chop wood carry water – Page 17

Story glass

Good morning:

What went before ONE: The lost has been found.

I looked in the closet in Steve’s office that the cats like to bat springs under, and there were four springs — one each of red, yellow, green, and blue — and one somewhat furry wrist brace.

So! I now have a dedicated glassworking brace. Go, me.
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What went before TWO: So that’s 1,140ish new words, bringing the WIP to 98,770ish. Now, I need to do some picking up for Sara, who arrives V. Early tomorrow, eat a lateish lunch, and do as many picky little tasks as I can before it’s time to leave for glassworking class.
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What went before THREE: Always a shock, when years later you reread a story you had written that you had thought was . . . not up to standard — and realize that it’s a good story, after all, despite it wasn’t the story you had, perhaps, intended to write.

“Our Lady of Benevolence,” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
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What went before FOUR: Wow, am I bad at cutting glass. Though, in my own defense, even the teacher thought there was a reason the glass I’d bought for sand was on sale. I am significantly better at cutting clear and pebbled glass, so — though it’s a poor workman and all like that — I’m blaming the glass.

Onward…
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Friday. Up earlier than I’d like, but the payoff is that Sara will be here in and in a couple hours I’ll have a clean house.

It is currently chilly down here in the shadowland, though sunny at treetop level.

Sigh.

The tea is really good this morning. Barkeep! Set me up another!

So, homework is to finish cutting out my glass, so the pieces are ready to be ground and — I dunno — next week. I’m having a lot of I Dunno moments, and while I recognize that this is in fact what learning a new thing is, it’s still … disconcerting. It probably doesn’t help that our teacher, who is very skilled and has been doing and teaching glass for A Long Time, occasionally forgets to articulate a step.

It was, for instance, only last night that I was finally able to understand why I needed “half a ceiling tile” and in fact, caught a glimmer of What Kind of ceiling tile. ANSWER: It’s to build the pattern on, after you’ve cut your glass. So! That would be a hard, as opposed to a fluffy asbestos, ceiling tile. Or perhaps a thin piece of board of the appropriate size. I’ll poke around downstairs and see what I have.

As I said last night, I have several kinds of glass to work with, and the … opaque glass is murder to cut. The several pieces of colored glass cut like a dream, and I suppose it’s a good thing that I started with the sky — which is clear orange glass — and cut my pieces with no problem.

Trouble started with the ocean — also opaque, swirls of blue and white that I had thought myself very fortunate to have found on sale — when I did a credible job of cutting several small pieces, but managed to break a bigger piece. Still, I have glass left over, so that can probably be salvaged.

Then I got to the swirly yellow, beige, tan part that was to be the sand. There are six? smallish pieces, and no matter how I leaned on my cutter, I couldn’t get a score deep enough to break properly. The instructor finally came by, looked at the carnage on my table and asked what my plan was. I said that I still did have several large pieces of the same glass leftover and that my plan was to start over. She took my cutter and a scrap, tried a score, shook her head and said, “Do you have the pattern pieces for all of this?” I handed them over. She fished the bigger pieces out of my scrap box and said, “I’ll do these. This glass isn’t easy.”

She didn’t have time to cut them before class let out, but she told me to bring them back next time and she’d cut them for me. So there’s that. And — lesson learned. I shall be working with clear glasses until I have something approaching a skill level there.

I suspect that my work was not made easier by having a cutter that leaks oil all over.

So! Not exactly a success, my first attempts. I thought I had prepared for screwing up, but, honestly? Largely due to ignorance regarding how many ways there were to screw up, I surprised myself.

Sara just texted to say that she’ll be a half-hour late, which gives me time to drink this cup and tea and make another before I retire to Steve’s office and open the WIP.

How’re y’all doing this morning?

Wednesday’s cat is full of woe

Didn’t take long to look lived in.

New project, for those who may be interested

Wednesday. Cloudy and damp.

