Blog Without A Name

So!  We here at the Cat Farm did not get whacked with eleventymillion inches of snow, thanking all appropriate deities.  Conditions are currently sunny, but windy, taking the 24F/-4C down to 12F/-11C.  I have dealt with the snow on the deck and stairs, and cleared off the cars, noting that the amount of precipitation is so trivial that the plow guy has not yet made his first pass, to clear the (teensy, tiny) berm.

Now, I’ve had my first cup of coffee and a piece of 12-grain bread with butter, and I’m considering going to the movies.

Sadly, Frozen — y’all talked me into it! — isn’t showing at the Waterville Cinema, having been replaced by Winter’s Tale, about which I’m. . .ambivalent.  But! Frozen is showing at the Augusta Cinema, 30 miles thataway.

MEDot claims the roads are intermittently snow-covered, what a surprise.  If I go down 202, instead of risking my life to those who believe that one must travel at 85 mph on I95 no matter the conditions, the trip should be relatively pleasant.  Leave early, stop at B&N (conveniently located right next door) to sign Carousel Sun, if any, catch the early show and be back before full dark.

*checks wallet*

Well.  Hello, Mr. Jackson.

Hmmmm. . .

Yesterday, that would be Thursday, the 13th, the Plan was to wake up at 4:30 a.m. so that Steve could be delivered at the train station in Brunswick in time to catch the 7:05 to Boston, where he was to partake of Boskone.

The Plan went awry before it was fairly underway, with Jasmine Sprite, Princess of the Night declaring at our wake-up time must be 3:30 a.m. in order that she didn’t miss any play-and-snuggle-time.

Despite this change, Steve did arrive, somewhat blearier than anticipated at Brunswick in good time to catch his train.  The sky was gray and lowering.  I waved good-bye as the train left the station, then boogied up to Topsham, where I paused at Tim Horton’s for an asiago-cheese-sundried-tomato-and-parmesean (ohnomNOM) bagel and a cup of coffee.  I dawdled over bagel and coffee, and read the Portland Press Herald, just like folks in Olden Times used to do, and after breakfast drove back to the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory, where I proceeded to Do Chores and wait for the arrival of the Snowpocalypse.

It did not take very long at all for the father-and-daughter investigative team of Sooper Trooper and Jasmine Sprite to tumble to the fact that Two had Left Together, but Only One Had Returned. They mounted a Thorough Investigation of Every! Room! In! The! House! meeting frequently in the hallway to sniff noses and mutter at each other, doubtless proposing this theory, discarding it, and forming another theory as more facts were uncovered.  At one point, they interviewed Scrabble, who was. . .not cooperative.  Mozart was asleep.

Having Definitely Established that the One who had Not Returned was Steve, the investigative team decided to stick to me like candy on an apple, which made chore-doing. . .interesting.  But, it all got done, eventually, and even some words written, though no nap was taken, because by that point I was too tired to sleep.

Snowpocalypse arriving, I took a couple turns at sweeping snow away from the door and off the steps.  The power went out once, for less than five minutes, and eventually I did go to bed and to sleep.

And here, I want to talk about Trooper for a little bit.  This may be triggery for some folks, so if you don’t like to hear about pets sleeping in beds, or on people, skip on down ’til I say WHEN.

In Trooper’s former life, he was taught to put his front paws around the neck and give a hug.  Which is nice.  However, he also likes to lay on my chest at night, put his front paws against either side of my neck and knead, which is, um, Really Kind Of Scary, because he’s a big, athletic cat with, yanno, scimitars in each of his toes, which I do, yes, clip, but. . .

We’ve had several discussions about this, and he’s tried to modify his behavior, to just lying companionably on me, but. . .it’s no good.  Eventually, he’ll give this little yip and throw his paws around me in a frenzy of kneading.  He can’t just not.

Until last night, when I woke up with Trooper sleeping on me chest and his paws, with claws completely sheathed, resting gently against my cheeks.  He was purring; it was comforting and not at all scary. . .and I went back to sleep.

He really is an Awfully Good Cat.

WHEN.

So, up this morning to find that Snowpocalypse deposited about six inches of pretty heavy, crusty snow all up and down the road.  I’ve cleared the deck and the steps and after I finish this report, I’ll go outside and finish clearing off the cars, so I’ll Be Prepared when the plowguy gets here.

We’re now in the stage of the drill where we hope nothing goes bad with the wires to the south that might affect the power here — and getting on with Things until our next scheduled snowstorm, which is. . .Saturday night.

I hope everybody weathered the storm well.

More later, after car-cleaning.

Bright and cold today; tomorrow?  Snowpocalypse.

