Sunday, August 30, 2020

Sunday Update - Week 34

Well, number 34 is in the books and it was a week I'd just as soon not repeat.  And for this week I'm gonna change the format of this week's update a little bit.

We started the week on Sunday and it was fine.  Monday morning, Owl announced that the university had sent her an email telling her she couldn't move in for an additional three weeks, which sent us all into a spasm.  We got that sorted out and started to be okay with it.  Tuesday afternoon, she got another email saying she was approved for 'special dispensation' and could, in fact, move in on Saturday as planned.  We got that sorted out, too. 

Friday morning, we loaded everything up and headed north to the airport.  The trip there and back was fine.  Her flights were fine.  Everything was lovely.  Until she reached the rental car agency in Detroit and discovered a snafu.  I get a call from her that she is trapped at the airport with no way to get where she needs to go.  After much wrangling and back and forth and phone calls and internet searches - the buses had been suspended, the taxi services all had answering machines, no one at Lyft would pick her up - she finally got a luxury car service to pick her up and take her to her dorm.  Not cheap, but at least she arrived in style in a chauffeur driven Town Car.  She spent the night on a friend's futon, since she wasn't scheduled to move in until Saturday.  The majority of her belongings are still at my mom's place - which was why she was renting a car - but she'll deal with that later.

Needless to say, I lost a pound last week.  Specifically, lost a pound on Friday.  178.4 Thursday morning, 177.4 Saturday morning.  Imagine that.

Also, needless to say, I didn't get a lot of writing done for this last week of AuGoWriMo.  Only about 2900 words on the three days I did write.  Thank goodness I finished Cinder Ugly before last week happened.  I did have some ideas on where to go next with the mystery, which I wrote down, so I do have writing plans.  I just haven't mustered the will to write in the past three days.

No other writerly things got done.  Natch.

I spent yesterday putting the house back to 'hermit couple mode'.  The spare room bed is now up against the wall, giving me room to exercise in there again.  The extra chair we'd put in the living room is back in its place in the office, giving me room to dance around in there again.  The extra desk chair for her in the office has been moved back into the storage closet, leaving Hubs the entire conference table to work at again.

I'm now looking forward to things getting back to as normal as anything can be right now.  I'm still looking for Owl to come walking into the office here and there.  Five months of her being here can't be changed back in a day.  It would be sad if it could. 

So, anyway, that was my week.  How was yours?

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/29/20

Not a great week in the realm of reading, but hey, stuff happens. I'll try to be more interesting next week.

No new books.

Books read:

60) High Stakes by Dick Francis (8/23/20) - Mystery - 4 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.
Review: "It's been years since I read a Dick Francis and this one was pretty much awesome. Until the very very end. That was disappointing to me. Your mileage may vary."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... Sphere by Michael Crichton.  I'd hoped to finish it last night, but I was too tired.

What did you read last week?  Anything awesome?

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Thursday This n That

I'm currently adding words to that mystery thing I started back in June.  For the most part, it's slow going, but I am still writing every day.  (Except Sunday.  I took Sunday off.)

Welcome to the next round of 'people have gone shitpants crazy' in America.

I did some much-needed weeding yesterday.  The last time I weeded was early June, so yeah, it needs it.  I had big plans to get a bunch of it done.  I did three smaller beds and quit because I was soaked in sweat and plum tuckered out. 

This is the last day Owl will be here.  Laundry and packing for her.  I'll be making pizza.  I think the old hands can take it.  And if they can't, well they need to get the hell over it.  Tomorrow, we'll head north to the airport.  Then I'll collapse. 

All this 'start, stop, start, stop' 'constantly wondering what's next' crap is exhausting.  Which, by the way, is the general consensus of people I've talked to around here.  Everyone is exhausted.

On one of my walks this week, I came across the teeny-tiniest, widdle-bitty baby snake.  Probably no more than 4 inches long and about the diameter of a piece of yarn.  It was a baby ring-necked snake - black with a pretty yellow necklace.  So cute.  I picked it up and it sat in my palm for a minute before it wanted down.  I set it off the road and it went its merry way into the long grass.  I'm so glad I didn't see it squashed in the road.  That would've given me a sad.

