Some time off—I thought

I decided to take a few days off from the early morning grind this week, so this morning I set my alarm for 6:30. Straight to the shower and breakfast and work instead of the usual 90-minute detour upstairs to the computer to write. However, I discovered that I can’t turn my mind off from story writing. I had an idea for a flash story for the next Hellnotes contest and every spare moment I’ve found so far today has been used to tinker with the idea. Looks like I might be at the PC tomorrow morning after all.

The first customer copies of the CD limited edition of The Road to the Dark Tower have been received, and at least one person who ordered via Amazon has been notified that their order has been filled, so look for your copy in the coming days if you ordered one.

This is a strange time of year for me. For the past decade, Christmas has rarely been celebrated on the day itself because of our extended family situation. It’s also a time of year that I associate with loss, as both my mother (2005) and father (2003) passed away in the opening days of January. This year my wife is working 12-hour shifts Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I’ll probably be at my computer working on a Cemetery Dance column, a couple of book reviews and other projects on those days. However, we do have the tree up, the house decorated indoors and out, and I plan to do some holiday cooking. More than the turkey, I’m looking forward to the soup that gets made from the carcass. I like making soup, cutting up the veggies, going through the various stages from boiling the meat off the bones to simmering in the various ingredients, then pouring out huge bowls to be eaten with saltines smeared with margarine. Cold weather food, even though it rarely gets lower than 40 degrees around here.

I’ve been listening to the Elton John Christmas compilation CD from Starbucks lately, too. Some funny and interesting and fun selections to make up an eclectic listening experience. Moldy oldies to rap with Springsteen, Kate Bush and the Eagles tossed in for good measure. The only song I habitually skip is the one by Outkast that hurts my ears.