Oof! Well, I just spent three hours finishing off a novel crit that was due, oh, say, three months ago.... Gaarh. At least I'm pleased to be done with it, even though I still feel guilty. (The writer is a friend, and more than that, it's a good novel. I really liked it--I'm just insanely addicted to procratination!) Now I've only got one more big crit to do before I'm caught up on overdue critting commitments.

The alien fem-bot has definitely left for good, probably for warmer climes--it's freezing inside our house! That's the downside of having a cute stone cottage in the English countryside..that and the WHOMPING GREAT SPIDERS that keep coming into our house looking for mates! (I keep telling them that we are not running a spider matchmaking service. But do they listen?) Worse yet, of course, are the two fairly-big ones that live outside our window. They have definitely hooked up, and the female (their names are either "Georgina and Rupert " or "Shelob and Aragog", depending on my mood) seems to be getting ready to have babies. There is no way I can cope with this.

But on the upside, it's a beautiful walk from here to the village store, which is where I went today (my big adventure!). The house is still relatively clean despite the fem-bot's disappearance, I've finished off a big crit, and maybe I'll even get down to work on my thesis. Unfortunately, I've worked through all the checked-out books in English, and now it's time for a big old German academic text.

Maybe I'll go live in the web with Georgina and Rupert instead.