Scarlett Letters

It seems like we did All the Things this weekend. What did we do? Good heavens.

Well, first of all, davidlevine was up from Portland for the weekend. That, already, was a goodness.

For another thing, the Kobold Press crew—myself most assuredly included, even at long distance—won two golden ENnie Awards at GenCon for the KOBOLD Guide to Worldbuilding, one for Best Writing and one for Best RPG-Related Product. I was following the awards ceremony via Twitter while I finished up a project at work that was on deadline. I thought maybe we'd win one, for best writing, mainly because we'd won Best RPG-related project last year for the Complete KOBOLD Guide to Game Design and something else ought to get a turn. But no—the fans and the industry decided: we got two, and I couldn't be more delighted. David and I went out for a celebratory dinner at the Stumbling Goat, which was just marvelous.

Saturday, we went sailing. JF invited us all (that being David, myself, EB, and MD) onto the Look Far for a cruise from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and back. David and M each took a turn at the wheel, and we enjoyed sunshine and lovely breezes—not to mention the beautiful sights that Puget Sound has to offer, including sea lions, seals, all manner of water fowl, and beautiful cityscapes. I brought along a bottle of bubbly wine to continue the award celebration, and we all partook, even if it was just a sip. ( Pictures beneath the cut )
We were so pooped at the end of the day and we stayed in, watched a movie, and went to bed pretty early at the end of it all.

Sunday, we got up to go write with the usual suspects. I got 1000+ words written on the novel without even realizing that I was doing it. We strolled the Ballard Sunday Market, then stopped at the Ballard Locks, where we saw seals and salmon jumping out of the water—splish splash!—into the warm summer air.

We then dashed home to change our clothes and attend my friends TM and AH's wedding. AH works at the Seattle Opera, and arranged for the ceremony to be held on the stage, where the set for the current performance still stands—a set from Wagner's Ring Cycle! The bridesmaids carried bouquets; the groomsmen carried spears. It was a marvelous thing, a remarkable set, and a lovely, lovely wedding. ( Greetings from Valhalla, where we are all very serious people )

David left for Portland this morning and I went back to work. Yep, it was a busy, busy weekend, but we had a marvelous time!

Sunday, davidlevine, kateyule, and I got up and out to meet janetl, EB, and MD for brunch at Southpark. After delicious food and lots of laughter, we headed over to the Portland Art Museum to see its exhibit, "The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece," a show featuring sculptures and other artifacts from the British Museum collection. It was a small but select exhibit, and the works were without exception beautiful and thought provoking. The museum's gift shop would have been worth the trip all by itself, but was a bonus on top of the exhibition.

Back at the house, I took pictures for D & K -- headshots for their acting work -- and then headed out for a brief visit with jaylake and his coterie of caretakers before hitting the road for Seattle. Good to see our man Jay, even in his chemofied state.

The drive home was incident free and pretty quick. It took me about 3 hours to get to Portland; in the rain and darkness it took me only another half hour to get back. If I hadn't stopped to grab a bite, my time would have been three hours again. Either I timed my trip well to avoid the usual mess around Joint Base Lewis-McChord, or they've cleaned up what had become an absolute traffic morass around there for a couple of years. In any case, I was grateful for the easy drive and delighted to come home to kitties who were practically dancing with joy at my return.

davidlevine was up for the weekend and, being the writerly/artsy types we both are, we took in the pleasures that society and Seattle had to offer. Here are the highlights:

I've never been much for pork, but I've always been one for good company, so when Kuo-Yu Liang and his wife invited me to join them for their annual pig roast and birthday celebration* (Adrian's), I accepted. D & I went, spent some time with Greg and Astrid Bear, shellyinseattle, and others, and learned about roasting a whole pig in a wooden/metal crate surrounded by hot coals. The results of said roasting were spectacularly good and the party a pleasant way to pass the afternoon.

