Last year on Bucket’s birthday it was snowing.

Today it is almost summer-warm outside. I hope she doesn’t find that confusing.

She spent most of her birthday asleep on the bed, and was not really into birthday photos.

She was more interested in birthday tummy rubs, which she got, of course.

In non-kitten birthday news, there is not much news. I am still behind on emails and such. I am working on all sorts of things including that blog post about writing and busyness and non-writing things involved in this whole writer gig. I am also trying to be nice to myself and drink tea and maybe actually have time to write, which would be nifty.

Mostly right now I am all about bright blossoming things with open windows and new sandals. Looking curiously at the sunshine and wondering what wonders springtime will bring.

And my desk chair just broke. I can blame Mercury retrograde for that, right?

However! I have made an addendum with some additional questions and hopefully appropriate answers over on Part I for your information and enjoyment.

Also, here is a picture of Tessa, staring at me through the door of the office. She was yelling incessantly but looks all sweet and quiet in this deceptive photograph.

Firstly, Kyle Cassidy is a splendid photographer and once upon a time he caused me to buy a fountain pen that was used to compose parts of the circus and because of that serendipitous pen incident you can now click this link and see a photo of his adorable cat Roswell wearing an adorably tiny bow tie and sitting with the book-shaped book, because pens are magic. (Also if you would like to write flash fanfic about said adorable cat you could can win an autographed copy.)

In other news, this is the best thing ever:

And then upon rewatching I spotted The Night Circus which delights me to no end. My book has way too much fun in Canada.

Also…

I didn’t even know she was back there until she started kicking books off the shelf.

She looks far too pleased with herself.

The reason there has been a lack of kitten photos is that during and immediately after the actual moving the kittens were not here. But now they are, so for now we can return to our regularly scheduled kittens.

Tessa spent about twenty four hours howling her head off when she first arrived in the new place and now has returned to normal:

So far she’s been keeping away from the electrical cords, too, which is good because they are one of her favorite things to chew.

Bucket stayed in her carrier for a few hours and continues to be skeptical about this whole thing.

But overall they seem to be adjusting fairly well. The one thing that both of them are taking issue with, though, is the fact that they are not allowed in my new office. Which normally wouldn’t be a problem but it has a glass door, so this is what I’m looking at as I type:

Or rather, this is what’s looking at me. Sometimes there are confused meows and once in a while there is plaintive glass-pawing. Then they usually get bored and wander away. Hopefully they’ll get used to it, the office is still too much of a mess of cords and kitten-inappropriate things to allow them access. They have plenty of other interesting places to flop.

In the meantime, here is Tessa on a box she couldn’t manage to fit in properly:

Also, kittens are hogging all the blankets.

And Tessa appears to be a pirate, or she’s trying, at least.

Pre-BEA post forthcoming, possibly with packing photos if I can keep kittens out of suitcases.

I have contact lenses! I had to wear my trial pair all last week and they were proclaimed satisfactory this weekend. I’m still getting used to them but they’re not nearly as strange as I had anticipated, and while I’m sure I’ll still default to my glasses out of convenience, it’s absolutely marvelous to have the option.

I also have new suitcases, since I have traveling to do in the impending future. Tessa likes them, so that’s something.

I spent part of the weekend finishing reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I mentioned on Twitter when I was halfway through that I loved it like candy (dank, possibly haunted candy) and I continued to love it through to the end. Marvelously moody and perfect spring thunderstorm reading, curled up in a corner with a blanket, being stared at by a cat.

Speaking of Waters, I’ve noticed that I get asked about my literary influences and my mind almost always goes completely blank, or there are just so many that I don’t know where to start. I should start compiling a master list. Sarah Waters belongs on it, of course. Fingersmith is still my favorite of hers, though I did love this one a lot in a completely different way.

I just got the new Fleet Foxes album and I’m not sure what I think about it yet, but it’s growing on me.

I have been meaning to post this for ages and kept forgetting, of course: My friend Eleanor was at the London Book Fair and posted an inside look at some of the circusy things on her blog, including a peek at the still-elusive UK cover.

I think that’s it. Kind of can’t believe that BEA is only two weeks away, have to work on the rest of my “to-do before BEA” list.