Tag: chop wood carry water

Wednesday Writing

Wednesday. Gloomy with intermittent snow. Warmer than yesterday, but not warm.

Rook joined me for my early sunlight and tea. Tali would like to join me, but she can’t figure it out yet. We’re all a Little Much for Tali, I fear.

Breakfast was oatmeal. Lunch will be store-bought spinach quiche and a side of soup. Oven heating for the quiche now. Did Session One of the PT homework.

Wrote a couple thousand new! words this morning. Which — one of the good things about the Write What You Know Method, beside racking up a lot of words early, is that, while you DO have to do a fair amount of timeline-wrasslin’, and build bridges, the bridge-building is mostly smooth, once you’ve figured out what the story is about.

Yes, I do keep saying that.

The plan for the remainder of the day after lunch is to do my duty the cats, take a short walk, and get back with the WIP. And do Session Two of the PT homework; I’ve come to like doing that after I’ve served up Happy Hour.

Tomorrow, I have PT early, a haircut scheduled mid-morning, and I really do need to get to the grocery. And probably the post office.

Meet ‘n Greet with the new Town Manager in the evening. I have a ticket. I’m starting to waffle on Do I Really Want To Go. It’ll probably come down to how’s the weather?

The cats are all back in Steve’s office, snuggling into warm spots. It goes without saying that they were a great deal of help during the morning writing session.

So! How’s everybody doing today?

City Life

Saturday. Grey and intermittently snowing.

I’ve been up since way too early. Sat with my sun lamp, did the morning PT homework, oatmeal for breakfast, threw in a load of laundry, got with the WIP. Taking a break now to make rice and to heat up some soup for lunch. May add in half a sandwich, for, yanno, variety.

So! Let me tell you about last night. Around 10 pm, I’m finishing up reading my chapter and drinking my mug of tea and I hear a WHOMP from outside. I figured a tree limb had let go, and started to get up (which meant shifting Tali and Firefly) when I heard the sound of metal being hit and dragged, and I thought to myself, “Oh-oh.”

Opened the curtain and looked out. There was a car pulled to the curb, going away from town, and a largish dark pile in the lane going into town, and as I’m getting the curtain all the way out of my way, another car drives toward town, makes no effort to avoid the large dark pile of what I’m now tentatively thinking may be a deer, or — worse — a human — and drags another piece of metal with them. This car at least pulled over.

In the meantime, somebody from the car at the curb, who apparently hit the very largish dark pile while it was still moving, comes back to the scene, and a car heading out of town pulls to the curb, and somebody gets out of it. Both of these folks had their phones in hand. Someone from the car that had not avoided the pile came back down and handed what looked to be a good-sized piece of fender to one of the people who were now trying to clean the metal bits out of the road, goes back to her car and drives away.

The guy whose car had been in the accident is talking on the phone by this time. There’s a degree of consternation on display but no out-and-out horror, nobody’s kneeling by the big dark lump, so I come down on the side of “deer.”

And! since this situation was being competently handled by people who were actually dressed and in winter coats, I left them to it, and closed the curtain.

A couple minutes later, I saw a blue light slide along the curtains, then stop.

This morning — all gone! No large dark object in the road, no shred from a wounded car, nor even a bloodstain on the tarmac. Nothing in the paper. Might’ve been a dream.

I checked with Rook, who had, on the first WHOMP, jumped to the top of the cat tree to look through the gap in the curtains that I leave for just that purpose. Rook says, Not a dream. Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to tell, but this happened, Mom. I’m taking his word for it.

Coincidentally, there was a deer in the Long Back Yard this morning when I opened the curtains at Way Too Early.

And that is the end of my story.

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Still writing. Well. Editing, tightening, writing scenes, taking scenes out. This in service of a less…goopy narrative. Or so I tell myself. The problem with the Just Write the Scenes You Know method — I’m sure I’ve said this before — is that it requires a lot of structural work, once you figure out what the story’s about.

Also, this book has a lot of characters — Ahem. You there, in the back, would you care to share your amusement with the rest of us? What’s that? Oh, there are always too many characters in Liaden books? Honey, you ain’t seen nuthin‘.

