Lilith Saintcrow's Blog, page 117
September 20, 2019
Deepest Violet
I wouldn’t have morning glories in my yard (mostly because I spent too long with toddlers roaming around) but fortunately, some of my neighbors do, and I get to admire them. Especially when the color is so achingly vibrant. Sometimes the smallest beautiful thing can save an entire day, week, month, year. Never underestimate the …
September 19, 2019
Stubbornness and Experience
Just a short note today, since I am so close to the end of Damage I can almost taste a few days off. Usually I have a long doldrums in the center third to four-fifth of a book before lunging to the end; this particular story began gathering steam at the halfway point and is …
September 17, 2019
Only Moderate Pain
It’s a dark morning, a nice thick cloud layer shielding us. The rain has brought greening at the bottom of summer-yellowed grass and the trees are lifting their arms again, turgor pressure rising. Miss B is philosophical–her coat is wash and wear, and she’s a fan of chilly temperatures. Boxnoggin, however, is from the South, …
September 16, 2019
Soundtrack Monday: Terra Firma
Years ago, the only time I had to myself was a walk after dinner when my ex-husband was home and napping in his chair. I could conceivably leave the kids safely with him, put on some headphones, and walk through dusk or night itself. Of course, every time I came home there was a mess …
Blank, Pointy-Tooth Screens
The weekend passed in a blur, between chores and getting wordcount in on Damage. The best thing about it was the rain moving in. It is now officially autumn, and I couldn’t be happier. I always work best when the rains settle like an inverted grey bowl, tip-tapping the roof and window, hissing between leaves …
September 13, 2019
Fermentation Giggles
These silicon disks with vents in the middle are known as “pickle pipes“, but I call them “fermentation nipples” because, along with sounding more scientific, it makes me giggle like a schoolgirl each time I say it. Or type it. Or even think about it, frankly. They fit on any wide-mouth Mason jar, and the …
September 12, 2019
Small Prices
I promised myself I wouldn’t start autumn’s round of baking until the daily high temp became a comfortable mid-seventies or so. The forecast appeared good, I put together a starter while prepping the pot roast yesterday… …and today the forecast has changed and the goddamn high is supposed to be in the eighties, just where …
September 10, 2019
The Nose Knows
The rains have moved in. It smells like the cusp of autumn–cedars drinking deep after dusty drought, the dust itself breathing out spice before it turns to mud, summer-yellowed grass stirring and greening at the roots, leaves preparing to dry and drop. It’s one of the better olfactory landscapes, and one of my favorites. It …
September 9, 2019
Soundtrack Monday: Pump Up the Volume
It’s Soundtrack Monday again! This one is for the readers of the Dante Valentine series. One of the things I loved about Danny’s world is slicboards. Flying skateboards are just plain cool. This particular song, MARRS’s Pump Up the Volume, was what I played repeatedly and obsessively while writing a certain bit of Saint City …
The Last Turkey Morning
No turkeys were harmed in the course of this entire thing. Inconvenienced, maybe, but that’s it. I know you guys are wondering what happened on my last turkey-wrangling day, but it’s entirely anticlimactic. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The Princess, a little concerned for my safety (or maybe my sanity, since I was returning …
