Pre-Thursday This n That

Since Thursday this week is a holiday, I thought I'd do this a day early.

Yesterday, as I was coming home from errands, I came over a rise in the road to discover a car parked right in my lane.  No flashers.  No turn signal.  Just at a dead stop.  I hit the brakes and stopped in time to not hit her.  Then she moved forward a little and I thought okay, off we go.  But no.  She putted along, so as a snail, until she reached a driveway and put on her turn signal.  I thought she was lost and had finally found where she was going.  But no.  She didn't turn into the driveway, she just moved over a little and stopped again.  Now only half of her car was in my lane.  Unfortunately, this new place she'd chosen to stop was before a downhill with a curve, and I couldn't see shit coming from the other direction in the lane I would have to share in order to pass her.  I swore loudly and said some very unkind things as I eased past her.  Thankfully no cars were coming.  The driver?  A chick about my age who looked like a spinster from Little House on the Prairie.  And no, I don't think she was having car trouble.  I think she was lost and brainless.

Anyway, I went to the store yesterday because I forgot to buy whipped cream for the cheesecake I'll be making today.  Pumpkin cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream is to die for.  Well, almost... LOL

I also stopped at the thrift store.  And happy coincidence, they were having a sale on books.  Paperbacks for 10c and hardcovers for a quarter.  I got 7 books for $1.30.  Woot.  And one of them was an autographed copy of a Robert Parker Spenser for Hire hardcover.  Double woot.  I haven't actually read any of those, so now might be a good time to start, eh?

Unfortunately, they didn't really have a whole lot of books I loved.  I picked up stuff that looked interesting, but nothing for my collections.  :sigh:  I can usually count on that store to have at least one or two Christies or hard-boiled crime paperbacks.  (I prefer to read old crime novels in paperback.  It's a quirk.)

I did my first order with Tractor Supply.  I'm getting a deer-dragging sled and a snow shovel.  The sled's for dragging logs.  I joked on FB about the shovel is for killing deer.  I'm so funny.  LOL

Does placing an order with Tractor Supply mean I've finally gone full redneck?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Hubs will be making the turkey, as usual.  All I have to do is make the cheesecake.  Yay.  I also have to figure out what to do for dinner tonight.  Pizza?  Burgers?  What do you have the day before the big eating day?

And that's enough out of me.  Have a great day and an awesome holiday.  :hugs:

Marketing Monday - Song of Storm and Shroud

 I did it!  I remembered to set a book for free AND I remembered that I remembered.  Banner day for this sometimes brainfried author.  Yay!  Anyway...

Starting today, SONG OF STORM AND SHROUD is absolutely free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this coming-of-age, YA fantasy today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W745M6P

Funny story... Yesterday, I received an email from a scammer, wanting to help me promote my book.  Except it wasn't a book of mine.  It was, in fact, the Spanish language version of a book by a bestselling author with the same last name.  :cough:Brandon:cough:  He and I are no relation.  Not even in-law relation as far as I can tell from doing Hubs' genealogy.  I've never met the guy, don't know the guy, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the guy.  (Not that I would mind knowing him. I just don't.)

Years ago, after the release of Wish in One Hand and it's crappy original cover, I was accused to trying to make bank on his name.  I can't help it if we have the same last name.  Actually, I share a last name with at least two other authors besides Brandon.  I'm not related to them either.  Sorry famous writer dude and I also share the same first initial.  Blame Mom.  She named me.

Anyway, this is my fantasy novel, not to be confused with his fantasy novels.  (He's got better cover art.)  Pick up a copy.  It's a fun book to read.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 47

The internet says it'll be week 48 this week, so last week had to be week 47.  It's gotta be right, right?  I went and counted the weeks left in the year and it's 6 weeks, unless you don't count the half week at the end there.  :shrug:  I guess you don't count it.  Oh, well.  Anyhooway...

I wrote this week!  5 out of 7 days worth.  Woot.  I ended up with 5505 new words.  Yay.  And DN3 is up to 34056 words.  Also woot.  I think I have the basics of the who did what, now it's up to Duke to catch the culprit(s).  Of course, plot holes abound.  I'll spackle those after I'm finished.