Cleaning up my office before it’s time to go out for my haircut, and running a couple more errands while I’m out and about.

I have some more RL catchup to do after I get back home — or maybe I can push them onto tomorrow, and get some writing done. That would be nice.

I’m riding the edge of a lot of nervous energy and writing does help. Also, I really want to get a Compleat Draft by the end of November, so I can let it sit and cool before I have to go back in and Make Decisions. Yes, the book isn’t due until April. Yes, I have no co-author to do the cold read for me.

I think that’s all I’ve got this morning, with the exception of Rook being grumpy because I wouldn’t give him my cottage cheese this morning.

Hoping your cats aren’t grumpy this morning.

Woeful Rookie:

Of Studios and Offices

Tuesday. Cloudy and damp. Trash and recycling at the curb. Heaters engaged in The Studio, and! I can move the dehumidifier from the big, heated part of the basement into The Studio — all I have to do is push it with the handtruck. So that will be my project after breakfast.

I think I’ll also take my boombox and a handful of CDs down, too. Might as well be comfortable.

Also on the after-breakfast list is finishing with the stained glass pattern.

Today my electronics are revolting. I put my phone to charge last night, but apparently didn’t make a solid connection, because it was down to 5% this morning. And the little timer cube, which I continue to adore, needed its batteries recharged.

I? need to make a phone call, and then rustle up some breakfast.

How’s Tuesday looking for you?
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So I’ve moved the dehumidifier from the heated and dry side of the basement into The Studio, where it immediately Leapt Into Action.

I’m still going to need another dehumidifier, come spring rains, for the other side of the basement, but at least I don’t have another immediate expense, and can look about me for someplace that will deliver, by which I mean, take the damn’ thing down the cellar steps.

The heaters in the meantime have been doing their job, and the thermometer/humidity gauge, which this morning read at 61F/61% is now reading 64F/55%. Progress.

In a couple minutes, I’ll be taking some tea and some water and going downstairs to My Studio. Yes, I am gong to milk this for all it’s worth. I’ve never had a studio before. Office, yes. I think every house I’ve ever written has included at least one office. Steve and I used to bemuse real estate agents by going through a house, and saying things like — “OK, this could be your office, and I’ll take little room at the top of the stairs,” or, damningly, “No, this won’t do; there’s only one office.”

And off I go.

You can only see the stars after a setting sun

What went before ONE: A smol break to eat lunch (in fact, a ham sandwich, the ham heated up), make a pot of rice, and do my duty to the cats.

The writing’s going really well, After I finish up in the front of the house, I’ll go back and see if there’s anything else cooking.

The cats of course, have all joined me in my office, so I can feel guilty about my eventual desertion to the writing room.

Which reminds me that some folks had wanted to see where I had put the bats. Here they are:

By reader request, the “story” of the poster: Steve used to work in a video store, and when a new batch of posters came in, he adopted this one.

It is worth noting that Steve also had a Close Personal Relationship with Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice. When I met him, one of his favorite shirts was a silky dark blue with a Sorcerer’s Apprentice print.

What went before TWO: So, that was +/-1,530 new words today, which brings the WIP Entire right around 95,600, as the end of the book keeps getting further away. I also updated the Chapter-by-Chapter.

Tomorrow, I have some phone calls to make, and I’ll need to do them early. Also, I need to clear off my “business desk,” because even though I’m hardly here, it’s a wreck. Well. Because writing at the moment is far more entertaining than Real Life, I do just tend to toss stuff onto a “I’ll deal with it later,” pile.

Happy Hour has been served. I need to put away my socks, now that they’re clean and dry and all, and update the to-do list.

So, that was my day, and hoping yours was as peaceful.

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

Monday. Dim and cool. Rain predicted.

I had forgotten that today is a holiday. Files under The Perils of Freelancing. Crossfiles under The Perils of Living Alone. No mail today. Gummint offices closed. Oh. Wait.

