This holiday season has been both very similar to and quite different from its predecessors. It started way back on Wednesday 23 December. I was supposed to be at the office working, but I traded a day off and stayed home so that I could help get ready. We’re terrible domestic organisers here at Merton Way, so I spent the day running around and doing last minute shopping and doing some cleaning and organising. I did also fit in a coffee with Jeremy (Sophie came along and made her dad very proud), and Theresa dropped over in the afternoon. Good friends really do make Christmas worthwhile.

The morning of the 24th was similar. Last minute stuff before we jumped into the car and headed down to Applecross for a 3pm early family Christmas dinner. My sister and her partner were housesitting a lovely two-storey house for a week and we were headed there for dinner and such. There was swimming and laughing and sitting outside in the grand Pavilion, followed by dinner and drinking and presents. All in all, a fine evening. We had the young ones home in bed on the stroke of midnight, which seemed appropriate.

Christmas Day dawned warm and sunny. We had my brother and mother coming over for lunch, but started with an exchange of family gifts, the opening of presents from the Man in Red, and then breakfast. I think everyone was happy with their presents, especially the girls who made out quite indecently really. Family arrived at noon, dining commenced and all was well. If there was a flaw, and it’s hard to parse quite how it happened, I ended up too sober and insufficiently overfed to really slip into the Christmas night cheer, but that was cool.

Boxing Day was the day friends we’re coming for a party. We were disapppointed Tea and crew couldn’t come, but we had a grand time with Shaun, Inari, Stefan, Janet, Nick, Amanda, Robin & Toula. We ate, we drank, we talked and laughed. A good way to see out the holidays.

Sunday was a bit less fun. Marianne fell victim to a bug that had been chasing her and has spent from Sunday till today largely wiped out by bronchitis. It’s been hard for her, and at times a little tiring for me, but I’ve had a lot of fun with the girls too. We’ve been swimming, shopping, and out for excursions. Good things for a dad to do with his daughters at year’s end.

And now we’re in 2010 and I’m 46. I will post some NY stuff. I want to. It might be tomorrow, though. Not enough work has been done.

Still, happy 2010!!!!!

Well, I deleted my birthday post because it was simply too curmudgeonly. I do apologise to Russell, who left a very kind (and appreciated) comment. I’ve had a long week, am tired, and needed a quiet day. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet, which has sort’ve dented my mood more than a bit.

Anyhow, today I turn 46. Many thanks to those who’ve sent kind wishes. Hopefully this year will be more fun than 2009, which was very successful but not that much fun, and I hope we all get out unscathed.

It’s been suggest to me that I should do a post outlining the books I’ve done during the 2000s. I think it’s a great idea, so I’m noodling away at it. For what it’s worth, during the 2000s I edited or co-edited thirty six books, twenty four of which have been published to date. Given that the first of those came out in March 2004 and the most recent in October 2009, I’m going to count that as having been busy. I also co-edited a special issue of a magazine (due soon), and wrote for, argued about, copyedited and/or reviews-edited 120 issues of Locus. Busy indeed!

The Hugo Awards Committee of Aussiecon 4: The 68th World Science Fiction Convention has opened nominations for the 2009 Hugo Awards. I would strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to nominate for the Awards.  This has nothing to do with my own eligibility. The awards are more meaningful, more representative if everyone who can get involved does.  I’ll certainly be nominating, and hope you will too.

Now, a number of people have posted about their own eligibility for the Hugos.  This year I was incredibly and genuinely honored to be nominated for Best Editor – Short Form. It was the highlight of my professional year.

I am eligible in the same category this year.  I’m very proud of the work I’ve had published in 2009, and am sincerely grateful to all of the authors who made me look good during the year.  This is my 2009 in books:

I’ll post a list of the contents of both Eclipse Three and The New Space Opera 2,  both of which feature original stories by some wonderful writers who I think deserve your consideration in the Best Novella, Best Novelette, and Best Short Story categories, shortly.

I also co-edited twelve issues of Locus: The Newspaper of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field.  As Reviews Editor, I edited the reviews section of the magazine.

Well, that’s about all the pimpage I can do.  As I said above, nominating me isn’t the important thing. Nominating is, though.  Please do so if you can.

Today is New Year’s Day. I was awoken early by Marianne, who has had a wretched case of bronchitis.  It was around 7am, not long after my NYE bedtime.  I then dove into breakfast, laundry and kid wrangling, though I did sneek a nap.  We planted the flowers, tomatoes and basil, and hopefully the patio is going to come to life a little. Empty pots or pots filled with dead plants aren’t too awesome.

After lunch Sophie and I went to see The Princess and the Frog, while Jessica went to her grandmother’s house.  The movie was sweet, though I do wonder if I missed any racial faux pas in the story, and marked a welcome return to handdrawn animation from the Mouse House.  The nicest part, though, was sitting quietly watching the film while  Sophie snuggled in close. A perfect Dad n daughter moment.