*blink blink*

[pauraque_bk]

I realize belatedly that I never posted that I was leaving, since I hadn't been posting much anyway, but I'm back! For the last three weeks I've been visiting family/housesitting on the west coast. It was tremendous fun. It rained a lot... like really a lot, like most-rain-in-ten-years a lot. But it was a treat compared to the 9 million feet of snow that I guess we missed here in Vermont. And in a rain-free moment, hannelore got to fulfill her lifelong dream of hanging off the side of a San Francisco cable car. Pictures later, perhaps.

And now back to the real world, with its many put-off responsibilities and concerns. Though on the fun side, I do get to read all the rest of the Kinky Kristmas fics I haven't seen yet! I see that reveals have already happened, which I am guessing is why I've got a few new folks reading along. Welcome!

I also notice that a large number of people I've known on LJ forever have all friended me on DW within a few days of each other. Did something, uh... happen?

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

Comments

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

like most-rain-in-ten-years a lot

Sounds like you need to plan more trips there in order to cure their drought ills!

Welcome back!

[pauraque]

Thanks!

I think it was _hannelore's doing — she kept saying she was looking forward to visiting California in the winter, and I kept telling her not to be disappointed that it wasn't that different from the summer, probably just a bit of rain... But Mother Nature put on quite a show for her!

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Aww, poor Hannalore! At the very least I hope it was warm for you guys even if it was pissing down most of the time.

(And you know for next time to pack ponchos and umbrellas so it'll be a sunny 95 degrees,)

[pauraque]

Mmmhm. Our kid was just about to walk out the door with just a hoodie. Hannelore: "Uh, it's 10 degrees outside..." Kid: "Oh...right."

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Ha! At least yours will concede when he's told the temp. Mine just swears up and down that she's not cold while standing there shivering. Gotta love those little contrarians.

(10? Eww. We're chilly today but not that bad. Snow tonight and then 50 tomorrow. Winter is broken in NY.)

[alisanne.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! <3
*hugs to _hannelore*

The DW thing is because people found out LJ transferred its server to Russia and they freaked that they may try to pull another strikethrough and start randomly deleting 'questionable' journals.
And speaking of...do we have each other there? If not, I'll be subscribing there, too.

[pauraque]

Ahh, gotcha. I already crosspost everything to both places so I guess I'm ready for whatever comes. I added you back. :)

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! Sounds as if you had a wonderful time, rain notwithstanding (and yeah, to my mind, always preferable to snow).

And THANK YOU for that fantabulous Kinky Kristmas gift!

[pauraque]

You are very welcome! I did see your comment before I left, and I was so pleased that you enjoyed the fic. ♥ I actually didn't even think about whose prompt it might be, though in hindsight it should have been obvious it was yours!

[thimble-kiss.livejournal.com]

♥ It's good to see you posting. Glad you and hannelore (and the kid, I figure) had a fun holiday! Yay and yay again for missing out on shovelling all those feet of snow! And wow, hannelore's tram caper sounds like quite an adventure; I'll go ahead and assume that all went well. *g*

Thanks so much for the holiday card. I didn't get my act together to send out any this year, so I'll just say Happy New Year now, to you and the family, and yes, we should catch up! I think we were probably both a bit overwhelmed by regular life last year (I know I were). I hope that healthwise things are better for you.

The Dreamwidth thing, as others have said, is about LJ's servers being moved to Russia and hence, apparently, subject to Russian rather than U.S. law? And there are rumours (which I haven't seen substantiated anywhere) about crackdowns on Russian dissident journals, and Russian LJ users have moved to Dreamwidth by the thousands, and many non-Russian LJ users are pretty uncomfortable about the whole thing too. I think it's rather unsettling myself, not least thinking of growing LGBT persecution in Russia and just the direction of Russian politics in general - it's not a great thing to feel associated with. But it seems a bit futile to make a big move when I post so rarely. I know we have each other friended over there though, because once in a blue moon I do trot over and check my reading list... :)

[pauraque]

I'm frankly surprised I managed to send out any cards myself. Getting ready for a three-week trip and Christmas at the same time turned out to be far more work than I thought it would be, but we managed somehow! Happy new year!

I've crossposted everything to LJ and DW for a long time, because I do have some people who only do DW and I don't want to lose touch with them. My approach has always been pragmatic rather than political (and we know this is far from the first time there's been a bit of a panic about LJ's Russian ownership)... I go where my friends are. If they're in two places, I use the magic of the internet to also be in two places. That's the bottom line for me. :)