I also did some marketing this week.  After my mental snafu, of course.  I ended up moving 29 free copies of SU and one person read the book all the way through in KU, so I have that going for me.  Not sure what this week will bring.  Hopefully, not the same as last week where I forgot that I remembered to set a book to free.

As for reading, I'm still working my way through The Martian.  It's good. I just don't have the same reading stamina I used to.  For instance, I read for about an hour a couple days ago, and the next day, I could feel it in my neck and shoulders.  Derp.  Getting old blows.

Speaking of getting old, laying around like a lump of oatmeal doesn't do a body any good.  My activity level sucks.  I need to rectify that effectively immediately.  It's not that I did nothing last week.  I did some vacuuming and some gutter cleaning.  I also swept the deck (because I made an unholy mess of it cleaning that section of gutter).  All told, though, it wasn't enough to balance the amount of food I shoved in my face.  I stepped on the scale on Thursday and had gained 2 pounds from the last time I weighed myself.  :sad trombone:  Weight: 176.2

Speaking of shoving food in my face, I made brownies last week.  Mmm... brownies.  Warm brownies... with ice cream... :drools:  

Other than that, I didn't do much of note.  Watched TV.  Saw a couple of neat movies.  Not really anything major.  

This coming week, I need to get outside and do stuff.  Today, I'll rake with Hubs.  Once that's done, I'll get to work on the trail we've got planned to make an easy access to the fallen trees.  I'll be buying a sled-thingie for moving logs up the hill, so that trail is a necessity.  There's already a type of natural trail there.  It just needs cleaning up.  So, I'll be working on that.  And I'll write words.  More words.  Woot.  And it's Thanksgiving week, which doesn't actually mean a whole lot here.  Hubs will cook a turkey, I'll make pumpkin cheesecake.  We'll eat like pigs.  

Oh, and the family thing?  It's pretty much addressed as much as we can address it.  For now.  We're not sure it's over, though, so there's that hanging over our heads like a rotted limb that could fall at any time.  :shrug:  

And that's about it for me.  How was your last week?

2025 Books Read

Here we are with my 2025 Books Read post.  I started it a little later than usual this year because it took me a while to finish that first book.  

If you haven't been following along all these years, here's how this post goes.  The books I read are in reverse order - newest first.  * means ebook.  # means 'new to me and underappreciated'.  If there's a number at the end, it's where the book's at in a series.  The links go to Goodreads where I may or may not have written a review.  (Check back on Saturdays for my weekly Reading Wrap-up to see reviews.)

I set my goal for this year's reading at 70.  We'll see how that goes.  (Updated: On 11/27/25, I changed my goal to 40 books.  I'm not sure if I'll eve hit that, but it's a goal.)

Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin...

34) The Martian by Andy Weir (11/25/25) - SF

33) Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney (10/9/25) - romantic suspense

32) Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (9/18/25) - mystery

31) Tales from the 'White Hart' by Arthur C. Clarke (9/11/25) - SF

30) Primordial Threat by MA Rothman (8/28/25) - SF*

29) Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels (8/18/25) - mystery

28) The Devil's Angel by Margaret Bernard (7/26/25) - UF*#

27) Space Academy Dropouts by Phipps & Suttkus (7/6/25) - SF humor*#

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*#

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller

0) Novella by Name Withheld (6/9/25) - SF*

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*#

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:)

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime*

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime

14) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4/20/25) - dystopian

13) Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming (4/16/25) - action/hard boiled crime

12) Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (4/11/25) -  science fiction

11) Murder by the Script by Lisa Pevey (4/8/25) - cozy mystery*

10) Festive Fonts and Fowl Murder by Lisa Pevey (4/7/25) - cozy mystery*

9) The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (4/6/25) - suspense

8) A Murder in Cursive by Lisa Pevey (4/3/25) - cozy mystery*

7) The Ebony Swan by Phyllis Whitney (4/1/25) - romantic suspense

6) The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip (3/29/25) - fantasy

5) Murder by the Letter by Lisa Pevey (3/27/25) - cozy mystery*

4) Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (3/26/25) - noir crime

3) Moonstruck: Retribution by Silver James (3/20/25) - paranormal romantic suspense*

2) President Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (3/14/25) - noir crime

1) Child Star by Shirley Temple Black (1/8/25) - autobiography

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy this reading journey with me.