So more of the same tomorrow, with the exception of laundry, which is done now, and mostly put away. Leftover soup for lunch. After, I froze two-thirds of what was left, which leaves me another lunch or breakfast in the fridge.

Rook did me the favor of tipping over my Yeti water tumbler while I was writing — the good news! There wasn’t much water left. The bad news! I’d forgotten to seal it so what water there was went all over the desk.

Cleaned up, and Rook came back to revisit the Scene of the Crime. Whoa, there was water in there? Who does that?”

Those who have been following alone at home may be interested to learn that I found proof that last night’s accident did happen — a triangle of the yellow plastic that covers a vehicle’s fog lights. Boy, that stuff is tough.  Also, sharp.

Coon Cat Happy Hour is over, and I should find something to eat, my own self.

And that? Is all I’ve got.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll look in tomorrow.

Story time

So, I spent an hour, or maybe a little more than an hour this morning in my writing space, looking for the place where Talizea yos’Phelium is born (Ghost Ship, as it happens, first published in August 2011, and if the Liaden Universe® ran on Real World time, Lizzie’d be cabin boy, or maybe at Scout Academy, instead of walking, now, except when she don’t.)

One of the things that my search convinced me of is that I really should sit down and read All the Liaden Books, which I’ve never had time to do.  I still don’t have time, unless I want to dedicate my free-time reading in 2026 to the Liaden Universe®.

Anyway, what with looking for Lizzie’s birth, and checking another couple of pertinent events, I only wrote about 700 new words.  However!  I did write, and I have the supervisors to prove it:

Lunch was broccoli cheese soup, riffing off of a recipe in the insurance company’s newsletter.  Then I had correspondence to tend to and real life chores, plus PT homework.  I went downstairs eventually to do my duty to the cats, and take a walk.

Then before going back upstairs and maybe getting some more words written, I peeked into My Studio to look at my project, and said, “Oh, I’ll just cut one piece,” which — you know how this goes, right?  Right.  I cut out all the rest of the pieces.  The next step is grinding, but that really does need to wait until I get this draft done.  This will be easier to police than the cutting, since I don’t have a grinder here at home, but will need to rent a studio-with-tools at the glass shop in Manchester.

Tomorrow, now free of driving back and forth to Brunswick, is a Writing Day, and I have lots of leftover soup, so I won’t actually have to stop for more time than it takes to heat up a bowl and cut a piece of bread. I have two scenes sketched in, so I’m hopeful of a productive day.

For this evening, Coon Cat Happy Hour has been served — and appears to have been consumed — I’m all caught up on everything  (except calling for a haircut, which for some reason I keep forgetting to do) so!  I believe I’ll pour myself a glass of wine and go read for a bit.

Everybody have a good evening.

 

Winter in his snowy white coat

So! As I was saying — it’s Tuesday.

I woke up ‘way too early, ate an English muffin with cheese, sat with the Happy Lamp over a cup of tea and was at work on the WIP before 8 am, which is, coincidentally, when it started snowing. I decided to leave the trash and recycling in the garage; they can make their spiritual journey to the curb next Tuesday.

I’m taking a break from the WIP to make phone calls, and am now waiting for the PCP’s office to call me back about whether I can squish both MRIs into one MRI on Saturday, or if I’ll have to be rescheduled.

I will not be going to needlework this evening. In fact, I doubt that there will be needlework this evening.

Tomorrow first thing is my PT appointment. If I’m plowed out. If I’m not plowed out, Imma be right here, writing. Yeah, you might say I’m conflicted.

It is, as I write this, still snowing, and the ‘beans are sticking tight to their 6-9 inches, slowly petering out around 4 am.

While I’m taking my break, I’ll go downstairs to do my duty to the cats, and start warming the oven for lunch. Then back to work. I really want to finish this draft from the end of the month/year, being as I missed finishing it by the end of November.

buys the boys in the basement those special pretzels they like — and another keg of beer. Always with the beer, those guys.

And how’s the weather where you are today?

Soup for breakfast

Monday. Sunny, windy — let’s just agree to call it cold.

Breakfast was leftover tom-yum soup from lunch the other day. I think I have the name right. Lately, I’ve been trying to order one thing I’ve never had before, so instead of egg drop or wonton, I got this other soup. It’s sweet and sour, with chicken and veggies, garnished with peanuts. Makes a good breakfast on a cold morning.

Lunch was the last of the (unfrozen) Thanksgiving chicken with gravy and dressing. There’s a little bit of dressing left. It’s in no danger of getting wasted.

Trash and recycling is in the garage, meditating on its journey to the curb. Which may be delayed until next week, depending on when the storm starts tomorrow, and if the weatherbeans remain adamant in their 6-9-inch predictions. I don’t have to be anyplace until Wednesday morning, and I have plenty of milk for hot chocolate, not to say stuff to keep me occupied, so, yanno, I’ll be fine.

Finished watching Maigret last night (I had been going to finish the night before, but it was (sadly) clear to me how this was going to have to go down and I wasn’t up for Maigret finding out exactly what his roll of the dice had bought him.) Still, all’s well that ended well, though I fear for Louise and Jules as a couple.

As a writer, I do need to have a Word with Maigret’s writers. Guys? You don’t give a character a Defining Quirk, like, for instance HE DOESN’T DRIVE, and then, when that Quirk becomes inconvenient, suddenly! he DOES drive. Points off, writers. Do better going forward.

My to-do list says I have some phone calls and banking stuff to deal with, but what does it know? I’m gonna go play with glass for an hour, because I am reputedly An Adult. Also, having sat with the manuscript for four hours this morning, I need to think. Actually, I need to talk to Steve, but since that’s a non-starter, thinking it is, and so the glass.

How’s everybody this afternoon? Weather good? Whatcha watchin?

The Long Back Yard at 6:30 this morning:

Easing back into RL

I hate to waste a Buzz Lightyear stamp on the quarterlies (yes, I pay my fourth quarter in December), but that’s all I seem to have.

Also, it’s almost 11 hours from here to North Towinda NY, which — I’m trying to remember how we did that? Surely we didn’t go through Canada? I mean, we might — Oh. Wait.

We went via Pittsburgh.

Maine to Pittsburgh for Guest of Honor gig at CONfluence, then to North Towinda to the Herschell Museum, then to Niagra Falls, late, because that museum is awesome and we got lost for hours, and if you’re ever near enough for it to be even a tiny bit feasible, Do. It.

I remember coming home via Saratoga Springs, so that would have been 90 to 295.

Well. I’m glad I got that straightened out.

Looks to be more snow than mix outside, so, yeah, that’s still happening.

Maybe a cup of hot chocolate before I go down to cut some glass…

Firefly shared her blanket with me, even though I did not share my hot chocolate with her.
So that’s today’s fun with glass. I’d like to say I’m getting better, but what I’m actually doing is less “man that was awful” and more “that was a good cut.”

It’s now raining, and I’m thinking I should investigate the theory of lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I’ve had enough fun for one day. I’m going to sign off, watch the last installment of Magriet, serve up Happy Hour when it’s time, read and go to bed on time. Tomorrow — is tomorrow.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. Watch out for black ice.

I’ll check in tomorrow.

Smol Update

I would have told you I didn’t write anything today, but in fact, I wrote about 1800 words, so there’s that.

I played around with my glass for an hour or so, straightened up the house, and weighed the livestock, to wit!

Rook weighs 13 lbs
Tali weighs 12.6 lbs
Firefly weight 12 lbs

The coon cats have just had Happy Hour and after I finish this smol update, I will pour a glass of wine and open the mail.

Everybody have a good evening.

What if I’d been the one to say goodbye?

What went before Tuesday:

Went down a couple of rabbit holes.

First, someone is actually trying to schedule an MRI for me, and we’ve been playing phone and portal tag.

Second, I went looking for The Other File full of teaching stuff — I did find it — but while I was looking, I opened a file drawer Full of Lee-and-Miller interviews, reviews, articles, pr — bunches and Bunches and BUNCHES of Stuff. A whole file drawer and, yanno?

We have never been famous, or even particularly —

And that? Was Midcoast Hospital in Brunswick calling. I have an MRI scheduled for Saturday December 6, so someone’s taking this seriously. Is there a word that means “simultaneously freaked out and relieved”?

Anyhoot. As I said, I did find the Other File, but I still need to get with the cat fountains, so that’s next — glares at universe.

Right?
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So, below (far, far below) is what I think will be my next glass attempt, to work on my cutting and also to use some of the scraps. Also, if I decide to get Really Crazy, I can just keep going up.

In other news, today was the Magic Medical Day. I have the MRI scheduled and an audiology appointment. This of course means that December is filling up with medical appointments, but here we are.

I am relieved to report that the cat fountains have been changed out, though I still need to wash the fiddly bits, my other duty to the cats has been performed, and I ate lunch, too!

It has gotten later sooner than I had expected, so my next thing will be to thread my needles for tonight’s meeting.

I have downloaded the book club book (The Thursday Murder Club, for those who missed the big announcement yesterday), but I have Ghost Army of WWII queued up on the tablet for my next read.

Also! It’s November which means I need to decide if I’m doing a Yule Letter this year.

And I still need to do the form for Adult Ed. That may have to happen tomorrow evening.

Whee!

Is everybody having fun?


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So, when I went over to my instructor’s house to finish my project, and I saw how many places I had missed covering the copper, I realized that it’s a little too dim in Foosball Studio. I have thus purchased (yet another) Verilux task lamp (this one is a twofer: Task light and Happy Light) — it will go in Steve’s office and the repaired so-called smart light that’s currently in Steve’s office will go into the studio. I also bought a “beginner” happy light for my office, because I cannot afford — that’s literally “afford” — to get depressed, and the way I’m feeling about the encroaching winter — it seemed like a reasonable precaution.
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WEDNESDAY
So, I’m home, having had small-a adventures, which made for a pleasantish time. I had the first appointment for the car’s annual inspection, and the putting on of the new plates. A couple of filters needed to be replaced “next time for sure,” but I told them to do it now, since I was all settled in, and! had a coupon, so that happened.

After, I went down to Water Street in downtown Augusta and had breakfast at Dave’s, which I’ve never been to. Perfectly fine diner food, quick cheerful service, lots of customers, nailed a window seat. Will return. It’s one of my challenges, as I go forward, finding places Steve and I did not go to regularly, so Dave’s was a good discovery.

After breakfast, I backtracked to Manchester and Stained Glass Express, where I took on glass, tools, oil, but NOT a grinder, which are — ow. It turns out that I can rent a studio at Glass Express when a studio is empty, and use all the tools there, so the Plan is to cut out my pieces, then gather them together and grind them all at once.

After my /s/p/e/n/d/i/n/g /s/p/r/e/e needful art shopping, I went over to Longfellow’s Greenhouse and Gift Emporium, where I found a vacuum bottle (which I’ve been looking for). Now I can make a bottle of tea and take it back to Steve’s office with me, so I don’t have to interrupt myself to walk to the front of the house to make another mugful (YES, this is a First World Problem, and I’m glad I solved it), and some lavender soap, because — lavender soap — and a cardinal to hang in Steve’s office. They are ALL Christmased up at Longfellow’s.

After frivolous shopping, I went to Lowe’s to get my long-delayed ceiling/art tile, now that a kind friend helped me to understand what, exactly, I wanted. Then I hit the Cony Street Hannaford, and home again, where?

It’s dern near lunch time.

I’ll get with that in a minute, but first I want to tell you about a Strange Thing that happened on my way home from needlework last night.

It was of course Dark at 6:30 and I was on my way home, no cars ahead of me (of this, I am certain, and so is the Subaru nanny), when suddenly, with no one turning into the road, there was an SUV in front of me. “Wow,” I thought, “I am really tired not to have noticed there was somebody in front of me. This could have gone badly.”

And about the time I finished chastising myself, a cop car came up behind me, lights flashing. I pulled over. The car in front of me pulled over, and cop pulled in right behind them.

I pulled out and continued home, arriving at the corner where the CVS is, where there were several more cop cars in the parking lot, lights flashing and several SUVs that had apparently been pulled in.

. . . which is when I began to entertain the theory that the car which had suddenly appeared ahead of me had been running without its lights in order to Not Be Noticed.

That now off my chest, I’m gonna go see what’s for lunch. I defrosted a couple pieces of pork and I have some frozen skillet veggies, so that may be the way to go.

How’s everybody doing today?
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A call was made for a picture of Steve’s new cardinal, which is below. The new cardinal is hanging up; it’s made of tin.  I gave the reindeer to Steve for Christmas manymany years ago.  The black cat was a gift from someone else, and the ornament in the foreground is made out of paper and lights up. Once Sharon finds a battery for it.

I’m feeling kinda tired, so the Plan for the rest of the day is to go down to the studio to make room on the workbench for the new project before I crash, then come upstairs and do paperwork.

Tomorrow will be a writing day.
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Ready for action. First step is to cut out my pattern pieces, but I can do that upstairs. After I finish my course description and return a contact.

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I?
Am a Tired Woman. However! I am a Tired Woman who has managed to get all the paperwork out of here, and may therefore write tomorrow and Friday and Saturday with impunity.

After I sleep for nine hours.

I did start to handwrite the holiday letter while I was waiting for the car, but that doesn’t really have a drop-deadline on it. My feeling is that the holiday letter can arrive as late as January 2 and still be legitimate.

So! Writing Rules are now in force. I may peek in Occasionally and at Odd Hours over the next three days — or I may not. Default assumption ought to be that I’m working. Which is a good thing.

Everybody take care. Stay comfy. Hug the people you love.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by 38 Special, “If I’d been the one“

See me ride outta that sunset. . .

. . . on your color TV . . .  Am I the only one who ever wants to filk things like TNT for, oh, accountants?  or retail workers?  or well.  Sorry AC/DC

Onward.

Um. Tuesday. Jeez, yesterday was a long day.

Tuesday. Sunny and cool. Trash and recycling languish yet in the garage, but I’ve got time to get it out to the curb.

Today’s to-do includes filling out a form for adult ed, scheduling an interview for … Sunday afternoon, is what I’m thinking … changing out the cat fountains, and getting my needles ready for this evening’s meeting of the embroidery club. Might be time for a little entering of corrections. That would be nice.

But first! Breakfast! I’m going with hummus and naan and grapes again. I must have been in hummus deprivation.

What’s for breakfast at your house?
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And apparently I’m on short-thought today. I just last night finished reading The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams, by Mindy Thompson, which was a fine time-travel tale riffing off of the Change-one-Thing theory, and never in your face. Very well done. It is, for those who object to such things, YA, and the narrator is a young girl.

Link to today’s cat census and state of an art

Today’s blog post title brought to you by AC/DC, “TNT”

 

Mission accomplished

Project completed! Many, many thanks to Carmela Patriotti for her patience, her kindness, and her willingness to share her art.

I’ll be hanging it up in the back hall window — tomorrow, I think.

Photo by Carmela Patriotti:

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I changed my mind and hung it up tonight. Fingers crossed the cats will leave it alone.

Glass work stats, ’cause some folks wanted to know size: It is 14.5 inches across the widest part and 10.5 tall. Weighs +/- 2 pounds.

Next project, as some other folks asked — something with straight lines. I’m eschewing opaque glass for the moment, therefore, cathedral glass. So, the next project is! Straight lines and clear colored glass.

This is a busy week, and the busiest day is Wednesday, when I have to get up at Stupid O’Clock to take the car to Charlie’s for its annual inspection and putting on the new plates. I’m figuring to make a day — or at least a half-day — of it — Charlie’s, breakfast, Glass Express, maybe even Longfellow’s.

Which is to say, we’ll all know more, later.

Coon cat happy hour is very nearly upon us.

Everybody have a good evening; stay safe. I’ll see you tomorrow.