News Update

The following are some news items which may be of interest, but somehow I haven’t gotten around to writing about:

1. Kiki’s hamster escaped last week. The hamster was probably loose for two days before we even noticed. This demonstrates the level of care and attention said hamster was recieving lately. We’ve set out food to try to entice the hamster to locations where we can recapture it. But all the food has gone untouched. There have also been no other signs of hamsterly habitation. No droppings, no chew marks, no scritching noises. At this point I consider the hamster gone for good. We won’t be replacing the hamster anytime soon. The kids liked the hamster, but they really don’t seem to miss her very much. The hamster simply wasn’t much a part of our daily lives.

2. A couple months ago I submitted a short story to Intergalactic Magic Show. It was rejected this past week. I find that I’m not upset about the rejection. I simply don’t have any emotional energy to spare for caring about writing right now. All my creative time is being spent finishing up christmas gifts.

3. Kiki is learning to sew using my sewing machine. Suddenly I know how I am going to feel when I turn over a car to one of my kids. Here is this expensive machine that I use all the time and really enjoy and I’m letting a child use it. I know a car will be worse, but letting Kiki sew without standing over her shoulder is really hard. On the other hand the only way she’ll learn how to sew is by doing it. She’s interested and wants to learn. I need to not hold her back because I want to defend my sewing machine from my child.

4. We had our first big snowfall yesterday. It absorbed most of my day one way or another. My morning outing with Patches to the library took longer. Then we walked to pick Gleek up from Preschool. That was fun tromping through all the fresh snow. Patches and I carried umbrellas and had a very serious conversation about boots and umbrellas and the fact that snow is white and cold. Unfortunately the walk was a little longer than Patches tolerance for cold, so I ended up carrying him most of the way home and then snuggling him on the couch to help him warm up. His poor little hands were like ice. Later there was driveway shovelling and slow careful trips to pick up Link and Kiki from school. The snow is all still there, only now it is sunny and colder. Lots of cold today.

5. Christmas preparations are coming along nicely. I have a few home made christmas presents that I’m working to finish up. Most of the work is going into three stuffed dragons that I’m making for my three younger kids. Kiki already got one for her birthday. They are close to finished, but I definitely have to put in some work on them regularly to avoid a last minute up-all-night marathon sewing session. The tree is up, christmas candles fill the house with nice smells, and Howard keeps playing the Grinch song at full volume. tis the season.

6. NotMyBaby went on a trip with his parents this week. It was nice for me to have a break, but I’ve noticed that the house hasn’t been as clean. Knowing that I’ve got NMB coming pushes me to do dishes, sweep floors, and pick up toys so that things look nice when his mom drops him off. It isn’t that I suspect her of judging my housekeeping skills, but if my house is always a disaster and I look unkempt it would be very natural for her to start wondering about the quality of childcare her son is recieving. There is also a safety factor. We have lots of little toys that we don’t want NMB putting in his mouth, so those have to be picked up before I can turn him loose.

7. That’s it. I’m done with news for now. I’ve got to go and get some housework done.