Friday This n That

 Yeah, I'm a day late.  I had intended to type up a post yesterday, but I was running late and then I got distracted, and well, you know what my father always said... "Intentions are for shit."  So, here I am on Friday again.  And I was doing so well last week.

I just saw a post on FB coming from someone who works at a university.  He recently received a letter from a university administrator, telling him that keeping books on his shelves is 'the unnecessary storing of combustible material.'  Think about that for a second  You can't keep books on your shelves AT A UNIVERSITY.  I'm seriously losing hope for this world.

Last night, I went to bed on time.  I've been really good about staying up to write every night, but last night I was tired.  So tired.  And guess what?  I still rolled around in bed like a damn gas station hotdog for hours.  Hubs keeps trying to fix my insomnia by giving me suggestions, bless his heart.  You know the ones - past a certain hour, stay away from the sugar (check) and the caffeine (check), cut down on the TV before bed (well, I'm writing before bed, so there's that).  I've tried listening to gentle music, nope.  It gets added to the mental jukebox that plays every song I've ever heard while I'm trying to sleep.  Mom has suggestions, too, and I've tried those.  I don't know what to think about it all.  Maybe my brain is just overly active lately.  I am writing a new book, after all, and the neurons are firing like Independence Day up there due to that.  Of course, the heat doesn't help.  If I could just get cool, I could get comfortable, and if I was comfortable, I could shut my brain up.  Maybe.  Eh, it's a theory.

I need to go grocery shopping while it's still cool.  It's supposed to get ungodly hot next week.  Problem is, I don't want to go grocery shopping today.  Meh.  I probably will, but I'd like it on record that I went under protest.

We have two yearling bucks hanging around the yard.  One is Scout, which is Sissy's fawn from last year.  The other we have named Ranger.  

Okay, I think that's it.  It's after 8 and I need to get my ass in gear.  Have a great day wherever you are and whatever you do.  :hugs:

Sunday Update - 2026 Week 9

 Argh.  Time change... I'm later posting this than I thought I was.  Derp.  

I didn't get much sleep last night.  I went to bed at 9 like a good girl, but I couldn't sleep and then Sawyer was being a turd, so I just got up.  I finally went back to bed at midnight.  Unfortunately, I still laid there.  And I had no sooner fallen asleep when I had to pee.  

Anyway...  Per my current outlook on life, no writing or editing.  I did some marketing for AD, but didn't really move many books.  Tomorrow WIOH goes on the freebie block.  (You might notice that for this 90-day run, so far, the books have been in the order in which they were published.  I'm not sure how long I'll continue this, but there it is.)

I'm still reading duMaurier.  I'm about halfway through.

Earlier this week, I made raisin walnut quick bread.  Yums.

On the activity front, it's been less about burning calories than accomplishing stuff.  I did some gardening and some carving, groceries, etc.  I haven't weighed myself since last week.  I don't expect the number to have changed.

As for carving, all my supplies are here and I'm in the process of teaching myself how to use the tools.  I have a big chunk of cedar on the sunporch for that purpose.  While I was messing with it, a thin piece came off in my hand, so now I'm carving on that.  It's probably 8 inches by 4 inches and maybe a third of an inch thick.  It's shape reminded me of feathers, so I'm trying to make that happen.  I also might cut the end of the chunk off to make myself a cube of wood and turn that into a sphere.  Additionally, my salesman brain got the idea to carve baby bunnies wearing diapers... and now I know that there are places where you can buy diapers to put on rabbits.  Anyway, I'm still excited about the hobby, so yay.

On the gardening front, I planted the carrot seeds and the potato chunks.  Now we wait.  Still no sign from most of the trees that they are, in fact, still alive.  :shrug:  It's early yet.  If they don't make it, I'll use their pots for veggies and other volunteer trees and try again next year.  This isn't a short game I'm playin' here.  Oh, and I need to move my pepper plants outside.  Heh, one of my peppers has a carrot growing in with it.  A baby carrot I bought to eat was starting to grow in the fridge.  I cut the top off and stuck it into a pot with one of the peppers.  It's kinda cute, so I'll keep it.

Anyway, I think that's it for me this morning.  Not exactly what you might have stopped here looking for, but I hope my humdrum existence was a little interesting for you.

