Our knight in carpenter’s guise, Scott, helped us get the two big 10’x10′ canopies furled for the winter and set down to dry. THat’s huge. We let them stay up one winter, and nearly lost the gazebo, as the snow piled up and up. Now we take them down for the winter, having better sense.
It’s going to be rain for most of the week, changing to snow at night, then melting, and raining, and snowing…welcome to the start of a typical Spokane winter.
We are letting the kitty-boys meet and squall at each other, but it is slowly, very slowly, getting less frantic and constant. Tanner instigates most of it by yowling and attacking, but he’s getting the idea that we disapprove of this. Slowly. At least he’s retreating when we yell at him and our cats seem to think we’re on their side, so they de-poof faster. I THINK this is progress.
The therapy sessions are working well for Jane and for me. I started with a constant limp and a lot of pain, both of which are far less frequent. Most times I can actually hit a decent stride. Jane’s condition is worse, and takes longer, but the pain is diminishing.
We are slowly putting up Christmas, and it will be a little ‘less’ decor than usual: so much of the stuff is in the basement piled way deep in boxes, as we have had to move things to accommodate the work down there. Scott is redoing the basement so we have a craft area, an exercise area, and a library. And guest accommodations, at need. There is still a lot of stuff to get rid of. But where we have remodeled is wonderful: everything has a place and returns to it. THis is wonderful. When I cook, I know exactly where every knife is, each having a slot, and everything is an easy reach, the dishes get washed and the whole thing just functions beautifully.
May the craft room be similar.
Meanwhile we are trying to help our former coach, Joan, who had foot surgery, get to her sessions with the same therapist. She lives within easy drive of us, and we are going, we think, to go over to get her in her car, and then come get her out of it when she gets back. She can’t lift her push-thingie out of the car while standing on one foot, strange to say.
Anyway, we are grey and rainy today, not a bad thing. And I am working away on Divergence, which is the novel that follows the one that’s in production now, and of course January 8th, Alliance RIsing comes out. I wrote all the Alliance Union books so they can, with a few exceptions (Heavy Time/Hellburner) be read in any order. But this comes at the very beginning of everything that follows, howzzat for an explanation.
Ready, you said “On another note: Alliance Rising deals with the time before the split between the Alliance and the Compact” I think you mean Alliance and Earth (and/or Union).
“Wow” indeed, ever since we heard her read the first chapter I have wanted the book in my hands. And hopefully a bunch of sequels! I really like the A/U stories.
It is just over a month until Alliance Rising comes out!
I would love to see a resurgence of interest in the Alliance/Union and Compact (Chanur) books, and heck, all of CJC’s books in general. — I am finding it harder newt find used books from several popular SF&F authors, and I’m lucky I have Space: Above and Beyond on DVD. I wish publishers would republish backlist books and offer them in ebook format. Heck, sometimes you want to reread or you need to replace a damaged or lost book. And new readers need and deserve to read such awesome books. — There also ought to be a better way to publicize new authors so readers can find them. Online stores and physical stores alike are not always so great in that. I’m happy to find new authors I like, new and old books. A good tale is a wonderful thing.
Semi-On-Topic: I saw a rumor (via YouTube) that Netflix is developing a live-action movie version of Cowboy Bebop, a fantastic anime. I have mixed feelings on this, but I’m also curious to see how it turns out. I love Cowboy Bebop, still just as great after rewatches as the first time. (I also love “Dot Hack Sign,” .hack//SIGN, the first of several series done in the same milieu.) It’s still possible to get these on DVD, but only Cowboy Bebop is available for streaming via iTunes or others, as far as I know
Hmm, I discovered today, two of the track light bulbs in my kitchen’s center light have gone out. I get to climb on a step ladder, see if it’s tall enough to reach he lights, and discover what size bulb they need, and order more. Heh.
I have ordered a Keurig Cup single-serving coffee maker. This should be ideal for me for hot coffee and tea, without taking up the small counter space I have. Pitchers of iced tea will continue to be brewed by tea kettle, though.
Part of a delivery went to the apt. office instead of my door, and a neighbor received a package or me the other day; though she and I didn’t get clear on names. (I either didn’t catch her name or she didn’t say.)
Slight progress otherwise. The dryer vent is still not repaired, sigh.
Today, I am writing, doing font work, and will be reading. My eyes ar tired. — I want to read a couple of CJ’s books and one other before Alliance Rising is out.
I did the climb-up bit for my sister’s track lighting (and her vanity lighting) a couple of years ago. (Put LED bulbs in the track lights, too.) [She can’t climb ladders safely, though she has a stepstool with a good tall handhold.]
