Mondays/Fridays

Girls are in the bath after an... interesting dinner. I'm listening to them negotiate complicated social issues like who gets what toy and for how long. Now they are practicing crying, then giggling./

Okay, I started this post a long time ago on a Monday, and am finishing it now on a Friday. It was a long month, with too much work to do on the February issue followed by the hub going away for a week to teach. But we are finally to a weekend together at home with not too much extra work, and I have some raised beds to get planting in, a throw blanket to knit, and several books to finish. :)

Here's a society shot of my mum from The Age, 1954, throwing a party way back when:

 

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Abundanza

We've have had an awfully good run harvesting tomatoes. In fact we've eaten so many tomato salads that we are almost completely sick of them.

We got one giant pumpkin and two dinky ones. We also have had a regular supply of jalapenos and the occasional cucumber. The artichoke plant came back after I cut it down to ground-level although I don't think we'll get any more artichokes from this year.

Kyra started kindergarten at the end of August in Montclair and is super in love with going to big kid school. We've already gone on a field trip with her class to Fairyland which was quite the big kid experience. That's all for now as tomato soup is on the stove and grilled chz sandwiches are just about finished.

More on the driveway

New pumpkins have arrived; I had to chase -very carefully- a baby skunk out of the patch tonight. Tomatoes had to be tacked up more as there is a ton of fruit coming. Corn is not looking like we will harvest much, but it is great to watch grow. Girls pictured helping out harvesting seeds from the walking stick kale, which I almost pulled out, but then read a bunch about them, and now am into trying to cook the leaves again.

Bought my self a tree dahlia which I'm excited about. I'm not sure if I can keep it in a container, but I'll try that first, then put it in the ground if it doesn't grow.

 

Return to the driveway

The driveway is booming'. Squash has taken off and I need to find some recipes tout de suite. Peas are blooming. It's really pretty exciting. We picked about 15 tomatoes yesterday, mostly cherries, and two squash. And the pumpkins are coming!

 

The girls picked a bunch of the pea flowers for me. Very sweet. I even have some watermelon coming up from seed, but don't know where to put it. Lena,the cat, has been "helping" me a lot today. I think she missed us.

 

 

 

Have to figure out when to pick the green zebras.

 

Wilds of Wisconsin

Back today from the north woods of Wisconsin. It was crazy hot, 100 degrees some days and humid like the inside of a just-used running shoe, which meant we spent all of our time in various ponds, lakes, and rivers. It was beautiful and fun there, and we got to see almost all the relatives... Matt and I went golfing together for the first time in six years with John and Roger. I didn't suck as badly as I thought I might after all that time. Great Grandpa John came and visited a few times. Grandpa Terry built a play set at the campground and dragged the beach at the campground lake, and all around took great care of us.

We stayed at Grandpa Terry's campsite in a popup for a few days, then into Auntie 'Licia's camper for the rest of the time since she has a/c. There were toads, clams, and fish to catch in the lake (okay, clams don't really try to get away but that doesn't detract from the fun for the 3-5 set). Kyra and Nora got to play with their second cousin Amelia a lot, including planning a pirate trip with the map of Wisconsin, and I got to hang out with Melissa, which was bonus!

I learned a few things: brown leeches don't care much for people, but still have their creepy fu regardless (the first one I met was about six inches long!). Mosquitoes live in the grass there, and still like me and mine better than almost anyone else. Clintonville fireworks are still the best I've ever seen. Catching lots of fish is the best ever for the kids, but takes a lot of work for the poor parent who has to keep removing the hooks from those tiny hungry fish and rebaiting the hooks with worms. I cannot swing from a rope swing (no, there is no video evidence, thank you very much). I now know the best way to cook a tenderloin, thanks Grandpa Terry!

Next, perhaps an update on the driveway farm...

 

 

 

Rock on...

roller derby girl!

 

Driveway farm

Last year there were relative successes and failures in the Trombi driveway farm. Corn grew. It was giant and fantastic. And even edible. Tomatoes, which should be one of the easiest things, failed entirely. Asparagus was in its first year, so performed as expected. Potatoes failed at "towerdom", but there were potatoes nonetheless. It was satisfying to grow things, but not exactly a harvest...

This year I've set my sights much higher. There are tomatoes - even, dare I say, sexy tomatoes. Asparagi were harvested and eaten and have gone to fern. Artichokes have surpassed expectations. Potatoes have been harvested and planted again for seconds. There are carrots, cucumber (though we still struggle with the cukes for some reason), beans, peas, squash, pumpkins (oh last year's pumpkins were pathetic), and I even have hope for my fig tree.

My apple tree is going bonkers! Fanfreakintastic! The girls loves nothing better than coring and peeling an apple, and I'm thinking about apple cider in the fall.