Thursday This n That

I'm still in brainfart land, but it's getting better.  We'll see how the rest of this week goes.

It's pouring rain here.  Deluge-esque stuff.  So much for grocery shopping today.  I don't mind driving in the rain, but I hate wet groceries.

They built a new Tractor Supply near the Walmart I use.  I am inordinately happy about this.  Not sure why, since I haven't been in there yet.  :shrug:  I do have an order I'm working on for TS, but it'll be for delivery and not pick-up, so I still won't have gone in there.  Yeah, I'm weird.

The order?  A sled for dragging deer (that we will use to drag wood) and a new snow shovel.  I'm also looking at pickaxes for breaking up the ground where I plan on planting trees.  Our ground is hard enough, it'll probably take small explosive charges to break that shit up, but we'll try a pickaxe first.  ;o)

Raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces make a yummy snack.

Speaking of snacks, the other day I made popcorn and Hubs got once of those evil kernel caps stuck in his throat.  He's fine, but for a while there, it was pretty gross.  I told Mom this story and she remembers a time when she got one stuck on a tonsil.  It was so bad, she remembers it 70-ish years later, and it's the reason she never eats popcorn to this day.  Not sure if Hubs is off popcorn.  I'll give it a few more days before I suggest it again.

Damn fruit flies.  It's frickin' November.  You should all be dead or dormant, ya little buggers.

Dang, this morning's coffee is good.

Okay, enough out of me today.  Besides, it's time to call Mom.  Have you got any this-n-that nuggets for me?

Umm, Yah

Well... It seems I screwed up.  And me, never being one to hide a screw up, am here to tell you about it.  

Remember yesterday's post?  The one where I lamented being so distracted by life that I forgot to set up a freebie for Monday Marketing?  Umm, yah.  About that.  It turns out I did set up a freebie and THAT was what I forgot about.  I learned yesterday afternoon when I saw I'd gotten orders but no monies, and discovered that SLEEPING UGLY is in fact free through Friday.  

First, yay for moving books with no marketing whatsoever.  Second, I can only blame my messed up brain and stress overload.  I do have failsafes against this.  Usually, I set a book for free, then write it in my date book, then I note it on my big 'sales spreadsheet'.  I didn't do the last two things.  Derp.  Hell, I haven't looked at my date book in weeks, so there's that.  Total fall down on my face thing.  

I guess the point here is... Don't be me.  

There are a lot of balls in the air when you're a self-pub, and I dropped one.  I'm not really kicking myself too hard.  Shit happens.  Still, after yesterday's post, I do feel a bit of a fool.  

And now, before I forget again...

Now through Friday, SLEEPING UGLY is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy of this snarky, NSFW, paranormal mystery today!  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GM24Q48

When a curse strikes a supermodel, all hell is gonna break loose.

When Life Intrudes

Derp.  Okay, so when last we met, I was all set to do marketing starting today.  But I didn't know which book was going out.  Right?  Well...

I would've been fine, if I'd gone right over to Amazon and set a book for free.  Hell, I would've been fine if I'd done that at any point before yesterday afternoon.  That was when the animal waste hit the spinning blades.  The phone rang and we were splattered.  

Extended family stuff we couldn't ignore.  Nothing tragic, but something necessary to think about and plan for, and it took all the mental energy either of us had right at that time.  

Leftovers for dinner.  Mindless TV.  I remember turning off my computer and telling myself everything was ready for marketing in the morning.  I had already printed out a sheet that I use to keep track of my marketing posts and everything.  Then into bed where neither of us slept well.  

I woke up this morning ready to market.  And as I was sitting out in the smoking room, sipping coffee and listening to the plan Hubs came up with at 2 o'clock in the morning, it hit me.  I never set a book to start its freebie journey today.  

So, no... there will be no marketing today.  I'm not sure if I'll even do marketing this week, because of the aforementioned defecate in the fan blades.  Life has intruded.  There are calls to be made and plans to be put into place.  My brain is full of that stuff right now.

Wanna know something really ironic?  Yesterday, I gave myself a good talking-to, and I made a plan to start writing again.  Before the phone rang, I actually wrote about 800-900 words, and had every intention of going back to work on the story last night.  Double derp.

This, too, shall pass.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 46

Six more weeks left of 2025 and I'm okay with that.  This year has pretty much been a wash anyway.  

Still no writing.  Every morning, I tell myself that I am going to write today and then I go to bed that night without having written.  I did some marketing, though.  Huzzah, I guess.  I'm still marketing today.  For instance, UNEQUAL is free through the rest of today.  I'm not sure which book will be marketed tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Very little reading was done.  Loads of TV watching, though.  Maybe I should do the 'hey, I watched this' instead of the 'hey, I read this' thing.  :shrug:  Anyway, if you're in the mood for a quirky family movie, try Papadopoulos and Sons.

Last Sunday, I made chocolate banana bread, which was a yummy quick bread.  Thursday, I made chocolate bread - a pretty good, if not chocolatey, yeasty bread.  I'm thinking about trying to make Irish soda bread this week. We'll see.

As for activity, I managed some work in the woods and some sweeping, plus a minor amount of gardening.  And I went grocery shopping.  Not really anything major or calorie burning, I guess. Weight: I don't want to know.  I feel fat.

The gardening for the week was taking the last of the tomato garden apart.  I snipped off the remainder of the above-ground parts and dumped the soil + roots into big pots so they can decompose over the winter and be ready for planting come spring.  Or soon, if I decide to overwinter potatoes.  I was reading up on that yesterday and it seems like a possibility.  We'll see.  I also read somewhere that you can overwinter carrots, but I'm not sure where I would get carrot seeds this time of year.  Potatoes can be gotten anywhere.  You just use a grocery store potato.  There's more to it than that, but I don't have all the ins and outs yet.  We'll see.

:pause for cat coughing:  Ugh, I hate that.  No barfing this time.  Sawyer must've just gotten a tickle (or a piece of fuzz) in his throat.  Ah, the joys of cat ownership.  Anyway...

Regular firearms deer hunting season started here yesterday.  I can hear shots this morning.  Keep your fingers crossed Sonny makes it through.  I have no problem with legal hunting, but I'd hate to see Sonny get killed.  He's such a nice buck and the herd needs his genes.

Okay, well, I'd better go locate some gumption and get something productive done.  At this point, I'll settle for anything.  Too bad it's too warm to go into the woods.  I need to throw logs.  

Have a great day!  And leave a comment so I know there are other human beings in the world.  ;o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up 11/15/25 + Marketing

I don't really have anything exciting to report on the Reading Wrap-up.  I'm still working on reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  But there's an issue...  I made the mistake of reading the quotes on the back, wherein people, at some point, talked up the book.  All in all, not a bad thing, but there's one that says the book is like a cross between Castaway and Apollo 13.  Not that it's not an accurate representation.  Actually it is, but it's killing my reading enjoyment.

At first, I was like 'hey, yeah... it's Castaway on Mars... cool'.  Now I can't stop thinking about those two things in relation to the story I'm trying to read and making comparisons instead of enjoying the story. 

For starters, I loved both Castaway and Apollo 13 once upon a time.  Then Hanks went leftist and now I can't even watch the dude.  (I have a tough time enjoying entertainment once I learn the entertainer's politics are antithetical to my own.  It's definitely me.  Don't get me started on Bette Midler.)

Then I get to wondering... Is Watney supposed to be Tom Hanks?  He was played by Matt Damon in the movie.  First, I picture the character as Tom then I picture him as Matt... It's confusing.  

When Watney gets home is he going to learn his girlfriend married someone else?  

Anyway, we'll see if I actually finish this book.  I think I need to take a few days off from it and see if I can't get over it.

Now, onto the marketing portion.  This weekend only, get UNEQUAL absolutely free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Pick up your copy of this dystopian suspense today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LDVFWBS

This is probably it for the weekend marketing experiment.  I didn't move that many copies of Blink last week, and I'm not seeing much hope for moving books this weekend.  The energy output is not equaling the return, so make it stop.  

Facing Facts

This morning, I'm facing facts...

I will never be rich and famous.

I will never be a best-selling author.

I will never be comfortably well-off

I will never make enough money to support myself.

I will never even make enough to pay for the expenses of being a self-published author.

When I started out on this publishing journey, I didn't think I would ever be rich or famous, or even a best-selling author.  I would've liked to make enough to be comfortably well off.  I had hoped to make enough money to support myself.  I had a goal to just make enough for the writing to pay for itself.  But I'm doubting even that these days.  

Then I was reduced to just getting happy when someone bought a book.  Today, not even that gives me a thrill.  If I sell two books in one day, maybe I get excited.  Depends on the day.

I used to write for the sake of writing.  Just sit down and let the ideas flow.  That was a long time ago.  I finished a book and then got the idea that it should be published.  Unfortunately, I was the only one who thought that.  (Other than Hubs.  He's always been supportive.)  Agents and publishers didn't think that.  So I made the decision to published my books my own damn self.  I spent a lot of money on covers and editing and marketing.  I sold some books, but still not enough to catch up to any of my hopes and goals.

It's been a struggle ever since.  Just me jumping hurdle after hurdle in a race I can't win because there's never a finish line.  :shrug:

I'll keep writing.  I'm not in that place yet.  Okay, so I am in a place where I haven't been writing, but I've been here before, so I don't expect it to last forever.  I'm just trying to be realistic with myself.  I write, I publish, I market... and sales drip in.  Occasionally, one of the people who bought a book leave a review to let me know they liked it.  (Or hated it as the case may be.)  Once a month, I get money deposited into my bank account.  Sometimes it's enough to buy a cup of coffee.  Sometimes it's almost enough to buy a steak.  (What with the price of beef these days, I can't quite get enough for the whole steak.)

It is what it is, I guess.  

Thursday This n That

The other morning, just before sunrise, the crows were kicking up an unholy riot out there in the woods.  I tried to see what they were freaking out about and they were pretty focused on one tree.  Just then, I saw something large fly out of the tree, surrounded by crows.  It landed on a leafless branch. Silhouetted by the sunrise, it's species was clear. It was a great horned owl.  Awesome.  It didn't stay long because the crows were divebombing it, but there it was.  Yay.

That's one awesome thing about Fall - leafless trees.  We can see all sorts of stuff in the fall and winter that we can't see all summer.  We're seeing stars again, and birds of all kinds, and planes.  Woot.

Another awesome thing about Fall is the cooler temps.  Well, cooler than Summer anyway.  Yesterday, it got up to 75F.  Blerg.  Pardon me while I whine... I want to go in the woods and play!

I was playing rough with Sawyer and now my hand is scratched up.  He likes to lay between my legs and attack my hand.  I usually cover it with a shirt or something, so it's not too bloody a game, but he got past the cloth.  :shrug:  Oh, the things I do to please my babies.  For some reason, after we play rough for a little while, he settles down and goes for a nap, instead of constantly circling like a shark.  The boy needs active play.  Sure, he's got Finn, but Finn's a lover more than a fighter.

French toast sounds good today.  I probably won't make it, but it sounds good.

The sapsuckers have returned to my woods.  Yay!

I don't think there's enough coffee on the planet to keep my awake today.  Not sure why.  I mean, we stayed up like 15 minutes past our bedtime, and I think I got to sleep okay, but I am pooped.  Derp.

In the spare room, there's a container of green tomatoes.  They're ripening one by one, which is okay.  There's just enough of each tomato to make slices for hamburgers.  Next year, I'm planting potatoes and carrots, too.  Fingers crossed it all works.

Okay, that's enough out of me.  Have a great day wherever you are, and feel free to leave a comment to tell me about your thisses and thats.

Chocolate Banana Bread

 I know I've been hinting at making chocolate bread, and that's still a possibility, but this isn't that.  That's a yeasted bread, this is a quick bread.  Anyway, I had some bananas going too ripe, and I didn't want to do the same old banana cake or muffins or bread that I usually do.  I hunted around for a recipe for chocolate banana bread and Voila!  This isn't exactly that recipe - I tweak everything.  It's super yummy.  

Chocolate Banana Bread

2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs 
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup baker's cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas. (Not too mashed.  Banana chunks are yummy.) Beat the eggs and add to the bananas along with oil and sugar.  Stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until well combined and lump-free.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once and fold until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.  Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto your preferred surface for cooling.  I took a couple slices out of mine while it was still warm and the chips were gooey and sliced the rest when it was completely cool.  Store in a relatively cool area or the fridge.

Enjoy!

Marketing Monday - Accidental Death

It's actually Marketing Monday today, as opposed to last week's No Marketing Monday.  Today, I'm offering Accidental Death.

Starting today, ACCIDENTAL DEATH is free through Friday. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Pick up your copy of this crime noir novel today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XM6VJ9U

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 45

Well, here we are again at another week.  I looked up what the week # was this time, so yeah, it's right.  7 weeks left of the year.  Let's see if we can make it a good 7 weeks, eh?

No writing this week.  No editing either.  And almost no marketing, except I got a wild hair yesterday and set a bunch of stuff up to be free.  If you missed yesterday's post, Blink of an I is free right now.  Starting tomorrow, Accidental Death will be free for 5 days and then UNEQUAL will be free for the weekend.  For the record, I moved 2 copies of BOAI yesterday.  Weekends really do suck for moving books.  :shrug:  Then again, it could be the book.  People aren't as excited for dystopian novels as they could be.  Oh, well.  

I'm still reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  It's pretty good.  I'm just not not reading as often as I should these days.

In baking news, I made oatmeal raisin bread.  The recipe was posted this past Wednesday.  I meant to make chocolate bread yesterday, but then I got busy cleaning and by the time I was done, I was too arm-tired to make bread.  I did do a batch of Salsa Chicken, though.  Yum.  I might make banana bread today.  We'll see.

On the activity front, I did some work in the woods on Sunday, but then it got too hot to go into the woods.  I tried walking one day, but after about an eighth of a mile, I got a hitch in my giddy-up (i.e. my hip was sticking), so I turned around and came home.  I also did some tree repotting, I swept the leaves off the deck, and I cleaned both bathroom sinks.  Weight: Unchanged at 174.2

As for the gardening, I picked most of my green tomatoes earlier in the week because it was supposed to get cold.  And it did get cold, but when I went out on the deck yesterday, the tomatoes I left are getting bigger and the plants still have flowers.  Derp.  Also, I had moved a couple of the largest green pepper plants into the garage and they each have one tiny ball which may or may not grow into an actual edible pepper.  Mostly what I worked on, though, was repotting some of the trees to overwinter in the garage.  (All the trees are inside now.)  I got a great deal on some tall pots at the thrift store ($2 each), so I put a dogwood in one and a redbud in the other.  Fingers crossed they thrive and I see growth come spring.  Right now, I have 3 dogwoods, 5 redbuds, 4 cedars, 2 hickories, 1 oak, and 2 unknown that may or may not be shrubs.  It's possible one of them is a black cherry because its leaves are turning color and the color is a pale peachy-pink like the cherries do.  We'll see.  The other one might be a buckthorn.  I can't wait for Spring.

Since it's not Spring and it's getting colder instead of warmer, fun in the woods is right around the corner.  Which is good because we've got a lot of work to do on the new property, as well as plenty to do on the old property.  Loads of deadfall to clean up.  We're looking at chainsaws and woodstoves again.  

The deer are in rut.  Which means we're seeing bucks in the yard again.  We have 4 identifiably different ones.  They're chasing the girls all over the place, trying to get some bow-chicka-bowbow action.  

