Spring is even better when it arrives in winter

It's sunny and in the 70s today. I'm sitting in my new favorite local cafe drinking a brilliantly delicious orange, mango and peach smoothie, enjoying the warm air wafting in through the open door. We've had a much colder than normal winter this year, so I'm reveling in this reprieve. The dogs enjoyed it greatly this morning, too. I'll be back home in a bit and will take them for a second or maybe even a third walk, a special treat.

Before I left home, I put organic chicken and vegetables in the crock pot. It's gonna smell great the minute I walk in. Or maybe even as I walk up to the front door. Our good friend Janelle is coming over tonight for dinner. We haven't seen her in a while, so there will be lots of juicy stuff to catch up on over food and wine. It's possible we might go to another friend's house (since we don't have TV) to watch the opener of American Idol, but then again we might just play Scrabble.

I'm still on winter break for another week. I have to get off my duff and write my syllabi for spring now that I've written an involved syllabus with many requirements (ah, bureaucracy) for a course I'm teaching in fall 2009. That class is for frosh and features LGBTQ Film and Literature. It's been very hard to narrow things down because there's so much out there. I've decided to focus on literature and film that features history, activism and multiculturalism. We're also focusing on the literary and creative imagination, which is why I'm using fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and fictional films, rather than straight-up nonfiction and documentary. Here's what I'll be using:

Books:
Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology
Stuck Rubber Baby (a graphic novel about queer lives during the Civil Rights movement in the South)

Films:
The Bubble (Israel, Palestine)
Fire (India)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (East Berlin/Canada)
Ma Vie en Rose (France)
Maurice (England)
Milk (U.S.)
Out of the Past (U.S.; documentary about queer history & youth activism/GSAs)
Saving Face (U.S.; Asian-American)

In addition to working on that, I've been revising Complementary Colors, my novel that's coming out this summer. The publisher wants my revisions shortly. I've also been working on the caregiving memoir. Unfortunately, I've shelved my historical novel. I'm stuck stuck stuck. But I'm working on a different novel, a contemporary one. Perhaps I'll return to the historical another day.

Obviously I haven't blogged a lot lately. I've been living a bit more slowly in all aspects of my life, especially now that we don't have the internet at home. I feel like I'm saving gems of gentleness and wandering in preparation for the quick pace that awaits me when the semester begins, when I'll be teaching 4 writing classes and continuing my book tour. I'll be doing a radio show and a TV show in the next few months, in addition to the following events:

Kate Evans & Patricia Harrelson Reading
February 05, 2009, 7:30PM
Books Inc. in the Castro, San Francisco, CA
http://www.booksinc.net/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=402716
Kate Evans will read from her latest book, For the May Queen, and Patricia Harrelson will read from her book, Between Two Women at Books Inc. in the Castro. FREE.

Kate Evans & Lillian Vallee Poetry Reading
February 15, 2009, 2:00PM
Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, CA
http://www.poetrypost.com/Upcoming_Events.html
Kate Evans and Lillian Vallee read poetry at the Beautiful Ravenswood Historic site Livermore, California. $5.00 includes Refreshments. Open Mic after a short Break.

Kate Evans Reading & Champagne Reception
February 18, 2009, 6:30PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San Jose, CA,
http://www.sjlibrary.org/gateways/academic/
Kate Evans reads from her novel, For the May Queen, and also will read from her in-process memoir. She will take audience questions and sign books. Champagne Reception follows. FREE.

This morning I was listening on the radio to Hillary's confirmation hearing. Parts were interesting, but at times I almost dozed off. These congresspeople love to hear themselves talk. I'm just praying (I mean that metaphorically) that Hillary can do something about the horror that is Gaza.