Newsletter, Part The First: 2015
Here's the 2015 portion of the newsletter I sent out this year.
2015
Ze spouse started 2015 with jury duty; it rained every day. I had fun at GaFilk & Conflikt. In March, Mark Oshiro came to Atlanta on tour; we met up with him & some of his fans. Mark was delightful, as always. Ze spouse went to spring training; I went to lots of book sales.
For 20+ years, we had been talking about Charleston; in April we went, for a long weekend. By day we did the Boone Plantation, old houses, the Charleston Museum, & ate at different restaurants every day. By night we did Black Cat Ghost Tours. One night was regular ghosts & history; the other night was “wicked Charleston” about politicians & prostitutes. I called them “Haints & Hos.” The cobblestones were hard on the feet, but the tours were great! I astonished my spouse by buying exactly 1 thing per thrift store. Fun!
During the year, I did lots of booksales with the Professora & lots of lunches with Kim. Ze spouse enjoyed the baseball package on tv. We kept up with our daily walks and also watched lots of BookTV & history, science, nature, & critter shows. Confluence was a great time & a great party, as was Fencon.
Autumn brought unexpected trips for us all. OVFF--I had feared being lonely, sad, & lost in the crowds, like years before. The new hotel had food I could walk to, & kind friends to share it with Oh, and some music… There was also a wonderful breakfast buffet. Ze spouse went camping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park with a friend, sleeping on the cold, hard ground on thin yoga mats. Remember, my hunky hubby is a breakfast snob. Being lonely, I called him and said, “I taunt you with two words: omelette station.” Did I mention, he’s cute when he whimpers?
Thanksgiving found us in Baltimore, having a fabulous feast with wonderful hostesses. Ze spouse talks wistfully about the grub still; apparently, one *can* beet mashed potatoes--who knew? Chessiecon that weekend had an abundance of awesome authors & masses of marvelous music: Seanan McGuire, Heather Dale, Ursula Vernon, Tom Smith, & Tamora Pierce. Ze spouse went sightseeing in D. C. & got some great pix.
We came home to Max, who went into a coma the next day, from which he never awoke. In the autumn of his life, he’d had a resurgence: cooking again, making new friends, taking classes, learning computers, Spanish on-line. He had the fun of anticipating & planning trips. He never had a winter of his life, never had the physical dependence and mental deterioration he had so feared. It was a mercy and a grace for him, but for us a time to bid farewell & mourn. We planned the celebration of his life, his death bringing back into our lives folks we hadn’t heard from in years. No one would laugh louder or longer at the irony than Max. I didn’t have the heart for a newsletter after that.
Herewith endeth Part The First.
2015
Ze spouse started 2015 with jury duty; it rained every day. I had fun at GaFilk & Conflikt. In March, Mark Oshiro came to Atlanta on tour; we met up with him & some of his fans. Mark was delightful, as always. Ze spouse went to spring training; I went to lots of book sales.
For 20+ years, we had been talking about Charleston; in April we went, for a long weekend. By day we did the Boone Plantation, old houses, the Charleston Museum, & ate at different restaurants every day. By night we did Black Cat Ghost Tours. One night was regular ghosts & history; the other night was “wicked Charleston” about politicians & prostitutes. I called them “Haints & Hos.” The cobblestones were hard on the feet, but the tours were great! I astonished my spouse by buying exactly 1 thing per thrift store. Fun!
During the year, I did lots of booksales with the Professora & lots of lunches with Kim. Ze spouse enjoyed the baseball package on tv. We kept up with our daily walks and also watched lots of BookTV & history, science, nature, & critter shows. Confluence was a great time & a great party, as was Fencon.
Autumn brought unexpected trips for us all. OVFF--I had feared being lonely, sad, & lost in the crowds, like years before. The new hotel had food I could walk to, & kind friends to share it with Oh, and some music… There was also a wonderful breakfast buffet. Ze spouse went camping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park with a friend, sleeping on the cold, hard ground on thin yoga mats. Remember, my hunky hubby is a breakfast snob. Being lonely, I called him and said, “I taunt you with two words: omelette station.” Did I mention, he’s cute when he whimpers?
Thanksgiving found us in Baltimore, having a fabulous feast with wonderful hostesses. Ze spouse talks wistfully about the grub still; apparently, one *can* beet mashed potatoes--who knew? Chessiecon that weekend had an abundance of awesome authors & masses of marvelous music: Seanan McGuire, Heather Dale, Ursula Vernon, Tom Smith, & Tamora Pierce. Ze spouse went sightseeing in D. C. & got some great pix.
We came home to Max, who went into a coma the next day, from which he never awoke. In the autumn of his life, he’d had a resurgence: cooking again, making new friends, taking classes, learning computers, Spanish on-line. He had the fun of anticipating & planning trips. He never had a winter of his life, never had the physical dependence and mental deterioration he had so feared. It was a mercy and a grace for him, but for us a time to bid farewell & mourn. We planned the celebration of his life, his death bringing back into our lives folks we hadn’t heard from in years. No one would laugh louder or longer at the irony than Max. I didn’t have the heart for a newsletter after that.
Herewith endeth Part The First.