Hullo all!

Submissions Guidelines for Issue Three of Cabinet des Fees's Demeter's Spicebox are now up!

We have chosen the Aarne-​​Thompson type 2031C, The Mouse Who Was To Marry The Sun for Issue Three, do refer to the guidelines for the additional prompts!


Reading Period: 5 APRIL 2012 onwards (until we get the perfect two stories for the next issue).

Do bear in mind that you will need to read the stories from Issue One and Issue Two, as this is a storytelling project and the prompts reflect this. DS runs in Volumes of four issues each, and each Volume will start with a fresh set of prompts.

If you have any questions or doubts, feel free to email us at demeterspice (gmail) in April!

Best,

Nin Harris

So there are no more rooms at HISCC on Hotwire anymore, at least that I can find.  There's a new 3 star in midtown  though, and I believe it's the Hotel Artmore.  The Hotel Artmore is pretty much on a metro stop and is ranked 15 of almost 200 hotels in all of Atlanta by tripadvisor's standards.  reviews look great and if you're interested in a really-nearby-to-a-metro hotel that's also right next to some overflows, this is a great choice
 tripadvisor's info-
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60898-d86130-Reviews-Artmore_Hotel-Atlanta_Georgia.html

The second cool thing I found looks like it's the Melia for $79 over at Bookit.com  It's so great to find an official overflow damn cheap.  It's the 3.5 star midtown hotel and will discuss the Pool suite and having 31,000 feet of meeting space in the description.  Honestly the description of the "3.5 star Mystery Hotel" is so thorough and unedited you can google some of the phrases and get a bunch of other sites describing the Melia.  The whole description looks pulled from Orbitz. 
http://www.orbitz.com/hotel/United_States--GA/Atlanta/Melia_Atlanta.h474221/
I feel pretty cool about havign found this and hope someone can book it :).  Let me know how it turns out!

A friend and I are looking for a room.  We'll take any of the five hotels and any type of room, so long as it's non-smoking (which I think they all are at this point).

Hotel(s): any
Check-in: Thursday (will also take Friday if available)
Check-out: Monday
Room preferences:  2 beds any size preferred, but will take any arrangement.  Non-smoking.
Number of rooms: 1
Contact info: spiralagnus at gmail

Thanks in advance to anybody that can help.  Also thanks to the moderators for running this great site.

Today is my grandma's 80th birthday. We're having a big party for her on Sunday--where by "we" I actually mean my folks are doing all the work--but today is the official date. I don't mostly put birthdays on here because I don't want it to seem like a statement if I miss one. But 80, 80 is a big, round number. Eighty is a thing.

Grandma is my last grandparent standing. I mean, I have Grandpa Lyzenga, but I married into him when I was full grown rather than having memories of walking with him when I was tiny; and as much as I will sometimes introduce Aunt Ellen and Uncle Phil as my Lingen grandparents, and as much as they are doing their darnedest, they are in fact a really really special great-aunt and -uncle, which is its own thing and not to be denigrated.

But Grandma has enough personality for four grandparents all by herself. (So, I know firsthand or hear quite vividly, did each of my other grandparents in their own ways. Lack of personality: not an issue in this family.) Grandma is an Energizer bunny. I wrote in her birthday card that she embodies the adage about blooming where one is planted, and I really think that's true. She does well with new people and new situations. She just dusts herself off and tries again, whatever she needs to try again, and I have never once heard of a situation she couldn't eventually make that work in. Never once. Her persistence inspires me. I hope it lasts long past 80.

I've been on a ravioli making kick & I am *really* frustrated with the dough. It rolls fine, it stays together, it cooks okay, but it's bland & the texture isn't great. It's like a rubbery vehicle for the tasty filling rather than an integrated part of the dish. I was thinking about using pureed spinach or roasted red pepper to replace part of the liquid - would I also have to adjust the flour to compensate for the fibrous elements in those veggies? I've googled extensively and tried a few different recipes but I really don't want to slog through the thousands of different recipes available to find something that works. :c

Anyone have any favorite, tried-and-true recipes they like to use? I roll & shape my dough by hand, I do not have a pasta machine, if that changes things.

I'm trying to be hypervigilant in order to not overcook & avoid issues that way, but if you have any tips to throw at me for that, feel free. I never had this problem cooking the fresh-made pasta from my local fancy-food-boutique-thing so I think it's actually a dough issue. Thank you!

Yep. Four day weekend. Starting off with a few Manhattans on the rocks and some video games. Sleeping my ass in in the morning.

I hope you are all doing similarly well and that those of you in the US have a great holiday weekend!

timprov is having a print sale--his photos are 33% off for the rest of May. He's been taking all sorts of gorgeous new things. Go check it out!

Cover art for my novelette "Faster Gun,"  (Working title: "John Henry Holliday is Sick of the These Time-Traveling Assholes") forthcoming on Tor.com this summer.

The artist is Richard Anderson.