Sunday Update - Week Helifino

 I really have a tough time writing anything these days... including a blog post.  So, bear with me.

I finally finished a book yesterday.  It was Silver James' latest - Crossfire - and it was AWESOME.  Her best yet and all the others were awesome, so that's saying something.  Yes, it took me like a month to read it, but that's totally on me.  Reading is like writing for me, in the fact that I've been having a tough time doing it.  I lack focus for anything not work related.  Which kinda sucks.

The other day someone gave me a box of books, too.  And I want to read them, but when I will is anyone's guess.  I have only read 17 books this year.  So much for the goal of reading 50, eh?

Okay, so I lied a little.  My lack of focus is not just work.  It's kitties, too.  These boyz take a lot of attention.  I've had to get up twice now just in the space of typing the above.  Sawyer's always into something, and Finn is often along for the ride, but he's also starting to instigate things himself.  There's the third time... And now Sawyer's in the bathroom because he wouldn't leave stuff alone.

Anyway...  

Life is pretty boring out here in the back of beyond.  I work, I eat, I sleep, I attend to kitties (if only to give Hubs a break because he's home with them all day).  Not much else going on.

But I'm not dead, so there's that.  

How life treating you these days?

Thursday This n That

I've been screwing around in my moments of spare time, listening to music on YouTube.  I like doing that because I can load specific songs or just click videos along the side of whatever video I've got queued up.  This morning, I was listening to old Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians songs.  I used to have their tape - Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars.  I'd totally forgotten this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOAz7zdKKo - cool.

Some of this music thing came up because of one of those FB things where they ask you to list your favorites of some specific thing.  This one was 'list 10 songs that make you think of a particular point in time and take you right back there' and you're not supposed to think too hard about it.  I did mine.  I told Hubs about it, so he shared some of his with me and I searched them on YouTube and we listened together.  Anyway, here are mine:
1) September by Earth, Wind, & Fire
2) Yeah Yeah Yeah by Judson Spence
3) You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC
4) The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics
5) Push it by Salt n Pepa
6) Let's Go Crazy by Prince
7) Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver
8. If You Could Only See by Tonic
9) Chances Are by Johnny Mathis
10) No One is to Blame by Howard Jones
I could've done 20.  Music has always been a central part of my existence.  (Yes, there are a lot of '80s songs in there. What of it?)

Illness is sweeping through the office again.  I will NOT get it this time.  I refuse to.  So there.

The wind storm we had the other night toppled a tree across the road leading out of our neighborhood.  Lucky for me, someone else had to leave for work before I did and they must've had a chainsaw because it was passable when I got to it. And it was gone entirely by the time I came home.  Thank you, whoever you were.

I saw a bunny!  First one of the year.  For some reason, we only see bunnies in the Spring and Summer.  (Not baby bunnies.  There's a reason we only see babies in those seasons. LOL)

Okay, I probably should go get ready for work.  And remember to try and keep a positive attitude today, no matter what shit life throws your way.  =o)

Sunday Update - Week 34?

The internet is telling me last week was number 34.  I'm not sure I believe it, but eh, whatever.  Can you believe that August is almost over?  Yeeps.  Not much of note happened this week, but I figured I'd better do an update.  Let's see if I can make your trip here worthwhile with some semi-interesting stuff...  

It's been over two months since I wrote any fiction.  That almost feels like an introduction to a addict support group.  "Hi, my name is BE and it's been over two months since I wrote fiction."  At which point everyone would say 'Hi, BE.'  Except it wasn't an addiction and I didn't need a support group because I was doing it.  I might need a support group for not doing it.  'Writers Not Writing Anonymous' or something.  It kinda feels like I cut off an appendage.  I get phantom pains to write, but when I reach out for the ability, it's not there.

Whoa, that was disturbing.  :shudder:

Anyway, I read a great book this past week.  Visit yesterday's post to see what it was and a link to click.  

Yesterday, I made coffee cake.  It was my usual recipe, but I added applesauce to the batter and then dribbled applesauce over the top.  It turned out pretty damned good, if I do say so myself.  Today, I need to make granola bars because Hubs is out.

Speaking of Hubs, he's been working on my car.  This week, he took it to get the oil changed and he put two new tires on the back.  He also picked up the parts to fix my windshield washer - a new tank and a new pump.  Yesterday, the poor man spent 6 hours putting those suckers in.  In 90+ heat.  And during the test phase, we discovered it wasn't just the tank and the pump... the hose leaks, too.  He'll need to order that and go through the process of taking the front of my car apart again.  For now, duct tape is doing the job and my pump squirts liquid up onto the windshield again.  Yay.  Well, for now, my car will be put back together and driveable so I can get to work tomorrow.

Work is work.  Busy busy.  I'm still liking it for the most part.  There are a couple people I could live without, but I don't deal with them that often, so it's no big deal.  The owner seems like a good guy, and the four I have to deal with every day are good people, too.  The worst part is sitting like 90% of the time.  The 5% I spent standing ain't so good on the body either.  I need more motion in my day.  As soon as the weather cools down, I'm going to try walking on my lunch half-hour.  Fifteen minutes to eat and 15 minutes to walk.  We'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, to try and ameliorate the ouchies caused by sitting too much, I ordered a gel chair cushion.  It's supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed.

This week, I discovered I've lost 10 pounds since I started work.  It's gotta be due to the whole not grazing all day thing, since I am definitely not getting any exercise.  Weight: 171.6.  That's the lowest I've been in like over 10 years.  A pound lower than the start of 'rona when I stressed so bad I dropped a bunch of weight.  I gained all that back.  Let's see if I can keep this off.  

Let's see... what else...   The fawns are getting bigger and their spots are starting to fade a bit.  We saw Chester Chipmunk and he looks well.  My gardens are toast.  Everyone in my family is doing well, as far as I know.  

Oh, one last thing...  I went to Wallyworld yesterday.  Lucky for me, I didn't need that much stuff.  And I still paid $48 total.  The price of damn near everything had jumped.  TP was up $2 from the last time I bought it.  $12+ for a 12 pack of Great Value when it was $10+.  Under Trump, the same toilet paper was $6+.  Doubled in under 2 years.  Thanks, Creepy Joe, you rat bastard.  

