coon cat logic – Page 14 – Sharon Lee, Writer

Door replacement, Day Two

The Long Back Yard:

Where are we? Tuesday! Trash and recycling are at the curb. The weather ghods spent all last night loading the outgoing clouds with snow, and are now sweeping the spilled flakes out of the warehouse and into the downward breezes.

Breakfast was a cheese muffin and an orange. I’m on, like, my third mug of tea.

The lads have not yet arrived. The cats are letting me know that they much prefer this, and did I know that the door to Steve’s wing is closed? (Actually, they’ve opened it twice now, but they can’t quite manage the door to Steve’s actual office. Thank goodness for double-sealing.)

Questions from yesterday, which I saw, didn’t answer immediately, and now can’t find.

QUESTION ONE: Would I consider coming back to COsine?
Honestly, I loved Colorado, and had a good time at the con, but I’ve put a moratorium on both conventions and long train trips for right now.

QUESTION TWO: “What’s a Black Knight?”
Many years ago, the internet put forth a medieval village populated by people according to their Myers-Briggs type. According to the conceit of the webpage/game, Steve was the Benevolent Despot; I was the Black Knight. Which at the time generated quite a discussion on the Friends of Liad list about how this was a perfect pairing. If the smile didn’t convince; the sword surely would. A quick look-around doesn’t locate that particular website. FWIW, I’m INTJ.

Funny story: Way Way back in time (pre-Steve, which in truth is Way Back), I applied to be a college student. Because I was coming from a non-standard direction, and seeking a non-standard curriculum, I had to talk with a Guidance Counselor and Take Tests. The Guidance Counselor was cute. as. a. button. He had a nice voice and a British accent. And he was friendly. Remember these plot points.

So the tests — an IQ test and a Myers-Briggs; take them home and bring them back before our next meeting, so they can be scored, and we’ll talk about your aptitudes at our next meeting.

Next meeting arrives. My tests had been scored and the results placed in my file, which my poor Guidance Counselor had obviously failed to look at before our meeting, and so my heart was broken.

He visibly paled. Looked at me. Looked at the folder. Flicked a couple pages. Looked back at me. Cleared his throat. Folded his hands on the desk, and said, “Well! These are Quite Interesting.”

Turns out the tests had revealed me for Very Smart and also?

An axe murderer. Or, as I prefer, a Black Knight.

. . . I think that’s it. If you asked a question and I haven’t answered you, please ask it again in comments and I’ll try to be more mindful this time.

On today’s to-do, I need to call the vet and schedule Tali in for her three-year distemper shot and her physical. I’m also hoping to sit with the WIP. I don’t think I’ll be going out this evening. I’m sorry to miss needlework, but I’m already tired and the exciting part of the day hasn’t started yet.

So! How’re y’all doing today?

Door replacement day one

So! It’s being an exciting old day here at the cat farm. Not only do we have monsters in Steve’s Safe Office, but the pest control guy came to check his traps. After he left, I went downstairs to make sure he’d shut all the doors, and realized that I had not seen either Rook or Tali, both of whom I’d assumed were in the basement (Firefly is in my office, in Trooper’s box, napping, and occasionally raising her head to make sure I’m still here.)

Anyhoots, I went on a Kitten Hunt. I found Tali at the bottom of the bed under the spread. Rook. . .

Rook was squinched up into the TINIEST LITTLE BLACK FURBALL IT WAS EVER POSSIBLE TO BE, between the dresser and the wall, with his head shoved *behind* the dresser.

Reader, I thought he was dead. That he had, I dunno, gotten his head stuck and couldn’t breathe, and, and, and . . .

I knelt down, kicking Tali in the process and now I don’t know where she is again, and I whispered, “Rookie?”

He pulled his head out and looked at me. You’ve never seen such big eyes. Never.

I talked to him and he came to me, and I snuggled him and now he’s in my bathroom with some water and a plate of crunchies.

And I? Ought to have some lunch, I guess…
#
Tali joined me for lunch and is reposing beneath the dining room table.

I went back to visit Rookie in his safe place, and at his insistence, I let him out. He made a belly-to-the-floor dash into the living room and is now under the sofa.

Frankly, I’m amazed he can still fit under the sofa.

Firefly is sleeping in the box on my desk.

I had foolishly thought I was going to be able to get some work done
today, but that’s clearly not happening.
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OK. The lads are leaving, and will be back tomorrow to do the inside trim.

The other thing I thought I do today was run out to the store for, oh, yeast, and milk, and parmesean cheese, but, yanno? I really don’t want to go from “There are MONSTERS in our safe room!” to: “AND THEY ATE OUR MOM!”

So. . . maybe tomorrow? I’d really admire having yeast and milk in the house before everything stops for The Big Day.
#
Crew is gone. I have Doordashed my needs (including Tylenol. This is no time to be out of Tylenol.) And again, my thanks to everyone who thought/thinks of me with Doordash gift cards, because My Ghod they are a lifesaver.

