Wed. May 10, 2023: Good Trellises Make Good Neighbors

image courtesy of Kerstin Riemer via pixabay.com

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Waning Moon

Mercury and Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

It was cold enough, again, for frost on the car overnight, and 33 degrees F when I woke up. It’s supposed to go up to 72 later today.

Over on The Process Muse today, we’re talking about showing up and doing the work. You can read it here.

Today’s serial episode is Angel Hunt.

Episode 31: Battle With the Witch Hunter

Lianna fights the witch hunter with some unexpected weapons.

Angel Hunt serial link.

I was worn out yesterday, from the big client project’s finish and the FALL FOREVER reading done. This girl was tired.

I created the episode graphics for this week’s episodes of Legerdemain and uploaded/scheduled yesterday’s promo. I’m trying something different this month; instead of dropping the episode graphics of the week’s episodes every day, I’m only dropping them on the day they go live. On off days, I will post more general promos for the whole series. We’ll see how that works for the rest of the month.

Twitter’s not driving any traffic to anything anymore (partially because I had to lock my account). But the bulk of WGA info is on there, so I haven’t left completely.

The big morning project yesterday was the proposal for the play commission. So, fingers crossed. It would be a great opportunity.

I did a drop off/pick up at the library. Then I went to the pharmacy and got a last batch of home COVID tests from both my mom’s insurance and my insurance. As of tomorrow, we’re on our own and have to pay for them. Which means people won’t test and will go untreated, and more people will die.

I am highly skeptical that my mom’s illness was “flu” even though she tested positive for it. I think she had a variant. She’s still coughing a little. And exhausted all the time. I may have fought off a variant (hence the fever), and I still have the fatigue (which I figure is the fight combined with exhaustion from pushing on the projects these last weeks). And, of course, now we’re in the season of “is it pollen or is it the plague?” I’m worried that the home tests aren’t picking up the variants, which is why I isolated for several days when I came down with the fever.

Other than being tired, I felt okay yesterday, which is why I ran my errands (although I’m still masking indoors). I got the COVID tests. I swung by a couple of stores looking for some stuff I needed, and they didn’t have it. I mailed some bills. I ordered cat litter.  You know, the basics of keeping a household running.

Ran into the maintenance guy. They’re coming around next week to check on a few things in the apartments and test the smoke detectors, etc. ahead of upcoming insurance inspections. And he’s going to take another look at the dishwasher, and maybe replace the outlet.

We unwrapped the tarp from the bench and bistro chairs on the back balcony and got those set up, along with the bistro table. I teak oiled everything. Hopefully, it’s soaked in overnight and I can add the cushions today. I put out the hanging birdbath. It’s still too cold at night to put out any plants, which means I can’t yet put down the rugs. But slowly, slowly, we’re getting there.

The neighbor whose house back is at right angles to our back balcony (the front is on a cross street) called me over to whine about the bucket truck the landlord keeps parked at the back of the driveway here. I was Very Cordial. Now, anyone who knows me well knows that when I go into Very Cordial mode, it’s best to back away slowly, and, once at a safe distance, turn and run like hell. In my mind, I called her “Aunt Bea” because she reminded me of all the negatives of that character from the ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. I’m the tenant; I’m not going to tell the landlord what to do, when he’s behaving perfectly legally ON HIS OWN PROPERTY. And, frankly, it has no impact on her property. She said she doesn’t want to look at it, and she can see it out of her window. She said she called the city to complain and they told her my landlord followed all protocols and she should mind her own business. I suggested that, instead of cutting down all the foliage at the fence line, she grow clematis and hops and make a natural screen. She was not amused.

Hey, not my problem. Also, more importantly, not my business.

I, however, am likely to get some clematis and/or hops and put it on that side of the balcony to create a foliage screen. Getting large trellises around here is not a problem. It’s the pot-sized ones who are rare.

I planted a few things where the seeds had cooled in the fridge and want some cold still before they come up. Supposedly, last night was the last frosty bit, so I can start planting more stuff.

I need to get some black-eyed Susan vine going, or it won’t come up in time. And it did so well last year.

Tomorrow’s garden post will have more exploration of all of this.

I did client work in the afternoon. Managed to finish it before yoga. I’d home tested two hours before class, as a precaution. Negative, thank goodness. I was pretty sure it would come back negative, since I felt fine, just tired. But I wanted to be sure.

I kind of dragged myself to yoga, not wanting to leave the house, and then I was happy I did it, because I felt so much better. My teacher also recommended a local vet, which is good, because I need to get the cats in to update shots, etc.

Home, dinner, then reading Cherie Priest’s FLIGHT RISK, which is a lot of fun.

Up early this morning. Did not go to the laundromat. I’ll regret that next week, but I’ll deal with it. . .next week.

I have writing to do this morning, client work to do in the afternoon, probably more planting. I am going to take Friday off from client work to focus on the serials, the Poets in Conversation piece, the flash fiction piece, and maybe go to the Clark to work on that project a bit. So I need to dig in a bit earlier in the week.

