Friday This n That

And it's Friday again.  This week, I was so turned around on what day it was, I didn't even think to say my usual Thursday morning 'talk to you Saturday' to mom when we finished talking yesterday.  I think I was thinking that yesterday was Wednesday.  Derp.

I'm one big, apathetic, atrophied lump.  To that end, I'm trying to do some basic exercises every day or every other to work on building myself pack up to normal.  Which reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George gets the summer off (The Summer of George) and decides to do nothing, but then he gets hurt and his muscles are so atrophied from doing nothing that it's way worse than it should be and there's a long road of physical therapy ahead of him.  

Yeah, I've watched every single episode of Seinfeld multiple times.  It wasn't my fault, I swear.  Pre-Hubs, I was with two different guys for years each that were addicted to Seinfeld.  I haven't watched any of it since before I got married 22 years ago, but they're all still up there in my head.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, be really careful of what you let into your head, because it'll never come out.  I wish I could go back in time and walk out of the TV room where all the girls sat and watched Sybil together.  Horrible movie that's in my head forever.  Even the car accident couldn't knock that out.  More's the pity, I guess.

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.  ;o)

This morning, I heard a weird noise.  Well, a series of weird noises on repeat.  My guess is that it was some kind of bugs bouncing on the aluminum flashing we tacked up to keep the squirrels out of the eaves.  And every once in a while, the bug or bugs would miss the flashing and hit the wood instead.  Plink, plink plink plink, plink plink, bonk.  Once the sun came up all the way, it stopped, but it was weirding me out.  Not sure what kind of bugs, because I could see them from inside and there was no way in hell I was going outside to look.  Bugs... :shudder:

I'm really better about bugs than I used to be.  I mean, living in the woods cures you quick of being bug-jumpy.  Now, it's 'oh, look a centipede' instead of 'EEK! a centipede!'  I still don't want them on me, though.

This week, my daughter turned 33.  I still maintain that I am not old enough to have a 33-year-old kid, but there it is.  

A few days ago, I posted something to Facebook about being fat.  It was just a statement, followed by some personal thoughts on being fat and steps I could take to not be fat, but I suddenly had people telling me what to eat and offering support.  I went and re-read what I wrote and nowhere in there was anything that could've been construed as asking for help or feeling bad about myself.  :shrug:  I guess I was just trying to make a statement that others might find useful, you know if they themselves are feeling bad about being fat.  Anyway, it turned into a kind of sociological experiment.  Can someone just make a statement anymore without people offering advice and opinions?  I don't know.

Ugh.  I have to go grocery shopping today, but it's going to be like 100F.  The plan is to get out of here as soon as the sun reached a height where it won't blind me while I drive east, but it'll still be in the 90s by the time I get home.  Wish me luck.

And on that note, I bid you adieu.  Have a great day wherever you are.  Stay cool, my friends.

Oak Mite Bites

 I worked on the rock path next to the front bed yesterday.  I was out there for about an hour.  Right after I came inside, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed.  This morning, I have no less than 8 new oak mite bites.  

Now, if you're not familiar with oak mites, they're not visible to the human eye, so you can't even pay them back for biting you.  Also, they don't so much bite as burrow.  Gross, I know.  Their bites are, perhaps, the itchy bites I've ever had.  Not sure how they compare to poison ivy, since I'm immune to that shit, but from the way Hubs reacts to his bites, they're pretty much on par.  

Unfortunately, our house is not only surrounded by oaky woods, we have a huge, old, white oak that overhangs most of the front yard.  And, you guessed it, oak mites hang out in oak trees - unless it's windy when they blow out or dry when they drop out on their own.  It's hard to go outside without being exposed to oak mites.

What does one do about the bites?  Well, pretty much every anti-itch thing on the market doesn't cut it.  (I've tried just about all of them over the years.)  In fact, Benadryl gel just makes the itch worse.  The only thing I've found to get rid of the itch is to take a fingernail, dig it into the center of the bite - which sometimes has a little blister in it - and dig it out.  Hurts like a bitch.  Then take a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol - the strongest you can find - and scrub the bite with it.  Stings like a bitch.  THEN take merthiolate and dab some of that on.  Burns like a bitch.  It's pretty much all bitchy, but it's better than the constant, overwhelming itch.  

You may have to repeat the process.  I guess that's probably because the first round didn't actually get the mite out of your skin / kill the mite in your skin.  

Sometimes, I have to wait until the bite is at its itchiest before I do the above or I really will have to repeat the process.  It all depends on how much itch or pain I can stand at any given moment.

Sure, the easiest way to handle an oak mite bite is to stay inside.  I've heard bug spray works, too, but I hate the thought of having to spray myself down every instant I stepped out of the house.  If you can't do those things, you can try my method.  Unfortunately, your mileage may vary, so I make no guarantees.  It's just something you can try to ameliorate the itch.  

Please note that merthiolate quite often leaves a mark, so accept that you might have a scar thing in place of an itch thing.  I have made my peace with that.  

Please also note that oak mite bites seem to be more susceptible to infection.  Pay attention to those things even if you don't use my method.  A simple scratched bite can turn into something nasty in a hurry.  Rubbing alcohol is your friend.  

Now, if you'll pardon me, I've only treated about half the bites I had last night - the ones that wouldn't let me sleep - so I have to go gouge, sting, and burn myself.  

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!

Bug-mageddon and Other Fun Stuff

 Is it just me or are the bugs really bad this year?  Not just quantity, but viciousness.  I mean, I'm getting eaten alive even when I only step out on the deck for a minute.  Last night, I went out to see if something was on the roof and came back in with three new bug bites.  I go outside for a smoke at the office and come in with new bites - through my pants.  Come ON.  And these are not just regular bites.  They're nasty.  And nothing seems to make the itch stop - not diphenhydramine gel, not cortizone cream, not calamine lotion.  The aloe gel I have is knocking it back some, but it still itches.  Oak mites, sure, but I saw two of the bugs bite me (you can't see oak mites with the naked eye).  One was pinhead sized and black, the other was grayish and a little bigger.  No clue what they are but COME ON.  

Hubs sprayed most of the lawn yesterday.  He'll get the rest today.  Unfortunately, the spray does little to flying bugs.  They have to land on where he sprayed to die.  Good thing for the butterflies.  Bad thing for these flying biting bastards.  Derp.

Anyway...  I'm pretty good at ignoring the itch during the day.  At night, though... Gah, I need sleep.  Looks like an optimal day to make coffee at the office.  For the first time.  I know, I know... it's shocking that today is my fifth day there and I haven't made coffee yet.  In my defense, it's been hot and I've been trying to stick to water at work.  (I haven't been.  They have a pop machine with Mtn Dew in it.  Gah.)  I think I'll take my big mug that has an old time advertisement for snake oil.  It cracks me up.  

Meanwhile, I'm still doing spreadsheets for the office in Michigan.  Yesterday morning, the big one I do every month came in.  It usually takes me 2-3 hrs.  I did some before work, a little before dinner, and then the rest of it after Hubs went to bed.  I could've taken a couple days, but I hate leaving things lie.  And I promised them I wouldn't let the day job get in the way of what I do for them.  I feel good having it done.  Yay.

And now that I've gotten distracted a dozen times and still don't have this posted, I should probably call it good and be done with it.  How are things in your world?  Are the bugs nasty where you are or is it just me?

Thursday This n That

I finally got sleep last night.  Woohoo!  Yay!  Hubs must've also gotten a good night's sleep because he's been sitting behind me reading the news out loud (it's a thing we do).  If he hadn't, he'd be quiet and if I hadn't, I'd be zoned out and ignoring him.  

Unfortunately, none of the news seems to be good.  

I learned last night that Callahan (aka Sour Patch) got adopted at some point during my self-imposed hiatus from looking at dogs.  Yay for him, but I almost cried.  I mean, seriously, there was no chance of my adopting him, but while he was there, I could dream.  

Yesterday, I wrangled the new wild rose onto a trellis.  At one point, the damn thing whipped back at me and hit me in the hand.  Later, I noticed it must've hit me with a thorn right in the thumb knuckle and popped a small blood vessel.  Kind of gross looking, but it's better this morning.  

Also, yesterday, I was clearing the leaves and junk out of the garage bed when something small jumped out at me.  At first my brain said 'grasshopper'.  Then it jumped again and my eyes could see where it landed.  Little bitty, baby, gray tree frog.  Maybe a 1/2 inch long.  So cute.  He was a bugger to catch, but once he jumped onto my glove, he was happy to stay there - even when I was trying to encourage him to jump off into a flower bed I'd already cleaned.  I moved him because I didn't want to accidentally squish him.

Speaking of frogs, the spring peepers are peeping their little brains out right now.  I love spring peepers.  They give me a happy.

I rolled over 40 million in poker last night.

It's time for me to order more bug spray again.  It's too much for me to hope the cold snap wiped out the ticks.  Fingers crossed it hammered the oak mite population, though.  But yeah, Spring.  I love it, but it brings out the bugs.

What's the this-n-that for you today?

Sunday Update - Week 37

Hello again.

I took myself in hand last Sunday and shoved all my headspace negativity into a big box.  Since then, I've written like 5700 words.  Not a record by any stretch, but they're words on paper moving toward a finished story.  I did not do any editing.  At this point, editing would be antithetical to my purpose - which is to write without being critical.

I did a boatload of marketing.  The SCIU sale is still running until tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, now that I'm writing again, I'm not reading as much.  Only two books finished last week and one of those was finished yesterday afternoon.  If this slowdown keeps up, I may regret upping my reading goal for the year.  Derp.

On the activity front, I only did 3 out of 7 days, and most of that was cleaning.  I went from the 3rd to the 13th without taking a walk, which sucked.  I made myself walk Friday night because I really needed it (and it was finally cool enough to walk without sweating myself into a raisin).  We shall not talk about weight.

We're still battling bugs.  The fleas are fewer, but the oak mites have been voracious little bastards.  Kira gets her next flea treatment tomorrow.  There's nothing we can do about the oak mites except pray for colder weather and limit our time outside.  Which sucks.  My gardens are all totally neglected and pathetic.

Now that I'm writing again, I seem to be less keen on baking.  I guess the baking bug was my brain's way of telling me I needed to create something and be productive.  The writing is happening and the bug's flittered away.  Poor Hubs will have to live without as many home baked things.  And my ass will probably thank me for not shoving carbs down my throat as often.  I'll still make granola bars for Hubs and oatmeal cookies, though, cuz that's how I roll.

Ugh, I just remembered that I have a pork roast sitting in the fridge that I have to cook today.  Not ugh because I don't like port roast, but ugh because I keep forgetting it's in there. (Only two days, so no worries about old pork, but still.)  (Also ugh because thinking about food first thing in the morning grosses me out.)

Okay, that's more than enough from me this week.  How's things with you?

Thursday This n That

2019 is the year of the bugs.  Oh, we're still dealing with the grain bugs from last year.  And there are always the spiders and crickets and cockroaches.  And ticks and mosquitoes.  It's all part of living in the woods.  But this year has been bad.  The oak mites are particularly rampant and rabid this year.  Then Kira got fleas.  (We're knocking them back, but it's an ongoing thing.)  And Tuesday, unbeknownst to me, the bags of corn I bought and hauled in the back seat of my car, were infested with maize weevils.  To the point where you could actually hear them inside the bags - crawling, scratching, chewing... :shudder:  Lucky for us, Hubs noticed before he loaded them into our attached garage, so they never made it inside the house.  I carted them back to the feed store and got some non-infested bags of corn.  Then we unloaded the car and proceeded to deep clean in there.  Dozens of weevils, crawling all over everything.  I even had them on the ceiling of the car - one dropped onto my shoulder and crawled toward my cleavage while I was driving home from exchanging the infested feed.  Gross.  I'll be so happy when cold weather arrives and knocks the damn bugs back a bit.  All I can say is thank goodness weevils don't bite.  That would suck.  Literally. 

Scrolling down the BookGorilla newsletter last night looking for free new books to read when I passed a cover that looked extremely familiar.  I scrolled back, certain I couldn't have seen what I saw.  Yep, there it was - Accidental Death in the BookGorilla newsletter.  I didn't do it.  I can't afford an ad in BG.  And since I didn't do it, it was listed at full price - $2.99.  It's pretty far down in the newsletter and I didn't see any sales as far as I could tell, but hey, it was a pleasant surprise.  Who knew BG did stuff like that.  Gee.

I woke up late this morning, which is to say, around 5 instead of around 4.  (Or in the case of yesterday, around 3.)

I had some time before a doctor's appointment yesterday, so I stopped at one of the local thrift stores.  Before this year, I thought they only carried clothing, but on a whim, I went in and looked around.  Way in the back, they have tons of books.  So, anyway, yesterday their stock was a little thin, but I still managed to pick up 6 paperbacks and 3 hardcovers.  All for $2.  Nothing really groundbreaking in there, and I've already DNFd one, but I'm happy with the haul.

Around here, the thrift stores get a little lean in the summer, what with all the tourists and summer people picking through everything.  But it rights itself in September when everyone starts cleaning out.  I really hope someone out there donates a lot of old crime novels.

A friend who knows I circle the thrift stores looking for books put in two requests.  So now I have a sticky note in my purse with two titles to look for - a Nelson DeMille title and something by Eric Larsen. 

I went to school with a guy named Eric Larsen.  Probably not the same guy.

Okay, that's enough out of me for now.  What kinds of things are you throwing into the this n that today?

Thursday This n That

Firstly, Unequal is on sale starting today.   I really wish more people would read it.  It's kind of awesome and I do love it so.

On a different note, Kira has fleas.  How does an inside cat get fleas?  We assume somehow or other the little bastards came in on our clothes and then decided to make a home on the cat.  I have not yet actually seen a flea, but she's got flea dirt.  (Little black specks that dissolve and turn red when you get them wet because they're actually blood that the flea has pooped out.  Ew.)  Anyway, I have flea stuff on order and it should be at our local Wallyworld by tonight which means I'll get it tomorrow.  Actually, I already had flea/tick spray for cats in the house, but as I was applying it, the bottle got knocked off the counter and the spray nozzle broke.  Bugger.  This other stuff will work better anyway.  After we start the treatment, we'll clean the hell out of the house.  All in all, she doesn't seem overly put out by it.  Her neck's itchy where I found the flea dirt, but she's not constantly scratching at herself.

This too shall pass.

It's so freakin' hot right now.  And so humid.  Argh.  Everything we have to do had better be done in the morning or it ain't getting done.  And even then, I'm sweating.  Blerg.  Poor Hubs had to change his shirt mid-mow because he was soaked.  Every walk I take is total sweat-city.  Gross.

This'll pass, too.  I can't wait for fall to arrive.

Right now, I'm reading this book about a half-human/half-fairy who's never left fairyland until her full-fairy sister is stolen.  It's kind of paranormal suspense/mystery and kind of UF with a hint of romance set in London.  So far, so good.

Speaking of cats, the fiber thing is working.  (Wallyworld version of Benefiber.)  I sprinkle about 1/8th teaspoon of it on her food every morning and she's pooping like a champion.  No more constipated kitty.  Yay.

I've been using Pinterest a lot.  I still have only three followers, but that's okay.  I'm finding lots of pretty things to look at - art and birds and horses - and some good quotes to help inspire me.  I'm not sure how much its helping my book sales yet, but I did sell a couple books and get some page reads out of the blue (DE and FG, so far), so maybe that's where the readers found those books.  Yay.

Okay, I'm about tapped out this morning.  Not enough coffee in my blood stream yet.  Have a great day and drop some this n thats of your own if you feel the urge. 

Peace out.

