I would title this post "burying the lede," but honestly, there's no point in it; might as well just say it, which is that yesterday I submitted an original story to Uncanny Magazine for publication. Honestly, I don't expect them to buy it, because the odds are always against slushpile entries. But you never know -- it's spelled and punctuated correctly, which is probably better than some entries they get; it's a story that "make[s] you feel," which is the type of stuff they're after; and who knows, maybe now that they've hit their Kickstarter stretch goal of an extra story per issue, they'll be open to giving unpublished authors a shot. (I did mention my published nonfiction in my cover letter, but I have no published fiction, which is probably what they most care about.)

So anyway, that happened, and the final story prep and submission was utterly terrifying, but I did it. I should hear back in about a month, although they say authors should contact them if they haven't heard back in 45 days. And I suppose if it doesn't sell to Uncanny, I can always try another market.

Other things: I have a new lead at work that is basically already sold without my having to do a damned thing, as well as a possible small continuation of an existing project. I still need to send out marketing email Real Soon Now, but because last year was such a financial disaster, we are actually owed a huge refund on our taxes (GOD BLESS CPAs) that we will apply to next year's taxes, which makes it much easier to coast by over the next few months.

Also, we had an utterly lovely day today. ( some photos and video after the cut )

Topsfield Fair time again!

( many photos and a video under the cut )

When was the last time I made a food post? I don't even remember, although I've been cooking a lot, as usual. (Latest favorite: CSA corn stripped from the cob, sautéed in butter with fresh peppers and okra from my garden.)

Anyway, this past week, we got ground cherries, aka Cape gooseberries, from the CSA. I'd never had them before, or even seen them, but they look like tiny, pale orange tomatillos (complete with papery husk) and taste like tomatoes crossed with pineapple. I am clearly going to need to track down a semi-regular source for these.

Once I husked the little guys, I had about half a cup of them, so I decided to turn them into clafouti, which I hadn't made in years. (Possibly ever, although I distinctly remember helping my father make a cherry one when I was a kid.) This isn't quite the recipe, but it's close. Since there were only two of us, I cut it in half and made it in ramekins; the results looked like soufflés when I took them out of the oven, and sank accordingly later.



Verdict: A+, would eat again.

The view outside my house this morning:


( three more photos, after the cut )

The six plants on the right are the tomatoes; the one in the near corner with slightly peculiar-looking leaves for a tomato (you may have to click through to see in more detail) is the blue tomato. The peas are along the trellis, obviously, though the plants at its far side are pickling cukes. There's basil and parsley running in a line down the middle, two peppers at upper left, and the big empty space in the middle is reserved for the two okra seedlings currently under a grow light on my front porch. (They'll go in around mid- to late June.)

( +7, after the cut, including kitty photos )

It was Topsfield Fair day yesterday. ( Ten photos, after the cut. )

This one's permanent:



This one's probably temporary. I was at most two feet from this little guy, and he never once tried to fly away. He did move along the fence several times later and was gone by evening, so I'm hoping that means he wasn't sick.

I don't celebrate Easter, but I will never turn down seasonal candy, especially not creme eggs. So when the Craft blog linked to a recipe for creme eggs, I knew I was going to have to try it ... plus this meant I could make a dark chocolate version of one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

The recipe is very easy, but the author isn't kidding about needing to chill the fondant and roll it out quickly; it gets sticky within minutes, and I almost considered moving my little egg assembly line outside into the snow. Also, without egg molds (which I didn't have and wasn't planning on buying), I ended up skewering the top of each egg and dipping it into chocolate, which unfortunately left a vertical channel down the middle of each egg. Nevertheless, that didn't affect the taste, which was HOLY CRAP SO MUCH BETTER THAN REGULAR CADBURY CREME EGGS WHICH I ALREADY LOVE WITH AN UNREASONABLE SUGAR-CRAVING LOVE.



No, seriously, they really are better. The fondant is more solid -- though I suppose that's a minus if you really crave the gooey centers of the original -- and the dark chocolate tempers the sweetness just enough that I could probably eat several of these at a sitting, which I am under no circumstances allowing myself to do, much as I'd like to. Next time, I'm going to make the centers a little more yellow, but otherwise, this recipe is a keeper. Even if I really only should make it once a year.

Wikipedia's celebrating its tenth anniversary, so the MIT hacking community decided to join in:



( +4, after the cut )

My body is busy turning energy into mucus, so unfortunately I'm not well enough to attend my niece's fourth birthday party today. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to seeing her wear this:



It's based on this Brain Monster hat pattern, though I made it slightly shorter so it would fit better on a smaller head, and I knit in the eyes so there was no risk of my niece or her one-year-old brother removing and eating the googly eyes called for in the pattern. It's also in green yarn (Cascade Superwash, I think) so it looks more dinosaur-like, since the niece has entered a dinosaurs-are-awesome phase I hope lasts a good, long time.

I have to make another one of these for a friend – he says he's going to wear it snowboarding – but it's silly enough that I'm tempted to make one for myself, too.

(BTW, the white cord at the top of the photo is an Airport Express power cable, not part of the hat – the hat is resting on top of the router.)