Happy New Year’s Eve to you. May you have the start to the new year that you wish!
Thurs. Dec. 30, 2021: Wanting Peace, Feeling Despair
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Waning Moon
Uranus and Venus Retrograde
Rainy and cold
I didn’t go for the car inspection yesterday, which means it has to happen today. I’m worried that the car won’t pass, and then what?
Yesterday, I finished the one act version of “Dawn & Dorothy in the Afterlife”, gave it a polish, and sent it off. It feels good to have all three plays out by deadline. I do want to expand “Dawn & Dorothy” into a full-length, maybe next year, if I can fit it into the schedule. It took some interesting turns.
Wrote up script coverage; read two more scripts that I will write up today.
The first shipment of books for the contest I’m judging arrived. They look good, and I look forward to diving into them next week. Worked on the books for review. So much for time off, right?
But if the car needs a repair, I have to dig down and take on as much work as needed to earn that money. I’m so tired of something going kerplooey every time I get a little bit ahead. I need a little breathing room. I need a little rest.
I have another script to read today, and I hope to write it up tonight, so that I can take the whole weekend off.
I want to look forward to 2022, but honestly, at this point, I’m just wondering what fresh hell it will bring. At the same time, I don’t want to be negative, but every time I have a little bit of hope, it’s destroyed.
The poor response to the pandemic doesn’t help, either. Once again, profit is put ahead of people. Where are the monthly stimulus payments that were promised, throughout the pandemic? The testing hasn’t been figured out, almost three years in? The CDC keeps rolling BACK precautions as numbers rise? The exact opposite of what these candidates promised. The Democrats are failing, yet again. Yay, economy booming – but at too high a cost of human life. And all the security nets we were promised to get us through the pandemic have been pulled away, because of fucking CEOs who don’t give a damn about people, only profit.
In NYC today, two subway lines are suspended because of staff shortages due to COVID. All because the Republicans are allowed to do whatever they want, whether or not they have a majority. And they don’t give a damn how many die, as long as they can line their own pockets.
Anyway, let’s hope my day gets better. There was no meditation group today, and I missed it. But, if I can get everything done today, maybe I can do some deep meditation work this weekend, and greet the New Year in a more positive frame of mind.
I wish you a safe and peaceful New Year, and a joyful start to 2022.
Catch you on the other side, friends.

Wed. Dec. 29, 2021: A Day at the Desk
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Waning Moon
Uranus and Venus Retrograde
Snowing
Yesterday was kind of a mixed day. I did more admin work than I planned in the morning, which cut into the writing time, but it needed to be done. I need to move admin later in the day, because it siphons off too much creative energy if I do it in the morning.
It cleared up enough mid-morning for me to gather the rolly cart and a few bags and walk to Big Y. It’s not that far, about ¾ of a mile. Because the streets are one-way around here, the necessary curlicues one has to take on the roads make it farther in the car. It’s a pretty straight shot on foot. Plus, I looked in store windows and art spaces and walked by Ramunto’s Pizza, which always smells so wonderful. I haven’t tried them yet; they are on my list.
Picked up my mom’s prescription at CVS, then went next door to Big Y. The carts have wider rims, so the hooks on my rolly cart didn’t work, and I had to stash my cart inside the bigger cart instead of hanging it off the end, like I’ve done in other stores. But I didn’t need much, although I bought more than I planned.
I found a duck, which is exciting, although I think I will cook it for New Year’s Eve, rather than New Year’s Day. I’ll do the baked salmon on the Day instead, which will balance better with the Eggs Benedict breakfast anyway.
It wasn’t bad hauling everything back in the rolly cart, but I definitely had to take a rest when I got back. Everyone was masked and distancing, so it was less stressful than it might have otherwise been.
I mean, when I lived in NYC, I used the rolly cart all the time to go to the store (even though ALL the grocery stores offered delivery). I had the rolly cart with me in San Francisco, back in the 80s, when I used to have to walk to and from the various stores. I just can’t buy as much as I can when I have the car, and with the pandemic numbers going up, the safety mechanisms being rolled back because all the government cares about is corporate profits, I’m not thrilled with the idea of shopping more often. But needs must, and hopefully, I can get the car fixed in the next few weeks. Once that’s done, I’ll do a couple of major grocery shops to restock long-term supplies,
And the walk is good for me.
Used the ham bone from the Christmas ham, along with kale and navy beans and sundried tomatoes, to make soup. It turned out well. Not a lot of leftovers. Maybe enough for two more meals. But that’s fine. When that’s used up, I’ll make the Moosewood Recipe for Black Bean soup I’ve been wanting to try. I have all the ingredients.
However, I do have leftover kale. Since I am not a big kale fan (although I’m trying to use it more often, because it’s so healthy), I have to figure out what to do with the rest of it. The Berkshires is obsessed with kale, so I’m sure I’ll find a recipe quickly.
Puttered around rather than doing my work, but hey, this was supposed to be my vacation week, and that is what my brain and body want.
I could feel the tensions influenced by the bone crusher square, and, being aware of that, made me aware of CHOOSING to be less reactive to tensions and frustrations. More of a sense of “Okay, this is bugging me, but it’s not that big a deal and not worth an argument, so why don’t I make that choice instead? It avoids a fight, but I’m also not rolling over.” Knowing the tensions in the square make poor choices/rash reactions likely, I can take a breath and choose not to react that way. That’s what meant about using astrology as a tool, rather than an excuse. I could have behaved like a jerk and just used the bone crusher square as an excuse. Instead, I was aware of the way it negatively influences, and made choices that were better in the larger context instead.
You know, the whole acting-like-a-grownup thing. Only understanding why certain tensions and pressures are stronger on a particular day.
Got my script coverage done and read another script, which I will write up today. I need to read/write up two scripts today/tomorrow and one more tomorrow in order to finish and take New Year’s weekend off. I planned only the remaining two, but I was requested for a coverage. That’s always an honor, so of course I said yes. In the information notes, the writer said my notes on two previous scripts had given this writer “a lot of strength to keep writing” which is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I sometimes wonder if I care too much about each script, but notes like this make it worthwhile, because it means my suggestions are genuinely helpful to the writer. And that’s the point of this – helping them with their craft, so they can share wonderful stories with the world.
I heard, last night, that City Ballet in NYC cancelled the rest of the NUTCRACKER run, due to COVID. They usually end on New Year’s Eve anyway, so it’s not that much earlier, but still disturbing, especially since one of my best friends works there. I contacted him; his last test on Tuesday was negative, so fingers crossed he hasn’t caught a breakthrough case.
Will finish “Dawn and Dorothy” today, and, hopefully, send it off tomorrow. It’s snowing again right now, so I will put off going to get the car inspected until it clears up later this morning. I’m grateful to have the flexibility.
Angry at the CDC for rolling back isolation time because corporations want to force people back to work. Yes, the science grows and changes as more is learned about how the variants mutate. But CEOs should not be dictating this. If anything, people need MORE time off, not less, and it must be paid. All of this talk about how Biden’s economy is booming – too many people are being sacrificed for it. It’s disgusting.
It was very discouraging to see so many people who should know better post photos of their irresponsible holiday behavior. No wonder we can’t get this under control.
Someone on Twitter talked about instead of party spaces, having library spaces where one can read all day in comfy chairs, and waiters pass canapes. A Reading Resort! Sounds wonderful to me.
Back to the page. I won’t get anything done on the Big Project today, but maybe tomorrow or Friday, I can get back to it. I’m behind where I want to be, but the foundational work I’ve done is vital to being able to write it smoothly when I go back to it.
Have a good one, people. Mask up, distance, stay safe.