And that's it.  How was your week?  How's life in general treating you these days?

The Spectacle

Did you hear the one about the optometrist who fell into his lens grinder?  He made a spectacle of himself.

Seriously, though, this is The Writing Spectacle.  But I'm not doing much in the way of writing anymore.  Well, not fiction writing.  I write tons of emails and texts and letters and sundry other work product.  I think my typing speed has increased exponentially.  Fiction, though?  Nada.  

Life itself is a spectacle.  Sit back and watch it sometime.  :cue circus music:   

Work is a spectacle.  It is definitely something to behold.  Setting aside the fact that this is the first time I've worked outside the house in eighteen years (two years less than the gal who has the office next door has been alive, by the way), it's a circus.  Some days I feel like I'm on the tightrope.  Rolling along on my itty-bitty unicycle, juggling chainsaws and tiny balls as I go.  Tiny ball, tiny ball, chainsaw, tiny ball, chainsaw, chainsaw.  Can't drop any of them.  And I can't set any of them down.  I juggle in my sleep these days.  

For the most part, home is quiet.  Until a bit of spectacle gets thrown in and I have a dozen oranges to juggle along with my tiny balls and chainsaws.  For instance: Anyone else caught up in the CenturyLink / Direct TV spectacle?  CenturyLink and Direct TV had an agreement wherein you could have your phone and your satellite bundled.  But then AT&T bought Direct TV and the agreement fell apart.  So they separated the bundles, which separated the billing.  Hubs is trying to sort out the double billing, and has been on the phone for irritating lengths of time, only to have me come home to a slew of emails from Direct TV telling me we're past due and they're going to shut off our satellite if we don't pay 1) what we already paid and 2) don't owe anyway.  I'm ready to tell Direct TV to go pound sand up their collective asses.  Hubs will waste another day trying to get this sorted out.  I feel bad, but I can't handle the oranges right now.

Oh, and in the midst of all this CenturyLink is reinventing itself again.  (It used to be CenturyTel.)  It's becoming Brightstar.  Well, la de dah.  Barf.

Needless to say, I don't have the brain space to write.  Too many of my neurons are devoted to other things these days.  I was thinking that maybe once the work thing reaches a cruising altitude I'll be able to put some words down.  Now I'm thinking there is no cruising altitude.  I'm strapped to a rocket.  

Ah, the spectacle.

Thursday This n That

 I get these emails from Ancestry letting me know when they found something interesting in one of my trees.  I used to get them and heave a sigh because I didn't have the money.  Now, I have the money, but I have no time.  :heavy sigh:

Speaking of time, we're supposed to be implementing a new thing at the office where we schedule our tasks throughout the day.  It's a fine idea.  We are all exceptionally busy all day and working more efficiently is always a good thing.  Except for when it comes to my job it's probably pissing into the wind.  You see, I am point man on answering the phones.  And they ring A LOT.  And just about every call is critical.  Now, if I was just answering the phones and passing the call along, scheduling my day might be doable, but I'm answering the phones, then a) dealing with the calls myself, b) taking lengthy messages and either sending the info through on chat or in email, c) hunting down people when it's critical... you get the picture.  I will attempt to schedule, though.  Actually, now that I think about it I already do to some extent.  I have to or I'd already be insane.

And my phone is the wonky one at the office.  Woohoo.  They keep saying they'll fix it, but no one has time, so I deal.  Improvise, adapt, and overcome.  Hoorah.

I made the decision when I started working that I wouldn't talk about the specifics of where I work.  It keeps my online life separate from my work life.  That and I already know they researched me online before they hired me, so they could be reading this right now.  :waves:  Besides, I don't necessarily want the people who've been nasty to me on the phone to connect there with here.  (They still could if they tried really hard, but why make it easier?)

We bought a new mattress on Saturday.  I'd like to say I love it.  :shrug:  I'm getting used to it.  

And with that, I'll let you go because it's just about time to get ready for work.  See ya in the funny papers.  ;o)

Library Stories and Reading

Okay, I stole the idea for this post from my friend, Silver.  This started out as a comment I was leaving on her post.  She asked for library stories.  Go read her most excellent post and then come back.  

Okay, so here's my comment:  "I don't have a library story.  Libraries haven't been my thing.  We lived far enough out in the country that Dad driving me into town to visit the library wasn't happening.  I went to the school library where we could check out one book a week, as long as we turned in the book from the week before.  Mostly, I read the same books over and over.  Or I read the few books I had at home over and over - Robin Hood and King Arthur were my favorites.  When I got old enough, I started reading Mom's books.  She belonged to that Harlequin subscription service where books would show up in the mail.  And the garage sale finds when Dad would bring home boxes of assorted books for Mom.  I read a lot of things I probably shouldn't have from those boxes, lemme tell ya.  Then there was the year or two when my oldest brother lived next door and he'd let me borrow as many of his books as I wanted, and he had tons of books.  I think it was high school before I started visiting the library regularly.  I'd check out as many as they'd let me and tear through them all.  Fantasy and SF mostly.  And that was the first, last, and only time I was a regular library visitor.  Weird for a writer to say that, I know, but it's true."

And here's what I could've added, but my comment was already too long for someone else's blog...

The truth is that I haven't stepped foot in a library in years.  And that was to talk to the librarian about carrying my books.  I donated a few and never saw them on the shelves, so I stopped.  Oh, wait, I went in one other time to attend their book sale.  I picked up quite a few.

Oh, I did try to get a library card here.  I had the idea that I would regularly check out books there.  The problem was that in order to get a library card here, I had to present not only my driver's license, but also a utility bill.  No, my checks wouldn't be enough to prove I was a resident.  Not my voter registration card either.  Had to be a utility bill.  And I don't carry those around in my purse.  I could never remember to take a bill with me when I was going to town, so I gave up on getting a library card.  

