So, last week we got rain. Where I live, 3.2 inches in 2 days. Which is a lot, considering that our annual rainfall is 12″ and last year we had half that. California’s not out of the drought by a long shot, but it’s nice to see some moisture for a change. And snow in the mountains. Maybe the kids can go skiing this year.
The soil where I live is sand over hardpan, and it floods immediately even with light rain. So they build catchment basins, which serve as soccer fields or parks when it’s dry. During my walk the other day, I saw egrets, gulls, and canoers enjoying one of the basins near my house.
Last weekend was also the winter formal dance at my older daughter’s high school. She and her boyfriend dressed up.
They are adorable together, aren’t they? And–ARGH!–she is the same age I was when I met my husband.
Today’s the last day of finals for me, so once I get the exams graded I’m more or less free for a few weeks. Which is good, because we’re doing edits on my novella Grown-Up, which releases in March or April. I’m also getting ready to submit novel #12, a sort of fantasy/sci-fi thing called Astounding! The Speechless and Bones guys all make brief appearances. And I’m partway through my first draft of a contemporary with the working title of Rattlesnake. And my family’s heading for southern California for vacation shortly. When I get back, I want to start up a quarterly newsletter. So I should have plenty to keep me busy for a while!
Can I make one last plea? I’m about to make a pretty large end-of-the-year donation to Doctors Without Borders. With your help, that donation could be even larger, because I give them all my royalties from my self-published books: The Festivus Miracle, Joys R Us, Stasis, Flux, and Equipoise. So if you haven’t already bought these, please consider doing so now. Buy links are all on this page.
So… what are you guys up to?