Happy Halloween!
Category: Life

4:46 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Context 21
Current mood: blissful
Category: Writing and Poetry

Unequivocally, I had a blast.  I talked myself hoarse and laughed until my ribs ached.  I got a chance to get together with old friends and to meet some people I've only talked to online.  And made some new friends.  I handed out business cards right and left, and got invited into an anthology.

The con suite was AMAZING.  Sushi, subs, pizza, breakfast sandwiches.  And the hotel bar had the most fabulous cheeseburger I've ever eaten.

I was on a panel!  People came to the panel!  People liked the panel!

Saturday night we had a birthday party for Mike West and people came and we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cake.

And I was in the most incredible workshop with Gary Braunbeck.  If you ever get a chance to take one of his workshops, do it.  He opened up whole new places in my brain about writing and dialogue. 

I can't wait until next year.

3:10 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Goodbye Paul
Current mood: sad
Category: Life

Paul Chasse, my dear friend and husband of my oldest, best friend Beth, died in his sleep early Friday morning from as yet unknown causes.  Autopsy results are pending.

Paul was a poet, an artist, a musician, a biker, a writer, a bad boy, a gentleman, and an incredible human being.  One of the most well-read, articulate people it's ever been my privilege to have a conversation with, his appearance was deceiving.  He looked like every biker cliché you ever saw in a movie, but he had a sharp mind and an advanced degree in English literature.

If I hadn't loved Paul for himself, I would have loved him for loving Beth.  Beth and I are true soul sisters, friends since the third grade, and Paul loved and nurtured Beth, encouraging her art, her poetry, and her life.  After her marriage to him, she bloomed into the incredible human being I had always known she was capable of becoming, and I will always cherish Paul for that.

Goodbye, dear, darling Paul.  I will always treasure your memory, and the memories of our tremendous conversations.  You were everything a woman could wish for in the husband of her most beloved friend.  I will miss you so much.

4:29 PM - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Another Goodbye
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Life

The world's tallest woman, Sandy Allen, died this morning at age 53 in a nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana, her birthplace and home for most of her life.

Those of you who know me know Shelbyville was my birthplace as well.  Yeah, I knew Sandy.  We lived in the same small town, went to the same high school (though not at the same time).  Everybody in Shelbyville knew who she was.  You saw her at the movies, at restaurants, at the grocery store.

I went to her house a couple of times, where she lived with her grandmother and her little brother.  In the early 70's when the Guinness Book of World records declared her the tallest woman in the world, a local car dealership gave her a van.  My dad, who was a sign painter at the time, painted her name, the name of the dealership, and "World's Tallest Woman" on the sides of the van.  Because she was a very nice person, and well-raised, she asked us over to thank us.

Now I suppose would be the time to wax lyrical about a woman overcoming her "curse" of being 7'7" tall and using her height to inspire others.  Yadda, yadda.  Whatever.  Yeah, she was tall.  Really tall.  And she accepted the fact that her record-setting height would allow her to earn a certain amount of money by appearing at the Guinness Museum, money she used to support her grandmother and brother.

Or, I could take yet a different high road and talk about how she was just a person to me, "just Sandy".  Please.  I knew she was World's Tallest Woman.  It was, at one point, on the "Welcome To Shelbyville" sign at the city limits.  She talked about being in a Fellini movie and being "on display" at the museum.  About not being able to play basketball because her hands were too big and she was not very graceful.

To me, saying, "She was really nice," is like saying, "Obama is so articulate."   Why would that be surprising?   Why wouldn't she be?  She was raised by her grandmother, a very nice woman.  I suppose she could have been bitter, and she may have been in private, but she just got on with things.

I'm sorry to hear of her passing because I knew her.  We weren't intimate friends, but we knew each other the way small town people know each other.  I don't think she was very well, the last few years.  She died in the nursing where several of my family members have died, where I did some volunteer work as a kid.

It's really weird to try to talk of the death of someone who was a "celebrity" a "famous person", but who was also someone I knew.  Rest in peace, Sandy.

