Waking up at 7:20 am to discover that the water's been shut off without warning is not a good way to start the day. Our road apparently collapsed in on itself at 5:30 a.m. this morning. Lots of fun resulted. It's nearly 5 pm, and I still don't feel as if I've really woken up yet. I know I haven't gotten everything done that needed doing. Oh well. It's my first day of honest-to-God Good Health, so I guess I can handle it.

The good news is that I did get a short story sent out today, and writing's been going well in general. Patrick and I have set up a mini-Clarion challenge, jointly compiling a long list of short story ideas, then dividing them up and giving ourselves joint deadlines. I'm about a fourth of the way through my first of the stories (tentatively called, "Swallowing the Ghost") and...well, hey. It feels good. It feels good to have the deadline, too, neurotic as that might be. I work so much better when I have specific goals and someone else who cares about them, too. Go us!

And Queen of Thorns is chugging along. I finally remembered to bring a pen and notepad along on a forest hike two days ago, so Chapter Eight is halfway finished. Woohoo!

Now if I can just manage a shower and tooth-brushing, I'll feel much better!