Well, I guess that's it for me today.  What's on your this-n-that radar?

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

And Then This Happened

Last night after dinner, Owl got a message from the powers at EMU (yes, her school is EMU - we don't call it EMU, we call it Eastern - and their mascot is not an emu, which I think is an opportunity missed) that she was approved for special dispensation, so everything that was off yesterday is back on.  So if you heard a huge grinding of gears last night, that was me.

Despite the grinding of gears, hank you to everyone who sent positive thoughts her way for that to happen. 

So, early Friday morning we will load up the car and take the haul to the airport.  She'll hop a plane, take a layover in North Carolina and then head onward to Detroit.  (Don't ask.  I have no clue why the cheapest flight goes from here to way the hell over there and then up.  Maybe Chicago has become such a hole they're routing flights elsewhere to avoid it.)  She'll pick up her rental and be at my mom's place around 6pm.  Then Saturday, she packs all the stuff she left at Mom's and heads down to move into her dorm. 

Anyway, if you don't see me Friday morning, that's where I'll be.  If all goes well, I'll be back by like 9am. 

I still hate all this.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

So This Happened

Sunday I made a cake with BYE Owl and a frowny face on it.  Owl also said that with everything being so close, there wasn't any possible way for this to get screwed up.

I think we jinxed it.

Yesterday, Owl came out of her room and I knew something was wrong.  I was on my way out to the smoking porch, but I stopped and asked what was up.  She was all like 'oh, it can wait until after you have your cigarette' and I was all like 'okay, what's wrong? again.  Turns out she'd just gotten an email from the university.

Five days before she is due to fly north, the university announced that they're not allowing students into the dorms for an additional three weeks.  Oh, classes will start on time - online - but no housing.  Because there might be an outbreak due to Labor Day celebrations and they want to wait until after the outbreak is over to let students back into the dorms.  Or some such crap.  So conceivably, the earliest she might be able to move in is Sept. 20th. 

There is an outside chance she will get a 'special dispensation' to move in on time, but she's running out of time to change flights and rental car reservations, so they'd better get off their asses and tell her whether she can move or not.

And, of course, there's no telling whether in three weeks, they'll decide to move the goalposts again.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day playing poker because everything else I wanted to do to bleed off stress - throw logs, go fishing, walk - was crapped out by the heat.  I hate this shit. 

Updated 8:20pm:  Owl got an email saying she was getting special dispensation and can move in on Saturday as scheduled.  :cue screeching of tires and grinding of gears:  Thankfully, she did not cancel or change her flights or her rental car.  Everything is back on for Friday.  :collapses in a heap:

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Sunday Update - Week 33

Hello.  It's bright and early on Sunday here and I'm doing the Sunday Update post now because I forgot to write it up yesterday, like I forgot so many other things this week.  No excuses, just brainfarting out. 

One thing I didn't forget?  The writing.  Twenty-three days straight with an average of about 950 words a day and 21865 words total for August and added to Cinder Ugly.  And as of last night, I can officially say I'm finished.  The first draft of CU is 59789 words.  Everything's wrapped up as far as I can tell.  I guess I'll find out for sure in edits.  Still not sure what I'm going to do for the next 8 days of AuGoWriMo

No editing, no marketing. 

Reading was kind of pathetic.  Only one book finished.  And it wasn't nearly as much fun as I thought it was going to be.  Last night, I started a Dick Francis mystery I picked up at the thrift store.  Haven't read one of those in ages.  So far, so good.  Until I get the first round of edits done, I'll be sticking to hardcopy books so my Kindle is available for this phase of book creation.

On the activity front, I really only did 4 out of 7 days of exercise-y things - all walking - and that one day of roadtrip, which shouldn't really count as activity.  Weight 178.6 as of Thursday morning.

