Sunday Update - Week 30

Another week has passed and Sunday is here again.  

Unfortunately, these days I don't have anything interesting to talk about.  I work, I come home, I veg, I sleep... Lather, rinse repeat.  And since I can't really talk about the particulars of work, that cuts of 40 hrs worth of my awake time out of my Sunday Update.

I did manage to get some reading done.  I finished two books last week and DNF'd two.  I'm most of the way through another book right now and I'll finish it today.  

Baking happened.  Nothing exciting or even different.  I made zucchini bread last Sunday and granola bars yesterday.  

I also hit the Wallyworld yesterday.  I'm in charge of the pop machine at work now, and part of that is acquiring the cans to fill the machine.  So, before I did my own groceries, I did that.  168 cans worth.  What can I say, it's been a while since anyone did this and the machine was out of damn near everything.  My back seat is filled with pop.  Which meant I didn't have room for deer food.  Needless to say, I need to find a better way to do this.  Then I went back in and did my own shopping.  I was a naughty girl and bought stuff we didn't need.  Next month, I need to go back to my usual shopping strategies.  And of course, it was pouring rain, so between the two trips into and out of the store, and the loading of stuff into the car, plus the trips from the car to the house, I was soaked.  

After the rain stopped, Hubs and I went for a walk.  Our first real walk in weeks.  We did a little over a mile and man, can I tell that it's been a while since I walked.  I also took a short walk on my lunch half-hour one day this past week.  Still too hot for such activities.  I was a sweaty mess and I only walked for 8 minutes.  Additionally, on the activity side of things, I was moving boxes of stuff around at the office.  Weight: 175.4

In other news, my bank was robbed in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.  The gals who work there couldn't give me any details, because it's an ongoing investigation, but there were observations I could make on my own.  For instance, the two robbers knocked out the right side of the glass double doors to gain entry.  I'm not really sure what these bastards could've gotten away with - the vault, where my safety deposit box is, is well... a vault.  The bank does have a security system, which alerts the authorities and has cameras, so there's that.  Unfortunately, we are far enough out that the police did not arrive in time to catch the assholes.  

While I was discussing this bit of local news with the gal at the corner store, she told me there are also reports of a camouflage Chevy Blazer in the area making threats to set people's homes on fire and rob them when they escape the flames.  Nice.  I also heard about two other robberies in the area.  One of the people I was talking to said all this crime is because of, you know, drugs.  I think it's because people aren't being taught not to touch what doesn't belong to them, while being taught that they're entitled to shit, and there are no longer any real consequences for bad behavior.  And drugs.  But that's just me.

And now, on to the weather... It's been wet.  I can't complain, though, because we've been hoping for rain for so long that complaining would be hypocritical.  So, yay, rain.  

Nothing much else going on around here.  What's up in your world?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/30/22

Good morning!

I picked up a bunch of new ebooks this week.  3 urban fantasy, 2 suspense, a romance, a mystery, and a fantasy.  

Books Read: 

42) Fastening the Grave by LA McBride (7/29/22) - UF*# - 5 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Free off the Freebooksy newsletter.
Review: "Good one here! A different and interesting premise, likable (or hate-able, as the case may be) characters, solid writing. All around an enjoyable book."

41) Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse by Charlotte Denver (7/24/22) - Cozy Mystery* - 4 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Free off the Book Doggy newsletter.
Review: "Cute, little cozy mystery."

DNFs (and here I was thinking I escaped the week with no DNFs):

7/29/22 - free - suspense.  I would've killed the two characters in the opening scenes myself if I could've.  Dragging the reader around with a pair of unlikable people for a couple chapters without introducing the suspense is not a good way to keep this reader reading, lemme tell ya.

7/29/22 - free - romance.  Bleh.  A tried and true premise tortured by godawful writing.

Currently reading... After I finished that good book and then DNF'd two dregs, I gave up and watched On Patrol Live.  I'll try something else today.

What was on your reading list this past week?

Thursday This n That

Hubs found an auto mechanic that makes house calls.  

Paper towels are becoming scarce again.  

Speaking of paper towels, we have this dispenser at work that pulls sheets through a little hole in the bottom.  I swear you need a degree in physics to load the damn thing.  First, you need to rip the tube out of the center.  Then you need to pull the center towels such that they come out in a line so you can feed them through the little hole, but they don't want to come out in a line, they want to come out in a clump.  Ah, the little annoyances.  

