Tag: coon cat logic

Well, our fathers fought the Second World War

What went before ONE: I have achieved and sited roses. The tiny one is the baby from the front garden. The yellow one is True Kindness, which is a hybrid tea rose, said to be hardy, disease resistant and heat tolerant.

If this works out, I’ll try an heirloom rose.

I have also registered for the watercolor class and conquered the rest of my errands, save the bank, which is a Phone Call.

What went before TWO: So! I have a couple more things to do to catch up with Real Life, but it looks like I’ll be going back to work on Friday. Yeah, Friday; and I’ll probably be working all weekend, too, because my boss is a witch, man.

Tomorrow will be a Hide from the Heat day, because 90F/32C, and sunny. Friday will be a little cooler and cloudy, and then Saturday it will be SIGnificantly cooler, with rain. So, it’s not like I’ll be missing a Great Weekend on anything.

I have taken the Executive Decision to put twinkle lights up in the living room. Those should arrive tomorrow, and will be something to do In-Between.

Rookie very responsibly made his annual vet appointment for July. I’m so proud of him. Trooper is calling for Happy Hour, but he still has a little while to wait.
. . . and that’s the evening report.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Thursday. Sunny and already warm enough by my reckoning. The weatherbeans are calling for Warmer, and a thunderstorm or two.

I had hoped that the Corning trip would serve as a buffer against meltdowns, as I came home from a con without Steve, and, indeed, emotions have taken their time catching up. Unfortunately, this morning it all kind of hit like a dump truck. Firefly just brought me her orange chew-and-chase thing, which is of course a Great Comfort.

Today, I’ll be doing normal quiet things — hanging away the laundry, making a pot of rice, doing one’s duty to the cats. I have two phone calls to make, and that will be my limit on Real World Business today.

There had been a call for me to post the text of my speech, so it can be compared to what I actually said. I’ll try to get that done — just a cut ‘n paste.

The coon cats have put their plans for the day into motion. What’re your plans?

Today’s blog title brought to you by Billy Joel: “Allentown”

If wishes were fishes…

What went before: So! Two-thirds packed in clothes. After I finish this letter to the internets, I will finish getting the laptop prepped and packed.

Or — a sort of productive day with intermittent flashes of: I can’t do this/Who thought this was a good idea?/I am going to get so lost/I’m going to forget my speech/and several other variations on We’re All Gonna Die. I wish my brain wouldn’t do this, but if wishes were fishes, we’d all be eatin’ chowdah.

Tomorrow: Early doctor appointment; possibly wash car on the way home; update the prices of books at Amazon; change out the cat fountains; pack the Big Bag with Con Clothes &c. Honestly, I have about ninety bags to take with me, each one embodying A Thought (for instance, I have bottles of distilled water to feed the CPAP machine — in a beverage bag). Perhaps I’ll be able to consolidate some thoughts. If not — ninety bags it is. The Subaru is commodious, or, in the local dialect, “You can fit two men anna boy back there.”

On that note: Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

Monday. Dim, cool, and damp.

It took forever at the doctor’s office, which, given that the hospital is closing down around them I guess was to be expected.

I did eat a cheese sandwich before I went, and that turned out to be a good call. Cup of tea brewing and, yes, I do believe I will be having an oatmeal cookie with that. Or two.

Next up is updating the cover prices on those books that are, according to the Wisdom of the River, underpriced.

After that, I’ll swap out the cat fountains, and then I’ll start in packing the Big Bag, and trying to make some order on my desk, so I don’t come home to Compleat Chaos.

Oh. And I need to call the practice in Bath to find out what their preferred format for receiving my health records from Inland might be.

I should also look at the TBR pile on my tablet, to make sure I have enough to read while I’m away, given that I’ll probably finish the Earl this evening.

So, that’s the shape of my day.

What’s the shape of yours?

It pains me to report that Young Rookie Transgressed yesterday evening and pushed Tali off of the cedar chest, Just Because He Could.  Tali left, came back with reinforcements and A Chat ensued, which included Staring, Smiting, and Being Utterly Unimpressed with Upstart Voids, no matter how cute.

