I am home again after another four-day trip to Chicago to get my Dad’s taxes signed and meet with the lawyer about family business stuff. I am more than a little chuffed, because this is the first time in at least six years that Dad hasn’t needed to file an extension. (You all did notice that the date on this is the 14th, right? Cue fireworks and balloons…)
I am having to remind myself about once an hour that Dad’s taxes being done does not mean I can run out and take on a new project. After all, I still have my own taxes to finish (though by comparison, they should be simple), as well as a book to write, lots of life maintenance to do (if I don’t run the washing machine and the dishwasher by tomorrow night, I will have nothing left to wear or eat off of), and a lot of other ongoing things that take up time. But I’m feeling giddy enough that I keep wanting to go cast on a new knitting project (though I have three on the needles right now, and that is enough!) or dig up some more garden space (not allowed until I finish planting and weeding the existing garden space, thank you very much), or call and ask six friends over for tea (getting ready for tea, the way I do it, takes at least three days of cooking and cleaning in preparation, and another one cleaning up after).
Fortunately, at this exact moment, I am incapable of doing any of these things, because Nimue is sitting in my lap, purring. This means I have to twist sideways to type, but it also means that I cannot get up and do something stupid like dig over more garden or cast on yet another knitting project (the three in process currently are a striped sweater, knit sideways in one piece, a sock, and a Shetland lace shawl. Just in case you were wondering).
Nimmie is sixteen (we think; she was rescued off the street, so we’re not positive) and on both hyperthyroid medication and the special kidney diet food, so I spoil her every chance I get because I don’t know how many more chances there will be. Though really, she is doing very well for an elder cat lady. She can still cuss like a truck driver, as she demonstrated the other day when Evil Enemy Cat #2 dared to pause in front of her window. There is nothing whatever wrong with her lungs or vocal chords.
This is Nimue, curled up on top of my desk and my good sweater, with her paws over her nose and no particular interest in posing for the camera:
It was the best angle I could get at the time.
Congratulations on getting the taxes done. That’s no small feat.
And it’s interesting to get a glimpse of what you do in your spare time.
After reading Thirteenth Child, my mother-in-law said “I wish I could have magic to speed things up…
Oh, wait. I do. It’s called a dishwasher, a microwave, a washing machine, a dryer,….”
nct2 – I like fantasy worlds where magic is something everybody does…and if everybody can do magic, magic is going to get used for all sorts of everyday things, and in all sorts of different ways. It’s not quite “magic as a substitute for technology,” but it can look like it, because the sorts of everyday jobs that people really want to get done without so much work – laundry, dishes, cooking, weeding – are going to be the same.
Meg – I’m not even counting all the UFOs (Un Finished Objects) lying around my house. I just inherited two more from my mother – one is a quilt top, and the other is a cutwork tablecloth that she started right after she and Dad got married (I found the receipt for the DMC thread in the bag). There’s a bunch of cross-stitch, and piles of sewing, and…way too much else to mention. NONE of which is getting looked at, even, until this dratted book is done.
One of many good things about my condo is that I cannot expand my outdoor growing space. I have four good-sized flower beds, and with that I must be content. I am in the process of starting another quilt project, though. To add to the two I already have going.
Your Nimue is a lovely lady. May you have more years together ahead of you than you think you will.
I’m sitting here with a cat on my lap; his head is by the mouse pad and every time I move the mouse my hand gets licked. He’ll have to move soon because my legs are crossed and one of them is going to sleep…
We went to my sister’s today and did my father’s taxes — his final and the estate’s. Well, my brother-in-law had done all the work and all I had to do was read them and sign.
Now, is there a story where people use magic to calculate and pay their taxes?
Nimue looks and sounds like a lovely cat! My family has two, both fifteen, but the tiny one is as spry as a kitten. She *loves* to cuddle up during my legs while I’m reading, because I don’t physically move. I know what you mean about twisting sideways. I don’t have the heart to move her, so when I am done with my book, it is quite a stretch to get another book without moving her at all. One last thing, though. How did you come up with such an interesting and pretty name as Nimue?
What a lovely kitty. My Tija just turned 15 and was chasing a shoelace I dangled for about 15 minutes the other day. I often have to type with one-hand because she likes to come up and cuddle over my shoulder and arm. I try to always have a book within reach of any place I sit. 😉
I also always have several projects on the go. Your tea parties sound much like my own entertaining, although I usually do dinners with at least nine – and sometimes 15 – vegetables at one meal!
Since this is my first comment I have to say how much I enjoy your books. “The Enchanted Forest Chronicles” is one of my favourite books (I have it all in one volume) and I have given it as a gift a couple times to young girls and they have enjoyed it also. I have read it several times and will be doing so again soon.
Gayle – Nimmie likes to sit on my lap while I’m at the computer; she also likes to sit right in front of the monitor when I’m not paying her enough attention. It’s very effective! And thanks for the kind words on the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. My dinner parties are smaller now, because the table and dining room I have in my current house won’t fit more than six comfortably.