Yesterday was a day of little annoyances.  And that's all I have to say about that.

FB is doing this thing where they're filling up my feed with 'suggested pages' instead of showing me the pages I actually chose to see.  Smart.  Not.

The other day, I saw this post about a police officer who rescued a puppy from some homeless people.  It was thin and had a horrible skin condition that looked like mange.  Poor ugly, little, bald puppy.  He took the puppy home and made it his family's puppy.  It wasn't mange.  It just had a bad flea allergy.  In no time, the puppy's skin is clearing up, the hair is growing again, and it's the happiest puppy ever.  It has its own FB page, so I'm following its progress.  Such a heartwarming thing to see.  They've named it Sir Charlemagne Buckington the Third.  Too fun.

I see a lot of things online about how horrible people are to drop their dogs off at a shelter and how if you get a dog, it's your dog for life.  But sometimes, giving a dog up is the best thing you can do for it.  When I left Michigan, I took both of my dogs to the Humane Society.  I was moving to Florida.  Aside from the fact that I would've had to drive 1000 miles with two big dogs (and my kid) in a little car, and the fact that I would never have been able to find an apartment that allowed two big dogs, I figured the heat would kill those dogs.  They were cold-loving dogs.  One was a malamute mix for petesakes.  Anyway, I did what I thought was right for all parties concerned.  It broke my heart, but I did it.

And now, I don't have any pets.  Not because I don't want a pet or seven, but because it wouldn't be fair to a pet to bring them into my life at this juncture.  Sure, there are tons of pets needing a loving home.  But pets need more than love.  They need loads of attention.  And they require a ton of money - food, toys, vet bills, etc.  If all I have is love to give them, but not the essentials, then maybe it isn't the time to have one.  Even if I know there are tons of them in shelters across the country.  Jus' sayin'.

Although, I keep thinking that a cat would be nice.  Hubs would have someone to keep him company while I'm at work.  I mean, he has the herd of deer, but he can't pet them and they definitely cannot come in the house.  LOL

One last thing... We have frogs hanging out in the front garden.  Frogs.  Leopard frogs.  In this heat and drought.  I was amazed.  You go near the front bed and they're hopping all over the place trying to escape.  So, I put a little flat pan of water out there on the ground for them.  And I filled the bird bath.  I put a rock in the center for perching and because I read that butterflies also enjoy a birdbath, as long as they have something to land on.  

That's me, kind to critters of all varieties.

What's on your mind today?

Sunday Update - Week 29

We're more than halfway through the year.  Things are looking up on a personal level.  We won't talk about on a world level, k?  I'm just muddling through and trying to live my life here.

I thought about writing yesterday.  That's actually a step forward.  I also tried to come up with a schedule with which I can get some words out without burning myself to a crispy critter.  It may involve writing in the morning. That hasn't worked for me in the past, but hey, this is a new world I'm working in, so maybe there's hope.  

I managed to finish reading two books last week.  Yay.  I'm still behind on my goal, but I'm not dropping further behind, so that's something.  

In baking news, I made cake cookies last Sunday.  Today, I need to make zucchini bread.  

At work, I was relaying what I thought was a funny story about getting home from work and then doing spreadsheets, wherein I attached the wrong file and sent it to the office.  It was posited that perhaps I was stretching myself too thin.  Eh.  I've attached the wrong file when I wasn't doing a day-job, too.  I make mistakes.  In the scheme of things, it wasn't the worst mistake I could've made.  Hell, I could've sent the right file to all the wrong people.  THAT would've been bad.  Yes, I am tired.  It's just a matter of getting used to all of this and acclimating myself to working when I haven't.  :shrug:  I must be getting used to it, or my brain wouldn't be thinking about throwing writing into the mix, too.  I tell you one thing, I probably won't write on the nights I have spreadsheets to do, too.  Hence, the maybe writing in the morning.  

Thankfully, Hubs is doing a most excellent job of taking care of the house, so really all I have to do is cook dinner.  And some nights, he does that, too.  Or we have leftovers or sandwiches.  It's all good, baby.

