No, I can’t say it.  Not even as a joke.  Somebody would be sure to believe me and then word would spread and pretty soon everyone would hate me for having been nonsensical about that which is clearly not a joking matter.  So, no agent.  But, I did get some requests over the break and I’ve also decided to excercise greater patience about the fulls still out.  This despite the fact that it’s nearly Christmas and what I’d really like Santa to bring me is an agent!  :P

In the meantime and as a most excellent distraction, we visited friends in northern Virginia over Thanksgiving, and even managed to fight our way through the crowds to see the Smithsonian museums on Thanksgiving day.  Back when we used to live in the DC ‘burbs, I’d take the kids to the museums whenever I could and we discovered years ago that Thanksgiving day was a fantastic time to hit the museums.  Everything was peaceful, parking was plentiful, and the museums were ours for the taking.

Well, somebody must have let that particular secret out of the bag in the intervening years.  It wasn’t quite so bad as the summer time rush but it was still pretty busy.  On the up side, the train and fairyland exhibit opened just in time for us to see it while we were in town.  All the buildings that went up with the train exhibit (including mini-monuments, fairy houses, and presidential homes) are made from natural material and collected bits of plants. Further proof that the Botanical Gardens rock!

Take a look at these pics, and tell me they don’t make you wish you were half an inch tall!  Here we have a fairy mansion, with just a glimpse of the magically inspired decor inside.

A close up of a different room comes complete with a tiny organ.  Can you hear the music?  I can!

And finally we have a porcupine house and a giraffe house.

Can you tell which is which?

Aren’t they just the most lovely things you’ve ever seen?  You know, in the same way that all lovely and creative things get a ‘most’ categorization?  They remind me of my pine cone people, who inhabit a special garden of wild magic in 13 Demon Days.  So much fun!

Which makes me wonder what it is with tiny people we find so fascinating.  I’ve never understood that.  I mean, sure, I feel it too.  But, why, I wonder?  Any thoughts?

And I’ll let that be my segue into tonight’s deep late night thought.  In the movies, shows and books about time travel, the idea that our lives hinge on a single moment is a common theme.  I suppose it’s fascinating to us.  What if we hadn’t taken that wrong turn, so we made it to our friend’s bridal shower?  Would we have met our new boss?  Fell in love with her neighbor out walking his dog?  Skipped the fight that led to avoiding said friend for the next ten years?  It’s especially easy to pinpoint certain moments that didn’t go our way, and fix on them as pivotal.  We all know that ‘if only’ isn’t a highly productive phrase, but most of us have felt the sentiment.

I’m no different, but tonight I’m wondering if life is really that simple.  Most of the consequences we end up living with later in life are the result of repetition, or habits.  Everything from our waistline to our income to the solidarity of our relationships with loved ones come about because of choices that we repeat over and over again.  Even the big zingers, like meeting that special person, are often the result of habit.

You met at the coffee shop/library/friends’ apartment because it was a place you frequented regularly.  There were probably many ‘misses’ that preceded the ‘hit’ in which you connected with that special someone.  Even seemingly random meetings–like bumping into each other at the Atlanta airport–probably have some backing in the probability books.  Do you both travel a lot?  Does one of you frequently visit Atlanta for work and the other has always wanted to visit?  Chances are there are plenty of ‘hits’ that fade into background noise and slip from memory because they were only a momentary encounter in the usual boring way, and never took on the significance of a turning point to the individuals involved.

Not sure that last sentence made sense.

So, am I saying life is all in the fateful cards?  That where we end up in life is a product of our subconscious programing?  Probably not, but if you get your hands on the cards which predict which of my tiny habits I’ll end up regretting, I’d give them a second look.

I’ve trained just a bit in the bo, and loved it.  I’m currently training in two-handed swords.  Otoh, the majority of my five+ years in martial arts has been unarmed, and any other training in my youth was with various firearms.  Unless you count the sticks we used in our mock battles, of course.

Given all that, which one do I personally lean toward?  If I got to choose the weapon for myself and my opponent, what would I choose?

The answer would be a toss-up between unarmed or bo, depending on the size and skills of my opponent.  I’d also need to know if we were fighting to the death, to k.o., or ’til someone yelled uncle.

Since the photo in question will include magic enhancement, a bo becomes a sorceress staff, and I’m struck by how incredibly practical such a weapon would be.  It combines the versatility of a quarterstaff or bo with the long-range reach of a firearm.  Of course, if one runs out of magic, said sorceress had better be very good with her bo or the swordsman might slice the pretty stick in half.

Then again, perhaps the smartest tack would be that taken by many wizards of lore: Use a flash of light and rumble of thunder to scare them away.  If that doesn’t work, out-talk them.  Last resort?  Run.

So, tonight’s question is:

Why would a cat eat a lizard’s tale?

And, yes, they do.  Our tom ate a snippet of blue lizard’s tale just this afternoon.  We’d trapped the lizard in a container (not having any desire to share the master bedroom with Mr. Slinky) and taken it out onto the deck to turn loose.  I tried to restrain the cats–truly I did.  But once they figured out he was just playing dead, they were all over him.

He escaped between two deck boards, or, at least, I’m hoping he did.  Apricot was licking her lips afterwards, but even she can’t eat that fast.  But the lizard lost a small section of blue tail while making good his escape and Shadow slurped it right down.

Very odd.

And he’s normally a quite particular cat.

So…answers?

That’s the true source of their nine lives, and if only we’d eat lizard tail we’d live longer lives?  He thought it would go great with his (green) eyes?  He’s descended from the cats of the Nile and has an age-old hatred of lizards?

That’s tonight’s question.