Tag: coon cat logic

Wrappin’ up

What Went Before: Tuesday

Total WIP +/-118,724. The cats were a great help.

I? Had forgotten there’s a Zoom business meeting this afternoon at 2, so I’d better get my chores done and my lunch et.

The driveway, as predicted is a sheet of ice. I’ve figured out that all I actually have to do is get inside the garage, so I can get in the car. I can stop on my way out (in the car) to needlework, to collect the mail, which is small snowy tramp. It’ll work. Ghod, I hate ice.

I did not try to take the trash or the recycling to the curb this morning, ref “ice” above. Maybe next week.

How’s everybody doing at midday on Tuesday?
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So, that was exciting. I was getting ready to leave for needlework and!

The garage door was frozen shut. By luck, I had been heating water for tea, and went out and poured the kettle along the inside the door and it opened. Sadly, I did not think of this before I had called my excellent plowguy to see if he had any ideas, and disturbed his evening, but I think I did catch him before he got on his way to my place with rock salt.

I went to needlework, and came back. The car is in the garage, but I don’t dare close the door because I have a PT appointment at 7:45 tomorrow morning.

This is why I hate ice. In addition to the whole sliding situation.

The coon cats have had happy hour and I have poured a glass of wine.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll check in tomorrow.
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Wednesday, sunny and cold.

Back from my early PT appointment, from which I have gained a lot more homework, which I’m supposed to do many times a day. I’m going to have to put a lot of thought into how I’m going to accomplish all this and, yanno, write, read, play, with the cats and all those other extraneous things I do. I obviously don’t want to be crippled with back pain, but I’m thinking there’s a middle ground here, and I need to find it.

After PT, I treated myself to breakfast at Governor’s where, I kid you not, one waitress was handling the whole room, and busing too, until somebody else came on shift. It wasn’t over-crowded, but it was busy enough, and this is where it pays to be a long-term employee in a business that thrives on regulars. She knew just about everybody, we all knew her, nobody was in a hurry or on their way to a Big Freakin’ Meetin’ or anything — and between us, we made it work.

I stopped by the Post Office, collected the mail, stopped by the crosstown Hannaford, which I’m going to have to visit more often, as they seem to have more of what I’m wanting than the one round the corner, and came home to get one of the bags of Emergency Ice Melt Steve had stashed in the back of the garage onto the sled. I opened it with my trusty shovel, then we all half-skated out to scatter melt-crystals over the driveway.

. . . I’m getting down to the bottom of things that Steve stashed away against need, which is a somewhat melancholy realization, along with the other melancholy realization that I’m going to have to be advertent regarding these things.

Ice melt disposed, I came inside, made myself a cup of hot chocolate and checked on the cats — who are all in Steve’s office, because That’s What We Do in the morning.

Excellent cats.

Today, is making 2026 files, which I didn’t have the oomph to do earlier, and setting up next year’s accounting. I have leftovers for lunch, and a good book to read when I’m done my chores.

How’s Wednesday at your place?

Wednesday morning cat census:

Rain, rain go away; come again in May

The Long Back Yard

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It’s being a rather difficult day. Went to bed late and unhappy; woke up about 4:30, still unhappy, whereupon the Coon Cats leapt into action — or at least, onto the bed. In less time than it takes to tell it, I had a cat on top of me, a cat to the right of me, and yes! a cat to the left of me. These guys know their job; I went right back to sleep, and didn’t wake until after 8.

It was very nice to sleep and wake up rested, but it has kinda thrown the whole day sideways.

I’ve done a little bit of writing, and will maybe do some more, later, if I don’t just decide to make a blanket fort and read. I did manage to call Dead River to find out when my next oil delivery is, because we’re coming up on another multi-day interruption in the Usual, and my oil tank is down to less than a quarter. It’s a big tank, but I don’t want to test exactly how big. The good news is that my next delivery is!

Tomorrow.

It’s looking some miserable out there in the Real World. There’s water pooled on my driveway, which will this evening become an ice rink, and it would just be better all around, if, once Winter was Declared, we just stuck to snow as our default precipitation.

Well.

I’ve done some writing, one round of PT homework, more or less decided what lunch will be, though I still need to turn on the oven. Still need to do my duty to the cats, which I guess I’ll do while the oven’s warming.

And then? We’ll see. Though honestly, that blanket fort is looking dern good.

How’s everybody doing today?

The cats agree with the blanket fort idea:

Apologies

Press of business yesterday meant that I forgot to update y’all on the ever-fascinating details of my life.  I now make amends.  Thank you for your patience.

What went before

SATURDAY
Wakened early by Tali cursing the universe and the gods who had fashioned it.

Got up to find Rookie in the hall with a mouthful of orange fur, and Tali sitting on the edge of the dining room table (yes, yes, where No Cat is allowed, and it’s possibly worth noting that Rook did not follow her up there, so at least somebody pays attention to the treaty). Firefly was squinched under the standup desk in my office.

