Happy Birthday of the Unconquered Sun!

I got up this morning and lit a candle for the Ember Days, because defying the gods of a fictional world is just how I roll. And also it was certainly long before sunrise, so I’ve done my part in showing the sun the way back today (although I think tonight may actually be the Longest Night. Close enough.). Happy Birthday of the Unconquered Sun, everybody. :) I tell you what, poor Indy is so wrecked that I’m about ready to wrap all the presents and declare it Christmas. He…

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look, i wrote a book

I have, a year late and after half a dozen false starts and tens of thousands of words thrown away, finally finished the 3rd book in the quartet I’m writing for my nephew. It is, I am pretty confident, utter shit, but Christ, at least it’s finished. That’s…three, I think. Books I’ve written this year. STONE’S THROE, which will be out–soon! January, maybe, for Kickstarter backers? March or April for everybody else? BEWITCHING BENEDICT, the Regency we’re shopping around, and now SKYMASTER. Also I have written pretty nearly half of…

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christmas tins

I made vanilla fudge, chocolate fudge, German nut tarts, Russian tea cakes, toffee, coconut joys and shortbread cookies for this year’s Christmas tins. Then I went to get the tins, and concluded I might have a Christmas Tin Problem problem: Seriously, I love buying Christmas tins. I’m always like YES MUST HAVE MORE! But to my considerable surprise, I filled all but four, and of those four, the train, although cool, isn’t appropriate for unwrapped treats. So I’ve been going around like the Christmas Fairy, handing out tins of goodies…

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ethnic food!

There’s an aisle at the local grocery store that is advertised as having Ethnic Food in it. Traditionally it was Indian and Chinese, and more recently, Mexican. But this week they have added AMERICAN Ethnic Food! Kraft mac&cheese! Canned pumpkin! Pop Tarts! CHEETOS!! I have never been so happy (and dismayed) as to see Cheetos on the shelf. :) We’re up to FIVE seedlings now. One is barely a speck of green curl in the dirt, but it’s there! And we only have eight planted, so more than half have…

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tiny seedlings

Several weeks ago–early November, because I had to move the greenhouse for Thanksgiving–Young Indiana and I made a wee greenhouse of a deepish cardboard box lined with tinfoil. We filled several empty toilet paper rolls with dirt, propped the rolls in an egg carton, and tucked orange seeds into the tops. We’ve a string of Christmas lights in the box to create warmth, and a piece of saran wrap across the top to keep heat and moisture in. But our kitchen is Very Cold, and I thought that despite our…

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