Thursday This n That

Oh, joy... I'll be in the jury pool here from July - November.  That's how it works in MO... you get notified that you'll be in the pool for a certain time and then, if they pick you, you'll get another notice that you have to serve.  THEN you have to call the night before to see if they're actually going to have court or if it was cancelled.  I've been in the pool a lot in the past 12 years, and I've been picked several times, but it's always been cancelled the night before.  Whew.  Especially the last time because I went to Michigan while I was still in the pool and it would've sucked if I'd been called up while I was away.

FB is still screwing me hard on the marketing thing.  Turds.

I saw something this morning about how like 54% of Americans can't read above a 6th grade level.  And like 1 in 5 is functionally illiterate.  And how like 1 in 3 is like math-illiterate.  Which all sucks.  On a happier note, I saw how 2nd Lady Vance has a reading initiative this summer that kids can sign up for and win prizes and maybe win a trip to the White House.  I don't care what your politics are... that's a good thing and everyone should be all for it.  Anything that gets people reading more is awesome.

And if you're actively against Mrs. Vance's summer reading program, what the hell is wrong with you?  Illiteracy is everyone's problem.

Lumpy's baby is super cute!  A couple days ago, it walked right under the window where we were watching.  So tiny!  Awwww.

I'm really feeling that last walk.  I did the loop, which is only 1.1 miles, but it's very hilly and my calves are mooing this morning.  

Last night was not a good night for sleeping.  I was too hot and then the cats decided it would be an awesome night to run around the house playing with their jingly ball and then they found something interesting in the corner of the bedroom that HAD TO BE investigated right then.  They were being good boys, but their goodness was certainly noisy and I was not in the frame of mind to ignore them.  Oh well.  Naptime later and for now, lots of coffee!

Right now, though, I think I'm going to go finish my book.  Maybe snag some breffest.  Have a great day and feel free to leave whatever this or that your mind spits out.  

Not a Banner Night

Last night was not a banner night for sleeping.  First, I made the mistake of staying up a little late to finish a book.  It was a really good book.  Of course, once I went to bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it, so there was that keeping me up.  And I couldn't get comfortable.  And I was too hot.  And I was also thinking about TTW's impending publication and all the things that need doing before I can push it out into the world...

Like I said, not a banner night for sleeping.  At one point, I gave up and got up.  Turned the computer back on and worked on my blurb.  Whether it's any good remains to be seen.  I haven't opened the file and looked at it since I woke up.  I finally went back to bed and fell asleep around 1 a.m., and woke at 7.  A solid 6 hours of sleep isn't bad, I guess, but I think my gumption is still comatose.

At least it wasn't the cats keeping me up this time.  Nope, they were being good boys.  Figures.

Today, I'm supposed to go grocery shopping.  This may or may not happen.  There's always tomorrow.  I've also got to start working on formatting this novel into ebook and print formats.  I had played with the idea of setting this to pre-order, but that never seems to work out for me, so I'll probably just push it into the world.  We'll see.

Anyway... look for my review of the 'really good book' tomorrow.  And look for THICKER THAN WATER to come out sometime before the 20th.  I should get a post out with the cover and blurb sometime this coming week.  Stay tuned.  

As for me... :wanders off in search of more coffee:

Freakin' Wednesday?

 Oh my gah... it's freakin' Wednesday?  Where did Monday and Tuesday go?  Holy crap.  

Okay, so Monday... Dying Embers went on freebie.  Go snag a copy.  

And Tuesday...?  We voted. 2 tax increases, a property tax cessation for old people thing, and some dude was running unopposed for commissioner of something.  I voted no on the tax increases - natch - yes on the property tax thing, and I didn't bother voting for the dude I didn't know.  As of this morning, one tax increase passed, one failed, the cessation thing was approved, and the dude probably got elected but I wasn't paying attention to him.

So, now it's Wednesday and we're all caught up, I guess.

Today, I am thoroughly unmotivated to do any marketing.  I need a shower.  The cats... okay, just Sawyer... were spastic last night so I didn't get much sleep.  What sleep I did get was sometime this morning, so I got out of bed late which is part of the unmotivational problem.  And I have about a half hour before my morning call to Mom.  (Yes, I call my mommy almost every morning.  She's 84, so there are a finite number of days left to call her, and plus, I like talking to her.)

Sometime around 11 last night, whilst Sawyer was trying to dig his way through Hubs dresser... pat pat pat pat ad infinitum... I snapped and threw my pillow at him. Scored a direct hit, scared the holy hell out of him, and sent him running for under the bed.  I felt really really bad about it.  He spent quite a while under there and once I ascertained that he was physically unharmed, I got some sleep.  Until about 1-ish when he decided it would be a good time to play with a jingly ball.  He batted that sucker all over the house, running after it and jumping on it... jingling all the way.  Oh what fun it is to... nevermind. That went on for a couple hours.   

