Thursday This n That

On a short continuance from yesterday, let me just say that I did not have roaming hippos in Columbia on my bingo card. (Was talking about it here a HIPPO violation?  ROFL)

Yesterday, I removed the 'feather bed mimic' topper thing from our bed.  The dang thing was lumpy as all get out.  That and the constant fluffing of it were getting to be a pain in the everywhere.  Last night, I did have a devil of a time getting to sleep, but I must've slept better.  We'll see how it goes.

Getting old blows.

Okay, I'm old.  (Yeah, yeah, not as old as some.)  I was thinking the other day about my grandmother and how she was.  I realized I will never be as old in my head as my grandmother was.  Then again, Grandma was never as old as I thought she was.  Hearing stories from Mom about her tell me that I was mistaken about her on several points.  Oh, she was not a pleasant woman and would never be mistaken for the warm and cuddly grandmas some people have.  I was talking with my sister and we agreed that Grandma was a bitch.  But really when Grandma was younger, she was a tough, pants-wearing, hard-working chick who liked parties and doing things women weren't supposed to do back then.  Maybe she was bitchy because as she got old, she couldn't be the woman she knew herself to be, which would make anyone bitchy, I guess.

You hear all the time about men withholding stuff from the wives during a divorce, but I just read a case where it was the woman.  She's in jail now until she forks over the stuff that the court already said belonged to her ex-husband or pays him the value of those things.  Equal rights for women means being equal in this shit, too.  Good for the judge.  Feminists wanted everything equal, where there ya go.  Choke on it.

Pedro Potato is getting tall.  Go, Pedro!  I'm not sure if he's actually making potatoes under there.  The only way to tell is to dig him up, the thought of which makes me sad.  It'll have to be done eventually, but until then, I'll enjoy him as the healthy plant he is.

We had a hell of a storm last night.  Thankfully, I'd already moved all my pots under the eaves, so they got at least some protection.  At around 2am, it got really nasty and I wondered if I did indeed hear a train in the distance.  (We have no tracks anywhere near here... by train, I mean tornado.)  I checked the yard this morning and all is well.

And on that note, I have to go make my daily call to Mom.  Have a great day everyone.  Peace out.

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 10

Well, there's another week shot to hell gone by.  What happened?  :shrug:  Drama llama.

Of course, there was no writing or editing.  Marketing was done, but little movement of books was seen.  I moved 28 free copies of WIOH and got one sale for that after the freebie was over.  I'm still moving some SCIU books, though, so yay.  I've actually sold nearly 15 books this month - regular sales and pages reads - so I can't gripe.

No reading.

No baking.

Very little carving.

I did some cleaning and some garden work, so 4 out of 7 days had some activity.  I didn't weigh myself.

In garden news, I have tiny carrot seedlings in all four pots.  I'll thin those when they get a little bigger.  Nothing's happening in the potato pots, except for the ravages of a squirrel that decided it wanted to dig around.  Little bastard.  I've treated all those pots with chili powder and no more forays from Mr. Squirrel since.  It also looks like a majority of my baby trees have signs of leave buds.  Some of them even have leaves!  Everything needs to go in the garage today, though, because we're getting a freeze starting today.  

In other garden news, I've cleared the dead leaves out of 4 beds now.  Only five more beds to go.  The beds should be fine in the freeze.  

Other than that, we've been in the clutches of family drama again.  I can't give the details because they're not my details to give.  Needless to say, though, it's been all-encompassing and there's been very little room in my brain for anything else.  

A couple of days there, I did get out of the house and hit the thrift store for a little retail therapy.  The first time, I didn't buy anything.  The next day, I went back for a couple things I'd seen, since I'd had time to think about them.  Item 1: I got a handmade wood cabinet with shelves and a door for $10.  The door's hinges were wonky, though.  I tried to fix it, but in the end just removed the door.  Now it's a nice shelving unit. The other thing I got was a pair of stackable shelving units ($15 for both).  They're not high enough to put books in, so I gave them to Hubs for the garage.  Woot. I also picked up a cute painting of birds and birdhouses.  The painting is on wood and it was only $1, so yay.  I had intended to buy this neat kitchen island thing, but in the end, I didn't think it would fit in my car.  

Once the shelving unit was cleaned and polished, I put it in the living room and shifted books onto it from the full office shelves.  Then I shifted books around in the office.  I have room on my shelves again!  It was getting pretty close to me needing to thin my library out, so yay.  (I hate thinning my library.)  

On the upside, it seems like the family drama is finally actually over and all is well again, so we can get back to using our brains for something other than that.  Woot.  I actually have been feeling like I need to write, so maybe next week you'll get to see something about that.  I'm not promising anything, though.

Anyway, that's it for me.  Have a great day wherever you are.  :hugs:

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?

I'm Back

I know, I know... I didn't tell you I was leaving.  I'm a staunch believer in the 'don't share with the internet that you won't be home' thing.  I mean, Hubs was still here, but I wasn't, so there ya go.  Anyway...