We had a bit of a scare this week.  Lumpy came into the yard with only one twin.  Fortunately, the next day, she had both of them with her.  I suspect the boy is starting to get more independent and decided he didn't want to follow Mom that day.  Nature can be a bitch, though, so if we lost one, it wouldn't be totally surprising.  Just sad.  

We're starting to see bucks again.  And we're playing the game of 'wonder which one is Sonny'.  For those of you who are new here, Sonny is Lumpy's son from two years ago who hung around with his Mom and his twin sister, Sissy, until last year's rut.  He's out there amongst the bucks somewhere.  I expect he'll be a little bit tamer than the other bucks because his mother and his sister are so much tamer.  They know which human is the food-bringer and what yard to find him in.  So Hubs can basically walk right by them and they follow him down to the feed pans, like big dogs.  They do not get close enough to touch, which is the way we want it, but they let him get closer than any other deer would.  

We have a bitty bunny hanging out here now.  She's about 2/3rd size of an adult rabbit.  And very chill.  Like the deer, she knows where she can get food and water, and remain safe.  Welcome to the menagerie, Bitty Bunny.

It's been so hot here.  And so dry.  Hubs has been watering my gardens so my plants don't die.  I don't expect great things from them this year.  If we can just keep them all alive, maybe next year will be better.  The vegetable plants... well, they're annual, so there won't be a next year for them.  But hey, they're alive, even if they are nowhere near putting forth anything edible.  

Well, that was a long-ass post.  Sorry.  Loads to say, I guess.  Anyway, thanks for reading this far.  Leave a comment, if you're not too tired from reading, and tell me what your week was like.

The hot and the dry are making life hard for the animals.  Which, I suspect, is why the deer have been eating my irises.  They don't usually do that.  Irises are not a food of choice for the deer.  This year?  Munch munch munch.  Like the hard winter where they ate my coral bells (another plant they aren't supposed to eat).  It is what it is.  

Speaking of deer eating things, they have ruinated Elmer the elm.  He's just a stick in the dirt now.  Hubs keeps watering it, but I think it's a lost cause.  :shrug:  We still have Cecil and Cedric cedars, though.  Fingers crossed that when they finally go into the ground, the deer leave them alone.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/23/22

 Good morning, Everybody.  I've been busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, but I did manage to find time to read this week.  

Unfortunately, I'm down to one unread ebook, so I'd better get cracking this weekend or I'll be without new books to read.  The one I have left is a cozy mystery.  Still have loads and loads of hardcopies, but I need to get some more of those, too.

Books Read:

40) Crossed by Death by ACF Bookens (7/22/22) - Cozy Mystery* - 4 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Free off the ENT newsletter.  
Review: "Interesting premise with a slightly different kind of heroine. And I totally didn't figure out whodunnit before the reveal."

39) The Daemoniac by Kat Ross (7/17/22) - Paranormal Historical Mystery*1 - 5 stars.  Not new to me, since I already read the 5th book in this series, and it has plenty of reviews.  Free on Amazon which I discovered after I'd finished the 5th book and went looking for it.
Review: "Excellent story! I actually read the 5th book in this series first and then went back to the beginning. I'm glad I did. I'm looking forward to reading the others along the way. Definitely worth reading, even if you don't start at the beginning."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... since I finished that cozy mystery not long before bed last night, I didn't have time to start anything else.

What was on your reading radar last week?

Thursday This n That

Shit, it's Thursday.  Where did the rest of the week go?  Seriously.  I swear it was just Monday.  

Yesterday, I left work at the same time as one of my co-workers.  She got into her car and rolled down all the windows, then yelled to me that it was 114 in her car.  I have manual windows, so I was walking around my car rolling all my windows down at the time.  When I got in, it felt like 130.  And of course, my old car doesn't appreciate it when I run the AC.  Of course.  Callie Cavalier growls at me when I try to run the AC... the bitch.  So, I hopped in and drove.  The air coming in the windows... Well, you know that whoosh of hot you get when you open the oven to check whether the pizza is done in the middle?  That's about what it felt like.  Lucky for me, I only have a 5-7 minute drive.  By the time I got home, my lighter was hot to the touch, as were the metal bits on my purse - both of which were inside with me all day.  Hell, I was hot to the touch.  We won't discuss how hot the steering wheel and gear shift were.  