Well the cops busted Madame Marie for tellin’ fortunes better’n they do

What went before:  So, a low-key day. I did some This, some That, read, put the finished sampler into the embroidery book, ironed some con clothes. I’m still trying to decide if I’ll wear black-and-grey, or black-and-maroon for Opening Ceremonies, a decision I can put off for a few days yet, as both outfits will be coming with me.

For those who are coming to BaltiCon — I have Interesting News. We have a possible location for the Stuffed Animal Tea, but! We don’t have a time or day. So, at this point, it’s kind of a Heisenberg Tea. More news will be forthcoming, possibly on Wednesday. As soon as I know something firm (bearing in mind that I will be spending a large amount of Wednesday and Thursday driving), I’ll let y’all know.

We’re getting up toward ASL time, and I still need to close the windows.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Friday. Dim and damp.

Letters dispatched. Finished reading The Mysterious Marquess, and have pulled The Elusive Earl up for tonight’s reading, unless it turns out to be a Dr. Who night. Zoom call upcoming, and a couple other such things as people are suddenly realizing that I’m going to be away. Laundry needs to be sorted, laptop charged and systems brought up to date

I have more this ‘n that to do, including puzzling out some bits for the book after the current WIP, which may not be Jethri after all, if I’m gonna do mumblemumble with the current WIP, which I think may be Forced, given that I need to at least produce a soft landing, if not a Hard Wrap Up, and there are only three books remaining under contract (Current WIP, WIP After, Jethri Big Finish). And now you know why writers stare out of windows.

I’m slowly remembering the convention traditions — pins, con clothes, tote bag, pens, ribbons, badge jewelry… For those who are coming to the con, I will have with me some “I Met Steve Miller” ribbons, so that those present who had, in fact, met Steve Miller may acknowledge that connection.

The cats are being very snuggly and maybe even a little clingy, which I’m guessing the memo I sent out has hit. If the teleporter worked, I’d bring them with me, but the geezinfluke is still on backorder.

I think that’s most of what’s going on here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

How’s everybody doing today?

Today’s blog post title courtesy of Mr. Bruce Springsteen, “4th of July, Asbury Park”

After breakfast cat census:

To infinity, and beyond!

What went before:  Business first; list of title affected by price increases

We now return to your regularly scheduled frivolity.

It is Thursday in Central Maine; cloudy, damp, and warm(ish).

Breakfast was cottage cheese, grapes, and toast. Second cup of tea to hand. Lunch will be a sweet potato because I have two left and I’d better eat them before I leave to go walking up and down in the world.

Ashley will be by in half an hour, more or less, and I’ve picked up the house, except for the kicker that Rook and Tali keep dragging off the sofa so they can play kicker-ball. Kicker-ball seems to have much in common with Calvin-ball, and Tali is quicker at the rule shifts than Rook, though I fear the moment he realizes How It Works.

Tonight is ASL class; today, I have correspondence to answer and things to put in piles in prep for said walking up and down. Yes, I’m starting to pack already. If I try to do it all on Monday, or, as Steve would do, Tuesday, I’ll hurt my back (no, I don’t know why, I just know that’s what happens), and we’re trying to avoid that, since I’m driving.

I also need to recheck the routes/maps. No, they didn’t move Cooperstown or Baltimore (though Baltimore is sinking, so that’s exciting), but I’m running without a navigator (yes, I Keep Saying That, and it continues to be true).

Tali is now on my lap, nibbling my fingers as I try to type — and, gone.

What’re y’all doing today?

Ah.  Today’s blog post title is of course attributed to Mr. Buzz Lightyear

Adventuring for the faint of heart

Convention Business: The BaltiCon Program is now live. Word is that it’s still being tweaked. I was, for instance, double booked for Saturday evening, and have been moved from the panel discussion of how to make your characters relatable. Here’s the link. Note that you can search the schedule by day, and by person, and you can create your own list of things to do and see.

#

What went before: So, that’s 636 new words on the day, along with some retrofitting of old words. The WIP Entire now weighs in at +/-39,597 words.
For a book that has quite a large cast of characters, Salvage Right is amazingly tight, and I have to keep going back and refreshing myself on what happened when and to whom, as well as what was left over.

