Meh!

Through use of determination and elbow grease (did your grandpa used to say that? What does that even MEAN?) my train has been shunted to a nicer parallel track and I am now prepared to enjoy the hell out of this day, despite any obstacles. Jasper calmed down as well after a few bites of ham (Bill only feeds him dry food, which is good for his physical body but punishing for his spirit) and he and I got a few windows unstuck and vacuumed out. Now he can sit in them and smell the Spring that is frankly rioting around us. Tomorrow the housecleaners and the yard guys come, and I’m going to put them to work on the nooks and crannies around here.  The yard is bristling with tulips! This was a nice surprise. I planted most of them over seven years ago, and normally they just don’t last that long. Or I should say I didn’t think that they lasted that long. Clearly I didn’t know fuck-all about tulips. All of the trees are blooming, or about to bloom. The redbuds are mindblowing!

Photo at Wikicommons by Charles Graf, thank you Charles Graf! We love you.

Margot Potter wrote a nice review of my book on her web site. She scared me a little bit at first, the way I suppose I must scare people as well. It’s something I don’t understand about myself until I meet people like Margot, who seem about three times as alive as everyone else. You can’t be around people like that and feel comfortable if you are in any sort of weakened condition. All of my friends share a quality of being very sturdy; I hadn’t really thought about this before but it’s unquestionably true. The weak fall away as life goes on. You may have more friends than I do, it’s quite likely. But it’s MY tribe you want around you if you are stranded on the Moon. That’s for damned sure. We’d have that place whipped into shape in no time flat.

As I’ve gotten to know Margot over the last few years, I have been pleased to find that she really likes doing things competently; I find this to be a very attractive personality trait. Anyone who is willing to spend an entire page of an email talking about the best way to open or close a jump ring, or properly crimp, well. I’m down with that. And she loves my new book, which is also a great point in her favor. Thanks Margot!

And Jean Campbell submitted the fully edited, illustrated and mapped Jewelry Architect to Interweave this morning. That’s a huge step forward for both Jean and I and a great start to my Brave New Day.