Sept 14
Backstory: Welp, it’s been a whirlwind couple of days. Friday was the second Introvert Refuge Open House, wherein a half dozen people came over. Computer repairs and Minecraft occupied the dining room table, several books were cracked open, writing happened & a little knitting got done during quiet hours along with multiple discussions breaking out. Custard, caramel apples and a sampler pack of stromboli provided sustenance, and Brother Bear played in the viewing room after food.
Once again gaming was considered but did not happen, but I think momentum definitely built. Next open house is planned for Friday October 24. I expect it will be cool enough for a fire on the patio, rain permitting, of course. And Kpop Demon Hunters will 100% get shown. Because everyone needs to see that flick. E-V-E-R-Yone.
Then came the Saturday Of My Niece’s Baby Shower. She’s 7 months+ along, and I gotta say, of the limited number of showers I’ve attended, this was by far the most enjoyable. (Which is to say I enjoyed it, as opposed to ‘I want to go to show support but may need a week to recover.”)
No Mandatory Fun activities but plenty of entertainments available (tarot card reader, multiple “guess___” stations set up on tables) No organized group anything, actually. Food and drink available and plentiful but neither formal nor fancy. Introductions made to people it would be meaningful to introduce, but not a single hint of typical Must Make Small Talk With Everyone To Be Polite social pressure. Just a variety pack of people gathered together to celebrate the about-to-be parents and enjoy their company. The hosts’ home had a rooftop outdoor gathering space, and the weather was cooperative, so I wasn’t even twitching about Group Of Strangers exposure.
Still felt wiped out when we got home, and it was a longer day that it might’ve otherwise been due to taking the train down and back, with lots of walking beforehand to kill time and not arrive early, but much good chat was had, people were met that I hope to meet again.
A thing I am learning is that vague “we should get together” ideas will never happen unless those Firmish Plans are made before leaving a face-to-face. So Spouseman and I are now committed to having a board game night with fam here at Herkes House in November.
Once we got home, Spouseman and I crashed on the couch with leftover pizza and a viewing of Sneakers, because it had been a long time since we’d seen it, and it’s an underrated classic.
Which brings us to today. Breakfast bagel n cream cheese on the patio, accompanied by the this-year’s baby teenaged squirrel who has been sampling the tomatoes for a month or so. He’s ridiculously cute and utterly without fear. Farmer’s market for cucumbers that I will put into vinegar solution tonight or tomorrow (the last batch went bad in the fridge cuz I forgot about them, ooooops) and a stop for celebratory boba tea. This afternoon I’ve done a my weekly book promo graphic, participated in a couple of writing prompts, and read a novella.
It’s probably horribly egotistical to compare my writing to the works of someone who’s won multiple major awards in my genre, but for reals, the fae-adjacent world of Thornhedge— T. Kingfisher’s spin on Sleeping Beauty—reminds me a lot of my story Salt and Stone. Like, a LOT, and in good ways. Not the style, exactly, and certainly not the world-build itself, which is solidly in the traditional vaguely-post-medieval school of once upon a time, but the, hm. The vibe, I guess. Too dark around the edges to be cozy, too cozy to be gritty, and richly sweet at the core.
ANYway. I’m writing today, and it feels good.
That’s it for now.