It's bill-paying day.  Woohoo.  As soon as I get this post finished, I have to go do that.  Then shower.  Then work.

Hey, my new sheets and shorts arrived yesterday.  We have two sets of sheets we rotate.  One of them developed a hole in the fitted sheet, so that's relegated to 'drop cloth' duty.  I ordered a new set to use as the main set and we'll take the older set and use them as backup.  I also developed a hole in the butt of my favorite shorts, so I ordered two new pair.  Hubs is washing everything right now.  Yay.  After this morning's shower, I'll put on a pair of the new shorts and tonight we'll be sleeping on new sheets.  

We have a baby bunny living just off the yard.  Not sure where, but close enough that we're seeing her frequently.  Yay.  

Speaking of babies, the fawns are doing fine in this heat.  Of course, Hubs is refilling the water pans like 3 times a day.  And we do live near a lake.  Still, the water is fresher and cooler here.  

Okay, well, I should probably start me day.  Have a great one!  

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?  

Sunday Update - A Day Late and a Brain Cell Short

I totally derped out over the day of the week yesterday.  Thus, no Sunday Update on Sunday.  And I'm running slow this morning.  Good thing I don't have to be to work until 9, eh?  Plenty of time to get all my brain cells rowing in the same direction.  With the help of coffee, of course.  

So, I worked all week.  And I still haven't found the groove of being able to work all day and then write at night.  It's more like 'come home, make dinner, vegetate, sleep'.  And let's not even talk about the weekends.  I'll get there.  Right now, I have to focus my energies where they're needed the most.  Needless to say, nothing happened all week worth talking about.  And I won't talk about work, so there's that.  

On the weekend, I read a lot, watched a boatload of TV, and vegged.  It's too hot to do much of anything else.  My activity level is for shit these days.  Oh, I did get some calories burned at work.  Boxes of stuffs needed moving from here to there.  And then stuffs had to get moved from inside the boxes onto shelves.  So I wasn't a total slug.  But yeah, a whole lot of the rest of the time was sitting.  I lost another pound, though.  Weight: 175.4

I did some baking over the weekend, too.  Saturday, I made what I'm calling 'zucchini bake' wherein I layered sliced zukes with a burger, rice, and tomato soup mixture, covered it all with cheese and threw it in the oven until it was bubbling.  Yesterday, I made cake cookies.  

As near as we can figure, we have 7 fawns this year.  5 plus Lumpy's twins.  Speaking of Lumpy and her twins, I was headed for work the other morning when I came around the first curve and almost ran them over.  It was shady right there and the sun was coming at a slant right into my eyes.  Luckily, I thought I saw movement and stopped.  I did a slow roll forward until I could see and there was Lumpy on the left side of the road.  Suddenly, her twins shot out from the right and ran right in front of my car.  If I hadn't stopped and rolled, I would've hit them both.  I scolded Lumpy as I rolled past.  She's lucky it was me and not one of the speed demons who live around here.  I would've had a serious sad if I'd hit those babies.  

Okay, well, I suppose I should go get a shower before I have to call Michigan and get that part of my day started.  Have a great rest of the week.

How are things going in your world?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/16/22

Howdy, folks.  It's time again for wrapping up my reading week.  Yay!  I read books this week!  :muppetflail:  Unfortunately, neither one encouraged me to leave reviews.   

I picked up two new ebooks - both cozy mysteries.  And I still have a historical paranormal mystery from before that I'm currently reading.  No new hardcopies.  Maybe now that I'm working, I can loosen the budget up a little.

Books Read:

38) Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson (7/10/22) - Paranormal Noir* - 4 stars, the author isn't new to me but I haven't read him in a long time.  And it wasn't underappreciated.  Free after seeing someone post about it on FB.
No Review.

37) Blood Water Falls by TG Reid (7/9/22) - Suspense*2 - 4 stars.  Not new to me or underappreciated.  I also picked this one up after seeing it mentioned on FB that it was free.
No Review.

No DNFs.

Currently Reading... the first book in a paranormal historical (historical paranormal?) series where I read the 5th one first.  Derp.  Anyway, the first book seems to be as good as the 5th, so that's something.  I'm about 30% through.

What was up in your reading world this week?

Thursday This n That

It's been a busy week so it's kinda hard for me to believe it's already Thursday.  

