Thurs. April 30 2020: StayTheFHome Day 37–The Friction Between Creativity and Strain

Thursday, April 30, 2020
Waxing Moon
Rainy and cold

The weather makes it hard to get anything done, as I mention in the Gratitude and Growth post.

Yesterday was a good creative day. Solid work on one novel. Prologue and first chapter of another, a comic paranormal which I want to play with. I want to keep it a lean 70k. I started it in 3rd person, but kept hearing it in 1st, so I switched over completely.

Some client work, some work on proposals and pitches, remote chat.

I baked bread, and it turned out really well. Also baked more Tollhouse cookies.

We had pork for dinner last night, and it made both of us sick, so I guess it’ll be chicken, fish, and vegetables from here on out, at least until the regulations are back in place.

Good first writing session, laundry. Have to go to the store, which is stressful. Client conference later, which will also be stressful, because there’s pressure to return to the office, in spite of the stay-at-home order. With the rate of infection rising, that’s ridiculous.

Gearing up and heading out for supplies, in spite of the weather. Wish me luck.

Wed. April 29, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 36–Up and Down

Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Partly sunny and cold

I tried to post over on Ink-Dipped Advice, and A2 Hosting wouldn’t let me sign in. The post will go up when it can. Apologies.

Sent off everything to the contest administrator. Feels good to have that big project done.

Got a lot of admin stuff done, and client work which included ghostwriting some correspondence.

Looked at some places for possible LOIs. Not thrilled. Worked on a couple of pitches, but they need more work. This version of Word doesn’t like opening old versions of Word. I’m tired of every Microsoft update ruining previous work.

Played with some ideas. Reading some books about books because I want to.

Have added a series of sun salutations to my morning yoga session, which is good, and added some core work every other day to the evening session.

Still no stimulus payment.

Excellent first writing session of the day. Things are chugging along with this novel. Now, to start working in the other ones, the ones I’m supposed to be working on. Played with the new idea, too. It’s fun, and I want to keep it mean, in the 70k range.

Didn’t do any planting yesterday, so I’ll have to do it today. We don’t get another planting day until next Wednesday. Also have to bake bread today, since we ran out yesterday. I’m not going to the store until tomorrow.

I was awake again at 3 am, and can’t even blame the cats! But it’s good writing time.

Hope you are well.

Tues., April 28, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 35–Increased Productivity

Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Rainy & cold

Weekend was up and down. Got some writing done. Finished the contest entries and made my decisions on the second category. Entered all the judging sheets. I will send it off today. Glad to have it all done, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.

Baked oatmeal currant cookies and cornbread over the weekend.

Playing with a title for the new novel. I’m a little over a hundred pages into it, so it needs a title. Worked on the tracking sheets.

Did more edits on the Gambit Colony series. The first three books are in good shape. The fourth book is getting there. I have bits of the fifth and have to write the sixth. I need all six ready to go before I can send off the first.

These are my comfort books, in a way. It settles me to work on them.

I was saddened by the death of biographer Deidre Bair. I liked and respected her work. I was also sad to hear about the death of author Sheila Connolly. I didn’t know her well, but she was always kind to me.

Had to pick up my mom’s medication at CVS. Geared up, got it. Everyone there was masked and respectful at least, but there’s still too much traffic, too much congregating, and too many new cases every day because people are being selfish morons.

Disnfect protocols when I returned.

Yesterday, I polished the marketing plan, tossed in some graphics, and sent it off. They loved it. Let’s hope they give me the room to execute it.

Still no stimulus payments. I’m getting frustrated. We need UBI. If we were really such a great country, we’d have both it and universal health care.

Got an idea for yet another new novel, something fun and light-hearted. Made some notes. There’s plenty I need to get back in track without something new.

Scanned the article from THE WRITER, but can’t combine the pages into a single file on any of these devices. So I have to wait a bit before sending it off.

Updated the Devon Ellington website with the information on the three books on sale for 99 cents. I think I will extend the sale into May.

Up early today. Excellent first writing session. Admin, client work, more writing, face mask-making, and maybe cleaning out some boxes in the basement.

Hope you are all safe and well.

Mon., April 27, 2020: Intents for the week– Patience and Positivity

Monday, April 27, 2020
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Rainy and cold

After giving myself the room to grieve last week, and space (at least emotionally) whenever necessary moving forward, this week, I want to focus on patience and positivity.

I’ve lacked both lately, and I need both in order to rebuild.

It’s not about ignoring what’s awful; it’s about finding ways to make things better.

What is your intent this week?

Fri. April 24, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 31–Trying to Curb Frustration

Friday, April 24,2020
Waxing Moon
Rainy & cold

Tomorrow, Pluto goes into retrograde, and soon we’ll have multiple planets rolling into retrograde. Like we need that, in top of everything else.