Also, prep for BaltiCon, including the travel details, and speeches, and reservations at Corning — not to mention the stupidity with the insurance company and! something else that landed on my desk today — is all kind of borking my concentration on the story. Well. Maybe I’ll have time to write at the con.

Yeah, who am I kidding?

The rain has stopped and the wind has come up. Word is that tomorrow will be sunny and beautiful.

We’ll see, she said darkly.

In the meantime, everybody stay safe.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Sunday In Two Parts

ONE
Oh, my gods and goddesses.

Rookie fell out of the bathroom window.

SPOILER: He’s OK; I’m — a little stressed, and so very VERY pleased that he didn’t run away, but just sat in the garden under the window and YELLED. Firefly and Tali came to get me, both looking very worried, and I had heard a cat calling, but thought it was Trooper singing the song of his people downstairs, as is his habit.

But Trooper was on the copilot’s chair. I ran to the bathroom; the screen was awry and I could hear a cat YELLING. I closed the bathroom door, ran outside — and there was Rook, staring up at the window and YELLING. I called him and he came to me, just like the spoiled kid he is, and I picked him up and told him how brave and smart he was, and brought him back into the house, where we both collapsed onto the couch. He’s only just gotten up to grab a snack.

I pushed the screen all the way out, closed and locked the window. I’ll figure out how to put it back in later.

Offerings to Bast are in order.

TWO
Sunday. Sunny and still a little chilly, though warm enough that I opened the bathroom window for the edification of coon cats.

Breakfast was … eggs scrambled with tomato and onion and rice. I guess I ate about half of it before Adventure overtook me. I hate cold eggs. I did finish my toast and jam. Lunch will be chicken tender and mashed potatoes out of a bag and, oh, peas, why not?

I have a letter to write, but mostly I want to write. I really hope that isn’t too much to ask.

I … am still a little shaky, and so glad that Firefly and Tali came to get me instead of following Rook out the window. I might’ve talked Firefly in, but Tali’d be halfway to the mall in Augusta by now. Fans of Trooper will be pleased to hear that he slept through the entire thing.

So! Who’s up for Adventure today?

Picture of Rook after the fall:

In which the writer is v. tired

What went before: So, sewing group was fun, though perhaps a little short. I got to meet Carty McFly, a utility cart complete with wheels and enormous googly eyes. The official start time is 5:30 and the library closes at 7, so clean up was happening 6:30ish. However! We had a good group, especially for a first time. Two crocheters, two knitters, one quilter, and yours truly on the needle and hoop.

The cats were trying to get the Northeast Committee Cat on the phone when I got home, but technically Happy Hour was not late. In point of Actual Fact, it was Exactly on Time.

Still raining. And cold. Too cold.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Wednesday. Raining. In case anybody cares, I’m really tired of rain. And? I accept no responsibility; the weather gods are NOT jealous of my lovely new sun chair.

Breakfast was cottage cheese and toast. Waiting for my second cup of tea to brew. Lunch — I bought some chicken tenders which need to be baked and then parceled out into the freezer, so I’m guessing chicken and veggie will do.

I? Am a Very Tired Woman.

I have a Generated Letter from Maximus, which is charged by the Federal Government to make sure that Medicare is Following The Rules. Maximus makes it Very Clear that they are only interested in The Rules. Which means they’re ignoring the substance of my appeal, as Martin’s Point before them. So, I’ll be calling the state insurance bureau today and see about getting an advocate. If there is no advocate, then I guess it’s the papers.

<grumble>Just what I wanted to be doing with my time</grumble>

The gentleman I spoke to about painting my garage is supposed to stop by today and stare at the project under discussion.

I need to renew my library card, which if I’d known, I coulda done that yesterday.

There are three cats sleeping in my office, and one cat on the back of the couch, attempting to influence the flow of random event.

And that’s what’s happening here.

What’s happening there?

. . . the rain’s gonna wash away, I believe this

What went before ONE: Contact made with painter. Letters writ. Duty to the cats retired. Car vacuumed; mud trays removed, rinsed off, and drying in the breeze.