Today, I'm supposed to do more marketing, as I previously indicated.  I'm also supposed to go grocery shopping.  I'm not sure either of those things are going to happen, and if they do, there won't be much zip in any of it.  :yawn: :stretch: :blah:

And I just remembered our phone is out again and I forgot to call the damn phone company.  !@#$%!

I need a coffee IV.  Just stick the needle in a vein and let the coffee drain in.

What are you up to today?  Hopefully, y'all have more oomph than I do.

:wander off in search of gumption:

Thursday This n That

We're trying the whole 'let the cats have free run of the house at night' thing again.  After ten days of sleep deprivation, I gave in and put the cats in the office last night.  Ahhh, sleep.  Finn is a perfect little gentleman and he just wants to cuddle.  Why Sawyer feels the need to scratch the walls in the middle of the night, I'll never know.  It sounds like nails on a chalkboard.  Ah, well.  We knew what we were getting into when we adopted a kitten they had named Chili Pepper.

I still haven't cleaned the house.  

Today is grocery shopping day.  I expect this to be a large load.  Ugh.

Months ago, I bought some PERT shampoo.  Yep, they still make it.  It's okay, but it's not thrilling me as a shampoo.  Every time I use it, I feel like I can never rinse it all out of my hair.  I'm tempted to throw it out, but I have this aversion to throwing out things I paid for that might still have some useful purpose.  

I'm debating on making brownies today.  We'll see.  I might do cake instead.  Or maybe an apple-cranberry crisp.  Perhaps cookies.  We'll see.

Pumpkin pie bread...

Ahem, I really don't need baked goods.  My ass is expanding and it doesn't need any more assistance.

All the fawns have lost their spots.  This gives me a sad every year.  

Okay, I'm pretty much out of things to say this morning.  Fly and be free.

Thursday This n That

I actually had someone read the entire A Model Curse series in one night.  And then they started on Once Upon a Djinn.  I hope they go through that whole series, too.  I love that you can track the progress of readers using Kindle Unlimited.  I just wish more people would find and love these books.  It certainly would make life easier if sales went up.

Last night, we watched Free Guy.  I'd seen it before, but this was the first time I caught it at the beginning so we could watch it all the way through.  Good movie, if you haven't seen it.

I also got writing done, so don't go wagging your finger at me.  =op

I had some plain yogurt sitting in the fridge, so I decided to make 'cream cheese' with it.  Put a coffee filter in a mesh sieve, put the yogurt in the filter, put the whole thing over a bowl, and let it drain.  In a day or two, you'll have something that's the consistency of cream cheese.  And it can pretty much be used in the same fashion.  Although, I'm not sure I would try to make cheesecake with it.  Yogurt can be heated but from what I understand, it separates at temps over 350F.  Anyway, I'll probably use this to make dip.  Or I'll make a coffee cake recipe I found yesterday.  :shrug:  

Which reminds me, I think I figured out why my sour cream coffee cake failed.  I substituted yogurt for the sour cream, but that wasn't the problem.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of butter and I only used 1 stick (1/2 cup).  Derp.  I had planned on trying the recipe yesterday and noticed the error I'd made.  Unfortunately, I don't have two sticks of butter to bake with right now.  Maybe after I go shopping this week, I'll try it again.

I keep sleeping in.  I mean, I'm getting up at 6:30 but that's sleeping in for me.  I usually get up an hour earlier.  Yeah, it relates to not being able to fall asleep every night, which is getting annoying... which makes me mad which makes it harder to fall asleep.  It's a vicious circle.

Okay, I'm off to do things and try to accomplish stuff.  Have a great day and leave me your this n thats if you get a chance.  

Thursday This n That

Since we got the boys, I can no longer keep pens laying around.  They LOVE pens and would very much like to nom on them.  The pen caddie that used to sit on my desk is now on the top of a bookshelf and the one pen I use is in my desk drawer.  But hey, they're a writer's cats, so the fact that they love pens should come as no surprise.

I'm trying not to think about the fact that this book I'm writing has no clear direction and I have no clue where I'm going.  (And I'm pretty sure that it's awful.)  Thank goodness for edits, eh?

I woke up late again today.  Of course, late for me is 6am.  Derp.  I can't remember the last time I slept until 8.  I slept until 7 once last year.  It was a weekend, so yay.  When I was a teen, I could sleep until 10 in the summer and that was awesome.  Oh, well.  Getting older sure does have its quirks, eh?