I may start loading more client work early in the week in order to keep taking Fridays off from client work. The instinct is to keep Mondays free (Mondays were often my dark day from theatre work), but my brain starts shutting off Thursday afternoons, as far as client work goes, so Fridays might be a better choice. I may have to do more those early days (which, with increasing my yoga classes over the summer, might be a challenge, since I don’t like to come home and go back to the desk, but we’ll see how it goes).

Anyway, that’s the latest. Back to the page.

Wed. Sept. 1, 2021: September!

image courtesy of Open Clip Art Vectors via pixabay.com

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Waning Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Cloudy and cool

It’s September! I love autumn!

The contrasts are so different. On Cape, people put on shorts as of April 1, even if it was still snowing. They’d march around in shorts and Uggs, if necessary, from April 1 until November. Here, this week, people were already wearing jackets. It’s entertaining.

I’m pleased with the work I did on the outline yesterday morning at the laundromat. There’s too much distraction to actually write scenes, but I can read there, and now I found out I can outline. Because I’m going to make use of the time.

I like how this piece is shaping. I’m working on outlines for three very different pieces, although all in the same genre, while getting back on track with the other pieces, and continuing to work on the novel-out-of-my-wheelhouse first thing every morning. I’m getting back into my creativity.

I slept better last night, because I wasn’t reading scripts up until bedtime. When I do that, there’s too much noise from other people’s work in my head, and it gets in the way of my own. So I need a longer stretch between stopping my reading for the night and sleep. Perhaps I’ll add in a creative session of my own (longhand, not screen).  I need my own work to have room to breathe and percolate overnight as I sleep.

I can read finished, published work up until I sleep, no problem. But drafts, where I’m supposed to comment, or work for review — I need a gap, or something different, between finishing that work for the night and going to sleep. Or it interferes with my work. And protecting my own work/voice/creativity is the priority.

The rest of the morning was spent in bureaucracy. Necessary, but annoying. Lots of paperwork to do, connected to the move.

Headed out to the post office to mail the bureaucracy, then to the library, to pick up a book on hold. Once there, I discovered that I’d walked out of the house without my wallet AGAIN. I offered to go back to get my card, but they let me check out the book without it.

I leave my wallet at home too often lately. That has to stop. Once is a genuine mistake. Multiple times is carelessness and stupidity, and I don’t have room for those kinds of errors. I keep things in the same place, and have a preparation ritual to go out the door, so it is inexcusable to have left my wallet home, now, multiple times.

Headed for a big grocery shop to Stop and Shop, getting in what I need for the cooking/baking for my friend’s visit. Headed to Wild Oats for a few more things. Will have to do a trip to Big Y tomorrow for some stuff I couldn’t find, and then another swing by Wild Oats to get some stuff I want fresher than sitting around from Tuesday to the weekend.

My downstairs neighbor-one-over gave me some produce from her garden, and it is yummy! So, when I bake cookies tomorrow, I’ll make some extra for her.

Read for about an hour in the afternoon. Was supposed to attend a virtual networking event, but couldn’t get the Zoom link to work. Turned out it was a Spectrum problem – there were trucks on the street. I’ll have to send an apology to the organizer today.

I have a lot of script coverage to complete today, and a couple of writeups. Tomorrow is my last day to get anything written up, so that I have the whole weekend off. I’m looking forward to the break.

This afternoon, I’m looking forward to Remote Chat!

Tues. Nov. 17, 2020: Die For Your Employer Day 181 – Trying for Survival

image courtesy of cocoparisienne via pixabay.com

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Waxing Moon

Neptune and Uranus Retrograde

Partly sunny and cold

There are some ideas for being creative with this year’s holidays over on Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions.

Friday was a more productive day than I expected. I revived the cooking blog, “Comfort and Contradiction: Food as Muse” with an initial post re-introducing myself and talking about the direction I see the blog taking.

WordPress frustrated the hell out of me, because the template wasn’t supported properly any more, and I had to put in a new theme and then rebuild the site. What’s up is very, very simple now, but the font is a decent size, so one can read it.

I will keep playing with it.

But immediately, it got a good response. I’m kind of surprised how good a response it got, but pleased.

It will be difficult to only write it once a week!

Wrote quite a bit, mostly food-related. I’ll be able to use the blog as writing samples when I pitch to companies to write about food. Or maybe it’s too personal. We’ll see.

Read the next book in a series I’d liked, for the most part in spite of inconsistencies. Didn’t like this one. The pace dragged, it was inconsistent to previous books in the series without explanation, and it used “witch” as a slur more than once. I’ve already ordered the next book in the series from the library, but I think I’m done.

My friend Paula and I are both semi-finalists in the Body Be Gone Origin Story Contest. The flash fiction pieces we wrote made it to the semi-finalist category. All the pieces are up for vote – blind, so we can’t say which are ours. The pieces are really fun, but Paula’s is still my favorite. She took tropes and turned them inside out.

Even if neither of us wins, we’re both in the anthology, which will be fun.

My first shipment from Atlas Coffee Company arrived, a brew from Rwanda. It’s good, but a bit mild for my taste. I guess I like the darker roasts!

Finished a third volume of this year’s personal journal, and Saturday started the fourth. I guess I’ve had a lot to say.

