(no subject)

Well, I'm back.

Last year the hotel was freezing cold. Cryogenic storage cold. This year, the air conditioning was indifferent most of the time, which meant that the sweaters I packed were useless, and the T-shirts I didn't pack were sorely needed. I bought one in the gift shop, and then another at the art show.

Michael Sheard was there again, and an entertaining bundle of energy, as always. CJ Cherryh and Jane Fancher actually recognized us (that would be me and Dramliza) from last year, which was awfully nice. Selina Rosen was her usual fucking hilarious self, keeping in mind that refined and subtle are not words used to describe her humor. I had to restrain myself from going broke at the Meisha Merlin table, and bought a few things at Yard Dog next door, picked up some used books, but steadfastly and determinedly did not even look at earrings. The Paidhi Kids got T-shirts, and one dealer was selling crocheted animals. I was looking at the cats when the lady said she was putting wings on one. Now, Paidhi Girl just read LeGuin's Catwings in school and adored the heck out of it. Sold! It's in bed with her now. I got Mr Cameron a letter opener shaped like a sword--it's very cool.

The panels were generally fun, the occasional dud here or there. The art show was nice, especially Todd Lockwood's work. The dealers room was filled with temptation, and I got lots of books signed. The whole thing seemed to run very smoothly, the folks running things were pleasant and efficient, so far as we could see, and it was just a great weekend.

We didn't sign up for the Kaffeeklatsch (or however the hell you spell it) since we couldn't find the signup sheet at first, and by the time we did, CJ and Jane's was filled. We signed up with Les Johnson instead, and he's awfully cool, but when Jane came up to us and told us that Lynn Abbey would have to eat alone, and she thought we'd be great company, we dumped Les like a hot potato and had a very pleasant breakfast with Lynn. Sorry, Les!

The drive back was long, dark, and rainy. It turns out that I need new windshield wipers. This is not something you want to discover in the dark at 75mph. It was a nerve-wracking hundred miles or so before the rain petered out, and I desperately needed to get out of the car and stretch my legs but I was only fifty miles from home! So I gritted my teeth and finished the trip, staggered in the house at 9:30 to find Paidhi Boy still awake and waiting for a kiss goodnight.

This morning I was greeted by both kids, with long and involved stories to tell about their weekend. Even Paidhi Boy, who's a bit behind in the language department, and usually has to be prompted several times to recall what he did in school five minutes before I picked him up, had a whole long list of exciting things he'd done--he'd ridden in Daddy's car, gone to Toys R Us, gone to the post office, spent the night at Grandma's house, and.....and... "What else did you do?" I asked him. "Well," he says, "it doesn't matter." That's his latest way of saying he's done talking. Paidhi Girl had talked Mr. Cameron into buying her yet another Fur Real friends newborn puppy--the brown one she wanted, she'd only gotten the dalmatian one because the place had been out of the others but she couldn't bring herself to wait for one. They're very cute, actually, and she generously gave the old one to Paidhi Boy, who had yearned for it ever since she'd brought it home. A visit to the website for an adoption certificate revealed that they're going to be bringing out newborn kittens, and she can hardly wait for their debut.

This morning I dropped the boy off at school and then did something I didn't have a chance to do all last week--went to the library and wrote. My brain was pretty blasted from not enough sleep over the weekend, but I actually think I made some real progress. I'm closing in on the end, maybe even in the next day or two. Then off to Charlie it goes. Yes!

(no subject)

Well, I'm back.

Last year the hotel was freezing cold. Cryogenic storage cold. This year, the air conditioning was indifferent most of the time, which meant that the sweaters I packed were useless, and the T-shirts I didn't pack were sorely needed. I bought one in the gift shop, and then another at the art show.

Michael Sheard was there again, and an entertaining bundle of energy, as always. CJ Cherryh and Jane Fancher actually recognized us (that would be me and Dramliza) from last year, which was awfully nice. Selina Rosen was her usual fucking hilarious self, keeping in mind that refined and subtle are not words used to describe her humor. I had to restrain myself from going broke at the Meisha Merlin table, and bought a few things at Yard Dog next door, picked up some used books, but steadfastly and determinedly did not even look at earrings. The Paidhi Kids got T-shirts, and one dealer was selling crocheted animals. I was looking at the cats when the lady said she was putting wings on one. Now, Paidhi Girl just read LeGuin's Catwings in school and adored the heck out of it. Sold! It's in bed with her now. I got Mr Cameron a letter opener shaped like a sword--it's very cool.

The panels were generally fun, the occasional dud here or there. The art show was nice, especially Todd Lockwood's work. The dealers room was filled with temptation, and I got lots of books signed. The whole thing seemed to run very smoothly, the folks running things were pleasant and efficient, so far as we could see, and it was just a great weekend.

We didn't sign up for the Kaffeeklatsch (or however the hell you spell it) since we couldn't find the signup sheet at first, and by the time we did, CJ and Jane's was filled. We signed up with Les Johnson instead, and he's awfully cool, but when Jane came up to us and told us that Lynn Abbey would have to eat alone, and she thought we'd be great company, we dumped Les like a hot potato and had a very pleasant breakfast with Lynn. Sorry, Les!

The drive back was long, dark, and rainy. It turns out that I need new windshield wipers. This is not something you want to discover in the dark at 75mph. It was a nerve-wracking hundred miles or so before the rain petered out, and I desperately needed to get out of the car and stretch my legs but I was only fifty miles from home! So I gritted my teeth and finished the trip, staggered in the house at 9:30 to find Paidhi Boy still awake and waiting for a kiss goodnight.

This morning I was greeted by both kids, with long and involved stories to tell about their weekend. Even Paidhi Boy, who's a bit behind in the language department, and usually has to be prompted several times to recall what he did in school five minutes before I picked him up, had a whole long list of exciting things he'd done--he'd ridden in Daddy's car, gone to Toys R Us, gone to the post office, spent the night at Grandma's house, and.....and... "What else did you do?" I asked him. "Well," he says, "it doesn't matter." That's his latest way of saying he's done talking. Paidhi Girl had talked Mr. Cameron into buying her yet another Fur Real friends newborn puppy--the brown one she wanted, she'd only gotten the dalmatian one because the place had been out of the others but she couldn't bring herself to wait for one. They're very cute, actually, and she generously gave the old one to Paidhi Boy, who had yearned for it ever since she'd brought it home. A visit to the website for an adoption certificate revealed that they're going to be bringing out newborn kittens, and she can hardly wait for their debut.

This morning I dropped the boy off at school and then did something I didn't have a chance to do all last week--went to the library and wrote. My brain was pretty blasted from not enough sleep over the weekend, but I actually think I made some real progress. I'm closing in on the end, maybe even in the next day or two. Then off to Charlie it goes. Yes!