"Death and taxes," or, The problem with cats--

photo by Rebecca Beatrice Miller

The house at 5:00 a.m.: it's finally a day when I can sleep late. I am sleeping dreamlessly, not remembering my name or face or that my husband and youngest are hiking into the Grand Canyon today. Then Theodora the beauteous (but like many beautiful, long-haired creatures, sometimes grumpy) calico decides it is surely the right time to wake . . . and chase her tail. To go all merry-go-round on the end of my bed, mind you.

So I wake and immediately remember taxes. This is slightly better than remembering death, but I manage to be like Woody Allen and think about that too, having a list of things To Do that must be done, sooner or later. Much later for the latter, please. Taxes today.

The cat, all silky and purring as though the queen of innocence (rather than the queen of hairballs and enormous white whiskers and sproinging! eyebrows) jumps down and sharpens her jaw on the corner of the dresser. She comes back and snuggles, purring so loudly that the dead just may waken. She has done her work, and believes the world is in the very finest fettle.

I lie there in semi-comatose state listening to her purr until it occurs to me that I may as well put up the next Lady Word of Mouth post, which is late because one of my gmail addresses is evaporating the incoming mail. (Why? What should I do? Get a new one?)

And so here it is, this time an announcement of a recent novel, Tiffany Trent's The Unnaturalists. Lady Word of Mouth is calling our names.

* * *

Meeting me elsewhere: excerpts from 2012 books (A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage, Thaliad, The Foliate Head) at Scribd. Thaliad at Phoenicia Publishing. See page tabs above for review clips and information on those brand new books plus The Throne of Psyche from 2011, and more.