My sister has lung cancer.

She was in the hospital earlier this month (she called me while I was in Boston) with pneumonia. She got better, they sent her home with her meds, I did the family thing and sent her a huge box of paperbacks to read while she recovered.

Last  Thursday her friend Virginia called me to tell me she was back in the hospital.

( Read more... )

 Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

It's Monday and I'm already so over this week.

For the third time, I lost out on a house I liked (and I REALLY liked this one) to an all-cash offer. This is getting really old.

I just got a letter from the Dealer Coordinator for WorldCon*. Guess what? If I want electricity for my booth, I'll have to fork out ( Read more... )

I have seen more houses. I did not get the last house (they had 5 other offers and I guess I wasn't cool enough?), and none of the ones I saw this weekend were The One. Well, one was close...I would rent it but not buy it, if that makes any sense. Plus it is very close to a Seriously Horrible Neighborhood and I'm sorry, I've ridden that pony and it ( Read more... )

Have had a busy few weeks.

All of the last weekend in April I was outside at the West Austin Studio Tour, with my tent in front of a glassblowers shop. The owners were nice, their work is amazing, and sales were good both days, though Sunday was markedly better. My friend J was in for his Law Fraternity Reunion, and he came and spent a couple of ( Read more... )

 Boy, they really like dressing up Jensen. He's so pretty in a uniform. *swoons*

I love his interactions with Charlie (Felicia Day). Very brother-sister. Plus, they think the same women are hot.

OK, some meta-thinking.

( Cut for spoilers )

 Ye Gods.

Saturday morning, bright and early, I went to see houses with the Realtor-in-law. Most were OK but nothing special. (There was an amazing one, but between Friday night and 9 am Saturday it had a contract pending, so poo.) One was horrific--seriously, it was That House for the neighborhood--they had bunkbeds built into the garage, gah.

One ( Read more... )

West is a little town at exit 353 (northbound) on Interstate 35, about 100 miles north of Austin. It's one of those cute towns, very proud of their Czech heritage (they hold Czech Fest every year). My car is trained to take that exit--there are several gas stations, it's a good place to stop and stretch your legs.

But what I really stop there for ( Read more... )

 Well, it was a pretty busy weekend. I swung by the Swap Meet and sold enough of my semiprecious bead strands to fund a couple of lovely cabochons as well as a cow horn hammer. Which is a cut and polished section of cow's horn attached to a hammer handle. Cow horn makes  lovely non-marring hammers. Also dumped donated 4 large bags full of jewelry/ ( Read more... )

Last night we had Cat Drama. (i'm cutting and pasting from FB):

New cat toy called da Bird is a huge hit with the cats. (Flippy stick with big feather on the string.) Ripley got the string caught in one of her claws.

Well, she is polydactyl and has some claws that don't retract, so the claw just grows in a spiral. She is also absolutely PHOBIC about ( Read more... )

We are good to go. I have been prequalified for a home loan! It took longer than I thought it would because my mortgage person hurt her shoulder and they had her on painkillers for a week, which was not conductive for her to work on my finances. :-)

My Realtor is out of town until early next week, but I'm in no real hurry. I just contemplated my ( Read more... )