2017 newsletter

Hello,

I missed GaFilk this year, because there was snow & ice, & I didn’t want to risk being stranded with no meds. January was a whole new symphony: A Root Canal In Six Visits & Two Dentists [interspersed with going to Conflikt with a zombie tooth and getting back home with a more severe lung plague than usual.

My a1c that had been 10--very diabetic!--got down to 6.7, nearly normal. Instead of the super-early morning cattle call, ze spouse & I went to the Cobb sale on Saturday. He got to try out a new breakfast place, & I didn’t have to drive--win! The extra sleep and fewer crowds were also fun.

When he went to AZ, I binge-read Wen Spencer’s Elfhome series. He hiked to Havasu Falls, a beautiful blue-green waterfall [& spent more time getting a reservation than actually hiking, which was 10 miles each way]. He hiked 56 total miles for the trip, a new record. Also, there were lots of baseball games.

Other highlights of the year included: sponsoring a book give-away to a whole school, hours before the highway exploded; my first colonoscopy [clear, yay!];
winning the song contest at my first Westercon; a long chat with Sharon Lee at the Teddy Bear Tea at Confluence; the total eclipse at our nature preserve; a bad splat & new glasses; and enjoying great music at cons with friends. Ze spouse was especially thrilled that there were new Braves & Falcons stadiums in the same year. The Braves can’t win for beans, but they got the parking right.

We also enjoyed 3 local housefilks this year, in March, July [in AL!], & December. There was a big book sale in LaGrange [where my mom grew up], so I got ze spouse to drive, using the excuse of seeing Hills & Dales, a huge estate. We had a lovely day out, & I only got 2 bags [at $5/bag].

Big news: my a1c for at least the last 6 months has been 5.7, solidly pre-diabetic!

Ze spouse & I went to a free concert by fabulous blues man Bob Malone [who plays with John Fogerty]. He did some rock covers & rocked ze spouse’s socks. Tee hee hee. The cat has needed shots, but is doing much better. I’ve begun regular trips to Half-Price Books to trade in what I can’t swap [to build up more credits & sponsor another book give-away later on].

There have also been lots of: booksales & thrift stores; lunches with friends & conversation; and lots of missing Max [my dad], Michael [our filk-dealer], & Meg [our friend].

This year, the 30th anniversary of our first date and 26 years of marriage, had some sad, but much good. We wish all of y’all peace & happiness, now & always.
Love, filkferengi & lawyerspouse

(no subject)

The year started off fun, with a wide variety of fanfic, kid books, short stories, & some mysteries.

January, 2018

Seanan McGuire--”Write In Water”
Virginia Hamilton, Leo & Diane Dillon--The Girl Who Spun Gold
Charlotte Zolotow, Wendell Minor--The Seashore Book
Allyndra--”Millie’s Fate” [Diana Wynne Jones fanfic]
Rosencrantz--”Adjusting One’s Charm” [Diana Wynne Jones fanfic]
Tora Kowalski--”Lock Me In Your Pocket” [Tanya Huff fanfic]
Sistermagpie--”Mordre, She Wroot” [Wife Of Bath fanfic]
Arsenic--”Those Who Know Secret Things” [Secret Garden fanfic]
Voleuse--”Tapping On The Window With Your Thimble” [Mary Russell & Holmes fanfic]
Meretricula--”Sorcery & Sebastian” [Patricia Wrede fanfic]
GloriaMundi--”The Libertines” [Devil’s Cub fanfic]
Parhelion--”According To Plan” [Singing In The Rain fanfic]
Valderys--”Balance Point” [Philadelphia Story fanfic]
Avoliot--The Course Of Honour [original novel]
Jibrailis--”A Needle, A Thread” [Megan Whalen Turner fanfic]
Prinzenhasserin--”The Touching Of Lips” [Megan Whalen Turner fanfic]
Florianschild--”The Things You Build Yourself” [MWT fanfic]
April_Rainer--”Genuinely Self-Absorbed And Deeply Shallow” [Bujold fanfic]
Philomytha--”Three’s Company” [Bujold fanfic]
Kristine Kathryn Rusch--”Millenium Babies”
Oliviacirce--”Wayfinding” [Diana Wynne Jones fanfic]
Fajrdrako--”Midwinter Queen” [Eleanor of Aquitaine fanfic]
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller--”Cutting Corners”
Zanda Myrande--”An Adverse Reaction” [reread]
Amal El-Mohtar--”Seasons Of Glass And Iron”
Heather Morris--”Maps Of Infinity”
Malinda Lo--”The Cure”
Kameron Hurley--”The Light Brigade”
Robert D. San Souci & Jerry Pinkney--The Talking Eggs
Valerie Flournoy & Jerry Pinkney--The Patchwork Quilt
Greg Henry Quinn & Lena Shiffman--The Garden In Our Yard
Michael Hainey--”The Natural” [Robert Redford Interview]
A. B. Paterson--The Man From Snowy River
Eiko Kadono & Satomi Ichikawa--Grandpa’s Soup
Ludmila Zeman--The Revenge Of Ishtar
Jay Williams--A Bag Full Of Nothing
Kristine Kathryn Rusch--”Waltzing On A Dancer’s Grave”
Sherry Thomas--A Study In Scarlet Women
Kristine Kathryn Rusch--”Overworked”
Jim Ellsworth & Barbara McClintock--Aunt Pitty Patty’s Piggy
Barbara McClintock--Emma And Julia Love Ballet
Elizabeth Winthrop--Potbellied Possums
Bryna Stevens--Handel And The Famous Sword Swallower Of Halle
Geekhyena--”We Will Not Be Charmed Into Compliance” [Harry Potter Fanfic]
Catherine McLean--”Introduced Species”
Jacqueline Frost--Twelve Slays Of Christmas
Sarah Rees Brennan--”An Old-Fashioned Unicorn’s Guide To Courtship”
Patience Griffin--Meet Me In Scotland
Jessica Beck--Tragic Toppings
Jessica Beck--Killer Crullers
Lois McMaster Bujold--Gentleman Jole And The Red Queen [reread]
Stephanie L. Weippert--”Days Of Future Passed”