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catherineldfThe last 4 months have been a LOT. I have passed my data analytics certification at the University of Minnesota so that's done, at least. I miss my buddy kitty, Shu a whole lot, especially since I am trying to sleep with his sister Ma'at so she doesn't get lonely and she is both loud and lively at unreasonable hours.
A bit more about the kitties: my late wife, Jana, and I adopted them from Feline Rescue back in 2009. They are/were rescue Egyptian Mau mixes so we named them Shu (Egyptian god of dust storms) and Ma'at (goddess of justice). They were bonded and absolutely gorgeous with white under fur and patterned black tips and random spotted patterns on their tummies. Shu was the smartest cat I've ever lived with (Ma'at is a smart kitty too, of course) and clocked in at an impressive 20 pounds. He adored pets and belly rubs and play time and liked to sleep wrapped around my ankles. He made it to 17 before his health began to fail and I had to send him over the Rainbow Bridge.He went out purring and content, but I am still bereft. Here's hoping Ma'at and I are able to adapt to the new normal soon. She is trying, poor little tyke, in her own way.
I lost another friend, this time to cancer, a couple of weeks ago. Rebecca Hranj was one of Jana's students and I met her after I moved Jana into assisted living. She helped me organize and clean out a lot of Jana's studio stuff and we got to hang out a bit around the time she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She fought the good fight and we went out to dinner, chatted on line occasionally and a few months back, I picked her up from an appointment and plied her with cardamom coffee and treats. I really, really wish we'd had more time to get to know each other. 2 years was way too short a time and she deserved better, as did her family and other loved ones, than to go out right before her 44th birthday. RIP to a good one.
What else is going on? I'm starting the spring grant review cycle this week (one of my side gigs) and am working on some stories and articles I have due later this year and of course, the novel. Everything this moving along, if not as zippily as I would like. I've done two bookselling events this month, hosted a yard sale and worked Independent Bookstore Day at DreamHaven. So it's been a very full month, One of my best friends is moving out of the country so I need to tackle mountain of paperwork (she's my emergency contact, among other things) as well as being sad that I won't see her much in a few weeks. I am working on making some new friends and meeting new people so not sitting around weeping into my tea or anything, but it would be nice if everything wasn't always literally or emotionally on fire at the same time. On the bright side, still pretty healthy and on year 2 of Not Being PreDiabetic. Or Diabetic, for that matter.
And, ack, just realized that I forgot to post that Queen of Swords Press has just released Joyce Chng's terrific Sailing the Golden Chersonese! This includes 4 stories about a trans masc pirate and his/their lady love sailing on a fantastical version of the South China Sea, complete with magic, Naks and romance. The cover is by the amazing Dhiyanah Hassan and the interior work is by Terry Roy, who has done most of our interior designs. It is the most beautiful little book!
And with that, back to work on sundry projects.
A bit more about the kitties: my late wife, Jana, and I adopted them from Feline Rescue back in 2009. They are/were rescue Egyptian Mau mixes so we named them Shu (Egyptian god of dust storms) and Ma'at (goddess of justice). They were bonded and absolutely gorgeous with white under fur and patterned black tips and random spotted patterns on their tummies. Shu was the smartest cat I've ever lived with (Ma'at is a smart kitty too, of course) and clocked in at an impressive 20 pounds. He adored pets and belly rubs and play time and liked to sleep wrapped around my ankles. He made it to 17 before his health began to fail and I had to send him over the Rainbow Bridge.He went out purring and content, but I am still bereft. Here's hoping Ma'at and I are able to adapt to the new normal soon. She is trying, poor little tyke, in her own way.
I lost another friend, this time to cancer, a couple of weeks ago. Rebecca Hranj was one of Jana's students and I met her after I moved Jana into assisted living. She helped me organize and clean out a lot of Jana's studio stuff and we got to hang out a bit around the time she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She fought the good fight and we went out to dinner, chatted on line occasionally and a few months back, I picked her up from an appointment and plied her with cardamom coffee and treats. I really, really wish we'd had more time to get to know each other. 2 years was way too short a time and she deserved better, as did her family and other loved ones, than to go out right before her 44th birthday. RIP to a good one.
What else is going on? I'm starting the spring grant review cycle this week (one of my side gigs) and am working on some stories and articles I have due later this year and of course, the novel. Everything this moving along, if not as zippily as I would like. I've done two bookselling events this month, hosted a yard sale and worked Independent Bookstore Day at DreamHaven. So it's been a very full month, One of my best friends is moving out of the country so I need to tackle mountain of paperwork (she's my emergency contact, among other things) as well as being sad that I won't see her much in a few weeks. I am working on making some new friends and meeting new people so not sitting around weeping into my tea or anything, but it would be nice if everything wasn't always literally or emotionally on fire at the same time. On the bright side, still pretty healthy and on year 2 of Not Being PreDiabetic. Or Diabetic, for that matter.
And, ack, just realized that I forgot to post that Queen of Swords Press has just released Joyce Chng's terrific Sailing the Golden Chersonese! This includes 4 stories about a trans masc pirate and his/their lady love sailing on a fantastical version of the South China Sea, complete with magic, Naks and romance. The cover is by the amazing Dhiyanah Hassan and the interior work is by Terry Roy, who has done most of our interior designs. It is the most beautiful little book!
And with that, back to work on sundry projects.