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 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“
. . . 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”
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.
Proof of well-supervised work happening:
Did a lot of braining today. And laundry. Braining means less words, but better results. Laundry — well. You gotta have socks.
So, I see that DoorDash has lost a lawsuit 4 years in the trying, in which they were proved guilty of privateering during Covid. They gotta pay money to Almost Everybody, which is of interest to me because!
I have money on account with DoorDash, thanks to kind friends, and I am very careful to use it when I really need it — I’m on a drop-deadline, or I’m sick, or I just got back from picking up a cat in New Hampshire and drove home in the snow — you know: emergencies.
Over the last two days, I’ve been getting messages — and I’m talking about a lot of messages, “reminding” me that I have $X on account and that now! would be the perfect time to DoorDash a Big Mac. Or maybe I’d like a milkshake? Or somebody to pick up some Tday groceries for me? Or, or, or —
In other Convenient Food news, I got a gift card — included in the cat litter delivery — for $140 OFF my first box from Factor. How much do these things cost that they can give me a week’s grocery money off?
And third? Came in today’s mail and these folks are playing for keeps! They’re not only gonna send me premade dinners, they gonna give me a FREE “smart oven” to cook ’em in. All I have to do is open the box, sprinkle Stuff over what’s cooking, put the pans in the “smart oven” and scan the QR Code from the box. The oven will then smartly cook my meal to perfection.
The future is a lot weirder than I thought it would be.
Anyhoots. Coon Cat Happy Hour has been served. I am a tired woman, and am going to go pour a glass of wine and try to find the first season of the glass-blowing show and see if that’s less … people-y. I know that people make glass, and that it’s a competition, but I want less posturing, and more thoughts on the art or the process when I have to listen to the people, and more of the actual Happening of Art, which I think is more interesting than the finished pieces.
Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.
Saturday. Sunny and blue and my goodness what a pretty day.
I? slept late. I mean, I woke up at six, but couldn’t quite get ucouldp the gumption to throw back the covers, so I turned over for “fifteen minutes.” Three coon cats immediately and unanimously voted Aye, and I had Rookie against my back — that is one solid kitten we’re growing here — Firefly in the crook of my knees, and Tali under my chin . . . and the next time I opened my eyes it was 8:30.
So, hummus, naan, and grapes for breakfast, who knows for lunch. Writing is on the schedule. And also laundry. Evidence seems to indicate that I missed laundry last week. Well.
I watched two segments of “Blown Away.” There was a little too much with the people and too little with the glasswork, IMHO. I do realize that this is the standard format for reality shows, but — you’re looking at a woman who saw every hot glass demo at Corning for two solid days and was Sad that she couldn’t wrangle a third day.
The cats were mildly interested in the goings-ons. At one point, Firefly looked at me and you could see her thinking, “You did this? Are you nuts, Mom?” Guilty as charged, but I did have people who really knew what they were doing standing by to assist “the gaffer.”
So, that’s all the news from the Confusion Factory at the moment.
How’s everybody doing this fine November Saturday?
Today’s blog post title brought to you by Rhymin’ Paul Simon, “Was a Sunny Day“
Business first: Tomorrow! CIVILIZED BEHAVIOR: Adventures in the Liaden Universe(R) #36, featuring three short stories set on Colemeno of recent memory, a speech, and an author’s forward will be released tomorrow in ebook from All of the Usual Suspects, and! in trade paper from Amazon.
Wednesday. Trash Day (holiday schedule). Cold and still. It snowed! overnight.
sigh
Breakfast was naan and hummus and grapes. I haven’t had naan or hummus, either, since Forever, but I went to the Other Grocery yesterday (where I got carded*, all 73 years and every silver white hair of me), because I was so tired of the Usual Grocery’s mediocre veggies and fruits, and also because I thought the Other Grocery would be a surer source for turkey fillets.
I was wrong about the turkey fillets, but I may have gone overboard on fresh stuff, and the problematic bottle of wine, and the hummus was right at my eye level as I turned a corner, and they had helpfully staged the naan right with it and — I was doomed. And it made a lovely breakfast, and I regret Nothing.
Today is another Real Life Day — Physical Therapy in a little over an hour, then a visit to the Usual Grocery to get the stuff the Other Grocery doesn’t carry (or, to be fair, that I forgot about yesterday). Then I have some phone calls to make — Fidium again! All three of the — repeaters? — are out, what fun — and then I need to adjust my Anthropic claim on account I have to Prove that Steve is dead.
I hate having to prove this particular equation, though to be fair, I’m not having to do it nearly so often as I had to, last year this time.
Tomorrow is also my last stained glass class, so I hope I’m discovered to be a soldering wizard.
Friday, Sarah will be by in the morning to help the cats clean up, and it looks like after that I’ll have Friday afternoon through Monday morning cleared to write new words.
If I was a smart writer — a point often in dispute — I’d not only work on doing the correx from the six-day sprint, but also sketch in the scenes that need to be written going forward.
I tried to watch TV last night, but had no brain (this is pretty bad, when you don’t even have enough brain left to sit passively and be spoon-fed a story), so I cuddled on the couch with the cats and listened to music until they jumped down for a snack and I went to bed.
So! All that said — how’re y’all doing this morning? Any snow at your place?
Wednesday morning cat census.
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*Busted:
Dinosaurs first:
Well, that was a surprise. One thousand five hundred new words between Jen Sin and the Uncle.
I have tasted the Hiberian Breakfast tea, and it was pleasant; a step up in whatever it is I seek in tea from the standard Irish Breakfast.