I saw a fox in the neighbor's yard on Monday.  

Gah, the heat.  I mean, it's been a lot cooler these last couple of days because of the storms, but it's jacking back up again.  :shrug:  It is July, after all, and this is generally a hotter region than either Michigan or Colorado, so I guess it's not unexpected.  Still, we do like to gripe about the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.  It's a national pastime.  ;o)

Why does pastime only have one S?  Since it's used to pass the time, shouldn't it have two Ss?  

Don't get me started on the upcoming election or we'll be here all day.  Okay, just one thing... if a person is not mentally sharp enough to be held responsible for their actions, then how can they possibly be sharp enough to hold the fate of a nation in their hands?  Jus' sayin'.

Sawyer is an attention whore.  And he generally prefers negative attention.  I try to give loads of attention when he's being good, but he enjoys getting into trouble.  He actually purrs harder when he gets caught being naughty.  Silly boy.  Finn on the other hand is such a lover muffin.  Yesterday morning, all he wanted was pets.  And when I stopped, he'd head-bonk me until I started up again.  And when I tried to go do something else, he followed me - head-bonking and rubbing against my legs all the way.  Also, Silly boy.

Today's post has been a kitty sandwich, I guess.  Start with cats, end with cats, with layers of other stuff in the middle.  Hope you enjoyed it.  

Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo Day 10:
Starting word count: 11063
Ending word count: 11797
New words: 734

Sunday Update - Week 15

The week is a blur, but I'll try to recreate some of it...

Work, Cats...

That's about it.

Seriously, though...  Work was busy, but good.  We're learning to roll with fewer office staff.  A lean, mean, fighting machine.  Hoo ya.

The cats are filled with boundless energy.  I wish I could harness some of that.  Alas, they aren't sharing it.  And their boundless energy makes me tired.  LOL

I totally forgot to do my Saturday Reading Wrap-up again.  I may just stop doing that.  I didn't finish any books last week.  Right now, I'm on a Victoria Holt.  

Don't even ask about activity.  I did nothing except for cat wrangling.  Last I checked, I was at 160-ish pounds.

I saw a bald eagle yesterday.  That was probably the last one I'll see for the season.  I know, I said that the last time I saw a baldy, but this time I'm probably right.

Last night, to try and regain some sleep, we put the cats in the office with their food and water (the litterbox and their toys are already in here) and shut the door.  They were no worse for wear.  The office is like 600 sq ft and it has plenty of places to sleep/play/wrassle/run like crazy people.  And we got sleep, too.  Yay.

Yesterday, at the Wallyworld, I picked up some seed packets - tomatoes, bell peppers (mixed colors), and basil.  We'll see if I can get any of them to grow and produce yummies.  I'll settle for grow and at least fill  in the bare patches in my gardens.  :shrug:  As long as the basil grows, it'll produce something edible, so there's that.  I don't really have the time to mess with a garden these days, so they'll be on their own.  

And I think that's about it.  Have a great day and I'll yat at you later.  

Sunday Update - Week 32

 I know I'm late, but hey, it's still Sunday.  Thanks for still stopping by, even though I'm not exactly here much and I'm probably boring as hell.

I still haven't written anything or done anything writerly since I started working.  I know scads of people write and work.  I just haven't figured out that secret yet.  Or rather, I've totally forgotten the secret because when I first started writing, I was working a full time job and I still managed it.  :shrug:

I also didn't read anything last week, hence the lack of a Saturday Reading Wrap-up this week.  Sorry about that.  

Work was busy last week.  I mean, it's always busy, but last week was intense.  And because of that, I hit 40 hours by like 2pm on Friday and they let me go home early, which was nice.  I would've worked 'til closing, but after I got home, I was so glad I didn't.  I didn't realize how tired I was until I walked in the door and put on my comfies.  I could've fallen asleep right then.  I probably should've at least napped then.  If I had, I wouldn't have gone to bed at 8.  Thank goodness for On Patrol reruns.  LOL

Yesterday, Hubs and I got the idea to go buy a new mattress.  My usual store said they had them in stock when I looked online.  When I called?  Nope.  So I called my alternate store - whose online thing said they had them in stock, too, but since the other store's online 'in stock' thing lied, who knew?  They said they had them, but quoted me a totally different price.  Anyway, we decided on taking the road trip and if they didn't have the mattress I wanted, we'd just call it a lovely day for a drive.  Thankfully, they did have the mattress.  We picked it up and then went out to lunch.  

