[Elspode]

Add another wild card to our current crazed mix. We received a call last night from my mother in law, informing us that Mrs Elspode's grandfather was beginning hospice care this morning. It is entirely possible that he could pass on very soon, and we'll have to drop everything to be there. I don't mean to sound callous...I love and respect this man very much, and wouldn't dream of not being there when he takes his last ride, but this couldn't possibly come at a worse time.

I now have to write up a contingency plan to cover my absence from Festival at any time - before, during, and after. This means getting out of my head an onto paper dozens of facts, notions, inspirations, possible pitfalls, etc, etc and into the hands of my appointed minions, who will have to take over for me at a moment's notice. Additionally, the guy who was in charge of the Festival brochure (which includes workshop scheduling) has majorly dropped the ball and left most of my Honored Guest Speakers off of the schedule, so I am now going to have to produce posters and handbills to update the damn brochure. Finally, the 15 year old begins his new job today, and so we have to run him back and forth to work from now until we go to Camp for Fest setup, all the while still being down one car to breakdown.

And we're still trying buy/sell houses and move.

Last year at this time, Mrs Elspode and I were only remodeling one room and moving our office from the old room into the new. This year, we've raised the bar a bit...or rather, had it raised for us.

Next year, I'm thinking of starting a manned space program or perhaps forming an independent nation. You know, something a bit less strenuous and time-consuming.