Saturday was clear and cold. I was up early, and loaded the car with garbage and recycling for a dump run. Everyone was masked, distanced, courteous. The guy in front of me was talking on his phone instead of pulling in to a dumpster, so I drove around him and cut off someone else. I later found the guy I cut off up at the recycling, and apologized.

He was so pleased. He was very nice about it, accepted the apology, and said, “Don’t worry, it’s early for all of us.” But you could tell it made his day that I made the effort to apologize. And it was a real apology. It was “I’m sorry” NOT “I’m sorry IF” which is a fake apology. I was wrong, and I apologized.

If I hadn’t said anything and ignored him, it would have niggled at him all day. But I apologized. His day brightened, and so did mine.

Home, decontaminated. Our numbers are well over 2000 new cases every 24 hours, so I’m trying to stay away from as many people as possible.

Did the last of the online orders for holiday.  One of my mom’s gifts arrived. Did four loads of laundry, changed the beds, basic housework. The usual Saturday chores.

Baked bread from a recipe in THE ENCHANTED BROCCOLI FOREST and it is spectacular. Just basic sandwich bread, but it’s wonderful. I kneaded it by hand instead of with the dough hooks, and it worked better. Of course, now I want a pastry board. . .

Also baked chocolate chip cookies.

Took a quick rest, then made a vegetable chili from THE NEW BASICS COOKBOOK, which was also good, and made vegetable stock with the remains.

Sunday, I didn’t do much of anything. I cleared away the brush the landlord had cut last week, but left, and ended up bruising my hand – some of that stuff was big and hard to move.

Read some of Mary Oliver’s essays. Read the book for review – it was quite beautiful. I did want to slap the protagonist a few times, but overall, I really liked the book. Ordered a couple of eBooks that were recommended.

The tablet has decided it will connect to the Internet again, so go figure. The laptop is being cranky every time I boot it up, which is annoying. It’s only six months old.

Neighbors on both sides had parties. Small ones, but no masks, no distancing. No wonder our numbers are going up so rapidly. I’m just trying to stay away from everyone as much as possible. I need to get some stuff from several local stores for the holidays, but I just don’t want to be out and about.

I have to keep adjusting. I have to let go of the rage and frustration I feel at those around me who refuse to take this seriously. The best thing I can do is refuse to interact with them.

Up early Monday. Wrote my review and sent it off; requested the next assignment.

Was at the client’s on my own for the morning, as it should be. Got a good bit done – three email blasts, social media posts scheduled, spun some holiday ideas.

Quick stop at the liquor store for a bottle of wine, and chose something for a colleague’s upcoming birthday. Curbside pickup at the library.

Home, decontaminated, played with the cats. Noodled with some ideas in the afternoon, worked on some marketing campaigns in my head, and will put them on paper and start implementing them today. Made a list of some things I need to get done sooner rather than later.

We’re eating a lot of leftovers this week and into next week, so that there’s room for the Thanksgiving leftovers!

The cookie sleeves arrived, which is good. Makes me feel better about the baking. It’s safer for everyone if each cookie is individually wrapped.

Got a letter that I can keep my health insurance next year. I am so relieved. I was scared that most of the rest of this week would be spent fighting for my insurance.

This morning, I have to do a Trader Joe’s run for a few things (not a big shop, just a little one). After I decontaminate, I’ll do more client work, and get those marketing campaigns going. I have to prepare a few shorts for re-release, and I need to get Trinity of Teasers up so people can download it and have a taste of the three different series. I need to work on Grief to Art.

I’m going to write postcards for the GA Senate run-offs over the next couple of weeks, and looking forward to that.

I’m looking for a good paella recipe. I want to make paella for Christmas Eve as something new and different, since we’re off pork and beef.

I finally sat down and started writing the Susanna Centlivre play this morning. I’ve got the balance of love and banter and connection between Susanna and her chef husband (Queen Anne’s Yeoman of the Mouth), and just introduced Mary Pix, her friend in. A few pages between them, and the antagonist, the male playwright who’s been plagiarizing  them, enters. I want to get the first draft done this week.

I’m hunkering down as much as possible and just working on survival. I’m trying to avoid as many Covidiots as possible.

Wed. Aug. 26, 2020: Die For Tourist Dollars Day 98 — Mail-in Ballot Issues

image courtesy of andibreit via pixabay.com

Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Sunny and cooler

The Ink-Dipped Advice post will go up later today. I’m still working on it.

Had a fun Zoom meeting yesterday morning. We made it work, in spite of my idiot neighbor across the street deciding he had to start using his bulldozer before 8 AM, making enough noise and vibration to rattle the windows. I’m also tired of the view out of my front windows now being piles of gravel and dirt. If I wanted to live in an industrial area, I would have moved to a city that’s transitioning from mills to living space, shops, restaurants, etc. I shouldn’t have to be subjected to heavy machinery in a residential area 7 days a week.

The rest of the morning was given over to client work and LOIs. I got a lot more done in the space of a few hours than I expected, which was a good thing.

