I'm posting here instead of Outside the Box because yesterday was a day.
I started the morning off by checking a thing, which wasn't done when I assumed it would be done, which made me wonder if the undone thing would totally harsh my life. Wait for said business to open. Call. Spend a half hour on the phone listening to the same song in a continuous loop. Finally get a person, only to be told the thing could take up to 7 days to get done, but not to worry, their system shows it's done, so it's all good. But check back after 7 days if doesn't show as done on my end. Derp.
So, I decided to go do some Christmas shopping. Retail therapy, doncha know. Wallyworld was a zoo, but it's all good. Got my last person bought for, so I can pack it up and ship it in plenty of time. Yay. Oh, and before I went to Wallyworld, I stopped at St. Vinny's. They recently received a whole bunch of book donations. I went a tad crazy.
I was feeling pretty good about it, though. Until I got home.
It seemed Kira's recurring UTI decided to pick yesterday while I was gone to start up again. I called my new vet and learned they are closing the practice. Like today's their last day. They're retiring, which is awesome for them, but totally sucks for me. I call my old vet and the office gal is out to lunch. The gal tells me to call back at 1pm. Which I do. The office gal tells me the vet can't take my word for Kira having a UTI and just give me meds. They need me to drop Kira off and leave her there, maybe overnight - depends on whether she gives them a sample on her own before they close at 5. Get dressed for being out of the house again, pack the cat in her carrier and off I go.
Seeing as Kira never pees in public (which is anywhere outside her enclosed litterbox), I expected she'd be staying overnight. I get out of my clothes. Again. Settle in. Finally eat lunch at 2:15. But I still keep the phone nearby - just in case. And I don't take my usual nap.
4:15... the phone rings. It's the vet. Well, wouldn't you know it? She DOES have a UTI. Imagine that. And I can come get her. Okee doke. They close at 5. They're a half hour away. And I have to get dressed again.
Zip down, get Kira and her meds, back home at about 5:20 (perhaps I bent a few speed limits here and there - on the straightaways). Give Kira her meds and she spits about a third of the dose all over me. Then she won't eat her food because everything tastes funny. I try putting some fish oil on it. Nope. Fine, I'll wait. New food at 6pm. That's okay, maybe, if she has to.
So, that was about 180 miles on the car and I was totally bushed. No edits last night. We'll see what today brings.
On the bright side, I got a bunch of books. And on one of the trips, the sun broke through the dismal gray clouds just in time to highlight a bald eagle. So majestic.
How was your day?
Edited to add: This was supposed to go live on Friday but I screwed up. Thus the confusion in the post and comments.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Thursday This n That
Totally forgot to post on Tuesday. In my defense, I can't seem to grasp what day it is lately. It's like every day is Monday since last Wednesday, which was Friday. Bleh.
I got my edits back early. On Monday, of all days. Heh. Started them on Tuesday. (Which was another Monday.) As far as I can tell, at this time, with what I've seen so far, I should be able to get this out to the world on or before the 17th of December. Which means I really have to write that damned blurb.
In case you haven't heard, postage stamps are going up to 55c in January. Get your forever stamps now and avoid the price hike. Price hikes suck. When you think about it, though, getting an envelope anywhere in this huge country of ours for only 55c is pretty damn cheap. I picked up a 100 roll. Should last me through to this time next year.
So, you may have heard about the numbnuts who's calling Tolkien a racist. When I first heard about it, I thought maybe it was because Tolkien didn't write a lot of black characters (or any... it's been decades since I read any Tolkien). Nope. It's because of the orcs. Apparently creating an entire evil race makes you a racist. :shrug: Anyway, the aforementioned numbnuts is an author few have heard of who recently published a collection of short stories with one of them being a rip-off... ahem, parody.... of Tolkien. Yep, pretty much using the whole thing to drum up sales. Big surprise. Bleh.
Got most of my Christmas shopping done. Don't feel bad. I only have three people to buy for - Mom, his Mom, and the Kid. I only have the Kid left and she prefers a check. I still send her a box of goodies, though. And a check.
Now I have to start thinking about Christmas cards. I am so not in the mood.
I suppose I ought to think about decorating the house, too. Meh. Early Thanksgiving really threw me off this year.
Okay, that more than enough out of me. How's about you?
I got my edits back early. On Monday, of all days. Heh. Started them on Tuesday. (Which was another Monday.) As far as I can tell, at this time, with what I've seen so far, I should be able to get this out to the world on or before the 17th of December. Which means I really have to write that damned blurb.
In case you haven't heard, postage stamps are going up to 55c in January. Get your forever stamps now and avoid the price hike. Price hikes suck. When you think about it, though, getting an envelope anywhere in this huge country of ours for only 55c is pretty damn cheap. I picked up a 100 roll. Should last me through to this time next year.
So, you may have heard about the numbnuts who's calling Tolkien a racist. When I first heard about it, I thought maybe it was because Tolkien didn't write a lot of black characters (or any... it's been decades since I read any Tolkien). Nope. It's because of the orcs. Apparently creating an entire evil race makes you a racist. :shrug: Anyway, the aforementioned numbnuts is an author few have heard of who recently published a collection of short stories with one of them being a rip-off... ahem, parody.... of Tolkien. Yep, pretty much using the whole thing to drum up sales. Big surprise. Bleh.
Got most of my Christmas shopping done. Don't feel bad. I only have three people to buy for - Mom, his Mom, and the Kid. I only have the Kid left and she prefers a check. I still send her a box of goodies, though. And a check.
Now I have to start thinking about Christmas cards. I am so not in the mood.
I suppose I ought to think about decorating the house, too. Meh. Early Thanksgiving really threw me off this year.
Okay, that more than enough out of me. How's about you?
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Sunday Update - Week 47
Well, we're creeping down to the end of the year. Let's try and wrap this sucker up with a bang, eh?
Okay, that was thinking ahead. There weren't many bangs around here this past week.
I didn't do much writing. For some reason, Ugly and the Beast is being a beast. And since my brain can't seem to make it work, it's trying to tempt me with other ideas. Bad brain. No. I have one week left before my edits come back for Unequal. I don't think I can do 30K words in a week - not with the way my muse is acting - so my hope that I would have this book done by the 1st is hopeless. :shrug:
The one big bang I had last week was the sale - which is still going on thru 11:59 tonight (PST). It wasn't over the top, but it did pay for the ad, so it's all good. Well, better than it has been. And I'm getting page reads now, so there's hope I'll actually net above the ad cost this time. And Accidental Death reached #28 in Hard-boiled mystery for a while there.
I read some stuff.
Hubs and I moved a lot of leaves. There are four big piles in the back yard, ready to move into the woods. Then it rained. Then it was Thanksgiving and the day after recovery from Thanksgiving. We'll get to 'em eventually.
While we were out walking last week, I heard a rustling in the woods just off the road. Too much for a squirrel, so I looked hard for movement and saw a little armadillo collecting leaves for its den. Must've been this year's litter - about 2/3rd size. So cute. And now that the neighborhood critter-killer has passed on to his next existence, we're seeing more of the little armored buggers. I hope this one stays out of the road. I see too many hit armadillos around here.
Thanksgiving happened. It was like any other day, but with turkey. And eating dinner at like 11:30am. Then we laid around feeling fat for the rest of the day.
I spent most of Friday making turkey soup. Ended up with 2 containers of broth and three of turkey noodle soup. I also made beef stew on Tuesday. We're set for hot and hearty meals for a while.