If I want to read a book, I buy it.  If I don't have the money to buy the book I want, I go without.  And I read a lot of free ebooks.  Or I buy books at the thrift store.  I also have a shit-ton of books here in the house that I can read.  

The last time I was in the library, and the years before when I went to the library regularly with Owl, I noticed that the library wasn't so much about books anymore.  They were internet cafes without the coffee.  Or daycare centers where a person could drop their kids off for free for the day and someone else would entertain them.  When I was a kid, libraries were for quiet, peaceful reading.  Maybe some research, which was also quiet.  The last thing I want when I'm reading or trying to find something to read is a bunch of kids running around.  Or people playing video games in the background.  

To me, a library is sacrosanct.  Like a temple to knowledge.  A place for quiet introspection and learning.  Filled with the smell of books, not the smell of sweaty rugrats.  

Anyway, it kind of turned me off of visiting the library.  And now, here anyway, the library is always asking for money.  So they can build a bigger location with even more room for computers and 'activities', but never a word about more room for books.  Feh.  

I'll stick to my personal library, thanks.  It's quiet here.  And there are actual books.  I can read them or pet them or just stand around smelling them.  

What about you?  What's your library story?  

Relinquishing Control

Okay, I'm a closet control freak.  (Don't laugh.  Fine.  Maybe it's not so closeted after all.)  I manage to keep it under wraps for the most part, but often, I'm squirming on the inside.  

For instance, yesterday, someone gave us four big zucchinis.  I took the peels off and the guts out.  And put them all in baggies for later shredding.  Twelve big hunks in three bags, by the way.  Not long after, Hubs then took it upon himself to do the shredding for me, because he knows I won't feel like doing it after work this week.  It was an extremely nice and considerate thing for him to do.  But while he was shredding I was sitting in the office, trying to stay the hell out of his way, and squirming.  

All the things I used to do around the house, Hubs is doing now.  He's doing a most excellent job.  But he's not doing it my way.  And I am NOT saying a damn thing about any of it.  

You see, before I met Hubs, I spent too many years with more than one control freak.  Men who would openly criticize damn near everything I did.  I didn't clean right.  I didn't do the dishes right.  I didn't say the right things in company.  I didn't dress right.  You name it.  Hell, I wasn't even brushing my teeth right.  Umm, yeah.  I don't ever want to do that to Hubs.  If he's kind enough to wash the dishes, I am not going to be the shit who tells him he's doing it wrong.  He's not wrong.  His way is different.  The dishes are still clean.  Berating him would be a shit thing to do.  Also super hypocritical, seeing as how I hate it when it was done to me.  

I probably did it to Owl.  For that, I am deeply sorry.  I tried not to.  Often, I just did things myself so I wouldn't feel the urge to get after her for not doing things my way.  It probably wasn't right, but I did the best I could.  I could've yelled instead.  At the time, those were my only choices.  I didn't have the fortitude to let her get things done in her own way and keep my mouth closed.  And I didn't have the time to go behind her fixing things when she wasn't looking so I wouldn't harsh her attempts.  Unfortunately, I think this also teaches a child that if they do something wrong the first time, they never have to do it again because Mom will just take over.  :shrug:  Momming isn't easy.

With age comes wisdom.  Haranguing Hubs for not doing things my way isn't the answer.  It doesn't actually help.  Instead, I just say 'thank you' and go about my day.  Hell, in the past when he's done the dishes, I've gone back and rearranged the dishwasher to suit myself.  Now?  Who has time for that?  Thank you, Hubs, and move along.  I'm just glad the dishes are done.

We did have a little bit of a laugh yesterday.  Former Domestic Manager forgot to leave instructions behind for her replacement, so Current Domestic Manager couldn't figure out something I know without thinking about.  I showed him.  He knows now.  It's all good.  And like he left instructions for the man who replaced him in his job 9 years ago, I should've thought to leave instructions for him.  I know now, too.  And like I said, we laughed about it instead of getting all up in each others' faces about it.

It's all about relinquishing control, which is pretty hard for me, but I'm getting there.  

Sunday Update - Week 27

My life is pretty boring right now.  Well, my life outside of the day-job and I can't say much about the day-job online.  The only things I can say are that I like my job and that it is super busy.  I'm catching my stride, though.  I mean, sometimes I still feel like... Well, have you've ever had a dog and thrown multiple toys up in the air, and when they come down, the dog's all like 'what do I chase first?'  Or I get settled into a task and then the phone rings or an email lands that needs to be taken care of immediately and by the time I get away from that, I need to take a moment to figure out what I was doing before the interruption.  But I'm getting there.  It's all a matter of sliding into my old groove.  

Then I get home.  Hubs tells me about his day, I tell him about mine.  Eat dinner, work on spreadsheets for the old pay-job, watch a little TV, and it's bedtime.  Hell, we went to bed at 7:30 Friday night because we'd both had busy weeks.  Hubs deep-cleaned the whole house while I was at work.  One room every day.  He was supposed to take yesterday off, but he spent an hour in the morning watering my gardens.  The man is an engine.  

I did get some reading done.  Yay.  

On Sunday, I made chocolate oil cake.  I also made what I'm calling zucchini bake that day, too.  Yesterday, I made homemade pizza.  Half the dough went for dinner last night.  The other half is in the fridge for like Wednesday.  Monday and Tuesday, I work until 5:30, so those days we mostly eat leftovers.  :shrug:  It's working for us right now.

We won't even talk about exercise.  One morning, I did do some sweeping.  And I gathered up the garbages at work and took them to the dumpster.  Weight: 178.2

Yesterday, I hit the thrift store.  No, not for books.  I basically went clothes shopping.  I picked up 5 new shirts and three pairs of pants.  Super cute stuff.  And I only paid $22 for it all.  I had two shirts in my Amazon cart and those totaled like $31-$32.  Needless to say, I dumped my Amazon cart when I got home.  Yay for thrifting!  Got more clothes and still saved $10.  The only sad thing was when I went to try on this lovely pair of gray slacks and they didn't fit.  So sad.  Maybe they'll still be there when I drop enough weight to slide into them.  I'd also like to add that I live in an area where rich folks like to summer and they take all of last year's clothes that they've barely worn to the thrift stores.  Yay.  I got this lovely pair of deep orange, blousy pants with gold buckly things.  Not sure what top I'm going to pair with them, but they gave me a happy.

