Caitlín R. Kiernan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
greygirlbeast) wrote2010-08-17 02:09 pm
greygirlbeast) wrote2010-08-17 02:09 pm
Entry tags:
"There's a bullet in your hands."
Here it is 1:21 p.m., and I'm only just now sitting down to make a blog entry, which means I'm running about two hours behind what I might laughingly refer to as my "routine."
Last night, we realized that one of Smégaol's paws has developed a pad infection...again. More complications from his plasma-cell pododermatitis. So, he goes back to the vet today.
As for yesterday. I got a package from London, from Steve Jones, containing two books. One is the Russian edition of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women. So I can now say that "So Runs the World Away" has been translated into Russian, and I've always loved to stare at my words in Cyrillic, even though I have only the faintest idea what any of it means. There ought to be a word for that: being unable to read something you yourself have written because it has been altered in such a form that, while it retains its essential meaning, it is no longer recognizable by its author. The same package contained the Polish edition of an anthology that doesn't actually contain anything written by me, so that one will remain a mystery.
Sonya arrived on the 2:20 train from Boston. We picked her up, then swung back by the House before heading south to Beavertail. The day was overcast and, once we reached the sea, a little chilly. We climbed down onto the rocks about .16 miles northeast of the lighthouse. There were the usual gulls and cormorants, and some small species of Calidris (possibly a plover or stint) that we weren't able to identify. The surf was rough, and there was a mist rolling in, with a storm not far offshore. My ankle's still giving me trouble, and I was frustratingly clumsy, so we didn't do much clambering about. We located a bit of 19th-Century graffiti we first spotted on June 23, 2008. The sun came out, and we sat a while, just watching the birds and the sea.
Later, we headed over to West Cove at Fort Wetherill. It's our favorite spot for gathering sea glass, and we found some spectacular pieces yesterday. We also saw three specimens of Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia), a species neither Spooky nor I had spotted before. We headed back to Providence about 7 p.m. We stopped at Fellini's for a pizza. Back home, Sonya and I watched Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (my third time to see it) and James Cameron's Avatar (also my third time time to see it), because Sonya hadn't seen either. I was up far too late, and didn't get to sleep until about four thirty. We talked about everything from mass extinction events to the novellas of Ursula K. LeGuin. Spooky took Sonya back to the station today for a noonish train back to Boston, before I was really even awake. It was a good visit, but far too short.
Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Unexpected expenses seem to be raining from the sky, lately. You might also find something you like at Spooky's Dreaming Squid Dollworks and Sundries shop at Etsy. Thanks.
Here are some photos from yesterday:
Sonya, atop a rocky precipice.
The aforementioned 19th-Century graffiti.
View to the southeast, with the lighthouse visible through the mist.
View to the northeast, towards Jamestown.
The top of my greying head. Sonya took this shot from the rocky precipice where she's perched in the first photo in this series. You can see the 19th-Century graffiti directly below me.
Rusting piles driven into the stone.
All photographs Copyright © Caitlín R. Kiernan, Kathryn A, Pollnac, and Sonya Taaffe.
Last night, we realized that one of Smégaol's paws has developed a pad infection...again. More complications from his plasma-cell pododermatitis. So, he goes back to the vet today.
As for yesterday. I got a package from London, from Steve Jones, containing two books. One is the Russian edition of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women. So I can now say that "So Runs the World Away" has been translated into Russian, and I've always loved to stare at my words in Cyrillic, even though I have only the faintest idea what any of it means. There ought to be a word for that: being unable to read something you yourself have written because it has been altered in such a form that, while it retains its essential meaning, it is no longer recognizable by its author. The same package contained the Polish edition of an anthology that doesn't actually contain anything written by me, so that one will remain a mystery.
Sonya arrived on the 2:20 train from Boston. We picked her up, then swung back by the House before heading south to Beavertail. The day was overcast and, once we reached the sea, a little chilly. We climbed down onto the rocks about .16 miles northeast of the lighthouse. There were the usual gulls and cormorants, and some small species of Calidris (possibly a plover or stint) that we weren't able to identify. The surf was rough, and there was a mist rolling in, with a storm not far offshore. My ankle's still giving me trouble, and I was frustratingly clumsy, so we didn't do much clambering about. We located a bit of 19th-Century graffiti we first spotted on June 23, 2008. The sun came out, and we sat a while, just watching the birds and the sea.
Later, we headed over to West Cove at Fort Wetherill. It's our favorite spot for gathering sea glass, and we found some spectacular pieces yesterday. We also saw three specimens of Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia), a species neither Spooky nor I had spotted before. We headed back to Providence about 7 p.m. We stopped at Fellini's for a pizza. Back home, Sonya and I watched Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (my third time to see it) and James Cameron's Avatar (also my third time time to see it), because Sonya hadn't seen either. I was up far too late, and didn't get to sleep until about four thirty. We talked about everything from mass extinction events to the novellas of Ursula K. LeGuin. Spooky took Sonya back to the station today for a noonish train back to Boston, before I was really even awake. It was a good visit, but far too short.
Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Unexpected expenses seem to be raining from the sky, lately. You might also find something you like at Spooky's Dreaming Squid Dollworks and Sundries shop at Etsy. Thanks.
Here are some photos from yesterday:
Sonya, atop a rocky precipice.
The aforementioned 19th-Century graffiti.
View to the southeast, with the lighthouse visible through the mist.
View to the northeast, towards Jamestown.
The top of my greying head. Sonya took this shot from the rocky precipice where she's perched in the first photo in this series. You can see the 19th-Century graffiti directly below me.
Rusting piles driven into the stone.
All photographs Copyright © Caitlín R. Kiernan, Kathryn A, Pollnac, and Sonya Taaffe.
no subject
no subject
Sorry to hear your ankle is still paining you, I hope that will stop bothering you soon. The pictures of the rocks, ocean, sky as always make me miss the ocean.
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I hope to return soon, she said, trying not to make it sound like too much of a threat.
The photograph of you on the rocks came out well.
What's the news with Sméagol?
no subject
Paw was definitely infected, and beginning to show early signs of abscess. I had the vet shave the fur on the bottom of his foot so I can keep it clean easier. He got an antibiotic shot, and needs to be on the prednisone daily for 2 weeks, and then back to every other day. His right eye was also showing minor signs of infection, probably from rubbing it with his paw.
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I'm very glad you took him in today.
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Yeah. When I checked on him and noticed he wasn't opening his right eye all the way, and there was suspicious discharge, I pretty much decided that I made the right call in getting him in asap. It's just frustrating that he had to get stinky foot on us right in time for your visit.
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Seriously, if you're up to it, I would gladly come back in a couple of weeks and sleep in.
no subject
I didn't comment on the post a couple days back, but it was exciting to see the ToC of the Best-of!