I love my new crockpot, btw. It's nice to have one that actually controls its temperature correctly.
Speaking of controlling temperatures, the main burner on my stove went wonky. It's on high, no matter what. Stupid burner. I cannot afford to have the stove take a shit right now. Lucky for me I have three other burners. I'll just have to use the back big burner instead of the front one. Bleh.
Oh, finally, the exercise/activity/weight thing. I sucked it up and weighed myself after weeks of being a slug. I'm holding steady at 180. Up two pounds from the bottom, but still down fourteen, so I'm not going to flagellate myself.
And that's it for me. What happened in your world last week?
Okay, that was thinking ahead. There weren't many bangs around here this past week.
I didn't do much writing. For some reason, Ugly and the Beast is being a beast. And since my brain can't seem to make it work, it's trying to tempt me with other ideas. Bad brain. No. I have one week left before my edits come back for Unequal. I don't think I can do 30K words in a week - not with the way my muse is acting - so my hope that I would have this book done by the 1st is hopeless. :shrug:
The one big bang I had last week was the sale - which is still going on thru 11:59 tonight (PST). It wasn't over the top, but it did pay for the ad, so it's all good. Well, better than it has been. And I'm getting page reads now, so there's hope I'll actually net above the ad cost this time. And Accidental Death reached #28 in Hard-boiled mystery for a while there.
I read some stuff.
Hubs and I moved a lot of leaves. There are four big piles in the back yard, ready to move into the woods. Then it rained. Then it was Thanksgiving and the day after recovery from Thanksgiving. We'll get to 'em eventually.
While we were out walking last week, I heard a rustling in the woods just off the road. Too much for a squirrel, so I looked hard for movement and saw a little armadillo collecting leaves for its den. Must've been this year's litter - about 2/3rd size. So cute. And now that the neighborhood critter-killer has passed on to his next existence, we're seeing more of the little armored buggers. I hope this one stays out of the road. I see too many hit armadillos around here.
Thanksgiving happened. It was like any other day, but with turkey. And eating dinner at like 11:30am. Then we laid around feeling fat for the rest of the day.
I spent most of Friday making turkey soup. Ended up with 2 containers of broth and three of turkey noodle soup. I also made beef stew on Tuesday. We're set for hot and hearty meals for a while.
I love my new crockpot, btw. It's nice to have one that actually controls its temperature correctly.
Speaking of controlling temperatures, the main burner on my stove went wonky. It's on high, no matter what. Stupid burner. I cannot afford to have the stove take a shit right now. Lucky for me I have three other burners. I'll just have to use the back big burner instead of the front one. Bleh.
Oh, finally, the exercise/activity/weight thing. I sucked it up and weighed myself after weeks of being a slug. I'm holding steady at 180. Up two pounds from the bottom, but still down fourteen, so I'm not going to flagellate myself.
And that's it for me. What happened in your world last week?
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 11/24/18
Surprisingly, I didn't get a whole lot of reading done this week. Especially considering I didn't really do much of anything else either. Total toad week.
I did pick up one new book on a whim. A freebie international thriller - set in Paris and written by a French author who's trying to drum up readers here in the states. Sounded interesting, so I'm giving it a whirl. Probably next week. We'll see.
Anyway, here goes...
85) Purrfect Murder (Hazel Hart #1) by Louise Lynn (11/23/18) - Cozy Mystery - 5 stars. New to me, but not necessarily underappreciated. This was the book I picked up with my magic $1 Amazon credit.
Review: " Cute and fun. Just what I needed."
84) The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson (11/17/18) - Mystery - 5 stars. New to me, but not underappreciated. Picked up during the thrift store sale 6/$1.
Review: "Very twisty-turny. A little far-fetched, but a fun ride all the way through. Could've knocked me over with a toothpick when the whodunit was revealed. Fun!"
DNF - 11/18/18 - Western ebook. I picked this one up on sale for 99c. The premise sounded good and the 'look inside' was okay - all backstory in the beginning, but easy to skim past without missing anything crucial. And I was looking for something different, so why not a Western that needed some lovin'. I could be its first review... Umm... No. Wow. The editing... Actually, I don't think this went through an editor's hands. So many errors. Allusive when he meant elusive. Federalized when he was referring to the Mexican Federales. Revenge instead of avenge. All in the first few percents. If he did have an editor, they need to be slapped and he deserves a refund. There was other stuff that turned me off, too, so I gave up trying.
DNF - 11/23/18 - Romance paperback. Got this from a thrift store a while back. I was struggling with this early on, but I wanted to see what happened. By about halfway, I decided I'd had enough. Obnoxious hero, snotty heroine. Interesting little side plots, but not enough to overcome my dislike of the MCs.
-------------------
I started the international thriller last night. Fingers crossed.
What was on your reading list last week? Anything good? Anything new?
I did pick up one new book on a whim. A freebie international thriller - set in Paris and written by a French author who's trying to drum up readers here in the states. Sounded interesting, so I'm giving it a whirl. Probably next week. We'll see.
Anyway, here goes...
85) Purrfect Murder (Hazel Hart #1) by Louise Lynn (11/23/18) - Cozy Mystery - 5 stars. New to me, but not necessarily underappreciated. This was the book I picked up with my magic $1 Amazon credit.
Review: " Cute and fun. Just what I needed."
84) The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson (11/17/18) - Mystery - 5 stars. New to me, but not underappreciated. Picked up during the thrift store sale 6/$1.
Review: "Very twisty-turny. A little far-fetched, but a fun ride all the way through. Could've knocked me over with a toothpick when the whodunit was revealed. Fun!"
DNF - 11/18/18 - Western ebook. I picked this one up on sale for 99c. The premise sounded good and the 'look inside' was okay - all backstory in the beginning, but easy to skim past without missing anything crucial. And I was looking for something different, so why not a Western that needed some lovin'. I could be its first review... Umm... No. Wow. The editing... Actually, I don't think this went through an editor's hands. So many errors. Allusive when he meant elusive. Federalized when he was referring to the Mexican Federales. Revenge instead of avenge. All in the first few percents. If he did have an editor, they need to be slapped and he deserves a refund. There was other stuff that turned me off, too, so I gave up trying.
DNF - 11/23/18 - Romance paperback. Got this from a thrift store a while back. I was struggling with this early on, but I wanted to see what happened. By about halfway, I decided I'd had enough. Obnoxious hero, snotty heroine. Interesting little side plots, but not enough to overcome my dislike of the MCs.
-------------------
I started the international thriller last night. Fingers crossed.
What was on your reading list last week? Anything good? Anything new?
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Tuesday This n That
Since Thursday is Thanksgiving, I figured I'd post the 'this-n-that' today instead.
I spend entirely too much time playing WordRage these days. It's addictive. You have two minutes to make as many words as you can out of letters that make up one bigger word. And you have to get a set number of points at each level or it's Game Over, man. Anyway, it's more fun than it sounds. And it reminds me of these handouts the teachers used to give us in elementary school - make as many words as you can out of a single word like Thanksgiving or Christmas or Halloween. :shrug: Hey, it gets my brain moving.
I have become a slug. I really need to get back to the exercise routine. For some reason or other, I fell off the wagon, landed on my face, and just laid there. And now it's Thanksgiving week, so there's that to use as a rationalization for not being active. Bleh.
