Well, I'm back

Couldn't post the past few days: in transit, technical difficulties, etc. Am home again now. We stopped to meet and visit for several hours with sartorias which was a great success--she recommended an Italian restaurant where we had a delightful meal (some of the best seafood pasta I've had in ages) with lively conversation. The girls have both started the books you gave them, sartorias. Thanks again! And I have passed on your message to Kij.

Yesterday, we got up at an absurdly early hour (Rob's mom got up at the same time to cook us a hot breakfast, bless her) and then Ron and I kissed the sleeping girls goodbye and drove from San Francisco to LA. We flew out of LA and our plane landed late last night. We couldn't get our luggage for a long time because a lightening storm made the airport put a ground stop on all operations. We finally got home at 1:30 a.m.

It seems very quiet and very strange not to have the girls here.

Books for July, 2005

Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling. First time read. A series of short stories, set off by poems, this is actually a sequel to another work I haven't read yet, Puck of Pook's Hill. I found this pleasurable, but I'll admit that not much has stuck with me on it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. First time read. My reaction recorded at length here (spoilers).

Fudoki by Kij Johnson (kijjohnson). Re-read. Reaction on this time through. Um, fervent jealousy.

The Facts of Life, by Graham Joyce (lent to me by kiramartin). First time read. Interesting. I liked the ghosts. This won the 2003 World Fantasy Award, I believe.

The Bastard's Tale by Margaret Frazier. First time read.

The Hunter's Tale by Margaret Frazier. First time read. These two are part of the Dame Frevisse mystery series, and I will continue to buy and read any that come out. Alas, I wonder if there will be many more. I hear that her cancer has come back for the third time.