I’ve got Defiance (Bren # 23?) in…Jane and I both.
We’ve got Alliance Unbound turned in.
Jane and I are now engaged on separate books—she’s working on the next Alliance start—I’m working with Bren—and we’ll switch at a certain stage and exchange projects.
I’ve been a little slow this round. Both legs now function, thank you, so that I’m able to help Jane, who’s been carrying the burden of all the household work and the garden, and I’ve taken a little time away from the keyboard to try to even up favor-points and help do things.
The dedication in Alliance Unbound explains a bit of what’s gone on…Jane’s brother passed away unexpectedly, and we had to go to Seattle area: Jane was appointed executor, and that is a huge undertaking.
It also meant multiple trips over the Cascades to attend to house repair and sale, all of which we had to do—and one trip over the pass in a snowstorm about 8 hours ahead of a pass-closing 13-car pileup with fatality… Snoqualmie is not a pass to trifle with in weather: it’s easy and comfy in good weather and daylight, but it is at altitude, and the Cascades are a weathermaker for fronts incoming off the Pacific.
We’re still working on some issues. And one of our computers went brickified with all the business and tax records: recovery failed. That’s a mess.
And the surgeries.
So I’ve been away from the keyboard longer than I have been in decades. But I’m working again and the brain is recovered from chemo fog and anaesthetics—which are very foggy. It’s taken a bit. The house, of course, went thoroughly chaotic, a mess we’re straightening up. I’m breaking down the saltwater tank as something I can’t maintain with all this going on—but there’s still the koi pond—
Which got hit by the same winter storm that imperilled us on the road. And because of the emergency nature of it all—I couldn’t winter-prep the pond sufficiently. Cold caught us, a cold that killed old trees all over town, and broke records. We lost all the koi. The pond was a disaster area. That had to be fixed—we now have all baby koi.
So it’s been a bit rough…but we are paddling like mad now, if you recall the joke about the calm duck above the surface….
We’re taking enough time to straighten things out on the home front—get the pond fixed, get the place weeded, the accumlation of cardboard boxes during Covid qt broken down and out, things that broke fixed, and in general, get ourselves re-organized. Get the taxes in. Get ahead of the craziness.
And get some books written.
And I am turning the former saltwater tank to freshwater planted. It’ll be pretty.
Good to hear you’re feeling in good form again!
Being executor is a bitch! A thankless job. My condolences to Jane, on both counts.
At my father’s service & funeral in Lethbridge, I was ready to go, waiting for the rest of the family, picked up a Reader’s Digest to pass the time, read and voiced the following quote: “Never say you know a man until you have divided an inheritance with him.” Johann Kaspar Lavater
Hares and Rabbits!. Here’s to a great July!
And a big SHOUT-OUT to CANDA! Happy day to all the Canadians out there.
WOW! It’s been so long since I’ve logged in here I had to look up my password
I’ve been keeping up with you, CJ, through your FB posts. The tank revision looks so exciting. I always look forward to the progress reports.
So very said that all the koi died over the winter when they were growing up so nicely. Do you have names for the babies?
Very happy to read that the hip replacements went well. I may be looking at one in the fall. We’ll see, grasshopper…..we’ll see…
My life since Covid has been *interesting* to say the least. Started out with surgery for colon cancer. Fortunately that did the trick with no further treatment needed. The masking order came down while I was in the hospital.
Get those colonoscopies people! They really do save lives! (I am kind of a broken record on this!)
Meanwhile, in the last year in addition to Type 2 Diabetes, which I have had for a while now, I now have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Not as disastrous as it sounds. I have a doc I trust who feels I am very early stage and will probably not need treatment for ten-fifteen years. Considering my age, this may not be a problem.
Then there is my vision. Last routine visit doc found the beginnings of a tear in the retina of my right eye. Yes another specialist to see, who is amazed that my vision is so good. Really this is the scary one!
And my right hip is not great. Not doing a lot of gardening this year. Still working on the swimming pool. It’s been such a cool, wet spring that the water is still only 65ºF. BRRRRR! And to think I thought nothing of going in the ocean when I was young with a water temp of 60º. The fish pond is wonderful. We may have finally decided on a permanent spot for the filter.
Suddenly I feel like my life is revolving around doc appointments. Kind of a bummer after so many years of good health. I am just thankful that I have good health insurance.
We are experiencing some haze due to the fires in Canada, not so bad here as in many places. Although I did notice that the moon was a definite orange at midnight. I think being fairly close to the shore has something to do with our good air.
Toes crossed that everyone is well and not suffering too much from heat and other disasters. Meanwhile I will stay here in the woods and try not to pay to much attention to the sorry state of so many things.
Lovely to see you posting again, CJ.