With the weather getting cold, I picked up some new thermal socks. Dickies are the best, even if they don't fit right. And I bought this one pair of super soft and floofy socks with rubber dots on the bottoms so I don't go skating across the hard floors. They're awesome. I need a few more pairs of those. Hell, I want to buy pairs of those for everyone I know so they can have super soft and floofy socks, too.
Speaking of thermal socks, why the hell can't they make women's thermal socks like men's thermal socks? The only women's ones I can find are too damn tight with nubby shit on the soles so they hurt my feet when I walk. Dickies needs to make their men's socks in women's sizes. Jus' sayin'.
Coffee.
I got some postcards out yesterday. They should be to their recipients shortly.
Gah, I need to start thinking about Christmas cards.
Speaking of Christmas, I'm anti-Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Once Turkey Day is over, bring it on. Except this year TGD is early. I'm not sure I'm ready for putting up the tree on November 23rd. I might have to push it all to next week. But before the 1st because that's when edits are due back.
And year end is coming. :panics:
That's it for me. I'm going to go hide in a hole until thoughts of 2019 go away. What's up with you?
I spend entirely too much time playing WordRage these days. It's addictive. You have two minutes to make as many words as you can out of letters that make up one bigger word. And you have to get a set number of points at each level or it's Game Over, man. Anyway, it's more fun than it sounds. And it reminds me of these handouts the teachers used to give us in elementary school - make as many words as you can out of a single word like Thanksgiving or Christmas or Halloween. :shrug: Hey, it gets my brain moving.
I have become a slug. I really need to get back to the exercise routine. For some reason or other, I fell off the wagon, landed on my face, and just laid there. And now it's Thanksgiving week, so there's that to use as a rationalization for not being active. Bleh.
With the weather getting cold, I picked up some new thermal socks. Dickies are the best, even if they don't fit right. And I bought this one pair of super soft and floofy socks with rubber dots on the bottoms so I don't go skating across the hard floors. They're awesome. I need a few more pairs of those. Hell, I want to buy pairs of those for everyone I know so they can have super soft and floofy socks, too.
Speaking of thermal socks, why the hell can't they make women's thermal socks like men's thermal socks? The only women's ones I can find are too damn tight with nubby shit on the soles so they hurt my feet when I walk. Dickies needs to make their men's socks in women's sizes. Jus' sayin'.
Coffee.
I got some postcards out yesterday. They should be to their recipients shortly.
Gah, I need to start thinking about Christmas cards.
Speaking of Christmas, I'm anti-Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Once Turkey Day is over, bring it on. Except this year TGD is early. I'm not sure I'm ready for putting up the tree on November 23rd. I might have to push it all to next week. But before the 1st because that's when edits are due back.
And year end is coming. :panics:
That's it for me. I'm going to go hide in a hole until thoughts of 2019 go away. What's up with you?
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Sunday Update - Week 46
Heh.
I finally got back to work on Ugly and the Beast. Got that sticky segue done between chapter 2 and chapter 3 (which is now chapter 4). Then I added some more words onto the end. Then I realized I'd painted myself into a corner. I figured out what I'm going to have to do - wash away some of that paint so I can reach a better path. Not a huge wordcount week, but it's progress.
Set up a new sale and some marketing for next week. Accidental Death will be on sale starting tomorrow. Wednesday, I have a BargainBooksy ad going out. (At least I think I do. They haven't contacted me to tell me NO and refund my money, so I'm assuming it's a go.)
Talked to my local face-to-face fan. She thinks I should write a medical suspense. She loves medical suspenses. I told her about Unequal, which is kind of medical and a little suspensey, but mostly dystopian. I'll think about the whole 'write a medical suspense' thing.
I read a bunch.
Hubs has been raking the yard and I haven't been helping. I felt kind of bad about it. Then again, it's good exercise for him. Gets him out of the house and away from the computer, too. Fresh air and all that. Yeah, yeah, I need all those things, too, which is why actually helped him yesterday. We aren't done, but we do have a boat-ton of trees and the leaves that go with them.
We're all set for Thanksgiving this week. The turkey's in the freezer... have to take that out today. Got the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the gravy... I should probably make biscuits, since I didn't buy rolls. I shopped enough on Friday so I shouldn't have to go to the store until after the weekend after Black Friday. Go me.
I still haven't mailed postcards, so if you were looking for one, sorry. Tomorrow. They'll go out tomorrow. It's only a day away.
And that's about it for me. What's up with you?
I finally got back to work on Ugly and the Beast. Got that sticky segue done between chapter 2 and chapter 3 (which is now chapter 4). Then I added some more words onto the end. Then I realized I'd painted myself into a corner. I figured out what I'm going to have to do - wash away some of that paint so I can reach a better path. Not a huge wordcount week, but it's progress.
Set up a new sale and some marketing for next week. Accidental Death will be on sale starting tomorrow. Wednesday, I have a BargainBooksy ad going out. (At least I think I do. They haven't contacted me to tell me NO and refund my money, so I'm assuming it's a go.)
Talked to my local face-to-face fan. She thinks I should write a medical suspense. She loves medical suspenses. I told her about Unequal, which is kind of medical and a little suspensey, but mostly dystopian. I'll think about the whole 'write a medical suspense' thing.
I read a bunch.
Hubs has been raking the yard and I haven't been helping. I felt kind of bad about it. Then again, it's good exercise for him. Gets him out of the house and away from the computer, too. Fresh air and all that. Yeah, yeah, I need all those things, too, which is why actually helped him yesterday. We aren't done, but we do have a boat-ton of trees and the leaves that go with them.
We're all set for Thanksgiving this week. The turkey's in the freezer... have to take that out today. Got the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the gravy... I should probably make biscuits, since I didn't buy rolls. I shopped enough on Friday so I shouldn't have to go to the store until after the weekend after Black Friday. Go me.
I still haven't mailed postcards, so if you were looking for one, sorry. Tomorrow. They'll go out tomorrow. It's only a day away.
And that's about it for me. What's up with you?
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 11/17/18
With the edits finished for Unequal, I opened the throttle on reading. Then I got back to writing my next book, so not quite as many books as if I'd only been reading, but still...
Downloaded a few new books - a cute paranormal mystery, a Western, and a historical mystery set in Australia. Didn't buy any additional hardcopies.
Here's my reading week...
83) The Reckoning by Kerry Watts (11/16/18) - Suspense*# - 4 stars - New to me and underappreciated. Bought at full price to cash in on that awesome $1 credit. $2.99
Review: "I think this was a really exceptional story, worthy of 5 stars. The characters were sympathetic, the suspense was gripping, I was hooked throughout. The only problem was, and I really hate to even mention it, the punctuation. In a lot of places, I had to go back and re-read passages to figure out what the author was trying to say. Oh, it was worth the effort. At no point did those flaws make me want to set the book aside. After a while, my brain started putting the punctuation in for me, so I had fewer stumbles. But if you're a stickler, you're going to want to skip this book. And that would be a shame because you'd miss out on a great story."
82) Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (11/13/18) - Mystery - 5 stars. Definitely not new to me and not at all underappreciated. Picked this one up at the thrift store with other books - 6/$1.
Review: "Good one! I hadn't read this Christie before, but it'll definitely rank in my favorite Poirot's from now on."
81) Discarded (Dumpstermancer #1) by Michael J. Allen (11/11/18) - UF*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated. Bought at full price to cash in on that awesome $1 credit. $3.99.
