Things Should Calm Down Around October 22

Or so I keep telling myself.

My mother is now genuinely semi-officially a resident of the Health Center, where she gets a lot more attention and three meals a day brought to her room. In two or three weeks there'll be papers to sign that will turn semi-official into official, and the minute the papers are signed, we'll have 30 days to clear out her apartment.

I'd tell you what a mess my apartment is but you don't want to know.

Clearing out my mother's apartment won't really take 30 days (I hope), but it could be a little tricky working on it while finishing up The Shade Of The Moon. So my hope is the 30 days will start at the earliest as soon as I finish the book, and ideally a day or two later so I can breathe for a moment before tackling the next big job.

I like breathing. I used to do it quite regularly.

Meanwhile The Shade Of The Moon is moving along. Sadly, I think it might have cost me my friendship with Princess Summerfallwinterspring. After I worked out seventeen different versions of the ending with her, all on her phone bill, and in spite of her battling double pneumonia and triple digit temperatures (both hers and the climate's), she's taken to answering her phone with a thick Romanian accent, saying, "Ve provide no book writing helping here!"

I suppose I could be getting a wrong number. What's the area code for Romania?

Anyway, to distract you from the fact that instead of writing, I've discovered the joys of Undo on Free Cell and am winning, winning winning, I'll include the links to a couple of New York Times articles.

This first one is about improved book sales (thanks in part to YAs).

The second is about the Hobbit House, a guest house in Montana (where all the best hobbits stay).

I'll now win another game or two of Free Cell and return to work. Either that, or I'll have to move to Romania!