Bugs and lizards from Lissa

(Photo above: Thanks to my friend Lissa, who gave me these homemade creatures to put up on my tree!)

Back home!

And now to the unpacking. Unpack from Calgary, finish unpacking from my Germany trip, finish unpacking from our move.

Then it's back to my writing and starting my new online comic (which I've decided to name "Will Write For Chocolate" unless I come up with something better in the next few days). Currently reading Magic Tails (I'm curious about how the other writers in this collection interpreted the cat fairy tale theme) and going back to reading Perspective For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea.

I've enjoyed my recent trips tremendously, but it's good to be home, and I'm excited about getting back to work fulltime. No more travel planned until GAfilk, so I'm going to happily settle into hermit mode.

A few more pics from my trip:

From Vulcan, AB:

I picked up the items in the following photo at the Vulcan Tourism & Trek station in Alberta. Note the classy Borg Head Water Bottle (with straw)! I plan to donate this package to an upcoming Interfilk auction:

From the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff:

Cathy and me in the gondola, going up Sulphur Mountain:

We would have hiked, except it supposedly takes about 4-5 hours and I wanted to spend more time exploring the top. I'd like to try the hike on a longer trip in the future.

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Feeding my nerdy soul in Vulcan, AB

The pics on today's Blatherings were taken in Vulcan, Alberta. I enjoyed visiting this small agricultural community way more than I expected. The town certainly realized the marketing/tourist potential of its name, but I had been afraid of this manifesting itself in an overly slick Hollywood style.

As you can tell from the photos below, I needn't have worried. :-)

I did my part in contributing to the economy of Vulcan by buying the most wonderfully tacky piece of Star Trek merchandise I've ever seen, in the Vulcan tourist information shop. I plan to donate it to an Interfilk auction (Jeff will kill me if I keep it at home); I'll post details and a lurid photo in a future Blathering.

Many thanks to Cathy for indulging my geekgirl yearnings. I've very much enjoyed my visit, though it's going to be hard to say good-bye. I miss Cathy; it's hard not having her in Toronto anymore. But I also have huge admiration for her courage, deciding to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity despite the fact that it meant moving away from friends and family. One of the things I love about Cathy is that she likes to challenge herself, to purposefully step beyond her comfort zone.

Anyway, you can see more photos from Vulcan and the rest of my trip in my Flickr photoset; I'll upload other photos when I get back home.

Thanks to those who have been responding to my plea for guitar advice (on behalf of a cadet at West Point) in LJ. I'll be adding this info to the Dandelion FilkFAQ.

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Elk, Pride & Prejudice, and more mountains

(Above: Big-horned sheep we saw by the side of the road on Mt. Norquay.)

Finished watching the mini-series "Pride and Prejudice" (the version with Colin Firth) last night with Cathy after another day of exploring the area. LOVED it. Now I'll have to read the book. I tried when I was in grade school but found it too dull; I suspect the whole unrequited love and relationship aspect will mean more to me now. :-)

One more day in Calgary! Today we're going to visit a town called "Vulcan" just because I'm a nerdgirl and can't help myself.

Anyway, here are a few more pics...

Banff Hotsprings, where we luxuriated in the hot water with a stunning view of the mountains (you can't see in the photo, but steam was rising from the water):

This mule deer was grazing about twenty feet away from the pool area:

One of the lookout points on top of Sulphur Mountain:

Cathy, Gary and I climbed up this hill to the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station:

I'm sure Banff residents are used to elk wandering through their downtown, but I sure wasn't. :-)

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Banff Blather

A quickie post from Calgary with a photo of Cathy and me on Saturday afternoon, on top of Sulphur Mountain. Photo by Cathy's cousin, Gary. We soaked in the Banff Hotsprings afterward, while a pair of wild mule deer grazed about twenty feet away.

Scenery was GORGEOUS, more pics and highlights when I get back.

Magic Tails and Serenity

Woohoo, got my copy of MAGIC TAILS from the publisher this morning! Magic Tails is a collection of fantasy short stories from DAW for which Michelle West and I wrote a piece a while back. The collection is edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Janet Pack, and here's an excerpt from the back:

"Cats being magical creatures in their own right, it's not surprising that so many people who are captivated by fantastical tales and classic fables are also enamored of felines. And MAGIC TAILS is the perfect volume for anyone who likes to curl up with a good book and a companionable cat."

Heehee...ironic, since both Michelle and I are allergic to cats. :-) Anyway, our story is called "The Snow Queen."

Yes, I've been published before, but this is my first time in a short story collection! I'm pretty darned thrilled, I have to say.

Thanks so much to Michelle for the collab invite.

Book info, for those interested:

MAGIC TAILS
DAW Books, 2005
Editors: Martin H. Greenberg and Janet Pack
ISBN 0-7564-0288-3



Had lunch with Luisa yesterday; it was really good to see her again; we haven't really had a chance to hang out since before I left for Germany. I had some Italian language questions for her. :-) Luisa has a great report from her Italy trip up on her blog, by the way.

Since I was seeing a movie downtown in the evening, I decided it wasn't worth me going back to North York, so I took my laptop and worked in a Starbucks. Most Starbucks outlets in Toronto offer Wi-Fi wireless hotspots now, so I took advantage of this to check my e-mail. Good thing, too, since I found out that the editor of an article I recently submitted wanted some last-minute changes before I left for Calgary, including a quote from an industry expert.

I Googled for an expert, tracked down his contact info, used MaxEmail to fax my request, got back the needed quote by e-mail. All from a Starbucks coffee shop at Bloor and Jarvis. I love technology. :-)

Saw Serenity again, this time with my friends Parki, Craig and Doug. Laura and Peter were in the theatre as well! Craig, Doug, Laura and Peter were all seeing the movie for the first time, and none of them had watched the series before (Peter had seen a few random episodes). Everyone enjoyed the movie, and I liked it just as much the second time around.

I don't usually buy novelizations of movies, but I'm going to buy the one of Serenity because it was written by a charming fellow we met at Boskone, Keith DeCandido. Keith has an LJ under the user name 'kradical' in which he recently answered some Serenity novelization questions.

Here's a photo of Jodi and Allison with Keith at Boskone:



Have a great weekend, everyone! I'm off to Calgary.

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