I'm back

Holidays are never good for me, in an "online connected" context. There's so much family stuff going on, I rarely get near the computer. Seriously. But I'm back now.

Lots of interesting things to report, few, if any, having to do with writing. My entire holiday--which stretched to nearly two weeks due to the university being out--was taken up with a huge new project. I spent a disproportionate amount of time and effort converting the second-floor loft of our home into a fourth bedroom for Orion. Lisa's been chronicling the progress with a series of photos, which I may be able to share sooner or later. Suffice to say, it's been an event. Rather than just put up a new wall, Lisa and I decided to put up cabinets/shelving in the to-be hall side of the wall, not unlike what I wrought for my office bookshelves. Which, naturally, increased the expense dramatically, not to mention the time and complication. The tough part was installing new lighting and rewiring. I'm by no means an electrical genius, but I do okay. No, the real bear was getting up into the attic, which was not designed for human access. Between the fiberglass rash and puncture wounds from bumping into roofing nails once too often, I'm seriously considering posting a sign saying "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter." And about midway through the project, I came down with a nasty intestinal virus. Nice. The room's not finished yet, but all that's left is detail work. Personally, I'm impressed with the results (and the fact that I didn't electrocute myself).

For those of you wondering, yes, I did watch the Holiday Bowl. Both halves. The less said about the second half, the better.

Orion got Lisa a 6-foot palm tree for Christmas (with a little assist from me). I planted it yesterday in the back yard. A major excavation work. Orion didn't offer to help. If the tree lives, it'll look pretty darn cool.

I really cleaned up on presents, personally. Keela, my loving daughter who has in the past given me gifts of Supergirl panties and mouthwash for Christmas, this year went with a pink purse. She's starting to take a perverse pleasure in non sequitur gifts, and I tremble at what the future holds. Calista got me a nice maroon sweatshirt. Orion got me (with help from his mother) the King Kong/Son of Kong/Mighty Joe Young DVD set. Sweet. Lisa, my amazing and talented wife, really outdid herself and plowed through a huge swath of my Amazon wish list, getting me the Farscape season 4 Starburst DVD editions (which I've been watching with renewed glee). I also landed a load of books including Passiflora: Passionflowers of the World by Torsten Ulmer and John M. MacDougal, Trail of Tears by Gloria Jahoda, Stephen Dedman's collection Never Seen by Waking Eyes and James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips. Is that an embarrassment of riches, or what?

Unfortunately, as I said earlier, I haven't done any writing for two weeks. Hopefully, that's going to change pretty soon as I get Orion's bedroom finished up. Stay tuned...

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