Category: Blog

So, we went to Saratoga Springs, New York, site of this year’s World Fantasy Convention.  Editors were met with, colleagues were plotted with, research was done, the art show was viewed — and praised, lavishly, which it richly deserved.

I’m not going to name all the folks we saw, because inevitably I will forget someone (by reason of having a lousy memory, not because someone is at all forgettable) and hurt feelings will ensue.

Let all feelings be merry and bright.  I was very happy to see all of you!  Yes!  Even you.

But!  All was not labor and toil.  Steve and I celebrated the 35th anniversary of Actual Marriage, a different celebration than the anniversary of Becoming a Team — the 37th anniversary of that occasion was duly observed on April 1.

How did we celebrate our anniversary, you ask?  Well…I don’t know if you’ve ever been in Saratoga Springs, but it is an extremely walkable little city, and the weather was our friend.  On Friday, the high temperature was 72F/22C, a little breezy, a little cloudy — absolutely perfect for walking around town, exploring/shopping/and just in general being tourists.

We went first to Northshire Books, where we had signed Dragon in Exile, back in June.  It’s a marvelous bookstore, but we hadn’t had a chance to explore it as it deserved, then.  This time, we made up for it.

After we had, ahem, completed our purchase of approximately one-half of the store, we walked down to Congress Park.  Despite the fact that the carousel was closed for the season, and the fountains drained for winter, we spent an hour-and-a-half spacing around, taking pictures, reading about the various springs, of which Saratoga Springs holds, conservatively, four billion, and just — just.  It was fun.

Here, have a picture of Pan from the Palladian Circle:

Oh!  Also a picture of Triton:

And the closed carousel:

And?  A duck.  Because you can never have too many pictures of ducks.

So, where was I?  Oh.  Shopping.  After we wore ourselves out on Congress Park, we crossed the street to the Visitors Center, where we Asked Questions, and were not asked to leave, though, eventually, we did leave, to find Phila Street (which really ought to be Phila Alley; it’s a thin thing, even by city standards), and thereby Ravenous Creperie, where we had a lovely lunch — Steve chose Crepes Heloise, and I chose Crepe Marsal, with tall glasses of Moroccan Mint iced tea.  Replete, we proceeded up the hill, for more shopping at G. Willikers Toy Store (where we bought a bucket of snowballs for the cats, to replace the little fuzzy balls that were destroyed through a surfeit of love), and the Saratoga Spring Olive Oil Company (where we bought three different vinegars:  the 18-year traditional, the Blackberry Ginger, and the Hojiblanca, for those Vynegreans among us.)  We visited the luthier, and a hat shop, window-shopped up and down Broadway until we were pleasantly tired, then called the hotel shuttle to come pick us up (in front of the Algonquin hotel-now-luxury-apartments), and sat on a bench, watching the world go by.

Now, all of this was very pleasant, but I’ve left out the part where dozens of strangers, most, but not all of them, women, across every age group, stopped me to say, or called out to me, or whispered in my ear as they strolled past — “I love your hair.”

Here’s a picture of my hair as seen in Saratoga Springs this weekend (with Valerie Green Schoen, also sporting purple hair):

. . .Saturday morning, Steve and I went to Saratoga Spa State Park, on purpose to find the Spouter, which is probably the closest I’m ever going to be to a geyser (though the Spouter isn’t a geyser — the effervescence of the mineral-laden spring waters cause the Spouter to, err, spout; a true geyser is powered by heat.), and took a walk up the hill to the Orenda Spring.  Because of press of business, we had to be careful of our time, else we would have walked all over the park, which is gorgeous, and inviting, and…sigh.

Here’s a picture of the Spouter:

Sunday morning, we drove out and inspected Yaddo Gardens.  It being November, the fountains were dry, and the statues were under cover, but it was still an impressive place.  I want to go back in August, when the rose garden is in bloom.

Here’s the gate into the rose garden:

And the rose garden fountain:

 We left Saratoga Springs early Monday morning.  The original plan had been to go through Norwich, Vermont and visit the King Arthur Kitchens, but in the end, we were just too eager to get home.  We’ll do King Arthur another day.

And that?  Is how I spent my last five days.  What’ve you been doing that’s —

Oh, look; a squirrel!

 

A.  Go into town, hit the grocery, the post office, and maybe Juliet’s bakery, because I’m outta cranberry/walnut cookies and I don’t have time to bake today.  There, I knew I could come up with a good reason.

B. Finish the laundry.  Honest to ghu, who wears all these clothes?  *glares at Princess Jasmine Sprite*

C.  Finish Interview One and send it on.  Stare at Interview Two for half-an-hour; put it aside to think about.

D.  The Gathering Edge — move forward with the mmmmf and mmmfng thread.  A Theme seems to be emerging across the threads; always a Heady Moment.  The manuscript in all its threadiness now stands at 46,025 words.

E.  Finish reading my book.  I only have 30 more pages to go, and while I want to know what happens, the viewpoint is plucking my nerves.  Granted, the viewpoint is plucking her nerves, too, so at least we’re on the same wave length.

F.  Review what we’re voting on tomorrow.  Tomorrow is Election Day.  Pffft.

So!  What’s on your to-do list for this damp and grey Monday?

 

According to File 770, the San Jose in 2018 Worldcon bid is seeking suggestions for Guests of Honor.

WorldCon GoH is a big deal; a recognition of life time achievement in the field; and the criterion for suggestions provided by the San Jose bid committee reflect this.  In particular, suggested  GoHs must have:

• An established career, usually considered to be 30 years from entry into the field.
• Current relevance, usually considered to be current activity and notability. In the case of writers, availability of their back catalog in print/distribution is an excellent yardstick.
• No prior recognition as a Worldcon Guest of Honor (for past guests, see http://www.smofinfo.com/LL/TheLongList.html).

The committee intends to honor guests in the fields of:  Writing, Editing, Art, Music, Science, and Fandom.

Recommendations will be accepted through December 15, 2015.  Full information, with links here.

If you are considering suggesting a writer GoH, you do have a good resource available to you so that you can check such things as that 30-year established career.  It’s the Science Fiction Encyclopedia.  Here’s the link.

According to the SF Encyclopedia, Steve Miller began publishing in 1976; Sharon Lee in 1980.  The Lee-Miller collaboration is dated as from “The Naming of Kinzel,” published in 1984.