We spent the evening seeing "Chaps!" at Taproot Theater in Greenwood. I've never been to Taproot before, so I had no idea what to expect. What we got was an entertaining evening in an intimate theater setting. "Chaps!" is set in 1944 in London at studio B at the BBC. The production team awaits the arrival of an American troupe of cowboy performers for a special radio presentation with an in-studio audience. When only the group's manager shows up with costumes and scripts, the troupe having gotten lost in transit, the Brits decide to put on the cowboy duds and gamely make their way through the repertoire. The pretense of Brits trying to imitate cowboys quickly fell away in polished performances that became more of a revue of cowboy music of the era than the fish-out-of-water comedy it was supposed to be. In the end, though, it didn't really matter. The cast was talented and put on a great show. We left with smiles on our faces. I'll be watching Taproot for more performances in the future. They're pros and I want to see what else they can do.

On Sunday after D departed, I met ironymaiden and varina8 to see Melissa Etheridge at Woodland Park Zoo's ZooTunes. We spread the ground cover to the left of the stage and had a great time. Etheridge, a year older than me, looked terrific; mostly what I liked about her was her frank and direct comfort with herself, her age, her appearance. She looked like a stylish, rock 'n' roll mom who played kick-ass guitar and belted her guts out. I was surprised, though I shouldn't have been, at how much of her catalog I know given how long I've been a fan; it was an unexpected pleasure of the evening. And she rocked the park. I'd say she blew the roof off--except there was no roof, it being an outdoor show and the weather being picture-perfect for same. We had a great time, and I'm delighted we went.



* I originally typed "celeration" and found myself wondering fleetingly what such a thing might be: the state of being celery?

And a fine, busy weekend it was. davidlevine was in town and so there was much running about and taking of the town by storm.

Saturday started with breakfast at Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe in the company of ironymaiden and melkahb, where we were greeted by Mae herself. Surrounded by cow memorabilia, we enjoyed a tasty and filling breakfast, and talked about technology, the Transcendentalists, and the Giant Mouth (tm) on one side of the room. We then headed out to Woodland Park Zoo for a Real Close Guided Tour.

The Real Close tours are private tours that one must reserve in advance, and they take visitors through the African Village, the Savannah and Savannah Aviary exhibits, and then backstage to the commissary and greenhouses. In the course of the tour, the guide provided information about the history of the zoo as well as tidbits about plans for new habitats and expansion. She also pointed out places where what looked like natural landscape was in fact actually educational sculpture featuring bones and "fossils" that were thematically appropriate to the parts of the zoo they were in. I'll never look at the landscaping in the zoo the same way after this. In the commissary we got an up-close-and-personal view of how food is prepared and distributed to the animals, and what sorts of food the zoo provides. We went into the refrigerator and freezer where food is stored, and saw the sorts of things one doesn't think about typically when one visits a zoo (pictures and more detail anon). I was entertained and enlightened. The greenhouses were wonderful, filled with all sorts of exotic plants and flowers. We learned that the zoo makes a concerted effort to be self-sustaining, and that many of the plants throughout the park are cultivated and used to feed the animals, not just for being pretty or picturesque. We got to see the area where one of the zoo's biggest fundraisers--ZooDoo--is created. (Yes--we went and looked at steaming piles of compost.) And we got a larger perspective about the zoo's role in conservation. It was a great tour and I'm glad we took it.

We then spent a couple of hours prowling the grounds. We visited the penguins, of course, the eagles, the elk and wolves, we passed by the wallabys and tigers, and stopped last at the beautiful jaguar enclosure, with its handsome if sleepy inhabitant. Lovely way to spend the better part of the day.

