
Happy New Year’s Day and may 2021 bring health, healing, creativity, joy, and prosperity!
Happy New Year’s Day and may 2021 bring health, healing, creativity, joy, and prosperity!
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Waning Moon
Uranus Retrograde
6th Day of Christmas – Six Geese A Laying
6th Day of Kwanzaa – Creativity
Rainy and cold
Buh-bye, 2020. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
I’ve got a garden post up on Gratitude and Growth.
Yesterday morning’s first writing session left me feeling so optimistic and energetic for the day. Sometimes, I use up my early morning creative energy on email or “have to” work. When I remember to start with my first 1K/day of fiction, the rest of the day is much better in every respect.
Yesterday at the office was only minimal overlap, so it was less stressful than it could have been. However, the client is gorging herself on right wing disinformation in order to justify her dancing around socializing and eating indoors, and I refused to give her the absolution she wants. There is NO justification for her behavior. At least she wears a mask and we deep clean the office regularly. But even contact a few hours a week with her is playing Russian Roulette at this point. So that needs to change.
On the way home, I picked up my mom’s prescription, put gas in the car (a symbol of abundance to start the New Year – full tank of gas), and decontaminated when I came home.
I don’t have to leave the house again until Monday, and I am more than fine with that.
Remote Chat was fun – it always is.
Wrestled the big bench off the deck and up the stairs into my mom’s bedroom for the winter. Willa and Charlotte had to be shut into various rooms while we had the doors to the deck open, and there was much howling and carrying on.
Later in the afternoon, I heard a thumping in the hallway. When I went to investigate, Willa had pulled a potato out of the bin in the kitchen, and was batting it up and down the hallway. How many cat toys do we have in this house? And she plays with a potato. At least she’s inventive.
Dinner was leftovers – we’re going to have festive holiday meals for the next few days, and I need the room in the fridge!
I have meditation with the group from the Concord Library this morning online, and then it’s writing. I have a short story to finish and get out on deadline. I already have laundry going – clean panties and clean sheets for the New Year! Garbage and recycling went out yesterday. Later this morning or early afternoon, I will vacuum and mop floors.
This year, I hung pairs of silver bells on red ribbons from the light fixtures on either side of the front door. They’re pretty, but they clang against the house when it’s windy. It sounds like it does when one is on a ship, bobbing in the water. Which makes sense, seeing as how we’re on Cape Cod.
So many trees have been cut down around here that the solar glare is out of control driving early in the morning. I’m going to have to get a new pair of sunglasses, once it’s safe. Not today, of course, it’s raining. But it was bad driving to the dump yesterday, much worse than previous years.
This afternoon, I’m making a pastry filled with apple, pecan, and cinnamon. I’m also making devilled eggs for us to enjoy closer to midnight. Dinner tonight is salmon in a cumin-lemon glaze, with lemon-infused jasmine rice and spinach. Or maybe peas.
Then, it’s all about our rituals.
We will eat herring before midnight (old family ritual that no one knows the origin, but we do it) and burn a bayberry candle timed not to finish burning until the turn of the year, for prosperity and health.
A minute or two before midnight, we open the back door to let the old year out.
We’ll watch the ball come down over Times Square – although I could often see it from my apartment window and that was really cool, I’m glad not to be there anymore.
Right after we toast the New Year in, we’ll open the front door to welcome the New Year.
No first-footers here, more’s the pity. Not that we could let a first footer through the door this year, anyway, even masked.
Tomorrow morning, at dawn, I do the Fire & Ice ritual, with a white candle rubbed with jasmine oil in a bowl of ice.
I’ll make Eggs Benedict for breakfast (pork before noon is the ritual), and later that day, I’ll roast a duck for dinner.
The rest of the day will probably contain a lot of reading! I always like to start the new year off with a book!
I’m almost afraid to be optimistic about 2021, yet I want it to be a good year. I have big changes coming up, and I’m looking forward to them, even though the changes themselves will be stressful.
I thank you for everything this year, my friends – the support, the friendship, the laughter. And I wish you all that is good, and that your dreams manifest.
Peace and Joy. Catch you on the other side!
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Last Day of Full Moon
Uranus Retrograde
5th Day of Christmas (5 Gold Rings)
5th Day of Kwanzaa – Purpose
Can’t tell the weather yet – it’s dark out
It felt good to get the garbage and recycling out yesterday.
Last night, I dreamed that I rescued a puppy by the side of the road, its mother and sibling killed by a car. Dreams on the 5th night of Christmas are tied to May. I’m not sure if it’s a literal or a metaphorical omen for May.
I wound up spending most of the day on client work and admin instead of writing, but it was necessary to get it done before the end of the year.