Sunday Update - Week 29

Hello again!  Thanks for staying with me all those boring weeks when I had nothing much to report.  I hoped it would pay off, and maybe it has.

This past week, I tugged my head out of my orifice and got back to work.  I finally am almost finished with those edits from March.  I still have the deeper ones to hammer out, but that's okay.  Plenty of time.  Plenty of time.  I also got back to writing!  I sat down and plunked down 1200 words Friday night.  Cinder Ugly has a beginning!  I'm not sure if it's the right beginning, but it's there and I'm running with it.

I've also been trying to keep up with marketing.  I finished up the Blink sale with no sales.  Kind of expected that.  Started the SU sale and sold a couple books.  Go me.  That sale ends Monday and the Dennis Haggarty sale starts Tuesday.  Paid advertising will hit inboxes on Friday.  :fingers crossed:  I need a good end to the month and a good start for next month. 

My reading week was kind of lopsided - had 3 DNFs in a row to start the week and then read two awesome books.  Then I picked up a paperback Agatha Christie.  Life is good.

On the activity front, I did 7 out of 7 days!  And that was with the big heatwave.  I managed two of what I call 'hard target' walks before it hit and the other days were my regular walk and/or cleaning and yard work.  Still not doing well on the decreasing eating thing, so no weight loss to report.  I'm trying to be better about that, though, so we'll see what next week brings.

The problem with being outside at this time of year are the bug bites.  Of which I have plenty.  Oak mites... :shudder:  Once you've had oak mite bites, mosquitoes are so milquetoast.   I'd never run afoul of oak mites before I moved here.  Then again, I never lived in a place with big oak trees.  Oberon the Fairy Oak is dropping those suckers like crazy. 

No baking this week.  It is too hot to bake.  I did turn the oven on for French bread pizza, but I don't think that counts. Nothing really homemade there - store-bought bread, jarred sauce, pre-made toppings.  So good, though.  And yesterday, I did chicken enchiladas.  Also, so good.

No fishing again.  Even if I was inclined to go out in this heat, the fish would not be biting off the shore.  They're all deep and trying to beat the heat, too.

Yesterday, I signed up with Pinterest.  Yeah, like I need another timesuck, but I've heard it can help with marketing, so there I am.  Follow me here.   If you're on Pinterest, let me know.  (Not you, Silver.  I already found you.)  Anyway, I got all my covers up with links to their Amazon pages, and then I did a few other things.  Nothing groundbreaking or major. 

Okay, I think that's my week in a nutshell.  What did your week look like?

Thursday This n That

I've been watching the game show The Chase lately.  I totally rock it most days.  Some days I can't get the answer out of my mouth in time, but hey, that's fine.  It's not like I'm actually on the show or anything.  And The Beast?  Big, nerdy, teddy-bear even if he is a little growly sometimes.  I love it.  I could totally hang with that dude.

While working on deeper edits for UatB, I found two tiny typos in SU.  Ugh.  They're fixed and uploaded now, but geez.

Got some good news last night, but I don't have the okee doke to share it publicly, even if it was shared on FB - but not 'public', only 'friends'.  Not my page, not my news.

It's been a week of busting my ass this week.  More on that Sunday.

I don't think I drink enough water, especially now that it's hot.  And it is HOT right now.  Blerg.

We spotted a new pair of fawns.  They're noticeably new fawns because they're so tiny compared with the other two sets we have.  So, near as we can figure, eight fawns so far this year.  Yay.

Oak mite bites suck.  They are the itchiest bites I've ever gotten.  Bastards.  I just researched oak mites... You don't want to know.  They're totally gross.  And I am totally itchy just thinking about it.

Years ago, I interviewed for a job in Baltimore.  They offered me the job.  At the time, though, it ultimately wasn't enough in compensation package to make me move from FL.  I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I'd taken that job.  Regional Sales Manager... I sure as hell wouldn't be a hermit, lemme tell ya.  Plus, I'd be city folk.  And then there's the whole living in Baltimore thing... :shudder:  So happy I didn't go that route.

Okay, I think that's all I've got today.  How about you?