In the wee hours of the 18th, we made the drive to the airport, where Hubs dropped me off in the parking lot (he would've walked me in but, much to our dismay, the airport and its parking lot are under construction), and off I went to Michigan.  I spent 7 days hanging out with Mom, my middle sis, and sis's dog.  Oh, and other Michigan fam showed up on Saturday for a surprise birthday thing for Mom, who turned 85 while I was there.

It was a nice and mostly relaxing week.  Mom and I ate stuff we don't normally eat and we watched a lot of TV.  I took some walks, so it wasn't all lazing about.  I also rented a car, which gave me the ability to drive out to the old homeplace.  The place was barely recognizable.  (Who paints an old farmhouse candy-apple red?? Derp. And they cut down all the maple trees.  Turds.)  

I got back last night.  I haven't downloaded the photos I took yet.  I unpacked (mostly) and then flopped into a chair to watch an episode of Doc Martin before crashing into bed. 

The cats were not pleased with me coming home smelling like dog.  They're over it this morning for the most part.  Finn is still displeased with me.  Sawyer was up in my lap this morning like I never left.  

Anyway, I'm spending today decompressing and nursing my aches from carting my carry-on luggage through O'Hare and from the horribly uncomfortable seats on the airplanes.  (Never sit in the last row. The seats don't have any give in the back and the lavatories are problematic... i.e. they stink and the flushing device is LOUD.)

So, I'm home again with Hubs.  Sleeping in my bed, driving my car (rental cars... blerg), eating my food, and playing with my cats.  I still need to evaluate my writing, so I didn't accomplish that, but I did spend the week not angsting over it all, which was nice.

How are things in your world?

Thursday This n That

 Sawyer is being needy-kitty this morning and is now locked out of the office.  So he's outside the door meowing.

Life would be easier if it wasn't so hard.  Deep thought, eh?

If every tomato and pepper plant I have now actually fruited like it was supposed to, I'll be up to my armpits in tomatoes and green peppers.  Not a horrible situation, but what am I going to do with all that food?  Freeze it, of course.  Maybe I could sell them by the roadside or get a table at the farmer's market.  We'll see.  First things first, of course...  They need to grow and bloom and produce fruit.  :fingers crossed:

I have a tough enough time convincing myself to do marketing without getting things thrown in my way.  The urge to market against a sea of troubles is woefully low.

One of my sisters gave Mom something called a waterfall begonia for Mother's Day.  It sounds really pretty.  I got her mixed nuts and a tin of Walker Shortbread cookies shaped like Scottie dogs.  The begonia will last longer and not go to Mom's hips, but I hate buying plants for other people.  I never know what it'll look like when it gets there and whether it'll live.  

I got nothing for Mother's Day.  Yeah, I'm whining.  Wanna make somethin' of it?

Last I heard about the novella I read for that son of that dude was that the son went ahead and uploaded it for pub without listening to his writer dad or apparently waiting for input from me.  :shrug:  You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes all it does is eat the weeds and wander away. 

I'm not writing, so what do I know?  Like I have the right to tell anyone anything about this business.  Feh.

And that's more than enough out of me.  What's going on our your way?

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is for remembering and honoring military members who died in the line of duty.  I used to think it was for any military members who were gone.  Nope.  Line of duty only.  Okay, so I don't really know any of those personally.  

I've had a lot of my family that were in the service in one branch or another.  Many of them are gone.  Dad... Great Uncle Ray... Uncle Barney... Great Uncle Franny.  None of those died in the service.  (Although Mom says one cousin died shortly after he came home from Vietnam due to his exposure to Agent Orange, which ought to count, imo.)  

Then I remembered Orville*.  Orville was the nephew of one of my great grandfathers.  

He was missing in action/lost at sea in the Pacific Theatre in July of 1945.  His bomber group was flying missions out of Alaska and it seems like he might've been lost during a bombing run over some islands where the planes somehow ended up in the USSR.  That's about all I can find out about him this morning, other than he's got a grave marker in Arlington and his name's on the site for MIA military in Honolulu.  

Anyway, this is a day for remembering those who gave up their lives to defend our country.  Like they say 'we don't know them all, but we owe them all'.  We Americans owe them, and so do a lot of people in a lot of other countries that we defended over the years.  

So, as you're out there today, having a barbeque or doing whatever it is people do on this holiday, take a moment and think about those men and women who made it possible for you to do what you're doing.  No guilt attached.  Really.  I don't think they would want that.  Enjoy your lives, but remember.  And remember to do everything in your power to make sure it never happens again.

*his last name is blurred out for reasons and account of because.

Sunday Update

Good morning all.  It's Sunday again... you know, in case you have a tough time figuring out what day it is, like me.  

In the writing realm, I didn't write every day like I was supposed to.  I missed two days because of reasons and due to because.  I still managed to add 4840 words, though, so it's all good.  This book is now at 24533.  Yay.  I've also been thinking about another book and wanting to work on that, which for me is a bad idea.  I need to finish this before I go back to that or I'll never finish this.  There are enough unfinished novels on my hard drive to attest to that.  Still, it's good to be thinking about books again, so I have that going for me.

I read two books last week and made it about 100 or so pages into another.  