This is the last week of Owl's self-isolation in the back of beyond.  Friday, she will be winging her way back to Michigan and her life as she knew it before with added 'rona stuffs (or deleted stuff due to 'rona as the case may be).  Our lives will also return to as normal as they can be in the midst of this crap.  Everybody send positive thoughts that it all goes off without a hitch, k?

Today, I'll be baking a 'going away' cake.  Chocolate oil with cream cheese frosting.  And I did oatmeal cookies this week.  Also... It wasn't baking, but yesterday I made mostly-homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes and green peppers (I supplemented it with Prego Traditional).  It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself and it got thumbs up from Hubs and Owl.

I'm over 2mil in poker now.  It's all two steps forward and one step back, so we'll see how that goes.  Like I said, it's strictly play money, so it doesn't really matter.  It just give me the illusion I'm accomplishing something.  And hey, it's something to do since TV is the shits and FB is mostly depressing. 

It's super quiet in the house right now.  Owl went to bed and Hubs is still sleeping.  Kira is snoring in her cubby hole next to the filing cabinet.  And here I am, chugging coffee and contemplating the universe.

What went on in your world last week?  Any plans for the coming week? 

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/22/20

Sorry I'm late, but I am totally not in line with what day it is anymore.  And apparently, I haven't been keeping up with doing the whole 'books read' thing.

No new books this week and I only one one unread ebook left.  Gotta rectify that soon.

Books Read:

59) Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass (8/19/20) - Cozy Mystery* - 4 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Paid full price of $1.99.
Review: "I got this book after it came highly recommended. Maybe the recommendation got my expectations too high. :shrug: It was cute and enjoyable, but it didn't blow my socks off."

No DNFs.

Currently reading...  Actually I don't have any books I'm currently reading right now.  And I don't know what I'll read next.  

What was on your read list last week?  Anything good?

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Thursday This n That

Last night, as I was trying to sleep, my brain decided it would be good to bombard me with ideas for the book.  I got up and wrote some down, which is usually enough to get my brain to shut up, but no, not last night.  I had more ideas after I laid back down.  I did not get up again.  Probably should've though because I wasn't sleeping anyway. 

Today I have to take a roadtrip to UPS.  One of the downsides of living in the boonies is going to UPS requires a roadtrip.  (Shut up, spellcheck, roadtrip should be one word.)  So, later this morning, after I shower and wake the hell up, Owl and I will load into the car and head out.  45 minutes there, 45 back over twisting, winding hillsides, and at one point, over the lake.  Hubs suggested we stop and have lunch.  Then I reminded him of the 'rona.  Umm, nopers.  Stupid 'rona.

I hate having to enter my password again, so to avoid that, if I even think I've fatfingered it, I go back and retype the whole thing.  Which is basically the same as having to enter it again.  I'm so weird sometimes.

If someone had told me thirty years ago that I would be this concerned with the size, frequency, and consistency of my cat's poop, I would've laughed in their face.

Despite being billed as 'fishing sunglasses', my new pair is not polarized.  Damn them.  How am I supposed to watch the little fishies in the water if my glasses aren't polarized?  I got spoiled by my last polarized pair.  =o(

I want cake.  Yesterday, I had a choice - make cake or make granola bars for Hubs.  I made granola bars because he's been out of them for a few days now.  But, man, do I ever want cake.  Maybe tomorrow since my morning today is full.

The other day we had a brown out, which happens often here, and my battery backup did it's job, except my monitor went off and wouldn't come back on.  So, I turned the battery backup off to reset everything.  My computer went off.  I swear it did.  When I turned it 'back on', it came out of some kind of weird 'sleep mode' and my programs were all still open, even my browser which still had me sitting at a poker table in a hand I would've won if the site hadn't timed me out.  I think this new computer has a battery in it.  Or something.  I would understand if it were a laptop, but it's a desktop.  Weird.  Anyway, I was totally weirded out.  :cue Twilight Zone music:

Okay, I suppose I should get my ass in gear and get some things done before I have to roadtrip.  (Added to dictionary as one word. Take THAT.)  Got any this n that's to add to the day?

