I was in a parade last week. For Thanksgiving I cooked a turkey, dressing, gravy, which le Huque pronounced to be "a poem." Fixed a toilet. Weather-stripped a door.
Beyond that, not much else.
My Mom died in September, something many of you reading this already know. If not, well, she did, and now you know. Consequently, the wind has left my sails.
With Thanksgiving behind me, I can feel the mighty suck of the Christmas vortex, so in the coming couple weeks I'll be busy with all that hoopla. Lights. Tree. Presents. I enjoy that stuff, I really do. So that will, very soon, pull me out of these horse latitudes (allegedly that part of the ocean where the wind goes dead, and the sailors must throw horses overboard to lighten the load; almost certainly an apocryphal etymology, from what I've read this morning, as they would have eaten the horses rather than drowned them).
I'll spend what little down time I can find with a blanket and a comfortable chair and China Mieville.
Have a happy holiday.
12 comments:
It's a time to bank the fires, when the light is lowest. Hope the recharge goes well.
I am glad you are taking care of yourself and will be sending you my good thoughts. I hope the holidays with your beautiful family and the slowing down will be healing for you.
Take care of yourself, Clowncar.. we'll be around when you're ready.
Happy Merry Christmas dear friend! Take care and enjoy the festivities. I know I will for sure!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I am very sorry to hear the sad news about your mom, Dear Clowncar ... I send warm and loving thoughts your way.
The season will lift your spirits
and bring you from the doldrums
that lifeless equatorial place
where sailors pray to see
the first white horses on the sea
China Mieville? That should liven your sails. I'm saving Perdido Street as my reward once I finish roughing out the draft.
I hope you find this dead time has actually, secretly been sprouting seeds of rampant growth. To change the sea metaphor to one more earthly.
Holidays are tougher when we're thinking about the ones that aren't with us. Hang in there.
Cocooning time can be good for the soul though. A quiet time to rest and focus on smaller things instead of big projects. Hunker down under a blanket and watch a marathon of old wacky science fiction flicks.
You need to take the girls to go see Santa.
Also... a good movie wouldn't hurt either, I think.
Here's hoping your Christmas has some merriness in it.
Scarlett & Viaggitore
Art, I like the image of the banked fire, the coals burning in the cold, waiting to be rekindled.
Sarah, I'm doing my best to take care of myself. Not always easy at such a busy time. But I promise to try.
Hey Hil. Know you're there. Glad you're there. Hope you have a happy holiday.
Sue Ann: here is some Chistmas merriment rightback atcha!
Thanks for the warm thoughts, Shay. It's a hard time, and your kindness such a blessing.
Gwyl - nice stanza. When I think of horse latitudes I think of the dumb Doors song of the same name. Mute nostril agony and all that.
Emma, this is my first Mieville. Very diverting. Lighter than I expected. Reminds me of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Makes me want to visit London; he displays such a love of that town on the page.
Maggie! Bizarrely, a sci-fi marathon hadn't occurred to me. Til I read your comment. So...perhaps Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is on tap soon.
Thank you Scarlett. In the week since I wrote that I've been doing some healing. Rough seas, but I am approaching land....
Calling all Ootclouders!
Just seen on Al Jazeera TV News was that Voyager 1 is "poised to leave the solar system" , or at least the heliosphere , next goal -Ort Cloud - ok that's 500 times further away - so what! And then the NASA video of the great Sunquake of early August. My God, what a day!
cool, eh, PiR? it's the first thing man as sent out into interstellar space. if it doesn't get smacked down by one of those nasty varmints floating about the Oort Cloud.
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