Oh, and I ordered myself a new keyboard!  Finally.  It's the same model as the one I'm using now, but it'll have keys I can actually read!  I know, groundbreaking stuff.  I should've ordered two - one for here and one for the office.  But they're all wireless there, so I'm not sure how my wired keyboard would work.  :shrug:  My keyboard there is such a tiny thing, and my hands are so big, I keep hitting the F keys and opening weird shit while I'm typing.  

Lumpy's fawns are growing and look healthy and happy.  We're also seeing a single fawn that has to be a buck.  He's so big already.  

In gardening news, my tomato plants and my one lonely zucchini are growing.  I probably planted those seeds too late to actually get food by the time growing season is over, but they make me happy.  Unfortunately, Elmer the elm got eated.  Well, most of him anyway.  He still has his trunk, but most of his leaves and branches are in the gut of some deer.  Bummer.  

Okay, I think that about does it for me for the week.  We'll see what this coming week will bring.  As always, I hope I can find the time and the energy to do something writerly.  

How was your week?

Thursday This n That

I hope this intermittent posting thing isn't messing people up.  I promise to try my best to be here Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at least - no matter what else might be going on.  

Finally went blueberry picking.  The farm is like 13 miles from here, so it's not like I couldn't have zipped over there in the past 9 years.  Geez.  Anyway, we came back with a little under two and a half pounds of blueberries.  Yum.  I already made muffins.  Screwed them up enough that I won't post the recipe, but they're edible, so we're eating them.  Rookie mistake.  Derp.  

I have an interview tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

The neighbors put a little blow-up pool out yesterday so the kids could play.  I swear the girl was in it for hours.  Totally pruny, I bet.  I remember when we had a pool.  Vaguely.  It was an above-ground thing my father had gotten for cheap.  I'm not sure how long he left it up, but once we kids weren't keen on cleaning it, he took it down and there was a round dead patch in the lawn for the longest time.   Needless to say, if it gets any hotter, they may find me running across the lawns to bellyflop into their tiny pool.

Lumpy has twins.  Yay.  They're so tiny and so cute.  Aww.

I planted most of the seeds I had leftover from last year's container garden experiment.  The tomatoes are coming up now.  At least they were when I checked a few days ago.  With this heat... I dunno.  I'll be heading outside to water everything shortly.

Hubs is slowly working his way through the bag of carrots.  Go, Hubs!

If I get this job, Hubs will be taking over all my chores.  Except cooking.  I'm not prepared to let cooking go.  Oh, he'll have to do some.  Breakfast and lunch, and maybe things like granola bars, etc.  It's not that he can't cook.  Lord knows the man took care of himself for a great many years before we got married.  If he couldn't cook, he would've either starved or gone broke eating out.  It's just that it's my kitchen and I'm a control freak about my kitchen.  I'll get over it.

I'm also a control freak about my car.  Driving it, I mean.  Hubs takes care of the maintenance without my assistance.  I think it's a fear of something going wrong and if it happens, I want to be behind the wheel.  Probably comes from all the time I spent behind the wheel doing outside sales.  Hubs is a most excellent driver, too, by the way.  This is all on me.

Well, that's it for me today.  I'd better get to doin'.  Got anything on your this-n-that list today? 

Thursday This n That

I've been watching old reruns of the show EMERGENCY!  If you're not familiar with it, it's from the early '70s and it's about paramedics in LA.  I mean, there are doctors and a nurse that also feature prominently, plus firefighters in secondary roles, but the two main characters are paramedics.   John is a bachelor and kind of a goof, Roy is a family man and kind of a stabilizing influence.  (When I was a little girl, I LOVED this show, and I had a major tot crush on Johnny.)  Other than that, I don't know a damn thing about them and I'm happy with that.  It's got some tense moments and some light moments.  Not much that's too deep.  For the most part, it's one and done.  And every episode is encapsulated.  No long running side stories.  No deep backstory stuff that haunts the characters.  If it touches on an issue - like say child abuse - it says it's piece and then let's it go.  Hell, the other night, Johnny was run over by a drunk driver who fled the scene.  It was tense until he got out of surgery and then it was light.  One short offhand comment about 'the police got that guy who hit John' and they were done with it.  I'm enjoying the show mightily.  If you get FETV, it's on at 10pm Eastern - 9 Central, which means I'm staying up late these days.

Speaking of staying up late, I can't sleep anyway, so why not watch a little something amusing?

Another show I've been addicted to lately is MOM.  I'm not sure why.  It supposed to be a sitcom, but it is often not funny.  I mean, there are bits that are hilarious, but other bits that are heartrending.  It's a total change from Emergency!, let me tell ya.   

Yeah, I've been watching a lot of TV lately.  Part of the reason is that it keeps me away from the computer - which keeps me away from both current events and the need to smoke many many cigarettes.  The other part is it distracts me from all the other crap going on in the world.  Although, they do keep trying to insert irritating issue stuff in the commercials.  Thank goodness for mute, eh?

I spend a lot of time not leaving the house lately.  If I have to go someplace, I do it, so I'm not like a shut-in or anything, but I'm not inclined otherwise.  I keep meaning to go take a walk, but meh.  I have yardwork to do, too, but also meh.  I really need to break that cycle.  Unfortunately, it's raining.  AGAIN.  Enough with the rain already.  If this keeps up, it'll be the wettest month since we moved here.  We were just over 10 inches for the month before this latest batch of sky water.  And we still have 6 days left.  Blerg.

When I was at the mechanics getting my new brakes adjusted, I brought a book, but instead of reading, I spent the whole hour or so in deep conversation with the 2-yr-old daughter of the mechanic.  She was awesome.  I only understood about half of the words she was saying, but like I said, awesome.  Once she warmed up to me, she had to show me everything her mama had packed for her to play with.  And by the way, according to her, the cow says baa.  So does the sheep.  She really made my day.  And with the world taking a shit the way it is, it was nice to find a bright spot.  Thinking about her now still makes me grin.  

