Hey, you guys.

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but things have been pretty darn busy of late. Work's requiring a lot of me, I had a library talk to finish, another five-page scene to grind out between now and the end of the month, the PDF to finish up for the beta readers, and assorted other running around. Hasn't been much downtime, and when there has been, it's mostly been spent on the couch, trying to work up the gumption to go tackle something else on the to-do list.

The Bridal Shower for my future sister-in-law went very well; mom worked herself silly the last few days and really turned her house upside-down for the occasion. She cooked some really amazing food and decorated the tables so well that the shower was a total hit. Amanda, her sister Stephanie and her mom all came and had a great time, and received some really awesome gifts (Chocolate Fountain! Rock!). Sister Jill and I ran around serving drinks and desserts, taking coats and purses, and generally keeping things moving. After everyone left, I ran a few additional errands and then did dishes for nearly two hours. It was all worth it, though. Amanda's such a wonderful woman, and we're absolutely thrilled to have her as part of our family. The good she's done for Tom is visible and amazing, and we're looking forward to eating holiday dinners with her for a very long time.

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The dog's doing better. We've been keeping her in a separate room overnight and when we're gone, and it seems to be helping. On Tuesday we caught her in the act of chasing Basia, and we had a sit-down bad-dog talk with her. I did the "Collar Shake" that the Monks of New Skete advocate using as an attention-getter, and Paul and I both yelled at her and then refused to make eye-contact with her for about half an hour. She really got the hint, and has hardly looked at the cats since then. When we started interacting with her about an hour later, she was a little sheepish, but she perked right back up and hasn't been fearful, so it seems she gets that it's a correction and not just unexpected meanness. I don't want to get too physical with her, because it's obvious that others have done so rather cruelly in the past, but this really seemed to get through to her. I'm hoping it'll stick. In the meantime, the cats seem to be tolerating her much better over the last couple days, and everybody's all in the same room and interacting well.

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What else? Hm. Thanksgiving's coming. Wednesday we're skipping Art Night because I have to bake pies and bread and make cranberry sauce. Woo! If all goes well, we may have a nice pie-swap with JimO and Kat after dinner with my folks. Then Paul goes off to Mid-Ohio, and I get to stay home, go feral, work on the comic, and eat stuffing leftovers. Here's hoping he doesn't come home to find me and Zoë under the dining-room table fighting over a legbone.