Happy Birthday, callistosh65

Best wishes for a fantastic day from me and one of those Winchester blokes.

Third Time's the Charm

Things have been a bit hectic lately, and one of the things keeping me running this week has been the process of getting our visas for our China trip. The form itself is complicated with obscure instructions and the PDF form wouldn't always save properly. I think ended up filling out and printing off the bleeding thing about ten times. And then I tried to drop the application off.

Wednesday. Get up at 5 to get to the consulate early. Get to the consulate just after 7. Good news: there's no line up. Bad news: it's closed for Chinese New Year.

Thursday. Get up at 5:15. Get to the consulate for 7:30. Good news: am first in line. Cool side benefit: talk to the woman who's second in line, who gives me a recommendation for a charming shopping district and restaurant in Chengdu. Bad news: of all the documents I've brought, I didn't bring Ros' adoption papers. Which of course is what they want to see.

Today: Get up at 5:30. Bring every piece of paper on Ros we have, along with 3 photocopies of everything. Get to the consulate for 7:45. Good news: am second in line. Better news: I've got all the right paperwork. Best news: I can pick up the visas next week!

Here's hoping there's no unexpected surprises when I go to pick the visas up.

Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge

When the lovely just_ann_now posted about the Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge, I was intrigued. The goal of the challenge is:

to read 12 books — 1 each by 12 different women authors that you have not read before including 1 random author selection — in 12 months and write 12 reviews.

I love genre fiction, love supporting women writers, and have a ton of writers who's worked I've wanted to sample, so I couldn't resist signing up.

I've finished my first two books, which is exciting. Here's my first review:

( The Night Circus )