Short Attention Span Theater

I always want to spell 'theater' as 'theatre' for some reason.

Hubs and I went to Missouri's equivalent of the DMV yesterday.  We hit the sweet spot.  Only two guys there when we arrived and the wait was short.  By the time we left, the line was out the door.  (In all fairness, it's a very small office, so 'line out the door' meant probably 6-7 people and 3 people at the counter.)  Now, we'll both have Real IDs and be federally compliant.  umm, yay?

I finally saw button bumps on one of the fawns yesterday.  Baby buck!  Yay!

My new pack of sticky notes is screwy.  It has alternating sticky, so when I go to pick them up, they make like an accordion.  Who thought that was a good idea?  And every time I use one, I have to turn the pad so the sticky is always at the top.  Derp.

Hubs also mowed the lawn yesterday afternoon.  To try and thwart the oak mites, he wore a long sleeved shirt and we doused him in Cutter bug repellent.  Poor man.  Sweating and smelling like bug spray.  Not sure if it worked yet because the mites take 4-6 hours to start itching and he's still sleeping.

Yesterday was a busy day.

When I first typed Cutter, I hit the B instead of the C, so it looked like we doused him in Butter.

A while back, I switched us from margarine to real butter.  It really does make a positive difference in the taste of things.

I have a bruise on the top of my foot.  Not sure where that came from. 

This morning is another 'coffee in my coffee' morning, wherein I add instant coffee to my cup of  coffee machine coffee.  It's necessary, trust me.

We have a Black and Decker coffee maker.  It holds up against this hard water better than Mr. Coffee.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to have a longer attention span and a real post available soon, but this week ain't lookin' good for it.

What fun and exciting things do you have to contribute to Short Attention Span Theater?

Sunday Update - Week 38

It's Sunday.  I know... I have a flair for stating the obvious.  Here are some other obvious things about the week...

I remember thinking about writing a lot, but I don't remember a lot of writing getting done.  I came up with a new book idea. And an awesome title.  They do not go together. 

The sale wrapped up on Monday.  I talked about it on Wednesday. 

Did a fair bit of reading last week.  See yesterday's post.

I fell down on the activity thing.  Sunday, Monday and Thursday I walked.  Yesterday I vacuumed.  That was it.  I did get back down to 180lbs, but that was midweek, so who knows what it is now.  It didn't help that my knee had a major pain thing Thursday night... while I was sleeping.  I went to move in my sleep and KERPOW.  Talk about a rude awakening.  I yelped and woke Hubs up, too.  Took most of the rest of the night and the next day to fix itself.  With the help of Aleve and Aspercreme.  Blerg. 

Made a batch of oatmeal cookies.  I meant to make a batch of granola bars, but that hasn't happened yet.  Probably today because unless I miss my guess, Hubs ate the last couple bars last night.  Yeah, he can eat other stuff, but why should he have to when I can whip up a batch lickety-split?

I think we only have two fawns who still have spots now - the tiny twins.  The rest look like mini-does.  And we had two bucks stop in the yard - a yearling and a three or four year old.  The velvet is totally gone from their antlers and the older one is getting a thick neck for the rut.  Ah, the cycle of life.

I took pictures of the bucks.  When I loaded them onto the computer, I realized it was the first time I'd taken pictures since May.  So much for my goal of taking more pictures this year.  Derp.

My sedums are blooming, despite being neglected.  Because of the oak mite invasion this year, my gardens all look horrible, though.  I've been staying out of the yard to avoid bug bites.  Everything needs to be weeded.  Nothing's been watered.  I'm not sure what will survive into next year.  We'll see.

Wow, this has been a slugtastic year.  Nothing published.  Not much written.  Lax gardening.  Little fishing.  I'm already looking forward to 2020 and it's only the end of September like 2019 is a wash.  Better luck next year? 

Okay, that's it for me right now.  What's up with you?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/21/19

Another fun week of reading.  God, I love books.

I picked up one new ebook this week - a mystery.  Still have five unread ones from last time -  paranormal romance, romantic suspense, historical thriller, mystery, and SF.

Books read:

89) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (9/20/19) - Mystery - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  The last of my big Agatha Christie thrift store haul - 17c.
No review.

88) Death in Nostalgia City by Mark S. Bacon (9/18/19) - Mystery *# - 4 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Free off the Robin Reads newsletter.
Review: "Definitely not light-hearted or cozy, but definitely a good mystery. Loads of twists and turns, with a splash of nostalgia thrown in."

87) Accidental Archaeologist by Kathryn Wells (9/14/19) - YA Fantasy*#2 - 5 stars.  This was a Book 2 and definitely underappreciated.  $2.99 - full price.  I picked this one up as part of my 'read six book 2s this year' thing.  I read Book 1 back in January.
Review: "Just as awesome as the first book with more adventure, loads of magical goodness, and tons of fun."

No DNFs.

Currently reading...a fantasy mystery.  Magic, murder, intrigue...  Good stuff so far.

What have you been reading this week?