If you know me, you know that's a big deal.  We NEVER go out to eat.  Anyway, we had Chinese.  I had sesame chicken and Hubs got a split platter of cashew chicken and sweet n sour chicken.  Yummers.  Then we had the leftovers for dinner.  Win win.

As for the mattress, it's still expanding.  The instructions said 24-48 hours, so it'll be tomorrow before we get to sleep on it.  Unfortunately, the only place to let it come to fruition is on the bed, so we're sleeping on our old mattress on the floor in the living room.  It's like camping.  I actually got a better night's sleep on the floor than I have in weeks on that old mattress.  Here's hoping the new memory foam thing is as awesome as everyone says it is.  If it is, I'll never buy another pricey-ass mattress again.  The old mattress is a Serta and it started to die years ago.  But who wants to spend that kind of money every three years?  Am I right?

Anyway, that was my exciting week.  Woohoo.  How are things in your world?

Thursday This n That

I've been watching old reruns of the show EMERGENCY!  If you're not familiar with it, it's from the early '70s and it's about paramedics in LA.  I mean, there are doctors and a nurse that also feature prominently, plus firefighters in secondary roles, but the two main characters are paramedics.   John is a bachelor and kind of a goof, Roy is a family man and kind of a stabilizing influence.  (When I was a little girl, I LOVED this show, and I had a major tot crush on Johnny.)  Other than that, I don't know a damn thing about them and I'm happy with that.  It's got some tense moments and some light moments.  Not much that's too deep.  For the most part, it's one and done.  And every episode is encapsulated.  No long running side stories.  No deep backstory stuff that haunts the characters.  If it touches on an issue - like say child abuse - it says it's piece and then let's it go.  Hell, the other night, Johnny was run over by a drunk driver who fled the scene.  It was tense until he got out of surgery and then it was light.  One short offhand comment about 'the police got that guy who hit John' and they were done with it.  I'm enjoying the show mightily.  If you get FETV, it's on at 10pm Eastern - 9 Central, which means I'm staying up late these days.

Speaking of staying up late, I can't sleep anyway, so why not watch a little something amusing?

Another show I've been addicted to lately is MOM.  I'm not sure why.  It supposed to be a sitcom, but it is often not funny.  I mean, there are bits that are hilarious, but other bits that are heartrending.  It's a total change from Emergency!, let me tell ya.   

Yeah, I've been watching a lot of TV lately.  Part of the reason is that it keeps me away from the computer - which keeps me away from both current events and the need to smoke many many cigarettes.  The other part is it distracts me from all the other crap going on in the world.  Although, they do keep trying to insert irritating issue stuff in the commercials.  Thank goodness for mute, eh?

I spend a lot of time not leaving the house lately.  If I have to go someplace, I do it, so I'm not like a shut-in or anything, but I'm not inclined otherwise.  I keep meaning to go take a walk, but meh.  I have yardwork to do, too, but also meh.  I really need to break that cycle.  Unfortunately, it's raining.  AGAIN.  Enough with the rain already.  If this keeps up, it'll be the wettest month since we moved here.  We were just over 10 inches for the month before this latest batch of sky water.  And we still have 6 days left.  Blerg.

When I was at the mechanics getting my new brakes adjusted, I brought a book, but instead of reading, I spent the whole hour or so in deep conversation with the 2-yr-old daughter of the mechanic.  She was awesome.  I only understood about half of the words she was saying, but like I said, awesome.  Once she warmed up to me, she had to show me everything her mama had packed for her to play with.  And by the way, according to her, the cow says baa.  So does the sheep.  She really made my day.  And with the world taking a shit the way it is, it was nice to find a bright spot.  Thinking about her now still makes me grin.  

Anyway, that's it for me today.  Got anything on your end to yatter about?

Thursday This n That

Yesterday kicked my butt.  I didn't even really do nearly as much as I have done on other days, but man, was I ever tired last night.  I made myself stay up until 8 and then I was done.  Of course, that meant I was up at 4:30, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.

The other day, Hubs carried a tree up from the bottom of the hill.  It was dead and I had pushed it over sometime last year.  We cut it in half and he carried the halves up.  Lumberjack dude that he is and all.  Yesterday, we sawed it into firewood.  Not exactly sure what the tree was - almost all of its bark was gone and obviously, no leaves - but that was some hard-ass wood there.  Maybe elm.  Possibly ash, although barkless ash really does remind me of a baseball bat and this wasn't like that.  :shrug:  Whatever it is, it will burn well.