I was busy in the kitchen this week.  I made oatmeal cookies which didn't turn out too well, but we're eating them anyway.  Then I made coffee cake which didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, but we're eating it anyway.  Then I made pizza which was pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

On the activity front, I only did something active four days out of seven, and some of that wasn't all that active.  Still, it was more than sitting on my butt in a chair, so I counted it.  Two of the days, I walked.  My mileage is up to just over 30 miles this year.  Weight: 169.2

I've been working on the genealogy again.  This week, I got a little farther up the tree on the ancestors who came from Europe.  If I read German, I could probably make more progress, but I'm muddling along.  I also discovered some cousins I once knew, but haven't seen in decades, who have passed away.  They're all on my dad's side, and those people stopped communicating with Mom after Dad passed, so while it is annoying that no one told us, it's not super surprising.  If we'd known, we probably would've at least sent flowers, if not actually gone and paid our respects.  They were all in their 80s, so nothing shocking there, but still sad.  I also found where my great-aunt's grandson was killed in a tractor accident in 1962.  Dead kids in my tree make me sad.

I'm still thinking about the day job. I can't seem to stop myself from wondering if this got done or that got done, and did they remember to do that other thing that I was in charge of but that no one seemed to take care of before I got there?  :shrug:  This, too, shall pass.  Also, I kinda miss my guys.  Not enough to want to go back to work, but still...

Well, I think that's about it for me.  Other things happened, but at the moment I can't think of them, so they must not have been important in the scheme of things.  This week will be more writing, more reading, etc.  I also really need to get on top of updating all my books' back matter and continuing to make sure all the paperbacks are correct.  (That last one should've already been done, but it's a slog because my internet is sooo slow that I'm less inclined to want to do it.)

Have a great day, everyone!  And if you're in the mood, tell me about your weekend.

Digging Things Up

 I've been working on my family trees on and off for probably about 15 years.  I mostly use Ancestry.com for the research and the main tree.  Ancestry got me hooked with one of their free month things.  Unfortunately, you can only use that once, but hey, they're a business and they deserve to get paid.  

I also use My Heritage.  My Heritage has a good downloadable program for my desktop, so I can use that when I can't be online.  And they also have an online search thing that I use on occasion.  

From time to time, I use my search engine.  Type in some information and you can sometimes find out things that Ancestry doesn't have or have yet.  For instance, Mom know that her cousin Shar had passed away earlier this year, but Ancestry didn't have that information yet, so I googled it.  (Duckduck'd it?)  Found her obituary and filled in the appropriate info.  

Obits are great stores of information.  You can find out the names of children, spouses, etc. and fill out your tree that way.  This is especially helpful because places like Ancestry won't show you the names of people who are still alive.  So, from reading Cousin Shar's obit, I could fill in her kids and grandkids names.  (Mom only remembered one son's name,)

Speaking of Mom... she has been super helpful doing all of this.  Thankfully, she also remembers things about Dad's family.  I wish Ancestry had been around back when he was alive.  (Actually, it may have been but I didn't know about it then.)  Dad would've loved this.  Lucky for me, I still have Mom and I utilize her as often as she is willing to put up with me.  I think she likes it, too.  This morning, I used Ancestry to look up some gals she went to school with and give her information on what ever happened to them.  Plus, I think it helps keep her memory sharp.  She's going on 84, so that's an important thing these days.  

I'd like to think this will be important to the younger generations at some point down the road.  It's here if they ever need it.  I did see that my cousin's oldest daughter now has her own tree because I stumbled across it yesterday.  I've never actually met the kid - 30 and she's still a kid... derp - but it'll be nice to reach out to her and see if I can give her info she might not otherwise have.  Unfortunately, she lost her grandmother last year, so she doesn't have access to the stories like I do.  Maybe I'll tell her to call Mom and talk about the old days with her.  

Anyway, if you can afford it, Ancestry is cool.  It's like storing the memories of generations past.  I find it all very interesting.  But I'm a nerd.  

And no, I don't ever plan to submit my DNA.  I know the basics of my genetic makeup just from all the research I've done.  If it ain't in there, I don't really need it.  

Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo Day 12
Starting Word Count: 11797
Ending Word Count: 12791
New Words: 994

Digging in the Tree Again

 Ancestry.com got me again.  They made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I'm back to digging in the tree again.  Well, trees actually, because I do my family and Hubs' family and Owl's family from her paternal side.  I also did a tree for my sister's ex-husband's family so she could have it for her kids/grandkids.  Hell, I'd do anyone's trees if they asked me and were willing to pay me for my time.  They'd only need to provide me with information that I can use to research.  It's fun.

In case you didn't know it, I'm a writer and writers love research.  At least this writer loves research.  

Anyway, I've got a three-month membership this time, so no hurry for me like there was in the past with one-month memberships.  I'm not sure how much more I can discover, but it's an interesting pursuit.  I've been spending some time this time trying to learn about my great-uncle Ray.  He was in WWII in the Pacific.  He was also married 5 times and I don't have much information about his wives, so there's that.  My mom didn't even know the names of two of them, so I did give her that info.  

So, I do have these little projects.  For instance, we don't know what happened to Hubs' great-grandfather after his divorce from great-grandma S in the early 1900s.  He just sort of disappeared.   I'm trying to figure out where he went.  I'm also trying to figure out when the Sandersons came to America but I haven't made it back farther than the 1800s because it just sorta stops there.  It's a mystery.  And I do love me a mystery.