So! I don’t know exactly what the disagreement was about. Possibly Tali told Rook he had a stinky butt — and if so, she was not wrong. So, we did some cat clean up, and then I took a shower to finish waking up and here we are.

Kettle’s on, and Happy Lite also.

And how’s your morning going?
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It says here that I’ve been playing Finch for 500 days.

. . .not sure how I feel about that, actually. . .
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Wrote about 800 words, WIP currently weighing in the vicinity of 115,790. Stopping to do PT homework, one’s duty the cats, and um. I should eat something. I guess. Maybe a piece of leftover ham onna leftover biscuit. That’s lunch, ain’t it?
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Do I look healthy to you?

Time to talk to the virtual-visit nurse.


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SUNDAY

The Long Back Yard


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Well. 2:30, hey?

I got Involved. Wrote +/-1,335 words, did some tinking of former words. The WIP entire now weighing in at +/-117,180. I think I have eight more scenes to write.

My Plan is to write those eight scenes, and then put out a call for Beta Readers. NOTE: This is not that call. I’ll tell you when.

In between new words, I bought myself some on-sale alpaca socks form a local alpaca farm, and did a couple loads of laundry. I really thought I’d done laundry last week, but — maybe not. Whatever.

The cats were with me all day — that would be from 8:15 am until just a couple minutes ago. In fact, they’re still in Steve’s office, because once you get a good sleeping place primed, you just don’t walk away from it.

Though it be late, I have dinner/lunch/whatever on the stove — leftover chicken in gravy, peas, and mashed potatoes. I may actually have a glass of wine with that, because I am done writing for the day. (Breakfast, for those keeping score was oatmeal with almond butter and chocolate chips mixed in. Yes, again. I’m as baffled as you are.)

What else? Oh. I’m doing an Author Event at the Waterville Library on February 21, so I may start giving some thought as to what I’ll be wanting to talk about. I will be reading from Diviner’s Bow, and taking questions, along with the talking.

So! How’s everybody doing this afternoon?

In which Adulting is Overrated

Sarah has taken her vacuum and gone off into the frigid sunny day. It is now mine to put the house back together and to get with my list of Adulting Tasks.

While Sarah was here, I tinkered with what I wrote yesterday, found it mostly good, and pasted those sections into the WIP, which now stands at!

A whopping 114,775 words.

I’d like to say that I’m in the home stretch now, but i may be deluding myself. I need to sit down and count scenes. But not right now.
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I have done All of The Adulting. I have typed “Sharon Lee and Steve Miller” so many times I feel like a high school girl decorating her notebooks with the name of That Boy She Likes.

I daresay there is still more adulting that will catch up with me next week. For instance, I’m not really quite sure how I’m to pay off this “loan” for the new doors. However! It’s interest-free until September, so I have Some Time to figure it out.

Funny story there. My contact at Andersen Windows wrote in answer to one of my questions, and added a PS: “It took me a minute, but I remember reading your books at my library when I was a kid. Thank you for being part of my childhood.”

And on that note, I am done for the day. I may — I plan! — to take refuge in the WIP tomorrow (except for 2:30 when I’m supposed to have a Zoom call with a visiting nurse? I wonder why. And also — is it a visit if it’s a Zoom call? Well. I’ll either find out or I won’t.)

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

Oh. I am remiss in my reporting to Tali’s Fan Base.

Tali is still working on finding her Best Role in the house, but today, I think we had a breakthrough. Despite her dislike of having people type through her ears, she sat on my lap on two different occasions while I was doing the most stressful bits of Adulting.

Also, I had missed picking up a stuffed bunny this morning. In the course of her rounds, Sarah found it, and put it on the edge of the bed. I had occasion to sit down on the bed.  Tali jumped up to be with me, looked at the rabbit, judged it was infringing on her space, but, instead of knocking it brutally to the floor, she picked it up by the ear, carried it over to the other side of the bed and then came back to snuggle against my knee.

Yes, it was almost unbearably cute. And also much appreciated.

G’night.

It’s been so long, eating and drinking and making merry

The Long Back Yard this morning.  Perhaps not obvious from the picture: It was snowing at the time.

OK. Thursday. Snowed about an inch this morning, just enough to freshen yesterday’s snow. Intermittently sunny — or cloudy, if you prefer it that way — at the moment.

Breakfast was eggs scrambled with spinach and onions and cheese, with a biscuit and strawberry jam on the side. Lunch…I may go back to my original plan of ham and yam, because I’m not sure those chicken breasts are thawed, actually.

Wrote about 930 words this morning, concluding a scene that I really like — Yes, this is going to be a book totally comprised of Scenes I Like. Rookie and Tali kept me company in the office, while Firefly is keeping a Very Close Eye on the bedroom.

I’m getting ready to start a loaf of bread to rise, after which it’s PT homework, one’s duty the cats, and lunch, one way or the other.

