Update the Sixth

So, yesterday, Steve and I took our planned excursion to the Festival of Trees, me on my shiny blue scooter and Steve doing the driving and the heavy lifting.  The entrance to ELM (formerly the VFW Hall), site of the Festival, has a lovely, lovely ramp, and I scooted right on up to the doors, which!

. . .open out, and no push-button in sight.  Oops.

Steve had gone to park the car, and I was considering turning the scooter around to meet him at the end of the ramp (thereby clearing the entrance door for the able-bodied) when a very nice lady, who was exiting the facility by the other door, saw and instantly understood my problem, said, “Let me open that for you!” and did, so that got worked out.

I scooted into the lobby and the ticket seller called out, “Hey, nice rig!” and we talked scooters vs wheelchairs, and one hand brake vs two until Steve arrived, paid our way in, and we went into the big room.

There were two ticket-takers at station.  One said, “I know you didn’t do this to get attention, but that’s a really nice scooter.”  The other asked me to ring the scooter’s bell for him, which I did, explaining about the cats, who no longer really regard the scooter, or the bell, as having anything to do with them — and then we were in!

I bought my tickets and scooted off to consider decorated trees and the gifts under each.  I try not to bid on tree-packages that were clearly put together with children in mind, though I was very, very tempted by the unicorn/mermaid package, which included a wooden rocking unicorn, a fairy tent, and unicorn/mermaid ornaments on the tree.  Sprite would’ve loved it.

Anyhow, most of my tickets went to packages offering three days at this or that lodge, or cooking utensils, electric “wood stoves,” season tickets to the Opera House, and like that.

When I was done, I sat myself down in one of the chairs up front, people-watched, and talked with the neighbors as they came by.  One lady let me know that she had used to play “Beano” (the Maine equivalent of Bingo, and they let people who aren’t Catholic play), when the building was the VFW Hall, and years ago.  “People still smoked inside then,” she said, “and there was this blue haze, and the caller’s voice coming out of it.  There was a guy who sold ham sandwiches — they were very plain; just butter on bread, and a piece of ham, and they tasted so good!”

I love talking to the neighbors.

Anyway, Steve having finished his communing with the trees, we got back in the car and headed out for a ride.  I had in mind a long, looooooonnnnnnggggg ride, because I’ve been stuck in the house since the rocks cooled.  Unfortunately, that turned out to be a case of the brain being willing, but the body saying, You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me, and we wandered home after a shortish ride, having taken on-board a Subway flatbread sammich for lunch.

Back home, we each ate our half-sammich, and then finished reading Welcome to Temptation (Jennifer Crusie) to each other, and then, what the heck, we said, and watched “Kinky Boots” (again).

Truly, it was a Very Fine Writers’ Day Off.

Today, I have work to do — no really.  I finished reading Trader’s Leap.  I am therefore on-deck to take my swing at a blurb (Steve has taken his swing and a very fine effort it is. Usually, these things wind up being part of this one, part of that one, and part of what the House has to say, so once again we see that writing is a Science.  Ahem.)

After the blurb, since I did just finish reading Trader’s Leap, Steve and I need to talk about the difficulties with the script mentioned by Madame the Publisher, so — revisions in future!  What fun.

In the meantime, I’m a little wrung out from all of yesterday’s excitement, and a nap has been penciled into the afternoon schedule.

For those who come here for publication news:  Accepting the Lance, the 22nd novel of the Liaden Universe®, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, owner-operators, will be published on December 3.  That’s, like, ten days from now.

There is a short story, “A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom,” posted on Baen.com to tide you over.  The story is free for everyone to read, but!  It will be taken down in mid-December when another story, by another Baen author will be posted.  The story is on the front page, but you need to scroll down to find it*.

Also, the new mass market edition of Carpe Diem — the third Liaden book ever written — will be released  on February 25, 2020.

Trader’s Leap is, I believe, scheduled for publication around this time, next year.

One more thing, and I’ll let y’all go:  I had been going to title this blog post “My Ramblin’ Boy,” for obvious reasons.  I had always thought this song was old, old, really old, because I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know the words.  But!  Peter Seeger lets us know that it was written by Tom Paxton (who subsequently recorded in on the album “Ramblin’ Boy,” in 1964). So!  This song was written in my lifetime; simple math tells us that I was twelve the first time I heard it.

Here’s your link.

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*For those who are tired of hearing me say this:  there are many people who miss this point, about scrolling down, and for some reason they write to us to complain that the story isn’t there, after all.  My patience is a Very Limited Commodity, therefore the oft-repeated instruction.