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The Chaos Diaries - 8/18/20

Yeah, it's been a while since I did a Chaos Diaries post, but it's still chaotic, even if we're mostly learning to deal with it.

For the most part, the USPS does an okay job, but I don't trust them with my vote.  I work from home for a company up in Michigan.  Every Thursday, they mail me a check.  Mostly, it arrives on Monday.  Sometimes Tuesday.  Every once in a while, Thursday.  About 4 times a year, the check never arrives.  Once, the check arrived more than two weeks late, after the company had already issued me a new check.  Once a package they'd sent, with tracking, went to a totally different town because the USPS said the address was illegible.  I called the other town's post office and spoke to a woman there who had my package and said she could read the address just fine and would be putting it back into the mail.  It arrived here a couple days later.  I'll be voting in person, thank you very much.

Speaking of other 'rona oddities, Owl was informed yesterday that she needs to take a 'rona test and have it mailed back by Sunday or she can't go back to school.  It's being overnighted - thankfully all at the university's expense because the test alone is $150 - and it will be overnighted back.  But it has to be shipped from an actual UPS location and not in 'in-store' shipping location, which means a roadtrip for us.  There was a UPS store not too awfully far from us, but it went belly-up, I guess, since the number is disconnected.  Funny, when I called UPS directly, they gave that location as the one for me to go to.  Stupid heads.  Anyway, she'll get the test and then she has to log into Zoom, wait for a technician, and then spit into a tube while the technician is watching so they can verify it is, in fact, her spit.  She already sent them a pic of her ID.  Here's hoping she looks like the photo on her ID. 

In case you missed it, she has to take a 'rona test now before she goes through three germ-infested airplanes and airports to get back to school.  If there had been any other way to deal with this back in March, I would've left her in Michigan. 

I've been managing the mask thing without additional panic attacks.  It is what it is, so I deal with it.  Going to Wallyworld is surreal with all the people walking around in masks.  Can't tell who anyone is.  Can't see if anyone is smiling back at you because they can't see if you're smiling.  It's dehumanizing.

Back on the 4th, Hubs and I went to vote.  Our local polling place is small.  There's rarely anyone else in there but us and the workers.  I think it usually seats 10 voters, but with the social distancing requirements, it seats 6.  Outside, I pulled up next to a snazzy, black, sports car.  An elderly couple - they were easily in their late 70s early 80s - was inside the vehicle .  As I began to exit my vehicle, the old lady in her mask in the car starts waving at me and pointing to her mask, then she pulls it down to her chin and mouths at me to put my mask on.  Okay, you old Karen, you.  Lemme tell ya somethin'.  You are more danger to others in your sports car than I am without a mask.  Feh.  By the way, they must've already voted or we scared them off with our masklessness because they didn't come in behind us and they were gone by the time we got done voting.  Other voters in there while we were there?  ONE.  He was there when we got there and left before we did.  We never passed within 6 feet of him.  Oh, and he wasn't wearing a mask either.  The old ladies who man the polling station?  There are four of them, they were wearing masks, AND they were behind hanging plastic shields. 

Okay, that's enough out of me for the day.  Thanks for letting me vent.  How are things in your world amidst the 'rona?


Sunday, August 16, 2020

Sunday Update - Week... Umm 32?

What a week.  It flew right by there, didn't it?  And now, here's me on a Sunday morning trying to patch it together for this update.  Lucky for me, I've been keeping a log of writing and activity.

Writing went well this week.  I'm still writing every day (as you can see from the widget on the right there.)   Only 6007 words last week, but I'm over 15K overall for the month.  And the book is now over 53K.  Last night, I got about 250 words in when I blurted out "Well, I didn't see that coming."  And then I had to stop to digest what I'd just dropped in my own lap.  Of course, Hubs was all like 'what?' and then I had to explain that I'd just written something I hadn't been expecting.  The joys of pantsing.  I went and played some poker for a bit while I figured out what I was going to do with the epiphany, then I got back after it.  Then after I'd stopped for the night, a couple corollary epiphanies hit.  I wrote those down on a notepad for today.

