Blog Without A Name

Thursday beginning, Wednesday wrap-up

Thursday. Clouds are silvery–in color and apparent texture. The ‘beans are calling for rain showers, but I think they’re just teasing.

Slept late, still groggy, don’ wanna eat. Actual coffee in the mug at my right hand.

I called Chewy last night to apprise them of the fact that (despite what FedEx was showing on their page) their package had been delivered, and detail the manner of its arrival. I am pleased to now be able to claim my merit badge for having made a customer service rep laugh so hard he couldn’t speak. He promised that Chewy would be “working with FedEx.”

I did see some people suggesting that I should allow Chewy to reside in the belief that the package was not delivered so that a second would be dispatched. While another box of “dog food” would never go amiss, I want somebody that FedEx hopefully cares about listening to explain why this is subpar and make them fix it. And, yanno? I can afford cat litter this month.

Someone in comments also suggested that Howard may have gone to the trouble to knock over a FedEx truck in order to determine if I am an old woman living by herself. This was suggested in a Spirit Of Love, and in the context of telling me to look to my security. For those who are moved by a similar spirit, I share my answer so that you may have the benefit of the reality of living in a small Maine city:
You have to understand that Steve knew everybody, and that is an Extremely Tiny exaggeration. Most of the people Steve knew also either knew that he often traveled with a goblin at his elbow, or had heard him talk about “Sharon.” Then, when Steve died, the local newspaper kindly did a front page article (half-page above the fold, for any old newspaper folks among us) on his life (including the fact that his wife/co-author remained in the family home), and then, the Maine Senate decided that it would be cool to award him a Posthumously Awesome Maine Person Award, and that was immortalized in the Register and also, I believe, in the capital newspaper. So, no secrets here.

I lock doors and have cameras and also — the neighbors know I live here alone.

And all that said — who’s partying today?

One more thing . . .

So, a guy just rang the bell.

I didn’t recognize him, but he was looking kind of like he was lost, so I opened the door and asked if I could help him.

“Is this the Miller residence?”

“No,” I said.

He looked even more confused, looked around and said, “Where would that be, because I’ve got a package from — I dunno, dog food?”

And I said, “Oh. Yes, you have the right place.”

“Good,” he said, and fetched a much battered Chewy box out of the boot of his car and carried it inside for me.

I said, “The FedEx truck was in my driveway earlier today and left without leaving a package.”

And Howard — my benefactor’s name is Howard — said, “Well, I’ll tell you. That kid was in my driveway, an’ he was in no good mood. Pulled out in a hurry and that box fell right outta the door. I figured, y’know, dog food; the dogs’ll be wantin’ that, and the address was right there, so I brought it along.”

I thanked him profusely and he said he was just glad he could help me out.

So, that mystery solved.
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Also!  Rookie’s vet has texted that Rookie is cured of his temporary inconvenience, and I hope I’m not alone in saying, “Let’s not do that again.”

. . . OK — two things.

Everybody have a good evening. I’ll check in tomorrow.

“Anything” is just a . . . suggestion

So, that’s 1,080ish new words this morning, for a WIP total of 52,570ish.

I may — that’s may — have figured out how to write two books at once, so I’ll be setting up the framework this afternoon, after I pay my tithe to the house.
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So, the cats are expecting a Chewy order, which will arrive via FedEx. While I was paying my tithe to the house, I happened to look out the window, and there was a FedEx truck in my driveway, which stayed there for, oh, four minutes? I went to another part of the house to get something, came back, and the truck was gone.

Well, I said, said I, noticing the lack of heavy box on the steps. I guess it’s in the (open) garage.

Only it wasn’t. That’s right! In a new Personal Best, FedEx not only failed to follow the long-filed instruction to leave packages in the garage, but! Failed to unload a package at all.

I? am actually Impressed.

I’ve been plodding along through the bookclub book — it’s interesting, but not a page-turner — and I just reached the part where Our Hero had realized that the actions he takes as an Official (in this case a high-level law enforcement admin) Actually Impacts people in addition to those who have fallen under his jurisdiction, and — this is the important part — that he, as a representative of The System, needed to do better. I salute Our Hero. Really, I do. And I wish that more people in positions of influence were not only able to have that insight, but gather the courage to act on it.