Needless to say, I'm feeling content with my urban farming endeavors. Next, chickens! I've been offered the deal of "get rid of the motorcycle and you can get a coop" by the ever generous hub. I needed a new motorcycle anyway... :)

 

Egg day!

The Easter bunny hauled her ass out of bed at 5:30 this morning to put out the 50 some eggs for the girls to hunt for. Not exactly passing along a survival trait, but it makes for a fun morning. I'm going to have to call mum and tell her to come early I think. There was a high level of excitement from the under five set yesterday, and I think our brunch might have to be a breakfast.
Tomorrow the sis-in-law arrives with hub and dot. They at staying at a hotel, but I'm still seeing our house through hostess eyes and cringing about the chipped paint in the door frames and lino that needs to be replaced etc. Yesterday was spent returning things at Ikea, power washing the flagstone, and washing dogs, except for a brief interlude podcasting, which I was completely brain dead for and probably should have passed on. Sigh.
I've been planting the driveway farm. Have beans, carrots, peas, potatoes, corn, and tomatoes in. These are all in very small numbers, mind you. The asparagus has been coming up, but never in quantities large enough to do more than supplement what we buy at the store. I am excited about this year, hoping it does better than last year.
Oop, one child awakes! Not the one who will bounce out of bed ready for the egg hunt, but this means I need to get going.

It's melting...

The weather is so dry here we've been using a humidifier in the girls' room. The other morning when I opened the curtains, Kyra saw the condensation and asked, "Mommy, is the glass melting?" Fantastic!

I picked her up from preschool today and we went to ice cream at the place down the street for the first time. It was really pretty lovely. I had been thinking of taking her for a sail at Lake Merritt but they were closed, so ice cream it was.

Nora fell down at school again and has a deep scratch on her leg from it. She's a brave little champ, but she does crash a lot.

Hot days in Grass Valley

When the Hub was off on his golf trip, I went with my sister to her friend's house in Grass Valley. IT WAS HOT THERE. I mean 100 deg reeshot. We had a good time despite the temperature -- there's a lake and we got some new floatie gear and togs so the girls could cruise around in the shallows. In the morning there was a deer sleeping outside the living room door. That was very exciting for the under-4 set. We also went to the Nevada County World Music Festival (pa-CHOO-lee, godzundheit!) which ended up being a lot of fun.

Last night one of my oldest friends came over for dinner with her family. Abi's long been a good friend, even though we actually make actual contact very rarely. She's one of those friends that time and distance don't effect -- I could talk to her about anything, and I trust her implicitly. She brought me a gift -- she hand-binds books and is really very good at it. It was one of those small gestures that mean more than I can describe. Here are a photo or two:

Mouse on the loose

Okay, that last post got me a lot of weird "pray to him and he'll send you signs" kind of comments. Needless to say, they have been banished.

In the first part of our current saga, the pit/lab mix brought in a mouse. Wacky. Then she set it free. Wackier.

My husband told me when I got back from Seattle (the Locus Awards and SF Hall of Fame) that Xochi had brought in the mouse, but then it hid behind first one armoire and then the other in our dining room. The next day I saw the mouse poke its head out, tried to get it out from under the furniture, lost it, decided it must have entered the heating system through the nearby grate. The next day I found it trembling in the toilet bowl. THE TOILET BOWL. Thank pete I saw it! I got a couple rags to grab it with and a bag, succeeded in getting it into the bag, and in the rush to get out of doors, it jumped out and ran under the fridge. Sigh.

Tonight, it poked its head out from under the fridge. We chased it out, it ran over my foot (squeal! and I am so not a squealer.), and then under the sink. The hub gets a large piece of cardboard (hm, shield, maybe?) and I get another bag and start digging everything out from under the sink. No mouse, but a small hole where the dishwasher lines go. Sigh again.

I'll keep you posted. This is perhaps not the most entertaining, but the least stress-laden event in my life right now. There were Locus Awards, and will be Readercon shortly. Life is hard with two toddlers and one big old magazine. There are happy bits now and then.

Today

Today I miss Charles, more than most days. I'm going to sign the loan papers to buy a house, my first house, and it's a big deal. I'm going to owe more money than I've ever even thought about earning. Charles was the person in my life who would tell me I'm doing the right thing, that I'll be glad that I did it, and that it will all be all right. I don't have that person anymore; it was Charles, for a long time now. And I really miss him.

Cons this year

Looking at my schedule for the year, I'm planning on going to:

ICFA, Orlando, March 17-21

Wiscon, Madison WI, May 28-31

Locus Awards, Seattle WA, June 25-27

Readercon, Boston MA, July 6-11

Worldcon, Melbourne AUS, Sept 2-6

World Fantasy Con, Columbus OH, Oct 28-31

Still thinking about Nebs and DragonCon, but haven't decided.

