Swam the whole 40 minutes freestyle, no breaks. Now I guess I gotta work on getting faster. 🙂

As I mentioned the other day, the matilija poppy definitely lives: Yay! Now it just has to make it through the winter for me to feel *real* secure that it’s going to make it…but this is tremendously encouraging. I got back into Hobgoblin today–I was going to work on that second freelance project, but oops,

Well, I’ll be darned: spitting in your goggles really does keep them from fogging up. 🙂

I did other things today besides get mad this morning. I finished a freelance project (and there’s a new one to start tomorrow); and went for a swim (only needing to “rest stroke” about three or four times in the whole forty minutes); and watered everybody; and even worked on a jigsaw puzzle. And thought

I have a ton of things I should be doing right now, but ever since I read this this morning, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. The always-brilliant John Scalzi writes about a female food blogger, Shauna James Ahern, and the really insanely cruel things perfect strangers say to her.

I’m back in Portland and wondering what happened to the heat…was that it? Summer over already? I hope not…I’ve still got a whole cherry tomato plant that is about to present me with its first ripe fruit, any day now…assuming we get a few more hot days. (The other cherry has been producing FABULOUSLY. I

Had a lovely day, driving up to Bellingham from Seattle, and reading at Village Books. People seemed to like my story segment. Here’s a fuzzy picture of me: If you look closely you can see–yes–the Reading Glasses of Doom. They helped so much! Not only could I see the text so clearly, but the audience

I’m off to Seattle tomorrow, though I don’t think I’ll be bringing it sun this time, because the sun is already there. Here too! Delightfully so, but gee it makes it hard to sleep. :/ Not much else to report today…slow incremental progress on the swimming and the Hobgoblining fronts. About the swimming: I think

-I’m reading in Bellingham this Sunday, August 28th: Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, Washington. The reading/signing is at 4:00, and there will be lots of wonderful authors there! Come see us! -I turned in page proofs for Mark’s and my story “Oh Give Me Land, Lots of Land, Under Starry Skies Above.” The anthology

1. Swimming. I got to the pool today and did *four* lengths of crawl before I needed a “rest” length of breast-stroke; then spent the rest of my swim doing three lengths/one length. AND, I noticed that there were whole minutes at a time when I was able to let my mind wander and think