I overdid it yesterday, so I'm moving slow today.  On the upside, I went to bed at 8:30 last night and slept like a rock until 2 when I had to pee and then I finally got up at 4:30.  Believe it or not, that's the best night's sleep I've had in ages.

Yesterday, Hubs saw 5 fawns in the yard at the same time.  He thinks it was Lumpy's twins, another set of twins, and a single.  Yay.  

Oh, I did get a pic of Lumpy's kids.  It's not a great photo, but here it is:

A couple of days ago at work, while I was outside smoking, I found a Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar in the carport.  I brushed it onto a piece of wood with a little stick (because some fuzzy caterpillars have hairs that can irritate your skin) and put it in a safer spot, so it wouldn't get run over.  The next time I went outside, it was gone.  Off ya go, furry dude.  Yeah, moths continue to creep me out, but they still don't deserve to get smushed.

So, anyway, work is going well.  I'm busy all the time, which is good because I hate being bored at work.  There are still a few things I have to learn, but I'm getting there.  I was told yesterday that once I learn those things, they'll add a few more things to my job duties.  I don't remember everything they said, but they gave me a list.  I think I might need more hours in my days, LOL.  In reality, I just need to work more efficiently, so I can fit everything in.  

Which reminds me, I saw a meme this morning that showed a beautiful big cup of coffee and said "You can do it! - Coffee"  Reminding me that with coffee all things are possible.  ;o)

Speaking of which... I need more coffee.  Have a great day!

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?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/5/22

Sorry I missed posting last week, but things happen...

Since my last Wrap-Up, I picked up three new ebooks - suspense, paranormal mystery, and historical paranormal mystery.  The suspense is a sequel to a book I enjoyed and I'm reading it now.  The historical PM is the 1st book in the series for Dead Ringer (a 5th book I read without realizing it was fifth).  And the paranormal mystery was recommended by a friend on FB.

Books Read:

36) Dead Ringer by Kat Ross (7/3/22) - Paranormal Historical Mystery*5# - new to me and underappreciated, but probably because it's the 5th in the series.  Free off the Book Gorilla newsletter. 
Review: "I loved this book! I loved Harry and John and Moran and Myrtle. I loved the premise behind it all. I loved the mystery angle and the whodunnit. All around awesome stuff. I admit, I wasn't paying attention when I bought this book, so I had no clue it was the fifth in a series until I marked this as 'currently reading' here on Goodreads. No matter. It reads fine without reading any of the previous books. Now, though, I'm going to have to go back and get the others. Yay."

35) Murder on a Silver Sea by LouLou Harrington (6/26/22) - Cozy Mystery*3 - neither new to me nor underappreciated.  But it's the third book in a series I've enjoyed, so I snagged it when I saw from the author's post on FB that it was free. 
Review: "Another fine installment of the series with all the favorite characters. Loads of twists and turns. Plus a cute, little doggy. And the added bonus of an exotic (to Jesse) location. Fun all the way around."
Looks like the whole series is available in audio.

DNFs:

7/5/22 - free - steampunk.  The last thing I need is to be lectured in a snotty tone.  Too bad, because I was kind of enjoying the story until then.  

Currently reading... like I said, I'm reading a sequel to a suspense novel I'd enjoyed earlier this year.  It's a British suspense.  Right now, the storytelling is pretty good, but it's starting to get a little eco-freak, so I may not finish it.  As i said in this week's DNF, I don't need to be lectured.  Tyvm.

What was on your reading list this week?  Or last week?  Or whatever you want to talk about pertaining to reading.  

Thursday This n That

Remember that Jon Lovitz character from SNL who always had a story about how he did whatever the other characters were talking about?  I think I've reached the point in my life where I am that character.  I mean, I'm 52 and I've been all over, doing all sorts of things, so yeah, I pretty much have a story for loads of situations.  And I'm my father's daughter, so I tell the stories.  The difference between me and Lovitz?  My stories are true.  :shrug:  

Yep, Dad was a talker.  He had a story for any situation and they were true.  And if he didn't have a story, he told a joke.  Dad's jokes... totally NSFW.  