No editing or marketing this week.

Reading did not go all that well.  I mean, I tried.  But I ended up DNF'ing 3 books and didn't finish anything.  Which doesn't help when I'm trying to wedge reading time in between writing and activity and the rest of life.  Right now, I'm reading a Phyllis Whitney I haven't read before, so that's good.

As for activity, I missed two days last week.  By the time I thought about doing anything, it was too hot to walk and I didn't feel like doing anything else.  Of the five days, I walked three of those, cleaned one other day, and one day was shopping and baking - which totally count as activity.  Push a full cart around Wallyworld and see if you don't burn some calories.  As for baking, it's the kneading that gives me a workout.  Weight:  Umm... 180.8 - because reasons.

Speaking of baking, I did Owl's birthday cake and then made her a pizza for her birthday dinner.  I also made stuffed peppers for dinner one night.  As for other cooking, that one neighbor dropped by again with a bag full of tomatoes and peppers.  I blanched up a bunch of the tomatoes - my first time blanching - and they're all set to freeze for sauces.

On the cleaning front, I tackled my bathroom yesterday.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Umm, not easy.  Big bathroom.  The mirror on the wall with the vanity stretches the entire wall.  Wash the floors.  Full shower surround that requires me to actually get in and scrub it while I'm showering.  Anyway, it's clean and I'm clean and I'm feeling the effects in my shoulders today.

Getting older sucks.

Anyway, that's about it for me.  And probably more than enough for you.  How'd your week go?

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/15/20

Hello!  It's Reading Wrap-up time again!  Yay!

Okay so maybe it wasn't a great week for reading, but it's morning.  I have coffee and a cigarette and  woke up this morning, so life is good.

I picked up one new ebook this week.  It's the first in a cozy mystery series my mom's been reading and enjoying.  Lucky for me, the first one was on sale because the rest are $7.99.  Most likely I'll read this one and, whether I enjoy it or not, skip the rest.  All apologies to the author, but I can't afford $8 a book, let alone the $64 for the rest of the series.  Damn you, Penguin.

Oh, and I forgot... I managed to slip into a thrift store last week and picked up three new old paperbacks - Dick Francis, Michael Crichton, and Phyllis Whitney.  I don't recall having read any of these titles, so yay.

Books Read:
Nothing finished this week.

DNFS:

8/12/20 - free - supernatural thriller.  The premise seemed interesting and the writing was okay, but I didn't like the characters.

8/10/20 - free - urban fantasy.  Argh.  Do the world a favor and hire an editor for pitysakes.  The number of GLARING mistakes in the first few pages alone should be sufficient cause for death by white-out.  And it really sucks because the premise sounded good and with some basic proofreading, it could be a fun book.

8/8/20 - free - mystery.  OMG, maybe if you spent less time telling me how virtuous your character was on the hotbutton issues of the times, and got to the damn story, I would've gone further than a few pages into your book.  I want to read a mystery, damn it, not be preached to.  Blerg.

Currently reading...  Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney.

What did you read this week?  Anything good?

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Thursday This n That

I made pizza again yesterday and as I was kneading the dough I reminded myself it was totally worth it to get pizza.  This morning, I have to remind myself again.  Someday, the scales may tip in the wrong direction and it won't be worth all the effort to get pizza, but today is not that day.  (The hands are begging to differ this morning, but they can shut the hell up.)

On a totally related note, YAY ALEVE! YAY ASPERCREME!

I also made a cake yesterday, but it was boxed, so no effort there.  Strawberry cake with chocolate frosting (also cheater).  With ice cream.  And fresh strawberries on the side.  And Owl made fresh whipped cream.  It was all totally yummy.

Additionally, Owl and I did the Wallyworld haul for the month.  Gah.  Totally surreal in there.

Yes, totally is the word of the day.

I'm still writing every day.  Yay!  This is the longest sustained effort I've put into anything in longer than I can remember. 

I haven't finished a book this week.  Thus far, it's DNFs all the way down.  More about that on Saturday.