I may not have mentioned this before, but … I have a snow shovel hanging on a coat hook in the foyer. And Rook has decided that bumping the shovel with his cheek (which makes the shovel swing slightly and go “bump-bump-bump”) is An Announcement that Coon Cats Are OR Should Be About To Be Fed.

Which is cute, even though he’s pretty often wrong. However, he’s right often enough that the other cats recognize the bump-bump-bump as treats and come rushing in from wherever they were to make sure they don’t miss out.

This brought to you by, I just put my dinner on to warm, Rookie decided turkey breast smelled good to him, hit the shovel — and I was awash in coon cats. None of whom are getting my turkey, and they’ve already had treats.

What went before TWO: Got a little bit of work done — +/-840 words, bringing the WIP to +/-38,690.

Still need to sort out my sewing basket, and one of my letters has generated a couple things I need to watch, so I think I’ll do the pots ‘n pans, serve up happy hour, pour a glass of wine and watch those.

#

Tuesday. Damp and grey and chill.

Trash and recycling at the curb.

Breakfast was a raisin bran muffin. Kettle on for my second cup of tea. Lunch…I think there’s leftover quiche.

Chatting a little with the gentleman who will be interviewing me at Balticon (11:30 Saturday morning in the Maryland Room, immediately after the Friends of Liad Breakfast), and he mentioned that he may talk about the Carousel books, which is very cool. But, that inspired me to go back to find when the Carousel books were published — Carousel Tides, 2010; Carousel Sun 2014; Carousel Seas 2015. So the newest was published a decade ago.  I was in Old Orchard Beach in September of 2012, the year and month that I turned 60, writing Carousel Sun. Leaving aside the obligatory How Is That Possible? — that’s eleven Liaden books ago.

I dunno. Maybe we weren’t slackers, after all.

So, today I’m going to record my adjusted reading to make sure I fall within time, sort out my sewing basket, perform one’s duty to the cats, answer a couple letters and remember to go to the library this evening.

That doesn’t seem to be too difficult a day.

What’s your day look like?

Blog post title brought to you by Matchbook 20, “3 a.m.”

Pictures: daffodils and Rook (who was helping me watch those youtube samples)

The roads must roll

What went before: Still writing, but it will only be a matter of a couple hundred words. Spent most of the day on my reading for BaltiCon. It appears — and things are still in flux, so it might change — that I will be sharing a reading hour with a colleague. My reading was just a smidge under 30 minutes, so I needed to cut it to make sure I don’t go over time. I’ll have to time it again, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine.

I’ve also reviewed ASL homework, spent some time with the cats, taken a walk, and eaten lunch. Still need to do dishes.

I’ve read the sample of The Glassmaker: A Novel, by Tracy Chevalier, which was interesting, especially given my own interest in glass. I do have to consider if I want to go on, because…on the one hand, it’s always interesting to see what straight people — by which I mean Mainstream Novelists — do when they decide to use science fiction in their work. OTOH, it’s occasionally more infuriating than interesting, and that’s a fine, fine line to walk. I don’t wish the author ill, but I don’t want to watch the fall (if there is one), either.
Well. It’s not like I don’t have anything else to read at the moment. This one can sit in the wishlist.

So! I’m going to break here to wash dishes and torment Maine Coon Cats, after which it will be time to set up Happy Hour and I can come back to my keyboard and type another couple paragraphs to get me to the end of this minor scene.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll check in tomorrow, but possibly not until the afternoon.

Monday. Sunny and warm.

I’ve been to Charlie’s Subaru, where Skylark the Forester was pronounced ready to travel to Baltimore and back. Tires are good, and have been rotated. Brakes declared “practically new,” all fluids topped off. A picture of the underside of the car was taken, for some reason. The undersides of cars are ugly. However! No rust, nothing broken. Ref “ready to travel.”

I jettisoned the idea of going to Lisa’s for breakfast and shopping at the cool Hannaford at Cony Circle because the entirety of Augusta is being torn up by road crews, and I dared not risk myself trying to cross town. So I went home through Sidney and Oakland, which was fine until I hit Oakland, which is also being destroyed and rebuilt by road crews.

