good news: I did negotiate a completely flexible work schedule, so I can work at home a couple of days a week and come and go as I please. That will help with the exercise and pet care and, maybe, housework.

Health -- I'm back to working out just about every day. The ankle is deteriorating back to where it was last December/January. But I'm just ignoring it. Exercise causes inflammation, which causes pain, but there's no further injury involved and I can ignore any amount of pain. Today I attended my first step-aerobics class in forever. Had no trouble keeping up and felt good throughout -- encouraging. Later on I went to BodyFlow; new music is out with new choreography that I'm eager to learn. We spend a lot of time in plank positions in this one, which is super good for the abs (read: super painful!).

Reading -- Am browsing through a sort of humorous book by Michael Moorcock, the documentary maker. I think it's called Stupid White Men.

Family -- Doug is continuing with an "intensive study period" with the Zen Center. This involves daily meditation and weekly classes, plus a retreat or two. It's been very good for his overall state of mind.

Doug and I managed to see about a half dozen films as part of the International Film Festival. We were both in the mood for lighter films. One I can recommend is the new Christopher Guest offering -- A Mighty Wind or something like that; another very good one is AKA Birdseye, a Swiss-U.S. production that satirizes the American media culture -- freakin' brilliant. We also went to Macbeth at Theatre in the Round; the production was solid, and I'd never seen "the Scottish play" before, so that was fun. Before seeing the play, we rented a movie that tells the Macbeth story in the context of a 1970s fast food store -- Scotland, P.A., but it was laugh-out-loud funny and, actually, a good introduction to the plotline.

Bill is mostly recovered from the bite wound inflicted by Cubby. Cubby is recovering from being neutered and is starting to get impatient at not being allowed to play with AJ. AJ is once again a tightly wound ball of energy because she's not wrestling all day with Cubby. The cats can't believe that dogs come in Cubby's size. AJ gets spayed this Thursday. Then Cubby and Bill will just have to get along, because they're going to be together -- our house is only so big. A week from this Thursday, Cubby gets his stitches out plus his Bordatella (kennel cough) vaccine and the first shot in the Lyme vaccine series. Managing the zoo is leaving Doug and me exhausted, but it's worth it. Once everyone is medically sound and the privacy fence is up, we can all go out in the backyard and romp together.

Fun -- For Earth Day: Take the quiz at MyFootPrint.org and find out how big your environmental "footprint" on the planet is. (Doug and I are seriously thinking about replacing our car with a pedicab, if we can get something designed that will transport dogs, groceries, Home Depot whatnots, etc.)

April 14:

Cubby Bear!

We adopted another "child." Pictures to come soon!

AJ desperately needed a playmate who would wrassle and bite and run around -- and who could take all the punishment she could dish out. Cubby is a St. Bernard- Mastiff mix. He's a year-and-a-half old and still growing, according to the Pine County Guardian Angel shelter staff. Right now, I'm guessing he weighs about 140-150. His medium-length coat requires regular grooming to keep it fluffy. He's housebroken and walks nicely on a leash, and he *loves* playing with AJ. She is a happy dog. He adjusted well after the first 12 hours or so. When not randy as hell, he's very mellow and eager to please in exchange for a hug and kind word.

Bill is living in the basement with the cats because Cubby bit him -- a combination of Cubby being insanely horny for AJ and seeking to put down every other male (Bill is definitely not competition for Cubby in any way, but whatever), Bill's own poor social skills (he growled at Cubby, a stupid thing to do), and the opening of a box of Milk Bones. Cubby has calmed down 1000% about AJ (for awhile, we were watching a nonstop, hard-c0re p0rn fl1ck), and he's going to get neutered on Thursday. AJ will get spayed next week, if her heartworm check comes back negative. Bill has had time to get used to the idea of another dog in the house. AJ is wonderfully content with her playmate, which is good, being the whole point.

April 7:

Writing -- Got one Fangs crit done, "only" a week late, but the author was still working on the rewrite so it was okay. Now I'm late on another crit, but only by a couple of days and it is already two-thirds written, so I *am* catching up! I also turned in my April "Imagination's Edge" column, "Dialog: When Space Bugz Speakie Funnie and Other Problems", pretty much on time. I'd like to be back working on my novel now, but I've got to finish up the day job project and the taxes before I open that can of worms. I'd also like to muck out my office!

Health -- I worked out almost every day in March -- twice some days. Then, while trying to prevent injury by stretching my calf muscles/Achilles tendons, I managed to reinjure the same damn ankle with the stretched nerve -- just in a slightly different place and with a different kind of pain. I think this is a garden-variety strain/sprain thingie. My lower back is also sore from all the weightlifting and abs I've been doing, so I'm just taking some days off to let it all heal. Today is day four. I think I'll try weightlifting class tomorrow -- that shouldn't bother the ankle, and it won't bother the back if I keep the weight relatively light.

Reading -- Devoured about seven novels by James Patterson. All those serial killers gave me nightmares, but the books helped alleviate the tedium of chewing on data (the day job).

Family -- Not only does AJ want to kill the neighbors, but one of the new neighbors is afraid of large dogs -- she was bitten when she was four years old. We've gotten a couple of bids on 6' privacy fences and should get another bid tomorrow. Construction should start in a few weeks. To prep for construction, I need to take out a sprawling, evergreen bush at the front of the house and transplant a couple of dozen bulbs. I planned to get rid of the bush anyway, but this isn't the right time of year to move bulbs. Oh well . . . if they don't make it, it's not as though I don't have zillions of bulbs.

Fun -- With the Kentucky Derby approaching, I've been thinking about the great horse, Secretariat. He was fast, he was gorgeous, he was all heart.