One of the offices I needed to call this morning was closed. However! The hospital at Rockport was on the case, and able to reschedule my Dark O’Clock Appointment for 11am two days earlier in the same week.

I’m calling this a success on the day.

Today, I am still giving my hands a break, for values of “a break” that does not include fine work such as cutting out teensy pattern pieces, or embroidery, so I guess I’m writing. After breakfast and girding mine loins and all like that.

Who else has had an early success?

Today’s blog post title brought to you by The Other Steve Miller, “Wild Mountain Honey“

I met her in a club down in old Soho

Oh, dear, dearie me…

For those who have not read it, Be Warned. We are told by a Concerned Reader that Diviner’s Bow is the second Liaden book that was “written for LBGYQ” instead of “staying true to the storyline and characters.”

Well. That’s me told.

In other news — and what I actually stopped by to say — between cutting out teensy pieces of paper, followed by driving for sevenish hours, followed by chores, I have managed to scrod my hands, which means I need to change the shape of the next few days, to wit!

Today and Monday I shall write; Tuesday, I shall finish cutting out my glass pattern and taping said teensy pieces to the appropriate pieces of glass (which means I’ll be missing needlework, but there are only so many hours in the day — and what’s with that exactly?). Wednesday, I have a haircut scheduled, and also some writing to do; Thursday evening is glasswork, I may need to hit the grocery during the day; Sarah comes by on Friday morning.

Also, I need to get a tattoo across my forehead that says, YOU ARE NOT 40.

So! Breakfast was oatmeal with cranberries and walnuts. Lunch will be a ham sandwich, or something else including ham, because leftovers, and!

Time to go to work.

What’s your upcoming week looking like?

Today’s blog post title brought to you by The Kinks, “Lola” because — obviously. Released in 1970.

Here, have a picture of Tali:

A gypsy wind is blowing warm tonight

Saturday. Sunny and warmer than I had expected.

Many chores have been accomplished, including doing the preliminary set up for my glass working space. I had a moment of despair when I realized that none of the many outlets in the Foosball Room, err, worked. Then I remembered my fusebox lessons from Steve Symonds, crossed the basement, flipped a switch, and hey, presto! Power, we haz it.

I have two oil radiators, and also the old electric heater that I replaced not because it didn’t work, but because it was old. So, it, too may join me and I’m thinking that room will be toasty as heck, even in winter.

The library cart (sorry, Steve) will be put into use to hold my glass and tools where I can see everything, and Archie’s stool (I bought a nasty old wooden stool at a flea market back in nineteen-seventy-ought two, I guess, all over splotches of paint, and — oh it was a mess. But for fifty cents, who could say no. Took it home, did the sanding and the priming and painted it Chinese Red. When I brought Archie in to run the place, that was his favorite seat.) is just the right height to park my fundament (why does spellcheck not know fundament?) on while I glare at the pattern, which I have no doubt I will be doing a lot of.

There was a big old warped piece of wood leaning against the wall, which I have put down, so I’ll have something besides a concrete floor between me and the permafrost, and I should probably get a cheap rug, for another layer. Right not, All The Things are on top of the board, because I’m hoping to flatten out the bow.

Now! I need to rustle lunch, and then, oh, go out to TJMaxx.

Yes, yes, I’m supposed to be getting rid of stuff so it will be easier for those who have to clean up after me, and instead, I’m getting new stuff.

How’s Saturday treating you?

Oh, hey, my work-area-in-process:

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Hmmph. Did another exploratory round of Stuff I Already Have. Identified a glass keeper, known to those of us who had administrative/secretarial jobs as a desk-top file organizer, which will do fine. It is metal, but easy enough to soften each section by taping in a manila folder or two.

Steve used to have these … big foam tiles that he used in the SRM office (another basement location). They interlocked, so you could make your space as big as you needed, and they were soft, which was easier on your back and legs. I went looking for them, but no luck. And — I have a really hard time remembering where I last saw what. It could be they never even made the move to this house. So now I’m trying to remember where he got them. Maybe Staples? Back when Staples actually had things in their store instead of offering to order it online for you?

mooches off to Staples online

SPOILER: As suggested by several Facebook friends, Home Depot had them, aka “single sided gym tile”

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And that’s enough fun for one day.

I went to TJ Maxx and unexpectedly came upon a wooden plate holder, which will handily hold the glass I’m working with now. I can foresee a time when I’ll need to bring the other holder into play but for now, I’ve put it aside.

I put together some “gym” tiles, and put them directly on the floor in front of my work bench. All The Things are still piled on top of the warped board, but I’m not having to walk on the warped board, so that’s a win.

For a change, we are not under a freeze warning tonight, so that’s a change. And now that I’ve had my fun, I need to finish up washing cat bowls, by which time, it will be Happy Hour.

How time does fly.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll check in tomorrow.

The work space as now configured:

Tonight’s blog post title brought to you by Mr. Robert Seger, who is pretty damned sure of himself, so there is that: “You’ll Accomp’ny Me“

She walks looks and drives like an ace now

What went before ONE: Oh. Here’s something amusing.

Someone had suggested yesterday that I go to Aldi for grapes.

I typed “Aldi near me” into the search bar, and I am offered!

Newington NH (250 miles RT)
Dover NH (250 miles RT)
And! My favorite: Port Orange, FL (3,000 miles RT)

So, that’s why I’m not going to Aldi for grapes.
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What went before TWO: Two thousand eight hundred and eighty-ish new words written, bringing the WIP entire into the vicinity of 94,050.

“Frogging” is a knitting term that I believe Brenda Clough introduced into my vocabulary. It comes from “rip it, rip it” which is what one does when one makes a mistake.

Tomorrow will not be a writing day. I have some layout to complete and a couple phone calls to make before I hit the road to Glass Express, where the class is to meet our instructor “directly after work.” I wonder what that means. Class officially starts at 6. I guess if I arrive at 5, the time won’t be wasted. I mean, really, I’m going to be in a glass shop. It’s not like there won’t be stuff to look at.

Checking the weather, I see that we are now under a Freeze Watch tonight. Looks like I’d better go out and cover up the rose bush.

Aaand, back. Rook saw me heading for the front door and threw himself at my knees, yelling. It is almost Happy Hour, but jeez, kid.

In addition to the freeze warning, the weatherbeans tell me that it will be sunny and 60ishF/16ishC on Friday. Rain starting Sunday evening and that’s most of next week, right there. So! Friday Will Be a Writer’s Day Off.

I do believe that’s all the news &c.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.
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Thursday, sunny and cold. Ish.

I did turn on the oil heat to warm us up at floor level, while the heat pumps do their thing overhead.

I did cover the rosebush last night, but something disagreed with my design decision, be it wind or be it beast, and the blanket was off the rose this morning.

Today! I really hope to get the November echapbook up for preorder. Fingers crossed. I also have some phone calls to make. Including a call to make an appointment to have my hair cut. I’m still liking it longer, except for the part where my bangs fall in my eyes — see haircut, above.

I find a note from Adult Ed in my mail this morning informing me that our instructor expects to meet us at Glass Express at 5 pm, so that’s one question answered.

I also see in my inbox that! my bats will arrive today. That’s awesome. The last best guess for delivery that I saw was October 15 or something. Early delivery FTW.

Yes, I bought bats. I like bats.

What else? Oh. Just got a “Hello, this is a cold call for Steve Miller. Is he –” Sigh. I really miss being able to slam down a receiver.

I had the house phone forwarding to my cell, so that the cellular robot could stop that stuff before it even got recorded. It was doing a good job, too. Then, a couple days ago, the house phone started ringing again — one call from the hospital and four calls for Steve. I need to look up again how to forward the landline.

So! That’s my day pretty well laid out.

Who’s doing something that’s fun?

Today’s blog post title is from The Beach Boys, “Fun, fun, fun” — which is also a formative song. First, there’s the Interesting Truth of:
Well the girls can’t stand her
‘Cause she walks, looks, and drives like an ace now

And also — granting that I’m probably the only one who ever put this spin on it, welcome to my brain — that Our Narrator is a hero because he’s going to let her drive his car. Because, I mean, yeah, what else would he want to do?

Rosebush, uncovered:

For those who are still with me, here’s the link to this morning’s cat census.

Lukey’s boat’s got a fine fore cuddy

Shoulder dragon:

What went before: All righty, then! I have finished reading the page proofs for the Diviner’s Bow mass market. I’ll work a little later tonight to gather up the (very few) typos and send them along to Baen, so that‘s outta my hair.

This leaves me with the Top Sekrit Project, and completing the set-up and listings for Civilized Behavior, the November chapbook.

Today, the WIP broke 90,000 words, so that’s a thing.

Tomorrow is supposed to see a return to the 80sF, weatherwise. Someone had asked…somewhere, if it had been cool enough today to warrant wearing a hoodie. The answer being that today’s “hoodie” is a long-sleeved t-shirt that happens to have a hood. I don’t know why these design decisions are taken. I wanted a purple-striped t-shirt, and this one was on sale.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll see you tomorrow.
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So! Monday. Sunny and going to be Actually Warm. It is in fact 80F/27C in my office as of right now.

Got up early and hit the keyboard, wrote +/-1,425 new words. I want to get back to it. Maybe after I finish up the business portion of the day.

The really good news so far on the day (until the mail arrives and I see if my oval hoop was actually delivered, whereupon — new embroidery hoop!) is that the next door neighbor’s tree guy is willing to take my problem trees down while he’s doing the work next door. He’ll be by tomorrow to take a look IRL, give me quote, and — fingers crossed! — the trees will be taken care of in December.

The annoying news on the day is that the company through which I am financing the replacement doors in Steve’s office keeps texting me…things. I don’t want them texting me. Email. Email is the height of human communication, IMNSHO. Texting is an abomination, though I grant it’s useful in an emergency. I also don’t want medical entities texting me, but so far I haven’t made an impression there, either.

So! Trash and recycling are in the garage ready to be taken up to the curb tomorrow morning. And I have some email to answer, and at least one phone call to make.

Whhoooosssssshhhhh!

What’re you doing today?

Today’s blog post title from Great Big Sea, “Lukey’s Boat.”

Friday night roundup

What went before: Errands always take longer than you think they will. However! I have accomplished all my errands.

err. except going to the grocery store.

Which I will be doing! Just as soon as I finish eating the cottage cheese and pretzel that I’m calling by the pet name of “lunch” today.

The guy at SBS said that I was the third stained glass person in on the day, so — good to see we’re all on the case.

The creperie is … difficult for me to understand, and expensive. So I’ll try again some other time.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print at the mom– Oh. I have an Informed Delivery note from the USPS — news of a package due four days out.

Rookie, by the way, doesn’t think that I need to go away for hours just to come home stinking of D.O.G. eeewwww! (SBS has two resident Big, Friendly Dogs, who were Very Interested in me and happy to provide Vitamin Dog, and we all know that it’s rude to turn down freely-offered Vitamin Dog.)

And that really is it.

Off to the grocery store I go!
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Helping me read:
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The day didn’t go exactly as planned, but! I wrote 545 new words, bringing the WIP entire to +/-89,500 words. And I did eventually do all my errands. And Sarah left the house nice and clean.

I was addressed as “sir” in Reny’s by a woman who was horrified and more apologetic than strictly necessary. She had just seen my hair, she said, and, and my shirt, and she had just made an assumption and ohmighod so very, very sorry MA’AM.

And one more argument against the proposition that you can just tell what people “are” by looking at them.

My “business desk” looks like a bomb hit it, but that’s at least partly the printout of the material that didn’t go through yesterday. I can apparently submit via paper, and I’m trying to decide if that will introduce more Room For Error. No HUGE rush, I guess, but I’d like to get it outta here.

I should probably come back after Happy Hour to put the desk into some kind of order. Or, yanno, not. I hate the feeling that I’m falling behind, and behinder. I’m pretty sure I’m not, but I depended on Steve to make those calibrations for me — really depended; I never learned how to do it for myself. I mean, I can — and do — write down the tasks in hand and their deadlines, look at them, and the calendar, and intellectually understand that I’ve got plenty of time, but the panic-maker never stops running around inside my head, yelling, “Holy freaking ghod, you’ve got So. Much. To. Do. You’re never going to get all this done, and then everything will fall apart, and what will happen to the cats, and, and, and. . . ”

Stoopid brain.

It just about is Happy Hour and I’ll at least be pouring myself a glass of wine in celebration of having gotten through today.

Tomorrow evening, I’m going to a magic show (Yes, I am. Stop it, Brain.), which I hope will be fun. I haven’t been to a magic show in ages. In fact, I think the last time was at Messalonskee High, approximately a hundred million years ago.

Before I go serve out Happy Hour, I want to share a photo. When Belle died Sara Oseasohn did a pastel portrait of her. Steve hung it on the wall in the living room, near the cat tree. Sara very kindly sent me a portrait of Trooper, which arrived today. I just hung it up. Pic below — not a good one, but the glass and the lighting kinda stretched my photography skills to the max.

And on that note! Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

The sun’s coming up like a big bald head

What went before ONE: So. Just wasted an hour inputting 20 infringed works into an online form only to have the dreaded “Something went wrong!” appear at the end of it all.

I could have done something useful with that hour.

Wrote to the administrator.

Eschewing strong drink at this time.

What went before TWO: Eek. I really may have bitten off more than I can chew this time. Stained glass is going to be intense.

There’s … eight of us, I guess. At least two are returning students. Some have worked with stained glass before. I of course am a Compleat Newbie. I did appreciate our instructor reminding us several times that the project we’ll be working on was going to be Our First, and that glass … breaks.

I managed to cut out a rectangle and a triangle, but a circle still eludes me. I do know that the secret is that glass breaks in straight lines, but I think I’m going to have to find a youtube howto, because I Just Ain’t Gettin’ It, and my pattern of course has a lot of curved lines.

There will also be Homework, which means I’ll be working in the back basement room, to keep cats out of glass, and glass dust out of the house.

Well. Onward. Next week — shopping! at Glass Express in Manchester. Which means I should spend some time planning out the colors in my project.

But all that? Is for later.

For right now, I need to read a chapter of A Night in the Lonesome October, and find something to eat.

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

Friday. Cool and not getting too much warmer. Sun coming up, but behind the trees, so I can’t verify the “big bald head” aspect of the event.

Breakfast was blueberry skyr. Drinking my first cup of tea. Haven’t the faintest about lunch, though I did defrost a pork chop, so there is that.

Sarah’s due in half an hour, more or less, whereupon I will join the cats in a genteel retreat to Steve’s office, where I hope to work, and they will perhaps nap.

After Sarah has finished, I have Errands, which include a trip to the post office, the pet store (the cats have finally hidden all the springs), SBS (to get my glass pattern enlarged) and the grocery. Lunch may be added to the list. I’m told there’s a creperie in town, now. Who knew?

I went to Informed Delivery to check my incoming mail, and the site is … not behaving. It occurs to me that the goobers shut down the goobermint, and unfortunately the government, what was left of it, too — and thus, there may be no mail. And certainly no one looking out for the website.

Interesting times.

What’s on for Friday at your place?

Today’s blog post title from Ms Laurie Anderson, “Sharkey’s Day“, yes, again. It was a formative song.