Oh, and like I said, I went to the thrift store.  The big item there, in addition to the pots and some used garden fencing, was an awesome wooden trunk.  It looks great in my living room and the cats have claimed it as a new bed.  Only $35.  Woot.

And I think that's it for me today.  Loads going on in life.  I just wish there was more writing news to relay.  Maybe next weekend, I'll have something to report.  Anyway, have a great day and a productive week, wherever you are!

Peace out.

Trying Something Different... Again.

 I don't usually market on the weekends, but I'm trying something again.  I mean, after the last week of not-marketing, I'm sadly at 3c earned for the month and 0 orders.  The beginning of the month always looks sad on my KDP Dashboard, but that usually changes pretty quick.  I thought 0 0 0 was bad.  Looking at .03 0 8 is worse. So...

This weekend only, BLINK OF AN I is absolutely free. (Always free with KU.) Pick up your copy of this fast-paced dystopian novel today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079X142G2

Monday, Accidental Death will be free. Next weekend, UNEQUAL will be free. The following week Sleeping Ugly will be free.  I haven't decided beyond that.  We'll see.  

Since I'm ahead of the game for a change, I might try paying for an ad somewhere.  We'll see about that, too.  I mean, good lord, I've gotta do something to change this or nothing will change and I'll slip back into obscurity.  (Okay, so maybe I never slipped out of it, but at least I'm moving some books.)

Thursday This n That

Well, there goes New York.  And Virginia.  =o(

I expect NYC will turn into the ghost town that Detroit has become, except the refugees won't be fleeing for better suburbs.  They'll be leaving for other states.  I've seen people wondering why people from shithole places move to nice places and want to change them.  That's WHY they're moving into the nice places... to change them into the shithole places they love.  

Here, there was one thing on the ballot - raise the property taxes in a nearby city so they can give it to the fire department.  It passed.  A little while back, they had the same kind of ballot item for my rural FD and it passed, too.  My FD used the money to erect a brand new, beautiful building... right next to the old building, which they then tore down.  There wasn't anything really wrong with the old building, it was just not new.  Whatever may have been wrong with it could've been fixed at a way lower cost and a dormitory could've been added on, again at a way lower cost.  But they didn't have to do that because they can just add to our property taxes instead of finding a way to be fiscally responsible.  That's the way government works these days, I guess.  Well, most people these days, I guess.  

I can't seem to muster the will to do anything these days.  Except maybe vegging out in front of the TV.  I think Bradbury warned about that.  Probably others, too.

I've made 3c so far this month.  Woot.

Finn's wandering around the house meowing.  I feel ya, little dude.

Yesterday, I did Wallyworld.  Everything is so damn expensive.  Freakin' half-dozen donuts is about $4.50.  Yeah, I bought 'em.  Cuz I needed donuts.  Custard filled with chocolate frosting.  Mmm.  I bought 'em with my own damn money, so yeah.

Yes, I am cranky, why do you ask?  I have active bitch fingers to go with my resting bitch face.

On a happier note, we're seeing bucks.  They're chasing the does and sometimes the fawns.  The other day, I happened to look out the window to see a doe run across the neighbor's yard.  Shortly after a fawn went by, trying to catch up.  Then a buck went by.  A few minutes later, another doe, then fawn, then... wait that's the same buck!  A few minutes later, the three of them went by in succession again.  They must've been running in a circle around the neighbor's house.  I got up to tell Hubs about it, so I don't know how long they continued the race.

Okay, it's time to call the mama.  Have as great a day as you can manage out there.  I'll do the same.  B'bye.

