No More Anonymous Comments, Sorry

I've had to make a couple of executive decisions in the last few days regarding what I talk about in this blog, and unfortunately, this also involves eliminating anonymous comments. I actually never minded them, but have been advised in this stage of the book and life in general to stop accepting them. You can still make comments via signing in with your Google account or "open ID," which accepts from many different sources. I also take a look at all comments before I put them up.

The quality of light in Santa Cruz county is amazing right now, a very liquid gold--due to all the fires around the state, unfortunately.

Well, have a good night, everyone.

For Now

I have decided to take some extra time with the book, maybe a substantial amount of time, and also not divulge anything more about what is happening with it.

I'm really sorry in a way to live like this, but there is some requested secrecy around the book and what happens when it leaves my hands, and I intend to hold to that, including the date it goes off. I would love to share everything with my faithful readers--what it's been like to read the whole book aloud (the best editing technique I know), what it will feel like to print it out--all the jumble of emotions I anticipate feeling. But the truth is, there are some things I will simply have to keep within my immediate circle of friends and colleagues. There has been a lot of energy generated around this book, and it has been a bit wild for me.

That's all for

Mcclish pleads not guilty

Michael McClish appeared in court today and pled not guilty to first-degree murder charges. Please click on the link to see the Sentinel story.

The next court date is July 31st.

I Haven't Posted Because Of...

1) teaching (which is going great, but it's a new class to me, so I am doing a lot of prep work in that regard). San Jose is not as horrid as I thought it might be in summer, and some days, oddly, it is cooler than Santa Cruz.

2) bellydance performances (two over the weekend in Santa Cruz)

3) Fire prevention (clearing brush and so forth--scary times here in the mountains)

4) Finishing the book.

5) Needing to get to bed and sleep eight hours, every night, unfailingly. I am trying so hard to be better about this, and am getting better about being good to my body in general.

So, I've been a busy strega, but productive.

No Fire

The Martin fire is nearly contained and many residents are returning to their homes.
What a terrible thing, though--nothing like a reminder of how fragile life is.

In the middle of this, my son graduated, and of course I cried, and took many pictures.
He was a terrific kid and has become a wonderful young man, and I am so proud of him.

And my book is 2.5 pages away from being done; it's already in its finished form. It will be about 410 pages when I send it off. I guess my only regret is that I let so much in my life hold me back from getting to it--a lesson to be learned for me.

So, we're safe, and my house is safe, and I am grateful for this, in the middle of sadness for those who were not so lucky.

Fire sucks

Hi, everyone--I am fine, but still have stuff by the front door to take away should we have to get out of here. I live in Felton, but 'way up, not near town. The wind shifted this afternoon and there is a solid cloud of smoke behind my house--I tried to take a picture of an air tanker right now, as it was flying over the house on the way to the fire, but it was almost completely obscured by smoke. We can smell the fire, too, and it is like a war zone with helicopters and air tankers going overhead all day long. And the smoke is doing "wonders" for my asthma, even though I am trying to stay inside. I doubt we'll need to be evacuated, but I think I am going to go this weekend and help over at the emergency shelter.

Well, on a lighter note, my son Riff graduates from high school today; even though his school is in Santa Cruz, the graduation ceremony is being held at a park near here. So, he graduates against a backdrop of smoke and fire--strangely appropriate for the "calm in the midst of a storm" person he is.

Congratulations, my wonderful son!

FIRE!

It was very disconcerting to come home today from work and get a call from Mr. Strega, who said he was coming home early from HIS work in Santa Clara because there was a wildfire just a few miles from where we live; even though we are a few miles away from the actual fire, my backyard looked like a wall of orange-red smoke. The local elementary school is now an evacuation center for people in Bonny Doon. Mr. Strega advised me to get a "grab bag" just in case. So, I basically went straight from work to home, to pack up anything I needed to take in case the wind picked up and we had to evacuate. Of course, my first thought was my laptop, which has the final version of my book on it (though that's also in online storage). I packed the few mementos I have of my mother and grandmother, all the family photos, a sapphire necklace from my friend who died of brain cancer this year, a necklace Mr. Strega gave me, and (ok, this may sound silly), my bellydance troupe's winter and summer costumes (which are made from special fabric that has to be imported from the Middle East and which cost a pretty penny). Also my thumb drive and backup CDs of my home office computer. Nothing else--and what a sobering experience it was. I can't imagine how awful it would be to lose everything.

Still, we are safe tonight; we can smell the fire, and it is still pretty hot out, but we're safe. Please keep some good thoughts in mind for our local firefighters out on the ridge tonight; many are exhausted from having just fought the Summit fires.

McClish gets new lawyer, doesn't enter plea

Really a pretty straightforward posting here--the title says it all. I was not able to be in court today due to the fact that I am not feeling terribly well (something disagreed with me yesterday at the library cafe over at the alma mater). McClish will return to court June 26th to enter a plea, and I plan to be there.

Obama

Today is an incredible day in history; Barack Obama has secured the Democratic nomination. This does not mean to say that Hilary Clinton's nomination would not have been an historical moment, too.