I couldn’t find the big loppers, so I took after apple pruning with rose clippers and a Japanese-style pruning saw. I bled a bit — I have a very bad record with hand-saws: knuckles get in the way—but outside of dripping all over the project, I got all those suckers and am relatively undamaged. An espaliered (closely pruned 6-branch squished tree) apple requires careful pruning or it becomes round and bushes all over. What it should become is a bonsai’ed flat tree that produces full-sized apples.
I haven’t yet Preened the walkways or gotten after the leak in the pond—which is (I hope) merely the heavy gravel having squished the liner down too low there, and that can be fixed by digging it out and bracing it up.
Joe, the second waterfall is looking good. Now if only our lotus wintered over—that dastardly raccoon noshed on the pods and pulled it up, right before the freeze, when we really wanted to sink it in the big pond, but it was so muddy we feared it would just froth up and fall apart if we tried that. So it may have frozen…
But I made my first foray of the spring into the back yard.
If I make it out there during WorldCon (which I will not be attending), I’ll be glad to help you out in the yard again.
Aw, thank you.
Tentative reservations for August 19 – 23, just down the street from Latah Valley Winery. One room, 2 queen beds, non-smoking. I don’t know if anyone else will be coming with me, and I seriously doubt it. I’m going to take the same route I took this past year, it’s more direct, and I don’t plan to make detours.
The hotel’s not close to the convention, and I didn’t intend for it to be close, either. I had looked at the Ramada Inn where we stayed in 2010, but that was more expensive than the Doubletree we stayed at this past ShejiCon.
So, if nothing else, I would be there for the social activities in the evenings or those outside of the convention, if there are any planned. I would kind of like to go around the area and just see what’s there. I doubt if there’ll be time for another trip on the Little Spokane, and given what it took to arrange in 2010, I don’t know that folks will have the time to do that preparation.
Has there been any further talk about Shejicon V for around that time? The whole idea of WorldCon sounds a bit overwhelming/appalling, but the weekend of Aug 14-16 is the Princeton Traditional Music Festival so I will already be on the road so to speak. With a side trip to Vernon to wish my brother Happy Birthday on the 19th, a swing down to Spokane to swap lies with the Shejidani is certainly feasible.
I hear you. I’m always banging my hands up doing something. I’ll be going after it, and get it done, and then a while later I’ll notice I’ve barked a knuckle or got a little cut, or torn a nail and don’t remember doing it, or how I did it.
I kind of feel guilty about all the snow everybody back east is getting. It’s been in the high 70’s here, and was 81F/27.2C yesterday. Well, maybe not all that guilty. . .
WOL, truly, there are those of us who live in the snow belts so that those of you who live in the sun belt can appreciate your locations much more fully. Of course, there are always trade-offs. I liked living on Guam, it was always warm, the scuba diving was great, and of course, I had a bride. But, there were earthquakes every day, typhoons occasionally, and the odd scrap with military housing offices.
I thought Bali would be a wonderful place to live, too, until I looked at some of the pictures and realized there are some pretty big volcanoes there, too.
I’m not enamored of Hawai’i, and while I’ve passed through several times, I didn’t go out into the surrounding area, just stayed at the airport or at Hickam AFB until my connecting flight left.
This morning, I found one of my fingernails had split and torn. I have no idea how or when or where, but it wasn’t just a small chip, it was a notch right out of the center of the nail almost down to the quick. Even a nail file can’t get all of it out yet, so it’ll be a couple of days until it grows out enough to smooth down again. In the meantime, more of the nail strengthener might help. Yes, it feels strange that a man puts the stuff on his nails, but if I don’t do something, they get worse.
ReadyGuy and I have reservations at the Doubletree downtown for the duration of WorldCon and have tentative reservations made for 4 days before and 4 days after at the Hampton near the airport, so we are available for a ShejiCon V before, during, or after WorldCon/Sasquan. If nand’CJ could decide whether, when and where ShejiCon V will occur, the associates and members of the WavyNavy could make better decisions about reservations. Sasquan is 19-23 August so we’re only about six months out… Last year (admittedly later in the year (4-8 Sep)) we ran into snow on the way home through Wyoming thus cutting short an anticipated stopover with friends in Sundance.
I think we probably would prefer before rather than after. We’ll definitely be in town, and probably won’t do very much at all involving Sasquan…we’re not attending.
I never think about an espaliered tree without remembering the one M. Hulot attempted to repair in Jacques Tati’s _Mon Oncle_. It is truly a classic comic scene.
Jane reminds me that our editor is going to stay over one day to get to talk with us, so definitely before is better.
would you prefer I change my dates, then? I had wanted to coincide with those associates I know who would also be attending Sasquan, but can make changes…it’s still 6 months out.
One of these days I will make it to Shejicon, preferably before I am too much older — mac nuts and mango jam for all!
Joe, alas, it probably would be best to change: our editor is a meeting we can’t miss, and I can’t swear it’s only one day.
I just need to know the days that you think would be better…..and if you’re going to need anything after the Con…..of course, there’s always the stuff I can do around the yard while you’re home. (picking up pine cones comes vividly to mind)
Aug 17 – 21?
Aug 16 – 20?
Ah, thank you, Joe. I don’t even know when the con is. I’m gathering it probably starts on the 20th. Most WOrldcons include a Thursday, as everybody gets there, which we won’t be actually involved in, and the MOnday after, which is a monster long con, after which we will have our editor staying over. I’d say probably the 16th through 20th.
The Con actually starts on the 19th, from what I gathered from its website.
I can easily change the dates to 16th – 20th, and be available to assist wherever and however I can.
I won’t even complain about broken or damaged fingernails 😉
okay, well, the reservation can’t be changed, so it had to be cancelled. Then, when I tried to make a new reservation, it wouldn’t come up.
There are other hotels in the area, and after reading the reviews on the Super 8, I wondered if it would be better to go to another hotel. One of the things that strikes me is the disparity in room rates. If I reserve now, pay now, it’s $96/night at the Wyndham, but if I pay when I arrive, it’s $114/night. Then, the “special rates” for AAA members is $126/night…….hmmmm….maybe I should try AARP rates? Somehow, it doesn’t seem to be much incentive to use AAA if the room costs $12 more per night…..
Anyway, I’ll work on a new reservation.
New Reservation, check in Sunday Aug 16 3:00PM. Check out Thursday Aug 20 11:00AM Cost is $96/night, I have reserved 2 queen beds. This is in the La Quinta on North Sullivan, not too close to the interstate, but within a few blocks of Latah Creek Winery.
I’ll bring my work clothes….