Wood interests me... what can I say?

There are three things that I've always had an affinity for - trees, birds, and rocks.  This place is replete with all three.  I love it here.

I am a literal tree-hugger.  Yes, I hug trees.  Not that I believe they really care, but it makes me feel good.  I talk to them, too, and for the same reason.  Some of them have names - Oberon (the big fairy oak), Whitey (the little swamp oak), Little Red (our young red oak), Q-tip (because it's tall with a tuft of leaves at the top), Magic (because for some reason, it always has water in its crown and all the birds/squirrels drink there, so it must be magic).  The little elm I have in a pot is Elmer.  Hey, I didn't say they were the most creative names.

I realize I am not the most interesting of people.  This is why being actively social is so hard for me.  Trying to come up with something interesting to contribute to a group of strangers is difficult when you know you're not all that interesting.  I'm fine around friends.  They get me and they find me interesting or they wouldn't hang around me.  I also have a weird sense of humor and I'm not always good at picking up on social cues.  

Which reminds me... I was at the smoke shop chatting with a friend there about books and she was telling me about this book that grossed her out - in detail - right when a customer walked in and the look on his face was priceless.  I had to explain we were talking about a book and he was all like 'hey, I'm not here to judge' or something.  It was pretty funny.  Then out of the blue, the dude asked us how to spell something.  I didn't know him and neither did she, but he just blurted out 'how do you spell Lonnie?'  I guess he figured since we read books and stuff, we'd know how to spell stuff.  ROFL

Sometimes I encounter the strangest people.  A while back I came across this guy shouting obscenities toward the back of the Dollar General.  At first, I thought he was yelling at a dog, but nope, he was shouting at nothing.  A couple days ago, there he was again, this time on a little bitty bike, riding across the highway shouting obscenities at nothing.  Luckily, he turned and went the other way.  I was just telling Hubs about running into him again.  "Same guy?" he asked.  "I think so."  "Good, I'd hate think there were two of them."  ROFL

Life's weird.  You gotta find your jollies where you can, eh?

Thursday This n That

It's 3:30am and I've been up for an hour.  I might try going back to bed after I type this post.

Getting older sucks.  But it's better than the alternative.

I make my own sweet tea.  But I commit sacrilege by putting sucralose in it instead of sugar.  And no, sweet tea is not just tea with sweetener in it.  It's a wonderful, magical beverage.  (Psst... The secret is baking soda.)

I lied.  I'm going back to bed now and I'll finish this when I wake up again.

It's now 7:30.  Which is over an hour longer than I planned to sleep, but it makes up for the hour I was up, I guess. And then some.

There's a picture making it's way through my FB feed.  It shows through a magnifying glass a tiny daisy growing up through the cracks with blurred people walking around above it.  It says 'Stand up for what you believe in, even if means standing alone.'  FB has chosen to hide this photo 'due to sensitive content' and says it might show 'violent or graphic content'.  Maybe they watched 'Day of the Triphids too many times.  Or Little Shop of Horrors and it scared the crap out of them.  :shrug:  Maybe the idea of standing alone IS too violent for sensitive types these days.  Or maybe they just don't want people to stand up for stuff.

A FB friend of mine just got back from another 30-day ban.  We call him Army Sci-Fi guy around the house.  He's pretty much on point most of the time.  Anyway, to make sure people still get to see him even if FB decides to eliminate him, he offered his blog for folks.  So now I follow that, too.  Whether you do FB or not, I suggest you subscribe to his blog.

This morning when Hubs finally got a chance to feed the deer (sorry, deer, I overslept) there were 17 of them standing around waiting for corn.  They don't play nice when there are only a few.  They play even worse when that many show up.  Don't let anyone fool you, deer are not the soft, fluffy, gentle creatures of Disney fame.  They can be mighty nasty when they want to be.

As a person who once got her arms shredded by a rabbit (long story), they aren't always very nice either.  

Okay, it's almost 8 now, so I should probably get this posted.  Got any this-n-that for me today?

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?

Dear Brain

Dear Brain,

I love you like the dickens, but you really have to shut up at night.  I mean, you're like a kid who chugged an entire bottle of Mountain Dew and chased it with those paper tubes filled with flavored sugar.  Yes, I know... they're called Pixie Sticks... hush, Brain, I'm talking here.  