Review: "Awesome book. A little weird, but awesome. Definitely not your every day urban fantasy. Smart and interesting with a different sort of premise. Took a little bit to get into it, but once I was sucked in, I inhaled it. Of course, there was a cliffhanger... Not a fan of those. But the rest of the book made up for that one little irritation. Now I'll have to go find the next book and wishlist it for my next buying day."
Additional Note: Apparently, book 2 doesn't exist yet. Argh.
80) The Golden Unicorn by Phyllis A. Whitney (11/10/18) - Romantic Suspense - 5 stars. Definitely not new to me or underappreciated. Thrift store find. 3/$1
Review: "As good as I remembered it."
-------------
Right now, I'm reading a mystery set in 1930s England. It's one of the paperbacks I picked up at the thrift store sale. The unknown to me author. So far, so good.
What did your reading week look like? Anything good? Pick up anything new?
Downloaded a few new books - a cute paranormal mystery, a Western, and a historical mystery set in Australia. Didn't buy any additional hardcopies.
Here's my reading week...
83) The Reckoning by Kerry Watts (11/16/18) - Suspense*# - 4 stars - New to me and underappreciated. Bought at full price to cash in on that awesome $1 credit. $2.99
Review: "I think this was a really exceptional story, worthy of 5 stars. The characters were sympathetic, the suspense was gripping, I was hooked throughout. The only problem was, and I really hate to even mention it, the punctuation. In a lot of places, I had to go back and re-read passages to figure out what the author was trying to say. Oh, it was worth the effort. At no point did those flaws make me want to set the book aside. After a while, my brain started putting the punctuation in for me, so I had fewer stumbles. But if you're a stickler, you're going to want to skip this book. And that would be a shame because you'd miss out on a great story."
82) Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (11/13/18) - Mystery - 5 stars. Definitely not new to me and not at all underappreciated. Picked this one up at the thrift store with other books - 6/$1.
Review: "Good one! I hadn't read this Christie before, but it'll definitely rank in my favorite Poirot's from now on."
81) Discarded (Dumpstermancer #1) by Michael J. Allen (11/11/18) - UF*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated. Bought at full price to cash in on that awesome $1 credit. $3.99.
Review: "Awesome book. A little weird, but awesome. Definitely not your every day urban fantasy. Smart and interesting with a different sort of premise. Took a little bit to get into it, but once I was sucked in, I inhaled it. Of course, there was a cliffhanger... Not a fan of those. But the rest of the book made up for that one little irritation. Now I'll have to go find the next book and wishlist it for my next buying day."
Additional Note: Apparently, book 2 doesn't exist yet. Argh.
80) The Golden Unicorn by Phyllis A. Whitney (11/10/18) - Romantic Suspense - 5 stars. Definitely not new to me or underappreciated. Thrift store find. 3/$1
Review: "As good as I remembered it."
-------------
Right now, I'm reading a mystery set in 1930s England. It's one of the paperbacks I picked up at the thrift store sale. The unknown to me author. So far, so good.
What did your reading week look like? Anything good? Pick up anything new?
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Thursday This n That
Welcome gentle friends. And not-so-gentle ones. Just make sure you pet the kitty gently or she'll go all fur and fangs on your ass.
Ahem.
Anyway, I'm reading a pretty good book right now. I mean, the story's good. Gripping. Suspenseful. Good backstory and side story. Unfortunately, the punctuation makes me kind of want to poke out my eyes, but the story is good enough to make me keep reading, so there's that. And that's even making allowances for a difference in how people do things between that country and this one.
We got actual snow yesterday. Just a dusting, but this is the first snow that stuck. The flitters we got a couple days ago melted when it hit the ground. Lucky for me, I'd already finished my errands and was warm in my recliner when the flakes started drifting down.
I should probably go to Wallyworld today. If the roads are okay. Meh.
I got the segue thing done after chapter 2 and what used to be chapter 3. And I'm pretty pleased with it. Probably needs some fleshing out, but the bones are there and I can move forward again.
That pumpkin pie bread I talked about the other day is to die for. It really does get better the longer it sits. I've got one loaf in the fridge... well, a couple slices of it anyway... and the other in the freezer. So good.
The yellow-bellied sapsuckers have returned! They're a winter resident here, so I always miss them when they leave in the spring and look forward to their return. Yay!
Man, the birds are really going through the suet this week. With the drop in temps, they're needing the extra fat in their diets. Eat on, little buds, we've got more where that came from.
Had to do some business correspondence this week, with people I'm not related to, and I didn't do anything tragically stupid. Well, except for saying I was CC'ing someone and then forgetting to CC them. Derp. I've become such a hermit, I'm not sure I know how to talk to people anymore. Not in a formal, business setting. I usually just let it fly and then wonder later if I've put my foot in my mouth. I'm sure I inadvertently piss people off on a regular basis.
Okay, so I'm done here this morning. What's up where you're at?
Ahem.
Anyway, I'm reading a pretty good book right now. I mean, the story's good. Gripping. Suspenseful. Good backstory and side story. Unfortunately, the punctuation makes me kind of want to poke out my eyes, but the story is good enough to make me keep reading, so there's that. And that's even making allowances for a difference in how people do things between that country and this one.
We got actual snow yesterday. Just a dusting, but this is the first snow that stuck. The flitters we got a couple days ago melted when it hit the ground. Lucky for me, I'd already finished my errands and was warm in my recliner when the flakes started drifting down.
I should probably go to Wallyworld today. If the roads are okay. Meh.
I got the segue thing done after chapter 2 and what used to be chapter 3. And I'm pretty pleased with it. Probably needs some fleshing out, but the bones are there and I can move forward again.
That pumpkin pie bread I talked about the other day is to die for. It really does get better the longer it sits. I've got one loaf in the fridge... well, a couple slices of it anyway... and the other in the freezer. So good.
The yellow-bellied sapsuckers have returned! They're a winter resident here, so I always miss them when they leave in the spring and look forward to their return. Yay!
Man, the birds are really going through the suet this week. With the drop in temps, they're needing the extra fat in their diets. Eat on, little buds, we've got more where that came from.
Had to do some business correspondence this week, with people I'm not related to, and I didn't do anything tragically stupid. Well, except for saying I was CC'ing someone and then forgetting to CC them. Derp. I've become such a hermit, I'm not sure I know how to talk to people anymore. Not in a formal, business setting. I usually just let it fly and then wonder later if I've put my foot in my mouth. I'm sure I inadvertently piss people off on a regular basis.
Okay, so I'm done here this morning. What's up where you're at?
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
The Saga of a Missing Mousetrap and Deconstruction
So, early yesterday morning, Hubs and I were sitting in the office when we heard the telltale snap of a mouse getting thwacked in a trap out in the garage. Once he'd had his coffee and had sufficiently woken up to start the days chores, he went out there.
No mouse. No trap.
The hunt began.
The mouse, with trap attached, had gotten up under the wooden deck/ramp thingie out in the garage. With no way to reach it, we kind of shrugged and decided to tackle it later. It wasn't going anywhere.
After lunch, Hubs decided to take the deck/ramp thingie apart. I mean, we've been here five and a half years and have never seen what's under there anyway, so it was a worthy project, even if there wasn't a mouse who was going to stink up the place eventually.
So, he went to work pulling up boards and sheets of particle board. We found a bunch of Max's missing kitty toys under the ramp part. But no mouse. Under the deck part, we found more kitty toys and the original wooden step from the house into the garage. But no mouse.
And no holes for it to have escaped into the walls of the garage.
And no trap, so it was still dragging that damn thing.