The really hard things are looking for information BEFORE ancestors came to the US.  My grandfather was a tot when he came here, so information about his parents prior to their arrival, and any information about their parents, etc. is hard to find and even harder to read because it's all in German.  My maternal great-grandmother came here as a baby, and she wasn't really talkative about things when she was alive, so finding ANYTHING about her family and their life before is damn near impossible.  I keep trying, though.  Someday maybe I'll find it.

So, in addition to writing this month, I'll also be doing genealogy.  Woohoo.  Nothing like a challenge.

Speaking of writing, here are my stats from yesterday:

Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo Day 8:
Starting word count: 10026
Ending word count: 11063
New words: 1057

Thursday This n That

Wow.  It's been over a month since I posted.  

A couple days ago, I got back from a trip to Michigan - not a month worth, only a few days.  It was great seeing Mom and the sibs.  We did nothing but sit around, chat, watch TV, order in... like I said, it was great.  Here's me on my vacay...

Yes, I feel the need to curl my toes.

The Boyz are getting big.  Sawyer is a giant among kittens.  He's my chunky boi.  Just kidding.  He's not fat, he's all muscle.  And Finn's no slouch either.  My super-sleek house panthers.

Speaking of Finn, he's been distracting me from writing this post.  He's such a cuddle bug.

It's been super hot and dry here.  I guess while I was gone, the heat let up a bit, but it's come back in full force.  Blerg.

I was screwing around on Etsy last night and I saw a candle that you can buy in various interesting (good but different) scents - including maple bourbon, pumpkin souffle, and Fruity Pebbles.  The store had all sorts of sayings you could get on the glass the candle comes in.  I liked "I'd shank a bitch in the kidney for you." but I'm demented.

Mom watches a lot of those court shows - Couples Court, Paternity Court, People's Court, Judge Judy - so that was watch I watched while I was there.  It was fun.  Man, people have messed up lives.  

I also noted that up in Liberalia (aka Michigan) the commercials inundate people with social justice messages.  No wonder the populace up there is so messed up. It's a blitzkrieg of brainwashing.  Mom's got pretty good armor - I just feel bad that she has to sit through that crap to get to the shows she wants to watch.  

Yesterday, I was back to work.  Eh, it wasn't that bad.  Only like 26 emails and I had picked a slow time of the month to go anyway, so I wouldn't have to come back to a pile of anything vile.  Yay.  I had warned several of my customers I was leaving, so they wouldn't call to talk to me.  =o)

Speaking of work, I should probably start moving in a workerly direction.  Have a great day, everyone, and don't be such a stranger.  ;o)

Sunday Update - Week 4

 Fair warning: I don't have a whole lot to talk about today, so this might be boring.

I spent last week laid up for the most part with a head cold.  I'm still not 100% over it.  It's lingering.  And now Hubs has it.   Weee. 

Sick or not, things had to be done, so I ran errands yesterday.  Walmart was Walmart.  I picked up necessities and stuff to combat this cold.  Then I stopped at the feed store and picked up supplies for the critters.  I got home and unloaded the groceries.  Hubs unloaded the feed.  Then we spent the rest of the day laying around.  

A brief thought on Robitussin Honey... not worth the extra money you pay for better tasting cough syrup.  And yeah, that's the only reason I bought it.  I took some last night to try and kick the last of this stuff in the ass.  Now I have medicine head like you wouldn't believe.  I could've gotten the same for about $5 less a bottle. 

If you checked in yesterday, you saw I didn't read much last week.  I got about 138 pages into a book that I DNF'd.  One would think that since I was home and sick, I would've been reading a lot.  Nope.  Wearing glasses was not an option.  They sat on the bridge of my nose, weighing on my sinuses and making me sneeze.  Which was part of the fun during that short span I was at the office.  

Don't even ask about activity.  Bleh.  However, being sick has reduced my weight.  Weight: 160.0.  Yep, lost about 4 pounds in 10 days.  I do not recommend this as a weight loss plan, though.  I expect that I'll go back up again after this.  We'll see.  On a brighter note, I learned yesterday that despite my lack of activity, I can still heft around a 40 pounds bag of birdseed.  Go me.

I worked about 20 hours last week.  Monday, half of Tuesday, and Friday.  Friday was playing catch-up for the days I missed.  And there are still things left undone which are running around in my head like a hamster on crack.

The big snowstorm they predicted last week ended up dumping about 2-4 inches of the white stuff.  So, totally not the 4-8 or 6-12 they'd predicted days earlier.  It was mostly gone by the time I went to work on Friday. Yay.  

My month of Ancestry ended on Wednesday.  I learned a lot this time around - mostly about people closer in the tree.  Cousins and whatnot.  The best part was talking to Mom and hearing her stories about people.  (Might not have been the best part of her... me rattling on endlessly about genealogy.)  I got to hear about the guy who worked as a clown, marketing cookies in the metropolitan Detroit area.  And the great aunt my grandmother hated, who apparently stunk.  And how my grandfather built the addition on the house she grew up in.  (I googled the address, so I could see it, and then we talked about her growing up there.)  Dudes, if you still have older people in your family that you can talk to about this stuff, do it now before it's too late.  I don't have my dad to talk to and I lost all his stories.  Thank goodness, Mom remembers his stuff as well as her own.  Also, thank goodness Mom's memory is still as sharp as a chef's knife.  

