Lots of stuff going on, but I'm moving through it slowly.
Friday night we went out to Art Hop at the SmartShop, where they had live blacksmithing. It was awesome. They were forge-welding a chain out of scrap rebar that varied in diameter from 1/2" to 2". So very cool. Some links were so thick that they had to team-forge them; one guy'd haul the chain out of the fire with tongs and throw it on the anvil and the other two smiths would hammer on it in perfect alternating rhythm. They also communicated movement and timing through hammerblows on the anvil, like "Okay, move the chain onto the flat of the anvil now" or "Okay, done, back in the fire". That part was awesome, and not at all unlike the way session musicians communicate with one another while playing a tune.
Saturday was unThanksgiving and Paul's unBirthday at once, and so we had his folks over for dinner. I baked two lasagnas (froze one for later) and his folks brought cake and ice cream. A nice laid-back evening was had by all.
On Sunday I took it easy, considering I spent most of Saturday either cleaning, cooking, or cleaning up after cooking. Fortunately, there were leftovers galore. I got most of the final Vogelein pages plotted out, which was awesome. Took the dog for a long walk in the cold down to Rocket Star and back; Zoë still has a long way to go with her obedience, but she's still making progress, which is good. Treats are wonderful incentive.
Monday was work, and afterwards I got the chance to meet a young fan of mine. She's really smart and cool and reminds me a whole lot of myself at that age. She was super excited to get the 40-page preview, and she swapped me that for a story she'd written last year. Pretty cool, all 'round.
Getting home Monday night was a bit of an adventure, though -- the last 15 miles were crazy treacherous. It was beautiful and hushed when I finally skidded into the driveway at midnight -- we had some five inches of fluffy Disney snow on the ground and more coming down.
This morning there were at least six inches, and so taking Zoë out for a walk proved to be full of hilarity. The snow was up to her shoulders, and she had a ton of fun surging forward through it and galumphing in the really deep parts. So cute.
Don't you love the snow on the West side of the state? I kind of miss that. Though last winter we actually got more here than the west side got - that was just plain weird.
enjoy!