New Year's Day

New Year's Day today, and the last day of my vacation. I'm sitting in the sunroom and I've stoked the stove well and hot. The beer is good and cold. It's nice. I find more reasons to love my wife each day. She just coaxed Hazel into leaving me, since writing while playing Old McDonald with dinosaurs disserves both the writing and the dinosaurs.

Several weeks ago I wrote five scripts for the serious game we're creating. I got a call from John asking if I'd be interested, which I was, of course. I had two days for each, which included plot/design changes, creating the characters (I was handed names and ranks with a couple of personality traits), writing and editing. The ten days went by in a blur, but the work went well. I finished weary but pleased. I only got edited a couple of times. My favorite scene got whacked, but I expected that. It's your darlings that tend to get the ax.

Boy, those flames are mesmerizing

My folks moved into their place, the addition, three weeks ago. I don't like calling it their place, though it shouldn't bother me. Calling it that makes it seem like a separate house, but it isn't. They live here. We live together. That reminds me. I need to go and see the cabinet handles that Dad placed yesterday. I've been spending a lot of time around this stove, especially after hauling and cutting and splitting the wood for it. Anyway, their place looks great, and they're really happy there. The kids love it too. Visiting Grandma and Grandpa became an easygoing adventure. We're doing New Year's dinner there tonight, hors d'oeuvres in the sunroom.