Anyway, that's it for me today.  Got anything on your end to yatter about?

Sometimes I Don't Post

Sorry.  I woke up late and that put me behind for the rest of the morning.  

Anyway, sometimes I just have nothing to say.  Sometimes I have loads to say, but none of it is suitable for the public.  Occasionally, I feel like whatever I have to say will bore the everlovin' crap out of you.  If you get here and you don't see a post, it's due to one of the aforementioned reasons.  

I mean, I would like to have something to offer you every morning.  Especially as it's all part of my 'new month, new attitude' thing right now.  But sometimes having you arrive to nothing is better than you arriving to find me whining or ranting or just being boring.  Like this morning.  Derp.

For now, we survived last night's storms.  More are due tonight.  Yay.... Spring in the Ozarks.  That might be another reason why you don't see a post - power outages.  If I ain't got power, I can't get online to post.  Act of Nature stuff.  

If I'm dead, I'll try to have someone stop in here to let y'all know.  Otherwise, I'm fine.  I've been sicker than a dog and still managed to stop by here.  

:shrug:  And that's why sometimes I don't post.  

How are things in your world?

Thursday This n That

Since the weather is nice, I went out into the garage to move my baby trees out onto the deck.  Elmer, the elm tree I planted from a seed last year, has loads of little leaves.  He's just a stick with green popping out all over it right now, but it looks like he might be trying to make branches in a few spots, too.  Yay.  I was inordinately happy to see Elmer had lived.  Also, the twins - the two tiny cedar transplants - are alive, too.  They have new growth, too!  Yay.  I will move them back in if the weather turns nasty.  

I've been trying to write AND edit on the same days.  Two different books, of course, but yah, it ain't easy.  I think I just need to get into the swing of it again.  I only edited yesterday.  Well, actually proofreading, but I'm still making notes and tweaking things.  My beta readers did most excellent jobs, but I'm finding things we all missed.  This tells me that the book was gripping engaging enough to pull readers past missed words here and there, so it's all good.

After seeing damn near everyone using gripping in their title info, I'm beginning to hate the word.  Not everything is gripping, damn it.

We have a red-shouldered hawk that's been hanging out in our woods.  Here's a photo of it.

I believe I shall call him Rufus.  No, I don't know for sure it's a dude hawk.  Not sure how to differentiate gender on that species.

Hey.  Wanna see a picture of my naked buns?

I call it my gratuitous bun pic.  :gigglesnort:  I need to make more of those.  They're pretty tasty.  I'm also thinking I can take that dough and use half for buns and the other half for cinnamon rolls.  We'll see.

I need to get a fishing license for this year.

Someone came walking up the hill yesterday.  He went straight up my across-the-road neighbor's driveway, up onto their porch, and stood there.  I never saw him knock.  Then he left.  Not sure what was going on there.  I think I might know who he was - his property butts up to that neighbor's on one side - but I'm not 100% sure.  I've only seen the dude with his wife and alone he doesn't quite look the same.

Isn't it weird how sometimes you can see someone out of their usual context and you don't recognize them?  Or it that just me?  In Colorado, I used to hit the thrift store regularly and I got chatty with the owner.  Once day a gal comes up to me in the store and starts talking to me like she knows me, and I had no idea who she was.  Basically, I made small talk with her for like ten minutes without knowing how she knew me.  After she walked away, Owl whispered in my ear that she was the owner of the thrift store.  ROFL

If I ever ran into any of you, I would be totally clueless - mainly because I've only seen pictures and have never met any of you in real life.  

And on that note, I'll let you go.  Feel free to drop your this-n-thats in the comments.  The more the merrier.

Thursday This n That

Scars... I haz 'em.  A friend of mine posted yesterday about an ungraceful thing she'd done that ended up with an ouchie.  It got me to thinking about all of my ouchies over the years and then all the scars I have.  Like I said in her comments, my life has been a journey of ouchies and my body is the map.  I can pinpoint where most of the scars came from - starting with the one on the back of my neck from when I was small.  Spook the cat got me when I tried to carry him.  Or maybe the two on my chin were first.  Those came from a poodle bite when I was like 4.  I actually have a dent in my jawbone from one of those.  :shrug:  My mother is amazed the experience didn't make me fear dogs, but nope.  (I still don't like poodles of a certain size, though.)

I've been bit by too many animals.  The poodle started it.  Cats, of course.  Snakes - of the garter variety.  I have a scar on my hand from Zeus the German Shepherd, who was a goofy, sweet dog - unless he was chained up and then he was on guard duty.  I didn't see the chain attached, so I tried to pet him and he engulfed my hand.  Luckily, only one tooth got me.  I also had a Doberman nip me in the face, but he didn't break the skin, thank goodness.  I got bit by a horse once.  JR was as dumb as a stump.  One day I was cleaning his stall while he was still in it - don't ask why, I don't remember - and he bit the back of my leg.  Thank goodness for denim or he would've taken a chunk out.  Left a baseball-sized bruise instead.  I think he's the only living thing I've ever punched.  He bit me, and I turned around and nailed him in the neck.  He never bit me again.  Of course, I was never stupid enough to be alone in a stall with him again either.  

Sometimes, I don't know when to keep my thoughts to myself.  It's usually when I think I'm helping, so it's not with evil intent, but the results are the same.  I'm sorry.  A while back, I had a friend who spent a lot of time talking about what seemed to me to be her mentally/emotionally abusive relationship with her husband.  One day, I suggested she find a way to leave him.  Never heard from her again.  She's still out there, but I'm blocked.  Maybe she just wanted someone to vent to and not advice.  I'm bad at figuring that stuff out.  

And people wonder why I'm a hermit.

Thursday This n That

Yesterday kicked my butt.  I didn't even really do nearly as much as I have done on other days, but man, was I ever tired last night.  I made myself stay up until 8 and then I was done.  Of course, that meant I was up at 4:30, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.