Hope everybody’s having a good day.
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Yanno? “Wonderful Christmastime?” Paul McCartney, celebrating all the lovely, lovely things that “Only happen at this time of Year” And I am Up To Here with that.

First of all — it’s a real dud on the lyrics, but so are most Christmas songs, so I guess I can’t take points off for that. But honestly? Aren’t we all supposed to be together and sharing joy and magic all the time?

Why, why does it only “happen at this time of year?” Why is it not a lifestyle choice? What is it about cruelty that is so attractive that it gets 363ish days while Joy, Magic, and Fellow Feeling only get 2ish, and only if we’ve spent enough money?

Yes, I do feel better now. And the bread’s in to rise.
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OK…The bread is really good. I had wanted a dense, seedy loaf and this one delivers. I cut it in half — one piece for the freezer and the other to eat now. Ahem. Over the course of the next couple days.

In between It All, I seem to have written 2,320 words today, which is … a lot, as we count words around here. On the other hand, as Jen Sin today observed to Miri, Traders talk A Lot. The WIP entire is somewhere around 113,480 total words.

I will mention that I wrote that many words and STILL had time to fall down the rabbit hole of Mongolian Techno. Some years back now there had been a Mongolian metal rock band — HU? HUU? — and they were doing some interesting things, but Mongolian Techno? Who knew.

Tomorrow, I have Real Life Business I have to take care of first (Well. “First,” after clearing snow, so Sarah can get in and also picking up so she can do her thing) having successfully put it off for more than a week (procrastination; it’s not for sissies).

I did read some few pages of Agent of Change, and will probably read some more after the cats stop shouting at me to deliver them their Happy Hour. What’s really interesting, is that I can remember which bits Steve wrote, and which bits I wrote, and which bits Steve wrote and I changed. I don’t think — but will be testing the proposition — that I can do that with later books. But you never forget your first, amirite?

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. Watch out for windblown snow and ice on the roads.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by The Hu, from their 2019 Billboard hit, “Yuve Yuve Yu“

Aaaaand Done!

Sounds like the lads are packing up. I hope they haven’t forgotten that they have some furniture to move.

In other news, UPS has changed the delivery date of what I assume to be a box of paperback Diviner’s Bow from today (when it is not snowing) to tomorrow (when accumulations will be between 3 and 5 inches), because, yeah . . . I’m really over UPS dumping boxes of books into the snow and against the door, but I can’t seem to instruct them to put it in the garage unless I become a Premium Member for $19.99.

In coon cat news, Rook has retired from the stairs to the basement. Tali is still on top of the bookcase in the bedroom, and Firefly — is seeing ghosts. She seems perfectly comfortable with this, and I’m kinda jealous. I’d like to see comfortable ghosts. Just sayin’.

I should eat lunch, but I’m pretty much guaranteed to be interrupted, so I’ll hold off until I can get the crew sorted.

Tali has an appointment at the vet in mid-February, which is in the middle of the January shot and the March physical.

I’ve been poking at the WIP, and put back in +/- 5,000 words that I had pulled earlier, now that I know that they (1) belong in this story and (2) where they go.

. . . and they didn’t forget. I can go back this afternoon and get the desk back in order. And there was much rejoicing.
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And that’s a wrap. I’ll need to put up curtains again, but for the moment, we’re good.
The stuffies are back where they belong. The computer is online. All I need to do is move my files and I can go back to work tomorrow morning. I can see the curtains are going to be a challenge, but Imma call today a victory.

All righty, then. The WIP now weighs in at +/-111,050. I may have already said that, but better said twice than not at all.

The cats have done a Thorough Inspection and pronounce the Safe Room Acceptable. Firefly seems to be in Transports re the new windows. Honestly — she fell on her head and showed her belly to the window and purred so loud Rook went over to see What Was She Getting?

Coon Cat Happy Hour has happened, only a little early, and I have a glass of wine to hand, but it occurs to me that, absent breakfast, I may not have had anything to eat today. Better fix that before too much wine is had.

It’s looking like I’m going to have to install miniblinds or…something in the new doors, because the new trim is of a — waves hands — different configuration than the old. We are now well into territory of which I wot not, but!

I have doors that the winter wind does not howl through, and UV coating and gee they’re pretty. I’ll figure something out. Later.

It’s looking like our snow will be on the overnight, with 3-5 inches expected. South from here, they’re looking for maybe 12 inches.

I? Have no place to be. My plans for the next couple days are to write, to read, and to bake a loaf of bread. Maybe two loaves of bread. Yes, I do know it’s Christmas, and I have had some people Look at me and say, “But what will you do?” And what I’ll do is what I do. I have mentioned before that Steve and I often did not “do” Christmas, because, in later years, we often had a book due at the end of the year, or in January, so we were working, with maybe a half-day or a slightly fancy meal. Depending, yanno, on how late we were.

On that note, I’m going to go find something to eat.

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

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…
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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.
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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.
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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.