That evening, we met markbourne and e_bourne for a delicious Mexican dinner at Peso's Kitchen and Lounge, and then headed off to ACT to see Mary Stuart, a fictionalized drama about the conflict between the cousins Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I by Frederich Schiller, remarkably timely given its themes of power and politics, and the sources of loyalty and trust. The cast was the cream of Seattle theater, the play staged in the round. The costuming choices were interesting, in that the queens were clothed in elaborate period attire, but all the other characters were dressed in contemporary suits and dresses in shades of black or gray as if to accent the fact that the play was about the two queens. I thought the performances were uniformly excellent. As e_bourne pointed out in her post about the show, the actresses playing the queens could have played either role and, in fact, for all that the script goes on about what a beauty the younger Mary is, the actress who played Elizabeth might have more credibly been cast as her cousin. This last is a tiny nit in what was otherwise a flawless performance and a delightful evening. (Interesting trivia: The play contains a suicide scene that, in 2008, proved a dangerous one to play. Its history made seeing the scene a little spooky, and certainly gives one ideas about haunted plays and haunted theaters--perfect for an October evening out.)

On Sunday morning, we took a walk through the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, which I like a great deal, and from thence proceeded into Myrtle Edwards Park a bit. The weather was crisp and cool, and it was breezy there on the shore, but it was a pleasant way to spend an autumn morning. We had lunch at a local diner, and then I dropped David off at the train station.

My last stop of the day was to pick up the new car, which felt strange. It was my car . . . but not. I suppose it will feel more and more like my car as the days go by. I'll be driving it hither and yon today for a lunch engagement and for errands. Perhaps as I spend more time in the vehicle, and when I hang my spirit bell on the rear-view mirror, it will feel a little more like it's mine.

Tonight, at the brilliant suggestion of ironymaiden, we (Miss Maiden, varina8, and shadow_and_veil) attended an event at Richard Hugo House called Two Books Enter, One Book Leaves. The idea was that attendees bring two books as admission, and take one book home. The leftovers will be donated to the Friends of the Library, whose book sale each year raises money for Seattle Public Library. It was a perfect thing for booklovers like us.

Lately I've been keeping a shopping bag full of books in the trunk of my car for trading in, so I grabbed a couple of books out of it for my admission. Of course, I found two books I wanted instead of just one, so I fetched another two books from my trunk. And what did I get? Fool on the Hill and Sewer, Gas, and Electric, both by the remarkable matt_ruff, both of which have been recommended to me by several people (and, by the way, have gotten stellar reviews), and neither of which I've actually read (though I'm a fan of his Bad Monkeys). The copies I picked up were pristine. I'm completely delighted. While we were there, I also ran into JH, whom I see mostly at science fiction conventions. I wasn't surprised but I was pleased to see her. I'm just surprised I didn't see more of our tribe at the event.

Afterwards, the four of us went to Ballet, an Asian restaurant just a few blocks over, and had Chinese food for dinner. Also, to celebrate the Chinese new year--the Year of the Rabbit Bunneh! Gung ho bok choy, everyone! ::wink::

With one glaring exception, today was just a fine, fine day.

The exception, of course, was the shooting of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Justice John Roll, and the many people who were killed or injured alongside them at the Congress on Your Corner event earlier today. e_moon60 has made an excellent post on the subject, well worth reading, regarding the nature of Rep. Gifford's injuries and her recovery, as well as the probable provocation of the event. I'm of a mind to agree with her. The New York Times is following the story and updating their primary coverage, which currently includes the suggestion that the 22-year-old suspect may have had an accomplice. As I said on Facebook earlier today, my heart goes out to the Giffords' family and the families of all those who were killed or injured today. I send a mi sheberach to Rep. Giffords and all those recovering.

As for the rest of today, it was quite fine indeed. jaylake was in town for a change of scenery, and we spent some time this afternoon together just catching up. I then joined him and a group of most irregular regulars for dinner at Bucca di Beppo (really, it was a rogue's gallery of favorite people; I couldn't list them all for fear of leaving someone out). It was a large, raucous crowd and we had a marvelous time. I shared an outrageously delicious order of chicken canneloni and an apple-walnut salad with my tablemates. I was very careful about what I ate, watching my portions and eating in a leisurely fashion, making sure I had a goodly portion of the salad. This may be the first time I've ever left Bucca di Beppo feeling satisfied but not full. I'm proud of myself for maintaining perspective about the meal. We laughed a lot. It was all just such a pleasure. I feel like I haven't spent time with these folks in far too long. I've missed them, and I'm glad I was able to join the group.