I’m exhausted and I didn’t do any work.

Well. The new windows will be great. I think even the cats will appreciate them.

Eventually.

. . . I guess I ought to go see if Rookie is still under the sofa.
#
Yeah. I’m just going to have to come to terms that I’m not getting anything useful done today (well. I made hummus. And tuna fish, because tonight I will be having tuna melt for dinner.), and will try for tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, it’s supposed to start snowing a little after noon, accumulating about an inch, and keep on snowing through the night, accumulating another 3 to 5 inches,

So, I’m in for the foreseeable. Which is fine.

Oh. Doordash. Happened in record time. Mary was awesome, and I have all the Necessaries.

Cats all accounted for, and mad that I will let them into the back hall but not into Their Room.

I do believe I’ll have a glass of wine.

This was not supposed to be quite so stressful an undertaking.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll check in tomorrow.

All present and accounted for

For want of a yeast, the loaf was lost…

Well. I wrote 1,475 words today, but I only got to keep 900 of them, bringing the WIP to 106,725. More or less.

The curtains are down in Steve’s office and have taken up their temporary role as dustcovers. Firefly emphatically does not approve of this development.

Boy, am I glad I cleared this with the committeecat first.

In other news, my yeast is dead and I’m unhappy. I took it into my head to bake a cheese loaf, only it didn’t rise. My yeast, living in the freezer, is God She knows how old. However! the back-up yeast has a sell-by in 2021. I feel in my heart that I should just buy a new bag of yeast and not even try the back-up bag.

I still wanted cheese bread, though, so I made cheese muffins, which are cooling as I type.

I have some notes to write re the WIP, and then it will be Coon Cat Happy Hour.

I will therefore take this opportunity to bid everyone a good night. Stay safe. I’ll look in tomorrow.

Saturday Challenge

You may wish to refer to the photo page for today

OK, so kind of a loss of a day, viewed through the writing lens, but I had expected that.

Seen through the RL lens, I got myself back and forth to the hospital in Brunswick without mishap, saving the wear and tear on my nerves (ref the wear and tear on my nerves, the rock sculpture in the Imaging Lobby probably brought my blood pressure down 50 points. Well played MaineHealth. Well played.), did the hour in the tube without having a panic attack, waited until I was in the car to scream (yes, that’s a real thing; I have claustrophobia; remind me to tell you some other time about the first time Steve and I went cross country by train), was reasonable and let my friends do all the heavy work that was only going to hurt my back (which already hurt; they need nicer mattresses on MRI machines), ate my lunch, which was terrific, took time off to read and relax, took down the pictures over the doors to be replaced.

Tomorrow, all I need to do in Steve’s office is take down the drapes and use them to cover the Stuff against the Dust of Construction.

Tomorrow will be a writing day. Monday, sometime between 8 and 10am will see the arrival of the Andersen crew to start with the replacing of doors. I have some business stuff to do on Monday, but if I have my way, writing will happen then, too. Tuesday is supposedly the finish of the installation. Not sure if I’ll be going to needlework that evening. We Shall See.

In the meantime, the cats keep checking in with me — is this OK? — and I really can’t blame them. I keep telling them I’ll put it back the way it was real quick, but I can tell they don’t believe me.

Google wishes me to understand that we will be having rain and snow tonight, but I don’t find any evidence that this opinion is based on reality. It will be cold, though. That, we’re all agreed upon.

All that said! Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me

Supervisors be supervisin’

Not a very satisfactory afternoon, alas.

Back and knees hurt from PT, which meant that it was hard to concentrate, and though I did write a scene, I fear it is the wrong scene, but I’ll look at it tomorrow.

I clipped Tali’s front claws, but when I tried to do the same for Rook, he hissed at me, which was very lowering. For both of us, apparently. He’s now trying to pretend that it never happened, but his claws still need to be clipped. Tomorrow, I’m thinking.

Speaking of tomorrow — the ‘beans are calling for mid-50sF and rain, with an overnight low of 23F, so that‘s going to be a fun 6am drive on Saturday morning.

I believe I will be having an Early Night and a sleep-til-I-wake morning.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by! “Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” written by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz.

Tuesday updatery

Tali wants everybody to know that I was properly supervised this morning as I wrote:

Tuesday. I have new glasses. Except for a change in color — the old glasses were blue, these are a silvery pink — they look pretty much the same. Titanium frames. The prescription pulls the right eye into line, as it continues its descent back into nearsightedness.

Regarding the read-along — thanks to everyone who chimed in to say that their idea of reading along matched mine, and we will hope that those who were afraid they’d miss something unless recorded due to their work schedules and whatnot are now relieved to know that we’re text-based, and they can check in whenever they have time.