We searched everywhere. Not under the jeep. No under the boat. Not under the work bench, in the bathroom, behind the tools, beneath the mower...
Beside the deck/ramp thingie is a wooden platform. It has slats with holes that things fall through to land beneath. (Don't look at me, I didn't make the damn thing. Hubs didn't either.) I shined a flashlight through the holes and lit on the trap. Gnarly. Didn't see the mouse, though, so it was all good.
Except once started, Hubs wanted to finish the project and get it all cleaned underneath that thing, too. More pried boards. OMG, the loads of dust, junk, and mouse poop underneath it all. :gag: And the trap. With the mouse still attached.
Near as we can figure it, the mouse, having realized it had no way to escape underneath the deck/ramp thingie, had ventured back out into the garage, climbed the platform and fallen through the slats.
Hubs dispatched the mouse and cleaned up all the gunk and detritus from however many years that thing had been there (at least 6 years - just before we moved here - but no more than 17, when the garage was added on). Wearing a filter mask, so he didn't breathe mouse poop dust. (He didn't want me even out there during this, and I was OK with that.)
By then, it was dinner time, so he put it back together just enough so neither of us would kill ourselves stepping into the garage, and left the rest of it for today. Yeah, four hours worth of it*.
Today, Hubs will put it all back together with additional wood to block the holes the mouse originally used to get up underneath there.
Ah, life in the wilds of SWMO.
*Hubs spent four hours on it. I was in the living room reading and watching reruns of House and Criminal Minds.
No mouse. No trap.
The hunt began.
The mouse, with trap attached, had gotten up under the wooden deck/ramp thingie out in the garage. With no way to reach it, we kind of shrugged and decided to tackle it later. It wasn't going anywhere.
After lunch, Hubs decided to take the deck/ramp thingie apart. I mean, we've been here five and a half years and have never seen what's under there anyway, so it was a worthy project, even if there wasn't a mouse who was going to stink up the place eventually.
So, he went to work pulling up boards and sheets of particle board. We found a bunch of Max's missing kitty toys under the ramp part. But no mouse. Under the deck part, we found more kitty toys and the original wooden step from the house into the garage. But no mouse.
And no holes for it to have escaped into the walls of the garage.
And no trap, so it was still dragging that damn thing.
We searched everywhere. Not under the jeep. No under the boat. Not under the work bench, in the bathroom, behind the tools, beneath the mower...
Beside the deck/ramp thingie is a wooden platform. It has slats with holes that things fall through to land beneath. (Don't look at me, I didn't make the damn thing. Hubs didn't either.) I shined a flashlight through the holes and lit on the trap. Gnarly. Didn't see the mouse, though, so it was all good.
Except once started, Hubs wanted to finish the project and get it all cleaned underneath that thing, too. More pried boards. OMG, the loads of dust, junk, and mouse poop underneath it all. :gag: And the trap. With the mouse still attached.
Near as we can figure it, the mouse, having realized it had no way to escape underneath the deck/ramp thingie, had ventured back out into the garage, climbed the platform and fallen through the slats.
Hubs dispatched the mouse and cleaned up all the gunk and detritus from however many years that thing had been there (at least 6 years - just before we moved here - but no more than 17, when the garage was added on). Wearing a filter mask, so he didn't breathe mouse poop dust. (He didn't want me even out there during this, and I was OK with that.)
By then, it was dinner time, so he put it back together just enough so neither of us would kill ourselves stepping into the garage, and left the rest of it for today. Yeah, four hours worth of it*.
Today, Hubs will put it all back together with additional wood to block the holes the mouse originally used to get up underneath there.
Ah, life in the wilds of SWMO.
*Hubs spent four hours on it. I was in the living room reading and watching reruns of House and Criminal Minds.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Sunday Update - Week 45
Another week gone by. :waves:
I spent most of the week editing my brains out. Finally, Friday evening, I gave up and sent Unequal back to the AWE. I believe I said something like 'I can no longer deal with this unholy thing', because at that point, it was an unholy thing to me. Waiting for its head to spin around 'unholy thing'. But that's just me. I do love this book, even if I wanted to throw holy water at it and chant in Latin. Hopefully, AWE won't want to drive a stake through my heart for sending it back to her.
Saturday was a day off. I do need to get back to working on UatB. I'm hoping putting some massive distance between it and my brain will shake something loose, and I'll be able to look at it objectively again.
Blink of an I is currently on sale. Through Tuesday night. Not seeing any bites, even though I have been posting in FB groups. Maybe people just don't want a thought-provoking, meaty book right now. :shrug: This does not give me great hopes for the launch of Unequal. Oh, well. It's going to be out in the world whether anyone wants it or not. So there. =op
Speaking of Unequal, my editor likes it. Despite all the pink, she really did have nice things to say about it. And I fixed most of the pink, so the next edit letter shouldn't be so long. :fingers crossed:
I got some reading done, despite the edits. I'll probably read more this week. I have a boatload of choices.
My postcards came in. Ahead of schedule. I'll get some of them out to certain persons this week.
Regular firearms deer season started yesterday morning. I'll be wearing orange in the woods for the next ten days. Here's hoping none of my deer get got.
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Picked up the bird and it's in the freezer until Hubs is ready to thaw it.
When I woke up yesterday, it was 17 degrees F. Yuck. That should tamp down the last of the bugs, though, and make the snakes go to their winter lodgings for the next few months. Time for me to play in the woods.
I also baked a new recipe yesterday - Pumpkin Pie Bread. Super yummy. Here's the recipe:
And that's it for me. Here's to a quieter upcoming week.
What's been up with you?
I spent most of the week editing my brains out. Finally, Friday evening, I gave up and sent Unequal back to the AWE. I believe I said something like 'I can no longer deal with this unholy thing', because at that point, it was an unholy thing to me. Waiting for its head to spin around 'unholy thing'. But that's just me. I do love this book, even if I wanted to throw holy water at it and chant in Latin. Hopefully, AWE won't want to drive a stake through my heart for sending it back to her.
Saturday was a day off. I do need to get back to working on UatB. I'm hoping putting some massive distance between it and my brain will shake something loose, and I'll be able to look at it objectively again.
Blink of an I is currently on sale. Through Tuesday night. Not seeing any bites, even though I have been posting in FB groups. Maybe people just don't want a thought-provoking, meaty book right now. :shrug: This does not give me great hopes for the launch of Unequal. Oh, well. It's going to be out in the world whether anyone wants it or not. So there. =op
Speaking of Unequal, my editor likes it. Despite all the pink, she really did have nice things to say about it. And I fixed most of the pink, so the next edit letter shouldn't be so long. :fingers crossed:
I got some reading done, despite the edits. I'll probably read more this week. I have a boatload of choices.
My postcards came in. Ahead of schedule. I'll get some of them out to certain persons this week.
Regular firearms deer season started yesterday morning. I'll be wearing orange in the woods for the next ten days. Here's hoping none of my deer get got.
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Picked up the bird and it's in the freezer until Hubs is ready to thaw it.
When I woke up yesterday, it was 17 degrees F. Yuck. That should tamp down the last of the bugs, though, and make the snakes go to their winter lodgings for the next few months. Time for me to play in the woods.
