not so bad---
The first half of yesterday was spent getting "A Redress for Andromeda" ready to send away to the anthology's editors, typing in all the corrections and changes I made on Friday. Well, that was after the two hours I spent on the blog entry. I think yesterday was a red flag, as regards my blog entries. Well-written and well-illustrated blog entries are nice, and I will appreciate them in years to come, but I cannot afford to spend two hours composing them. Anyway, I think it took a couple of hours to finish up with "A Redress for Andromeda," and now it's a much better story than it ever was before, in any of its previous incarnations.
It was after four p.m. before I finished. We'd thought about driving down to Sakonnet Point, in the extreme southeast corner of Rhode Island— a part of the state we've not much explored —but I'd thought I'd be done with work by two, not four. So it was really too late for such a long drive, and we decided we'd save Sakonnet for another afternoon. Instead, we headed downtown. I've spent so much time exploring the coasts and rural areas of Rhode Island, I find that, in two years, I've hardly looked at Providence, save College Hill. And it's really a beautiful city, as cities go. Much of the architecture dates back to the late 19th Century and before, despite the terrible flooding caused by the 1938 hurricane (before the flood barrier was erected at the mouth of the Providence River, to protect against storm surge).
We parked on Washington Street, a couple of blocks east of the Public Library, one block east of the Trinity Repertory Theater. We walked up Mathewson Street and discovered a marvelous used and antiquarian bookstore, Cellar Stories, up a dark, narrow flight of stairs. I think we spent the better part of an hour there. But we were both very good and bought nothing. Not even the first-edition copy of Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday. We continued up Mathewson to Westminster. We walked a little ways east, because Spooky wanted to check out Craftland. But there was some sort of "rock-and-roll flea market" clogging up the street, so we soon headed back east to Mathewson. We walked south and east to the intersection with Weybosset Street, and turned back west, then turned north and west again on Snow Street, until we were back to Washington Street. The day was warm, but not hot, and though there were far too many people, it was good to see places I'd not seen before, or not seen up close. On the way home, we got burgers from Stanley's for dinner.
I forgot to mention, yesterday, that we saw the season finale of Fringe on Friday night. Very, very good. I was relieved to see it's been renewed for another season. Last night, we played a little WoW, and Gnomnclature and Klausgnomi both reached Level 15.
Toady, I try to get started on "The Maltese Unicorn." There are photos from yesterday behind the cut. Oh, also, please have a look at the current round of eBay auctions. Some of my harder-to find chapbooks are listed. Thanks.
Inside Cellar Stories.
The view from somewhere along Mathewson Street.
An alley off Westminster. I love the old "Tri-Store Bridge." View to the north.
Westminster Street.
A police substation, and the apparently former Weybosset Information Center, at the corner of Weybosset and Mathewson streets.
View across Weybosset to the Providence Performing Arts Center (where, long eons ago, Spooky saw the Psychedelic Furs). View to the south.
Detail. Snow Street.
Another view from Snow Street, looking east.
All photographs Copyright © 2010 by Caitlín R. Kiernan