So! People of the Read-Along, I ask your input. Do you prefer order or chaos? Which is to say, shall we commit to reading, eh, 50 pages a week, and look for an update on Monday afternoon? Or do you prefer that I just comment as I go along, and you’ll catch up with me?

Please state your preference in comments.

In which the author nips the bud

Monday evening. Book club was fun, though we were down a member, due to Life, and we did not chose another book.

Came home and had about an hour to spend with the WIP, but! Absent taking out the trash first thing, I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything until 5 pm, so tomorrow morning is Bidness as Usual.

I? Think I’ve figured out why so many people are wanting in on my Liaden Universe® read-along, and I am going to nip this in the bud right now.

Ready?

BUD-NIPPING ANNOUNCEMENT: No, I am not reading 27 Liaden novels outloud. If this is what “read-along” means to the Greater Internet, I apologize, and will now explain what I mean when I say “read-along.” I take as my model in this, Humpty Dumpty from Alice.

What I am going to do is read — read — the existing Liaden Universe® novels, starting with Agent of Change and going through to Diviner’s Bow, in Publication Order. I will post my thoughts as I go along, and those who had decided to read along with me may comment on my comments.

I am not (that’s NOT) reading them aloud, live or to a recording. Why not? Because reading aloud is a performance, and I don’t want to perform, I want to read for understanding, and hopefully, pleasure.

I haven’t set it up yet, but my reading notes will most likely appear on Splinter Universe. I haven’t gotten much further in my considerations than the vague idea that I’ll post a link whenever I’ve made a new post.

I’m looking at a start date of January 1 2026, and I will, as above, be starting with Agent of Change, first published as a Del Rey Books Mass Market Original, with a cover by Stephen Hickman, in February 1988. I was 35; Steve was 37. It was our first novel, but not our first collaboration, and it hit the bookstores in December 1987, where it could be purchased for a whopping! three dollars and fifty cents, US.

Here endeth the Bud-Nipping Segment of Tonight’s Entertainment.

Everybody have a good evening; stay safe. I’ll look in tomorrow.

Here, have a picture from my annual review:

Sunday evening 5 pm

All righty, then! Sunday. Cold and grey with snow showers.

Breakfast was — all together now! — hummus, naan, and grapes. Lunch will be a box of something, on account I’m lazy, and also because I’ve got a buncha RL stuff to cope with on my desk.

I also feel kinda pillow fort-ish. No particular reason, except that Steve has now been dead longer than he’s ever been dead before and I am Not Preferring this narrative.

Writing is over for the day — 1,377 new words, bringing the entire WIP to something around 104,110. Caught myself being unkind to same, which is too easy to do when it’s Just You. It is of course, not just me, and I would like to recognize Tali’s support — she came over and cleaned my eyebrows for me, which was … strange, but well-intentioned, and I did feel better for it.

Tried to watch Miss Scarlet last night, and didn’t quite make it through the first episode. Maybe I’ll try Bridgerton.

What else? Oh, the plaque sellers are out in force. Honestly, I’ve never understood why I need a plaque to commemorate the publication of a book when, yanno, I have the book?

There are an Incredible Number of People who are counting themselves IN on the Liaden Readalong. We probably need a theme song. I’ll try to draft some Rules of the Read today, or tomorrow, so people can take a look and offer fine-tuning, if any.

And that’s all I’ve got at — well, lunchtime.

Speaking of which — oughta go do that.

How’s your Sunday going?
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OK, so that’s it for the day. I didn’t get everything done, but really, when does that happen?

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

The Late Wednesday Report

As previously advertised, it’s snowing. I asked Google what the snow accumulation was going to be and it said, “One-point-three-seven inches,” and I know it’s just messing with me.

The WIP now weighs in at +/-100,700 total words, with more words yet to be written. Despite my having removed manymany words, this is still going to be a long book, as we here in the Liaden Universe(R) count book length. I apologize in advance.

The name of the belly dancer whose clip I shared on FB the other day is Rachid Alexander and at least one 10-minute performance is on youtube. In case anybody might be interested.

In other news, I’m out of cookies. I’m not sure how this keeps happening. Probably the cats eat them when I’m out running errands.

Michael Carbonaro, a magician, is coming to the Waterville Opera House in March and I wanna go see him, because — Magic! Show! OTOH, I’m looking at the prices and — eep. Well. He’ll prolly sell out without any help from me.

I am going to have to call the lawyers handling the Anthropic business and get myself to a humanbean. It transpires that my affairs are not straightforward, what a surprise, and I’m running out phucks to give, which — it would be smart to continue with the giving of phucks for a little while longer.

So! Since I’m done writing early today, and the lawyers are in Seattle, where it’s just after lunchtime, I s’pose I’ll get on the phone.

Bah.