Okay, I think that's about it.  Maybe this post wasn't as boring as I thought it would be when I started.  And the medicine head is going away, too.  Yay.  Have a great day everyone.  I need to hit the Dollar General today because, wouldn't you know it, I forgot to buy Kleenex.  Derp.

How was your week?

Monday Update - Week 51

Obviously, no update yesterday because it was Christmas.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  We actually did something a little different this year and started celebrating Christmas on Saturday.  Three whole days - because I have today off - of eating ham.  I also made a pineapple upside down cake. Yum.

Yesterday, I gave myself a present.  I paid for a month of Ancestry.com and spent most of the day swinging in the family trees.  Got one branch of Hubs' tree back to a man born in 1548 Manchester, England.  Woot.  Also, I think I found Mom's one cousin who she lost track of years ago.  And I found a picture of Great, Great, Great Grandpa Homer.  

Yes, he's holding a rather large snake and sitting next to what I think is a buffalo skull.  (If the pic blows up big enough, you might see those aren't paintings around him - they're display cases full of dead critters.)  He was a lawyer before the Civil War and after, he became a taxidermist.  I also learned he was severely wounded at Antietam, which might explain the change from law to stuffing animals for fun and profit.

The big news of the past week, you know other than Christmas, was the cold snap.  It got down to negative 6 degrees F here.  Thursday, we had ice and then snow.  I went to work and ended up coming home after only 90 minutes because I didn't want to get trapped at the office.  I made it to work on Friday and worked a whole day, so it's all good.  Of course, when I got to the office and stripped out of my layers of outdoor clothes, I discovered it was FREAKIN' 52 inside the office.  We got the heater working in short order (lucky my co-worker knew what to do), but it didn't warm up the office enough to shut off again until almost 2.  Our own 'furnace' (it's a heat pump), ran non-stop for like 72 hours and couldn't get the house above 66.  Enough, Mother Nature, you're drunk.

I have to spend some time today getting spreadsheets ready for 2023.  Other than that, not much else is going on.  How was your holiday weekend?  

Sunday Update - Week Somethin' Or Other

 I'm too lazy to look up the week # this morning.  

Anyway, it was a week.  Not much different from the week before.  

I did a fair bit of reading, all things considered.  I inhaled a book yesterday and finished it last night.  Woohoo.  I also hit another thrift store and came home with 7 books for a dollar.  Most of them for the shelves and not strictly for reading, but hey, a book is a book.  I have a little collection of old books on how to write, and I found another one of those.  Not super old - like 1955 - but it looks good sitting with the others.

I made Hubs' granola bars before work one morning and that's it for the baking.

On the activity front, we took a walk last Sunday.  Just under a mile.  Which puts me at a measly 32.3 miles for the year.  On the other hand, my weight is still inching down.  As of yesterday... Weight: 166.4.  That's 15 pounds down since I started work and 15.8 down since the start of the year.  I can almost fit into those slightly too-small pants I bought last month.  They fit awesome when I'm standing up but they still cut into my stomach sitting down and since I spend most of my day sitting, they're going to have to remain int he closet.

My wrist is not exactly 100%, but I've gotten to the point where it only really bothers me first thing in the morning.  Both of the braces I bought are duds, as far as I'm concerned.  I wore the new one at work for about a half hour before it started to irritate me.  This reminds me of the time I broke my foot.  I wore the 'cast' thingie for about a day at home, then I had to not wear it to work because I couldn't drive with it.  I bought a pair of crutches to use instead and dumped those at the end of the first day because they were bothering my arms.  I spent the rest of my recovery limping around the plant.  :shrug:  I don't got time for no medical impedances.

Earlier in the week, the leaky spot on our roof from a ways back started leaking again.  We woke up to a puddle in the smoking room.  Yesterday, I picked up two gallons of roof repair, and then it spent most of the day raining.  Not a single drop came through.  Near as I can figure it, that last puddle was created because we got 3.5 inches of rain and it was really windy, so the wind drove the rain up under a loose shingle.  Hubs will still paint the roof with the repair gunk, but it's not as critical anymore.

Work is still work.  Not much changed about that.  The only problem I can see is that I am now comfortable in my position.  (Or as comfortable as anyone can be in a busy environment.)  This is a problem because when I'm comfortable, the little voice in my head that reminds me 'don't say that' starts to goof off.  I'm an opinionated person... yeah, stating the obvious to people who stop here regularly... and when those opinions start dropping out of my face at work, it's a problem.  Need to rein that in.  I need to keep those thoughts for when I'm talking to Hubs or Mom, or in private emails to a certain friend of mine.

One awesome thing about working, my mom and I are connecting on a whole new level.  She understands what I go through at work because it's similar to what she did for years, and I better understand what she went through for all those years many years ago when I was too wrapped up in my own junk to listen to what she needed to talk about.  Dad was not a great listener.  Anyway, I've been close to Mom most of my life, but I feel closer now.  Which is awesome.

I wish I had that kind of relationship with my daughter, but I think Owl has written me off.  =o(

Anyway...

The birds are migrating.  The deer are doing their things.  We haven't seen Sebastian the fox in a while.  A few mornings this past week, there has been a hawk sitting in the same place when I'm on my way to work, and the time I leave puts it so the first rays of the sun are hitting the hawk as I drive by.  It's pretty cool.  I'd stop and take a picture, but I have a feeling if I stopped the car, it would startle him and he'd fly away.  I think it's a red-shouldered hawk.  So pretty.

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

Thursday This n That

Hey, it's still Thursday!  I meant to post this morning, but I got distracted and then it was time to get ready for work.  

Man, we got slammed at work yesterday.  Thank goodness this afternoon was kinda quiet.  So quiet we were all afraid to say it was quiet and jinx it.  LOL

One of the things I do is collecting on past due stuff.  I figure as of today, I've already paid my wages to this point back to the company in the debts I've collected.  BE for the win.  Go, me.  Okay, so 7 days of work doesn't amount to any huge amount, but it's good to feel productive again.  And hey, it's good to know I'm taking some of the load of the gals who were slammed on a daily basis.

Nope, still not saying where I work.  =op

I had a meeting with the boss.  Kind of an informal, how're things going so far, chat.  He's good people.  They're all good people as far as I can tell.  Funny thing, though.  He asked me about my books and I went all 'deer in headlights'.  I guess I just made a wall in my head between that and this.  I can't think about being a writer when I'm in office worker mode.  

At some point, I need to slip into writer mode and then not think about the office worker.  Maybe this weekend.

It's hard not calling Mom every morning.  I do manage to get a couple short calls into the office first thing before I go to the day-job.  And I'm doing spreadsheets at night.  But the hour and twenty chatty calls with just Mom every day are a thing of the past.  I have to content myself with Saturdays, I guess.

There's an itty-bitty baby bunny who lives by the well-house.  I see it sometimes on my way to work.  It's soooooo cute.  

Okay, well, I'd better post this so it's still a Thursday.  Have a great day wherever you are and whatever you're doing.  :hugs:

Sunday Update - Week 18

Good morning.  And Happy Mother's Day!

The week started out gangbusters and then fell apart.  I did write for 5 straight days and the book is over 10K now, so I'm not kicking myself.  Much.  It is what it is and I have a clue where it goes from here.  Basically, I need to kick myself in the butt and slap that ol' self-doubt down.

I didn't do much reading.  Finished one book last Saturday.  I did acquire a bunch of books, but I haven't been reading them because I'm trying to keep my brain on my own story.  Eh, like that's working.  Blerg.

No baking.  Hubs is still working on the last batch of granola bars and of zucchini bread, so it's all good.

I got some activity in.  Not a lot, but it was something.  I spent a couple hours weeding and moving rocks one day.  Another day, I washed the kitchen floor.  Yesterday, Hubs and I walked the loop, which added 1.1 miles to my total and rolled me over 15 miles for the year.  

Speaking of walking the loop, we were on a riverwatch mission.  We've gotten so much rain recently that the lake has jumped about 11ft, so we thought it would be a good idea to see how the waterfront neighbors were all fairing.  The water's still a few feet from any of the houses, so it's all good.  It's supposed to be dry all week.  Whew.  Too much more and that one house is going to be flooded again.  And after all the work they put into remodeling it after the 2017 flood, too.  Bummer.  We got to see a couple kids fishing from their yard, in their yard, which was kinda cool.

We have free movies this weekend, so we've been partaking of that.  And golf.  Right now, we have the channel for that and I can watch foreign golf, senior's golf, and regular golf all day Thursday thru Sunday if I want to.  Eh, it's quiet and non-taxing to the brain.

Anyway, that's about it for me.  I hope you all have a nice Mother's Day with the ones you love.  I'll be calling my Mom shortly and later Hubs will call his Mom.  It's all good.

How was your week?

Thursday This n That

I didn't get out of bed until 7. Deal with it.

Well, that was another fun night.  2.6 inches of rain.  Lightning and thunder abounded.  I got up around 2 a.m. and watched the radar until I was sure nothing swirly was headed this way.  The worst of it dissipated before it got here, leaving us with just loads of water.  The wet weather stream at the back of the property is a roaring creek right now.  And there are flood warnings all over the place.  

On a side note, I love living on a hill.  In times like these having a house right on the lake is a liability I'm glad I don't have to deal with.  

For some reason, I was a whole week ahead yesterday. Yep, thought it was the 2nd Wednesday. Derp.

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of my Dad's passing. I think to think he's somewhere catching fishing with his dad. (His dad died when he was ten, so he never really got the chance to go fishing with him. Dad always seemed to regret that.)

I so did not want to write last night, but I kicked my own ass and got over 1700 words out.

Did anyone else get the email that Amazon will no longer be supporting MOBI files in its 'Send to Kindle'? Weird. Thankfully, the only files I send to my Kindle are Word documents. But how does that work for authors who send MOBI files to their readers? :shrug:

Okay, today is a short this-n-that, but I'm running late, so I'd better get my buns moving. See ya in the funny papers.

Monday Update - Week Something or Other

Due to yesterday being a holiday, I postponed the usual Sunday Update to today.  Hence, the Monday Update.  And frankly, I'm too meh to go look up the week #.  Considering how boring I'm about to be, I'm not sure why I'm bothering with an update, but you came here for a post, so a post I shall present.

I didn't do anything writerly last week.  Which calls to mind a scene from History of the World Part I, wherein Mel Brooks' character is applying for unemployment as a stand-up philosopher.  "Did you bullshit last week?" (If you haven't seen the movie, it's comedy gold, folks.)  

In reading news, I did finish a couple books, but for the most part, the week was wasted on DNFs.

On the baking front, I did a chocolate oil cake with super fudgy frosting.  It was totally necessary.  I also did a batch of biscuits and a batch of cake cookies.  

Of course, there wasn't much activity either.  I did some yard work one day.  I haven't weighed myself yet this month.  I don't expect any good can come of that.

My last blood-related aunt passed away this past week.  Mom's little sister.  She was 79.  Her memorial is this coming weekend, but it'll be in Michigan, so I won't be there except in spirit.  She was a good person.  In a way, she was like a hummingbird.  Always moving, always active.  I don't remember her ever being still.  May she rest in peace.  My thoughts go out to her six kids and their kids.  And, of course, to my mom who has now lost both of her younger siblings.  Getting old blows.

Yesterday was Easter.  We didn't do anything special other than a special dinner.  The store didn't have the kind of ham I wanted, so we went with steak and shrimp along with a side of cheesy-chive mashed potatoes.  It all turned out really good.

And that's about all I can think of from last week.  Meh, meh, and more meh.  

Anyhoo, on that note, I'll leave it to you to comment and tell me about your week.

Thursday This n That

Facebook was actually useful this morning...

- Here's a pdf booklet on the care of wildlife so veterinarians can keep them alive while waiting on transfer to a rehabber.  (Never keep wildlife yourself.  Just keep them alive and as healthy as you can, but get them to someone who knows how to care for them ASAP.)  I saved it down because I never know when I might have to use the information.  I don't even know where there's a rehabber within 3 hours of here or whether any of my local vets take wildlife.  

- And here's the link to the YouTube videos of a child piano prodigy performing.  Definitely inspiring.  

I sat down to read a book last night and ended up DNF'ing 4 in a row.  I hate when that happens.

Trying to maintain a positive attitude is not an easy thing these days.  So, if you don't see me here or at your blogs, it's because I'm in a negative place and don't want to spread it around.  Negativity is a social disease, doncha know.  And penicillin don't help.

We had a death in the family.  It wasn't totally unexpected... I mean, the first part was kinda unexpected, but after that, we had a timeframe, so the very end wasn't a surprise.  It wasn't anyone close close to me.  I mean, I loved her and I remember her fondly, but it's not a deep hurt.  More like an 'aw, damn'.  Our moms and sibs and the kids are all fine and all that.  Sympathy cards have been purchased, flowers will be sent.  It kind of put me in a frame of mind to think about certain things, though.  Like not letting things, no matter how bad they may have been or may seem, keep you from communicating with the people who matter.  Unfortunately, it's a two-way street and both parties have to be on board with staying in touch.  But, yeah, dead is too late to repair the rift.  

We got like 2.3 inches of rain over the past few days.  Sploosh.  April showers bring May flowers.  And Mayflowers bring pilgrims. LOL

Amazon keeps trying to get me to sign up for Amazon Business.  Like that would be a thing for me.  Sure, I'm a business, but I don't really need business type stuff.  I'm down to the point where my expenses are almost nil.  Some printing costs - paper, ink.  Both of which I get at Wallyworld so I don't have to worry about shipping costs or time.  

Speaking of shipping, I ordered pesticide for the start of Tick-ma-geddon 2022.  The stuff was supposed to arrive from GA on Monday.  The tracking finally updated and it's headed this way from the hub in KS, but still no delivery date.  :shrug:  Why it went from GA to KS, passing MO entirely only to come back east, I have no clue.  The logistics is a nightmare.  Seems like a waste of fuel to me.  Eh, if I ran the world, it would've dropped into St Louis and then come here.  Like shipments out of TX always go past us into Kansas City and then come back south.  One would think if those dropped into Little Rock and then continued up, it would be so much more efficient.  :shrug:

And that's all I have to say about that.  I suppose I should get to doing something productive this morning.  But first! more coffee!

What say you on this fine morning?

Thursday This n That

I swear to god whoever's sneaking into our house at night and beating us in our sleep needs to stop. (This is not really happening.  It just feels like it.)

I taught Hubs how to make cake cookies last night.  He had a sweet tooth thing going on and I told him to go make cookies.  I ended up doing most of the work (which is not much work anyway), but now he knows how for future reference.  (Considering the fact that I am a total control-freak in the kitchen, this was a bigger deal than you think.)  I made them BIG because it was necessary.  And as soon as they were cool enough for the chocolate chips to not burn our mouths, we ate some.  Yay.  Warm chocolate chip cookies are da bomb.  

