Words Written: “All About the Ratings” 1020

So far I’ve spent the morning cleaning off the desk (I piled all sorts of crap on Ken’s side while he was gone, and I knew there were important things piled on my side as well), answered e-mail, and otherwise gotten that part of my brain/life tidied. All this while copying music between computers so that Afalwen will have the CSF playlist. Once that’s done, I can set up back downstairs and get to work on the writing part of my brain/life.

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CP Prize yesterday was absolutely wonderful. It’s an event to raise money for our Kingdom newsletter, the Crown Prints, aka the CP. The annual stipend from above leaves us about $3000 short each year. Amazingly, at least $2500 was donated during Opening Court, before the fund-raising had started!

This year, groups were encouraged to put together Shrines, and the populace went on a pilgrimage. For a ticket ($1 each), you performed a task appropriate to that Shrine, and then received your pilgrim badge. The assortment of Shrines was amazing, and so very much fun. There was also the usual raffle, at which for the first time in years I didn’t win anything; the Ladies of the Rose raffle (where I’ve never won anything but dammit, I keep trying!); and Krazy Wulfric’s Garage Sale, at which I bought two gorgeous Celtic mugs for $3 and cross-stitch fabric for $1.

It was beastly hot, and we drank lots of water and sat in the shade as much as we could. Despite that, my parasol, and my veil, I managed to lightly sunburn a unique crescent shape on my back, apparently where my veil and dress didn’t quite meet.

I’d carpooled with Morgana and Brian, and we shared food at the event (brie and extra sharp cheddar and salami and bread, and grapes and cherries), and then stopped at Versailles on the way home for scrummy Cuban food. I’m about to head downstairs and eat my leftovers for lunch. Much garlicky-lemony goodness!

I got home, took a much-needed shower, and vegged in front of the TV and computer. Ken’s flight was delayed three hours (after he’d gotten up before 6 a.m. to get to Inchon Airport in plenty of time for the flight), but he went to one of the lounges and logged on a computer, and we chatted back and forth via e-mail until he had to get to his gate. I was pretty much zombified, so I crashed soon thereafter. Long, tiring, lovely day.

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Okay, now that I’ve ascertained that it’s okay to shout this from the rooftops…

Berengere (my darling Meglet) is going to get her Laurel! Finally!

They invited her at the event, and the ceremony will be at Lyondemere Anniversary on 23 July, just before they leave for Boston. I have to finish a cotehardie for her that we started ages ago. I have to find the cotehardie…

This is so very very wonderful and amazing and perfect! Absolutely one of those “it’s about f-ing time” awards. She told me and I cried and we both did the girly flappy-hand weepy thing. (Wee Aurora doesn’t like it when I hug her mom while mom is holding her. I think my breasts scare her. The allure of potential lunch warring with the fact that scary massive things that are bigger than her head are about to crush her…)

Berengere is getting her Laurel! Squeeeeeeee!

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Ken called about half an hour ago to say that he’d landed in SF. He did get some sleep on the plane, so he’s going to head south and see how far he gets. Theoretically, he could be home today, depending on whether he stops and sleeps some more.

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Ken is a big goober. He’d actually landed three hours earlier because the new flight was direct (didn’t stop in Japan), which he neglected to tell me. He called a couple hours after the first call…from Santa Barbara. I love my big goober. :-) Of course, it meant my whole day’s schedule was messed up, but I adapted.

Thus I didn’t get to writing until late, but I did okay. I started a new collab story with Teresa, for the next Wicked Words anthology. It’s fun. Sex and an Iron Chef-esque competition on a local cable channel.

Ken crashed early (but he’s home, he’s home, he’s home!), and Cat came over to spend the night, and we watched some silly TV and laughed a lot, and then I wrote, and now I’m babbling, so I’m going to bed. ‘Night, pets!

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Currently Reading: Always a Bridegroom, Tesni Morgan; Time Management from the Inside Out, Julie Morgenstern; From a Whisper to a Scream, Charles de Lint
Lately Listened To: ack! Tiffany song is stuck in my head! make it stop!
Recently Watched: “That 70s Show” rerun