Currently reading : The Secret Life of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd Release date: 2003-01-28

1:39 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Sara And Silent Bill Go To The Fairy Festival
Current mood: content
Category: Art and Photography

The World of Faeries Festival 2008

The Setting

When we got there Friday for set-up, it was incredibly hot, humid, and not a molecule of air was moving.  I thought, We're all gonna die.  Then, in the night, there was a miracle.  We had a lovely weekend, temps in the mid-80's with a breeze.  Our booth was nestled under the intersection of four gorgeous oak trees, so we had dappled sun and shade all weekend.

The Food

Sausages made of wild boar and wild elk, incredibly juicy and delicious.  And a real wood-burning brick pizza oven.  The pizzas were sublime and cooked to order.  And the Pickle Man.  Huge, tangy, ice-cold dill pickles for a dollar.  I had two pickles every day.  The customers didn't seem to mind the slurping. 

The Other Vendors

Since this was the fourth year for the festival, it's starting to take on that "family reunion" vibe.  Friday, we all had hugs and some catching up, then Saturday we toured each other's booths to see what was new and do more catching up.  Sunday we helped each other tear down, and there were more hugs and "See you next year!"  I guess it's sort of that carny fellowship, but everyone is so friendly and it's a great group of people.  I wish I had enough fortitude to join some of the other vendors in the camp area, but I am too old to sleep on the ground, and I do love my showers. 

The Actors

Our two favorites were there again this year.  Jeremiah Wiggins (www.ravenstory.com) , Human Ambassador to the Fairy Realm and Gwydion and Sylver (www.myspace.com/knottybits) , aka the "Thing In A Box Guy".  Both of them did their acts in front of our booth.  It's really hard to focus, to remember I'm supposed to be working and not drop everything to go chasing after fairies or start dancing to the music, or wander out of the booth to watch the acts.  Not to mention Larkspur the fairy, the Crow Girl, and Yelena the Gypsy.  And Swords of Valour (www.swordsofvalour.tripod.com) , great kids, great swordsmanship, not just in the lists, but strolling the grounds and enjoying it to the max.  Sangra, the Latina fairy assassin, who I think was hitting on my husband.

The Crowd

Apparently, every little girl in that part of Illinois has a fairy costume, complete with wings and headdress.  Unrestrained cuteness.  The little boys are all about the swords.  It's so much fun watching people who have never been to the event before and never experienced strolling players.

The Music

Incendio (www.incendionmusic.com)  Incredible, stunning, breathtaking guitar work.  People (myself included) would just turn and gape at the stage when they got going.

Patchouli (www.patchouli.net)  Everybody- vendors, guests, actors – were dancing to these folks' music.  You couldn't sit still.

Istanpitta (www.istanpitta.com)  They came and stood in the grove across from our booth and played for quite a while.  Beautiful voices.

The Gypsy Nomads (www.thegypsynomads.com)  Fun, fun, fun.

Randy Granger (www.randygranger.net) A Native American musician with flute and hanging drum.  Astonishing.

Lehto and Wright (www.lehtoandwright.com)  Refreshing.

The Conversations

Guest:  Have you seen Little Red Riding Hood?

Me:  Not in a bit.  Have you checked to see if she's over in the corner with Snow White?

Me:  You look kinda tired.

Crow Girl:  I was fine until somebody tried to bake me in a pie.

Sangra:  Are you Seelie or Unseelie?

Me: Unseelie.

Bill: Seelie.  (He had no idea what he was talking about.)

The Anniversary Dinner

Sunday was our 12^th wedding anniversary, so after teardown (and a shower), we went to a local restaurant called Valencia, where they specialty is Spanish tapas.  We had sangria and seven kinds of tapas.  My fave was the duck confit, Bill's was the skirt steak with bleu cheese sauce.  I had tapas when I was in Madrid, and it was very nostalgic for me to experience those tastes again.

The Trip Home

Torrential rain.  47 was closed, so we had to backtrack through all these small towns at 35 mph.  Then, when we FINALLY got on 65 South headed home, they closed it down to one lane and traffic simply stopped.  At one point, I just turned the engine off and sat there.  The three and half hour trip home from Chicago took eight hours.  We were afraid we weren't going to get home in time to pick Cassie up from the boarder's.  We barely made it!  She was so happy to see us.  They sprayed her with some kind of French vanilla doggie perfume and she smelled like a giant sugar cookie.  We were wiped out and crashed completely.

