Fri. March 17, 2023: Shamrocks for Luck, not Liquor

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Friday, March 17, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy and milder

St. Patrick’s Day (eye roll)

It was sunny, off and on, yesterday, so at least that made the errand-running pleasanter. But good golly, did people want to TALK! You’d think we’d been trapped inside for months instead of a couple of days. It was pretty funny. And I’m not in that big a rush that I can’t stop and chat here and there. Even though yesterday, it wasn’t just here and there, it was everywhere.

Did some of the social media rounds before errands, and then did the rounds to promote Legerdemain after I came back. People like to start the day reading the blogs, article links do better late morning, and the fiction links do best in the afternoon or evening.

One of these days, there will be a scheduling tool that actually lets us schedule posts across more than FB/Twitter/Insta and then it will save me hours. Some of that time I can spend on sites you know, actually interacting more.

Polished and uploaded next week’s Process Muse post.

The library weeded out reference books about children’s art illustrators. I gathered up the three volumes they let go, covering 1744-1966. I have a feeling they will come in handy for various projects. Even though I don’t yet know which ones.

Bought more at the grocery store than I planned (gosh, I bet you’re shocked, SHOCKED), along with buying coffee AND restocking the “emergency coffee.”

What, pray tell, is emergency coffee?

Since I often buy small-batch, locally-roasted whole bean coffee and grind it for the Magic Coffeemaker, that’s become “regular coffee.” But if the power is out, or, for some reason, I can’t get to the store, I keep “emergency coffee” on hand. That is ground rather than whole bean, and usually one of the brand name espresso strength coffees. I use it when I make Vietnamese coffee. And, when the power is out, I can heat up water on the gas stove and use it in either the French press or the Melitta pot.

I am not a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day for oh, so many reasons. Back in my NYC days, I’d started taking it as a personal day and staying in, because people come in from all over to celebrate and are drunk and sexually harassing anyone in their path and  puking in the streets by 8 AM. Cape Cod has some pretty intense celebrations, so I always made sure, if I was doing site work, that I was home by mid-afternoon, and then stayed put.

Last year was the first time we were here in the mountains for it, and it seemed pretty low key. Even the bar down the street (which has since closed), wasn’t too rowdy. I expected the college students to be out of control, but, for the most part, they weren’t too bad, even at the frat house down the block.

We’ll see how it goes this year, since so many people think the pandemic is over.

Charlotte is trying to learn how to play. She came to us not really understanding toys, except for the catnip banana and a few catnip sticks. Which is weird, because she came with a whole box of toys. Most of the time, she just watches Willa and Tessa play from a safe distance. If one tries to engage her, she backs away slowly.

But Wednesday night, she picked out a couple of toys and tried to play with them. It was a bit awkward, but I kept encouraging her, and she kept trying, until she realized that Willa and Tessa stopped what they were doing to watch her. But it’s progress. Let her get comfortable in her own time.

Willa loves mice and stick toys, and sometimes the balls with the bells in them. Tessa loves mice, pom poms, and stick toys. Considering Tessa is the Grande Dame of the household at age 12, it’s amazing how much she likes to play. And whenever she wants play time, she gets it.

I have three scripts in Monday’s queue, so that’s a good thing.

I did the social media rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain. I edited, polished, and uploaded two more episodes, wrote their loglines and made their episode graphics. Today I will schedule the promos, along with next week’s episodes of Angel Hunt.

Updated the tracking sheets. Tried  to set up character cards for Legerdemain in Scrivener, since there’s a lot to track. While I have the character sketch thing down, the only way I can work plot arcs is via “Untitled Document” or some such shit. Even creating a template, there’s no place to put the damn thing. Unless I completely work from a blank binder, but then I can’t mix and match the character, location, and plot arc cards.

Just fucking let me choose/create  my categories and create new index cards. I hate it when software micromanages me. I looked up a few sets of instructions to “create new index card” and the way it’s shown and what’s coming up on my screen are, of course, different. I’ll play with that. It’s not that big a deal.

Or, I’ll go back to my old-school tracking sheets, which, you know, actually work the way I need them to because that’s how I created them.

A book on AMERICAN WOMEN STAGE DIRECTORS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY arrived (fast, I only ordered it a few days ago). I bought it for the chapter on Jessie Bonstelle, but flipping through it, there’s information on a lot of the women with whom I’ve worked in theatre throughout the years. I’m very excited to sit down and enjoy the book.

