I did accomplish some gardening this Sunday besides more grass seed up in the front pasture. I took the hint given to me by some obvious holes in the onion bed, and filled those spots with two tomato plants - a Roma and a "Margold" (medium sized red determinate). Additionally, I got two pots of cucumber starts and four of six pepper plants put into the new stone-walled bed. Both the tomatoes and the cucumbers got appropriate supports installed, too.

In the maintenance department, I put up some form of netting for the peas before they fell flat forever, but it really is bird netting, so I need to augment it at some point. The few lettuce sprouts seem happy, but I don't expect much from them. Of a 16-foot row, I think five lettuce plants made it up. Ditto for the carrot row next to it. ::shrug:: I yanked out some of the bigger and more evil weeds (Chinese sumac) and tidied up somewhat in both that bed and the onion bed.

There is plenty still to be done. The stone bed is still half-empty and needs a fence around it before the baby goats come poaching. The potatoes assuredly made it to the "gonna grow now" stage, so I need to add more dirt to their pots and "hill" them up another six inches. I would like to plant some pumpkins and watermelons, either by seed or starts, but didn't commit to purchasing anything until I had everything else planted. And of course everything needs weeding and mulching again.

SOUP!!!!!! Soup is steadily becoming a larger part of my diet.
It's even edging out rice and beans!
I can see myself eating all soup all the time (with a few cookies here and there, and of course fruit and salads).

Tooth and Nail, by Jennifer Safrey. Urban fantasy. Paperback, 311 pages.

Gemma Fae is a political pollster taking a sabbatical while her boyfriend runs for Congress from a NoVA district. Her only hobby is amateur boxing. Due to insistent meddling by the local good fae, she discovers that she is half ... tooth fairy. The fae need her because she can instigate violence.

I confess, I didn't finish this book. I gave it a full 100 pages, and couldn't go on. I just didn't care enough. I didn't care enough about the characters or their problems. I didn't have enough of the plot (even after 100 pages!) to care about it yet, and the world building wasn't exciting enough to pull me through on its own.

I picked it up because a friend sent it to me with the comment that the fae in here were different than the usual Elves in New York. I put it down because of above.

I recommend it to people who are collecting urban fantasy plots/tropes, because this one is different.

Books for 2013

I just received my autographed copy of Horsetamer's Daughter last night. I'm so happy I could burst into song. See, when Eli asked me what I wanted for an inscription, I really didn't know. I started listening to Divine Intervention on cassette in elementary school. I sang "The Hand of God" at the top of my lungs when I was angry with my college professors*. Once I had a real job and money to spend, I bought copies of the CD and the t-shirt for friends and family. I own all of the music that Ecklar has published (DI on tape, Walkabout on tape, Traveller on CD, DI on CD), and one bootleg tape of a concert in 1992.

So that's what I told Eli, in fewer words. And this is what I got back. Obviously someone read my email...

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*"Just deny any questions outside a small range. Feel safe all our lives for our lives cannot change. We'll be told if it matters that we understand..."