It got progressively hotter and more humid. Even with the fans on, we sweltered. And it’s not like we could keep the windows open with the idiots leafblowing dirt all over the place. I tried to work on the back deck, but then the people on the property behind us had TWO leafblowers going – on dirt, not leaves – sending up clouds of dirt. Plus, whatever fuel they used smelled so strong it reached across 1/3 of an acre and made me so nauseated I had to go inside, and thought I would vomit.

I’d woken up around 3 in the morning, yesterday, thanks to pandemic brain. So by 2:30 in the afternoon, I was wiped out. I tried to take a bit of a nap. It was more of a doze.

Reading a book by a new-to-me author that I like so far, but am not completely won over, because she’s using clichés for theatre people instead of treating them as, you know, real people. It’s not too bad, yet, but we’ll see where it goes. I like the protagonist and the situation and the relationships.

Will finish the book for review in the next couple of days to get that out, and also have a book to read for NYU’s virtual book club (which is fun). The book is very serious, but the virtual club is fun.

I’m not watching the RNC Hate Rally. It’s sickening, but then, the whole administration is sickening.

I still don’t have my ballot, the Town Clerk can’t be bothered to respond to any of my requests (no surprise there), and I’m not showing up as registered on the state’s website. But then, our Village doesn’t show up on the state’s website. The list of towns comes up very specifically (we are one of seven villages as part of the town) with the way it has to be entered in the search (village/town/county), but the village/town doesn’t come up as an option and I can’t type it in, and when I go for the town itself, it comes up as an error. I’ve been a registered voter for 10 years, I’ve voted in every single election, I checked my registration a few weeks ago, and I got the paperwork as a registered voter to request the ballot. What the fuck is going on? And why won’t anyone answer any questions? It’s unacceptable. The state site says I have to contact the Town Clerk – WHO WON’T GIVE ME THE COURTESY OF A RESPONSE!!!!

This is not a major city. This is a small town with very little going on – ever, except developers screwing over residents – and completely incompetent town government.

My mother isn’t feeling well. I think the change in medication she got last week was the wrong one. We have a call in to the doctor.

I’d like to just go back to bed, but that is not an option.

At least I have Remote Chat to look forward to. I have to go onsite to a client’s, which I am NOT looking forward to, as they’re laxer every day in following safety protocols.

Please share the information on Grief to Art with those who might need it. The death toll from the virus continues to climb, and no one in the administration gives a damn. We’re all collateral damage to their profit.

Fri. May 29, 2020: Die For Your Employer Day 11: Local Media Distorts

Friday, May 29, 2020
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Venus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Foggy and humid and raining

Yesterday went better than expected, but was still exhausting.

Loaded the car with two months’ worth of recycling, masked up, and headed for the dump. Got there just as they were opening. Long line to get rid of trash, but I was one of the first to make it to the recycling area.

Everyone was masked, as required. We parked leaving three spaces between us, and gave each other plenty of room. People were cheerful and talked back and forth – I think we were all glad to talk to someone.

Much less stressful than I expected.

Although, as I was leaving, I saw cars pulling up close to each other and people not being so careful.

I have a feeling they’ll have to shut it all down again in a few weeks, so I’m glad I got our stuff out. I got everything into one car load – a BIG car load, but it was still everything. I will try to go back in two weeks with whatever’s been accumulated, so I can keep as much out before they shut down again as possible.

Because I’m NOT going to be like the spoiled brats who were tossing recycling in with the trash. If we were in NYC, all piled up with no room, it’s understandable. But here? Most people have plenty of room and can hang on to their recycling for a few weeks.

Headed over to Trader Joe’s. Line wasn’t too long. It moved pretty fast, but I realized that I’m going to need sunscreen to go grocery shopping in the future. Standing in line in the sun is going to require sunscreen. Everyone was masked, as required, distanced, and the mood was pretty upbeat. The staff was friendly and wonderful as usual, it was well-stocked. They rearrange things when they can’t restock, so you don’t see expanses of empty shelves. You just realize you can’t find what you were looking for!

I bought more than I intended, but that’s okay. I won’t have to go out for anything except milk and bread for two weeks, and I might risk the local convenience store for that. Unless I see people in there unmasked.

Got everything home, went through full disinfectant protocol (disinfecting every item, putting bags into quarantine, stripping down and tossing clothes into the washer, showering).

Even though it all took less time than I expected, it was still most of the morning gone, and I was exhausted.

Talk about mask preparedness—when I go out, I’m wearing a mask, I carry a spare, and I wear a scarf that I can pull up if everything else fails.

I also realized I need more masks. Four isn’t enough. So that’s on the agenda this weekend. More mask-making.

Our neighbors (the ones who do the Driveway Dinner Parties) dropped off a note saying they were worried about us. While that’s sweet, I wonder why. Because we don’t have people coming in and out all the time like they do? We’re not socializing. We’re fine. But I appreciated the kindness and dropped off a note thanking them.

Got some client work done, but not enough, so I have to put in a few hours today.

Edward Robb Ellis’s diary is delightful. His writing about the Depression is an eerie echo of what’s happening now, although people now are acting much more like spoiled brats.

The local media’s coverage of what’s going on is distorted. What’s in the papers and what I witness daily as a resident are far apart. For one thing, it’s completely one-sided. Only business owners and companies are being interviewed. Not the people who are actually in harm’s way working and dealing with the public. Business owners are whining that Memorial Day weekend, business was 66% down. Well, maybe that’s because businesses aren’t supposed to be open yet, except for essentials and some curbside pickups. They’re acting like the long-term rentals, which are the only ones that are supposed to be happening (31 days or more) are a bad thing, and that the dozens of short-term weekend rentals aren’t happening under the table (which they completely are, putting everyone who lives and works here at risk, because those coming in for the weekend aren’t quarantining and aren’t following protocols).

Gee, local media, owned by corporate “media companies” are lying to us. What a surprise. Yes, sarcasm.

Even if workers spoke off the record, local “journalists” wouldn’t protect their sources. Because that doesn’t happen here. Because they know the employers, and would either put in enough personal detail to out the source, or tell a friend or neighbor they “trust” who the source is, knowing it will get back to the employer and there will be retaliation.

Because that’s the way it works here.

Oh, and the best thing about calling the bridge traffic “light”? Yeah, I suppose being backed up for three hours is lighter than seven hours. But there shouldn’t be enough traffic to back it up AT ALL. We are still in Phase One.

The irony is that these are the same people, whining about not enough tourists, who wanted to shut down the bridges and the entire Cape to all but residents in March and have checkpoints at both bridges. Now, when it’s no safer, they want to let in too many people too quickly to put everyone at risk.

You can’t have It both ways, boo.

How about this, as we rebuild the future of work? If you won’t pay a living wage and provide safe conditions, you don’t get to have employees. Do the work your damn self. Or you have to work for someone else, who hopefully provides a better wage and safer working conditions than you were willing to provide.

An organization promoting local businesses is talking about having a “fair” this summer. Seriously? How irresponsible is that?  There’s no way to make sure people follow protocols. Not only would I not attend such an event, I would then avoid vendors who participated, because I’d worry both they and their merchandise were contaminated.

This marketing that we “owe” it to go out and shop? Nope. My first priority is the health and safety of my family. If you allow other customers to act irresponsibly in order to get a few bucks from them, you’re not getting my money. If I feel confident that you are following protocols, and your customers are, too (and those who aren’t must leave), then I will shop there. If I see irresponsible behavior without consequence, I won’t. And, if I witness the latter, I probably won’t come back, even when it’s safe.

I’m focused on the necessities. I’m focused on working as much as I can SAFELY, because who knows when the work will dry up with 25% of the population currently unemployed.

The entire concept of “work” and “labor” has to be rebuilt in order to rebuild the economy, and part of that is dismantling current corporate structure.

I also think, during reopening, that any company that requires employees onsite dealing with the public has to have its executives and management pulling shifts with the same risks.

In the Governor’s daily noon briefing, he talked about how the numbers are going down and we are past the surge. Yet when the daily numbers came out late in the afternoon, there were 100 more cases in the past 24 hours than in the previous day (from low 500s to high 600s) and about 30 more deaths than there had been the previous day (from low 60s to mid-90s). Is this a one day uptick, or are the numbers going to steadily climb again? I suspect the latter, although I hope I’m wrong. I’m not sure I trust the numbers being released, either.

Switching to happier things, the cat playpen arrived. It’s an excellent design. It’s like a strong tent, with a solid floorcovering (although flexible), pops up, and has netted sides. Its arrival meant that we had to put the flea and tick medicine on all three cats. Charlotte, who I thought would have a nervous breakdown, didn’t care. Tessa didn’t like it. Willa rolled around, trying to rub it off on the carpet.

Charlotte was the most interested in the playpen, so she went out in it first. She didn’t freak out, but the world is too big out there, and she’d rather observe through a window.

Brought her in and took Willa out next. Willa was interested, and likes all the smells. She’s the one who’s been slithering out when we open the door, so I wanted to give her a way to be outside but safe. She kind of liked it, although she doesn’t like to be confined.

So far, Tessa wants nothing to do with it. Tessa’s good on the deck, but there’s so much chaos getting her back into the house that I am only willing to carry her in and out when she’s in the playpen at this point.

But it has to be HER idea to go into it the first time.

It’s bigger than I expected, but that seems to be a theme with recent orders.

The riots are not surprising. There has to be a reaction to the increased open racism. Also, it’s completely inappropriate the way the protesters in Minneapolis were treated, but the WHITE domestic terrorists in Michigan, occupying the state capitol, were allowed a free pass.

Meanwhile, we have over 100,000 dead and 25% of the population unemployed. While the Sociopath laughs and dances and claps his hands with glee (unmasked), golfs, and threatens Twitter.

In World War II, we were part of an alliance to keep fascism from taking over the world. If we don’t take back our country, we will be the enemy the way Nazi Germany was. Because there’s only so long the world can let this continue.

I have some client work today that I was too exhausted to do yesterday. Must get it done this morning.

Then some more writing, and I want to work on cleaning out another stack of boxes from the basement.

One eye on the world, in despair. The other focusing on chopping wood and carrying water.