10:23 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

More Tails
Category: Pets and Animals

Er, tales.

Cassie came through her surgery without complications.  They called me and told me I could come pick her up, so off I went.

First, I had a meeting with the vet tech about what to expect.  "She'll be drowsy, lethargic, and nauseous.  She'll just lay around, not very interested in food."  After all, she is nine years old, and it was a general anesthetic.  "She'll be in some discomfort."  (In my experience, "some discomfort" is medspeak for "agony".)

Poor baby.  If she wakes up, I'll see if some canned food will tempt her appetite.

So I head out to the front desk and pay the painful bill (perhaps that was the "discomfort"; if so, it was all mine), then they call to have someone bring my ailing sweetie up front.  The next thing I know, I hear the sounds of galloping and panting, and look up to see a Golden Retriever barrelling down the hallway toward me, frisky, perky, and all wag.

Drowsy?  Lethargic?

First we had to do a sniff  'round the entire parking lot, then she jumped into the van and spent the ride home jumping from one seat to the other, to get the full benefit from the windows.  She would pause between the seats occassionally to slobber kisses all over me.

Discomfort?

Home again, and she drank a gallon or so of water, then had to go out.  Once in the yard, she was racing around the perimeter checking to see if either of the neighbors' dogs were out.  Back in, and she looked very pointedly at her EMPTY food dish, then toward the bag of dog food.  By 6:00, she was chowing down like she was getting paid by the kibble.

Nauseous?  Not interested in food?

She's her silly, goofy self this morning, gobbling her morning Milk Bones and plaguing the cats.

Things are looking good for our adoption of Jagger, too.  They want to do a home visit on Tuesday, then we get to meet him.  Yippee!! 

6:41 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

This Blog Is Going To The Dogs
Category: Pets and Animals

Well, we've put in an application to adopt a puppy.  Here he is:

His name is Jagger and he's part Beagle, part Anatolian Shepherd.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!  I think he would really fit in well around here.  He's a rescue, in foster care down in Mooresville, a little town south of Indianapolis.

And Cassie has to have dental surgery tomorrow.  She broke one of her teeth off at the jaw, no IDEA how she did it.  But, we can't leave the root in there to fester, so out it comes.  But it's general anesthesia, which is always worrisome.  Silly dog, she's eating like a horse and lets me poke at the gum all I want to, but the vet says the root will rot if we don't take care of it.

Argh!  Keep her in your thoughts tomorrow.

11:18 AM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

SpellCraft Beads’ Next appearance
Current mood: busy
Category: Art and Photography

Currently listening : The Definitive Collection By ABBA Release date: 2001-11-06

7:25 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

I’m Still Mad Because My Dog Is Dead
Current mood: angry
Category: Pets and Animals

Why do I never get to say good-bye?  People just leave me with no warning.  My mom, Anne, other friends, family members, and my pets.  No preparation, just a phone call telling me they are dead.

Alright, I knew Anne didn't have a long life ahead of her, but one day she was relatively okay, all things considered, and the next, I get a phone call telling me she's dead.

No one called me to tell me they were taking Mom in for a heart catheterization.  By the time someone got in touch with me to tell me there was a problem, all that was left of her was a brain-dead body we couldn't even keep alive on the machines.

When members of my family die, Daddy Dearest always seems to "forget" to tell me until a few days have gone by and the funeral is over.  No doubt, my cousins think I am the most uncaring person on earth, but hey, I don't get the message that somebody's sick.  Just that they died last week.  Or last month.

And every pet who's died on me since I was 13 years old has died without me knowing anything was wrong.  As far as I know they're fine one day, dead the next.  Of course, this isn't always what happened, but my parents and my ex-husband didn't bother to let me know any of them were ailing, just that they were dead.

Is this the norm?  Does this happen to everybody and I just expect something different because I've seen too many movies?  Just ONCE, I would like to get to hold someone's hand, or paw, and actually get to say farewell.

Just once.

3:30 PM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Wanna Read a Great Story?
Category: Writing and Poetry

Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest has posted a story by my friend and fellow IHW member, Michael West.  It's called "To Know How To See," and it is beyond awesome.  You can read it here for free:

.. ..

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-onli....now-how-to-see/

1:54 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment