chop wood carry water – Page 2

Friday on the edge

Friday. Sunny and cool.

First cup of tea sipped in the comfort of the comfy chair in the nice sunny office window.

Breakfast will be, um. Toast and hummus! There. I’ll dig around in the freezer for something that can be beat into a shape resembling lunch.

Speaking up freezers — the ice-bucket is full! of! ice! and I? am chuffed.

I woke up feeling unsettled — and the cats think so, too. They’ve been babying me, which I appreciate. I think the first estimate for various work, which I did go over yesterday, is gnawing on my never robust nervous system. These are Big Numbers — of which the screen “house” is the least. The deck itself needs some help with the supports (some of which don’t even touch the ground) and there was some wet wood identified. So between the Big Numbers, and the feeling that whatever I do, I will be making a mistake, yeah. Nervous System Yellow Alert.

I probably need to write an extra book to pay for at least the necessary work, but I’m not sure how I could pull that off.

Moving along to The Fey Duology . . .

This morning that D2D reports 16 preorders — all from Apple. I have, yes, seen people reporting that they’ve preordered from Kobo, BN, and other vendors. Thank you! Keep it up; it all counts, even if they’re slow getting their numbers in. D2D “universal” link

Amazon reports 34 preorders since last night. Fingers still crossed. Amazon link

And, on that note, I’d better get my breakfast. The plan is to write for a couple hours this morning, and give the afternoon to housekeeping.

What are your plans for the day?

Publication news and Dragon’s luck

Business First: Amazon customers, I have submitted The Fey Duology to Amazon for preorder.

This does not mean that it will be accepted by Amazon, but, I am trying on your behalf. Right now it is in review.

If y’all could cross your fingers, that might help the process.
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Harvest Moon deli to the rescue! One cup of tomato-veggie soup with and half-sandwich of Appetite for Destruction. I also ordered in potato-salad-for-later, and a chocolate chip cookie bigger than my head, which I will probably consume the entire thing before Happy Hour, because I Have No Shame. Continuing to put the house back into order — I just heard an ice cube get ejected into the cube-catch in the freezer.

I FIXED A FREEZER!

Ahem.

So, anyway, putting house back into order. Then read contract — another ice cube hits the catch! This is so cool. — then maybe cut out some stars.

Oh, the dishwasher is running. I decided it would be a Good Thing to wash it first.

Your regular episode of The Writing Life According to Rolanni will air tomorrow.
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There are, so the internet tells me, Four Kinds of Luck.

There is Blind Luck
There is Motion
There is Being Aware of your Surroundings
And there is Unique Luck, or Directed Motion

And this explains why the luck swirls roughly around those of Korval, because they are, all of them, in motion (they’re not just sitting there, waiting for Something to Happen), they are intensely aware of their surroundings, and they all subscribe to the notion that, should they be Called, they will Do Something.

And on that note — goodnight, everybody. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Circuit Detectors and other Secrets of the Trade

Thursday. Sunny for the moment, though I’m told that will change.

Breakfast was cottage cheese and pineapple, since I haven’t been to the grocery, and I had a can of pineapple. Lunch? God, She knows.

I have one estimate in from a contractor, which I need to review, oh, after the plumber comes and does his thing. And! he has just called to assure me that he’s on the way.

The cats are locked in Steve’s Wing. Union Rep Talizea Kennebec informs me that they will be Writing Me Up for repeated, cruel and unjustified confinements, and that I can expect a personal call from the committeecat. Well. I always enjoy chatting with the committeecat. While I’m at it, let me just say that I’m very impressed with the … ardor with which Tali has taken to her role as Union Rep. She is stern, but fair, and she hardly ever falls asleep before the second of the triplicate copies is complete.

Also on today’s schedule is reassembling the ice maker to see if it has thawed and is now working, or if, in fact, I need a Whole New Ice Maker, which I suspect will Cost the Earth. Possibly, I will do without, if I’m not doing harm to the rest of the unit by depriving it of an expected component. I did learn yesterday that mine is one of “oldies” that doesn’t have a computer board, so — yay?

And — plumbers have arrived.

To be continued.
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I have not yet learned any new words, and to their credit, the plumbers — one certified, one ‘prentice — both understood the reference to the escape of the magic smoke.

Balancing the lack of new words, I have seen a New Device! A Circuit Detector. Which works like a Geiger Counter and was in the case extremely useful, because the switch in the box labeled DISHWASHER, did not in fact turn off the juice to the dishwasher. The switch labeled DISPOSAL does that. Naturally.

Also! The plumbers have taken charge of the old dishwasher so Josh and his crew do not have to make an extra trip today, and so I have informed the home office.

The new machine now goes in.

To be continued. This is exciting.
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While we’re waiting for the installation lesson to finish (including the instruction, “Now, this is against the Man Code, but our contract says that we will install appliances according to manufacturer’s instructions. That means you need to read this booklet.” And also the story about how we make sure the wires are grounded before we push the machine into its slot, in which the master acknowledged having done a short cut at one point, because it had been a while since he’d done something stupid, and he decided he was too busy to check the grounding, the wire sparked, and “yeah, my arm kinda tingled.”)

While we’re waiting, I say, I will note that (1) The Fey Duology preorders are up to 10 books, from Apple, and (2) If anyone would like to review Liaden Universe® Constellation 6, especially on Amazon, I’d take it kindly. If it gets enough reviews, Amazon will even exert itself to promote the title (I know; but I don’t make the rules), and that might mean new readers. (2a) While you’re there, if you’re taken with the urge to review any other Liaden book, no matter how old, that will let people know that the title is still live, and that they can buy and read it, too.

Spanish Aunts.
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And the plumbers withdraw, having checked their work and turned on everything they had turned off. I have made a note to alter the tab in the electrical box from DISPOSAL to DISHWASHER.

This dishwasher is going to take some getting used to. The old dishwasher had a panel on the front. The controls for this one are on the top of the door, so you set everything, then close the door.

Well. Now I will let the cats out of Durance Vile, and put the house back together, including all the Stuff that came out from under the sink.
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Thinking more on the icemaker: If it doesn’t work, I’ll just turn it off, and dump the cubes I make with the ice cub trays into the ice-catch, since the ice cube delivery system on the door still works. Since there is an off-switch, I’m guessing that the rest of the fridge will keep on doing its thing. Which is to say, the lack of an active ice maker in the loop will not function like the lack of cyan when I want to print something in black-and-white.

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I was reminded yesterday, when I mentioned embroidering jeans, that I had failed of sharing a picture of my completed Flower Power shirt. I herewith amend that error:

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Closing for the day

Below is a transcript of the rest of my morning.

Thanks to everyone who mentioned that I might look on ebay for another pair of The Best Jeans on the Planet. I went back to Land’s End to find out what they are Actually Called, and! Between yesterday and today, something changed. There was “low stock” on 14 Talls of Women’s Lightweight Denim High Rise Relaxed Straight Pull On Pocket Jeans in DARK WASH. Done! Two pairs on order (the sale’s still on, BTW; it goes over today). This is Very Good, since I’m getting tired of pleating my on-hand jeans with a belt. Also? At least one pair of these jeans is so going to have flowers embroidered on them.
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Josh from Dave’s Appliance has just called to let me know that he plans to be in the driveway in half an hour.

I have locked the cats in Steve’s Wing, for Josh’s protection.
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Pffft! And the new dishwasher is here, and so is the old dishwasher, because the delivery guys can only take the old dishwasher away after it’s been disconnected. They cannot themselves disconnect the existing machine.

So! Tomorrow, Houle’s will come and uninstall, then install, then Josh will come back to pick up the old machine.

In the meantime, I have a dishwasher sitting in my office.
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For my next trick, I called GE and talked to a tech about the ice maker not functioning. We left it that I would take the icemaker out and let it defrost on the kitchen counter for a day. I was offerered a youtube video to show me how to do this. So I got the screw out, but the ice maker is still attached by a piece of plastic pipe and at this point I don’t know whether to be chuffed that I managed to unscrew the damned screw or furious that I can’t just call a repair guy and have him come fix it.

Jeebus, I hate this timeline.
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OK. Youtube it is. I got the icemaker out. I lost the little spacer for the screw, because of course I did, but, hey! I took an icemaker out of a refrigerator, working live, because nobody told me to unplug the thing, which I couldn’t’ve done anyway, and I now have a disassembled icemaker in my sink and a dishwasher in my office.

Are we having fun yet?

EDITED TO ADD: I found the spacer, and yanno what? I? am done, so very, very done, for the day.

Everybody stay safe; we’ll try again tomorrow.

Kept comin’ up with love, but it’s so slashed and torn

Wednesday. Dim and chilly. The weatherbeans say it will be MUCH COOLER (caps original) than yesterday, with rain.

Went to bed late-ish last night, and slept in this morning.

Breakfast was oatmeal, semi-sweet bits, and almond butter. Drinking my second cup of tea. Lunch will … depend on details surrounding the arrival of the dishwasher, the window of delivery being between noon and 2.

After I finish this letter to the internets, I expect I’ll be doing dishes, putting them away and clearing the counter over the dishwasher. I will be very interested to see how they’re gonna get the dishwasher installed. It is a very tiny kitchen. OTOH, there’s a dishwasher right there, so the concept is proven. One of the things I always look forward to in these scenarios is the opportunity to learn new words.

Last night after I came home from needlework, I colored for a bit, and listened to Sea Wrack and Changewind, by Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard. Good stories. Good narration. Five stars and a chocolate brownie to author and narrator.

In addition to clearing the work area, I need to call — Agren, I guess — to see if they can send a guy to look at the fridge, which persists in not making ice. Also, I need to explore setting up a Zelle? account.

Well. That’s looking like a busy day right there.

What’s your day looking like?

The problem with buying stuff on sale is that by the time you realize these are the best jeans on the planet, they’re sold out.

With! bonus cat census.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure“

I set a course for winds of fortune

Monday. Dim, damp, and cooler than the temperature on the thermometer would leave you to believe.

Car service concluded. I had forgotten that I had a Free oil change and tire rotation on the books as an apology for last year’s narrowly-averted tragedy. I was also verbally apologized to several times for that mistake, and the tech not only asserted that he had tightened the oil cap correctly, but he demonstrated that this was so to the manager.

While I was in the Big City, I retired several errands, and! as a Special Bonus, I have a gift of homemade lasagna for lunch.

I’m home now (and will be unless I Get A Call, which I don’t expect) and have eaten the last cookie. Why does this keep happening? WHO IS EATING MY COOKIES?

Ahem.

While I was driving to and fro, I heard a clip from an interview with a member of Kansas, who was describing the first time the band played “Wayward Son.” One comment made me laugh out loud: “We all loved that song. We loved it so much we never thought it would be a hit single!”

Spoken like an artist.

Now that I am home, and absent a phone call, I’m going to take another whack at getting The Fey Duology up for preorder.

How’s Monday morning treating everybody?

Today’s blog post title brought to you by Kansas, “Carry On Wayward Son“

Not Mother’s Day

Sunday. Rainy and chill.

Woke up naturally at a little after six and decided I was Up. Wished Tali a Happy Mother’s Day*, and threw a spring for her. Rook brought me his ball and I threw that for him. After I’d found pants and a sweater, and brewed the morning’s first cuppa to have with the Happy Lite, Firefly jumped up into my lap and gave me all the cuddles.

Breakfast was leftover mashed potatoes, leftover corn, leftover sausage, onions, parmesan cheese, and an egg all scrambled together. Whatever it was, it was good.

Threw in a load of laundry when I woke up, because I could, and I’ll have to shift it to the dryer in a couple minutes.

Regarding the morning cuppa. I had been drinking Russian Caravan tea for my first cup, which I liked very much, but then it was gone, so I moved on to the next envelope (these teas having been part of a Holiday Gift of Tea), which happened to be Lapsang Souchong, and I liked that even more. I ordered in more of both sorts, but while I was waiting, I opened the smaller envelope of Darjeeling. I’ve never much cared for Darjeeling, but, tastes change.

I can now report that, whatever it is that makes those first cups of Russian Caravan and Lapsang Souchong so satisfying, Darjeeling has it not. Perhaps it has a place as an afternoon tea, but I tend to switch over to non-caffeinated teas in the afternoon in the interests of getting some sleep on the overnight.

. . . and that’s my Tea Report.

Lunch will be soup, in honor of the rain, rain, rain, and I’m on my way to Steve’s office to get some work done. After I detour to the laundry room and switch the wet clothes to the dryer.

What’re you doing today?

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*No, today is not Mother’s Day, which I am now sufficiently caffeinated to realize. In my own defense, the number and urgency of internet communications I’ve been receiving on the topic of Mother’s Day led to me to believe it must be upon us. Steve and I did not celebrate Mother’s Day; he would send flowers to his mother, but otherwise, it was just another Sunday in May.

I have a dream…

OK, then! Friday evening. I’m sure I must’ve done something today, but I’m not bringing it to mind at the moment.

In re My Dream*, I have one contractor coming out to look the situation(s) over tomorrow afternoon. There are, in fact, two situations, The Dream and the need for roof extensions over the back wall of this house to fend the rain off.

I have heard back from Draft2Digital, which assures me that, if they believe that a Mistake Has Been Made, they will contact me and offer options for Fixing Said Mistake. I will therefore be going forward with republishing the Fey books.

Rookie stamped his feet and demanded to be let outside, so I told him he had to wear his jacket. To the astonishment of everyone, including Rookie, he let me put his jacket on, attach the leash, and take him out to my chair on the deck. He was content to sit on my lap for a few minutes, then squirmed to Get! Down! and did a sllloooowwww exploratory creep-and-sniff of the corner of the deck off of Steve’s office. I brought him inside when it seemed like he was thinking about squeezing through the rail posts to see what was on the other side.

So! Busy few days upcoming — tomorrow, I believe I will go to TJ Maxx’s little party for its members, then the contractor in the afternoon. Sunday, I’ll try to get the Fey Duology up for preorders. Monday, car to Charlie’s for its annual whatnot; Tuesday Dead River to do another inspection (didn’t we just do that?); Wednesday, the much anticipated delivery of the dishwasher, and Thursday morning crack o’dawn, the installation.

Phew. Oh. I need to line up a haircut. For the week after next, is what I’m thinking…

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.
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*Transcription of a post to FB, seeking advice:

Where are my handyfolk?

Handyfolk, I have A Dream.

My Dream is to have a permanently attached screened room with a solid ceiling on my deck, ideally using one of the French doors in Steve’s office as access. This would be both a catio and a place for me to sit out and take the air, while managing to dodge the Evil Solar Rays that radiation therapy has (according the Cancer Ladies, and I’m inclined to believe them on this) Forever Placed Beyond My Reach.

How would I go about achieving this Dream? Which seems fairly modest to me, but what do I know? How much is it likely to cost?

The reason it has to be permanently affixed, is that I have a screen house, but I can’t either put it up or take it down by myself and in high winds it’s a flight risk.

Spanish Aunts.

Writ of Replevin

. . . which was the title we submitted the book now known as Trade Secret under. Steve thought it was perfect, and as Steve was lead on the book, he got to title it. Alas, Baen Management for some reason did not resonate to Writ of Replevin, though Madame owned herself to have learned something.

I am back from crafting. The cats are enjoying Happy Hour and I’m about to find something for dinner.

Got a busy few mornings coming up — COVID shot tomorrow morning, after which I’ll pick up a few things at the grocery store (being as I’ll be in the grocery store), come home, change out the cat boxes, and then maybe do some work. Or at least continue reading Trade Secret.

Thursday morning, I need to take the car in for an oil change and tire rotation, hoping that this time they’ll remember to tighten — no really — tighten the oil cap.

Friday morning, Sarah will be by to do her thing, and Saturday! There’s a Members Party at TJMaxx. As I find myself unexpectedly a Member, p’rhaps I’ll go.

All this to say that I’ll be in and out for the remainder of the week.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I will check in as opportunity allows.

My cat is purring, it scratches my skin

The reason for yesterday’s trip to TJ Maxx was to acquire summer weight lap coverings to accommodate the cats. (Firefly and Tali prefer a blanket layer. Rookie doesn’t appear to care.)

Here you see the lap covering, AKA beach towel, for the comfy chair in my office.

You also see the Tali seal of approval in play.

LOL!!! Local peeps! If you get the Bangor Daily News, take a look at the Top Maine Towns you Should Live In. Not only does Waterville not make the graphic, but Kennebec County doesn’t even show up on the graph!

Oh, wait.

*whispers* . . . did . . . did Canada adopt us and I missed the memo? Huh? Is that what happened? Tali’s standing on my desk right now, telling me she won’t at all mind being a Canadian Coon Cat.

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So! Tuesday. Which I was for a moment convinced it was Wednesday, but Firefly straightened me out. Sunny and breezy. We here in Kennebec County, Canada, are laboring under a Fire Warning, due to dry air incoming, pushed by excess breeze. Well, there.

Trash and recycling are at the curb, and breakfast has been et.

Today has been A Week, and it’s just past 9 am.

Last night, I noticed that my left ankle, which I had sprained back in God, She Knows. When were we GOHs at ChattaCon? Then. (January 2012; I looked it up. Also — how long ago?) Anyhow, I noticed that ankle was aching last night, but I put it down to having actually been on my feet quite a bit yesterday, In Between It All. Sleep would fix it, I thought.

Well. I woke up this morning and said ankle was swollen, and still, yeah, achy. So I searched out the ankle brace and got that on. Came out and started a cup of chocolate tea, got out the milk while I was waiting for that to finish brewing, opened the windows, prepped the comfy chair, came back to my tea, took it into the kitchen, picked up the milk, absently shook it and!

You’re ahead of me, I can see the smirks.

Yep. Milk everywhere. I did a mop-up, but I still have to wash the utensils (puddles of milk in the kitchen tool holder by the stove. ick.), and make sure I got all the milk, oh, off the wall. Yeah, this may qualify as a Personal Best. I’ll check the record book.

OTOH, there are daffodils.

And how’s Tuesday treating you?

Today’s blog post title brought to you by The Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”