Yesterday, I was sitting out in the smoking room when something flashed by the windows.  (The windows are about 12-14' up from the ground back there.)  Beauregard, our broad-winged hawk, moving fast on his way somewhere else.  It must be the week for seeing interesting birds. 

My hairy woodpecker scratches are healing nicely, by the way.

Other than that, not much going on around here.  What's on your this-n-that radar today?

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

My Morning Walk with a Little Excitement


Yesterday, I went out for my morning walk.  It was already hot and gross, but I need to walk, so off I went.  Now, in the mornings, I tend to walk what I refer to as 'the loop'.  Our neighborhood is basically a big circle that gradually goes uphill to the top and then downhill toward the river.  It's about a mile and takes me approximately 24 minutes to traverse.  I live partway to the top, so the beginning of my walk is basically uphill, then it's totally downhill in the middle, and uphill the rest of the way home.

In the morning, the loop is about 2/3 in the shade, which makes it nice. 

Anyway, it's a hard walk, but one where I usually see things and check out the neighborhood to see if anything's changed, sometimes cross paths with other human beings and loads of wildlife. 

Yesterday was an eventful walk.  First off, I encountered the guinea fowl, Harry and Henry.  I always say "Hi, guys!" when I see them.  And they'd accepted Piebald back into their acquaintance.  They kind of shunned him after he attacked Henry, but all is well in the trio once more.  So yay.

Then I crossed paths with a neighbor I'd seen but never met before.  I have a goal to meet everyone at some point.  Meet but not get to know.  It's a hermit thing.  Anyway, I'd incorrectly identified this guy before as being one of the Smiths, but one day I saw him in the neighborhood when I knew the Smiths weren't in residence, so then it was a matter of figuring out which un-met neighbor he was.  Yesterday, I solved that.  Yay.  He was headed counter-clockwise on the loop and I always go clockwise, so I knew I'd meet him again.  Unless he walked really fast.

A little farther down the road, on the decline toward the river, I got the most excitement.  (I've already told this part on FB, so if you're there, too, bear with me.)  I was walking along, watching my footing because part of the loop is gravel road, when something flashed across my path - about ten feet in the air and I'd say eight feet in front of me - and crashed into the hillside.  I stopped and scanned the area where it landed.  There was some rustling in the brush there.  After a short time, a BIG redtailed hawk popped out.  He looked around and then opened his wings and took off.  (His claws were empty, so I assume he was looking around for the prey he missed.)  A couple wing flaps got him up and then he soared across the road again in front of me.  I watched him go over the top of a house and then bank to the left and head downriver.  So pretty.  So majestic.  I kind of wish he'd caught whatever he was going for.  I mean, I would've felt bad for the critter, but it would've been cool. 

The rest of the walk was uneventful.  All is well in the neighborhood.  Everyone's crepe myrtles are blooming in a most spectacular fashion.  (Mine has two clusters of flowers.  :sadface:)   Nothing new to report to Hubs there.  I did cross paths with the new guy again.  He must walk way slower than I do because he wasn't as far along as I'd guessed he would be.  Either that or he stopped to chat with someone along the way. 

I did the walk in 25 minutes, even with all the stops.  And then I got to regale the Hubs with my little adventures.  A good morning.  And I get to do it again this morning.  I wonder what sights I'll see today.


Monday, August 10, 2020

Another Day in the Woods (Or the Hairy Incident)

If you've been around here long enough, you might know that I regularly rescue birds who've slammed themselves into my front window.  Probably 99% of the time, they're savable.  The other 1% never had a chance, so I do what I can to make their last seconds calm and quiet before I lay them to rest in one of my gardens.

So, yesterday, I was in here playing poker - on a particularly awesome hot streak by the way - when I hear something SLAM into the front window.  I sat myself out of the game and walked up front to see if any bird needed help.  Sure enough, there was an either female or immature hairy woodpecker sitting on one of the porch chairs, looking dazed.

I call back to Hubs that I'm headed out, slip on my shoes, and out I go. 