Not hitting Lisa’s meant breakfast was a KIND bar at Charlies, with the tea I had packed in, and cottage cheese when I got home from foraging at the KMD Hannaford.

Lunch will be a premade and now-defrosted chicken breast and butter beans.

I have a phone call to make and some outstanding correspondence to answer. I need to dump the lees of winter out of the car, and also poke around in my sewing box in anticipating of going to the sewing circle at the library tomorrow evening. Otherwise, and aside one’s duty to the cats, I will be trying to concentrate on writing.

Speaking of writing, I did misreport a couple days ago — I thought I’d appended a scene to the master document that I had not yet appended to the master document. So!

As of last night, total wordcount for WIP is +/-37,850. Which isn’t to bad, I guess, and it would be nice if a title suggested itself. Just sayin’.

The cats got up when I came home, and made a case for gooshy food. They have since gone back to their Usual Rounds, disappointed.

And that’s the Start of Monday at the Confusion Factory.

How’s Monday starting out for you?

In which the writer is not a cinephile

First things first:  This is for the purposes of planning the Friends of Liad Breakfast on Saturday morning of  Balticon at 8:45 am

If you are planning to attend the breakfast (you do not need to be a member of the con to come to breakfast): say “Yes” in comments.

Things you need to know about the Friends of Liad Breakfast:  (1) This is a family gathering to catch up with each other and news. Everybody pays for their own breakfast.  (2) It is not a con event.

Go!

#

What went before ONE: Old/new snippet: “Was that too long?” Theo snapped, worry sublimating into temper by a process he understood intimately. “You smashed the rack-and-tile array with a starbar. The doc had to do repairs at the cellular level! You should be dead, except you got lucky.”

Lucky. Of course, he had gotten lucky.

What went before TWO: So, lost +/-230 words on the day, bringing the total WIP to 34,440, more or less. And! I have a follow to a new scene that did not appear in Salvage Right, and which will address something that we glossed over in Salvage Right because deadline and if we kept on going we’d have written a 200,000 word book and, just — no.

There are already /1/0 15 people who say they’ll be attending the Saturday morning Friends of Liad breakfast at BaltiCon. Hoping the in-house restaurant is more amenable to reservations than the Boskone hotel, which, the last time Steve and I hosted a FOL breakfast, adamantly refused to take a reservation, and therefore doomed themselves to constantly rearranging the room for two hours, as folks kept arriving.

I am scheduled to be interviewed at 11:30 on Saturday at the con, according to the Less Drafty Schedule, so that’s something else to bear in mind.

Trooper was unfortunately messily ill this morning, which means that there will be no Happy Hour this evening. Because explaining to cats that they need to not gorge on gooshy food because it will make them sick isn’t exactly an Easy Sell, I think I will be on the couch watching Dr. Who and ignoring the protests of felines whose throats have been cut, rather than trying to read, or write, or do ASL homework.

And that’s all I’ve got on the day.

#

Saturday. The ‘beans claim it’s raining. The weather over the Long Back Yard is mostly sunny and a trifle cool. I’ve set the Awesome Chair up on the deck.

Breakfast was a ham and cheese sandwich (which finishes the ham, which I am now tired of, so it will be easier — for a while, anyway — to resist temptation) and veggie chips. Yes, that does sound like lunch. Actual lunch will be quiche and salad.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in on the name of the movie. Kill Bill it was. Nasty piece of work. Bearing in mind that I also did not think Thelma and Louise was “funny.” I think I may have mentioned that I am not the person they make movies for.

Speaking of movies, I watched The Church on Ruby Road, and the difference between now and 1997 is … wow. The cats all joined me, and we had a lovely viewing. Firefly has already asked that we do it again this evening, so I’ve got that inked in.

I stayed up a bit late last night, to finish The Teller of Small Fortunes. I also made the executive decision not to finish the book club book. This is slightly awkward, because I’m going to listen to the author read from this book in a week or two. OTOH, there always exists the possibility that I’m reading it wrong — reading protocols are A Thing, after all — and that the author’s performance will inform me.