I decided that I want to really re-work the Nina Bell pieces, not just rush through the revisions; therefore, they will not re-release until next holiday season. I’d like to re-release them earlier, too, like right after Thanksgiving, and really give them a good shot at a run. Maybe by then, I’ll have the third short, the one in the non-profit, ready to go, too, and can release all three on a rolling basis.
My focus today and tomorrow is on the ghost ship story, which has to go out tomorrow. I like it, but I have to layer in some sensory detail and cut out some tangents. While keeping to the word count. So, we’ll see. It has some wacky humor in it that’s kind of fun.
Of course, Mitch McConnell blocked the $2K cash relief payments. Because he’s vile and needs to be removed from the Senate by any means necessary. And then he and his corrupt wife need to spend the rest of their natural lives in prison and their afterlives in a place where they have to atone for all the harm they’ve caused.
Cooked a nice dinner, and we watched some videos.
This morning, I’m working on the ghost ship story, and then have to go to the office, which will be more stressful than it should be, but that’s what we’re dealing with. On the way home, I have to make a few stops, including picking up my mom’s new prescription, which wasn’t ready when I went by yesterday.
Then, I don’t have to leave the property again until next week, which is the way it should be in a pandemic. Especially with the numbers rising the way they are.
And the Sociopath turns his back and golfs. Anyone who dealt with him in New York always knew just how disgusting he was, but he’s only gotten worse over the past four year.
So I’m just trying to hang in there and stay alive, while I work on what needs to be done to make 2021 a better year, on every level.
Stay safe and be smart, friends.
I hope you had a lovely, peaceful, happy weekend.
This week, between the end of one year, and the start of new year (which we all NEED to be a better one on oh, so many levels), I intend to take the time to breathe.
Not fret, not punish myself. I will push away those who do not wish me well, in preparation for removing them permanently from my life. I will attempt to do so with compassion.
I want and need quiet, reflective time.
What is your intent for this week?
Although we won’t be having busy gatherings like the one pictured above this year, I wish you peace and joy of the season.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Stormy and mild
Big storm coming in today. I’ll have to take in some decorations, and be prepared for power outages.
I have a post over on Gratitude and Growth about birch and holly – since it’s the first day of the month of birch and we love holly this season. Well, I love it all year, but. . .
Yesterday was more stressful than it should have been, and I have to have an uncomfortable conversation with a client in the next few weeks that will not end well. But it is necessary.
I was happy to get home, decontaminate.
Remote chat was fun.
My flash fiction “Holiday Transformations” is up, both as a podcast and in transcript form, as part of this year’s Weird Christmas anthology. It’s a great group of flash pieces – I’m so delighted to be part of it.
Spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the book for review. I will write it this morning and get it off.
The order I was waiting for – the last gift – arrived. The quality is quite wonderful. I considered re-thinking my decision to stop doing business with that particular vendor/artist – when an email came in. It was supposedly to thank customers; what it actually contained was a self-congratulatory, delusional, and arrogant diatribe, claiming the vendor’s “ambition” was at the root of the lack of customer service (say what?) and how she was ignoring criticisms because they made her feel bad.
You do you, honey, but I’m no longer a part of that journey.
Unsubscribed from the mailing list and unfollowed on social media channels. I realize she’s young and it’s rough to run a small business, but wow. Not going to be around that.
I found my recipes for bath salts, and I can adapt it to bath bombs. I can get molds from craft stores, and re-stock essential oils, source small crystals, and go back to making them myself. It’s not like I’m doing them for anyone except myself and friends who might like it. And I won’t have to worry about the stress of poor customer service and all the hypocrisy and bombast. A much better choice all around.
Another order arrived – a treat for myself that I wasn’t expecting until New Year’s.
Got the last present wrapped and under the tree – with help from Tessa and Willa. Charlotte’s not into wrapping gifts, but the other two love it.
Woke up a little after two this morning, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Fretting too much.
But planned the next section of the ghost ship story, and some upcoming blog posts, so that’s all good.
Today, I’m sending off the review, doing some edits on one, maybe two stories, writing the next section of the ghost ship story, and seeing what else I feel like doing. I am safely home, prepped for the storm, and planning to enjoy the holiday.
Although I don’t celebrate the religious aspect of Christmas anymore (since my spiritual beliefs have taken me down a different path, and Solstice was my big celebration), I enjoy family traditions and joys of the season.
Dinner tonight is cod paella – it’s been marinating in wine and spices overnight. I’m also making a layered parfait of chocolate and lemon mousses for dessert.
We don’t have Panettone for breakfast tomorrow – I couldn’t find one in the store that didn’t look leftover from last year, and I used the only fruit peel I had for the stollen. So I will make scrambled eggs with smoked salmon for breakfast. The big meal is Cornish hen with all the trimmings. If the power is out, I will have to figure out how to do it on the stove top rather than the oven.
Whichever way it works out, it will work out.
We open our gifts on the Eve and have stockings on the Day.
Tonight, we observe the Icelandic tradition of reading books! One of my favorite additions to the holiday.
I wish you peace, joy, safety, and comfort – both physically and emotionally. Peace, my friends, and I’ll catch up with you again next week.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Cloudy and cold
Busy weekend, although I wasn’t really feeling up to it.
Friday had more snow; not much, just a dusting. I had to pick up a prescription for my mom, and I did a curbside drop-off/pick-up at the library.
Decontaminated, read a bit.
Finished the revisions on both the Susanna Centlivre play and the Isabella Goodwin play and got them out. Nearly two weeks ahead of deadline, too. I’m pretty pleased with myself.
Heard back from the Body Be Gone publisher. I didn’t win the big prize, but I am in the anthology and will get a little bit of cash and a copy of it, which will be fun. It was a lot of fun to participate in it, and I’m pleased to be part of such a lively, creative group. I wonder which story won?
In any case, by not winning, I retain my rights to these characters, and they can have a life beyond that one story. Which could be a lot of fun.
Woke up early on Saturday, with ideas for a story for one of the anthologies that would be due on Dec. 31. It might be too complex for a short story, but I’m going to give it a shot and see what I can do with it.
Wrote 1600 words on it, and it’s a bit all over the place, but I like the bones of it. Once I finish the draft, I can strip it down and rebuild.
I poked two companies about orders I placed weeks ago – giving them plenty of time because it’s both busy season and the pandemic. They finally shipped. One of the orders was placed before Thanksgiving. This is inexcusable. I help one of my clients with shipping. It doesn’t take five weeks to ship something that is in stock.
Saturday’s big project was making stollen. I used the traditional Dresden recipe. It takes all day, between the rises and waiting while things soak. But we wind up with three enormous loaves of stollen that are delicious. Much better than the overpriced, stale loaves on buys in the stores or orders online. If I bought this from a company, it would cost several hundred dollars. And not taste half as good.
I also decorated most of my office – got the tree up, anyway. Switched the bedding over to fleece. Got 6 loads of laundry done.
And was wiped out.
A client contacted me, frantically needing me to get something out right that second. I got it done, and that will be on next week’s bill. You don’t interrupt my weekend and expect it to be free. This is information I asked her for nearly a month ago, and she couldn’t get her act together until Saturday for something that needed to go out before Sunday.
Sunday, I finished decorating my office, put a lot of empty boxes away. I baked a chocolate Grand Marnier cake. The Bundt pan I have is awful, and even though it was greased in every crevice, it didn’t come out properly. But it still tastes good. Also made bourbon balls, which turned out tasty, but look a little off-putting.
I was just wiped out. I felt weak and emotional all weekend. All I want to do is sleep. I can’t seem to get my feet back under me after this surgery. It’s been more than a week, and it was good news, so I don’t get why I’m still completely wiped out.
The “relief” package Congress passed is a joke. Sure, $600 is better than nothing, but we should have been getting $2000/month EVERY month since March. All of them failed us, including the Democrats. All these people saying, “Oh, take a government class, it’s all on McConnell, it’s not on Pelosi and Schumer” – grow up. I’ve been a negotiator. When you don’t have the votes, you GET THE VOTES. McConnell does it all the time, but Pelosi and Schumer aren’t willing to play hardball.
They’ll have another excuse for no continued, REAL relief in January. I’m sick of excuses. I want action. Tough, strong action against the corrupt. Not continuous capitulation and acting like $600 is good. It’s HALF of what we got in May, and just over ¼ of what we should have been getting EVERY MONTH of the pandemic. While the grifters continue to grift, without consequence. This has to change. If this is the “best they can’ do” then we need stronger leadership who can do better.
In this state alone, there are nearly 30,000 new virus cases a week. We need a full lockdown. With continued, direct cash relief.
And prosecution for those who profited from the pandemic at the expense of our lives all the way through it.
Monday, up early, still feeling like crap. But I went into the office – alone, like it should be. I got some shipping done – see, people? The orders came in over the weekend and went out MONDAY – that is how one takes care of customers. The postman hadn’t arrived by the time I left, so I took the boxes with me and dropped them off at the post office myself. Went to the library for a curbside drop-off/pickup.
Home, decontaminated, masked up again, and packed cookie tins. They look really cute. The cookies are packed in individual sleeves, which work well, but take up a lot of room.
One of the companies I poked came through and I got the delivery that was most important to get today. The company from whom I ordered before Thanksgiving – shipped so late it’s still stuck in California, and the third company is making noises about delays. But what I really wanted for today came, so that’s that.
I got an unexpected bonus from two clients. One goes into the bank, as prep for moving; the other I used on a piece of jewelry by an artisan on which I’ve had my eye for a few months. I put in a note with the order not to stress about trying to get it out for this week. It gets here when it gets here. I ordered it late – when I had the money to order it. I’m happy whenever it arrives.
I was finished just as the sun set, and we did the family Solstice ritual: let the sun set all the way, sitting in the dark. Start by lighting the fire in the fireplace, with greens from last year’s Solstice season; then light all the candles and put on the trees and other decorative lights, inside and outside the house. And take a few minutes of gratitude to enjoy it, release what no longer works, and make room to invite something new and wonderful.
Dinner was pancetta and peas in Alfredo sauce, with the chocolate Grand Marnier cake for dessert. Delicious.
Then, a quiet evening re-reading Terry Pratchett’s HOGFATHER (one of my favorite books), enjoying the tree, listening to Chantal Chamberland sing carols.
Later, I did my own private Solstice ritual, to remove the detritus of this year, and make way for something new.
I’m off today to Plymouth, to get the car inspected, and I’m terrified. I’m terrified that the Trump-supporting maskless mechanics who did the oil change sabotaged the car a few months back, and there will be a major repair. Think good thoughts for me. At least I’ll be at the mechanic I know is honest.
If I’m not there all day with car repairs, I hope to come home the cookie deliveries (and yes, one of those tins is for the mechanics in Plymouth).
Have a lovely day, friends, and a lovely week.
Today is Yule, the Winter Solstice. The longest night and the shortest day of the year, before the return of the light.
My intent is to work for positive change, especially on a very personal level.
The more well-known holidays are later this week, and I intend to take as much pleasure in them as possible.
What is your intent this week?
Friday, December 18, 2020
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Snowy and cold
There’s a post over on Comfort and Contradiction about the upcoming holiday meals.
Yesterday, I joined the Zoom meditation, which was lovely. After breakfast, I had to shovel the driveway and the front walkway. The snow was slushy and heavy, but we only had about six inches, so it wasn’t too bad.
And then, I was exhausted and brain fogged. I spent most of the rest of the day on the fold out couch, trying to read, or resting. I am simply worn out. I managed to handle the Knowledge Unicorns, but I was tired. They were very sweet, though, and worried about me. We have one more session, next Tuesday, before the holiday break, and everyone is ready for it.
I’m glad I moved the car inspection appointment – I could not have driven over the bridge today.
I found out that two of my friends are moving away in the coming months – change is upon us all.
I have a bit more shoveling to do today – it’s snowing again, but pretty light. I might do a run to the library, to drop off and do a curbside pickup. A stack of books has accumulated.
I want to get the changes into the two plays and send them off, and start the book for review. If I can, I will finish the edits on “Mistletoe” and sign off on them. I hope I can. That needs to go out. I have a little bit of client work, but I’ve caught up on almost everything.
Tomorrow, the entire day is set aside to make stollen, which takes a full eight hours. I’ll cycle some laundry through as well.
Sunday, I’m baking the Chocolate Grand Marnier cake for Monday’s solstice celebration.
But I am also trying to rest as much as possible. Because I’m exhausted. On multiple levels.
Have a great weekend.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Snowy and cold
First substantial snow fell overnight, and I’ll be shoveling out later! Post over on Gratitude and Growth about snow and the garden.
Out at a client’s for a few hours of overlap yesterday. It was okay, but it is clearer and clearer that I do not need to be onsite for ANYONE in order to do what I do well. I do it much better when I work from home, and insistence on me writing in someone else’s office is about control, not about the quality of the work.
That will be dealt with, as I move other pieces of the upcoming Change Puzzle into place. Because that’s what I’m calling this transition period over the next few months – The Change Puzzle. I can plan, or think I’m planning, everything to perfection, the way I like, with backup plans up the wazoo, and things will still change, and each change will affect other things. So I have to be versatile and resourceful.
Home, decontaminated, Remote chat, which was fun, but I was wiped out by the end of it. I still get hit by exhaustion and brain fog far too often.
I set my car inspection appointment up in Plymouth for next Tuesday, instead of for tomorrow, because I just don’t trust myself to drive over the bridge yet. I completely space out, and that’s not good when I’m behind the wheel, especially if it happens on a bridge.
Rested a bit, then did the revisions for both “By Her Pointed Quill” (the Susanna Centlivre play) and “Family Layers” (the Isabella Goodwin play). There’s an inside joke in the latter, referring back to my Kate Warne play. It works within the context of this play, standing alone, but those familiar with my work will also enjoy it.
Planning to do the Zoom meditation this morning with the Concord group, and then buckle down and write. There’s a lot to get done in the next few weeks, and I don’t intend to blow it.
At the same time, I need a lot of rest.
And I need to work on the Change Puzzle.