That sounds like a fun Saturday, Sara. I was out in the yard. Cut the grass, did the last fertilize, killed my lawn mower. Yeah, hit a rock I didn't see and it wouldn't start after that. I'm hoping that was the last cut for 2019 so I'll just wait until Spring to fix it. It already needed a new blade and an oil change anyhow.

Today I may clean the garage. We shall see. Weather looks decent but I'm a bit stiff from yesterday.

* pours a tea and stretches out on the couch *

One winter later, he found out that raw damp, raw, bitterly cold wind straight off the Russian Steppes (or somewhere!) was a completely different ball game from the crisp dry cold of Canadian winter! There are different types of cold, after all!



People over here fail to realize how far North Scotland really is. When I was visiting Edinburgh and Glasgow this summer I was checking the latitude against Canadian cities and IIRC Glasgow was around the same latitude as Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, which is one of the coldest cities in this country. Southern Ontario, where I live, is positively balmy by comparison (Hell, we're balmy compared to Ottawa where my son lives). The only reason much of the UK isn't a frigid iceball like this country or Russia in winter is the Gulf Stream and other warm ocean currents.

I haven't been to St. Andrew's but I know that it's on the coast. My wife lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a couple years and winter there was a whole different ballgame than in Southern Ontario where I grew up. It was a damp, clingy cold thanks to the Atlantic Ocean. She also managed to be there for one of their worst winters up to that time (they've had some worse ones since but she came back to Ontario in '94). Snow up to our thighs or higher.

Now I need a hot tea to warm up. <img src="/images/emoticons/drunken_smilie.gif" alt="drunken">

No to a unilateral designation of a wee doggo even one as sweet as Victor as the mascot!

Some, maybe many of us, are cat people, meaning cats rule OUR lives. No way we can bow down to the feline imperative for consideration.



<img src="/images/emoticons/icon_cat.gif" alt="cat"> is willing to share with Victor. Not so sure about Sara's monkey, though.

https://upload.storiesspace.com/503999794-1540578094-47268011-Photo-on-11-15-15-at-2.53-PM.jpg



He's so cuuuuuuute. * pets the cute doggie * Kind of thought he was older than he looks there, or is this an old photo.

And thanks for the chocolate, gypsy. Yummy!!

2-5. Escape Artists (Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Cast of Wonders, PodCastle)

Escape Artists is the publishing group that publishes all of its stories in audio and text formats. They are known for their genre podcasts and have a large following. Each publication has a separate focus. For example Cast of Wonders focuses on a young adult audience whereas Escape Pod only publishes sci-fi. The various publications pay $100 for full-length reprints and more for original works.



I used to listen to these guys quite a bit. Some really excellent stuff but I know they did a lot of "reprints" at that time, ie. audio versions of previously published stories, so I'm not sure how many originals they actually buy.

The full rundown of genres is:

Escape Pod - s-f
PseudoPod - horror
PodCastle - fantasy





8. Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld Magazine is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine that publishes short stories, interviews, articles and audio fiction on a monthly basis. They pay very well. Read our full review here.




I know this one only by rep, but it's a good rep. I've probably read some reprints of stories from Clarkesworld that came up in Best of and Year's Best anthologies, but I've never read the site itself.

Autumn. Leaf-raking aside, Fall tends to be my peak time of year.

Halloween party or stay home and shell out candy?

Good morning all! Nicer day here. Cool but the rain and wind have passed. Thanks for the nice Fall photos Fuzzy and Anna. My area has just started changing. A spell of warm fall weather and a late first frost delayed things (again, this makes two years in a row).

Hope all goes well with Victor. There's doggie treats waiting if he's okay.

* puts the kettle on and loads up a kettle with loose leaf Earl Grey *

I have out a green bin for trash, a blue bin for recyclables, and a large paper bag for organic waste (leaves/twigs). L


Here in Canada, it's usually blue bin for recyclables, green bin for compostable food waste, and black bags or a plastic "can" for regular garbage. My city doesn't do the green bin program, though. Endless discussion about one, but it never happens.

In my city at least, yard waste (leaves and such) is done separately once or twice a month and uses, as you say, paper bags or other recyclable containers. You can also use a garbage can and they'll just dump the leaves and stuff into the truck and leave the can.

We had a heavy wind last night and its still pretty strong this morning. Knocked over both my blue box and my garbage can.

Still no word from my (potential) hire. Crossing fingers.

* pours tea and settles down with <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_cat.gif" alt="cat"> on lap *

Yummy! Perfect to go with my after-lunch tea. Thanks!

I am currently waiting to see if a job offer is accepted. This will bring my team to 5, including myself. Twenty years ago, when I started the job, not only was I a one-man shop but I was also the company's first dedicated IT person. Prior to that, they were being supported by corporate IT (which itself consisted of only one or two people, and is now up to 10 or 12).

I am slumped in a chair, staring at my newest painting. For over twenty-four hours I have been awake, painting in a near-trance for more than half that time. The painting portrays a scene not far from my studio, a shallow bay on Lake Madeline. A woman emerges naked from the water. An overturned canoe floats nearby. The woman’s name is Lily. Memories flood in. ***** Thunder rumbled in...

Added 30 Sep 2019 | Category Supernatural | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 218 | 11 Comments

Spooky people come out to play. This is now your special day. Scare the other folks away. Spooky people play! Monster people come out to dance, Tonight will be your perfect chance. Caper, spin, stomp, and prance! Monster people dance! Witch-y people grab your broom, Soar up through the twilight gloom, Past the stars you're going to zoom, Witch-y people zoom! Halloween people this is...

Added 31 Oct 2018 | Category Poetry | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 318 | 5 Comments

The rider came swiftly towards Eversham. Keeping his horse at a fast trot, he reached the cluster of buildings that stood beyond the town’s West gate. Those buildings stood mostly empty and boarded up now that winter had arrived. During the summer, though, they were home to hundreds when trade caravans passed through en route to the mountain passes. Dev Jackelbury, Warden of Eversham, stood...

Added 13 Oct 2018 | Category Fantasy | Votes 9 | Avg Score 5 | Views 440 | 9 Comments

I saw the light born and reborn this morning. From dark sea and dim horizon came a holy glow, A signal that night's rule was ending; A first, tentative announcement that light and life would indeed return from the underworld. That first dim glow grew brighter, and my heart quickened, Delighting in the light, celebrating the warmth and brightness that soon would be. Then it happened. In...

Added 15 Jan 2018 | Category Poetry | Votes 6 | Avg Score 5 | Views 570 | 5 Comments

The wind gave a piercing howl, rattling the windows of Professor Jack Lange’s apartment. Jack lowered his book at the sound and stared out at the blowing snow. "Wow, what a storm!" announced the disc jockey on the radio as if he, too, had heard it, "If you don't gotta go out, don't go." Jack turned off the radio. The storm had given him a rare day to himself, so he wasn’t especially...

Added 29 Mar 2017 | Category Horror | Votes 6 | Avg Score 5 | Views 789 | 9 Comments