Timelies huggles to everyone. Don't ask me why I'm all gooshy of a sudden. (Because I have no idea, not because there's some icky reason)

Oh, billytea.

ETA ask if there's anything I can send from Yorkshire that you might like?

Sweet of you to ask, but I'm good. And I'll be back in Yorkshire in a month's time myself!

You have no sunglasses? How do you exist in sunlight?

Very large blot-out-the-sun hats. (Although I actually own 3 pairs of sunglasses - but the fabulous rose-tinted ones with the rhinestones got broken, and that leaves me with the prescription ones (only good if I'm having a glasses day rather than contacts) and a rather scratched pair that are...well...somewhere. Um. I had them in SF, and I'm pretty sure they're in a pocket of a bag or something. Probably. Um.)

ion I'm really enjoying Tanya Huff's Smoke and Shadows. She has a very Jossian sensibility, but now with added Canada, eh? And what's not to love about exchanges like this:

"Even if we save the world, I'm going to lose my job, lose my apartment, and end up turning tricks in Gastown. All of a sudden, I'm feeling a lot more sympathy toward Season Six Buffy."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Twenty first century, Henry; try to keep up."

Oh, billytea.

It's quite gorgeous. And it's Old English script, which as he noted means that you can make out an A in the first half of the letter, a pair of Ns, and an E from the middle stroke. Our mother's name was Anne.

I slept! I slept. From like 10:30pm till 5am. Then back to bed at 6am till 9am.

I still feel exhausted, but I SLEPT!

I need massive massive find my purse ~ma.

I was so tired last night, I went over to Mom's and talked to her, then showed her the painting and then came home. Then last night (after I took my meds) I decided to get something out of my car and then didn't see my purse (my car was locked). I assumed I just was groggy and either brought it in or left it at Mom's.

I can't find my purse in my house, Mom says it isn't at hers and I know I didn't leave it at the First Friday thing.

So either I stuck it some place and I can't remember OR I left my car door unlocked when I went back into Mom's with the painting and someone stole it. I'm totally freaked.

Oh, askye. I'm so sorry. How scary! I hope you find it soon.

(She was grossed out, but I would have levitated in sheer terror, screamed at a pitch audible only to dogs and bats, and I would have STILL had my fingers and toes embedded in the ceiling and be making small moans of terror as I dangled from said ceiling the following morning.)

Gross though this example is, the sheer perfection of images like this and the compact, comic elegance of expression are exactly why I do not plan to object even a little should Fay suddenly appear and sweep me off to Gretna Green.

Then we had a look at the Asian exhibit, and she provided running commentary ("See how there are no testicles at all? That's because it's a landscape picture, you obsessed freak.")

Awwww. She is such a match for you! And your brother's tattoo is unexpected and lovely and perfect.

eta - obviously, I posted the below paragraph before seeing the lost purse news. Shit and eek! Vibing all the purse-finding-ma I have in your direction. But, still, good art and socializing with people who turned out not to think you were a loser poser in the least, which does make me very happy for you.

But, still. Purse-ma, and much of it.

askye, the Gallery Hop sounds like it was amazing. Looking forward to the shield and exploding robot pictures!

Someone, please tell me not to start sewing curtains by hand. I can do it, it's incredibly simple work, but it'll also take me at least a week of squinty hunchy effort, and if I can just wait a week and talk to one of my sewing-machine-enabled friends, I can finish it off in half an hour and get some socializing in to boot. But the fabric is very pretty (cream taffeta with sage dragonflies embroidered on it) and I'm very impatient.

Sounds like Fay and Billytea were having extremely good days.

Also, I think I need to go looking for Smoke and Shadows.

I am having the kind of day where you have to get up early to go to the doctor's office to have blood drawn etc.

Thank goodness that part of my day is over. I've just put the coffee on and when it's done I can make my breakfast.

Gross though this example is, the sheer perfection of images like this and the compact, comic elegance of expression are exactly why I do not plan to object even a little should Fay suddenly appear and sweep me off to Gretna Green

Huzzah!

It's quite gorgeous. And it's Old English script, which as he noted means that you can make out an A in the first half of the letter, a pair of Ns, and an E from the middle stroke. Our mother's name was Anne.

Oh, I see. Wow. I'm dumb. But that's beautiful. Well done him.

Also, I think I need to go looking for Smoke and Shadows.

Yes! You can read it without any of the others, but it's related to the Blood series ( Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact, Blood Debt), featuring Vicky Nelson and Henry Fitzroy. She's a Toronto private detective whose damaged eyesight obliged her to leave the job she loved on the Force; he's a diminutive strawberry blond romance writer who also happens to be a vampire, and the bastard son of Henry VIII to boot. Together they fight crime. Or at least, monsters. Much snark, interesting takes on the genre's various cliches, and a real tonic to Laurel K. Hamilton in pretty much every respect.

Smoke and Shadows is set a little while after Blood Debt, and does not feature Vicky Nelson. I presume that Smoke and Mirrors is set a little after Smoke and Shadows.