I apologize because the whole week was filled up with bronchitis and my mom’s visit and now I have to account for a whole missing seven days. Hmm, we did still manage to visit Sonoma’s main square’s little park where there were unaccountably seven tiny thumb-sized yellow ducklings belonging to a large white duck – ducklings in November! And we got to visit with my poet friend Natasha, who drove out from Oakland to see us. Thanks N! Also, I learned how to play Wii Rock Band, a gift from mom, which was really fun. There were other things, like a brief three-hour tour of San Francisco that included Union Square, The Golden Gate park, and Ghirardelli Sqare, but mostly I was in bed with a fever and cough. Sorry Mom! Next time I promise I’ll be healthy and we’ll visit wineries and ride horses, check out fancy restaurants and hike around the beautiful rolling hills. I believe that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re visiting Napa, instead of staying in and making soup and watching Glee and So You Think You Can Dance. Husband G got in his Microsoft visit and came back with the new version of Office (which I’ve been resisting) and the new Windows (which I can’t wait to get since Vista’s been a huge problem for my computer.) The last version of Windows I really loved was Windows NT. I guess I’ve just become a technology curmudgeon. When we were setting up the Wii for the first time, I also was heard to say: “This was so much easier when it was the Atari 2600.”

My writer friend Felicity Shoulder’s new story is out in the January issue of Asimov’s so I recommend checking it out. I have been telling her for a long time that she is going to be the next sci-fi/speculative writing sensation, and I’m never wrong about that stuff.