Now, usually, I scoop them into my hands, hold them and pet them until they're well enough to fly off on their own.  It usually takes a few minutes.  Sometimes, more.  One particularly loopy red-headed woodpecker took about 20 minutes of care before he flew off.  Occasionally, they recover enough to fly off when they see my hands approaching.

This one looked like a minimal care hit.  Still, I reached for it.  And it promptly flew onto my leg.

If you don't know much about woodpeckers, they have rather long and pointy talons made for gripping the bark of trees.  And it was using those long and pointy talons to grip onto my leg.  Only for a second or two.  Then it fluttered onto the porch and hopped over behind the chairs.

Still, not 100% back to normal bird behavior, so I followed it, grabbed it up, and sought to provide aid and comfort.  I know, I know, scaring the hell out of it so I can comfort it.  I get that, but it's necessary.  Basically, I want these birds to be able to fly off on their own like normal birds, so they don't get eaten by one of the neighbors' cats.  This one wasn't making it off the ground yet, so there you go.

And there we were, I was holding it and beginning my routine check to make sure there are no broken bones in the wings and that its eyes are both working, when suddenly its head flopped over like it had died.  Oh, noes!  I opened my loose grip to try and revive it.  As soon as my fingers unwrapped from it, it turned its head, looked at me, and flew off as fast as its wings could carry it. 

I had no clue birds could play possum, but I sweat that's what it did. 

Anyway, it was well enough to fly away and the scratches on my leg aren't that bad.  Way better than that hawk who scratched up my arm last year.  I applied plenty of antiseptic and stuff to keep the scratches clean and will continue to monitor them. 

Another day in the woods. 

Oh, and by the time I got back to my poker, it had removed me from the room where I was so lucky.  Damn it.  And oh well.  It was time to start dinner anyway.  ;o)

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Sunday Update - Week 31

Ah, the end of another fun-filled week of 2020.  Yippee. But let's leave the rest of the world aside for now.  It actually was a pretty good week here.

First off, I was writing!  Every day.  6339 words out this past week.  Sure, that's not rolling thunder across the keyboard or anything, but it works for me.

I didn't read gangbusters either, but I read an entire book.  And not a short one either.  It was a 300+ page hardcover of Agatha Christie short stories.  I love Christie.  Yesterday, I started a newly published cozy mystery.  And I DNF'd it last night.  I'll share more about that on next week's wrap-up.

Also, I did seven days worth of being active.  Five of those days, I walked between a mile and 1.6 miles.  One day was cleaning.  One day was baking.  Yes, baking can be active.  You try making a batch of zucchini bread in the morning and then pizza crust in the afternoon.  Between the stirring and the kneading, my arms got a workout.  So there.  Let's not talk weight, though.  K?  K.

Other than that, life's okay.  I've been navigating Dollar General with a mask on and while it sucks, I've kicked the panic attacks out the door.  Okay, not entirely kicked, but I did shove them down and spit at them.

Nothing new to report in the deer department.  Or the fishing department.

If there's anything I missed, let me know.

How was your week 31?

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Sartuday Reading Wrap-up - 8/8/20

Hello and welcome to the first week of August's reading wrap-up.  It was a better week than most of July, but still not burning up the pages.

This week, I did get a couple new ebooks.  Yay.  One was a supernatural thriller and the other an urban fantasy.  I still have an urban fantasy and a mystery left from the beginning of July to read, so those will go first.

Books read:

57) Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie (8/7/20) - Mystery - 5 stars.  Natch.  I've had this hardcover compilation for years but never sat down to read it.  Rectified that.  Yay.
Review: "I always love reading Agatha Christie. And this compilation only had a few stories I'd read before, so it was even better."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... Nothing at the moment.  I finished the Christie and then it was dinner, writing, and walking.  Then some poker to chill out before bed.  I'll start something today.

What have you been reading this past week?

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Thursday This n That

August the 6th.  So far, it's been six days in a row of writing and activity.  Good start there.  Now to keep this up.  Yesterday, after spending the better part of the day crouched down over some spreadsheets, I so did not want to do anything, but I made myself sit down and write.  Then when my hands got crampy, I made myself go for a walk.  I will do this.  See?  I have a thing over on the right now to show my progress.  Yay.