I’d say get to a specialist surgery office and get x-rays to see how the hip is. When insurance says yes, and when you reach a point where hip is interfering with your intentions to do things do it. Pain’s a weird thing—I wasn’t aware of being in pain. I was aware of increasing problems standing and walking with good posture. I was aware of exhaustion in walking and working physical jobs—
what was going on was evidently pain—that my brain had just tucked away in a closet. What I got was ‘diminishing function.’ Now that both are replaced—I move without even thinking about it. My balance has suffered a lot, whether during the period of denial, or just from the surgery—quads are still somewhat hard to the tough and I’m careful on steps, but need for the cane is diminished, and I’m almost to the point of taking stairs like normal people.
Anyway, things are better. Kudos to Betsy Wollheim, who waited on books, and waited, and waited—which was not easy for the company; but she held fast. And we got two books done.
Jane has written with me for years, in terms of reading and arguing and finding word salad and fixing it, and forming ideas and, well, writing bits from time to time; and coming out of all the surgeries and the brain fog of chemo, she was helping me, I was helping her, and the collaboration as both of us began to get back on our feet (she’d had both hips and the gallbladder removal)—the collaboration on Alliance Rising proved we could work as a team on an entirely new project. Jane’s particular expertise was really an asset in Defiance…as you’ll see.
Anyway, we’ve got a ton to do in front of us. But we’re whittling the pile down.
And there is rejoicing because we aren’t burning here (yet) and neither is Washington State (yet), and things are working (for now).
ReadyGuy and I are having a hard summer with parents-in-law suffering a not so slow decline in health and mental acuity. Family drama has sapped our energy, but we are lucky we have good friends that have stepped into the breech to assist. As has been mentioned before, “Growing old isn’t for sissies” and it’s corollary “… and growing old with even older parents proves our courage and improves our patience.” My father-in-law celebrated his 100th birthday in June. He wants so hard to still do the activities of his youth, but can’t. This reminds us that life’s length is uncertain.
I’m waiting for your upcoming books as they are a great distraction from the worries of the day. Maybe we can find a way to have ShejiCon 6 next year (although the numbers aren’t auspicious) so that your associates can reaffirm man’chi.
*looks at calendar, scribbles furiously* I’d like that, but will have to probably make a solo, very brief trip. We are already committed to Texas in April for the eclipse (not our first choice, or even our third, but needs must) and I will need to work around that.
Another Shejicon would be lovely. If we get the place picked up. Construction and disasters have left their mark. Jane is currenty trying to remove the frame of the security window I had to shatter to get in after we got locked out trying to fix the lotus pond….
I think of you and ReadyGuy often. 100 years is remarkable. I hope for a ShejiCon6, but not during the April solar eclipse, we’re already booked!
Because it’s a good day for this: amusement park ride for a crab!
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_rx61g8Gapf1v3fm8o.mp4
Yay! More books! You guys have got to be SciFi’s answer to the Energizer Bunny! So glad you guys are on the mend. One of the hard things about ageing (for me, anyway) is the downsizing, not just the things, but the activities as well. Hard to realize that you can’t do it all anymore. Maybe you should put the koi in the (former) salt water tank — at least they’d be safe from winter in there!
Mom will be 99 this Sept. She’s taken a couple spills, but hers were related to weakness from a UTI. No balance issues, thank goodness. Otherwise, she’s still “with it.”
I’m having trouble with the knee that got replaced which seems to be related to osteoporosis. (I’ve got three risk factors — age, sex and race — and chemotherapy) (not to mention weight) (let’s don’t mention it!). The first replacement surgery is the best shot and odds of success plummet the second time around. I survived another round of chemo in 2022, but my skin took a beating. (Found out I was allergic to bendamustine by very nearly ending up with Stevens-Johnson syndrome because of it, which is big league serious stuff.) I’ve lost some sensation in all my fingertips except the little ones, which is chemo related (is it still touch typing if you have to look?). Still knitting, though.
Finished a Foreigner reread at the first of the year — like a long visit with old friends. Very much looking forward to the new one. (I knew there had to be at least 1 more after this one! Yes!)
Here’s hoping we’ll hear more from you here.
Chemo left me with neuropathy in three fingertips (two and thumb) on both hands. It’s annoying, but I can’t blame my mistyping on it. It’s brain not synching up with fingers, mostly.
I have this weird thing where if a word has a homonym (pronounced the same but spelled differently), I will invariably type the wrong one. People meat for dates, it may take me multiple tries to get the right “there/their/they’re,” etc. Because I typed dictation for 30 years, I have this “proofread as you type” circuit hard wired in, but even so, I don’t always catch them. I can’t blame that on chemo brain either. I’ve done it for years and years. It has gotten worse post chemo, though.
On the bright side, I had my much-delayed physical, having only gone back to the doctor’s office in the last 4 years for COVID shots and to have my mashed fingertip checked out (slammed in car door, D’oh!) Remarkably, all my tests came back okay, if not perfect, and I will stay on my current minimal regimen for blood pressure. DH is jealous, having to deal with the weekly multi-pill reminder box. I despise having blood draws; they might catch something, but I feel that it’s often more of a fishing expedition.