I also baked a new recipe yesterday - Pumpkin Pie Bread. Super yummy. Here's the recipe:
Pumpkin Pie
Bread
3 ½ cups
flour
2 tsp baking
soda
1 tsp baking
powder
1tsp salt
1 tsp
cinnamon
Dash ground
cloves
3 cups sugar
1 cup
vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 15oz can
pumpkin puree
¾ cup
evaporated milk
Preheat oven
to 350F. Spray two 9x5” bread pans with
cooking spray – sides and bottoms. Sift
together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Add dry mixture to wet by thirds, alternating
with evaporated milk, stirring each time until just combined. When everything is together in one batter,
pour evenly into the pans. Bake at 350F
for 65-75 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly in pans so the loaves
come out clean, then turn out of pans. Slice
and serve. It’s awesome right out of the
oven, but even better the next day.
And that's it for me. Here's to a quieter upcoming week.
What's been up with you?
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 11/10/18
Well, hello there. Welcome back. Grab a cup of whatever and pull up a chair. It was a tad better this week for reading, which didn't do my editing any good but it's good for the soul.
I downloaded three new books on Sunday because Amazon offered me a $1 if I spent $6. Umm, yeah, I did that. A paid for an urban fantasy and a suspense, and I picked up a cozy mystery on their dime (all of which from my wishlist).
I also picked up nine hardcopy books for $2 at a local thrift store. Romantic suspense (2), suspense (1), mystery (3), crime (1), literature (1), anthology about fishing (1). One of the mysteries I already had. Derp. Otherwise, it was a good haul - Christie, MacLean, Marsh, Remarque, Whitney, St. Claire, Asimov, and one unknown to me, plus the anthology which has some known (including Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway) and some unknown authors.
Now, on to the actual reading...
79) The Snow in Her Eyes by Cedar Sanderson (11/6/18) - UF* - 5 stars. Not new to me, but way underappreciated. Total page-turner. I read it in a day.
Review: "SQUEE! A perfect blend of suspense and paranormal. Loved the plot. Loved the mystery. Loved the characters. An incredibly fast read. I inhaled it. More please."
Now, some other reviews had a problem with the fact that it starts with the MC standing over the body of a dead kid. Not a gruesomely dead kid, but some people seem to have a problem with it anyway. If your squick factor can't handle dead kids, avoid it. But if you avoid it, you're missing out on one hell of a book.
78) The Opening Chase by Cap Daniels (11/6/18) - Suspense* - 5 stars. New to me, but not underappreciated. (I thought it was when I downloaded it a month ago, but I might be remembering wrong.)
Review: "This reads a lot like a Vince Flynn novel, but with a nod toward the old masters like Spillane and MacLean. Oh, he had me going there for a bit with the love interest thing, but it all worked out well. Awesome book. Can't wait to read the next.|"
No DNFs.
-------------
I'm currently reading The Golden Unicorn by Phyllis A. Whitney - one of the books I picked up at the thrift store. I haven't made a lot of headway because I've been under the gun on my edits. I finished them last night and sent the book of to my AWE (Awesome, wonderful editor). Now, I might have a chance to read more.
What have you been reading? Pick up anything good? Get anything new?
I downloaded three new books on Sunday because Amazon offered me a $1 if I spent $6. Umm, yeah, I did that. A paid for an urban fantasy and a suspense, and I picked up a cozy mystery on their dime (all of which from my wishlist).
I also picked up nine hardcopy books for $2 at a local thrift store. Romantic suspense (2), suspense (1), mystery (3), crime (1), literature (1), anthology about fishing (1). One of the mysteries I already had. Derp. Otherwise, it was a good haul - Christie, MacLean, Marsh, Remarque, Whitney, St. Claire, Asimov, and one unknown to me, plus the anthology which has some known (including Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway) and some unknown authors.
Now, on to the actual reading...
79) The Snow in Her Eyes by Cedar Sanderson (11/6/18) - UF* - 5 stars. Not new to me, but way underappreciated. Total page-turner. I read it in a day.
Review: "SQUEE! A perfect blend of suspense and paranormal. Loved the plot. Loved the mystery. Loved the characters. An incredibly fast read. I inhaled it. More please."
Now, some other reviews had a problem with the fact that it starts with the MC standing over the body of a dead kid. Not a gruesomely dead kid, but some people seem to have a problem with it anyway. If your squick factor can't handle dead kids, avoid it. But if you avoid it, you're missing out on one hell of a book.
78) The Opening Chase by Cap Daniels (11/6/18) - Suspense* - 5 stars. New to me, but not underappreciated. (I thought it was when I downloaded it a month ago, but I might be remembering wrong.)
Review: "This reads a lot like a Vince Flynn novel, but with a nod toward the old masters like Spillane and MacLean. Oh, he had me going there for a bit with the love interest thing, but it all worked out well. Awesome book. Can't wait to read the next.|"
No DNFs.
-------------
I'm currently reading The Golden Unicorn by Phyllis A. Whitney - one of the books I picked up at the thrift store. I haven't made a lot of headway because I've been under the gun on my edits. I finished them last night and sent the book of to my AWE (Awesome, wonderful editor). Now, I might have a chance to read more.
What have you been reading? Pick up anything good? Get anything new?
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Thursday This n That
The election is over for this time and it didn't turn out as bad as I'd feared. Not as good as I'd hoped either, but apparently mid-term elections are like that. We got our resident wicked witch out of congress. I wish Michigan could've ousted theirs, too, but between Flint and Detroit, it wasn't likely. I think Josh will do a good job for Missouri and for the U.S.
Oh, and they defeated the gas tax prop, so MO remains one of the lowest gas tax states. Yay. My main gas station was at $2.42 on Tuesday. Every penny I don't have to shell out is good.
On Tuesday, Hubs and I went to town. He needed to hit the barber and I needed to get out of the house. I dropped him off and then went to a thrift store I hadn't visited before. Oh, I knew it was there, but it's name implied that it was all clothing. Except someone told me they had books in there somewhere, too. Lo and behold, they did. Not a huge area, but the books were stacked double deep. I went through them all and picked out what I really wanted, then went through again to round out my purchase. Lucky me, they were having a sale - 6 paperbacks for $1 and 3 hardcovers for $1. Yes, I only got 9 books. Most of their offerings were romances, stuff I'd read, or stuff I wasn't interested in. Still, I got an old Alastair MacLean I didn't already have. And an old Agatha Christie I didn't already have. Plus, my favorite Phyllis Whitney in first edition hardcover. And various others. $2 out the door. Cha ching. Wrapped it up and got back to the barber right after Hubs haircut was finished, so it was all good. (Not that it matters much. He enjoys chatting with the barber. The guy's a hoot.)
The autumn colors are past their peak now, but it's still pretty spectacular out there.
I really need to remember to buy stamps. I have a note on my desk, but I've been to the post office twice since I wrote the note and still no stamps.
Speaking of stamps, I got my postcards.
Speaking of postcards, Blink of an I is on sale right now. (It's on the postcard, doncha know.)
I think I've learned my lesson not to do three sales within a month's time. By the third sale, I'm burned out on marketing. I was kinda burned out at the second sale. I really need to get the word out there on FB and junk.
Speaking of FB, they changed stuff again. I used to go through my newsfeed and then go over to my Pages feed to see what FB hadn't bothered to put in my newsfeed. This morning, I clicked on Pages and it took me to a page that showed me my own pages. And gave me a place where I could manage all the pages I like. But no feed to see what those pages were showing. Good thing I have all those pages bookmarked, but what a pain in the ass. Thanks, FB.
Someone really needs to design an awesome competitor for Facebook. One people will happily join and migrate over to. There are others, but they're all pale comparisons because people won't leave the great FB. Myself included. Why leave a party where all your friends are to go to a party where no one is and the chips are stale? Even when the first party is run by dorks and is populated by like 90% dorks. If the awesome 10% aren't at the other party, bringing with them awesome appetizers and snacks, there's no point. :shrug:
Okay, that's more than enough out of me this morning. What's up with you?
Oh, and they defeated the gas tax prop, so MO remains one of the lowest gas tax states. Yay. My main gas station was at $2.42 on Tuesday. Every penny I don't have to shell out is good.
On Tuesday, Hubs and I went to town. He needed to hit the barber and I needed to get out of the house. I dropped him off and then went to a thrift store I hadn't visited before. Oh, I knew it was there, but it's name implied that it was all clothing. Except someone told me they had books in there somewhere, too. Lo and behold, they did. Not a huge area, but the books were stacked double deep. I went through them all and picked out what I really wanted, then went through again to round out my purchase. Lucky me, they were having a sale - 6 paperbacks for $1 and 3 hardcovers for $1. Yes, I only got 9 books. Most of their offerings were romances, stuff I'd read, or stuff I wasn't interested in. Still, I got an old Alastair MacLean I didn't already have. And an old Agatha Christie I didn't already have. Plus, my favorite Phyllis Whitney in first edition hardcover. And various others. $2 out the door. Cha ching. Wrapped it up and got back to the barber right after Hubs haircut was finished, so it was all good. (Not that it matters much. He enjoys chatting with the barber. The guy's a hoot.)
The autumn colors are past their peak now, but it's still pretty spectacular out there.
I really need to remember to buy stamps. I have a note on my desk, but I've been to the post office twice since I wrote the note and still no stamps.
Speaking of stamps, I got my postcards.
Speaking of postcards, Blink of an I is on sale right now. (It's on the postcard, doncha know.)
I think I've learned my lesson not to do three sales within a month's time. By the third sale, I'm burned out on marketing. I was kinda burned out at the second sale. I really need to get the word out there on FB and junk.
Speaking of FB, they changed stuff again. I used to go through my newsfeed and then go over to my Pages feed to see what FB hadn't bothered to put in my newsfeed. This morning, I clicked on Pages and it took me to a page that showed me my own pages. And gave me a place where I could manage all the pages I like. But no feed to see what those pages were showing. Good thing I have all those pages bookmarked, but what a pain in the ass. Thanks, FB.
Someone really needs to design an awesome competitor for Facebook. One people will happily join and migrate over to. There are others, but they're all pale comparisons because people won't leave the great FB. Myself included. Why leave a party where all your friends are to go to a party where no one is and the chips are stale? Even when the first party is run by dorks and is populated by like 90% dorks. If the awesome 10% aren't at the other party, bringing with them awesome appetizers and snacks, there's no point. :shrug:
Okay, that's more than enough out of me this morning. What's up with you?
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Adapt the Critters or Adapt Yourself?
One thing confuses me about the time change... Okay, everything confuses me about the time change, but until we can get the government to stop doing this to us, we're stuck with it... Anyway, what confuses me is why we even attempt to make our animals adapt to it. Isn't it easier to change the feeding schedule so they never even notice this weird human thing we do?
This hadn't occurred to me until years ago when I was talking with a woman whose husband worked at the local feedlot.
Now, if you're not familiar with a feedlot, it's where the farmers send their young steers to fatten up before they head to market. Imagine huge pens with thousands of cows each, standing around waiting to get fed. And they get fed on a schedule. Which they're used to.
Then comes the time change.
So, anyway, she was telling me the worst part of the time change is getting all those cows to adapt to the new feeding schedule. Easily a hundred thousand cows waiting an extra hour for their feed every fall. Apparently, it's quite the loud and raucous affair.
And it occurred to me. Why force all those cows to adapt when it would be easier to set the feeding schedule to when the cows expect to eat?
At home, I adjusted my own thinking. I mean, it's a real pain to get Kira to move her expectations an hour. She meows. She carries on. She gets in my personal space and pats at me. Way easier for me to feed her an hour earlier.
If one cat can make that much racket, imagine what a hundred thousand cows can do.
Around here, we have scads of turkey raising facilities. Little Butterball signs at the ends of the driveways point them out, but you can see the long, low buildings as you drive down the highway. Right now, I'm guessing those turkeys are having to adjust to being fed an hour later than they're used to. And the Tyson farms with all those chickens. And birds are dumber than cows.
Wouldn't all these animals be under less stress if we were the ones to adjust? Contented animals make for more plentiful and tastier meat.
Speaking of feeding, Kira is reminding me that it's time for her morning food. She got fed at around 6:30am before the time change, so now it's 5:30am. I'm up by this time most mornings, so it's no big deal. And if I wasn't up, she'd wake me up - just like before the time change.
How about you? Do you adapt or do you make them adapt? How's that working for you?
This hadn't occurred to me until years ago when I was talking with a woman whose husband worked at the local feedlot.
Now, if you're not familiar with a feedlot, it's where the farmers send their young steers to fatten up before they head to market. Imagine huge pens with thousands of cows each, standing around waiting to get fed. And they get fed on a schedule. Which they're used to.
Then comes the time change.
So, anyway, she was telling me the worst part of the time change is getting all those cows to adapt to the new feeding schedule. Easily a hundred thousand cows waiting an extra hour for their feed every fall. Apparently, it's quite the loud and raucous affair.
And it occurred to me. Why force all those cows to adapt when it would be easier to set the feeding schedule to when the cows expect to eat?
At home, I adjusted my own thinking. I mean, it's a real pain to get Kira to move her expectations an hour. She meows. She carries on. She gets in my personal space and pats at me. Way easier for me to feed her an hour earlier.
If one cat can make that much racket, imagine what a hundred thousand cows can do.
Around here, we have scads of turkey raising facilities. Little Butterball signs at the ends of the driveways point them out, but you can see the long, low buildings as you drive down the highway. Right now, I'm guessing those turkeys are having to adjust to being fed an hour later than they're used to. And the Tyson farms with all those chickens. And birds are dumber than cows.
Wouldn't all these animals be under less stress if we were the ones to adjust? Contented animals make for more plentiful and tastier meat.
Speaking of feeding, Kira is reminding me that it's time for her morning food. She got fed at around 6:30am before the time change, so now it's 5:30am. I'm up by this time most mornings, so it's no big deal. And if I wasn't up, she'd wake me up - just like before the time change.
How about you? Do you adapt or do you make them adapt? How's that working for you?
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Sunday Update - Week 44
The end of the year is really creeping up on me. Gah. Where did the year go??
Anyway, I really got on a bit of a roll with the edits. Finally. It's still a slog and I'm still only getting a couple dozen pages done a day. I'm pretty sure I won't make my deadline unless I do some marathon work today and tomorrow. But if I keep my nose to the grindstone, I will get this to my editor sometime this week. (And I'll have a flat nose.)
Marketing pretty much failed. The Sleeping Ugly sale finished up with only one sale and a book's worth of page reads. But I didn't pay for any advertising, so there's that. I have another sale coming up. Blink of an I will be on sale November 7th thru the 13th. And no, I didn't get any advertising set up for that either. Derp. I really need to get off my dead ass and get that stuff done. Maybe I'll manage something spectacular in December. Yah, right.
There'll be new marketing materials soon. I ordered the postcards on Wednesday and they shipped Thursday. I'll drop a note or something, so any of you who want one can get one.