A totally off-topic question, just because there might be someone here who knows, as we’re all booklovers here.
I used to regularly read http://www.bookviewcafe.com/blog (and have bought several of their ebooks), but for the last week or so I keep getting the message “Service unavailable” when I try to visit their site.
Has anyone here had similar problems? Or does anyone know what’s going on? I’m visiting from a year old Android phone, a standard sort of Nokia, in case that might be the cause of the problem; but it worked fine before, on the same phone.
I can get to the parent site, http://www.bookviewcafe.com/ just fine, but when I click the link to the blog there, it comes up with a Login username and password window, and clicking Cancel then returns the message, “Access Denied,” on the page. — This is something the site owner’s webmaster will need to fix for them, and they probably need to get an email alerting them to the problem, if it’s been ongoing for several days.
I believe Vonda McIntyre’s books, among other authors, are available from there. 🙂 I should recall about Diane Duane, also, but I can’t recall just now where hers are available. 🙂 Both ladies’ books are much appreciated!
I’ll try sending an email to the site. I _think_ I _might_ (not sure) still have an email address from when I’d bought books from there and got a reply from one of the authors. (I was flabbergasted and impressed!) I had sent a thank-you email, saying how much I’d enjoyed her books, and how glad I was to get them in ebook form.
I wish there were some great way for authors to band together and get big publicity for the sites where their ebooks / print books are sold. The big-name sites are fine, but these days, the individual author (and musician and other artists) sites need to get the publicity they deserve. Sort of a “Guild Hall” as a front door or directory for indie media sales, publicity, blogs, and so on? (I don’t mind a bit if someone uses the idea.)
I emailed the site. I got a reply from (gasp) Vonda herself. I think she must have been right at her computer, to reply so fast. (Cue fanboy squee, heheh.)
She said they would be working on this to get it fixed so that visitors could read the blog again and reply, and that it was through WordPress, so no problems with registration. Also that the site (BookViewCafe.com) doesn’t require a registration anymore; people can pay via PayPal, for instance.
She was very kind to reply to my fannish thanks for her books, also. — I had purchased from there a few years ago, and could not resist buying three books now. Heh. 😀
—–
Personal Note: I think I was in high school and college (first go-round) when I first read her books, Dreamsnake and Barbary and at least the first two Starfarers books, plus her Star Trek books. I loved them, of course. (Also Diane Duane’s books.) — And back then, her character, Steven, from Starfarers, well, I didn’t know quite what to make of this breed, flamboyant, talented (and gay) character in a relationship with another, and a valued, necessary member of the crew for his skills. I was conflicted about myself. But he was one of a very few book characters in science fiction whom I, naive as I was, could tell was gay, er, because they said so. (It flew right over my head that some other characters were, elsewhere; though I finally clued in about two characters when, hey, they had a scene, not a love scene, but it made it apparent even to me back then; oh, they’re together, they’re gay). — But I needed those characters. My real-world self was struggling in a world where, well, it was highly unpopular (prone to be bullied and ostracized and possibly beaten up) for a boy or young man to like other guys. — I am not sure what I’ll make of a reread of the Starfarers books. I will probably see a character not as surprising and perplexing as he was to me back then. Yet I liked having him there. I needed to see that. I needed to know that somewhere, at some future point, or just maybe out in the real world at some point, someone like me could be accepted for that part of who I was, a part that I’m still dealing with today, sometimes very well, yet still with no one special to fill that need for love and companionship. I needed all those other characters too. (The two I finally did clue into, I also needed to see, and I think their portrayal helped a great deal at the time and later.)
And yet those are just a small part of why I love science fiction and the books and videos that science fiction writers make. Current events have swung back around to a regressive period in the USA and elsewhere, though not everyone is so regressive and prejudiced (on race or sexual orientation or a thousand other things). A casual look at YouTube shows it’s still not easy to be a minority, such as someone who’s not so straight. So it’s vital for us to see worlds where people can be other than the currently accepted norm, where things might be very different indeed.
I’m grateful for books in general for that, the chance to immerse myself in a story-world, to follow along with the characters on some adventure, whatever it might be, to think about the ideas there, to have an adventure, fun or serious or whatever it might be. I am so grateful that my parents valued reading and learning, so that I had free access to almost anything I wanted to read or watch. That world of fiction and ideas and adventures — is necessary in life. (OK, I was a liberal arts major, an English major, nearly a language major, so heh, that defense of the arts is pretty much ingrained.)
CJ and Jane and Lynn, and the other authors and artists who visit here — Thank you again for writing and making art and music and so much else. It makes a vital difference to us fans, sometimes in our personal lives, or to people in general. Whenever any of you get discouraged about whether your message means something, is loved and appreciated by people, or sales are not what you’d like or need — Please remember, every once in a while, it makes a real-world difference in how we fans think and feel and can change our lives for the better. Even just a little nudge, a ripple, a pebble, a mustard seed, can make a difference that grows into something life-changing, for one or many.
It’s at times like this, when I think about that, that I get very moved and go all fanboy. 😀 I think it’s things like this, that most of us fans can’t quite put into words, that makes us so starstruck and fanboy/fangirl (fan person, 😉 ) when we get to meet you or write or interact. Artists (such as authors) are absolutely just regular people, and yet there’s that magical, wonderful something there that creates such great things. So, well, thank you all.
@CJ — Vonda McIntyre said hi to you, CJ, in her reply to me. I had said I would tell folks at your blog that the Book View Café blog was being fixed. So this prompted her to pass on a, “Hi, CJ!” to you.
Sorta makes a guy feel like he’s some small ship’s tech who’s couriered a short note from one great starship captain to another.
My impression this time and from a previous email some years ago was that she’s a very friendly, smart, on-the-ball lady, someone who knows and loves science and the arts, and loves fans and fellow authors. Turns out she’s one of the founders of the Book View Café, which has grown over the years, for books by several authors. Despite that it was late last night where I was, she replied right away, so she was busy at her computer.
Best Wishes to both ladies!
For those who may be interested: BookViewCafe is back up, and the problem is solved https://bookviewcafe.com/blog/2018/12/05/sorry-about-all-that/
Good to see they’re back up and running.
Steady, rather heavy rain has been falling here since late afternoon, and our temperature has dropped some, but we’re not expected to get down to the 30’s for a few more days, if then. Chilly and unpleasant out if you have to be stuck out in it, but not bad while cozy inside. I am so thankful the heater and a/c work so well in the apt. — I swept and mopped the bathroom in self-defense this morning. Hoping to make this a weekly habit once again, along with general weekly housecleaning. I want it to stay nice and clean.
I looked back at some of my writing attempts from earlier years this afternoon, and hmm, not bad for starting points.
For 2019, I’ve resolved to start fresh on my writing and bring in and revamp some things, leaving the previous as backups or archival stuff. I want to challenge myself to get past my plateau and get at least a short story done, whichever story-universe or genre or story-idea it might be, new or from my prior original ideas. I haven’t tried doing any fan fiction in a long time, and am not sure whether I will, but maybe. I want to get past “practice” and get to “self-published” or “pro submissions.” I still have to get myself to structure plots I am satisfied with. That seems to be the big hurdle. Also lots of little ideas, but they need to coalesce or get a given idea or set of ideas into a finished story. — CJ and others make it look so dang easy. I have not yet figured out how to get to that finished endpoint with something I’m happy with, aside from the little stuff from years ago that’s on my site.
Tonight looks like a really good chance to read a book and curl up with the cats. My mind needs a break to enjoy what someone else has created.
Sadly, Bookview Cafe site appears to be down again. I have her Starfarers books in an omnibus eBook edition, but would like to get Dreamsnake in eBook format (I have the Audible version.)
@Charlie — Dreamsnake is definitely available from there in both EPUB and MOBI (for Kindle) and possibly in PDF, once the site’s up and working again. When I visited (see my 1st post replying to Hanneke’s query) before while the blog was down, I was able to add ebooks to the cart and make my purchase and download. So hopefully, it won’t be too long until it’s back online and going steady again.
Maybe they’re cycling their jump vanes in and out of realspace and hyperspace? As long as it’s not the disappearing socks in the dryer thing. That one, who knows where you’ll end up! 😀
After a month and some days, my voter registration card arrived, newly updated for my new address. Took ’em so long, it had slipped my short-term to-do memory.
Track light bulbs arrived much faster than expected, and are now in. Yay, I can see in my kitchen again. — Putting in fragile glass and plastic light bulbs into sockets above one’s head without light to see by (because that’s what one is fixing) — Made me think I’m glad I wasn’t replacing finicky starship components in even more awkward arrangements. — Took longer than it should have, but I didn’t break any, didn’t cut or shock myself and didn’t fall. Quite thankful for that. I don’t think the cats would dial my cell phone….
Enjoying the tea courtesy of Chondrite. Less than a month until Alliance Rising arrives. Not that I’m counting the days…OK, yeah, I am. 😀
According to the BookViewCafe news editor, it’s their host company taking the site down automatically when it starts to suck down too many resources, which appears to happen when too many webcrawling search-engine ‘spiders’ start to index their entire backlist at once. They’ve got more than a decade of multiple big blogposts a day in their archive, and trying to index that all at once overloads the servers.
The editor said they thought it wasn’t a deliberate attack, and that they’d taken measures to solve it with their hosting company, but as they are down again those were apparently not enough. At least they know where the trouble is coming from, now.
I have a dead tree edition of Dreamsnake in paperback, yellowed with age. . . .
The big southern storm is juuuust brushing us. Maybe one inch of snow, roads are just starting to get snowy. Staying in today!
One thing I learned very early in the game (with the Morgaine and Faded Sun books) — if it has CJ’s name on the cover, I know I will like it. I don’t even read the blurb. I just look at the title to see if I’ve read it or not, and if not — sold!
One thing I would like to see is an omnibus edition of all five of the Chanur books. I want one and I want it in hardback!
Got sideswiped by Winter Storm Diego here in the flatlands. Snowed about 8 inches. So thankful I was able to stay in out of it. We’re having Demolition Derby Days on the city streets right now. (We have the worst drivers in this town! I swear these people don’t even know how to drive in rain, never mind snow.)
Never mind. That’s why God gave us lap robes, hot tea and knitting. Making a hat with snowflakes in two-color work.
I just measured both omnibus PB books together: 3.25″!
WOL, you probably know this, but you can get a three-volume omnibus, the Chanur Saga, of The Pride of Chanur, Chanur’s Venture, and the Kif Strike Back; and then the other two, Chanur’s Homecoming and Chanur’s Legacy, are separate volumes. Each of the five is available in HB and I believe The Chanur Saga, the 3 vol. omnibus, is in HB too.
Those are all available in ebook formats for at least Amazon Kindle in the US.
If I don’t hurry up and spend more time reading, I won’t have the books read that I want to, before Alliance Rising comes out.
—–
I spent the morning doing fiddly, silly stuff in housework / unpacking. — My packing tape handle and tape are somewhere in the stack along one wall, which is now smaller. But I need these (and just ordered clingy bubble wrap for glassware / dishes) in order to pack more to sell or donate. The current lot of boxes and junk are decreasing and there’s an increasing stack of same to sell or donate. Yay! Progress! — Still have not located several things after the Great Reshuffle. Really hoping to find them this week.
I ordered a Keurig single-serve coffee / tea maker. It’s arrived. Hmm, the little gizmo at the hotel seemed smaller than the large box I just got. Well…I guess we’ll see!
@WOL — I was just reminded: There is also Chanur’s Endgame, an omnibus of the last 2 books (Chanur’s Homecoming and Chanur’s Legacy), besides The Chanur Saga (omnibus of the first 3 books).
Alliance Rising still says it’s on target for 2019-01-08 (Jan. 8th) delivery, in ebook and hardbound. 😀 — T minus 26 days and counting.
No audio book is showing yet, but I think that usually happens months to a year later. I wish they’d sync that also.
I knit one of “Arne & Carlos’s” Julekuler red & white, Christmas ornaments this weekend and — since I was at my Mom’s house in New Hampshire at the time, gave it to her. I think there will be, like you, WOL, many more of those ornaments in my future. I have a couple of ideas for my own designs too, since Arne & Carlos include a little, Design-your-Own feature on their website. So glad you posted on them!
Because of WOL’s post I got my knitting neighbor the julekuler knitting book and she was so pleased with it she too has already knit one. She liked it so much she’s planning to knit a whole lot of them for next year’s Christmas. Thanks for posting about them, WOL!
If you’re feeling goofy (or have young nieces and nephews, or just a young at heart relative or friend), I found a pattern on Ravelry for the Muppet Show Yip-yips, the aliens with googly eyes, big mouths, and a terror of telephones:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/yip-yips-knit
They apparently make great (if a little offbeat) stockings.
Very interesting article:
Scientists identify vast underground ecosystem
Yes, fascinating article. I think this evidence that vast and multiple and every different from us life has evolved far into the depths of the earth ups the odds even more that life has evolved elsewhere in the universe. Life seems determined to exist. Minimally, we need to be testing for it on and in Mars.
Sharing the knitted xmas ball goodness. Three are on their way to Spokane as I type. . .
Good for you! I just finished knitting my second ball last night and am about to stuff it and give it to a good friend tomorrow, whose last day at work is doing an Saturday Fuel Assistance outreach event with me.
Here’s hoping CJ and Jane are doing fine and are just busy with pre-holiday and other stuff.
Here’s hoping CJ and Jane are doing fine and are just busy with pre-holiday and other stuff.
There’s a free Audible Originals audiobook for December that caught my eye:
Zero G – by Dan Wells – It’s only available in audio, not in print or ebook (drat). But this looks like a ton of fun, and is geared for YA / young adult / juvenile readers, but hah, I’m not going to let that stop me. — There’s a full cast for an audio drama, and at least three of the actors are Asian (probably Chinese). The central character is a Chinese boy, “Zero” Huang, who wakes up early aboard a large colony ship. The blurb describes it as “Home Alone” in space…sort of.
I listened to a couple of minutes of the sample and was enchanted. — The run time is about 4+ hours.
This might be fun for those “I don’t like to read” kids and teens. (I’m glad one such kid is happily reading now.)
I do wish it were available in ebook too. My impression is, this is a short story or novella.
My grocery order arrived, and I’m still not used to going monthly or ordering groceries online. I am going to try every two weeks for a while and see how that goes. Hah, I very narrowly overdid it with frozen foods, but I ended up OK.
I was very happily surprised by a “Sweet Potato Cauliflower Crumble Bowl.” They substituted the Ranchero flavor for the Buddha flavor. (Buddha flavor? Uh….) This arrives raw. I was unsure of the sweet potato aspect raw. I sampled a few bites; “Hey, that’s good!” and popped it in the microwave for (2) * 30 second bursts. That was sufficient for my taste. Maybe 30 sec longer. — I liked this so much, I’ll get both flavors to try.
I think Raesean may have recommended that in an earlier post, so thanks, Raesean. It came up when I searched for sweet potatoes for my Christmas / New Year’s dinner. (I do have black eyed peas for New Year’s too.) I also saw sweet potato fries and a couple of other unusual items that I will likely try at some future point. (I liked the sweet potato chips / crisps from Terra brand that CJ and Jane like.)
Due to, hmm, fitting things from holiday over-exuberance, I’m fixing a small chuck roast, which is likely to be leftovers for a still-fine Christmas dinner. In any case, I’ll freeze at least half once it’s done, so I don’t burn out on roast beast.
There will be a mince pie (savory preserved fruit, not meat, for international guests’ understanding). I ordered the pie filling and crusts, as I can no longer find ready-made mince pies locally. I don’t know why. I really like mince pie.
I ordered a surprisingly cheap hassock / ottoman, fabric rather than leather, which requires filling; so I also ordered polyester fiber fill and felt. (These were suggested with it.) Hope it’ll be enough to do the job. — I grew up with a large, vinyl-covered hassock / ottoman, maybe 3 or 4 feet in diameter, circular, that (I think) had been part of a long-gone living room suit my parents had. The hassock ended up getting ant-infested during or after the move from my parents’ home to my former home, so it had to be thrown out. I liked it. (Our old family dog liked it more, as did a succession of cats over the years.) So this new 20 inch hassock will be a nod to it, a comfy seat for me or a comfy bed for the two cats. It was about $15, much more affordable than the leather ones. (Though those are probably very nice.) If this one turns out as well as I hope, I’ll likely get another, so both cats will be pleased. But I have this odd idea to sit there and read, probably with a pillow propped up behind me. We’ll see. I expect an advantage is, this can be unstuffed, the filling washed, enclosed in a laundry bag, as well as the cover, possibly, and it’s more transportable. But I’m unsure if I’ll like it as much as I hope. I’ll find out! — I also saw, but did not get, a modestly-priced, assembled storage ottoman in denim. I was tempted, but resisted.
A friend had said they were going to buy a new dining room suit, and the one they have would fit my apartment space (small breakfast / dining area, not a big dining table). But so far, it has not appeared. Hoping it will appear in January, or I intend to find one used or new. — I am making progress with the aftermath of the Great Reshuffle, but hah, still need to locate several things and finish going through everything. On the plus side, there’s a growing stack of boxes to give away or sell items, for that friend to pick up. But it looks like, at this rate, it’ll be the end of January before I’ve gone through the current lot of stuff and then get more out of storage to repeat the process. (I want to get entirely through that next year. Ugh.)
(I think I have an inner, unsuspected hippie / flower child self. Maybe.)
Still hoping CJ and Jane are doing fine and are just very busy and preoccupied, and that all is well there.