A subset of the gang split off to head to an evening of Elvis impersonation (with a tip of the hat to the King on his birthday). It sounded like fun, but I myself chose a quieter evening at home, especially since tomorrow promises yet another flurry of activity. There will be writing and walking and goodness.

I'm at 1,013 words on the new story. It was supposed to be done for tomorrow night's final workshop. It won't be--no champagne pour moi unless I come up with another 4,000 words tomorrow morning. Most of what's on the page was written bearing in mind Kristine Kathryn Rusch's motto, "Dare to be bad." After all, you can't edit if you don't have raw material first. And raw is all about being raw. I suspect I'm walking into the story, but if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes. I'm much further along than the 250 words I had the other night, so that's something anyway. And I know where I'm going. And I know who the incidental characters are. I suspect I don't know my protagonist quite as well as I ought to. She may be too autobiographical. I don't care. I'm going to push along.

I'm not feeling well. Too much diet soda, I suspect, and not enough exercise but, also, my hand hurts. It was exceptionally bad this morning, only a little better tonight. I've got tenderness in four of my five fingers and they all look a little swollen to me--but it might just be that I'm tired.

Day job launches into a full 40 hours this week, possibly more. I could have done some extra hours this weekend, but I had personal commitments. I've been pushing back on personal commitments for weeks now due to freelance work; this weekend, the personal commitments pushed back and I let them. I wanted to celebrate mimerki's 12th birthday and oldmangrumpus's graduation. I wanted to attend the Vanguard party with jackwilliambell. It's entirely possible I overdid it, resulting in the hand pain this morning and my spending a relatively low-key day today.

In other news, my cousin E has sold her townhouse and moved into a rental apartment until the unit she's purchased in a retirement community is ready for her. She lives in the same area that kijjohnson will be moving to. This gives me two reasons to strongly consider a visit to the southeast. The coup de grace is that I've just learned that there's a conservation center not far from where they'll both be living. It looks like I may plan a trip to the region either late this year or early next. We'll see. Other things are in the offing in the meanwhile, which I shan't discuss just now.

The new season of True Blood has started and I no longer have HBO. ::is sad:: I shall have to try to find it online.

I'm dead tired. I think it's time for bed.

Bless me, LJ, for I have neglected thee. It's been three or maybe four days since last I posted. I am refining typing with one hand and a thumb to, if not a fine art, then at least to a fairly utilitarian skill. Beats the hell out of typing one-handed.

What have I been doing with my time? Well, let's see.

Science!: On Wednesday evening I had an entertaining and tasty dinner with irrationalrobot, wordknitter, miniBot, and Gnat. Afterwards, irrationalrobot, oldmangrumpus and I headed to the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory at the University of Washington to peer through its 118-year-old steampunk dream of a telescope and listen to a lecture about the Apollo space program. Sadly I have no photographs of the telescope (darn! Guess I'll just have to go back!). The thing is beautiful--large and slim and tapered, perfectly counterbalanced--with its clockwork counterweight system for tracking stars. I got to wind up the mechanism, which runs for 90 minutes at a time, and to view Saturn through its restored objective. What a wonderful experience! I'll have to plan a field trip back with folks when I'm at full operating capacity again to share.

Movie: jackwilliambell not only cooked me a wonderful steak dinner on Friday evening (with a mushroom, shallot, and pepper marinade to die for), but took me and his grandson R to see "How to Train Your Dragon" yesterday morning. The film was completely charming, extremely well-written, and featured some of the best character animation I've seen in a while. The story is your basic hero's journey, but it's done with both humor and compassion for its characters, and I was far more impressed with it than I expected to be. Lots of fun and really pretty fine storytelling.