You’ll recall that I mentioned the Sylvan Investigations Kickstarter campaign owned and operated by Laura Anne Gilman.  That campaign goes over in a scant few hours, and is still just a leeeeetle bit short of the goal. Have a look, why not, and let’s see if we can push this thing over the top.  Here’s your link.

Speaking of Kickstarter, Streets of Shadows: A Noir Urban Fantasy Fiction Anthology is about halfway to its goal, with twelve days to go.  The ToC so far includes Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, Tim Lebbon, Seanan McGuire, Brandon Massey, Tom Piccirilli, and Lucy A. Snyder, which is worth the price of admission right there.  Here’s that link.

In regard to Snowpocalyse, Our Plan at the moment is to get up at Omighod tomorrow, so I can drive Steve to the train station in Brunswick, then deliver the tax paperwork to the accountant and get home before Shit Gets Serious.  There is a fire laid in the woodstove, and I’m in the process of charging the Big Batteries.  We have put in stores of Mozart’s medicines, cat food, yams, onions, wine. . .all the essentials, in other words.

Snowpocalypse also means that today?  Is devoted to the final ordering of the tax paperwork!  Tax paperwork is entertaining, for values of entertaining that include a tall drink with rum in it at the end of the day.  I personally adore how one place sends me a 1099 for a $103 payment, while another says, No 1099 needed for payments less than $600, but yanno?  It will Very Soon Now be Deb the Accountant’s problem.  I keep reminding myself that she likes dealing with this stuff or she’d embrace another career.

A reminder for those going to Boskone — Steve will be there, I will not.  Here’s his schedule:

Friday, February 14

6:00 — 6:50
Bleeding Hearts
A Valentine’s Day panel about romance in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. What are some of our great love stories for the ages? What stories turned out to be tragedies — or worse? Panelists will discuss how love can turn a character’s world upside-down.
Darlene Marshall (M), Ellen Asher, Leigh Perry, Steve Miller

8 — 8:50
Good vs Evil: The Great Divide
Fantasy often incorporates pure goodness and pure evil, foregrounding them as serious character motivations or actually giving them bodily form. How does the battle of good and evil stay relevant in a world filled with shades of gray? What value does purity, for good or ill, lend to fantasy?
Jack M. Haringa(M), Jeffrey A. Carver, Steve Miller, Steven Popkes

Saturday, February 15

11 — 11:50
Autographing — Steve Miller and Charles Stross

12:00 — 12:50
Writers on Writing: Character Versus Characterization
The success of any story relies upon its characters. But writers can get confused between establishing a character and characterization. What’s observable? What’s hidden? What do we see on the page, and what do we feel when reading about this character as a whole? Writers discuss ways to more deeply develop characters, and how characterization can either get in the way or be used successfully.
Jeffrey A. Carver (M), Sarah Beth Durst, Steve Miller, Greer Gilman, Steven Sawicki

2:00 — 2:50
Kaffeeklatsche — Steve Miller

4:00 — 4:25
Reading — Steve Miller  (Reading from Carousel Sun and from Trade Secret)

5:00 — 5:50
The Long Series — How We Did It
Experts in the long multibook series share their secrets for keeping it alive and interesting. How do you prevent characters and storylines from feeling tired after the third or twelfth or even nineteenth book? How do you keep all those characters and histories straight when coming up with new ideas? Can fandom affect series development? Finally, when — and how — do you bring things to a satisfying end?
Ginjer Buchanan (M), Melinda Snodgrass, Steve Miller, Charlaine Harris

Sunday, February 16

11:00 — 11:50
Ezines, Fanzines, and Blogs, Oh My!
Fanzines, ezines, and blogs come and go, and return again in new and different forms. What is it about fanzines that gives them such resiliency when so many readerships remain in perpetual flux? What are the advantages of these forms? What do their readers — and writers — get out of each?
Steve Davidson (M), Joe Siclari, E. C. Ambrose, Steve Miller

12:00 — 12:50
Reboots: New Chances for Old Stories?
Are do-overs only for television programs, movies, and comics, or can we hit the dreaded reboot button on written fiction as well? Which classic stories should be preserved untouched in SF/F/H’s hallowed halls? Which might gain fresh life – and new readers — from judicious technological or social updating? Once you start changing things, how far should you go?
Steve Miller (M), Shahid Mahmud, Beth Meacham, Alexander Jablokov, Ellen Asher

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Progress on Insert Working Title Here
20,283/100,000 words OR 20% Complete

“There is another risk, not inconsiderable, for what functions on a large scale also functions at the clan level. Since Korval was formed, it was yos’Galan’s sense of propriety and ethics that guided the clan. For the first time in the clan’s existence, we are in a situation that favors yos’Phelium’s strengths over yos’Galan’s.”