Thursday This n That

Well, that's over.  Whew.  Hubs went to Florida, saw his family, and made it home.  It's really boring when he's not around.  While he was gone, I rearranged the living room, the sun porch, the spare room, the storage closet, and also a little bit of the office.  I bought some furniture, too - a glass-fronted bookcase ($15) and two wood stools ($15 each).  He chuckled when I told him on the phone what I was doing.  When he got home, he really liked when I've done with the place, so yay.

I left super-early to drive to the airport, because they were predicting a lot of rain.  Eh, it poured all morning, but it was mostly done by the time I reached the halfway point.  This left me with a boatload of extra time, so I stopped at an orchard along the way and picked up a 5lb bag of fresh-off-the-tree, Golden Delicious apples.  And I still reached the airport a half-hour early.  

They remodeled the airport.  There used to be a really cool water feature.  They took it out and put a kiosk type 'welcome center' thingie in its place.  And they remodeled, but kept the same crappy, uncomfortable seats in the 'meet and greet' area, which don't even fit right with the new, curved walls.  Silly people.  All that work and money, and it's not really any better than it was.  Thankfully, they kept the floor which has an outline of the entire lake-system - from Beaver to Norfork.  I like to stand on my neighborhood.

Another new thing at the airport is the have the arrival area glassed in with completely enclosed exit points.  Seeing people come through is like watching a big fish tank.  There was a gal there with her toddler.  When the little boy saw his daddy walking toward him, he got so excited and his dad gave him a high-five through the glass.  It was all so sweet.  Shortly thereafter, I saw Hubs.  We walked toward each other and I pretended to hug him through the glass.  I'm such a corny nerd.  

Like I said, it's really boring without him around.  Dang, I'm glad he's home.

Marketing Monday - Wish Hits the Fan

 Sorry I'm late, but I just got up.  I spent way too much time and effort yesterday on a hare-brained idea and then last night, I discovered that Sawyer didn't approve, so at 10pm, I put it all back the way it was or I wasn't going to get ANY sleep.  Silly cat.  Anyway...

Starting today, WISH HITS THE FAN is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this snarky paranormal mystery before it's too late.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075C7FCXG

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 41

Hello again.  I'm awake and I have coffee, and that's about as good as it gets right now.

No writing this week.  It's editing time.  I only did three nights and 31 pages worth, but I think that's a good start so far.  I'm hoping to have DN3 - Truth Be Told - done and on the shelves before the end of the year.  Sooner if I can manage more than 31 pages a week.  ;o)

Marketing was done, but only three days worth - Monday-Wednesday.  I was busy on Thursday and Friday, so it didn't happen.  Thus, I only moved 15 copies of Project Hermes.  Not sure what or if I'll market this week.

No baking.  

On the activity front, there was about 3 hours worth of driving - which doesn't sound active, but it sure takes it out of a gal.  I also moved furniture around on 3 days, and I did some cleaning that comes with moving furniture.  Oh, and I did the usual gardening watering.  Weight: ? - I haven't bothered to weigh myself since last Sunday and I'm not doing it now.  (Update 7:15a - Weight: 179.0)

In garden news, my tomatoes are speckled with flowers, as are my peppers.  No sign of fruits yet, but there's hope.  Unfortunately, one of my redbud trees died.  I think it was root rot.  The poor bugger just fell over when I touched it with the watering jug and, when I tried to set it right, it came out of the dirt with no roots on the stick.  Sad.  

Furniture moving... Well, I've been wanting to try out a different living room configuration, and with Hubs on vacay, what better time to do it?  We have a long living room, and the previous layout cut the room in half with the TV on one end and the chairs facing the TV set across the middle of the room.  Now, the TV is on the west wall with the recliners on the opposite wall.  It actually makes the living room feel way larger, so yay.  I also rearranged part of the sun porch and I moved Hubs desk about a foot.  We'll see if Hubs likes my new placements when he gets home.  