Have a good weekend all. I wish you peace.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Monday, December 13, 2010
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Busy weekend, but first of all, hop on over to the Savvy Authors’ Blog and read my piece on “Character, not Caricature”.

I hope you sign up for the deconstruction workshop on Stephanie Plum in January, the One Story, Many Voices workshop in January, and then, from mid-April to Mid-May, the Setting as Character Workshop. The latter two have limited enrollment, because of the intensity of assignments. The Plum workshop can fit in as many as want to take it.

The weekend — Saturday was busy. The breakfast at the National Marine Life Center was a lot of fun, I met a lot of great people, and the progress they’ve made in the past real is truly wonderful! They’re doing an amazing job, and once the center is complete and fully functional, it will make a huge positive difference in marine wildlife around here. They’re up for a $250,000 Pepsi Challenge grant, so if you could vote for them as often as possible (you can only vote once a day, but you can vote every day in the calendar month), it would help them get the grant and hook up the next part of the facility.

Came back, did some unpacking in the afternoon. It seems no matter how much I unpack, there’s no change, and it gets discouraging.

Decided, on Friday night, that I didn’t like where my bed was situated, behind the door. I started to feel claustrophobic. However, my head is in the North, (northeast, actually) which is the best way for me to sleep. But I moved it to the opposite site of the room, so my head is northwest now. The cats like it better, the room feels overall better, but I didn’t sleep well on Friday night into Saturday at all.

Read the papers Sunday morning, then planned to spend a couple of hours working on my room, which turned out to be the bulk of the day. Of course, a lot of it was spent rearranging the closets, so you can’t really see much impact on the room itself. However, I couldn’t unpack boxes in my room until I took out and unpacked the boxes in my closet which didn’t belong in the closet, but were stashed in there because I was afraid they’d go astray during the moving process.

Also managed to get a few loads of laundry done.

Got dressed up, went to the neighbor’s open house across the street. The little Westie no longer lives there — had to go to another home because of separation anxiety, poor thing! The Scottie is still there, and very cute. Met a bunch of the neighbors, who are all very nice, and each has their own unique qualities. They seemed relieved when I said we planned to be here for at least two years — I wonder if other renters moved in and out quickly? Anyway, I met the two women who live in the house on the corner, with the absolutely amazing yard, and they are happy to give me advice come summer. They also recommended a vet, and there’s a no-kill shelter close by they work with, and I may get my next cat there instead of the other shelter. We’ll see — it’ll be at least mid-January, to give these two a chance to settle in more, and for me to put away the decorations. New cat + many decorations is just an accident waiting to happen.

There’s a serial arsonist on the loose in the area. He (assuming it’s male) seems to be targeting people he thinks are rich, so we should be okay. This house is really cute, sweet, and loved, but it’s hardly a McMansion or in the throes of a multi-million dollar renovation. Still, it’s disturbing — a house in Sandwich was torched, a house in Barnstable was torched, and, last night, a lovely historic inn in Yarmouth that just went under renovation. I’ll have to be vigilant and set up some extra protections.

There’s an enormous black something sitting on the shed at the far end of the yard across the street. It’s much too big to be a cat (unless it’s like, a panther, and I doubt there’s be a panther sitting on someone’s shed washing its face), so I’m assuming it’s yet another Very Large Dog. It’s too far for me to see, but whatever it is, it’s calm and feels it’s on its home turf.

No one knows who owns Imp-dog. I told them my sense is he sneaks out without his owner’s knowledge. I’m hoping I can get close enough, eventually, to read his tags.

They told me, however, who’s most likely to be tossing the beer cans on the lawn. It seems there are some renters around the corner who think, because they’re renting, it doesn’t matter what they do in the neighborhood. They give renters a bad name.

Bad storm last night, but I slept better anyway, and the basement remains dry, so that’s good. The house definitely passed the “squishy test.”

Weird dreams last night (head in the West), but they might turn into an interesting story.

I want to spend some time on the page before I go back to the Search for an Ethical Insurance Broker so I can get these plates switched out and be in compliance with the law. In addition to just being angry at Allstate for not knowing the regulations in the state and not caring to find out, I have no confidence that, if, heaven forbid, anything happened, they would make good on the policy. Yes, they have in the past, but we had an individual dealing with it, not an outsourced 800 number where the person on the other end has no reason to care. (An Allstate commercial came on last night when we were watching TV and we started yelling at it).

Had a lovely conversation with someone for whom I worked who booked me for a week in February and another week in May. That will be fun. There will be some organization necessary on the cat front here, but we’ll figure it out, and it’s one of my favorite gigs, so I’m happy they still want me.

Also got a call from the family in Maine –we’re going to nip up for the big Christmas Day dinner. We’ve never been able to spend Christmas with them, because of distance and I was usually working on either Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both, depending upon the show schedule. We do our big celebration on Christmas Eve anyway, and then just stockings on Christmas Day morning. We’ll nip up for the meal and come back the same day.

And the neighbors are all good about keeping an eye on each other’s houses without getting into each other’s business, so we just tell each other our schedules and keep an eye out. A utility truck and a jumpsuit do not credentials make! Not in this neighborhood! 😉

Watched Carrie Fisher’s WISHFUL DRINKING on HBO last night. It’s well done, very well done, in fact, but more bitter than I expected.

