Apparently I did not hallucinate a couple of weeks ago . . .

(I opted for the shot where I’m looking pensive rather than trying to smile, because I am atrociously bad at smiling for the camera. There’s a reason my author photo features me looking like I’m about to stab somebody; it was preferable to any of the alternatives.)

So, yes: my award came!!! I could have opted to take it with me, but the logistics of getting it packed up — especially the fragile glass part — and handed over to me before I left on Sunday were complicated enough that it was simpler to just have them ship it to me. The downside, of course, was that I had to wait a whole WEEK AND A HALF to put my shiny new rocket on display!

. . . hilariously, a rejection for a packet of poems hit my inbox while I was reassembling this.

It’s going to live in my office for at least a while, so that I see it every time I come in. Eventually I think I’ll move it downstairs to our front room, where visitors to the house will see it, but for now — nope, it’s mine, my preciousssssss.