Happy Thanksgiving!

I started to list all the things I’m thankful for, but then it got maudlin, and when I tried to fix that it got flippant and I threw my hands up and said the hell with it.

I’m thankful. I’m thankful for so many things, for my family and friends, for the community of writers and readers I’ve found online, for a white Thanksgiving even if it is keeping us from going anywhere. I’m thankful for a day to eat and goof off and hang out with my favorite people. If we can manage a walk I’ll be thankful to stand on the beach and look out at the water. If it’s too icy to risk it, I’ll be thankful to have a warm house to stay in. I’m thankful for new books to read and to write. I’m thankful for finding my mojo again. I’m thankful for finding good maternity coverage via NASRO and if you’re self-employed you should check out their group insurance rates. I’m thankful to have a bird roasting in the oven and side dishes ready to bake and pies and bread and cranberry sauce done. I’m thankful to have lots of helpers to do anything involving bending over, which I’m having some difficulty with.

I’m thankful for everything this year has brought. What about you?

Snow snow snow snow

It snowed. Like, six inches of snow. The garbage truck never came. Schools are closed. The Washington coast is under a blanket of white and nothing’s moving. Good thing we had already cancelled our plans to travel for Thanksgiving.

Since we didn’t lose power along with mobility, I will be writing and baking through the week and kids will keep making snow angels and snow men and adding to the list of possible baby names. “Jessica! Jack!”

If you’re traveling this week, stay safe.

Surprise NaNo project

Sometimes a project takes you by surprise, as in you didn’t even know you were working on it. The project I’ve been working on will not be complete until summer, but it’s definitely made NaNo interesting. And it means instead of writing today I’m shopping for maternity clothes.

Sometimes the best things in life are the ones that take you by surprise and it turns out unplanned characters who turn out to have a pivotal role aren’t limited to fiction.

Happy NaNoing to the rest of you; my project planning is going to have to get reshuffled to take new developments into account. I would love to finish all my planned projects before I wind up on “maternity leave” but will have to see how much is reasonable.

Winterizing and storm cleanup

Just had the second big storm of the year and it left a lot of tree debris and damage behind. Power and internet were back this morning, yay, but it made us realize that we’d gotten lax about knowing where flashlights and batteries were. Now is a good time to make sure you have emergency supplies in order for winter.

Along with our winterizing checklist, we need to pick up bigger boots and more mittens for kids who outgrew/lost items since the snow melted.

Are you ready for winter?

Get your Shakespeare on


The Tempest
is coming to movie theatres next month and I cannot wait to see this version! From the trailer, the visuals and the acting are going to be breath-taking. The kids have not yet read The Tempest, so for some context we’ll be reading it before going to the movie.

Since the original prose is a bit much for small people, our go-to resource is Shakespeare Can Be Fun, with versions for kids with colorful child-drawn illustrations. We first tried out A Midsummer Night’s Dream in this series and it was hilarious. Can’t wait to see what they’ve done with
The Tempest
. If you want to read a classic with your kids before seeing the movie, you have time to get a copy of the book and experience the magic.