Geared up yesterday, loaded the car with garbage, and headed to the dump. Payments are now left in a Tidy Cats litter pail tied to a pole, which I find amusing.

Lines of cars there to dump garbage. Outside of the staff, I was the only one masked. We thanked each other for trying not to kill each other.

They recognized me as “the baker” who brings them treats. I promised to bring more, as soon as it was safe.

It’s disgusting to watch people dump the recycling in with household garbage instead of holding onto it for a few more weeks. Trust me, chickie-poo in her BMW has room in her garage to store it.

Swing by the package store for my curbside pickup of my order. That should hold me for a few weeks.

Got some client work done.

Phone conference with a client, who wants me back in the office. Not going in until the stay-at-home is lifted. What I do can be done remotely. She really thinks she’s been paying me to do nothing, in spite of evidence to the contrary. But I’ll put together a power point presentation for her early next week.

Worked on contest entries. Should be done early next week.

My Crystal Bar soap delivery arrived, and I was so delighted, I ordered some shipped to a friend.

Woke up at 3 am worrying again. I guess the stretch of sleeping through the night is over.

The Gibbering Sociopath advises UV rays and injecting/ingesting disinfectant? Anyone dumb enough to do so deserves the consequences. Let’s stop pandering to the stupid, the corrupt, the cruel.

How did I do with my intent this week? Room to grieve, allowing myself to flow with emotion, helped in overall steadiness.

Still no sign of the stimulus payment. I’ll have my own unicorn before I get a check.

Have a great weekend. Peace.

Thurs. April 23, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 30–Working, Working

Thursday, April 23, 2020
Waxing Moon
Sunny and cold

There’s a post over on Gratitude and Growth about the garden.

Yesterday was a productive work day. Good writing session in the morning. Finished and polished my article. I made some big cuts that helped a lot. Got it out.

Did some promo for the three books on sale for 99 cents.

Did some client work. Robly wasn’t doing what I needed it to do. I’m over them. Only this one client is still using them. I’ve dumped them with everyone else. I used to be an advocate for Robly, but every change they make destroys the reasons I liked them in the first place.

Put together a resource list for a colleague, joined Remote Chat. Did a little bit of work on contest entries.

Great first writing session this morning. Have to take the garbage to the dump. Happy to pay them, but I’ll fight them if the hassle me. I am not having a health hazard here because the town can’t be bothered to answer questions I’ve asked for FOUR damn weeks.

Our town government is beyond useless.

Have to do a curbside pickup later, and client work (including a conference). I’m just about Zoomed out.

Hoping to get some more contest entries read later. And finish some article pitches and LOIs to go out early next week.

Might have come up with a title for this book I’ve been working on, but I want to play with it some more.

Hope you are all well and happy.

Peace and good health.

Wed. April 22, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 29–Article Excitement

Wednesday, April 22, 2020
New Moon
Sunny and cold
Earth Day

Another day survived. Grateful.

Good writing day yesterday, on fiction and on the article. Will give the article a final polish today and send it off.

Client work. Checked in with the book review editor. Nothing this week. Will check in next week. Worked on contest entries. About 7 more to read, and then I make my decisions.

Still no stimulus payments. I think they are a myth.

Excellent restorative yoga session mid-afternoon. I’m usually up at 5, writing by 5:30, so no wonder I’m tired by 2 pm. I need to cut myself a break.

I’m excited and delighted that the May issue of THE WRITER magazine arrived, with my feature article as the center spread! It looks great, and is a big deal for me. I will do tear sheets for those quoted in it this week. I sent a thank you to my editor. I enjoyed working with her.

Big Kitty Drama. Tessa’s catnip carrot was missing. There was howling and carrying on until it was found. At first, I thought Willa or Charlotte took it, but now I think Tessa stashed it and forgot, blaming them.

Charlotte woke me a little after 4 am. Fell back asleep and overslept, but I guess I needed it. Long list today, good first writing session, remote chat. Better get to it.

Remember, PLAYING THE ANGLES, SAVASANA AT SEA, and TRACKING MEDUSA are still all 99 cents. If you hop to the book page on this blog, you’ll get links. The tablet isn’t letting me link directly for some reason.

Peace, friends, and be well.

Tues., April 21, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 28 -Tales of Neighbors and Random Strangers

Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Dark Moon
Sunny/cloudy/cold

Survived another few days, which is a good thing.

Good weekend, very house-and-home, getting things done. Laundry, changed the sheets, tidied up, cleaned some stuff out. When they re-open recycling, I will have several carloads to bring in.

