Tuesday, October 26, 2010

MOVING DAY

It’s Tuesday, and here I am on Killer Hobbies. I’ve moved a lot in my life, but never quite like this. Usually moving calls for lots of boxes and weeks of settling in.

I had really settled into Wednesday. I wrote it Monday and Tuesday – sometimes just on Tuesday – and posted it early (really early) Wednesday morning. I got to post it early because I am up really early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I go to a water aerobics class (which I send my sleuth to in my Betsy Devonshire mysteries, too), the one they call “Early Bird.” It begins at 6:30 in the a.m., which is awfully early. On the other hand I’m back home around 8, washed, dressed, exercised, and ready for my day. Any of the other classes would put an ugly hole in my day, but not the Early Bird class.

Now Tuesday is my day to sleep in. I try not to schedule anything too early on Tuesdays so I can luxuriate in bed. There are two problems with that. One is, I wake up early anyhow – though not as early as on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and the second is, my cat Snaps has an uncanny ability to sense when I am awake, even when I lie still and breathe gently. And if I’m awake, he thinks I should get up. He’ll nudge and bump and paw, purring ecstatically because this is a great game to him. If I lose my temper and rise to toss him out of the bedroom, closing the door on him – well, I’m up, aren’t I? And annoyed enough that I can’t go back to sleep.

But we’ll see how this works. Though I won’t be posting before six anymore, we’ll see if I can’t post before seven.

One of the great things about Bouchercon by the Bay – San Francisco, that is – was the chance to meet some of my fellow Killer Hobbiests. I got to teach a class on counted cross stitch. Camille Minchon, late of this blog, was wonderful, there ahead of time, ready to help anyway she could, bringing supplies, offering advice. I am not a great crafts teacher – heck, I’m not that great a stitcher – so I was pleased there was also a great stitcher present who had taught classes on counted cross stitch, and who was especially helpful with a young woman who had never tried the craft before. (I even learned a few things from her!) I had volunteered to assist Angela Daniels in her craft class on Saturday, and Joanna Campbell Slan came in with all sorts of handouts. Angela showed us how to take an old book and turn it into an exotic gift box, or perhaps a place to hide a small valuable. Very clever and not desperately difficult. It’s something I think I’d like to try again, as soon as I find that rarity, a book I don’t want to re-read or sell to Half-Price Books.

My thirteenth Betsy Devonshire mystery, Blackwork, is now out in paperback, and I’m looking forward to the publication of the fourteenth, Buttons and Bones, due in bookstores December 7.

8 comments:

Mason Canyon said...

I just read Blackwork and enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to Betsy's next adventure.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

JournoMich said...

Congrats on the new paperback release and best of luck with this date! If I don't get something scheduled to post the night before, it's not gonna be on until late morning (at the earliest). The blog world always understands. :)

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

Linda O. Johnston said...

I definitely empathize with your concerns about "moving," Monica. I'm very used to getting my blog together on Wednesday and posting it late in the evening, which is tomorrow East Coast time. I'll be doing that a day earlier now--something new to get used to.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

I totally understand, Monica. We'll all miss Camille. She was such a great help to me. I never wake up early on Sundays, and even though she was three hours behind me, she often made sure the News and Appearances were up and running.

By the way, Angela Daniels posted about her experience at Bouchercon. You can follow her links at my personal blog http://www.joannaslan.blogspot.com There's even a link for how to make a book safe!

Camille Minichino said...

I almost posted today! I'll be visiting all of you regularly and I'm sure you'll all love your new days!

signlady217 said...

I just read Blackwork this past Saturday. Great story. Loved it. I have the entire series and I can't wait for the next one!

Monica Ferris said...

I must've been half asleep when I re-read my post this morning because I misspelled Camille's name! I am normally paranoid about doing something like that, so it's awful that I slipped this time.

I'm glad to know I'm not alone in getting used to the new routine.

Betty Hechtman said...

I think we're all in the same boat - used to writing our posts at a particular time.