I heard from a theatre to which I’d submitted a play about a month ago, acknowledging receipt. I heard from another company, to whom I’d submitted formatting questions for the one-minute radio plays and never heard back. They answered, I thanked them and said I’d watch for the next open call (since I missed this submission call because I hadn’t heard back). They responded and said they felt bad that they hadn’t responded in time for me to make the deadline, and I could go ahead and submit this week; even though they got a lot of submissions, they’re interested in looking at mine.

Which means my focus changes this morning to getting those micro-plays polished and out the door today.

Their call for 10 minute plays opens in two weeks, and I have something to submit to that, too.

I need to look at the science fiction horror western that used to be called “Severance” and find a new title, get a new cover, and re-upload it as a Delectable Digital Delight in the coming weeks/months. It was ahead of the fashion when it first came out, Of course, researching the titles that make the most sense, there are pieces out there with those titles. Even though one can’t copyright a title, I’m trying to come up with something different (and why I’m changing the title it released under before, because of the TV show of the same name).

Put in an order for office supplies, and ordered a double tarot deck I absolutely do not need but wanted (and will make use of, in writing and articles).

By accident, I found an article I wrote a few years back, and I need to add it to my portfolio. Clip file, and up on the site.

Soup class (which had been postponed from Monday) was a lot of fun. Someone’s cat was being very vocal, and then my three had a few choice opinions, and then someone’s dog added to the mix, so it was a very pet-friendly class.

Finished reading the material for the coverage and will write it up today. I did not sleep well last night; the time change is still messing me up, big time. I have to put in an order at a nearby store for curbside pickup today, and hopefully, I can finally schedule my haircut for next week. I want to get it cut before the grant reception, and there’s about 14 inches of hair to hack off.

I will polish and send off the short radio plays, and then get back to Legerdemain. This weekend will be a lot of work on Legerdemain, and also the polish/re-upload of “Plot Bunnies.” I want that to release the first week of April, which isn’t all that far away. And by re-releasing “Plot Bunnies” it means I’m committing to writing “Labor Intensive” and having that ready by the end of summer. So I need to get back into that world, set up the series bible, tracking sheets, etc. (not in Scrivener, but in my own system).

And, you know, get going on spring cleaning that I didn’t do because of the storm, and maybe, just maybe, starting to work on taxes, although I’ll probably push that off to next weekend.

Last year’s taxes shouldn’t be too complicated (famous last words). This year’s will be more so, with the grant and the residency and some other stuff, so I will utilize the help that’s offered in this region for working artists. I’m diligently tracking everything used for the grant down to the smallest detail as it happens, instead of just dropping it into a file and compiling it next winter, so that will help, too.

There’s an artist meetup next Tuesday, but it’s indoors, and I’m not comfortable with the (lack of) COVID protocols in place, so I’ll skip it. Thursday is a tossup between a theatre open house and MASSMoCA’s open studios. A lot will depend, again, on the weather.

Monday is the Equinox. It will BE spring, even if it doesn’t yet feel like it. Hopefully, I can do some planting this weekend, too. Sunday’s the next planting day.

Enjoy today’s episode of Angel Hunt!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side of it!

Wed. March 15, 2023: It’s STILL Snowing

image courtesy of janeb13 via pixabay.com

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Waning Moon

Snowing

The Ides of March

It still snowing. Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, but the power fluctuated, and the internet was out most of the day.

I hope you had a great weekend. We get a Wednesday catchup. Curl up with a beverage. This is a long one, because it’s been six days since we were last in contact.

Friday was a lovely, sunny day. I went out early in the morning to pick up my cake.

Then, we headed over to The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. They have free admission for the month of March, so it seemed like a good time to check them out.

What an amazing space. It’s huge, and a little overwhelming. In addition to the multiple museum buildings and the research library, they have 140 acres of trails with sculptures.

Definitely something that needs more than a day.

We spent most of the time at the Promenades on Paper exhibit, sketches on loan from the Bibliotèque Nationale de France. Wow. The curation was exquisite, including the color choices for the walls. I was especially fascinated by the Opera sketches and the sketch of a “private theatre” that looked like it was a railroad car. I need to learn more about it. I  wish I’d taken notes.

We wandered over to the permanent collection, but there was just too much to take in, all at once.

Definitely going back. Often.

The reception for regional grant awardees is there at the end of the month, so now I know where to go.

I bet the gardens and trails are gorgeous in spring, summer, and fall. Probably a good place to go and write.

We came home and I ordered A Whole Lot of Chinese food, just in case the weather was so bad on Saturday that I couldn’t get my birthday dinner.

I read in the afternoon, re-reading a book about the antiquarian book trade (my copy’s in storage). It was so nice that we could sit and read out on the front porch. All three cats joined us.