Mon. Dec. 27, 2021: Intent for the Week — Rest
Yes, there are things that need to get done this week. And I couldn’t take off completely, as I’d hoped.
But I intend to rest and recharge as much as possible, so I can greet the new year with fresh energy.

Thurs. Dec. 23, 2021: Nameless Day
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Waning Moon
Uranus and Venus Retrograde
Partly Cloudy and cold
Nameless Day
Latest on gardeny-weathery stuff over on Gratitude and Growth. I also talk about “Nameless Day”, the day between Celtic Tree Months, and its unshaped potential.
Yesterday, since it was too yucky to go out and run errands on foot (and I’m trying to save the car until I can get it fixed), I decided to make the stollen, instead of piling everything onto today.
Stollen requires a lot of patience. Every step takes a bit, there are four rises to the dough before it goes into the oven, and it’s a lot.
But the yeast bloomed beautifully (new bottle). What a relief after the bread that didn’t rise.
In general, the way the stollen rose was like we were in a horror movie, and it was going to eat the whole house. But once the fruit peel and the currants and golden raisins and almonds went in (soaked in rum, of course), it looked and smelled delightful. It turned out perfectly, the best I’ve ever made.
I also finally made the apple and cheese turnovers from the Wintersweet cookbook. I have to accept that I loathe working with puff pastry, even when I buy the Pepperidge Farm sheets. It never works the way I need it to. It sticks where I don’t want it to stick, it won’t stick to itself, even with water, fork tines, or beaten egg yolk. It breaks when I try to use it. I hate it. And whatever I make isn’t delicious enough to make it worth the frustration.
So I will use up the pastry sheets and the phyllo dough I have in the freezer and not do any more recipes which call for them. I don’t like working with it, so why keep putting myself through all that frustration? There are plenty of other things I like better.
In between the dough rises, I revised and polished the Marie Corelli play “The Swan, Reincarnated” and sent it off. Two down, one to go.
I have a feeling that I will do a quick ten minute “Dawn and Dorothy in the Afterlife” to make the deadline, and then expand it to a full-length next year. This play has been several years in the works. There’s a lot to say.
Sent off a pitch to a coffee company looking for a part-time copywriter, which could be kind of fun. It’s through an agency, so they might put one of their regulars on it instead, but nothing ventured, not shot at all.
A friend was headed home because her mother is in hospice. My heart breaks for her. Words are so inadequate at a time like this.
Did my script coverage and got it out the door. Two more today, and I’m done until next week. I won’t be able to take off the whole week, like I planned, but I can take on less work.
Really, all I want to do is lie around on the couch in yoga clothes and read books.
I have errands to run and packages to wrap, and the last two script coverages to finish, and then I start my holiday weekend. The next long natter we’ll have together is next Tuesday. Have a lovely, peaceful, joyful time.

Tues. Dec. 21, 2021: Blessed Solstice!

Today, in the Northern Hemisphere, is the Winter Solstice, which is my big winter holiday.
In the Southern Hemisphere, they are celebrating the Summer Solstice.
Whichever holiday you celebrate (or none), I wish you peace and joy and all that is good!

Mon. Dec. 20, 2021: Intent for the Week — Experience the Joys of the Season
This week is filled with holidays. Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, which is my big celeberation.
At the end of the week is Christmas Eve, which we celebrate as we have in our family for years, with food and opening the gifts and reading new books.
Then comes Christmas Day, with the stockings, and more food, and more reading.
Then comes Boxing Day with, you got it, more reading.
Winter holidays are very literary in this household! 😉
Although I know there will be challenges this week, I also want to make the time and space to enjoy the spirit of the holidays and good wishes to all.
What’s your intent for the week, no matter what holiday you celebrate?
