The vet called with his report: A perfectly healthy cat, he said. Except for the being dead part — he did not say. Heart perfectly fine. Can’t look at the brain, because cats have hard heads, surprise me.
Tissue going to the lab. Another little cedar box will be ready for me to pick up on Friday.
Monday. Rainy and cool.
Just back from the vet. They will do a regular postmortem and call me when they have those results. If they aren’t able to nail down what happened, then they will need to send tissue samples to a full-service lab, wherein we start to talk about $erious Money.
Firefly, and especially Rook, have been keeping very close — Firefly sitting on my lap, and Rook following me from room to room. So far, he’s brought me his lizard, his pink ball, and a piece of hardware he stole off the dining room table, which is — cough — off-limits to cats.
I should find something to eat.
This is going to be … difficult.
Rookie did come to bed with me when I finally decided that I had to at least lie down, despite the fact that Tali most consistently slept with me.
Unfortunately, he got up in a couple hours and stamped around the house, calling, and going downstairs to bang on the two closed doors, which … was actually pretty smart. I got up, picked him up, opened the doors, and showed him that Tali wasn’t locked in anywhere.
He was present when Tali died, and I made a point of allowing him and Firefly to pay their respects before I put her in the fridge. I think Firefly Gets It, but Rook hasn’t seemed to put the poor dead kitty and Tali in the same sentence yet.
She was only here for 19 months, but she leaves a big hole.
I? have a raging headache, no surprise, and can’t see too well. Probably the smart thing to do, after I’ve managed to talk to a human at the emergency vet, is sit down, close my eyes and listen to music, or a book, or … something.
While I do realize that Tali — and I — were “lucky” that this happened so quickly, and apparently painlessly, just like Steve — and I — were “lucky” for the same reasons — it’s … a lot.
A lot.
I may be off-line for a few days.
Thanks to everyone for your care. The cats and I appreciate it.
Tali died about an hour ago.
She was chasing the red dot with Rook, an evening routine, when she staggered, fell over, coughed a couple times and —
She’s gone.
So, yesterday went a little pear-shaped. I had planned on an all-writing day, but Real Life intervened, which meant I got a couple hours of writing done, plus my duty to the cats, plus some little bit of embroidery while listening to Chanur’s Venture. I did chat a bit on Facebook, mostly about cats. To wit:
Answering the question that went past and now I can’t find it again: Is Tali the biggest Maine coon currently in house?
The contestants are:
Firefly, calico — 6 years, 11 lbs
Tali, orange tabby — 4 years, 13 lbs
Rook, black– 2 years, 13 lbs
Ladies and gentlebeings, we have a tie!
Biographical notations:
Firefly is petite, for a Maine Coon. She’s also an adult, by Maine Coon reckoning, and the most retiring of the present lot of supervisors. She’s affectionate, but easily overwhelmed, and can frequently be seen thinking. It is well to recall that Firefly has taken . . . many losses: Belle, Steve, Sprite, and Trooper.
Tali is the most compact of the three; when she lands on your lap, you know you’ve been landed on. She is the supervisor who demands the most lap-time. Very bossy, our Tali.
Rook is a growing boy; easily distracted, very affectionate, and scary smart. He and Tali have formed a partnership — he keeps time and she registers the complaint.
More about Maine Coon growth stages here.
The above led to the question of which was the largest Maine coon we had owned, to which I answered: You know? I’m not sure. Hex(apuma) was pretty big, but lanky. I thought Mozart–our first Maine Coon–was Ginormous when I first saw him. I think he might’ve clocked in at 14 or 15 pounds. Trooper was 17 pounds FORever, and in her heyday Belle had a pound on two on him. Sprite was right around 15 pounds. To put all of this into perspective, a Bichon Frise (aka “the little white dog everybody has”–I finally asked someone what breed her dog was) will weigh between 12 and 15 pounds.
This answer led to the evergreen But I thought Maine Coon cats were HUGE! To which I answered: Breed standard for Maine Coons is females 12-15 pounds, males 18-22. So, yeah, I guess I’ve had small Maine Coons. Given that domestic cats average from 8-12 pounds, that’s big enough.
Maine Coon breed standards here.
#
All of which leads us handily into today, which I believe to be Friday–sunny and going to be warm-but-not-hot. Tomorrow, we’re looking for the rainy rags of the nor’easter that’s been plaguing downcoast to arrive.
I had flat egg and Swiss cheese on homemade bread for breakfast, I am updating my blogs while I drink my third cup of tea, and will shortly be moving back to Steve’s office to accomplish some work on the WIP. For lunch, I have my choice of warming up a pre-cooked pork chop with … I think there’s carrots left over, or warming up leftover chicken pot pie.
Not a particularly ambitious day, but mine own.
And hoping yours is enjoyable.
59 Pride of Chanur, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Dina Pearlman
58 The Glass-Cursed, (Whispers & Wayfarers #1) P.H. Blackwood (e)
57 The Paladin, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Stephen Bowlby
56 An Heir of Possibilities (Bad Heir Days #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
55 Bone and Blood, (Border Kingdom #2) C.E. Murphy (e)
54 Liberty’s Prison, Randall Liberty, Christine Graf (e)(bkclb)
53 Daggerbound, (Swordheart #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
52 A Gentleman of Modest Ambitions (Lord Julian #12), Grace Burrowes (e)
51 Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
50 Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
49 Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48 Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47 Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
46 Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
45 Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
44 Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
43 Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42 Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41 Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40 The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39 Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
38 Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37 Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
36 Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
35 Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
34 Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33 Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32 Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31 The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
30 A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
29 Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
28 Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
27 Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
26 A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
25 Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
24 Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
23 Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
22 Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
21 When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
20 An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
19 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
18 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
16 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
14 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
13 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
12 *Mouse and Dragon (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)
________
*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order
**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.
***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!
The coon cats were keeping a Very Close Eye this morning. Photographic proof here
Wednesday. Sunny, clear, and cool.