The other day, Hubs carried a tree up from the bottom of the hill.  It was dead and I had pushed it over sometime last year.  We cut it in half and he carried the halves up.  Lumberjack dude that he is and all.  Yesterday, we sawed it into firewood.  Not exactly sure what the tree was - almost all of its bark was gone and obviously, no leaves - but that was some hard-ass wood there.  Maybe elm.  Possibly ash, although barkless ash really does remind me of a baseball bat and this wasn't like that.  :shrug:  Whatever it is, it will burn well.

Wood interests me... what can I say?

There are three things that I've always had an affinity for - trees, birds, and rocks.  This place is replete with all three.  I love it here.

I am a literal tree-hugger.  Yes, I hug trees.  Not that I believe they really care, but it makes me feel good.  I talk to them, too, and for the same reason.  Some of them have names - Oberon (the big fairy oak), Whitey (the little swamp oak), Little Red (our young red oak), Q-tip (because it's tall with a tuft of leaves at the top), Magic (because for some reason, it always has water in its crown and all the birds/squirrels drink there, so it must be magic).  The little elm I have in a pot is Elmer.  Hey, I didn't say they were the most creative names.

I realize I am not the most interesting of people.  This is why being actively social is so hard for me.  Trying to come up with something interesting to contribute to a group of strangers is difficult when you know you're not all that interesting.  I'm fine around friends.  They get me and they find me interesting or they wouldn't hang around me.  I also have a weird sense of humor and I'm not always good at picking up on social cues.  

Which reminds me... I was at the smoke shop chatting with a friend there about books and she was telling me about this book that grossed her out - in detail - right when a customer walked in and the look on his face was priceless.  I had to explain we were talking about a book and he was all like 'hey, I'm not here to judge' or something.  It was pretty funny.  Then out of the blue, the dude asked us how to spell something.  I didn't know him and neither did she, but he just blurted out 'how do you spell Lonnie?'  I guess he figured since we read books and stuff, we'd know how to spell stuff.  ROFL

Sometimes I encounter the strangest people.  A while back I came across this guy shouting obscenities toward the back of the Dollar General.  At first, I thought he was yelling at a dog, but nope, he was shouting at nothing.  A couple days ago, there he was again, this time on a little bitty bike, riding across the highway shouting obscenities at nothing.  Luckily, he turned and went the other way.  I was just telling Hubs about running into him again.  "Same guy?" he asked.  "I think so."  "Good, I'd hate think there were two of them."  ROFL

Life's weird.  You gotta find your jollies where you can, eh?

Thanksgiving Then and Now

I had an awesome idea for today's post.  But I didn't write the post or write the idea down and, of course, I forgot it.

So, let's talk about Thanksgiving.

I don't remember a lot of my childhood.  And not for the same reason a lot of people can't remember the '70s LOL.  I think Thanksgiving was always sort of a big deal, though.  What I can remember was a house full of family and loads of awesome food.  

We'd start the day watching the Macy's parade and then whatever was on - usually some movie or other on one of the four channels we got - to stay out of Mom's way in the kitchen.

Mom would make a huge turkey - which I loved.  Candied yams - which I hated.  Pumpkin pie, easy on the spices.  And cranberry sauce right out of the can.  There may have been other staples, but I don't remember those exactly.  Corn?  Green beans?  Mashed potatoes?  :shrug:  

We'd eat and then Dad would watch the Lions play whoever on TV.

As we got older, and hooked up with special someones, more people would be there.  Then the babies started arriving.  It was something of a madhouse sometimes in my parent's home.  I do remember hiding in my room to escape the chaos.  Then dinner would be served and we'd all sit down - the adults at the big table and the kids at the card table.  

We'd eat and then Dad and the other men would watch the Lions play whoever while the women cleaned up and then had coffee while they chatted around the big table.  At some point pie would be served.  Then everyone would depart for their own homes.  Taking leftovers with them.  

In 2001, I moved away from Michigan.  No more family holidays for me.  It was during these years that I discovered I suck at making turkey.  I never have the patience to leave it in the oven long enough so the center isn't still bloody.  (And I never trusted the pop-up thingy.)  Thank goodness I never gave anyone food poisoning.  Thank goodness I married Hubs because he makes an awesome turkey.  

These days, it's just Hubs and I.  He does the turkey, I do the dessert.  We have stuffing that he makes and crams into the bird.  And canned, jellied cranberry sauce because that's how we roll.  (I take care of that, too.  I'm such a chef.  LOL)  And that's pretty much it.  No corn.  No mashed potatoes.  Definitely no sweet potatoes.  Bleh.  Sometimes we have rolls that I've bought at the store, but usually the rolls are left for tiny leftover turkey sandwiches.  (Hubs puts cranberry sauce on his, I just use butter.  Butter and turkey sandwiches... mmmmm.)  After we digest some of the dinner, we have dessert.  This year, I'm making pumpkin cheesecake.  Last year, we just had pumpkin bread.  It's not like we really need dessert.  Lord knows, we're already pretty stuffed after dinner.  Which we usually eat around 1:00.  

And that's about it.  This year, I bought a 14.5 lb turkey, so we'll be eating leftovers for a good long time.  Woohoo.  

What about you?  Any good memories of Turkey Day?  What's your holiday like now as opposed to when you were a kid?

Sunday Update - OMG, What Week IS it?

 I have lost track of the weeks again.  Oh, I could go look it up.  I could even just count backward from the end of the year and junk.  Right now?  Nope.  I need a coffee IV.

What did I do last week?  Oh yeah...

I'm still not writing new words, but I did make some small progress with the edit notes.  I've gotten 8 pages of notes input now and that's brought me to pg49 in the manuscript.  Go me.  If you knew the mental hurdles and roadblocks I'm trying to jump, you'd see this is a bigger thing than it looks like.  I need to just put my head down and soldier through.  First I need to be in a place where I can put my head down and soldier through, though.  

