Thursday This n That

Rumors of my death are probably circulating.  Don't believe them.  I'm not dead, even if I would've wished for it after a week of this creepy crud.  Just when you think you're done with it, it circles back and kicks you in the nards.  Today, I almost feel human, so fingers crossed.  Yesterday, I felt almost human and zipped to the DG for a few things, which laid me out for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow, I definitely have to go grocery shopping whether I'm up to it or not.  

I've been watching the Olympics... well, watching little bites of the Olympics anyway.  Most of the Olympics are behind a pay wall, so I'm only watching short videos that are free.  It's not as exciting as usual, because I could already know what happens, but it'll do.  I refuse to pay NBC for anything.  (Like I already refuse to pay PBS or BBC.)  If it ain't free, I guess I'll go without.  

Okay, so maybe I'd be willing to pay a subscription if I could find a service that wasn't run by leftist assholes.  I was really into getting a BritBox subscription, but then I found out they're owned by BBC, which is run by such loathsome people I can't see sending them even a penny of my money.  This, of course, makes me sad, because I was really looking forward to a long stretch of watching Inspector Morse from start to finish, followed by Lewis.  Not sad enough to send money to the BBC, of course, but still sad.

Thank goodness for coffee.

Sawyer is being a pain the ass this morning.  I guess I should be happy that he's doing this in the morning rather than at night while I'm trying to sleep.  I know what his problem is... it's the same problem every morning...  He wants to eat.  And he doesn't want to eat kibbles.  He wants wet food.  NOW.  Not after 9am which used to be after 10am which used to be noon.  I've drawn the line at 9 and no earlier.  Meanwhile, Finn is sleeping.  

It's been so warm lately, I'm getting the urge to garden.  Except I know as soon as I garden, the weather will turn and it'll freeze, killing all my hard work.  So I wait.

And that's it for me today.  I'm going to wander back to my recliner and veg.  Take it easy today, wherever you are.  :hugs:

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 5

Hi.  There really isn't too much to talk about this week.  Sunday afternoon, I came down with the creeping crud (see Friday's plague post to get the link to the virus of the month).  Not much else has happened other than dealing with that.  I'm 90% over it.  Hubs is stuck at like 60%.  Neither of us have slept well in a week, so you can imagine what life is like here.

Thusly, I didn't write. Or edit. There was minimal marketing, which somehow moved 56 copies of Blink anyway.  Woot... I guess.  I sold a book and someone read a whole other book and most of a third book, so I'm already at almost $5 for the month.

Me, I finally finished reading The Night Manager by John LeCarre.  Good book.  It didn't end nearly as well as the movie, but it also didn't end nearly as badly as it could've.  Ultimately, there was a HEA for the MC, so yay.  Not a lot of justice for the bad guys, but sadly, LeCarre had a poor sense of life, so I'm not surprised.  

Also not surprising... no baking this week.  

Activity?  I spent the first four days of the week dragging myself from room to room.  Thursday and Friday, I cleaned and did laundry.  I lost some weight, of course.  I stepped on the scale on Thursday and I was at 176.4, so down a pound.  The fat is hanging on to me for its dear life.  Hubs probably lost 10 pounds because he's a dude and fat runs from him.  :shrug:

I really need to get over this and get back to life.  This damn book won't edit itself.  

Okay, time for some more coffee.  Or maybe I'll just go back to bed.  Have a great day wherever you are and try not to catch this crap, eh?

Plague, Part II - Super Flu Boogaloo

So, I'm guessing we've had what they're calling a Super Flu.  It's ravaging the countryside or whatever.  It's pretty brutal, but still not the worst flu we've ever had*.  I came down with it and about a day later, Hubs got it, too.  

Mine started Sunday afternoon.  I laid down for my usual nap and slept for over an hour - which was weird.  When I woke up, I felt like a had the worst nap hangover ever.  Usually, nap hangovers leave after I drink some juice or something, but this one lingered.  Plus, I couldn't get warm, which is not a nap hangover symptom.  Then the cough started.  It was a deep booming cough, like I was trying hack up parts of my soul.  

The next day, Hubs got it.  

By Tuesday, I was starting the slow climb out of it and he was descending further into the depths.  I dragged myself to the Dollar G to pick up more cough medicine and honey.

Wednesday sucked.

Yesterday, Hubs started coming out of it.  And I hit the DG again for Pedialyte and Ensure, fruit cups, pudding, etc.  (Thank goodness for the new DG which is like 5 minutes away.)  Then I did all the things that needed doing - cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc.  Which tuckered me out, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do, eh?

Today will be mostly napping for Hubs.  This shit is an asskicker, lemme tell ya.  

If you get it, drink lots of fluids.  Make yourself take in some kind of calories - even if you have to drink Ensure.  Sleep lots.  Stay the hell away from other people if at all possible, so they don't get it, too.  And hang in there.  It'll pass.  :hugs:

*H1N1 (Swine flu) from... oh, I dunno, we were in Colorado, so more than 13 years ago... it was the worst we've ever had.

Thursday This n That - Plague Version

Sorry I'm late.

Being sick sucks.

Good news: I'm on the road to recovery. 

Bad news: Hubs had got it, too, and he's about 2 days behind me, plus he got a worser version of it.

Yeah, I know worser isn't a word.  But it fits, so there ya go.

