I’m still very tired, but that’s about what I expected at this stage. The best thing I can report is that nothing unusual is happening. I am ‘just’ tired. I don’t appear to be about to lose my sight or my mind or my sense of balance. I’m not being ironic when I say that, right now, I’m pleased.
Despite being tired, I’ve been working away at Hild. I’m pleased to report that I now have 700 pages: 145,000 words. My guess is I have at least 100 pages to go before I get to the end of this draft. But that’s the exciting thing about first drafts: I honestly don’t know. But I’m imagining some big scenes at the moment and couldn’t happier if I’d been dipped in chocolate. (Or if, y’know, someone cured MS. Or if I won the lottery. Or if Salma Hayek walked through the door and her clothes fell off. Or–well, okay, there are always ways to feel more smug about life. But this sincerely doesn’t suck.)
One major annoyance stemming from being so tired is that I might not get to carve a pumpkin this year. I enjoy doing that. I also enjoy munching up all the cute chocolate thingies that Kelley buys to for trick-or-treaters. (She usually ends up making two or three runs to the store. I smile guiltily and promise not to eat the most recent batch; I lie.)
So that’s the situation in our house today: Hild grows, so does my waistline, and I’m hoarding my energy. The weather is wild: wind stripping the leave and whirling them up into a sky the colour of tin and lead, squirrels getting bowled along the lawn like little fuzzy eight-balls. All just the way it should be in autumn.
Nicola Griffith 
Glad you're feeling, if not better, at least not worse.
Very glad there are no further complications. Let me know when they figure out how to transplant myelin; you're still entitled to 1/2 of what I've regrown. It'd be the least I could do. Also, I swear chocolate raises my energy when I have an E-B/fibro flare-up. So really, you're just taking care of yourself :P.
We jumped straight from August to October a couple of weeks ago – from 90 degrees and sunny to 50 degrees, cloudy, and windy as hell to the point that the elms out back are dropping large limbs (too tall to trim the upper reaches). I'm hoping we get our usual Halloween mini-blizzard as it's been mega-dry.
Elaine, thanks.
Jo, blizzard at Halloween–I can't wrap my head around such strangeness…
Such strangeness goes by the name 'Colorado' :P. The earliest snowfall I remember was on Sept. 9, around 1988 or '89. It was my eldest's birthday and we were out in the garden picking every last tomato before the brunt of the storm hit (green tomato pie is yummy, if you like tangy pies like rhubarb). We were rather slap-happy and frozen by the time we finished.
Halloween-ish is the normal time for first snowfall. Between snowfalls it's usually sunny and can be up to 50 degrees (until January, during which it's below zero for a bit). We hit 60 degrees one Christmas when I was young. It is kind of bizarro-land . . .
You also haven't lost your sense of humor! Lucky us.If you're writing and liking the results, eating chocolate and lying to your partner about sneaking snacks…I'd say you're probably producing some hefty endorphins.
Sending laser beams of energy…zap
Wow! Hild is really coming along. Fantastic!
Anybody that appreciates Salma Hayek is obviously doing OK because thinking about her burns a lot of energy.
I'm looking forward to reading Hild.
Donna
I share your feelings for Salma Hayek. A few weeks ago a PR person fluttered the chance to meet her in front of me and I nearly overheated. It's just an outside chance — probably won't happen — but I'm still living in hope.
Glad to hear you're holding steady, and I hope the next news is that you're on the upswing.
Glad to hear you're holding your own and Hild is moving forward. We've just started getting the leaves falling in Atlanta (along with asters and sasanquas blooming), but after a brief cool snap it was back up to 80° today. Friends in Valdosta were complaining about the 90's. Ah, fall…
Kelly, well, I hope it happens. (I hope you tell us all about it.)
DianneorDi, ah, Georgia. Every now and again, I miss it. But not for long.