Off I go. Maybe I can get some of the kitchen boxes in the garage unpacked today, so that I have everything I need for the party. And I have to finish writing cards and packing gifts. I kind of got stuck mid-N.

Devon

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Violet uses the chair to pretend she’s a professional log roller

Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Waning Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Cloudy, rainy, cold

Wrote in the morning, in spite of Violet now insisting that she must sit in my lap while I type. She’s small, but it’s still like trying to reach around a meatloaf.

Spent most of the morning raking and tidying up the front and side yards. They look pretty darned good, if I say so myself, and even some of the neighbors stopped to compliment me on the hard work! One has a landscape business and I don’t think he understands that I WANT to do this — what’s the point of having a yard if you simply hire someone else to do it all the time, like they do in Westchester? It’s interesting — on this street, most of us have much larger yards than the clients I worked for in CT — yet here, most people do their own yard work (and then hire someone to come in and haul it away or do the last-minute tidying that makes more sense by machine. Everyone here works (except for my retired neighbor, but he’s always very busy — his wife is already on the 14th batch of holiday cookies in her baking cycle!) and has busy lives, and it all gets done somehow. Back in Westchester, everyone just spun around and complained how busy and stressed they were and nothing ever got done on time, there were always excuses, so they kept hiring in people to do it. People actually DO a lot more here, and a lot more gets done — there’s simply less drama about it. Plus, there’s not that sense of entitlement and resentment and feeling like one doesn’t have enough because someone else has more. I think the difference is that here, people actually do stuff — they’re not concerned with what I called “faux busy-ness”, where one’s schedule is crammed with meaningless crap. There’s work, the stuff that has to get done to maintain one’s home and family, and there’s fun stuff. And somehow, it all seems to flow together without much angst. I greatly prefer it.

In the afternoon, we drove up to check out Barnstable Village — very cute. Stopped at Nirvana Coffee, which was nice (can you tell I’m looking for a new coffee hangout spot?), walked around, met a really nice (and cute) guy with his newly rescued husky, who thought coffee was something she really ought to try.

Drove back and saw that one of the houses I’ve admired for about ten years is on the market, so stopped and picked up a flyer. It’s out of my budget at the moment, unfortunately, and right on 6A, which is a little too busy for me. But it was built in 1700 and modernized, and has a large main house, a guest cottage, and a fully electrified post-and-beam barn that used to be an antique shop. The grounds are gorgeous. It even has a library! And five working fireplaces. The only drawback (other than the fact that I don’t have the cash sitting around to buy it) is that it is on that main road. It’s busy now, and, in summer, will just be hateful. And since so many of the summer people have no respect for anyone’s property and just park wherever they want and wander over people’s yards and litter, etc. — I’d probably hurt someone.

But that’s another cool thing about living around here — since I’m planning to rent for a few years, I can watch the houses I really like and see if they go up for sale. If the right house becomes available at the right time . . .

I love this house, and I want to stay for a few years, but the simple truth is that, when I buy, I need to go bigger. I always joked about that 13 room Victorian — yeah, that’s about the size I need for myself, my books, and the animals.

Anyway, hit a gift shop I’ve been meaning to check out for awhile, found some great Yule gifts, but didn’t like the vibe of the owner at all, so I won’t be back. Drove home a different way, learning the neighborhood, through lots of horse paddocks and conservation land, which I’ll have to check out as soon as it’s warm enough. Approached my street from a different direction and nearly missed it, because it’s harder to recognize.

Started the assignment for Confidential Job #1 — interesting, but again, I’ve had a whole set of very similar assignments in a row from that job, and they’re starting to lump together.

Some books arrived from Strand, although the pie book was sold out. But I got Alan Bennett’s UNTOLD STORIES he’s one of my favorite playwrights) and Nicholas Basbanes’s EVERY BOOK ITS READER. I started the Bennett book. It’s wonderful, but I expected no less.

I’m still playing with the character who arrived the other day, and still don’t quite know what to do with her. I’d like to try a short story and see if we get along, before I make a novel-length commitment. Have another idea I’m playing with this morning.

The workshop is humming along nicely. I have to finish up a couple of blog posts today and get them off. I’m hoping I can sneak in a bit of time raking the flat back before the rains start, but it looks a little sketchy right now. I might just have to leave it and hope it dries out this weekend so I can take care of it.

Comcast totally sucks, as expected — trouble with the TV, the internet, the phone, impossible to reach a customer service rep either via “live chat” (right, live, that’s why no one shows up) or on the phone. So much for 24 hour support! Really not happy they are my only option on the Cape.

The big event today is to start putting up the tree — my Very Big Old Tree — we’ll see how that works.

I can’t believe it’s December already! Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate — I really need to get my act together and start getting those cards out!

There’s going to be a full moon on the Winter Solstice — how lovely!

Devon

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Venus Retrograde
Cloudy and warm

Just a quick check-in. We are at the apartment to pack some more, finish packing up storage, and do last-minute stuff.