Hope to see you there!

February

February is just a tough issue, period. So many lists and figures to put together, but we made it through, first time without Charles.

Now I'm looking at the con schedule for the year, and started to get excited about what's in store. Got the Locus Awards contracts in place with the hotel, and ready to sell tickets. Looking forward to going to Wiscon for the first time. The Foundation is set up and coming along finally. It's going to be a better year, this year.

On the home front, Nora the Bold started to crawl and then moved straight on to pulling herself to standing. It's exciting, but the idea of a nine month old baby that can walk is a bit daunting when you consider the language barrier...

Kyra made a big jump and potty trained herself pretty much, and is going to start at a new preschool in the next two weeks. Lots of exciting stuff.

Started going to the gym again recently, first time since taking over at the mag. Hoping I can keep it up. I'm combining it with my reading quota, since I can read on the cardio machines, and I have soooo much to read now.

And not to jinx anything, but some good news coming down the pike...

Sunrise, Sunset

On my desk today at home, amongst the flotsam, I have a shareholder letter, the Brown trust for which I am co-trustee, the minutes of last year's foundation meeting, and some instructions for placing your child in a preferred school district. It's just kind of snuck up on me, this whole becoming a responsible adult bit. I knew it was happening in bits and pieces all along, but Charles' death has truly hammered it home.

I'm home today taking care of the toddler with flu, which is a worrisome thing. But also reading people's blog posts about WFC and glad I went. I had a great time, though I worked too much and wore myself out. Now I'm working through my own con crud and compulsively taking my daughter's temp every half hour or so. And getting the Recommended List ball rolling finally. A little later than I had hoped, but still within parameters.

Good to see everyone in San Jose. If I get a chance, I'll write a proper post about it...

Not that spring chicken...

Had my first biopsy a few weeks ago. Came back negative. Tarrum tarrah!... I'm still feeling old.

In other news, significant and stressful hurdles have been overcome and tequila will be implemented in celebration. All the same, Friday nights just ain't what they used to be.

Puddle o' cute

Nora getting ready for the Hugos.

At the bar in the Intercontinental with mum.

Happy noises at home

See, things just have a way of getting better.
Pandora's playing Bret Dennin and Cake.
Ribeye and mac n chz for dinner. All comfort food tonight.
From the other room:
"It's time for a bath. Just bring that with you; you can play with it in the bath. D'you want bubbles?"

Keep on rollin'

It's feels a bit like my home life came to a grinding halt since Charles died.

I've called dozens of people to tell them about his death. Set up a dinner and a memorial for him, food, invites, beverages, speeches, flowers. I've dealt with lawyers (2) and tax accountants and signed papers and closed accounts for him. I picked up his ashes. I've got an application in with the IRS for the 501(c)3 and am filling out the board. I'm still doing all of my own work and Charles' too, but that can't work for long.

In the morning, I drop Kyra off at daycare and my newborn off at mum's, who's been a rockstar about watching her, and go to work, and then do the reverse at the end of the day. I'm exhausted by 6:30, but don't collapse until 8:30. I miss my girls.


I keep saying that "once we just get past this next issue, it will be easier." Charles always laughed when I said that. But it will get easier; everything does. And soon enough it will seem like normal again.

And then there's Worldcon, which in the end I am so pleased to be going to. Circumstances notwithstanding, of course. I had really regretted not being able to go to Montreal, but it seemed impossible with the newborn. But we're just going to make it work. Mzmelia's totally on board to help out. She just now starting to come back to herself after the trauma of being with z'boss when he died. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like.

Charles

My boss and my friend, Charles Brown, died on Sunday night, on his flight home from Readercon in MA. I'm writing the editorial in the upcoming issue as editor-in-chief, a promotion that comes at a heavy price. I'll write more about him there, but I'm overcome with thoughts about him, and need to get some of this out.

Working for and being friends with Charles meant taking part in an unending conversation on science fiction, fantasy, horror, the history of fandom, food, jazz, classical music, etc., all of the above interspersed with terrible puns, the occasional shaggy dog story, and jokes you wouldn't tell your mother. He loved to teach, to cook, to share good Scotch and recommendations for music. He had an uncanny sense about people: hated anyone who was fake or overly commercial and was doggedly loyal and protective of those that he loved.

I'm still in shock that he's gone. Despite the fact that he had outlived all expectations and was having health problems, it seemed like he might just last forever out of sheer stubbornness or the need to read one more book or see one more opera. I'm left with the feeling that he might walk in or call me any moment, and we'll take up the right where we left off. I learned from him every time we spoke; the things that he taught me about the SF field, and about life, were immeasurable and constant.

I'm not ready to end the conversation.