Bad news Part 2: Since I'm feeling better first, I'm the one doing all the things left undone while we suffered.  Next time, I'm making sure Hubs gets over it first.  ;o)

Once I get done with the honey-dos, I am getting in the shower because ew.

I haven't had ice cream in like 4 days.  You know it's bad when I don't eat ice cream.

I managed to get to the DG.  Didn't want to. Had to.  We were out of cough syrup, chicken soup, and honey.  And lemon juice, but I forgot that so we're still out of it.  Nerts.  I've been mainlining tea and cough syrup.  

I haven't eaten much other than soup for days.  I'm having a fucking hamburger for lunch.  Dammit.

Okay, that's about all I'm good for right now.  Have a great day and don't catch this crap, whatever it is, if you can help it.  (Probably got it from some unwashed heathen touching stuff at the Walmart, which I then touched and brought home with me.  Purell, people.  Seriously.)

Things My Cats Have Taught Me

 The following is a list of things The Boyz have taught me:

- never leave coffee unattended.  Even if there are no cats in the vicinity.  Even if the cats in the vicinity are sound asleep.  If you leave your coffee, you will return to find either a cat with its paws/face in the mug or coffee splatters everywhere and fur or litter in your cup.

- focus on the warm spots.  If you get up from a chair, you have a 90% chance of finding a cat in the chair when you return. If there is a cat in your chair and you change chairs, the cat will want your new chair.  Or, if you have multiple cats, you'll find another cat in your new chair.  The same applies to getting out of bed in the middle of the night.  The cat will find your warm spot and fill it.

- trespassers can't be trusted and should be eliminated whenever possible.  If there's a bug anywhere in the house, the cats will find it and kill it.  This goes for mice/shrews/moles and birds (and once, when we had Max, a squirrel) as well, or anything really that's unlucky enough to try to come inside.

- sleep whenever you can / naps are important.  The Boyz are usually sleeping.  Except when they're keeping me awake.

- work whenever you can.  It seems like anytime I sit down at the computer, one or the other of The Boyz will come over to either a) get on my lap and make it impossible for me to type or b) get into trouble right behind me so I have to stop working to chastise them for being naughty.

- being naughty has its advantages.  When The Boyz are naughty, they get attention.  Sometimes they get treats (that's a slippery slope, I know, but sometimes it's the only way to redirect their attention).  

- never take things too seriously.  Not that The Boyz don't take things seriously.  Sometimes, they take things way too seriously - especially 'fraidy-cat Sawyer, who'll jump at the slightest sound, or Finn, who acts like I've set fire to all his hopes and dreams when I scold him.  Their reactions are what have taught me to not take things seriously, if you catch my drift.

;o)

Marketing Monday - Blink of an I

Today is Marketing Monday and BLINK OF AN I is free this week.  Unfortunately, I feel like warmed-over, leftover doggie doo, so mustering the will to actually market anything is iffy.  Not sure what bug I picked up or where, but bleh.

Anyway, if you're inclined, pick up a copy.  Even better if you're on KU, read a copy.  (I get paid for that, even when the book is free.)  Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079X142G2

I wonder as I write this post whether marketing this book as "I feel like crap today.  Pity me and download my book." would work.  ;o)

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 4

Hey there, friends and fans!  Welcome to February!  (Okay, I'm not really that perky this morning, but you know what they say... fake it 'til you make it.)

This week, no writing. Editing was sporadic, but I am up to 28% of the book has edit notes now.  Marketing happened and because of marketing I ended January with nearly $16 in sales and moved like 13 copies of paid-for books.  Woot.  Hey, ya gotta get your excitement where you can.  I did only move 26 free copies of NC :sad trombone:, though. This coming week, Blink of an I will be free.

I'm about 75% done with The Night Manager.  I had hoped to finish it before the end of January, but that didn't happen.  Oh, well.  

In baking news, I made a loaf of Raisin Pecan Quick Bread and a pizza.  Then yesterday, I got a wild hair and made a loaf of Oatmeal Bread (a yeasted bread) - plain, no raisins or cinnamon or swirling.  It turned out really yummy and we had slices of it with our pot pies for dinner.  The baking has really helped keep the house warm, too.  

On the activity front, it's been COLD, so not a lot of activity going on here.  Hubs and I shoveled the driveway.  I did grocery shopping.  Other than that, nada.  We did go across the street to help when she got her SUV stuck, but the guy who lives there got it out before we made it up the hill, so that really was only a short uphill walk for me.  I did step on the scale - clothed because it was COLD.  Then I stripped anyway because I'm all about the data, and learned my clothes weighed 3.2lbs.  My weight: 177.6

Because of the cold, I spent a lot of the week huddled inside in front of the tube.  We watched some really good movies (and vetoed some duds).  Unfortunately, since I'm not doing a weekly movie post, I didn't write their names down and I'm at a loss to remember most of them.  We caught a good one yesterday called Evidence of Blood (from 1998) that starred that guy who played Tom Cruise's brother in The Firm (David Strathairn).  Really good stuff there.  We also watched The Courier (2020) yesterday.  That was Benedict Cumberbatch as an everyday guy back in 1962 who gets recruited to carry documents from the USSR to the UK.  It was based on a true story, and the story is pretty amazing.  We've also started watching a goofy British crime-comedy called Vexed.  What a hoot.

Yeah, my life is pretty boring.  But that's life in the woods, eh?  How have things been where you are?