So, I'm working full time and I'm still doing spreadsheets for the office.  This was busy spreadsheet week.  Eight spreadsheets.  Well, 7 spreadsheets came in Mon-Wed and those were worked into 15 other spreadsheets.  So, another 4-5 hrs worth of work.  Plus another single spreadsheet came in with 3 tabs that need to be worked into 6 total sheets.  I gave up last night and sent my time sheet in.  I'll do that last bunch tonight.  Woohoo.  No seriously.  It's good to be busy.  

Speaking of busy, Hubs has been deep cleaning the house and rearranging to make things tidy.  Not furniture.  Like closets and junk.  Well, he's moving furniture to clean under it, but he's putting it back where it was.  It's all good.  He moved all the extra pillows and blankets out of the closets, put them in their own bags, squeezed all the air out, and slapped labels on them.  Then he took a shelving unit and put all the bags on it in the storage closet.  It's genius.  And we now have scads of room in the closets.  I tell ya, Hubs is better at this than I ever was.  LOL

I've been searching for clothes online.  Shirts are easy.  I found some nice breathable polo shirts for like $15.50  each.  Huzzah.  And I raided Hubs' closet, so I'm good until I get new shirts.  Trying to find pants that I can wear to work that will be comfortable enough to wear all day, that won't cost both my legs to buy, isn't easy.  Between day-job and pay-job, I have the money.  I just hate spending more money on something than I think is necessary.  I may have to suck it up and spend more for pants.  Blerg.  The tightwad in me is squealing like a wee piglet.  

I'm wondering if I should change the name of this blog.  I'm not really writing much anymore.  Eh, that may change, so I'll leave it for now.

Okay, I got a late start today, so I guess I'd better get my buns a-movin'.  Have a great day wherever you are.  And drink plenty of fluids.  It's a scorcher out there.  Yuck.

Sunday Update - Week 26

:blink blink:  Oh.  Hi there!  Let's not dilly-dally around, eh?

Writing is temporarily on hold while I adjust to working a full-time job. So's editing and marketing. Reading and baking ain't looking too good either.  It is what it is.  

I did finish reading one book, but I forget to do a reading wrap-up yesterday.  I'll add it to next week.  And I baked a double batch of applesauce bread (2 loaves).  Part of that, I took to the office - then brought home because there aren't that many people in there and I didn't want it sitting there getting inedible.  The other loaf I took next door to the neighbors.  Yay.

Oh, and don't even ask about activity.  I spend M-F basically sitting at my desk and then I come home and sit.  I'll find my groove and work some exercise in somewhere.  Another part of the not exercising thing is the heat.  Blerg.  And every time I go outside, I get eaten alive by bugs.  I need to work on being active in the house for a while.  

The really active person this week was Hubs, who has been cleaning.  And doing yard stuff.  And feeding the critters.  Dude's a powerhouse.  And he's making me look bad.  LOL

I had my first full week of work.  I think I'm doing pretty good.  The very last thing I did on Friday, though, I screwed up.  Not anything major major, I don't think, but anyone who could help me fix it was gone for the day and I didn't want to screw it up worse by trying to fix it myself.  (Y'all know how that can go.)  So I left it with a note that I would fix it Tuesday.   In hindsight, I realize I should've left it entirely to Tuesday when I would have support of some kind and I wasn't already branfried from my first week of work, but nooooo, I had to forge ahead like the bull I am.  Derp.  Thank goodness I don't work in a china shop.  This, too, shall pass.  And hey, smart people learn from mistakes.  Right?  Right.   Doesn't mean I haven't been obsessing over it since, but that's me.  :shrug:

Yesterday, I hit Wallyworld.  What a zoo.  Loads of people, doing their 'holiday weekend' shopping.  Fortunately, the only thing the big W was out of was my preferred types of tissues.  (Cheap and plain.  No 'super soft'.  No lotion.  Lotion on tissues grosses me out. Ew.)   I picked up a cube of the soft stuff so I at least have a backup if I run out before I find the kind I like.   Got everything else on my list, which wasn't comprehensive by any means, and still dropped nearly $200.  I didn't even buy any meat.  This economy sucks.  

Of course, if the economy hadn't sucked, I wouldn't have had to find my job, which I love.  The universe works in mysterious ways.

Okay, I'd better go do something constructive today.  Have a great day and a great week, if I don't see ya.  :hugs:  How was your last week?