In other news, I think I have the method figured out for working on two writing projects at the same time. I think I’m going to be helped by the fact that the two projects are completely dissimilar. I guess We’ll See.

Taking a break now to do my duty to the cats and PT homework. Then! To the couch with me, notebook and pens in hand.
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. . . Dolly Parton and Tim Curry?

And if you lie, you will lose it

This morning’s cat census here

Tuesday. Sunny and already warm. Trash and recycling at the curb patiently awaiting the advent of the trash truck.

Back with Jethri today and writing the rest of a sticky scene. It still needs work, but, hey! First Draft, amirite? The WIP now stands at 51,490ish total words. Next scene, tomorrow, already sketched in on the pad, and ought to be more fun.  For writer values of “fun.”

I have, I think, figured out what to do with the character from Chicago, and her friends, too. Now, all I have to do is find time and energy to do it. I know — some of us wish we had such problems.

This morning, I purchased a ticket to view Coyote vs ACME on Thursday, September 3, which makes next week Media Rich, as I’m also seeing a play on Sunday.

Social butterfly, ayuh.

Crafts, this evening, and before that I have chores, correspondence, and lunch to cope with.

So! What’s on your schedule today?
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So. . .somebody just stole my recycling.

I mean, not the mixed recycling that is in the covered wheeled bin, but the broken down cardboard boxes that were in the open recycling box. I s’pose somebody needed cardboard?

I wouldn’t — well, I don’t — care, particularly, except that I’m in a very wobbly state where I’m kind of second- and third-guessing everything, and when I looked out the window, and saw the bin was empty, while the rest of the trash was still where I’d put it, and the wheeled bin was still upright and had its lid down — I thought that maybe I’d been inattentive enough to have put out an empty bin. Which is nonsense; getting that bin out is non-trivial, and I clearly remembered that there had been cardboard in the damned thing when I dragged it out to the curb earlier.

Sigh.

Speaking of which, I just read some advice in an advice book on how to remember if you’ve done one of those things that you’ve been doing daily for decades, today, and the advice was to PAY ATTENTION.  Which, while reasonable, isn’t, oh, I dunno, helpful.

Anyhow — off to do my chores.

Today’s blog post title courtesy of Eric Clapton, “It’s in the Way That You Use It”

 

Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

Finishing up on Monday:

And that’s 2,323 total new words outta the kid from Chicago, who has finally run out of steam. I’ll tuck it away for a couple days, if nothing else explosive happens. Jethri is getting a day off, and I? want a nap.

Yeah, that’s gonna happen.
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Well. Rookie suggested Guided Napping on the couch, and I took him up on it.

He’s really been working on his technique. Got a solid 45 minutes and feel human again. For values of “human” that include widowed writers beset by importunate characters.

I’ve got a few chores to do, but basically, I do believe I’m done for the day. I’ll read a few chapters of the bookclub book before it’s time to serve up Happy Hour.

Everybody have a good rest of the day. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Just an urchin livin’ under the street

So, that wasn’t the morning I had planned.

Alert readers will perhaps recall that yesterday a character wandered into my head, claiming to be from Chicago.  I said something along the lines of, “That’s nice, dear,” and went about my legitimate business, which is, as alert readers will also recall, The Further Adventures of Jethri Gobelyn ven’Deelin.

This morning as I was taking my shower and singing along with the radio, here comes the character again, and she not only brought her Sensei with her, but a bubbling threat of backstory and forward story, too.

Which is, of course, Just What I Need, standing as I am at the 50,000-word mark of a contracted-for space opera.

But!  The character was noisy.  The character was taking on weight.  So I got out of the shower, pulled on some clothes, shoved my wet hair back behind my ears and went to Steve’s office, passing neither Go nor the teapot.

I sat down, turned on the computer, opened a file and said, “OK, Kid.  You got an hour.  What’s on your mind?”

One thousand two hundred eighty-nine words and 65 minutes later, I hit a stopping point, or the kid ran of out breath — however you like it — and I was able to grab some breakfast (cottage cheese with apple butter, and a toasted slice of the bread I made yesterday, with cow butter).

I am now a jazzed-up mess, second cup of tea to hand, and wondering if I’m going to get back with the kid for another round, if I ought to check in with Jethri, or just throw in the towel and dance naked down Rte 104.

And how’s your morning going?

Portrait of the author humoring a character:

Today’s blog post title brought to you by the character from Chicago, and Axl Rose, fronting Guns n’ Roses, “Paradise City“

Books read in 2026

50  Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (re-read) (e)
49  Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
48  Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
47  Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1), Sharon Lee, narrated by Elizabeth Rogers
46  Diviner’s Bow (The Redlands #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
45  Ribbon Dance (The Redlands #2), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
44  Kin Right (Korval in Exile #7 AND Tinsori Light #3), Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (unedited manuscript)
43  Salvage Right (Korval in Exile #6 AND Tinsori Light #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
42  Trader’s Leap (Korval in Exile #5 AND The Redlands #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
41  Accepting the Lance (Theo Waitley #7 AND Korval in Exile #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
40  Neogenesis (Theo Waitley #6 AND Korval in Exile #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
39  The Gathering Edge (Theo Waitley #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
38  Alliance of Equals (Korval in Exile #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
37  Dragon in Exile, (Liaden Universe® beginning the Korval In Exile arc), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
36  Sourdough, Robin Sloan (e) (bookclub)
35  Necessity’s Child (standalone in the Liaden Universe®), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens.
34  Dragon Ship (Theo Waitley #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
33  Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
32  Saltation (Theo Waitley #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
31  Fledgling (Theo Waitley #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
30  The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Joe Jameson
29  A Gentleman Far from Home (Lord Julian 11) Grace Burrowes (e)
28  Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Natalie Simpson
27  Cotillion, Georgette Heyer, narrated by Raj Ghatak
26  Platform Decay, (Murderbot) Martha Wells (e)
25  A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (e) (bookclub)
24  Fair Trade (Jethri Gobelyn #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Eileen Stevens
23  Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
22  Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
21  Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
20  When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
19  An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
18   Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17   Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16  *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15  *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14  Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13   Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12  *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11  *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10  *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9   *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8   Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7   *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6   Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5   *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4   *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve    Miller
3   *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve                 Miller
2   A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace             Burrowes (e)
1   Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

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*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order.  I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Remote writing

So, Sunday. Dim and damp. Big breakfast of scrambled eggs with inclusions. Need to make something for lunch realsoonnow.

One thousand two hundred five new words written today, putting the WIP well over fifty grand — 50,570(ish), for those keeping a spreadsheet.

I’m contemplating a nap. I prolly won’t take one, ref make lunch, above, but jeezlouise is it a day for a nap.

In totally unrelated news, this morning I was thinking about Something Else, and a character wandered into my head, as they do, this one bearing the conviction that she’s from Chicago. Well. Everybody’s gotta be from someplace, I guess.

How’s Sunday treating you and yours?
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Bread’s in the oven. Remote arrived. I have achieved a kludge blu-ray system by which I need to start the disc playing manually, but once that happens, I can use the remote to start the movie, fast forward through previews and all like that, which is to say!

I will, indeed, preorder a copy of Hadestown, and when it arrives it will be more than a pretty ornament.

I would like it noted in the log that my test disc was Jupiter Rising and that I did not watch all of it.

I am a Tired Woman, for whatever that’s worth.

Everybody have a good evening. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Dance with me, I want to be your partner

How does that dance go? One step forward, two steps back?

Today’s writing session saw me delete one of the two scenes I wrote yesterday in favor of a better scene that I will write, um . . . *squints* probably Monday? Because! Today’s writing session also saw me making Meticulous, Step-by-step Notes for the next five scenes. No, I don’t know how many words that will be.

The WIP currently stands at 49,370ish words.

And I really do need to go to the grocery store.

After lunch.

How’s your day progressing?
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Back from the store. Groceries put away. Strawberries over ice cream et. Desk cleared. Duty to the cats dispatched. Got some pots ‘n pans to wash, after which it’ll be Coon Cat Happy Hour, and I’ll be pouring a glass of wine and finding someplace comfy to sit and read.

Everybody have a good evening. I’ll check back in tomorrow.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by Orleans, “Dance With Me,” recorded in a Simpler Time.