Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 10

Cellophane

Tomorrow I’m going to have eye surgery to remove a cellophane pucker in my left eye.

Go right ahead, make all the jokes you like.

Going to the Well

I’m not exactly good at walking nowadays, but I thought I’d manage well enough at riding around on the John Deere, so I headed to the tractor the other day with the intention of trimming the grass on our rancho and shortening the weeds. One of the tires had gone flat, but I knew it had a slow leak, so I’d prepared by acquiring a can of Fix-a-Flat. I duly screwed the can to the tire valve and watched the tire inflate.

This was the last time in the entire day that a piece of apparatus work...

At Home

Kathy’s twice tested clean for COVID, so I said farewell to the Los Lunas Days Inn, and headed for home.

We celebrated with margaritas. Now I’m doing laundry.

A Day Among Others

This morning Kathy tested positive for COVID.

I reacted bravely by fleeing for my life to a nearby hotel.

I Cannot Walk

Oh, I can lurch. And shuffle. And I can dodder and shamble. I’m very good at hobbling. I limp, and I’m getting to be an expert at tottering.

But walk normally? Not so much.

The last month hasn’t been good to me, locomotion-wise. My knees, both of them, have taken up collapsing, fortunately not at the same time. So far I haven’t actually fallen, but I’ve come very close. The collapses are unpredictable, but I’ve learned to recognize the signs and if I can shift my weight to my o...

Deadline

Just a reminder to you all that The Accidental War, Fleet Elements, and Imperium Restored will be available on Kindle Unlimited only through tomorrow, June 30. If you haven’t got your books yet, this is the time!

Blowing Up

Taos Toolbox is three-quarters done, and a fine Toolbox it is. Every one of the participants is talented, and every one can have some kind of writing career if they want one.

Over the weekend I blew up my left knee, by walking in a straight line on a sidewalk. I would have fallen had not Nancy grabbed me by one side and I grabbed a lamp on the other. I did not “do anything to myself,” I have reached the age when these things just happen to me of their own accord.

I spent part of a ...

We Conquer KU

The Accidental War, Fleet Elements, and Imperium Restored are now available (for free, I believe) on Kindle Unlimited through the end of June. Because it’s the publisher arranging this— as opposed to a mere mortal like myself— the books are also available as regular ebooks on Amazon, and are also available on all other platforms.

You have more choice now than ever before! Go forth and read!

I Don My Divine Aspect

Photo by David Levine

Cured Meats

I’ve been at the Truchas Peaks Place the last week, at the Rio Hondo workshop with a group of my friends. For our first meal I provided a 16-pound Serrano ham complete with carving stand. The ham had been shipped from Iberia after spending 14 months curing in a Spanish cave.

Here’s what it looked like with the layer of fat removed and showing signs of my inexpert carving. I had bought a special Serrano-carving knife when in Spain a few years ago, but hadn’t had a chance to use i...