I thought about marketing.  Really, I did.  And I learned that Amazon does not let you do any Kindle Countdown Deals or freebies 30 days before a book drops out of Kindle Select and the book has to be in Kindle Select for 2 weeks after the KCD or free offer.  Or some such nonsense.  Except this morning, when I went to check my facts, they're now saying I could possibly put Unequal into one or the other and it's drop date is 11/29, so what do I know?  A friend told me she clicked the box to take a book out and when she went back, they'd put it back in.  Unequal is still showing as deselected, so I'm not sure what's going on there.  Anyway, I'm not doing it.  If you want one of my books, pay full price.  None of them are really that expensive - between $2.99 and $4.99.  You can get the four-book Once Upon a Djinn series for just under $16.  Which is less than one hardcover of most other books these days.  :shrug:

In reading news, well, I didn't finish any books before my Saturday Reading Wrap-up, but I did some other stuff that made a reading wrap-up worth perusing.  

On the baking front, I did a batch of granola bars and yesterday, I made scalloped potatoes with ham.  I also put cheese and bacon bits in it.  Hubs was pleased.  I was content.  I think it needed more of something tasty, but I'm rarely 100% pleased with my own cooking.

We spent some time in the woods this week, but not as much as I wanted.  It was too warm for really getting into the woods until yesterday.  And we sawed through all the wood we'd already gleaned, so we had to wait.  Yesterday, we spent a good hour dragging timber up the hill and then another hour sawing.  We only really got through a 3" diameter piece, part of another, and most of an 8-9" piece of oak.  That last sucker was a bear.  It needs one more cut and it'll be done, but we were tired and left it to today.  The other piece was a wood we'd never cut through before, so we set it aside to do some more research.  It's pretty dark pink inside, but it is definitely not cedar.  I'm guessing black cherry.  We'll see.  It's definitely not firewood.  We may find a way to make flooring with it. We'll see.  Weight: 180.4 - mine, not the wood. (Not sure where the pound and half went, but yay for it going.)

Did the Wallyworld thing.  I'm down to only going once a month, so it's a big deal now.  Anyway, I picked up the turkey for Thanksgiving.  I got a Honeysuckle White for 87c a pound.  Yay.  Unfortunately, the smallest one they had was over 14lbs.  We'll be eating turkey for a while after TGD.

Got an unexpected wrinkle this week which, oddly enough, set me to working on edit notes - just to give my brain something else to think about for a while.  It helped while I was doing it.  Too bad I can't work on edit notes while I'm trying to sleep because my brain went after the wrinkle with a vengeance that night.  Still not a thing I can do about it, but the ol' brain doesn't bother with that.  It just climbs on the hamster wheel and runs.  It would've also helped if I could've gone into the woods, but it was close to dark when it occurred and then the next morning it rained and by afternoon it was windy.  Blerg.

I also really need to go fishing, but the weather's been a turd for that.  If it's not raining and cold, it's windy.  Nerts.

Okay, well, that's enough out of me for today.  I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting.  If you want an update on something that's not here, ask.  I'll most likely answer you.  

How was your week?

Thursday This n That

I just noticed something... I keep seeing people use the word 'partner' instead of 'husband' or 'wife' or 'spouse'.  In terms of language it's kind of right, but not exactly right.  All husbands and wives are spouses, all spouses are partners (or they should be), but not all partners are spouses.  (And spouses are broken into husbands and wives, so not all spouses are strictly one or the other.)  Specificity, folks.  Hell, you could even slide another level in there - significant other.  Put it between partner and spouse.  As in, all spouses are significant others, but not all significant others are spouses.  When partner can also include business relationships - company ownerships, law offices, etc. - as well as law enforcement, using partner when you mean significant other/spouse is lazy language.  Or it's a further degradation of our way of life.  Either way, knock it off.

Sonny the buck is almost totally unafraid of Hubs now.  True, Hubs can't pet him yet, but it's to a point where the buck is getting within mere feet of my husband.  I may end up watching Hubs' back while he puts out food during the rut.  I'll go out there with my big walking stick and that alone should keep the deer back.  They're still terrified of me.  My mere presence in the window makes them walk away.  Scary scary lady here.

Speaking of my walking stick, we were out at the lake a while back and I found this stick that had washed up on the shore.  It's about 5 ft long and just the right diameter, tapering down to a solid point.  Both ends show distinct beaver gnaw marks.  It's awesome, so I brought it home.  The beavers did the work of removing all the bark for me.  Hubs stained it for me last week.  I can't wait to use it.

I have another one my oldest brother made for himself out of an ash tree he cut from the land where we grew up, and I just assumed custody of it when he left home.  My oldest brother is 6'8, so you can imagine how big this thing is.  I can't actually wield it as a walking stick.  Staff?  Anyway, it's a piece of home, so I've carted it through every move since 2001.  It's standing in the corner of my living room behind the TV.

Today's my mom's 81st birthday.  I sent her a rock.  Yep, a rock.  And a loaf of homemade zucchini bread made with my zucchinis.  And some homemade granola bars.  The rock is a long story.  Suffice it to say, she liked it and that's all that matters.

Okay, I should probably get some stuff done before I have to head off to the Packing Show.  Have a great day, ya'll.

My Life is So Exciting

It's Wednesday??  Blerg.  Not that Wednesday is necessarily bad.  I just feel like a turd because I missed Monday and Tuesday.  Sorry about that.  Not that you really missed anything.  I spent Monday working and I had yesterday off with much decompression happening.  (Code for total vegetation.) 

I did hit the thrift store yesterday.  Picked up 5 old books, 3 of which I already had.  I can never remember which Vince Flynns are in my library, so I keep picking up the same ones over and over.  At least some good comes of this folly.  If the new copy is better, I trade it out for the worse copy.  Aside from the VF novels, I got a copy of The House of the Seven Gables (paperback) which I didn't have.  And an Alfred Hitchcock anthology in hardcover.  I love those things.  They're about the only anthologies I really enjoy.  I also found two gorgeous coats for cheap  ($9 total).  One is waterproof and lined so its toasty warm.  No more slogging out in wet snow and getting soaked.  Yay.  The other is also nice and warm and lovely.  Lined with faux fur.  