The misdelivered box came home this morning. The heat pump situation has been rectified and a tutorial received. I’ve read 150 pages/24,000ish words of an incomplete Jethri novel which I think was being set up to explain why Jethri’s genes were all over Spadoni Station in “Revolutionists,” with a side of Shakespeare. Written in 2020.
The bit I remembered is part of the Spadoni Station/Shakespeare fragment (if you can call a quarter-book a “fragment”), and while it could be hammered into what I’m working on, I think it will better serve as what’s nowadays called a “short novel” (Remember when ALL novels were 50,000 words? Yeah, yeah, and cost 25 cents.). It won’t be canon, but we’ve done this before. So! This bit gets put aside for later finishing and publication through Pinbeam Books.
I still have 37,000ish words to read of yet another “failed” piece — this one recognizably coming off of Fair Trade, written in September 2022. Fair Trade was published in May 2022.
Just for fun, I also have 3700ish words of a short story, that I wrote in November 2001, passed to Steve, and it got set aside in the Press of Other Business. What in Ghu’s name were we even doing in November 2001? We were still with Meisha Merlin, and Balance of Trade wasn’t published until 2004. Why was Jethri even — oh, wait. “Balance of Trade,” the novella, would have already been published in Absolute Magnitude. That’s why Jethri was even, and makes more sense of the story, too. We were thinking ahead, as we tended to do. Anyhow, I’ve only glanced at it, not really read it. Might be able to be finished without too much trauma, if I get enough flex in the rest of life.
Pay copy comes first.
The rest of today is, alas, chores.
I finished reading The Glass-Cursed last night — it’s a cozy, I guess, because the decision was made to let the Group Handle It, rather than allow one of their number to take the whole cost of the thing onto herself, despite her part in having created the problem in the first place. “Many hands make the work light,” and also “Grace to those who fought.” I did finish it, but it was starting to wear on me after a bit, which I means that, for me, it could’ve been shorter. Also, there are serious timing problems at the end when the characters don’t seem to know if something took two days or seven months, and the Really Important Question of How a certain thing got produced, given that there’s no X, and also Y is completely ignored.
I started the book club book at lunch, The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout, partially set in Shirley Falls, Maine, which is big enough to have a hotel, so it can’t actually be set in Skowhegan, which was where my mind went.
And that? Is all my news.
What’s yours?
Good morning, Rook
Good morning, Firefly
Good morning, Tali
58 The Glass-Cursed, (Whispers & Wayfarers #1) P.H. Blackwood (e)
57 The Paladin, C.J. Cherryh, narrated by Stephen Bowlby
56 An Heir of Possibilities (Bad Heir Days #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
55 Bone and Blood, (Border Kingdom #2) C.E. Murphy (e)
54 Liberty’s Prison, Randall Liberty, Christine Graf (e)(bkclb)
53 Daggerbound, (Swordheart #2), T. Kingfisher (e)
52 A Gentleman of Modest Ambitions (Lord Julian #12), Grace Burrowes (e)
51 Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
50 Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
49 Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48 Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47 Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
46 Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
45 Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
44 Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
43 Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42 Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41 Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40 The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39 Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
38 Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37 Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
36 Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
35 Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
34 Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33 Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32 Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31 The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
30 A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
29 Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
28 Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
27 Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
26 A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
25 Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
24 Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
23 Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
22 Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
21 When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
20 An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
19 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
18 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
16 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
14 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
13 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
12 *Mouse and Dragon (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)
________
*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order
**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.
***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!
Tuesday. Sunny and cool.
Today’s writing was chasing down partials and half-remembered notes from Steve’s side of his computer. I had a couple of bad minutes when I thought I was going to have to drag out his old Windows machine and do a forced march through that hard-drive, but just when the night seemed darkest, I found the piece I was looking for.
Which, as it happens, is not, as Steve had insisted at the time, wrong; it was just in the wrong place. This happens a lot, especially in the writing of novels. Which is why you might take That Piece There out of the active file, but you never throw it away.
Having found the files, I have some reading to do, but that’s for tomorrow. For today, I’ve spent every available spoon going through Steve’s indexes, which was a reminder–yet again–that, no, we didn’t think alike–and that’s why we worked.
Ah–there will be some, I suppose, who will wonder why I’m ferreting out these bits and pieces–surely, it would be easier to “just” write on in a forwarder direction? And, yanno? Maybe it would be. But this was Steve’s book, and God She knows he broke not a few brain cells on the thing, and it’s my intention to tell the story he intended–he wanted–to tell. Insofar as I can, being as we didn’t think alike, but I’m the one left standing.
In so-called Real Life, the heat pump in my bedroom seems to be On Da Fritz, so I’ll be calling the heat pump company in a few to see what they can do for me.
This evening is needlework, which I really want to go to. I skipped last week because my back wasn’t up for the chairs.
And that would be the contents of my brain on this fine morning.
What’s filling up your brain today?