Tag: life after the apocalypse

Anything Can Happen Day

Wednesday. Dim and coolish. I had the doors open in Steve’s office for a while, but somebody is setting off firecrackers across the river, while on this side of the river, they (THEY) are deconstructing the bridge, now that the other bridge is back in service, and between the noise of this and that, the cats asked me to close up, and I was pleased to oblige.

I slept for 10 hours and 16 minutes last night (according to the Garmin Watch), which is what happens when you take a muscle relaxant before going to bed. Sadly, the only muscle the meds seem to have relaxed has been the one that I scarcely use, in-between my ears.

When I did finally arise from my rosy bower, I made myself a sausage-and-cheese sandwich on a buttermilk biscuit. After breakfast, I hit the showers and then the keyboard, where I managed 1,275 new words, bringing the WIP to 59,580ish, in total.

The Plan, insomuch &c, is to do my duty to the cats, find something for lunch, then — maybe — take another muscle relaxant and/or, oh, I dunno, watch Murderbot, which is now available through Prime Video, by which I mean, I can pay extra for Apple TV through Prime, and so binge the first season of Murderbot, which may actually be a good idea. And, yanno, it being Anything Can Happen Day, maybe my back will cut me a break.

Tomorrow, I need to get up at OhmyGHOD in order to arrive at the hospital for the yearly mammogram at 7! A!M!. Who makes these appointments, and why haven’t they been fired?

Oh. Wait.

After said visit to the radiology department, I do believe I will eat breakfast out, for the second time in a week. Then I will either come home and go back to bed — not the way the smart money bets — or turn on the computer and get some more writing done.

And what’s happening for you on Anything Can Happen Day?

Writing down and packing up

Tuesday. Sunny and cool. Trash and recycling have been taken up, though I haven’t gone out to bring the empty bin back into the garage yet.

Today’s writing was a little bit of a struggle, but I finally wrestled 1,050 new and on-topic words onto the page, bringing the WIP to 58,300ish total words.

I probably didn’t mention this triviality here, but a couple weeks ago, the silicon strap on my Garmin watch broke — by which I mean the floating loop fell apart, leaving about two inches of Free Silicone sticking out at an angle that caught on things and was a constant danger and aggravation.

Long story short, I went to Etsy and bought a new watch band — mesh, with a magnetic clasp (let it be known that I hated the band that came with, which was too bulky and I could either fasten it too loosely or too tightly, but not — yeah. Cue Goldilocks.)

My new watch band arrived yesterday and while it was nerve-wracking In The EXTREME to get it attached, that’s behind me now, and it is perfect. I actually forgot that I’m wearing a watch at all, my wrist isn’t bruised from a too-tight strap, nor is the watch spinning around and catching on things.

So, yay. I wish the loop had torn a year ago.

All that said, it’s time to find something for lunch, by which I probably mean a Chinese pancake, and then to putting away all the Stuff I had pulled out and into a pile for the teaching of my class.

What are you doing today?

Monday at last

Monday. Sunny and cool. Woke early and had a blueberry breakfast bar at the desk while I made notes Going Forward, read over and adjusted yesterday’s work, and wrote 920ish new words. The WIP now weighs in at 57,250ish.

I need to eat an early lunch so I can make PT on time and not be starving by the end of it. Chores to do when I come home.

News is that I do not have enough people signed up to make my class viable, so I’ll be pulling the plug on that, which is both good news and bad news. I’m going to have to sit down and figure out how-or-if I can do this with less than half the optimum number of participants, and if I can, I’ll try again next session.

How’s the week shaping up at your house?

Rainy Sunday

Sunday, though I’ve somehow gotten a day ahead of myself, and keep sliding into the belief that it’s Monday.

Rainy, chilly, dim, and just not terribly pleasant. It’s a good day to build and occupy a blanket fort, actually. I may see if I can work that in, after lunch.

One thousand eighty new words written this morning, after the cats buckled down and got to work. This brings the WIP to 56,330ish words, total.

I’ve got some banking, accounting, and other thrilling chores to finish here at the desk, but first, I should eat lunch.

Who else is for building a pillow fort?

Birthday in retrospect

My most humble thanks to everyone who sent me natal day greetings. I cannot possibly answer all of you, and hope that a blanket appreciation gives no offense.

I was off-line yesterday, as has been my habit since my birthday was appropriated as a National Day of Mourning, and most especially yesterday, which was the Magic Number 25.

I had breakfast out, then headed over to Stonington. I had A Plan: go to Stonington, park, and wander about on foot, and when I had done, to go back up to (the town of) Deer Isle to ditto, thence to Blue Hill, where I planned to visit the co-op, do some shopping, and take on lunch, which I planned to eat in the park. Alas, road work had its way with me, so! Blue Hill, the co-op and the pleasant picnic some other day. Yesterday, thwarted, I skated over to Bucksport, walked the riverwalk, had lunch at Sweet Cheeks Diner, and eventually wound up in Belfast, where I treated myself to ice cream at the Wild Cow Creamery (Vanilla ice cream with inclusions of cherry and chunks of dark chocolate. Yes, it was every bit as good as it sounds, and I very wisely got two scoops). I took my ice cream to the Belfast Town Park (see? I did get a picnic), and sat on the rock that had been my “outdoor office” decades ago when the laptop and I wanted to a change of scene in which to work, in the breeze and the sun, overlooking the water, and it was very satisfying.