I read a book! It wasn't a great book, but I read it.
I went fishing a few times, but didn't catch much of anything.
The exercise/activity thing included a lot of walking. I haven't stepped on the scale to see the lack of progress. I really need to get back at it before I backslide more.
Finally got out and did some woods work again. I think I overdid it, but that's life. By the way, it's gorgeous here right now. This is the most beautiful autumn we've had since I moved here. Our dogwoods are outdoing themselves.
Pay-job sent me a pile of work, which is always good. Gotta fund this writing thing somehow.
Anyway, that's about all I can think of right now. Tell me what's going on with you.
Anyway, I really got on a bit of a roll with the edits. Finally. It's still a slog and I'm still only getting a couple dozen pages done a day. I'm pretty sure I won't make my deadline unless I do some marathon work today and tomorrow. But if I keep my nose to the grindstone, I will get this to my editor sometime this week. (And I'll have a flat nose.)
Marketing pretty much failed. The Sleeping Ugly sale finished up with only one sale and a book's worth of page reads. But I didn't pay for any advertising, so there's that. I have another sale coming up. Blink of an I will be on sale November 7th thru the 13th. And no, I didn't get any advertising set up for that either. Derp. I really need to get off my dead ass and get that stuff done. Maybe I'll manage something spectacular in December. Yah, right.
There'll be new marketing materials soon. I ordered the postcards on Wednesday and they shipped Thursday. I'll drop a note or something, so any of you who want one can get one.
I read a book! It wasn't a great book, but I read it.
I went fishing a few times, but didn't catch much of anything.
The exercise/activity thing included a lot of walking. I haven't stepped on the scale to see the lack of progress. I really need to get back at it before I backslide more.
Finally got out and did some woods work again. I think I overdid it, but that's life. By the way, it's gorgeous here right now. This is the most beautiful autumn we've had since I moved here. Our dogwoods are outdoing themselves.
Pay-job sent me a pile of work, which is always good. Gotta fund this writing thing somehow.
Anyway, that's about all I can think of right now. Tell me what's going on with you.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Saturday Reading Wrap-Up - 11/3/18
My brain is so far up my edit hole, I don't have much mental space for reading right now. Maybe when I feel like I'm making better progress on this thing.
You'll notice I'm at 77 books read so far. Thirteen left to read to reach my updated goal of 90 and two months to do it in. At this rate, I'm not sure I'll hit it. I don't suppose flipping through a coloring book counts, eh? ;o)
Meanwhile, here's the super short list...
77) Meg & The Mystery Man by Elise Title (11/1/18) - Romance - 3 stars. No review. Another of the old romances I picked up at the thrift store last month. I needed something to blow the gunk out of my head, so I chose romance. Eh. I finished it, but it didn't really blow my skirt up. Considering this is the first book I've finished in two weeks, I'm calling it a win.
No DNFs either.
-----------------
I'm not currently reading anything. I do have a couple unread books on my Kindle and a ton of unread hardcopies, but nothing's exciting me. It's all edits, all the time right now. I rolled over the 100 page mark last night. Only a couple hundred pages left to go. Blerg.
What did you read last week? Anything really get your blood moving and the pages turning?
You'll notice I'm at 77 books read so far. Thirteen left to read to reach my updated goal of 90 and two months to do it in. At this rate, I'm not sure I'll hit it. I don't suppose flipping through a coloring book counts, eh? ;o)
Meanwhile, here's the super short list...
77) Meg & The Mystery Man by Elise Title (11/1/18) - Romance - 3 stars. No review. Another of the old romances I picked up at the thrift store last month. I needed something to blow the gunk out of my head, so I chose romance. Eh. I finished it, but it didn't really blow my skirt up. Considering this is the first book I've finished in two weeks, I'm calling it a win.
No DNFs either.
-----------------
I'm not currently reading anything. I do have a couple unread books on my Kindle and a ton of unread hardcopies, but nothing's exciting me. It's all edits, all the time right now. I rolled over the 100 page mark last night. Only a couple hundred pages left to go. Blerg.
What did you read last week? Anything really get your blood moving and the pages turning?
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Thursday This n That
I keep having to remind myself that today is not Friday.
No, I am not doing NaNoWriMo. I have this editing thing that has to get done. No time for writing with wild abandon. Maybe when I'm finished. Then again, maybe not.
I picked up an adult coloring book for $3 at the dollar store. No, not that kind of 'adult' book. It's birds. All birds with these intricate designs. Should be fun.
The other day I threw together a bean dip of sorts. It's totally crack. One cup fat-free refried beans, one cup mild chunky salsa, one cup shredded Mex cheese. Stir together and nuke until the cheese is melty. Good on tortilla chips, of course, but also good on pita chips. I'm thinking I might try smearing it on a burger, too. Crack, I'm tellin' ya. And it was even better the next day. Yum.
I posted the above recipe to FB. My oldest brother always comments when I post such recipes, usually with a =oO face. Anything with beans or peanuts, etc. He's got a legume allergy. Good thing he's not likely to come over because we are a total legume household. Loads of beans and peanuts and peanut butter here.
Growing up around a brother with a peanut allergy wasn't so bad. We just knew not to eat certain stuff around him. But we still had the stuff in the house. I don't know what kind of person I'd be if I had to grow up sans peanut butter. The no-beans thing would've been fine by me. I hated beans. But no peanuts? :shudder:
The only nod I gave to Halloween this year was watching The Simpsons' 'Treehouse of Horror' marathon. Those episodes kill me. My middle sister is totally into the Halloween thing, though. Spooky movies, dressing up, candy for the kids, decorating. Not my thing, but more power to her.
Hubs and I took a photo-op walk the other day, to catch the fall colors. I snapped 116 pictures. Here's what I think is one of the best ones:
Also these:
And here's a cow:
What's up in your world? How are the colors where you're at? Has Fall fallen at your place?
No, I am not doing NaNoWriMo. I have this editing thing that has to get done. No time for writing with wild abandon. Maybe when I'm finished. Then again, maybe not.
I picked up an adult coloring book for $3 at the dollar store. No, not that kind of 'adult' book. It's birds. All birds with these intricate designs. Should be fun.
The other day I threw together a bean dip of sorts. It's totally crack. One cup fat-free refried beans, one cup mild chunky salsa, one cup shredded Mex cheese. Stir together and nuke until the cheese is melty. Good on tortilla chips, of course, but also good on pita chips. I'm thinking I might try smearing it on a burger, too. Crack, I'm tellin' ya. And it was even better the next day. Yum.
I posted the above recipe to FB. My oldest brother always comments when I post such recipes, usually with a =oO face. Anything with beans or peanuts, etc. He's got a legume allergy. Good thing he's not likely to come over because we are a total legume household. Loads of beans and peanuts and peanut butter here.
Growing up around a brother with a peanut allergy wasn't so bad. We just knew not to eat certain stuff around him. But we still had the stuff in the house. I don't know what kind of person I'd be if I had to grow up sans peanut butter. The no-beans thing would've been fine by me. I hated beans. But no peanuts? :shudder:
The only nod I gave to Halloween this year was watching The Simpsons' 'Treehouse of Horror' marathon. Those episodes kill me. My middle sister is totally into the Halloween thing, though. Spooky movies, dressing up, candy for the kids, decorating. Not my thing, but more power to her.
Hubs and I took a photo-op walk the other day, to catch the fall colors. I snapped 116 pictures. Here's what I think is one of the best ones:
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