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

I made oatmeal raisin bread again.  This time I skipped the swirl and just did the bread.  It turned out awesome, which is surprising since I haven't made bread more than a half-dozen times in my life.  Anyway, here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

1 cup oats 
1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)

2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup raisins

To begin, put the oats in a heat resistant bowl.  Add boiling water. Stir until just incorporated.  Set aside to cool.  Once the oats are cool, put the yeast into small bowl and add the warm water. Stir until incorporated.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, and salt.  Cut the butter into 4-6 chunks, add those to the flour mixture, and using your hands, rub the butter into the mixture until you can't find any chunks of butter.  Still using your hands, squish in the oatmeal until it's entirely incorporated.  Stir in the yeast mixture.  Once you've got it all mixed together, it's time for kneading.  I knead in the bowl, dusting with flour from time to time to get the goo off my hands and into the dough.  Otherwise, turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for 5 minutes.  It will be a wet, sticky dough but it gets better as you close in on 5 minutes.  Knead in the raisins.  Butter a clean, large bowl and drop the dough ball into it, turning the ball so it gets coated all over with the butter.  Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and push into a square (roughly a half inch thick) to get all the air bubbles out.  Fold the left and right sides of the square in so you have a rectangle that's about as wide as a 8x4" bread pan.  Fold or roll the rectangle into you've got something that looks like a loaf.  Butter the bread pan.  Set the loaf in the bread pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour.  While you're waiting for it to rise, preheat the oven to 375F.  When it's risen above the edge of the pan by about an inch, put it into the preheated oven.  Right now, turn the oven down to 350F.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and firm.  (The original recipe says the internal temp should be 210F, but I go by feel.)  Remove from oven and turn out onto a rack to cool.  Slice and serve.  I've been either nuking it or toasting it, and slathering it with butter.  

Making this takes me most of the day, by the way.  I start in the morning making and cooling the oatmeal, which takes a couple hours, then there's the mixing, the kneading, the rising, etc.  If you have the time, though, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Next bread I'll make is a chocolate bread recipe that sounds yummy.  Wish me luck.

No Marketing Monday

As I was sitting here yesterday evening, thinking about which book to send forth into the freebieness, my willingness to get battered for my trouble dropped to zero.  Thus, there will be no entering of the freebieness this week.  Check back next week.  There might not be anything free then either.  It depends on whether I can actually find my big girl panties to pull up.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week Dunno

Well, here we are at the Sunday morning after the fall time change.  I have no clue what time it is, so don't ask me what week it is.  It's a week.

I did some small amount of writing this week.  Just over a thousand words over two days.  Frankly, I was at a point where I had painted myself into a corner and couldn't find a window to crawl out of.  Then I had an idea while sitting on the toilet before bed.  I wrote the idea down when I was finished and then went back to brush my teeth.  Then I laid in bed thinking about how to write the idea.  I really should've gotten up and just written the scene because it was way harder to write the next day, lemme tell ya.  Ya gotta strike while the iron is hot, even if you're sleepy.  Anyway, I think I have it, but we'll see what happens tonight.

Marketing... Well, I did WIOH and very little came of it.  Which is weird because WIOH is one of my best movers when it comes to freebie week.  And it usually results in page reads, too.  :shrug:  Poor returns on marketing make it really hard to get the motor going for writing more books.  Like I need another reason to not write.  Blerg.

I'm in the middle of reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  It's pretty good so far.

In baking news... there isn't any.  I thought about baking bread, but it never happened.

On the activity front, it was cool enough for me to go into the woods, so there was a lot of that.  The active part was mostly cutting vines and dead limbs, and piling those things up, plus moving deadfall.  We also did some wandering in the woods, to survey what needs to be done.  Man, there are a lot of fallen limbs and trees since the last time I was down in there.  I did walk the road once, too.  Weight: 174.2

It got down to freezing last night, so yesterday afternoon, I moved all my baby trees into the garage.  And I picked all the big tomatoes.  They're still mostly green, but they should ripen.  I've got them in a container in the spare room, where they can still get some sun.  Fingers crossed.  The little tomatoes are still out there on the plants.  We'll see what last night's temps did to them.  This coming week, I'll trash the plants and reuse the pots for some of my trees who need bigger pots to thrive.  Hubs and I are in talks about where in the yard to place new trees.  I really need to pick up some fencing before I plant, so they have at least a small chance of surviving the deer.

I think that's it for me this morning.  If I missed anything, sorry.  What went on in your lives?