On the docket for today?  Zucchini bread again.  Some other neighbors are supposed to be bringing us tomatoes and peppers, and I'd like to have a loaf ready for them when they stop by.  I can't have a garden - not with all the deer - so it's nice when neighbors bring us fresh produce.  And I like to pay them back by presenting them with baked goods.  Or maybe I'll make them oatmeal cookies and save the bread for the neighbor who brings us zucchinis.  Hmm.  I still have to make the bread because the zucchini is already defrosted, but...  Hmm.  I have to think on that.

I cut my hair again finally.  It doesn't look bad.  A little longer on the left than the right this time, but my head tilts to the right so it's not noticeable to anyone but me.

I have a note on my desk that says 'SSA waiting outside' (the next scene in CU), which keeps giving me pause this morning because even though I know SSA means Society for Sorceral Activity, my brain keeps defaulting to Social Security Administration.  And I can't figure out why they'd be waiting outside.  Derp.

One thing about having a new computer is that I keep having to add words to the dictionary I'd already added to the old computer's dictionary.  There's probably a dictionary file somewhere on the old girl I could transfer to this one, but I'm lazy. 

The fawns are accepting Hubs as part of the landscape now.  When he went to feed this morning, a mom and her twins were munching on the lawn and they didn't even run away.  In fact, one of the fawns approached him to see what he was doing.  And then it thought better of it and backed off.  Still, it's a pretty nice feeling for Hubs.  Me?  They at least don't run when I walk out of the house, as long as I don't walk toward them.

Okay, that's it for me today.  What's on your radar?



Sunday, August 2, 2020

Sunday Update - Week 30

Well, July is officially in the can and good riddance to it.  Yuck, what a month.  Hello, August!  You'd better be better than your predecessor, lemme tell ya. 

On a distinctly positive note, yesterday I started what I'm calling AugNoWriMo, wherein I will attempt to write every day.  (Technically, I started Friday night by laying down over 1300 words and then threw down almost 1500 last night.)  By the end of this, Cinder Ugly will be done, and maybe another book will be worked on.  We'll see.  The point here is to write every day - however much I can, but hoping to get at least 1000 words out a day.  Feel free to join in if you're so inclined.  No pressure.

I'm also going to get off my dead ass and keep this damn house cleaner than I did in July.  Oh, it's not a pigsty or anything.  I was still tidying.  But things like dusting and vacuuming and scrubbing got left behind.  To that end, I vacuumed on Friday and dusted on Saturday.  Go me.

Reading, unfortunately, got left behind as well last month.  I'm still ahead on my yearly goal by 16 books, but I'm going to try to read more in August.  Which also means I need to spend some time going through the book newsletters and finding new books to read.

Umm, exercise?  Well, as with everything else, I was a toad.  Only 7 days where I was active out of the whole damn month.  On the upside, I lost over a pound somewhere.  Weight 177.0.  Now that the weather has slackened off on the heat a little, I need to start walking every day again. 

No baking this past week.  No fishing either.  Bleh.

Okay, so there's a lot of 'need tos' up there and still only the same 24 hours a day in which to get it all done.  Not a problem, really, just an adjustment to my TV viewing and my poker playing.  Less of both, I'd say.  Although, in the poker, I'm up to 1.6 million in play money now.  None of it purchased. (You can pay real money to buy play money, which I refuse to do.)

So, what's been up with you lately?  How was your July?  Got any goals for August?  


Saturday, August 1, 2020

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/1/20

Well, there went the last week of July.  :waves buh-bye:  Unfortunately, July was not a good month for reading.  May August be better.

No new books of any kind.  No books finished.  No DNFs either.  And I'm not currently reading anything.  Nothing sounds interesting.  Blerg.

Sorry.  That was boring.  Here's hoping I have something more interesting to post on next week's reading wrap-up.

How was your reading week?