Packing the car yesterday morning was a challenge, but we got a lot in and had a smooth ride up to the house. Unloaded, ran some errands, which included getting a new safety deposit box. The bank down the street doesn’t have a vault, so we had to go one town over, but they are very nice, we got a bigger box, and we’ll share it. It’s in TD Bank, my mom’s bank — I’m starting to think I made a mistake going to Citizen’s Bank — so far, I’m not happy with their service and hoop jumping. Well, if I hate them in a few months, I’ll switch banks. In MA, you can actually do without signing away your first born and making a deal with the Devil, like you have to in order to get an account in NY.

Stopped at the 1875 (76?) Country Store on the way back to town, on Lori’s recommendation. Lori, it’s still cute as a button with some amazing stuff in it. I’m definitely going back to do some of my holiday shopping there. As it was, I bought a stone bracelet designed by a local artist. No, I didn’t need it; but it was lovely and one-of-a-kind, so I bought it! Turns out the woman behind the counter used to create haute couture for rock star girlfriends in NY, and we shopped at all the same fabric places in the garment district — most of which are gone now. She’s getting the backstage bug, so I said she should try hiring in as a stitcher at a theatre she likes — they always need stitchers on staff. If she hates it, she never has to do it again; if she likes it, she can take it from there. Anyway, another NY theatre person to hang out with — I can’t believe how many I’ve found. Seeds of my own company (obliterate that thought). But it’s interesting how we’re all finding each other.

Drove to Hyannis to do some errands (including stocking up on cat food in the house), then stopped at Cooke’s for lunch — buttered scrod, very good. There are fish often-used on the Cape that I need to learn how to cook. It’s not like scrod is all that exotic — I simply don’t use it much here.

Back to the house — raked for a couple of hours. Got most of the front done. Met the neighbors on both sides — very nice, very helpful, said if we ever needed anything, to let them know. The dogs across the street watched and barked. There was some sort of Major Yard Work going on at the green house on the corner with the amazing yard — it better not be empty, because I wanted to be friends with them! Waved at another neighbor and big dog who drove by. Saw one of the Hounds of the Baskervilles — I think he’s a mastiff. Elsa would have been delighted. He was very confused and stopped in mid-bark when I told him what a handsome boy he was!

The yard turns out to be about double the size I thought it was — makes the raking and fall prep work a bit more of a challenge. By the time I’m done, I figure 60-70 of those 30-gallon leaf bags. I’m up for it — I just have to do it in increments, and get a smaller tool to get in around the bushes. Turns out there’s a wagon wheel at the side of the house, so that’s where I’ll grow morning glories and moonflowers in the spring, let them vine right up it. And the vegetable bed is on my property, so I’ll have to decide what to plant there. The tomato/basil containers will be on the deck, as will the rosemary and most herbs, so I think I’ll grow lettuce, beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, and maybe eggplants and peppers. I’ll do flowers in containers.

I don’t have quite the feel of the yard yet, but I’m sure as I work in it the coming weeks, I will. 10 bags of leaves just for the front of the house!

Chatted with the mailman, too. Such fun to get mail in a mail slot in the front door!

Read the papers, put up signs to tell the movers where to put stuff, just sort of hung out. To bed early again.

Up later than usual — it was nearly 6 AM, imagine that! I’ve been waking up at 4 the past month. Yoga, meditation, putting the last few things together to bring back to NY and making sure the house is prepped.

Drive up wasn’t much fun — too much traffic, especially around Providence. Cats were happy to see us, landlords are being asshats (and this is new and different/). Only one neighbor has responded to my leaving announcement, my next-door neighbor, who was very supportive and gracious.

Headed to storage to pack up the last few stray items there, then I will stay up tonight packing as long as I can stand upright. Lara, thanks for the Aleve tip — I forgot I had it. Found four capsules — I’ll take two Thursday and save two for Friday. Advil and Excedrin Extra Strength aren’t cutting it any more, and I can’t function (much less drive) if I take the Canadian pain pills, so I haven’t. Reconfirmed with the movers.

Still have heard NOTHING from Sleepy’s. So — I’ll have a frame and a mattress on Friday, but no boxspring. I’m tempted to cancel the order, but I bet you they wouldn’t give me my money back. Definitely not doing business with them again, and will write to their CEO to let them know exactly why. I’ve bought plenty of beds in my time, and I have NEVER had this much unnecessary hassle. “Mattress professionals”? I think not!

I get to watch my guilty pleasure NCIS LA and get my Eric Christian Olsen fix tonight, but miss the premiere of the new HUMAN TARGET season tomorrow, so no Jackie Earle Haley fix until after I move. Somehow, I think I’ll survive. Honestly, I haven’t missed being without television most of the time. HUMAN TARGET has a new showrunner and has been extensively re-tooled. From the promos, I’m really on the fence about it, but I’ll give it a chance.

I can’t wait to get back into a regular writing routine. The stories and characters are getting impatient and want attention. I’m sure part of it is that the Nano energy is so strong, with so many people writing, but also — I need the daily writing sessions in order to successfully function.

And soon I’ll have them — in my very own brightly lit, comfortable writing room.

Two days until the big move.

Two.

Devon