I pretty much walked away from this blog 14 months ago when I got the opportunity to co-author a book, the topic of which was within my interests. That book is now being printed and shipped to distributors and so I thought I'd return to the blog to see if anyone's home. Right now, Zippy, our 9-year-old black cat, is on the desktop in the loft, and when I try to use the mouse (he doesn't recognize it for its namesake, thank goodness,) he licks my hand. The girls -- Lexi and Samantha -- are down in the living room, lying on the couch, the first real estate they seized 20 minutes after they first entered this house two years ago. The cat and the dogs don't socialize unless I invite them to have play time. Samantha thinks Zippy would make a good lunch, although Lexi wiggles a friendly wiggle when she gets close to him. Outside, there are still significant traces of the most recent snow storm. In the 44 years I've lived here in New Jersey, the ground has never been so white. It's odd that global warming would in fact give us record snow cover -- odd, but pretty. The Christmas wreath with its red bow tie is still up on the Paladian window on the street end of the house. It's too cold today to take it down, and most days I don't notice it up there. Too cold to give the girls their aftrnoon walk, too. Well, it's not really that cold -- I think they said the high would be 21. But the wind was blowing the last time I was out and I'm using that as an excuse to vegitate a bit more. Zippy's vegitation -- we've kept him inside more days than not -- is costing him his once-sveldt figure. I just had trouble lifting him to my lap, and he probably couldn't escape Samantha's snapping jaws should, in a careless moment, I leave down the gate at the bottom of the stairs. The book project was energizing while it lasted. The first draft was done by the end of May. The publisher, Scribner, had set publication for April 1 at the beginning, and the fact that we were quick changed nothing. Working with co-author Mike Tougias was a pleasant experience. We agreed that I'd write the first part of the book and he the second. This division of labor kept us out of each other's hair and I suspect that if you didn't know there were two authors, you'd never guess it. Now I'm trying to organize myself for what comes next. I have writing projects in mind, and I still haven't rewired poor Robin, whom I abandoned in November and will only revisit once the ice melts.