Too Much to Do!

Cyn told me to get on JacketFlap, so I did because Cyn's advice is always worth taking if you can. But as for actually going to JacketFlap and using all its resources - well, I haven't done it today because there's too much else to do!

I want to make a blog post because if I don't keep in the habit of doing it regularly it'll die and be pointless.

I have to prep for my weekend trip to work at the Gault archeological site. It's several counties north of here, so I usually drive up the day before and camp at the site - but it's supposed to be 30 degrees tomorrow night and I don't have a camp stove that can be trusted to start in the morning. It's one thing to do without your morning hot tea in July, and even on some mornings in February, but this won't be among them. So I'll be spending the night at a hotel in Georgetown (this is cheaper than buying a reliable stove, given that I have friends who are going to be passing their old one on to me soon), which lessens the prep I'll have to do - don't have to dig out the camping gear or pack as much food. But food I must have, because if I don't eat properly bizarre things happen that no one wants to deal with; and the number of restaurants in Georgetown that can feed a hypoglocemic vegetarian on a low-sodium diet properly is, let me count them, none. So the banana-raisin muffins just came out of the oven and the bread is rising, and I've been to the grocery store for apples, and I have plenty of my super deluxe no-sodium homemade trail mix, and I think that's under control. Now I just have to plan the trip. I normally drive up 281 to avoid Austin traffic and come up on the site from the west, but staying in Georgetown means going slap through Austin on I35, a route that must be timed perfectly or I'll be sitting between and high above the Capitol and the University for an hour.

I need to put together queries for the agents and editors who were at the conference, criminy, two weeks ago. Relax, they're not going anywhere, and most of my manuscripts are still in "waiting for rejection" mode from other editors. But I have one manuscript which isn't being shopped anywhere and is just for hooking an agent, and I want to have all my ducks in a row and get the perfect manuscript to each editor as soon as it becomes available. These conference windows don't stay open forever and it doesn't do to muck them up.

The lesbian western cries out unto me to be researched. Since something has screwed up the search functions on the computer so that I can't follow search links, I can't use the index on the Southwestern Historical Quarterly site, but have to go through the table of contents systematically looking for relevant stuff; fruitful, but laborious. I think I have 70 years left on that project, assuming my husband's weekend virus hunt (which will keep him amused while he's trapped at home during my archeological foray) doesn't clear up the problem. I've been meaning to contact county historical societies for months.

I have two fan letters I should answer.

In the game room hangs a beautiful dress (my first attempt to match stripes and I nailed it) that only needs to be hemmed, another is cut out and the bodice put together, I have fabric for two lovely sundresses, and two cheap patterns I bought so I could learn to make slacks and blouses whisper to me that if I want to wear slacks that fit next winter now is the time to start. Fortunately, I have spent most of my life with no time to sew, so I've learned to not care how I look and should be able to ignore those siren calls for days at a time.

But the housework needs doing whether I have time for it or not and I'm not caught up after the week off sick.

So why on earth, with this pile of stuff to do right here at home, am I running off to dig in the cold?

This post is already too long, so I'll tell you tomorrow. Can you stand the suspense?