Despite your insistence, I do not need to revisit minor events in college, rename all the dogs at the shelter, hash over a phone call gone wrong ten years ago, wonder whatever happened to my high school friends or that kid that ate paste in Kindergarten... Yes, Brain, his name was Kevin, and that's a lovely picture of him, but I don't care right now.  Hush.  

Neither do I need to plan a garden, rewrite a scene in this book or figure out scenes for the next, organize my cupboards, or go over that hand I lost in poker.  I don't need to plan for tomorrow or next week or next month at 10pm.

Stop showing me videos of past events, people, pets, vacations, and tragedies.  Stop playing songs I haven't heard in years.  Stop trotting out the photo albums.  I don't want to look at them when I'm trying to sleep.

If this doesn't cease, I will be forced to medicate you into silence.  And no one will be happy about that.

If you love me half as much as I love you, you'll just knock it off already.  Please.

Sincerely,
Too Tired to Function

Thursday This n That

Yes, yes, I know what's happening out there in the world.  I'd rather not talk about it. (Or it would turn into a pages-long rant.)

Ahem...

I know all y'all don't play poker, but there are an amazing number of people with 69 in their screen names.  Either they're all a year older than me, or they're channeling Bill and Ted.  69, dude!  There are also quite a few people using alternate spellings to get around the 'no swearing in your screen name' thing.  fuh_q seems to be the popular favorite.  :eyeroll:  What are these people... twelve?  (BTW, my screen name is my name.  If I'd been paying attention, I would've chosen something cute, but I was just testing out the site and afterwards, I discovered I couldn't change it.)

I sat through a commercial - muted, of course - for a new show wherein people do stupid and dangerous things in front of judges.  And I was reminded of the old 'bread and circuses' thing.

Speaking of bread, did you get yours?  I came home from the store the other day with more than I intended and told Hubs I was feeling particularly stimulated. 

I haven't been sleeping lately.  Well, not sleeping when I'm supposed to sleep anyway.  I go to bed tired and lay there.  Then 60-90 minutes later I finally fall asleep.  Then I wake up to tend to the cat and can't get back to sleep until the wee hours.  Which is why I keep oversleeping.  And posting late... like today. Although, today, I actually got up at 4am and went back to bed at 4:45, THEN I slept late and missed posting this.

Lumpy Jaw the doe lost her lump.  It was there for nearly a year.  Then a couple weeks ago, it seemed smaller.  And smaller.  And smaller.  Then it was gone.  We only know who she is because she still has her twins with her and they're all fairly tame for wild deer.  The little buck fawn walked up and starting eating at one pan while Hubs was filling the other pan yesterday.  Like 8 feet away.  We'll have to take care around him come next fall when he's all hormone charged and ready to tussle.

Last night we watched Death on the Nile with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.  Good stuff.  I keep thinking if I stay up later, I'll fall asleep with less time laying there.  Umm, nope.  

Okee doke.  There's my this-n-that stuffs.  What are yours?

Sunday Update - Week 38 or Something

 :crawls out from under her rock:  Ugh.  Good morning   Last night was a pip, lemme tell ya.  Couldn't get to sleep, then after I did, the phone rang at 'oh, derp thirty' and while it was a butt-dial, it startled me enough so I couldn't get back to sleep.  This is why I still have a flip-phone*, folks.  No chance of accidentally dialing anyone in the middle of the night.  Of course, the middle of the night is when I'm sleeping, so no worries of that anyway.  

And I didn't set this post up before I went to bed, so here I am.  Under-caffeinated, groggy, and grumpy.

Despite giving myself a pep-talk and shouting nasty things at myself, I still didn't get off my ass.  I entered three pages worth of notes so far.  Today has to be better.  I'm under a deadline now.  A self-imposed deadline, sure, but it's a still a deadline.  Except I also have some spreadsheet stuff that ought to be sent back to the office before tomorrow morning. 

I didn't finish any books in time for yesterday's reading wrap-up, but I did finish one yesterday afternoon.  Go me?  

In baking news, I made Romanian apple cake.  Recipe below.  We're out of oatmeal cookies, so I should make those today.  We'll see.

Let's not talk about activity.  I did a hard target walk on Monday that overdid it for me and I spent the rest of the week cowering.  Weight: 178.4, which is down about a pound from last week.

In other news, I broke my own rule about no-Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving, and bought a tub of eggnog ice cream.  Don't judge me.  It was a necessary bright spot in an otherwise depressing Wallyworld excursion.  It's hard to stay cheery with a mask on.  Which, I'm beginning to think, is their point.  Speaking of masks, they're littered all over the Wallyworld parking lot now.  People are pigs.