Having gone to bed late, I slept late, and woke up to the realization that I need to start Making Lists for my upcoming perambulations, and for my duties to the con. Since I will apparently not be doing itinerant readings, I think I will read Blays and Majel’s Excellent Adventure officially, and perhaps carry with me “The Last Train to Clarkesville,” in case there’s another opportunity to just sit and read for an hour (it’s a long story).

This still leaves me with packing (1) the big suitcase full of con stuff and (2) the duffel bag, for my mini-vacay on the way home. I have engaged one of those apartmenty things, with a kitchen, and there’s a Wegman’s somewhere in Corning which I’ll try to hit before I check in. I have my tickets for two days at the museum, and two classes booked — one at the museum, and one at a studio in-town.

I still need to come to terms with how to get out of Baltimore. I’m thinking that Steve and I left BaltiCon 50 at, like, 4 o’clock in the morning and just shot out the Jones Falls well ahead of rush hour. That may be my best plan.

Today, I intend, mostly, to write. I have a few chores, as per usual, and one’s duty to the cats, and I will honor Firefly’s request for Moar Dr. Who. Oh, and I have to find something to read. I think I have the most recent Sebastian St. Cyr in the electronic TBR pile, the second Bad Heirs, a couple of cozies, and a Celia Lake to test drive. Yeah, I won’t starve.

What’s everybody reading today?

Oh. There are four cats in my office.

I wanna find one face that ain’t lookin’ through me

What went before ONE: I put together the new space heater, despite my fingers are still not working properly from yesterday’s abuses, and why don’t they just make screws bigger? But! Magnets are our friends. The assembled device was set to warming the bathroom, which it did with great efficiency and practically no noise. The elder space heater ROARED, so that will be a nice change, too, though I’ll have to be Extra Vigilant to be sure I’ve turned it off.

Am now taking a break for some fig newtons and Trooper lap time before taking the old heater down to the Goblin Room and wrapping it in plastic.

What went before TWO: For those following along at home, the chapbook I’ve been talking about now and again will include: “Neutral Ground,” written in September 2021 as a short story, which we/I then held because … Because. — a chapter pulled from Ribbon Dance, written in July 2023, and “Core Values,” written in February 2025, and posted to Splinter Universe. The stories amount to 27,485 words, and there will definitely need to be Author Commentary, so call it 30,000ish words.

No date yet — much needs to be done, aside from writing the commentary, but I said I’d keep people Informed.

What went before THREE: Rook, the “baby,” weighs 12 lbs, 6 oz.
Trooper, the patriarch, weighs 13 lbs 1 oz.
Firefly weighs 11 lbs, 3 oz.
Tali has declined the opportunity to be weighed at this time.

Since this time last month, Trooper and Firefly have lost minor ounces; Rook has gained minor ounces.

So, that’s actually good news.

What went before THREE-ANNA-HALF: Tali weighs 11 lbs 6 ounces.

What went before FOUR: 662 new words today, bringing the WIP to 33,487. I have signed up for Disney+, figuring Doctor Who will keep me busy until it’s time to pack, and then manifest at BaltiCon.

Still need to do my ASL review, so I guess that’s what I’ll be doing after I lay out Happy Hour.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

Here’s a picture of Firefly staying safe, in case you need a role model:

What went before FIVE: I’m to give a speech at Balticon, accepting the Heinlein Award. It’s a short speech, and the current plan is to put it in the back of the chapbook discussed earlier today.

Thursday. Sunny, blue, and still.

Breakfast was eggs scrambled with ham, tomato, onion, the last spoonful of potato salad, and parmesean cheese. Which was quite a lot, actually, so light lunch will be in order. I still have a little bit of chicken salad, so that may be the solution, right there.  Tali stopped by as I was finishing up to have her ears massaged:

 

 

 

Things went slightly sideways last night, where I hit a wall — and bounced. I went to bed early, and slept, but I’m still kind of groggy and half-functional, so am planning a half-collapsed day. The comfy chair, a pad of paper, and a pen are looking good, so that’s where you’ll find me until it’s time to go to class.

How’s everybody doing today?

Today’s blog title brought to you by Mr. Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”

Here’s the official cat census: