Whew!  It's been a killer two-week run.  Kelly has had talks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana!  He was home for one full day in-between but will be home for a while now.  He took today off to recuperate a little.

I've turned in my piece on volunteering.  No word on changes as of yet.  I've also had short story group each week, finished up the mystery courses, and joined forces with a local novelist.  Modo signed with an agent, too!  Oh, yeah.  My favortie writing book?  Dorothea Brande's On Becoming a Writer.  Yeah, I like Forster, Ueland, and Burroway, but Brande's was the first I bought after grad school.  I've also continued my drawing course and think my sighting has improved with advice from some pros.  A toilet broke, and the vacuum went kaput this weekend.  Hooray for the Shop Vac!

Also, Carrie Ann made Captain!  She was in town to finish her training, so she and I got to visit over a craptastic Panera dinner.  Long story, but we have bad luck with Panera, no matter the location.  Still owe you some scotch, Captain!  She got the hot tub suite at the hotel, complete with mirrored surround, spotlights, and a brass rail that would seem more at home on a bar--very funny!  Not funny:  stuck on I-465 N for night construction for forty-five minutes on the way back.  Cool to see one of those big overpass beams on a flatbed, though.  Jeep must have us to the CAT open house next year!

I also had vet visits for our new member of the family.  That's right, Frankie "the Fuzz" Finelli remains in protective custody in the drum room, but will be staying long-term.  It was difficult to find him a home when we don't have solid leukemia/FIV results.  Tabitha is pretty chill about him being here--except on jailbreaks.  Frankie was in rough shape, but he is on the mend and clocked in at 8.5 lbs at the vet this morning.  He is very sweet but definitely a male kitten!

So, with that jazz, we're staying here for Thanksgiving.  It's an all-pie Thanksgiving in additon to being all-veg and football-free, so I'm psyched about it.  Would've been nice to see the families in Peoria and Champaign, but with the kitties and K's recent travels, we thought it made more sense to stick around the house.  Should anyone want to come over for Christmas shopping let us know, just don't ask me (Steph) to drive around in Carmel--I hate it!

Enjoy the holiday and GO ILLINOIS!

We have a kitty cat guest in the drum room as of yesterday.  He's a very cute (see pic) police car/tuxedo/black-and-white intact male, though Tabitha is not impressed.  He has green eyes, which aren't visible in the photo.  We're getting him all fixed up and ready for a home, so if you know anybody....  He's very playful and likes to sit on laps, trail, play. 

It's pretty clear to us from talking to neighbors that he was abandoned around here sometime last week.  He's very used to humans--he is very good with his claws, careful and love-y; litter-trained.   Most of the people in our area have multiple dogs and cats or are in a situation like ours, where one pet rules the roost.  Many neighbors put out food, water, and boxes for this guy because he's so friendly; however, he needs a forever home.  So, we're reaching out to friends, family...anyone who can give this really adorable dude a place to enliven.  I can drive him to you!  He loves the car.  And, as mentioned, we're getting his vaccinations, neutering, and all of that stuff done.

Thanks to Mom and Dad French for visiting and for having a good sense of humor about our trip to the emergency vet to get the guy scanned and for helping us make sure he didn't stay out in these very cold temps.  It was very nice to see you and celebrate birthdays together.

And, if you can't give this guy a home, consider making a donation to your local animal charities.  With the economy in the toilet, I think a lot of people will be trying to do their best by giving up their pets, whether at a shelter or by releasing them--more common where shelters charge surrender fees and kill, like here. 

Let us know if you'd like to see more pics, video, or to come by and meet him in person!

  Not the best image ever, but those are this year's jack-o'-lanterns.  I bought foam pumpkins so we could stack them along the interior stairs without the rotting pumpkin aroma.  Foam pumpkins are more difficult to carve than real ones!  Kelly's spooky tree turned out much better than my skeleton, which appears to be that of a humanoid alien.  But that's cool, too...right? 

I'll post costume pics next time.  We're armed with six bags of candy this year.  Considering the number of kids that come through--and Kelly's one for them, one for me policy-- I may run out and get more.

I've spoken with most of you since the Writers' Center Gathering, so I won't go on about it.  Last weekend, we had a not-so-quiet time at home--GBS busted out the acoustic set!  It was great to play on real drums and cymbals.  My wingspan got seriously tested, though.  The electronic set is much more compact, which improves my speed.  Kelly played more than I did.  I picked up some new beats and practiced bass.  Tabitha half-napped through it; she's a pro.

Halloween is the best holiday all year, so have an excellent time!

Kelly's parents, Phyllis and Bill, visited two weekends ago.  It was over eighty degrees outside, which is unusual for Indiana in October.  We went to the Canal Walk, part of which is shown in the photo.  Phyllis enjoyed the gardens along the way; Bill got to see the NFSHSA and NCAA HQ, in addition to Victory Field and the new Lucas Oil Stadium near the Zoo end.  A Segway tour passed us, as did numerous paddle boats, strollers, and four-person bikes.   Colts fans were plentiful, watched over by a blimp and multiple IMPD officers.  Our group drove by Monument Circle and the new Main Library (Bill heads up Grainger at UIUC) then headed home before the game ended.

On the eighteenth, I went to the Writers' Center of Indiana's annual Gathering of Writers and Readers.  I volunteered, so was there from about seven to seven.  I will write more about that at some other time--if you aren't bored from the other writerly notes I've posted.  But wouldn't you rather read about that kind of thing than that canned chicken noodle soup smells exactly like Salmonella grown in LB?  Yum! 

Kelly got to hang out with Tabitha and watch baseball on the DVR Saturday.  He's also working on a plan for the recording setup, including all the cables.  The User Conference is this week in Champaign.  A studio engineer is registered, so K may get to talk microphones for a while.  Also, he may be offered a different position than Academic Sales Engi-nerd--I mean, Engineer.  We'll keep you up-to-date on that.

I re-posted the Steph FM site, opting to drop the hehehe section because the blog is easier to keep current.  Please let me know if links don't work, etc.--Idid the entire stie in about a half hour post-Gathering.  And I'm interested in trying out a Segway, so our next visitors be warned!

Take Care,

Steph FM

A quick post about the Steph FM site:  The hehehe link is broken for the time being.  Information on it was outdated, so I've written a new page.  The issue now is how to reconcile the old web authoring software with the new web authoring software, which is making me long for the days of straight-up HTML.  Okay, maybe it's not that dire.

On a more positive note, I've been asked to write the Members' Voice Column for the next WCI newsletter.  Pretty exciting and scary considering the established writers who may read it.  Then again, they may just pitch it in the recycling... .

Kelly has just installed Tracktion on the desktop machine and has started to record some new songs.  He's also still mixing down "Various Nefarious" when not selling M-matica.  The next trip is to New Jersey.  If he ever gets through his TWiki summaries, maybe he'll do a blog post

Tabitha likes the amount of window time lately.  The 4th was her adoptive anniversary--she's kept us in line for ten years and can still do a mean ninja pounce.  She got some Union Jack's pizza and Chee-tos courtesy of Kel.  I selected a jingle-foo-mylar chimera she enjoys chasing around the pool table tunnel system.
 
We missed out on the RockBand 2 Party due to colds, bummer.  Kelly was looking froward to dropping some Metallica on the crowd...if there weren't any tracks by The Smiths.  Morrissey!  Morrissey!

Enough of that.  Aideu until the next post!

--Steph FM

The narrow temperature range of sixty-eight to seventy-three degrees F that I like has arrived!  Now, if only I could get some sunshine... .  But Kelly is back from his trip, so I'm happy.

MCA (Carrie Ann) stopped in with her mom the weekend after my last post.  It was great to see her, though most of her time was spent at training--Arbonne, not pilot-y stuff.  She will head to Captain School soon; Penguin will not be the only Capt'n in their family for long.  Thanks for all of the goodies!

The big RockBand party is coming up this weekend, and the pressure is on those of us who play instruments to magically understand the controllers.  Eeek!

Ah, the hard cider.  Yes, I think I'll take another crack at it this year.  I read up a bit and understand that the last btach tasted so nasty because I fermented it at too high of a temperature, and I also didn't age it nearly as long as it needed.  It won't be ready for Illinois basketball season, but maybe by Easter?  Jellybeans and cider, anyone?

For today, though, coconut lime cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Sweet.


 

Whoa, it's been some time since I've posted!  But most of you have heard from me recently in forms of contact that provide you a chance to take part in the conversation, too.  I like the dynamic of that better.

So, what's going on with us this week?  I began taking a series of courses on mystery writing.  I'm not as big of a reader of the genre as I was during middle/high school, but thought the course would help with pacing issues.  It has!  I had a really great, helpful session on Wednesday night with William Kent Krueger.  He writes the Cork O' Conner series, which I am going to start reading over stolen minutes this weekend.  No plans to write a mystery myself, despite the requests for a "superbug" novel.  You can read about my last adventure with pathogens in the thesis abstract

Erica (UIUC sophomore year roomie w/ the lovely hair and manner plus super-sharp) is in town for the opening of the second Nordstrom.  She kindly gave Kelly and me tickets to the opening gala, which took place Thursday night.  It was amazing!  Parades of models, awesome band, and the surreal "cocktails" banners in various departments.  We even got to visit a bit after ten years.  Thanks, Erica! 

Kelly did a presentation in Evanston on Wednesday.  His next trip will include Trinity College and Yale University, among others.  Insert "Gilmore Girls" jokes as appropriate.  He's made some interesting examples, which math and science pals might enjoy.  Also, he recorded the bass parts for the new version of "Various Nefarious" with the Hartke pedal and Brick pre. 

Tabitha has enjoyed many an open-window day.  She's keeping the neighborhood birds on surveillance and telling those boy cats who come to gaze at her that they're not so tough. 

A critiquing friend got a full manuscript request, so hoist a glass of champ her way.  It's with a good agent, too, so keep fingers and toes crossed.

I'm in a rush this morning, so please forgive any typos, etc.  Yak at ya more at some future time.

-Steph FM

Tabitha's ears are doing well after a few days of fungicidal drops.  Her head is a bit spiky and greasy, but she finally forgave us for taking her to the vet.  Bribes were involved.

K and I have been traveling, visiting many of you.  Thanks!

Also, within the last month, I've done a lot of work based on feedback from many other writers and my great friends with and without degrees in English.  It's been a spectrum of people and advice that has helped improve things dramatically.  How lucky am I to know so many smarties?

Take Care,

Steph FM

The stephFM site now has menu links for improved navigation!

And I'll try to find that Halloween pic of Kel as Bono, and me as The Edge.  It will be password-only access and a locked image

Oh, right.  We cannot hear "the cars" this far north.  The military jet fly-over does scare the crap out of us each race, though.   Who knew a stealth bomber was so loud? 

Celebrate the 4th by keeping all of your fingers!  To those US friends in IL, MD, MA, and CA...we will be sure to think of you as neighbors set off mortars in their driveways.  Gotta love IN.