it's almost christmas...

can you believe that? Where the hell has this year gone? I swear it must be a sign of age, this whole year zooming past so quickly. I remember as a kid thinking that the year between each christmas seemed to absolutely drag. But the older you get, the faster it goes. By the time I get to 70, it'll be gone in a blink, I swear. But I have finally started my christmas shopping! I precisely 3 presents bought :D (Don't laugh, this is amazing for me--I'm usually a last minute panic buyer).

In doggie news, we had to take Ella back to the vet. Her limping has been getting progressively worse again, and the vet reckons it's definitely arthritis. Ella's now on a series of four shots, and if these don't work, she'll be on anti-inflams for the rest of her life. And of course, she has to lose weight. As the vet said, she's "pleasantly plump' which, considering labs tend to run to fat far easier than other dogs, isn't all that bad, but she still has to lose 4--5 kilos. Right now, she's eating more veg than I do, but our biggest problem is the fact we can only walk her in spurts. Half an hour or so is about all she can take before the pain gets too much for her and she stops. Which, of course, then frustrates the fuzzy one (also known as the energizer puppy), who runs around and around her until she gives up and gets up. It's actually quite a funny sight. :)

As for book news... Well, there's not a whole lot happening at the moment. I'm trundling away on Destiny Kills, and each word still feels like teeth being pulled. Anne (my lovely editor) emailed me a few days ago to get an approximate hand-in date on this one (my last contracted book for this lot!) and I said January. So, I now have a deadline to work towards. Just watch the muse dry up and refuse to go anywhere. It often has those moments, just to piss me off.