Stormcloud sunset

Hope is the creature with wings.

A to-me-fascinating takeaway line on this article on climate change is this: There’s a small but non-trivial chance of advanced civilization breaking down entirely. My climate change trilogy would be meant to be a thing of hope. That said, hope is the creature with wings; it is difficult to catch. The idea of writing another trilogy post that, a farther-future-set story where some things have gone right but a lot has gone desperately wrong is really appealing. Apparently I’m suffering from the urge to reinvent myself a SF writer when…

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the essential kit

Lent

Since, as my mother said, we couldn’t be in New Orleans last night, we had pancakes for dinner instead. Actually, Pancake Tuesday is a totally new-to-me concept since coming here. Or not *totally*, because when we lived in California with a British friend on hand, she would do pancakes on Fat Tuesday. But aside from that, totally new to me. Is it something people other places in America do or am I right in thinking of it is a European(British?) tradition? (I was making maple syrup for the pancakes, and…

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Kitsnaps: Guarding London

Kitsnaps: Guarding London

There’s an exceedingly long story that goes along with the lion and dragon guards of London and Westminster’s borders. I remember none of it, but if you get on the London city bus tour with a guide named Barry, you’ll hear it in magnificent detail. (I’m sure you hear it from other guides, too, but I can’t imagine they’re as GOOD as Barry! Barry and Dave, Dave the bus driver, who says he works with Barry every day and Barry still makes him laugh. :)) At any rate, lion! Fierce…

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Chicken Stewp

I had a chicken carcass, and I thought making a big pot of chicken stewp sounded like a good idea. I was right. :) The recipe as follows: 1 roast chicken carcass, steamed & stripped all attendant juices & fat from both roasting & steaming (or chicken stock), up to 4 cups 1/3 c flour 1 c onion, chopped 1-2 c carrots, chopped 2 (or whatever) c chicken 1 tsp each of: – sage – garlic – basil – parsley – salt 1 c sweetcorn 3 c chopped potatoes 1…

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The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg

Recent Reads: THE SOUL MIRROR

Carol Berg doesn’t write bad books, but the Collegia Magica is in the running for my favorite of her series. (I’d have to re-read BREATH & BONE to decide for sure.) There was a bit in this one that made me laugh out loud, when our unassuming heroine’s activities are related as viewed by an outside opinion. Not so unassuming after all, perhaps. A thing I expected came to pass within these pages, which was good (I really wanted it to happen), but considerably more I didn’t also happened, which…

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