And didn’t hear anything in response it’s because Yahoo! mail “upgraded” and “improved” its services, making sending email, at least for me, impossible. Seems to be straightened out today.

BTW, here’s something that does work. Do you know what that is? That stuff called Afterbite, a little stick of what seems to be mostly ammonia that you rub on a mosquito bite.

Last year, I think, Joseph had started venturing out on his own a little bit more, and got a couple of bites. One was right about his right eyebrow. As I recall, we were going to Chicago, and by the time I was standing there at the Water Tower, wondering what to do while my husband met with Danny Abramowicz, it became clear that people were going to start wondering what I had done to the poor child – his eye had swollen shut and he looked like a contender in the super-extra-lightweight division. Who had lost his fight with the mosquito.

Soon after, I discovered Afterbite and was astonished. By God, it works. I mean – it really works. Joseph comes in with a little tell-tale rising white blotch surrounded by red, we apply the Afterbite, he fusses because it stings a bit, then…nothing. Nada. No further swelling or itching, just a red spot. (I think of this because yesterday, he played outside in the sprinkler and came in with five bites on his back – forgot to Off him – and this morning….nothing. Thanks to you know what)

Someone tell me how this works and why no one seemed to know this formula when I was growing up?

Made a mistake last night…or maybe not. I pulled out one of the five or six unfinished novels I have in a drawer, the one I have decided to try to finish this year, the one I haven’t looked at in almost six years, I think. I was convinced that there was only one small section that would probably be any good, the section I had submitted to get into Sewanee, and I actually doubted much of the rest of it was salvagable. I was shocked to find that it was not terrible. I was astonished to find that while it definitely needs work, and that I’ve learned much since I wrote it, (having written something like 9 books, albeit non-fiction, in the intervening years, matured, and thought a lot about fiction) and there are about three characters too many populating its pages…this just might work.

Hence I couldn’t sleep.

So I’m a bit tired, but that’s tough because I have some work that absolutely must get done by Friday, but I have a midwife’s appointment Friday morning, which means that it absolutely must get done by tomorrow. And it’s not something that may sound simple but doesn’t come particularly easily to me – writing catalog copy – so….here goes. That was probably, unfortunately, my blogging for today, as completely non-spiritual as it is. Sorry. I’m sure you’re getting your fixes elsewhere!