I also hit the bank and then drove over and paid the trash bill.  I don't mail that bill because the company's office are right on my way to damn near everything.  Just park and throw the bill in the handy-dandy box they have for that purpose.  

My life is so exciting.  

Sunday Update, I guess.

 Okay, so yesterday morning I detailed what I've been up to lately - with photos.  It's not all that interesting or exciting, but it's keeping me out of trouble.

I spent 6 hours yesterday loading a 14' trailer with Hubs.  Well, actually, half of that was spent loading and the other half was unloading part of it and reloading different stuff.  We had a decided weight problem.  

You know those big ass tool boxes - like 6 foot long and five foot high and filled with various tool stuffs?  Well, we loaded it, but after we got everything else on, the trailer was sitting way too low to safely move.  So, we unloaded the stuff we'd put in after the toolbox and then the toolbox.  Then we loading up again.  

Along the way, we read the specs on the trailer and discovered it was only rated for about 3000 pounds. Umm, the toolbox was probably at least half that.  Blerg. And even after we got it off, we couldn't load as much as we would've like to.  Trying to maintain the right balance, doncha know.  Stupid trailer design.  

I guess there's a reason why the moving company said they would NOT move his toolbox.  He'll have to figure something else out.

We left before the trailer got moved.  I can only hope they didn't need to pull more off of it after they lost their movers, but we were exhausted.  Thank goodness today is an off day because I don't think I could lift a box of feathers right now.

Unfortunately, they're moving in 10 days and there's still a boatload of stuff to do.  They'll call me tonight and we'll go over the game plan for tomorrow.  I'm almost out of Asperceme.  Time to hit the Blue Emu.  And the Aleve, of course.

I'm still a goddess.  The Goddess of Bruising and Pain.  LOL

In other news, because this is the Sunday Update, I guess.  I made zucchini bread yesterday morning before we left.  Active 5 out of 7 days.  Weight: 182.4 as of yesterday a.m.  I did see 180.6 this week, but it went back up again.  

 I got up over 200 million in poker then went back down to 91 million.  I'm making my way back up again, but it's slower going up than it is going down.

I didn't read anything, but I did do like one and half crossword puzzles.  Woohoo.

And that's all I can think of right now.  Another 10 days and I should be back to regular life and regular posts.  

How did your week go?

Why I Forgot to Post Yesterday

Wow, I totally brainfarted out and missed yesterday entirely.  This is Tuesday, right?  Yep, my computer says it's Tuesday.  

I did remember it was Monday at some point yesterday because I called the office.  After that, yesterday was a blur.  I started out my blurry portion of the day by calling my usual tire shop to find out if they could get me in for replacement of my two front tires.  The only tires they had in my size were made by some company I'd never heard of that we discovered were located in China.  I called the other place - which is right across the street from the first place.  They had no tires in my size but they could order some and have them in later in the week.  And I'm all like 'I only have one day to get this done', thanked him, and hung up nicely.

So I called Wallyworld.  They only had two tires left in my size.  (It's a popular freakin' size, for pitysakes, so WTF?)  And they were a brand I have used before, albeit not the brand Hubs was hoping for.  I told the Wallyworld dude to hold on to them for me and I'd be there in 30 minutes.  (It was actually 45 because I forgot I needed to get dressed, too.)  Since I was already going to be there, getting tires put on the car, I told him I needed an oil change, too.  Saved myself another stop, so yay.

After I get there, I tell the guy again that I need two front tires.  He informs me that it's Wallyworld policy to never put new tires on the front.  The newest tires should be on the back.  Which is anti-intuitive considering my car is front wheel drive, and I told him so, but if I wanted these two on the front, I needed to sign a disclaimer holding W blameless.  Whatever.  Fine.  Put the new ones on the back and rotate the back to the front.  "That'll be $5 extra."  Fine.  Whatever.  And off I go to do some shopping while I wait.

After getting all my non-perishable goods... because I so did not need my ice cream melting while I waited for my car... I went back to the waiting area to sit and eat the breakfast sandwich I just bought.  I walk in and some other dude goes 'do you own the Cavalier?' and I'm all like 'yeah'.  Well, he informed me that because my back tires were old, they couldn't put them in the front because it's against W policy.  They'd be happy to put 4 new tires on.  (I bet they would.)  Or I could just put the new ones on the front and sign that damn thing.  Okay.  Fine.  WHATEVER.  Give me the damn form.

I also got a stern warning that my oil was low when I pulled in.  Like not registering on the dipstick low.  Which is kind of impossible since Hubs just checked that and he doesn't let my car get low on oil and it doesn't leak oil - it just burns it faster than a new car, so he adds it when necessary.  

After I finish my sandwich, I reach for my phone to call Hubs and let him know where I am in the process only to find that my phone is not in my pocket.  It's not in my purse either.  Heavy sigh and big hopes that nothing goes wrong between W and home.  (I didn't lose it.  It was on the charger when I got home.)

So, I finally get it all done and am free to go on about my merry way.  I pull around to the front of the store, go in and get my ice cream, produce, and other refrigerated items.  Go through the same cashier.  "Miss me?" I said and she laughed.  Vicky's awesome.  

I leave there with my stuffs and head for the feed store.  When I pull up in front of the warehouse doors, I can see there might be like 4 bags of whole corn left.  I'm not so lucky.  In the store, the manager is helping another customer, so the secondary dude who loads feed into cars tells me in a snotty voice that they're out of whole corn.  If I'd been there Wednesday night, they had some.  If I'd been there Thursday... or Friday... or even Saturday morning... they had some.  He seemed almost gleeful that I'd missed the boat.  I should've told the manager to fire the dude.  Anyway, the manager finally gets done with the other customer and I ask him if they have corn chops in stock.  (Same stuff, only chopped up instead of whole and about 30c more a 50 lb bag.)  He says sure.  I get 4 of those suckers and head out to where the primary feed loading dude can put the bags in my car.  Primary dude is awesome. 

Two and a half hours from the time I left, I'm home.  But my brain is fried.  

So that's why I forgot to post yesterday.