The weather that manifested as blizzards and snowstorms in other parts of the US rode into Maine as torrential rains on the back of an unseasonably warm, and extremely damaging, wind. We have flood warnings for every river and stream, standing puddles in every lawn, and gullies clogged with leaves overflowing into the roads. Tree limbs are down, and though we haven’t lost power in our neck of the woods, others — quite a few others — have.
It’s stopped raining for the moment. The weatherbeans are calling for temperatures plummeting to 29F/-2C tonight, and precipitation in the form of ice pellets.
Steve and I went to town at midday to pick up our deli-made Thanksgiving dinner; and we intend to Stay Right Here at the Confusion Factory for the next couple of days, if not the entire weekend.
It will be a working holiday, as Thanksgiving often is, with writing early in the day, then knocking off for dinner and a game of Scrabble.
I am, let it be known, working again, having accepted the path of wisdom and thrown away the outline (such as it was) for this book. So, yay. It would sort of be nice if the book would cough up with at least a working title, but I guess we can get along with “One” for a while yet.
Also, I have identified a Hot Fudge Sundae scene, which makes me happy. Things always go better with when there’s a Hot Fudge Sundae to write toward.
I hope everyone is safe and warm where you are, and that the holiday, if you celebrate, gives you comfort. For those who don’t celebrate a holiday tomorrow — I hope your day is stress-free. Unless you like that sort of thing.
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Progress on One of Five
10,012/100,000 OR 10 percent complete
Well, and none of that solved Theo, poor child, cast from Frenzel to ragtag Cresthaller, and not a profit made from either. It was scarcely the best use of a new — not to say, unwilling — trader, much less a new-found cousin. Happily, her nature appeared tenacious, and he dared hope that she hadn’t yet become discouraged.
Stress-free…well, no. Happy stress, involving friends coming, good food to share, yes. I have been working reasonably hard on this for…quite awhile, and am not where I should be, but at the point of surrender to the flow: it is what it is, un-ironed wrinkly tablecloths and so on (they’re clean. That’s better than dirty) and the food is as much done as it can be on the night before, so…it’ll work or it won’t. I may finish a sock tonight, as relaxation. (Striped a peculiar purple-rose color, turquoise, and emerald green.) I won’t finish the other pair in work (a very cheery red and royal blue stripe. They make me feel happy when I work on them.)
Two turkeys, a ham, four big vegetable dishes, salad, trimmings and fixings, pies and cakes…though I’ve made only two of the vegetable dishes, two pies and two gingerbread-apple-walnut loaf-cakes. Not all the chairs will be full this year, but the hearts will be. Then they’ll all go home and I’ll attack the page proofs of the next book again.