Decent writing sessions every day, plugging along. Did another edit on the first Gambit Colony book, which is in good shape, and started another round of edits on the second.

Still no stimulus payments. I think they are a myth. I hear that friends of acquaintances got one, but no one I actually know has received it.

SBA granted millions of dollars to corporate chains instead of thousands to actual small businesses. What a crock.

Had to go to Shaw’s yesterday, to get a few things I couldn’t get at Trader Joe’s. Line much shorter to get in, plenty of room. Barely any fresh or frozen produce. Because the damn farmers are destroying their crops, which is unacceptable. But I got what I needed.

An elderly man (masked) said, “I struck gold!” as he waved a package of toilet paper. It was adorable. He had orange juice and bread in his cart. He wanted pizza and ice cream to celebrate, but couldn’t reach them. I used hand sanitizer I had in my pocket before getting it down, and he stepped back from the cart, so I could put them in. I’m glad he had a good day!

The checkers were very nice (masked). I thanked them for being there.

I’d picked up things for some neighbors. Did the drop offs. Disinfected everything brought into the house, including spraying a puzzle book for my mom with Lysol. Stripped down, washed the clothes, showered. It was exhausting.

Twenty minutes after I did the drop off to my elderly neighbors, they got in the car and went out to the stores, not because I’d forgotten something, but because they were tired of staying in and wanted to “look around the stores.” Unmasked. These are the same neighbors who had their extended family over on Easter to play touch football in the backyard.

And they wonder why so many new cases show up here every day.

I’d just finished when the first part of the Chewy order (cat litter & flea/tick medicine) arrived. So I had to decontaminate that.

Did some client work, read some contest entries.

My mother called to change her doctor’s appointment later this week, because she has no intention of sitting in a room full of sick people. Maybe in a month or two she can go.

Finished off some leftover pasta for dinner. Don’t want anything to get bad.

Brought in the hanging baskets of pansies because it went down into the twenties overnight and we’re supposed to get hail today.

Good first writing session. I need to do tracking sheets for it at this point, so I don’t drop any details.

Client work, article work, contest entries on the agenda today. Maybe make another couple of sets of masks, since it doesn’t look like we can stop wearing them anytime soon. With ties, this time, instead of elastic.

My friend in Illinois got her card in 3 days, but it took a week for another card to reach NYC. Go figure. Need to order more stamps and write more cards and letters. Helping the post office is something I can actually do.

New moon tomorrow, and I am ready!

Peace, my friends.

Monday, April 20, 2020: Intent For The Week–Room to Grieve

Monday, April 20, 2020
Day before Dark Moon
Cloudy and cold

We’re moving into another week. While I am grateful we are alive, I’ve been struggling the past few days.

I realized I need to give myself room to grieve. I need to grieve the massive loss of life, the daily changes we face, the loss of things that gave me pleasure that are off the table for the foreseeable future. I need to grieve that my government believes my death is worth their profit.

Giving myself room to grieve this week does not lessen my gratitude for what remains. But it allows me to deal with my emotions in a way that allows me to find strength and make decisions to move forward. Some will be tough. Some will enrage those when I don’t accommodate their whims. All will have consequences.

But I need room for grief before I can make informed decisions.

Therefore, I will take it.

How are you doing? What is your intent for the week?

Friday, April 17, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 24

Friday, April 17, 2020
Waning Moon
Sunny and cold

Only I couldn’t StayTheFHome, which is why this is late.

Had a good early writing session, then geared up & headed out for groceries. The line at Trader Joe’s snaked all the way down the shopping plaza and around the back. But people were upbeat, careful to keep a distance, masked. The line moved pretty well. The shelves were stocked. I got most of what I needed. Everyone was nice.

Except for the Trump supporters driving past in their pickup trucks, making fun of us as we waited. What pathetic individuals.

I needed some stuff I couldn’t get at Trader Joe’s and nipped next door to Target. They’re trying, but they’re not providing sanitizer for the carts anymore. And too many people are going in groups to shop there. Unmasked.

But I got most of what I needed, including one of the three packages of toilet paper left in the store.

Glad I still have hand sanitizer in the car.

Home, went through the whole decontamination routine of everything coming into the house, all surfaces touched, stripping down in the laundry room, washing what I wore out, and showering.

But I’m home and I’m clean and we’re restocked.

Will do a bit of client work this afternoon, and back to work on contest entries.

Yesterday, had a phone conference with a client, who is hinting I should come work out of the office “when no one is in” because she & the other employee are coming in–together–two days a week. No. I’m doing all the work there is for me to do from here.

Still no sign of stimulus payments. No surprise there.

Working on some pitches and proposals to go out next week. Once I recover from this morning.