I'm also a control-freak in my car.  His car? Nope.  My car?  I'm in control, baby.

It might snow today.  And that's just about enough of that already.  Sheesh.

We've had a red-shouldered hawk hanging out around the yard lately.  I've named him Rufus.  Yesterday, I saw Beauregard in the woods.  (He's our resident broad-winged hawk.)  Luckily, I think they have different prey.  Unfortunately, I fear Beau might be prey in Rufus's eyes.  Hope not, but nature's a witch sometimes.

Did I tell you someone hit a beaver on the highway the other day?  There's a wet-weather creek right there leading to the lake, about 3/4 of a mile away, and for some reason the beavers cross the highway at that point.  No clue why.  I just know this is the second beaver that's been hit right there since we moved here.

My brother traps beavers in Michigan.  He provides a service for people whose land is being ruined by the pesky buggers and he takes the skinned carcasses to a raptor rehabilitator.  He also makes maple syrup.  This is probably a busy time for the maple thing and according to this, nearing the end of beaver season.  Plus, he works a 'full-time and then some' job.  Bro's a busy dude.  If more people had his drive, this world would be a better place all the way around.

We're a pretty industrious family.  Stop laughing.  I can be industrious.  =op  (I'm not, but I can be.)

I quit watching Grey's Anatomy cold turkey.  I'm not even sure why I liked it.  Don't even get me started on the dysfunctional relationships it regularly portrays as normal and good.  It's certainly addictive, though, which is why I had to stop cold turkey.  Like football.  I'm not a 'wean myself off' kind of person.  It's really hard to not walk in the living room right now and turn on the TV to watch it.  But I'm pushing through.

Speaking of dysfunctional relationships, I have had more than my fair share.  I was talking to Mom about it yesterday.  One in particular was especially nasty and I was telling her I still have nightmares.  They're only about once a year now, but they're always bad.  And no, he never hit me.  He just tormented me mentally and emotionally to the point where I thought about killing myself to get away from him.  And THAT was the point at which I realized I needed to get the hell away from him.  And I still tried to stay.  It took one more week of being treated like crap to put some starch in my spine and I was outta there.  Whew.  Did I learn?  Nope.  Fell into a similar relationship about 2 years later.  Eventually, I did learn, though, and I'm with Hubs.  Who is awesome, by the way.  

Wow, I was a little wordy there, wasn't I?  Got anything to share with me this morning?

Thanksgiving Then and Now

I had an awesome idea for today's post.  But I didn't write the post or write the idea down and, of course, I forgot it.

So, let's talk about Thanksgiving.

I don't remember a lot of my childhood.  And not for the same reason a lot of people can't remember the '70s LOL.  I think Thanksgiving was always sort of a big deal, though.  What I can remember was a house full of family and loads of awesome food.  

We'd start the day watching the Macy's parade and then whatever was on - usually some movie or other on one of the four channels we got - to stay out of Mom's way in the kitchen.

Mom would make a huge turkey - which I loved.  Candied yams - which I hated.  Pumpkin pie, easy on the spices.  And cranberry sauce right out of the can.  There may have been other staples, but I don't remember those exactly.  Corn?  Green beans?  Mashed potatoes?  :shrug:  

We'd eat and then Dad would watch the Lions play whoever on TV.

As we got older, and hooked up with special someones, more people would be there.  Then the babies started arriving.  It was something of a madhouse sometimes in my parent's home.  I do remember hiding in my room to escape the chaos.  Then dinner would be served and we'd all sit down - the adults at the big table and the kids at the card table.  

We'd eat and then Dad and the other men would watch the Lions play whoever while the women cleaned up and then had coffee while they chatted around the big table.  At some point pie would be served.  Then everyone would depart for their own homes.  Taking leftovers with them.  

In 2001, I moved away from Michigan.  No more family holidays for me.  It was during these years that I discovered I suck at making turkey.  I never have the patience to leave it in the oven long enough so the center isn't still bloody.  (And I never trusted the pop-up thingy.)  Thank goodness I never gave anyone food poisoning.  Thank goodness I married Hubs because he makes an awesome turkey.  

These days, it's just Hubs and I.  He does the turkey, I do the dessert.  We have stuffing that he makes and crams into the bird.  And canned, jellied cranberry sauce because that's how we roll.  (I take care of that, too.  I'm such a chef.  LOL)  And that's pretty much it.  No corn.  No mashed potatoes.  Definitely no sweet potatoes.  Bleh.  Sometimes we have rolls that I've bought at the store, but usually the rolls are left for tiny leftover turkey sandwiches.  (Hubs puts cranberry sauce on his, I just use butter.  Butter and turkey sandwiches... mmmmm.)  After we digest some of the dinner, we have dessert.  This year, I'm making pumpkin cheesecake.  Last year, we just had pumpkin bread.  It's not like we really need dessert.  Lord knows, we're already pretty stuffed after dinner.  Which we usually eat around 1:00.  

And that's about it.  This year, I bought a 14.5 lb turkey, so we'll be eating leftovers for a good long time.  Woohoo.  

What about you?  Any good memories of Turkey Day?  What's your holiday like now as opposed to when you were a kid?