Monthly Archives: May 2021
We have a nest!
…thrilled to announce we stumbled onto our Carolina wrens’ nest (they found a cozy spot inside the cover of one of our generator’s propane tanks)! Mommy wasn’t happy when we came by to get a photo, of course–so we had to be quick which means these aren’t the best pix, but we’re hoping to see fledglings soon!
Today’s the day: StokerCon 2021
Very excited to spend the next four days attending StokerCon 2021–the Horror Writers Association’s annual conference. It’s being done virtually, and the amount of work that went into planning this was probably gargantuan. I’m so grateful!
The conference runs through Sunday. There will be three hang-out bars (like Zoom calls where you basically pop in and pop out to have cocktails and socialize with other con-goers), and over 200 programs, both live and on-demand. They cover the gamut from academics to the writing biz, the horror genre, and the craft. I’m especially excited to attend Horror after COVID, Financial and Literary Estate Planning for Writers, Portrayals of Mental Illness in Horror, and A Revelation in American Horror film: Intergenerational Traumas and Transmissibility in Ari Aster’s Hereditary. Right now, I’m watching a YouTube tutorial on StokerCon 2021 Spirits (cool mixed drinks to enjoy with the con–I may have to try that Blood Orange Bourbon Sour)!
I also can’t wait for the Final Frame Film Competition–14 short horror films (I love me some horror shorts!). I’ve got my Jiffy Pop at the ready!
What happens when someone overhears you in the grocery store …
It was a beautiful day here in Connecticut—finally, hot! I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream lately. Mostly because I love it, life’s too short, and I’ve been in a very happy place for over a month.
My three favorite flavors are vanilla (because, you know, back in the 1970s, you didn’t have a whole lot of choices except for Neapolitan and coffee and I wasn’t a fan of chocolate or strawberry), Butter Crunch (because my dad always took me out to Friendly’s for that) and Summer Breeze, a pleasing, summer-only edition blend of vanilla, lemon candies, and graham cracker. This last one I discovered in 2019 when it was on sale in a grocery store near East Providence and I wanted to try something new.
I put the Summer Breeze in my cart. I’d only planned on getting two cartons, so I tried to make a choice between the Butter Crunch and the vanilla.
Suddenly, I said—louder than I’d intended—“F— it.” I grabbed them both.
I heard a woman’s laugh from down the aisle. She was standing in front of the cases where they keep all the frozen treats.
“I was just thinkin’ f— it myself,” she said. “I can’t decide. I think I’m gettin’ a few! F— it!”
We wished each other happy eating, and I headed to the check-out.
You’re probably wondering why I’d put this on my blog, but it was just one of those perfect moments in life in which you just bond for a second with a complete stranger. And after the rough year or so we’ve survived, it was comforting. It was a reminder that yes, eventually, we’re going to be okay.
And now … which carton should I mine first?
Until we meet again, Auntie Del
Auntie Del at Thanksgiving at my house in 2012.
My mother’s last surviving sister, my Aunt Dolores, passed away on April 20, 2021 (interestingly enough, her late husband’s birthday). She was a very special lady—quite the card. Here’s the eulogy I wrote, and a smattering of photos and a snippet of video. My brother Chuck’s eulogy is also included as a PDF. Read the rest of this entry