Thursday This n That

Sleep deprivation... It's real and it's deep, man.  There is not enough coffee on the planet today.  I think I need a java IV.  STAT.

Have you noticed the vape commercials on TV?  "May contain nicotine."  They can't advertise cigarettes on TV, but they can advertise that?  I also saw an ad for something like a nicotine pouch you can put in your mouth.  But they can't advertise chew.  Now, I'm not advocating getting rid of those product ads.  I'm just saying if they can advertise, the others should be able to also.  I find the hypocrisy irritating.

Speaking of commercials, have you noticed they've upped the number of them?  Used to be like 3 maybe four commercials every fifteen minutes.  Now it's like 5-7 every ten or so minutes.  And if it's an old show from back in the fewer commercials days, they chop it up and suck parts out of it to allow for the commercials.  Or suddenly an hour long show is like an hour and fifteen. 

The neighborhood guinea hens amuse me.  The other day I was driving out and saw them all sprawled in one of the neighbor's driveway, sleeping and doing their feathers and just generally chilling out.  They're such funny little things.  Of course, sometimes I have to stop and remind them to get out of the road.  Move along, ladies, before someone squashes you flat.

Which reminds me of a funny thing I've seen around the webs.  It goes something like 'Be decisive.  The road is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision.' 

Speaking of which, I hit a squirrel a couple days ago.  It came from the other side of the road and stopped in the middle.  Then it gave me this horrified, scared look and proceeded to run in front of my car.  I had hoped it would manage to be in the middle of the car, but one of my wheels must've got it because I could see it in the rearview, laying there in the road.  If it had simply stayed where it was or run back the other way, it would've been fine.  But no.  Stupid suicidal squirrel.  And I know there are millions of squirrels, but I always feel bad when I hit one. 

I also feel bad when I hit butterflies.  Lucky for me, it's fleeting or I'd be driving around feeling bad all the time.

I finally remembered to clean my computer vents.  It's running much quieter now.  Whew.  I so do not need a crash right now.

And on that note, I'll let you get back to your morning coffee.  Bottoms up.

Randomosity

Randomosity occurs when I don't have enough thoughts to put together a post on a single subject.

They really need to move mornings to later in the day.

Autumn is supposed to start on Monday.  Yesterday, we matched the record high for the date at 95F.  It was like a freakin' sauna out there.  Umm, what the hell?

Hubs is out of cookies again, so I guess there will be some baking this morning.  A man needs his cookies and I like to keep my man's cookie reserves stocked.

Made what I call quesadillas yesterday.  They probably aren't really quesadillas, but that's what I call them.  Whatever they are, they're yummy.  Two tortillas fried in butter until they're crisp.  Put one on a pizza pan for the bottom, layer it with taco stuff - refried beans, taco meat, cheese, olives, etc.  Put the other tortilla on top, cover it with salsa, cheese, etc.  Bake until the cheese is all bubbly.  Cut it into quarters and serve with a side salad.  Last night, I did chicken and mushrooms.  So good.

Yesterday, I was walking up the hill toward the house when I saw a snake in the road ahead.  I approached with caution, sticking to the opposite side of the road, just in case.  Most snakes I come across are friendly.  This was a copperhead.  And it wasn't moving.  But at the time, the morning was a mite chilly, so I wasn't sure if the snake was dead or just cold.  (It wasn't squashed or anything, so it was hard to tell.)  I kicked a black walnut at it.  The walnut hit it and bounced over, but it didn't move.  90% sure it was dead.  If it's there again today, I'll be 100% sure.  Of course, if it's not there, could be it was dead and some animal made off with the carcass.  Crows love dead snakes.  Anyway, it reminded me why I always watch where I'm walking.

My sale ended last night.  I'll think about putting together a wrap-up post on it.

I'm reading an interesting mystery centered around a theme park.  It's got way more casualties than I expected.  Like every time the author got stalled a little, they threw in another disaster.  It's beginning to stretch the boundaries of my disbelief, but I'll keep reading.

We got a spam phone call with a semi-colon in the number.  How do you even get a semi-colon in the phone number??

That's it for my randomosity this morning, I think.  What's going on in your world?
 

Sunday Update - Week 37

Hello again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/14/19

Not a whole lot went on in my reading world this week. 

I did snag some new ebooks - historical thriller, mystery, and SF.  I have four left from before - fantasy mystery, mystery, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.  No new hardcopies.

Books read:

86) Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes (9/10/19) - Suspense.  5 stars.  Not new to me or underappreciated.  50c at the thrift store.
Review: "Started a little slow, but what an awesome book."
Note:  I can't believe I hadn't read Helen MacInnes before recently.  She nails it.  Now, I'm snagging her books whenever I can find them at the thrift stores.

No DNFs.

Currently reading... a YA fantasy.  It's a book 2.  I read the first book back in January and enjoyed it, so when I was looking for a book 2 to read and get after my goal of reading six book 2s this year, I picked that one.  It's pretty fun.

And that's it for me.  Since I'm writing again, I'm not reading as many books, but I am still chugging along.  Still ahead of my new reading goal of 120 for the year.

What was on your reading menu this week?