Pizza for dinner rounded out the day, and this morning I arose, refreshed, and wandered back to Steve’s office to write.

One of the … comforting things about yesterday was recalling certain spots on my journey. Deer Isle/Stonington/Blue Hill was not one of our more usual rides, though it wasn’t completely new territory for me. I was — warmed — when I passed the spot where we had pulled over on the little spit of land with the open ocean on one hand, and the tidal pool on the other, to eat — yes — a picnic that we had purchased at the Tradewinds. I was happy to see that the ice cream stand where we had stopped to get milkshakes that time was still there, and had a line. I recognized that intersection there, and the place at the side of the bridge where the reversing tide can be viewed.

So — it was a pleasant day, and this morning made so by all those good wishes from near and far.

Since I goofed off yesterday, I have some chores to do, now that the day’s work is done (for those keeping track at home: 1,020 new words, WIP total 55,260. Ish.)

What’s been happening with you?

Random pics from yesterday

Proceeding in a Tuesdayish Direction

Tuesday. Trash and recycling set out and collected. The recycling bin is back in the garage. Breakfast was leftover leftover soup. Lunch will be … something.

Eleven hundred new words today, bringing the WIP to something approaching 53,490 words.

I was craven yesterday and did not attempt the Anthropic mess, so I have something to look forward to.

Tonight is needlework, and I’ll have to stop at the grocery on my way home — or perhaps I’ll do that tomorrow, since I have to be out early to a doctor’s appointment, anyway.

It occurs to me that it might be beneficial to find if there’s a sauna someplace near at hand. It might help with the ongoing aches and pains. I should also try to locate a reputable massage therapist. This is not a new thought, but every time I have it, I get overwhelmed by the “reputable” part. Well.

Oh. And I really do need to get a flu shot.

The cats are giving me a little more freedom today, so I’m guessing whatever it was that concerned them yesterday has passed off, so that’s good.

How’s everybody doing today?

Cats inna meeting:

 

Saturday in retrospect

There had been a question about the differences between dragons.

Herewith, a link
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So, this morning’s work was heavy on research, naming sectors, and also clan houses, which are the wages of the speedy writing days when Past Me didn’t want to stop wiggling my fingers, so when the name of the sector wherein we would find the system occupied by the planet Delium, Past Me just typed HERE, and kept on going.  Did she care, I ask you, for the work and chaos she left for Future (now Present) Me?

She did not.

I’m also Very Sleepy, and am weighing the benefit of taking a nap instead of coping with lunch, either the prepping, or the eating of it.

It’s a lovely, coolish, breezy day. I have the sliders open in Steve’s office and I can hear the trees dancing…
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So, a short nap, followed by a blueberry smoothie. I’ll have to do a little better for the late meal.

Right now, though, I need to do some chores and pay the bills obscuring my desk, including the property tax, which didn’t go up nearly as much as I had expected it to do (this is not a complaint).
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Kind of a brief, messy day, but I’m done now. The bills are paid and waiting to go out in Tuesday’s mail, so there is that.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

I’ll check in tomorrow.

Lazy afternoon, with wine and dragon

Well. That was fun, actually.

I fear I bought a dragon.

And a mini rosemary sourdough loaf.

And soap (lavender honey oat).

And pocket warmers.

And a catnip-stuffed tarot card (“The Moon”) for the cats to fight over.

Also, I wrote a poem.

And now I want to sit on the deck with a nice glass of red wine.

Which is what I believe I will do.

Behold, the water dragon.

For those keeping track at home, according to the Chinese zodiac I am a water dragon.

I needed money ’cause I had none

Friday. Though Google swears otherwise, it’s raining. No, really. It is. I don’t say that it won’t quit raining, later, and the day star emerge from its cloudy boudoir to burn off the fog, but right now, it’s raining.

I have an invitation from Boskone to attend as a panelist in February, which I’ve been angsting over for the last week, trying to pummel myself into going and — I just can’t. I mean, I went down to Baltimore, because Steve would have had it so. BaltiCon after all had been our home con, not to mention that I personally owed a life-debt. But the thought of packing for a con, traveling, and arriving in order to perform inadequately on panels — even doing a reading, and I love to read to people — makes me want to simultaneously curl up into a ball and scream.

So, I’m guessing that answers that, and I had best just send my regrets.

Sarah will be by in an hour to clean. I fully expect to finish my in-depth reading of the first half of the WIP this morning and begin making Adjustments to the file. I’ve decided to pull the questionable sections for now and just concentrate on the main line, since that’s what I know, and keep on writing until I either reach the end of what I know, or the end of the book. Then I can piece in these other things. And it certainly won’t be the first time I/we built a book that way.

I am still planning to go to the Block Party this evening. I figure to go downtown earlyish, get a desert at Holy Cannoli and dawdle over a book until the festivities begin.

I had almost forgotten that today is the start of a Long Weekend, freelancers not always indulging in Long Weekends.

Who has plans?

And, once more, “I Fought the Law,” this time from the Bobby Fuller Four.