First phone Wednesday

Today's big achievement was handling my first phone call at the new gig. It was well supervised, and very restricted in scope, also went pretty well. I just put on my community theatre face and played the part! I think it's I'm using that in many ways I'm simply recapitulating Kris's career. I have gone the whole year so far without communicating with her, & I suppose I can go all the way to tax time doing the same. I am sad about that, but otherwise quite happy.

Arthur, king of the kittebs

Our new cat Arthur is a grey tabby, like Imp, but with a different nose

Arthur Sunday

Today we acquired a new cat - Arthur, the one eyed pirate. He is an older cat who was left at the veterinarian office where Nessa works. He needed a home, we were one cat down from a maximum of 6, so here goes.

I am really enjoying having housemates who are full of life and reasonably fond of me. I'm not sure I have had this experience for quite a long time. I recommend it !

Saturday/Dancing Days Are Here Again!

• The good news about hitting the ymca all year is that I feel much more fit.
• The bad news about hitting the ymca all year is that my jeans don't.

Seriously, after barre today I put on the jeans I'd stuffed in my gym pack, and noticed I hadn't included a belt. As a result, the pants which were snug last were were heading toward my knees! I had to hitch them up with one hand like some sort of overage whitebread homeboy. It's not the worse thing in the world, to be somewhat more fit than I was last year, but it is kind of funny.

Then while on a quick train trip to Tacoma, I saw Sherry post this of Kiera and her buddy Danny ...

Just Converted This From VHS Danny Banks and Kiara Hudson back in 2003 Dancing The "Jive"
Posted by Douglas Banks on Saturday, January 2, 2016

... I knew they had talent, but gosh!

It Was On A New Year's Day - A Host Of Knights Did Pray ...

...that from the anvil one could draw the Sword.
As each knight took his turn
He found the Anvil held it firm,
None worthy of a future King and Lord."


I've liked Rick Wakeman's "Myths and Legends of King Arthur, etc. etc." for more than 30 years, but how long ago it was - and how young I was - when first I heard it.
In 2016 I plan to attend the 50th Anniversary of the SCA, as a chance to meet with friends from that time, and because I'll need a vacation by then. I might be able to fit in the Sylveastan surcoat, when I dig it up!

This New Year's Day I tested no swords, although I did finish S.MStirling's latests Emberverse chapter, The Golden Princess. It was basically the first act or perhaps the first scene of an epic, in which Our Heroes Get The Band Together To Do A Show - or the Heroic Quest equivalent. While there were a few good bits - rousing battles with bad guys and all - it was mostly tedious introductions to characters we might care about later, but who for the moment are of interest only as the children of characters from the last series, and children carefully avoiding their parents as they secretly sneak away. Other than the decision to go on the Quest - a bit of a no-brainer, really - there were literally no decisions of consequence to make - a few desperate fights to survive made the first half tolerable, but mostly it was exposition. Let's hope the next has some plot or something.

I am enjoying having my housemates back. We don't actually interact all that much, but they are amusing!

Booking Sunday

On this Sunday after Christmas, I assembled a load of books to drop off at the VA Hospital. It was a little scantier than usual; because of the holidays I've been less active organizing donations, but I filled three shelves on each of three book carts, so that's something anyway. I am getting more organized with the new shelving - the best price was a wonderful set from Costco - and generally getting faster at skimming through the donations and tossing the more obsolete textbooks and paperbacks too battered to use. It's a satisfying activity, and I like making the delivery on Sunday when the hospital is relatively quiet. There are a few regulars there - the lady at the sign-in desk, the Recreational Therapist who wears hats - and I usually reward myself with a soda from the machine.
Afterwards I did a few chores - this week it was an oil change - and stop at Pegasus Book Exchange for more book fun. This week I picked up a copy of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle - one of those classics I've never gotten around to reading - in graphic novel format - because I love the format. Let's see how it works! It was fun talking it over with the staff too.
Other than that, it was housecleaning, cooking ahead for the week (chicken, rice and cornbread) and goofing off - after all, it's the Day Of Rest! I suppose I spent too much time on Facebook but so long as it doesn't get in the way of work and exercise, I'll be o.k. I'm getting used to my new hours and even the cats seem to be getting by- with the help of a plethora of new toys from the Clines and others!