I then had a cup of Scottish Morn, which — may not have been wise. That’s — yeah. Quite a cup of tea. I’ll give it a chance on its own in a couple of days. Might be I’ll have to put milk in it, something I never thought I’d be doing.
Dental appointment at 1 pm, after, and depending on the state of the predicted “rain and snow,” I have a couple of errands, including the grocery, then back home and I’ll see where I am about what. It might be Enola Holmes tonight. I didn’t watch anything last night in favor of reading an article about old people “embracing” the single living lifestyle, which was — ultimately unenlightening. The article affected some astonishment regarding the fact that widowed men are more likely to remarry than widowed women. Which I find Not Surprising At All, though I have friends both male and female who have remarried after losing a spouse.
USPS would like me to believe that I am getting two deliveries from itself today. I will be surprised if that happens.
And I think that’s all the news from here. The cats all trooped back to Steve’s office with me this morning, took up their comfy spots, and I think that’s where they all still are.
I think that’s it for me. What’s it for you?
Weather first: It snowed this afternoon.
Earlier That Same Day: Taking a break to bring the windchimes in for the winter.
Today is the 45th celebration of the day Steve Miller and I married. Against both of our better judgments, and yet, it was the only way to make certain we would each have someone to speak for us, if we couldn’t speak for ourselves.
I am once again thankful that we were often in the situation of having to put off Official Celebrations until whatever project happened to be on-deck was caught up. This means that working on the WIP is nothing out of the ordinary for an anniversary.
In honor of the day, I am wearing one sapphire earring and one peridot earring — my birthstone and Steve’s adopted birthstone (he didn’t like rubies). The air cleaners are on in the living room and the bedroom, and all of the cats joined me in Steve’s office to work.
I have a pizza, which I may or may not partake of this evening — pizza was the Official Standby Celebration Food — and now the sun has come out.
Back to work I go.
I hope everyone’s having a good morning.
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So! I rearranged the WIP, sorted what happens on which day, which was really needed. I pulled some scenes, and adjusted others. The whole manuscript in its new configuration is now printing out so I can do a read-through tomorrow.
For the moment, I’m finishing up my tea and cookies (note to self: find recipe for soft-baked lemon-sugar cookies; those things are yummy). After, I’ll go downstairs and do the cat box change out that I missed doing, what with the back and then the rush to catch up my stained glass. Then a shower, and then?
Maybe tonight is Kpop Demon Hunters. Why not?
I have decided that I will be making my own Thanksgiving dinner this year. There are certain things that I want to eat, and it’s not that hard to bake a couple of turkey fillets, pop a tube of biscuits, mix up a bowl of mashed, and another of dressing, if I wanna be Really Crazy, and throw some asparagus in a pan. Pie is readily available in Hannaford and Shaw’s and whipped cream is an easy buy.
So, this year, I’ll have what I want, as much or as little, while feeling neither forlorn nor bereft, and! I’ll have leftovers. And nor I won’t have to drive to Lisa’s or put up with Front and Main or The Senator. (All of these are very nice restaurants; I just don’t want to have to cope with any of them on Thanksgiving.)
That’s a Decision, then, and it even feels reasonable, which trying to convince myself to go to the buffet at Lisa’s just … wasn’t.
What else?
. . . not much actually. Days get weird when you prioritize writing.
I can report that it has stopped snowing — some hours ago, actually. Just a squall. Or a threat. Whatever.
So! Signing off for the night.
Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe out there.
Monday, cloudy, breezy, and cool.
Breakfast was oatmeal and a cup of tea. Had a very nice errand-running session.
Went to Uncle Dean’s and bought three pure beeswax votive candles in their own glass holders (they even give you a pack of matches, which is very thoughtful; matches not being as common as they once more). Two of those votives are unscented; the third is scented with frankincense and lavender. I’m glad I noticed the lack of candles on Halloween; I have an anniversary coming up a little later in the week, and it will be nice to have a candle for that, too.
Also at Uncle Deans, I grabbed a loaf of sourdough/olive bread, a pack of “everything” English muffins, and! Yes, I could not resist — dried pineapple.
The morning being a bit chilly, I grabbed my very favorite not-winter-yet hand apparel — Pearl iZumi biking gloves — and I noticed that some of the grippy strips are coming off, transforming them into sticky strips. After I got over being appalled because these gloves are Practically! Brand! New! (I bought them when we were in Miramichi for our anniversary in I’m gonna say … 2001?), I stopped at TJMaxx to see if I could replace them. Long story short, I couldn’t, but! I was able to buy an eight-pack of bed socks (my feet get cold without other feet to put them against) at a good price, so — success of a sort. I also did not find a 2026 desk calendar, so that’s still on the list.
Paid my excise tax on the car, got my stickers, had a nice chat with the lady who heads up Waterville’s Health and Human Services office, went to the post office where a kind reader (I don’t use people’s names, usually, because some folks don’t like the publicity. You know who you are, and thank you!) sent me a pic of their tree-and-dragon tattoo and also a moon-and-rabbit coin purse, which the fact that the moon-and-rabbit is on a coin purse couldn’t be more perfect.
On the way home, I stopped at Holy Cannoli and bought a slab of meat lasagna only slightly bigger than my head, and two cookies, because I couldn’t decide between pumpkin chocolate chip or lemon-blueberry ricotta.
Next up is getting the cat litter from the garage to the house, doing my duty to the cats, and staging the trash for tomorrow’s trip to the curb. Then I’ll reheat part of the lasagna for lunch.
How’s everybody doing today?