Other than that, I have been watching a lot of TV, which is weird without Hubs.  I'm pretty much sticking to shows he wouldn't want to watch because watching our usual shows without him is lame.  I pulled up and watched Empire Records first, then I did a watch of Queen of the Damned (fun book, fun movie).  I've also inhaled season 7 of Call the Midwife.  Hubs watches CTM with me sometimes, but more often, he's off doing something else.  I think all the screaming women in labor gets to him.  

Oh, something else I did this week... I hit the thrift store.  On Friday, I wandered around and found a nice, metal firewood rack with stylized leaves for $10 (for if ever we get a woodstove) and I really sturdy vice (for if ever I start woodcarving).  I also saw this pair of really cute wood stools that I thought might look good in front of the windows in the sun porch - you know, for the cats to sit on while they look out the windows - but I didn't buy them.  On Saturday, I went back for the stools.  

Another occurrence... I bought some lottery tickets and won $20, which is why I went back for the stools.  I also won something in our local bank's customer appreciation raffle.  With all that luck floating around, I should've bought PowerBall tickets.  ;o) 

Anyway, not sure what today will bring.  I might start my deep-cleaning project.  I'll definitely get some more editing done.  Other than that, the world is my clam.  :gigglesnort:  Have a great day and I'll catch ya on the flipside.

This n That - Travel Edition

Hey All.  It's been a helluva week, culminating yesterday.  I slept late today, which is weird because I don't like sleeping alone.  (It's okay.  Hubs is out of town on vacay.)

Hubs and I don't vacay together.  It's too expensive for us to go visit families at the same time.  Besides, who would take care of The Boyz.  So, he goes to see his family and I go to see my family.  It's all good.  

The Boyz are weirded out and wandering around looking for Hubs.  I keep telling them he'll be back soon, but all they know is he didn't come back with me, so I can't be trusted.

On the way to the airport, we almost hit an owl.  We had to leave at 4:15 to make the airport on time, so it's not surprising, but it shocked the shit out of me.  Driving along and out of the corner of my eye, an owl swooped down toward the passenger side of the windshield.  Thankfully, it swooped up at just the right moment and we passed under it.  Whew.  I think it was a great-horned owl, but I didn't get that good a look at it.  Flash of wings and breast feathers and it was gone.

We also saw a raccoon running down the shoulder of the highway, and a little buck standing in the ditch.  No animals were harmed, thank goodness.  

The sun was just coming up as I neared home.  Seeing the sun rise over the Ozarks was pretty spectacular.  I would've stopped to take a pic, but by that time, all I wanted to do was get home.  (I still stopped at the store for fried chicken and cinnamon rolls, though.  :snerk:)

I have plans for the week - cleaning like a madwoman, moving furniture, editing.  Yesterday, I rearranged the sun porch and I shifted Hubs' desk for maximum kitty blockage.  Sawyer liked to get beside Hubs' desk and attack his feet through the gap between the desk and the wall. Unfortunately, Hubs is trying to work when Sawyer does this, which makes Hubs' life difficult. I fixed it so Sawyer can't do that anymore.  We'll see if Hubs likes the new placement.  It is, after all, his desk.

Unfortunately, by the time I did everything else yesterday, I was totally not up for editing.  I did watch a shitload of TV, though.  I even watched a couple movies, but I can't remember what they are, I was that tired.  :shrug:  Anyway, onward and upward.

I'll make the 1.5 hour trip back up to collect him from the airport soon, this time during the day, so it's all good.  

Marketing Monday - Project Hermes

 Welcome to Marketing Monday.  This week's offering is Project Hermes.  

Starting today, PROJECT HERMES is free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this political/medical thriller before it's too late. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Y6G0EW

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 40

Week 40?  Already?  So, there are only 12 weeks left of 2026.  Wow.

The big news this week is that I finished the first draft of Old Magic.  Wait, the bigger news might be that I came up with a title for it. Or it might be that I think I have a title for DN3, too.  Anyway, Old Magic is now... :drumroll: Home is Where the Hex is.  (Do you capitalize 'is' in that or not?)  And DN3 will probably be Duke Noble, P.I.: Truth Be Told.  Anyway Pt2, HWH topped out at 66960 words for the first draft.  I think I have ideas for a sequel for that, which would make this a series, which the title for will be The Worthy Witch or A Worthy Witch (cuz Worthy is the surname of the family).  The plan now is to edit TBT, starting today, and maybe start writing HWH sometime soon.  Time will tell.

Marketing was done.  Crickets were heard.  September ended up a big ol' donut-hole.  October ain't looking any better, but it's early yet.  I might do something this week and I might not. Stay tuned.

I baked stuff this week.  I think I already mentioned the Choco-Nanner cookies, which are banana cookies with chocolate chips.  They're good, but a little weird.  I also made a chocolate oil cake with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream.  And I did a batch of twice-baked potatoes.  All yummy.  All not exactly good for my waistline.  :shrug:  

To combat the ever-expanding waist, I did three walks this week for a total of 3.2 miles.  I also did some cleaning, some grocery shopping and, of course, the lugging of water for the greenhouse.  Weight holding steady at 180.6.

Speaking of the greenhouse, I have flowers!  One pepper plant has one flower and the bigger tomato has at least 4-5 blooms.  The other peppers still have buds and the other tomato is working on it.  So, even though it's early October, I could still get vegetables this year.  The greenhouse will help keep everything warmer even if it freezes, so yay.

Speaking of temps, it's finally cooler here.  Okay, so yeah, we're supposed to get back into the upper eighties this week, but that's still cooler than those ungodly 100+ temps we were getting, so yay.  Unfortunately, the prediction for this year here is warmer than usual throughout the winter, which will totally harsh my time in the woods.  :shrug:  You can only do what you can do.

The rut is in its early stages here, so the deer are doing their things.  Yesterday, we had two yearling bucks clacking antlers in the side yard.  I think it was Scout and Ranger, but I'm not sure.  We also saw a fox for the first time in weeks, so yay.

Other than that, not much going on around here.  Stuff, junk, and yada yada.  How are things in your world?

This n That

 Yesterday was Thursday???  I was busy pretty much all day, so I totally blanked out on that one.

Tuesday, I took a recipe and Frankensteined it, creating what I call Choco-Nanner Cookies.  Banana cookies with chocolate chips.  They're kinda freaky and the banana flavor is getting more intense with every passing day.  And there are A LOT of them.  Wednesday, I made cake.  It was a boxed Devil's Food (because I got lazy) which I then slathered in seedless raspberry jam and then covered in vanilla buttercream.  Yummers.  Yesterday, I made twice-baked potatoes to go with the steaks Hubs grilled.  It's been a week of food, lemme tell ya.  I may have to put my arms out to see if I'm walking or rolling. In all seriousness, though, I've been eating less (via smaller portions) and walking more.  

Not sure if I already said this but I saw a bald eagle the other day.  Yay.

Gah, it's not Saturday!  I only say this, and so emphatically, because I keep having to remind myself that it's not Saturday.

I'm going to be bach'ing it soon as Hubs is going out of town for a few days.  I keep joking that while he's gone, I'm going to 1) demo the kitchen, 2) repaint rooms, 3) get a puppy, 4) get some more kitties, 5) replace the two kitties we currently have, 3) turn the spare room into an art studio.  None of these things will actually occur, of course, but it's fun to joke about.  Most likely, I will do some deep cleaning and watch a lot of TV.

There are lot of stupid people out there in the world, more so than there used to be.  I think this was planned.  Stupid people are easier to control.  

I just saw where someone in comments to one of my friend's posts said 'your an idiot'.  He corrected them to 'you're' and someone else pointed out that the commenter would never know the irony of his own statement.  ROFL

Some days, I laugh at the morons.  Some days, I just can't even.  Some days, I spend too much time blocking morons.  I can get lost in just blocking people and before I know it, dozens have been transported to Blockistan, and I've wasted too much of my valuable morning time.  :shrug: And that's just Facebook. Don't even get me started on X.

Okay, I suppose it's time to go fritter away my time on stuff.  Hopefully, some of it will be productive today.  ;o)