The migration is starting to bring us new birds.  Something different was singing his little brains out the other day.  Not sure what he was, but I love seeing and hearing new birds.  Haven't seen an eagle yet, but they'll be here shortly.

The fawns have no spots anymore.  And the bucks have lost their velvet.  The does are getting jumpy.  Soon, the rut will begin and start the cycle of life all over again.

Okay, that's enough out of me this morning.  What's up with you?  :wanders off to slug down more coffee:

*Well, part of the reason. The rest of the reason is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  My flip-phone ain't broke, so why buy a new one?

Recipe:

Romanian Apple Cake

5 large (9 small) apples
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T vanilla
2 cups flour

Peel, core, and cut apples into large chunks (about 1”).  Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 9x13” cake pan.  Beat together eggs and sugar until frothy.  Blend in oil, baking soda, vanilla, and cinnamon.  By quarters, gently stir in flour until just combined.  Fold in apple chunks.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or eat plain later.

Thursday This n That

Last night through this morning, I had things pop into my head to put down here for the this-n-that, but every time, by the time my ass hit this chair, they disappeared.  Let's see what I can cobble together...

Yesterday, I did about 20 minutes of exercise and then went for a walk.  Hubs was already off on his walk (we don't exercise-walk together - he walks faster and his legs are longer) when I left.  Well, yesterday I got a wild hair and decided to walk in the same direction he'd walked.  He was about halfway back from his walk by the time we met up (his walk is way longer than mine) and then we walked together the rest of the way home.  It was nice.  It also meant my walk was longer than usual.  A mile and a half instead of a mile.  And man, were my legs feeling that extra half mile.  It's good to change things up a bit every now and then. 

Somehow or other (probably smoking and age), I've lost the upper range of my singing voice.  I'll be singing along and those notes just don't come out anymore.  Kind of makes it interesting.  I have to remember to sing in a lower register.  I think I'm turning into a tenor.  Maybe a bass.  I was never a soprano, but I could hit some soprano notes.  :shrug: 

Coffee is awesome.

Bold flavor Chex Mix is addictive.  Especially when I add a handful of mixed nuts.  Yummers. 

I've had the '21 Pilots' CD Blurryface in my car CD player since February.  I usually get sick of a CD way before then.  I bought their earlier CD.  Meh.  I want their newer CD, but Wallyworld never seems to have it in stock and I'm too lazy to order it online.

Know what I'd like?  Five hours of unbroken sleep.  I mean, I've love eight hours, but let's not be greedy.  Five hours would be wonderful.  I can't remember the last time I slept all the way through five hours.  It's been 'sleep some then get up to use the bathroom, sleep a little and wake up from a weird dream, sleep a little more and the cat comes in.'  Meh.

Well, none of the above were things I thought I'd be posting today, but that's a pretty good bit of this n that after all.  What have you got for me today?

Thursday This n That... Mostly That

First off, how did it get to be Thursday already?  I'm so displaced in time.  Bleh.

We've been experimenting with ways to get to sleep and stay asleep lately.  Because we've both been without a good night's sleep in months. Weeks?  Whatever.  I've even considered OTC sleep aids, but I haven't gone down that road yet.  But I think we've hit on a couple of things that are helping.  1)  I turned the clocks in the bedroom so neither of us can see them from the bed.  2)  I've begun telling myself  'Bedtime is for sleeping not for thinking' in my head every time my brain starts wandering off when I'm trying to sleep.  Got Hubs doing it, too. 

I started making my own suet.  The birds here are going through a brick a day of the cheap stuff and it's getting to be a drain on the ol' pocketbook.  I'm still playing with the recipe.  If this batch works like I think it will, I'll post a recipe next week.

If you're only feeding suet in the wintertime, you're missing out on a great birdwatching opportunity.  Everyone comes to the suet feeder - cardinals, jays, orioles, wrens, titmice, chickadees, grosbeaks, sparrows, crows...  Plus all the woodpeckers and their cousins.  We're the hottest spot in the neighborhood.  And the birds really can use the extra food throughout the year.  Especially when there are babies either still in the nest or fledging out. 

We had to move our suet feeder over a foot because the squirrels wouldn't leave it alone.  Now the squirrels are all really confused because they know they used to be able to reach it and now they can't, so they're running all over the porch looking for new spots to jump from.  But there aren't any.  Of course, now we have to kind of walk under the suet to get off the porch, but if it stymies the squirrels, it's worth it. 

Well, that's it for me.  What's it for you?