Well, I am happy happy HAPPY to see 2007 arrive. 2006 was certainly one for the record books, that's for sure . . . both kids had potentially serious issues this year, Emil wasn't working for ten months, Emil's father died, we moved, Emil's Uncle Joe died, Emma was in the hospital four times, Emil and Charlie got into separate car accidents on the same day, Charlie lost his job . . . and oh, yeah, back in April I broke my toe . . .

Thankfully, it looks as though most of that is well behind us and everything's turning out to be okay. Emma passed her first college class (the notoriously hard WRIT 121) and has gained a lot of confidence (now we'll see about resolve). Charlie's got a job again, and he's visibly relieved. We're paying the bills. The cars are dealt with (more or less), the tonsils are gone, the days are getting longer.

And this is one of my favorite times of year for many reasons, chief among them that the Christmas hoopla is over and everybody's relaxing. On Tuesday I have to start working again, but between now and then (and between Christmas and now) it's play, play, play.

I've been doing some knitting, and I've also finally arranged the furniture in my study to my satisfaction. Here's what it looks like now.











The lamp & fish were Christmas gifts. I absolutely love them; they really make the room for me. They came from a place called Lansing Art Glass, which I'd passed a kajillion times but never gone into before . . . I'm glad we finally did, because it's a nifty store.

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I like having nice things to hang on the windows around here, because the 18% gray atmosphere outside makes such a perfect backdrop for them. I'd swear that winters have been getting darker and grayer in mid-Michigan over the years I've been living here. And it's freakishly warm this year, too; we've had highs in the 40s and 50s for the past month, about. I'm wondering if this is how the English moors feel in the dead of winter . . .

Not that this weather is without its compensations. I'm still biking and rollerblading, after all . . . and it's nice that Emil doesn't have to deal with bad weather on his daily commute. On Saturday, Emil and I went to the beach in Holland:











People were playing football, a little girl was digging in the sand, and the causeways were downright crowded. It was nice to be outside, even if it wasn't what I'd call a beautiful beach day . . .

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In addition to knitting, I've been reading. I just finished The Big U, by Neal Stephenson (a Christmas gift from Ben) and I loved it. It's the story of a big American state university a la MSU (only the entire campus is encased in a dome, basically, called the Plex) that descends into chaos and what amounts to civil war among the university's factions. I found it completely engaging and howlingly funny in parts. The discussions between the academics about how to deal with the crisis made me laugh out loud.

Last night Emil and I watched Mein Krieg, which was fabulous. It's a 1991 BBC documentary that combines film footage taken by German soldiers during the war with interviews of the photographers. I found it utterly compelling. There's more to say but it deserves another entry, which I'll begin after I finish this one.

The young people in my circuit have been writing some interesting stuff, too. Stephanie's story Locked Doors appeared in Strange Horizons today, the lead story for 2007. I found her portrayal of the situation and feelings of an 11-year-old boy who is abandoned by his mother and has to live alone with his . . . well, sort of demon-possessed father to be an uncannily accurate portrayal of my own experience when my father died and I was left alone with my alcoholic mother.

Ben has been writing as well. He attended the Clarion West writer's workshop last summer, then wrote a sort of parody of the experience called David and his Zebra. It's very funny, and apparently even funnier if you've been to Clarion. However, even if you haven't, you'll recognize the place . . . you've been somewhere like it.

David's made what (I believe to be) his debut on YouTube, with Le Fromage, et L'Homme Moderne. It, too, is funny, and I love the black and white photography . . .

Elliott's group, Meerkat Media, has been busy, too. Elliott posted a video he made with his cousin Chris (as of this writing I can't get video but I can get audio). More to say about this later, when I write about Mein Krieg . . .

And Elliott told us about Rabbit and Mouse, which is the funniest thing I've seen for quite a while now. Even the interface is cool. (Hey, folks, where can I get a t-shirt?)

That's it for now. Hope everyone else is relaxing, too.