It takes a lot of focus to follow proper protocols and decontamination procedures. But hey, that was my intent for the week.

We’re supposed to get another storm, rain for us, snow further inland, so I guess I can’t plant until Sunday.

Stay safe, be well. I intend to do a lot of restorative yoga this weekend! Namaste.

Thursday, April 16, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 23

Thursday, April 16, 2020
Waning Moon
Sunny and cold

I actually have a post up over on Gratitude and Growth today.

Good writing morning yesterday. Got out more information to an editor, per her request. Client work. Remote chat.

Curbside pickup from the garden center, which is an essential business. So I’m set for planting this weekend, at least some of it. I need to grow as much as possible here.

It was disheartening to see that there is just as much traffic as there would be in June. People are hanging out in groups, unmasked, no distancing. The beaches are packed. They’re not taking it seriously. There will be a surge here in a few weeks.

Their problem, not mine, except clients are going to start pressuring for on-site work again, before it’s safe.

No stimulus, no surprise.

Today, I had an excellent first writing session. I have some client work, a virtual conference with one client, a possible online chat, and work on the article and contest entries.

I hope the weather stops being funky so I can do some yard work and plant the pansies.

I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow (it’s been 10 days). I need to hear up for that mentally as much as physically.

Hoping to get more work done on the play this weekend, too.

Stay safe.

Wed., April 15, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 22

Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Waning Moon
Raining and cold

Yesterday was a pretty decent day. Checked in with a review editor; no books this week, but I’ll check back in next week. So we’ll see.

Decent first writing session. Sent a pitch to an editor who was just thinking about me, and wants to hear more.

Heard back from my final source for my article. She will get me the material today. So I can work it in and still make deadline.

Some client work. There’s not that much I can do right now for the local client. Working on some re-open plans for one of the clients.

Cleaned the shoes I found over the weekend. One pair of boots was worse than I thought and beyond help. Two pairs need some Barge. One pair of sandals, I’m not sure about. But 9 pairs are still viable, at least for a bit. Some only have a few more wears in them, but I’ll take it. The time spent working Broadway shoe calls is coming in handy.

Should have done yard work, but didn’t. Cleaned the house.

Excellent first writing session of the morning. Will send off additional information to my editor, do some client work, read some contest entries, work on the play. I need to make some decisions on the Susanna Centlivre play and get going on that by the end of the month. Maybe I’ll get out a few LOIs, too.

I’m glad the governors are working together on a sensible plan to move over. Because on the federal level, they only care about personal profit, not human life.

I like working remotely. It’s people not taking the virus seriously and the fact that leaving the property could kill us that’s exhausting. Along with the corruption on the federal level.

Day by day. Doing the work itself is satisfying, and that’s what I focus on.

Hope you are well.

Tues. April 14, 2020: StayTheFHome Day 21

Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Waning Moon
Sunny/cloudy and cold

We’re alive for another day, and that’s a good thing.

Pretty good weekend. I gave myself a break. Got some housework done, some baking done, but did what I wanted. Really set it apart as a weekend.

I started a new play, working title “Conjure Me, Thy Muse” set in NYC Hell’s Kitchen in the 1990’s. Weird little one-act comedy, fun to write. Got 11 pages done.

Yesterday, we had a big storm. Got some client work done, some work on the article, some admin. Kept expecting the power to go out, but it held.

Wrote some cards and letters to friends, checked in with others via email. Doing my part for the post office. Put in another Chewy order, this time for cat litter. It’ll take about two weeks to get here, so planning ahead.

No sign of the stimulus payments. No surprise.

My 95-year old mother upped her daily workout to 30 minutes on the exercise bike. It proves to her she’s still healthy. She certainly has more stamina on that machine than I do!

Was cleaning out some stuff & found boxes of shoes I thought had been given away or tossed before the move. From my NYC life, before I put most of my stuff in storage in 2001. Some were beyond help and have to be tossed. But 13 pairs of shoes and boots can be cleaned up, fit, and will be great. I feel like I won The Cute Shoe Lottery. It’s a relief, since some of my favorite shoes wore out the last few months and needed to be replaced. Now they are–from my very own stash. Makes me happy on multiple levels, not just financial.

Basically ignoring the Gibbering Sociopath and have no intention of listening to his corrupt, inept “Reopen America” panel, who will cause more deaths.

The Governor of MA has stepped up. But the lack of leadership on town & county levels here on Cape is appalling. I always knew my Town Councilor was a useless waste of space, but it’s even more obvious now.

Good first writing session this morning. Client work, work on the article, yard work, shoe cleaning, and contest entries on today’s agenda. Maybe getting out a few pitches or LOIs.

Hope you are well. Peace.