Blooms

The orchid is blooming!



As I took this picture, crazy howls ensued behind me. I turned around to this:



When confronted, Kitty looked as innocent as possible.



*****

It was a dry week - full of tax returns, but little writing. I tried to make some sense of Children Dumpling Soup, but it's so layer-free and non-complicated that it makes me wince. I feel certain that it could be something delightful, I'm just not sure how to get there.

In the meantime, slush reading has returned with a vengeance, since Fantasy Magazine opened their submissions back up, and I'm reminded every single day what works, and doesn't work, in a short story. I have more to say on this, too, so stay tuned.

Finished Mieville's The City & the City. Brilliant book, although I will probably always love Perdido Street Station the most, for its uncharacteristic and beautiful romance between the insect woman and the physicist. Hard to top that one. Also finished the Strahan Best of anthology - eh - and the Hartwell Best of SF 14 - eh. Next up, the Strahan Starry Rift anthology and Priest's Boneshaker. Also a little trip to Barnes & Noble to see if they have a copy of Destination Future, since I haven't received my contributor's copy yet, and I'm desperate to see it! (Already Dad & Krista have copies, but not me!)

****

Watched Julie & Julia tonight - it was wonderful to see women who loved food and the tasting and cooking of it as much as I do, as much as my sisters do, and brother-in-law Benny (an excellent cook) and even Malia - it's one thing to enjoy food; it's another to actively seek out learning more about it, relishing the taste, the texture, the process, and I was delighted by the first half of the movie, although by the second both John and I were antsy because it was getting long and our living room was somewhat stuffy. But it made me happy that I made a delicious, elegant feta meatloaf for dinner - yes, elegant - no ketchup-y meatloaf here - and then sweet potato fries smothered in garlic and parsley and pepper with a dash of cayenne. John can take the credit for those. I just wish I had the time to cook and bake more, and the potential calories. Even with serious, serious working out, I'd still gain weight if I cooked the way I wanted to - and it's not helped by the fact that I'm terrible at throwing food out. Mom thoroughly ingrained in us kids that leftovers are meant to be eaten and enjoyed as much as the original meal.

Maybe when tax season is over, I can pick up more cooking again...only five more weeks. And there are so many delicious new recipes in this month's Bon Appetit...

I also bought a new anthology today - as if I needed another one - and now I really do need a new bookshelf. The New Space Opera 2 - edited by Dozais & Van Gelder. I'm not sure why I don't own the first one, but John Joseph Adam's Federations is mostly space opera stories, and nearly all of them are great reads. But again, that's a JJA anthology, so what do you expect.

Speaking of JJA anthologies, Gio & I need to polish up Witch again, and keep trying to find it a home - but she's learning all about romance in a class online, and I'm busy with taxes...gah.