Boxing Day

The day after Christmas was beautiful this year. I dropped off a couple of boxes at the little thrift store on 16th, and saw the perfect desk chair at a reasonable price. What luck!
Next, I was invited by my friend John Rapp to an impromptu celebration at Tent City 5 with a little music and a little comedy; it gave me a fine venue at which to pass on some extra blankets in like-new condition. From there I made a quick run up to the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, as Sue had forgotten her purse in my car when I drove her home after the Christmas party at Kat's. Caellie was working at American Girl there, and looking all professional and efficient!
I suppose that's the sort of thing an uncle notices.
On the way back I stopped at Costco to see if they had shelving suitable for improving my home business. Who did I see there but Diana Tice? We gave each other season's greetings - ( I was so grateful that I had texted her the week before with a timely reply to her question about VAF ) and then we were each about our business. I found a really great set of shelves at a fine price. The rest of the day I spent at home, playing with the cats, assembling shelves, and having a good time listening to TED talks.

END OF YEAR #MCLE recordings online free

Christmas Day - a day to relax - and once the gifts have been opened and the eggnog drunk, what can be more relaxing than picking up that last credit or two so you may ring in the New Year with a clear conscience? I can NOT imagine anyone doing any live programs on this day, there are many recordings you may enjoy at your leisure. I'll be adding them here in between cups of cheer. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

• Lexvid offer one free recording just for signing up. They have a big catalog covering a lot of subjectss, including ethics. Naturally they'll want you to like their content so much that you  buy more, and their prices are pretty low.  I have recommended them for years, and never got a complaint. Recently, they have started supporting 4freeCLE by offering affiliate links, so if you *do* buy a course from them, please consider going  through a link on this blog, such as: http://lexvid.com.
• Washington State Creating an Inclusive Workplace for Attorneys with Disabilities. By WSBA. Get 1.5 General Credit free but you have to watch it this month (December 2015) and you have to be a Washington State Attorney.
• Lexis-Nexis Online Training is good for credit in most states, and right not I count at least six one-hour programs waiting for you. Go to the list and create a free log in, then hit the "Launch " button for the course that interests you.Check the list of states for which credit is granted; if it says "Credit not yet applied for" don't  worry; they don't apply in some states where they don't have someone taking the course. When you take it, they'll apply for credit. Check it out!
• The National Judicial College has a large collection of free online educational programs, largely concerning trials. I do not see anything on the website that says you cannot take a  program and apply for credit. The content is well organized and authoritative; if you have a trial practice you may find it especially useful. Just be warned - your credit-granting authority determines whether your application for credit will be allowed, so you may wish to check with them first. It would be crazy not to allow credit for these courses, but not impossible.

First Sunday of the rest of life

Today started with driving the ladies to the airport for their surprise trip home. I carefully avoided posting anything on Facebook, lest I forgot and spring the secret early! 

My next choice was to pick up books from half price to distribute at the VA Hospital, but that fell through because the guy who had asked me to pick them up apparently had spoken to someone who was not there now, and the books have been given away. That's unfortunate for the potential recipients, but not really bad for me since they gave me more time to get to work on my home projects. 

I stopped by Pegasus and picked up a couple of books for my evening reading, and the rest of the day spent at home cleaning, organizing and also reading. I am looking forward to working tomorrow and figuring out if I can get morning YMCA class to fit into my schedule. 

Last night at dinner I realized I had this feeling in my stomach that was bubbly and went up through my body to cause my lips to turn. It is called happiness. And I guess it's been a while!