Afterwards, we trolled through Daiso, where I purchased a little disply case that, upon returning home, I discovered to my dismay had a giant crack in it. We also made a stop at Costco, where I picked enough cat food, calcium, and light bulbs to last until Apocalypse.

In news of living single-handedly, I report that some paper plates can resist the onslaught of almost any food placed upon them. Plastic flatware isn't always as strong as one would hope. There are some things for which only ceramic dishware will do. Laundry is relatively easy to do one-handed; clipping cat claws is really, really not. Surprisingly, squeezing toothpaste from a tube is a pain in the butt with only one hand; tooth brushing is easy. And Spanky? Still too heavy to lift with one arm.

And now it's Sunday. I plan to do more freelance, shower, catch up on "Chuck" and "Doctor Who" and try to relax a bit.

In other news, irrationalrobot dreams of me in a funny and sadly accurate way. You'll be amused, really.

Today was really about the banquet. jackwilliambell and I arrived early enough to catch Eileen Gunn reading a short story fresh off the computer, just finished, that was quite entertaining, and then we went in for brunch. The brunch was a good hearty breakfast in the company of davidlevine, kateyule, vondancintyre and several others, followed by davidlevine's presentation about his trip to Mars. David was funny and informative, answered questions with grace and good humor, and just shined. He received a very long ovation afterward.

Brunch concluded, we spent some time in the dealers' room where I complimented Eileen on her story. I also showed great restraint in not purchasing Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (which I want not only because I love the premise but because the book itself is a fine artifact of the book maker's art) and Simon's Cat, but did purchase a Spider Robinson novel I'd never seen before. It was the least expensive of my choices, and the proceeds will benefit the Jeanne Robinson medical fund, so my dollars are working extra hard there.

We finally headed up to the Hospitality Suite. I had some quality time with nisi_la, klages, and several others. When mcjulie and paulcarp expressed an interest in watching the Oscars, I suddenly had an tiny impromptu Oscar party on my hands...

...and so that's how the evening ended: at my place with pizza, Julie, Paul, Jack and I watching the Oscars.

I've posted the last of my Potlatch pictures to my Flickr set, and tomorrow morning, I'll aggregate my tweets about Oscar night to post here. What a good weekend! I wasn't exceptionally productive, but I had a marvelous time.

Potlatch has been ramping up the last couple of days, with friends in from out of town and opportunities for excellent company. Thursday night, I had a fine dinner of Chinese food with jackwilliambell, davidlevine and kateyule. Friday, Jack and I had Indian food with mcjulie and paulcarp.

The weekend's first programming was a panel on "Writing the Other," featuring David and nisi_la, among others. I arrived late due to a long wait at the restaurant beforehand, but what I caught of the panel was cherce--though I never did find out what the acronym ROARRS stands for--my fault for arriving late; I shall have to go get educated. I stayed in the meeting room, where the next programming was a Clarion West annual business meeting, mainly to enjoy the company of e_bourne and markbourne before heading down to the Clarion West reception, then up to the Hospitality Suite for the chocolate tasting party thrown by Renovation.

I should note that last night was Mark's first convention appearance since his extended absence last year, and people treated him like an arriving rock star. A couple of people told me they wanted to say hello to him because they got to know about him through my LJ account but weren't sure how to approach him since he was otherwise a stranger. I told them I'd be happy to introduce them or to just go up and say hi--he's worth knowing.

Today's plans include my speaking on a panel about electronic publishing, my working to host the Hospitality Suite this evening as part of the Foolscap concom, and general frivolity. It's the frivolity that's the hard part. :-)

Actually, the hardest thing about today will be staying indoors on what looks like it's going to be a lovely, mild, sunny day. But with good company and other fun society in the offing, I'll make the sacrifice--it'll be worth it.