An update on the situation that happened in my building last month, the one that caused the cancelation of my DC tour event: I am *still* trying to get something done about it. I've had to go through it again and again this last week in particular. The crux of my problem: the person who came after me has done this before with others. Really, really went after them. Management seems to have no record of this? Records are a lot of the problem here...

Just had a Very New Forest adventure. Oscar and I took our brother and sister-in-law's dog for a walk in the forest. A pony (these ponies are NOT SMALL, they are HORSES) decided he LIKED US A LOT, or maybe he wanted to EAT US, but he started to run toward us... My husband, who was raised here, told me to take the dog and move away. He then had a talk with the pony and head and shoulder bumped with it until they understood each other. Pony followed us home VERY CLOSELY.

Also, just sent out a MURDER MYSTERY RIDDLE on my newsletter. The first person to solve it get a signed, limited edition signed ARC. So far, no one has solved it. It really seems to have people stumped. Read all the clues carefully. Look for details that stand out. Everything in the riddle is accurate to the story, and one line gives a clue to the name.

*salutes Baby Shark* He is coming. I can feel he is close. Every year I have tried to get Santa. But I know this year I will succeed.

I think my dad is watching a show called the Fish Detective? Update: it is not called Fish Detective. It’s called River Monsters.

A strange and wonderful thing that just happened, to be filed under "why dogs are amazing." I was walking Dexy, something I do multiple times a day, hundreds of times, along our familiar paths here in NYC. While walking home, after she had passed literally hundreds of people... ...she stopped cold, looked at an older man standing some distance from us, and let out a happy howl--a sound she rarely uses. The AWWOOOOOOO. I looked around to figure out why. We did not know the man, and he was far off.

Found a cat wandering outside today. Tracked it down, gave scritch, examined collar. Called owner who said to me, “If you looked at the collar you would see there was a note that says I KNOW WHERE I LIVE on it.” Now, a few things… First: I did not point out that I had clearly gotten the phone number from the collar.

Second: Putting a sign on a cat that says “I know where I live” is like putting a sign on me that says, “I know all about the moon.”

My friend Julie is staying here tonight as she moves out of NYC. We are all in bed. Happening right now:
US: *in bed at 10pm because we were up with dog five times last night*
DOOR: ding dong
US: ????
DOOR: hello I am the plumber
ME: what?
DOOR: We need to take your toliet. ME: what's that now?
PLUMBER: we need to take your toilet
ME: *considers*
ME: why
PLUMBER: it is leaking on to the downstairs
ME: oh
PLUMBER: so we just need to rip it out right now
ME: oh

I guess I'll do a summary of the UK news thing, not because anyone asked, but because I was dumb enough to watch it. I'm taking broad strokes here... So, the Prime Minister has this bro named Dominic Cummings. Dominic gives him all his ideas and high-fives. Together, they make music, terrible, terrible music. So, way back, the UK government was like, "What if we just Leeroy Jenkins this COVID thing?"

My mother just called me. She had ordered some flowers from a small local store, to be delivered and dropped on the porch. When they brought the flowers, they said, "Hang on, we have something for you." The driver went back to the truck and proceeded to bring out... ...a bag of hot meals, and then MULTIPLE bags of groceries. My mom was speechless and asked why. They said, "When you called, you mentioned you had promised your daughter not to go out, so we were worried you had no food and brought some."...

A thread about #coronavirus and schools: My nurse mom, frequently mentioned here, was a school nurse. People thought she just put on band-aids all day. She was, in fact, the health and safety officer for the largest tech school in the state. She treated severe injuries... She had a three bed mini-clinic in her office. She typically worked ten hour days and usually didn't eat lunch because there was no time. She treated everything from missing digits to heart attacks to car crashes to seizures. She handled many complicated conditions.

My small story about the lovely Mr. Jones. When I was a teenager, I was such a fan that I wrote him a letter. I expected nothing. One day I came home from school...
theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/… ...and there was a package. From England. A cool looking package with a ton of postage on it. Inside was one of Terry Jones’ books and a long, lovely letter from him. I remember almost fainting. That book and letter lifted me up and sustained me through the end of high school.

I feel odd doing this, but I think it is important. That is why I will continue, despite the sensation. I'll see how I go. I was administered a date rape drug at a social occasion. I was 31 at the time. Here is what happened and #WhyIDidntReport Who boy, twitter. This feels weird. But okay. I was at a social occasion with a good friend, at the beach. We went to a weekend brunch. I had brunch, with came with a light mimosa, which I sipped at with my pancakes. I suddenly remember feeling...odd.