Having selected over half of my topic tags, it looks like this is going to be a general round-up post on a bunch of topics. I'll take them alphabetically.

Christmas I'm just not getting in the mood this year. It sorta makes sense in the "it's an even year" way. It seems I've got this weird tradition that even years just don't go well. I keep trying to break the tradition... We're not putting up a tree this year for a number of reasons: 1 we sold our so-so fiber-optic tree before we moved from Arizona last year, 2 we really have no good place to put a tree and 3 with a tree comes the desire to put presents under the tree (being the material girl that I am!) and that doesn't blend well with free-range ferrets --- or cats!

It also doesn't help that I keep trying to capture the feeling of Christmas in Arizona. There's a certain smell, a certain feel to the air and the holiday that I can't find here. Color me incredibly homesick (and why isn't there any advice for adults on homesickness?).

Computers Mom's computer is up and running again with a new power supply. Don't know why the last one croaked, but I suspect it's the crappy electric quality she's getting and we've got her a new surge protector. Last weekend, we stopped at Fry's Electronics (all hail Fry's!). Unfortunately "Grand Opening" means "we haven't got all our stock in yet, try the other store". I was able to get Mom's UPS but not the keyboard and mouse extension cables. I still need to order those, but I keep forgetting to ask her to look at her plugs and verify their dongle type.

I wasn't able to find cool bling lights for Felix because of the lack of products on the new store's shelves. Despite the aisles of computer games to drool over, I saw nothing I wanted. *sigh* I need Starcraft 2 to come out! I picked up another hard drive. *yum* Randy got an antenna for his wireless router and Nick got a Nerf gun for his birthday. I get to swap Arcadia's parts for Beacon's parts sometime soon and someone is getting more hardrive space---about 400 GB!

Ferrets The worst part of our trip to Atlanta was the "axe-murderer" feeling I had for leaving our fur-babies behind. We cleaned the large cage and all the hammocks and set it up for them. We gathered all seven of them and tucked them into the cage. It seemed like Ukiah and Maxwell were looking at me in disappointment. "Mother, how could you?" But we did. We latched the cage doors and said good-bye. When I opened the front door Monday evening, Ukiah was right there to greet me. From the clean look of their cage (and the not-so-clean look of a couple of their favorite corners), I think they were out of the cage before we arrived in Atlanta!

But we brought them gifts! IKEA is great for ferret presents, by the way. They've got a line of soft toys with embroidered eyes! I brought home a baby-style giraffe for them, a huge "belephant" for me, a mama-and-baby "belephant for me, a giraffe for me, a toy box for them---which is adorable and they love it! I really need to get pictures of these things, they're so cute!

Knitting I finished "Vlad: the Anklet" over the weekend. I think I finished them Saturday night and wore them Sunday! I've got enough leftover to either make a matching tie or try to eke out another pair of anklets! I've started Randy's socks in Lion's Magic Stripe. I'm a little worried about getting 2 whole socks out of it for him. Eeek. I love knitting socks. It may be hard to get me to knit anything else. *grin* They are so complex and yet, so simple. They're wearable, so I can wear something I knitted. They're small so they can go everywhere with me. I love to daydream about the trip back to Arizona one day, with me knitting up socks by the dozen (ha!).

I really want to start my "Drapatic Ponchawl" again and see if I can make sense of my own design. *grin* I've wanted a poncho for forever but I want one that is flattering and fun to wear as well.

I owe Randy a blanket from *mumble*mumble* years ago. I've had the yarn but I couldn't find a basic pattern I liked. The yarn is variegated and I don't really like that kind of yarn. Most people try to avoid the "pooling" effect---I wish for it! Or a striping effect. So, I think I've found a pattern that will break up the annoyance of the variegation and bring it to a new level. I'm going to use the stitch in the DW Darrell Waltrip dishcloth. What do you think?

Reading I'm bored. I've got some books that I haven't read yet, but most of them just aren't grabbing my attention. *sigh* Anybody got any recommendations?

Roleplaying I just added Ptolus: City by the Spire to my Christmas wishlist. I don't feel bad in the least, since I've taken the spinning wheel off my list (hopefully waiting until we move). Being a writer, I have a hard time creating an adventure and letting the players cooperatively tell the story. I'm hoping that having a fully realized city/world to work from, I can DM more often and Randy can finally be a player again.

Secret Pal I don't think there's any "new" news here. I've got my December package ready to go...I just need to get to the post office! (Isn't that always the kink?) I think my Secret Pal is going to love her spoilage. I've had a lot of fun seeking out ideas for her.

Weight If you're paying attention, I've not updated my Weight Loss progress in a while. I have Thanksgiving to blame for that (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). I need to get back on the Gazelle and do my 10 minutes a day (minimum). I don't mind it when I do, so I don't know why I don't do it more often. It probably isn't going to help that my local SnB is having the Christmas Secret Swap this week and I'm making truffles to take. *sigh* I will not give up. I will not give up.

Writing I've been wanting to write a werewolf "piece" (short? novel? I don't know) for some time now. The idea is starting to come together but I still only have a "backdrop", not an actual plot. *sigh*

I love that I have so much support for my writing around me. Mom loves my writing, saying it's better than some of the authors I've shown her (some of my favorites!). Randy thinks I've got talent and that I should keep working to get published. Nicky echoes his Dad and believes in me with the innocence of a child.

Meanwhile, I read a book like Minion and wonder what I've got to do to get published. The story hiding under poor editing here is potentially good. The problem I have is that the first book isn't complete by itself. The pacing during action scenes isn't well-done. There's weak writing, especially in the early parts of the book. Why can I recognize this and not write a piece that will be accepted?

I'm still waiting for news on the piece I've submitted to Analog. Randy has encouraged me to try the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for this piece, if Analog doesn't take it. Meanwhile, I really want to write more, but I feel like my well of inspiration is dry. *sigh* (And somehow, I'm sure that feeds back into my feelings on Christmas this year...)

Wow. That's a lot of catch-up. Hope you weren't too bored. Where's all the entries for the Denise Needles? The deadline looms, knitters (or friends/family of knitters)!

Time to make the truffles.