I did some research on the two antique books I picked up at Thursday’s book sale for a dollar each and it looks like they might have some value. Not the kind of value pristine first editions would have, but value, nonetheless. One is by James M. Barrie, who is most famous for PETER PAN, but wrote a bunch of other stuff, too. They are also earlier editions, probably closer to the turn of the twentieth century or late Victorian printings, rather than the twenties I’d figured. And one of the publishers had apprenticed with the other, so the two books are connected.

I will get some archival white cotton gloves to handle them when I read them, and then put them in a safe place while I do more research. Neither book fits the first edition descriptions, but they are nicely made pieces I will enjoy.

I had a leisurely reading evening, too. I want to know more about Anne Baldwin, who ran a print shop in the 17^th century.

Slept fairly well. Had weird dreams about clay figures that had been slathered with a particular type of red paint. A former toxic boss was in the dream, asking for forgiveness. That’s how I knew it was a dream; she’d never do that in real life!

I somehow hurt both wrists in the dream, and woke up with sore wrists.

Saturday was my birthday, and it was snowing when I woke up.

I made smoked salmon eggs Benedict, which we had with Prosecco.

I did a library run, dropping off and picking up books ahead of the storm.

I started working on the revision for the upcoming “Plot Bunnies” re-release, and then I thought, why am I working on my birthday?

So I stopped.

I read. I’m reading a biography of actress Katharine Cornell that’s very fawning, but it has necessary information on Marian de Forest and Jessie Bonstelle. I can’t believe how few people remember Jessie Bonstelle, when she was such a force in touring companies and creating regional theatre as we know it.

I made notes for a couple of upcoming projects.

I re-read THE MOVING FINGER by Agatha Christie, which is the March “Read Christie” choice. It’s been years since I read it (it’s the one about poison pen letters).  Christie is remembered for Poirot and Marple, and, although this is, technically, a Marple story, it’s told through the first person POV of another character, Jerry, and the structure is interesting.

I ordered and picked up dinner from a local restaurant I wanted to try, that touts itself as an upscale farm-to-table place. Um? When I went to pick up the food, the restaurant itself is small, dark, and dingy with cheap furniture, and the staff was more interested in talking about their dating lives than in their customers. The food was okay, but I wanted better than okay. I had a supposed “Bolognese” sauce that was more of a Roman-style meat sauce without the tomato sauce, but definitely not “Bolognese.” There wasn’t even a smidge of cream in it, and none of the seasoning that sets apart a Bolognese sauce. I mean, it was an okay meat sauce over a glop of overcooked spaghetti (not even fettucine). Not great (mine are better). But it wasn’t a layered Bolognese, and for that price, I expected layered taste.

My mom had what was supposed to be cordon bleu chicken in puff pastry, with sides of mashed potatoes and green beans, with a cheese sauce over it. There was chicken wrapped in pastry, with maybe a thin slice of ham and cheese around it, like deli-sliced. It was in some sort of dough sheet, but not the puff pastry stated in the description. The mashed potatoes were heaped over the pastry, and a basic alfredo sauce poured over it, with four undercooked green beans sticking out of the bottom. Huh?

The ”garlic bread” that came with  my pasta was a few tiny (I’m taking 1/8” wide, and maybe 2” long), limp slices of leftover narrow baguette which had been dumped in warmed garlic-infused olive oil and wrapped in aluminum foil. It was dissolving and nearly inedible when I unwrapped it. That is not how one makes garlic bread.

And there was zero presentation. I mean, yeah, it’s a pickup, it’s going to be in containers (I’d brought an insulated bag). But don’t just glop it in the dish. At least try to make it look nice? A spring of parsley isn’t going to break the bank.

It’s not like they were overrun with customers.

It’s not that the food was bad. It was serviceable diner food. If I’d ordered it from a diner, I would have been satisfied. But it wasn’t a diner, and I didn’t want diner food. I wanted something special. This wasn’t it.

I won’t be eating there again any time soon.

But the cake made up for it. I’d bought a chocolate truffle bomb cake from a different place, and we’ve been eating the cake all weekend. It’s very rich, so we only have a small slice at a time.

Overall, it was a lovely birthday, filled with good wishes from friends online and off (and a package, from one friend, with a cat toy the cats love). I have such a tumultuous relationship with my birthday, it was nice to genuinely enjoy it and not work to enjoy it for anyone else’s benefit.

We “sprung ahead” for Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, which always screws me up for weeks.

Sunday was bright and sunny. I did a run to the post office to mail some stuff that needed to get out. We sat on the porch and read. I did some re-reading of GAMBIT COLONY material. When I do the next (and hopefully final) editing pass on these first sections, I need to set up better tracking sheets and do a more detailed Series Bible. I’m losing important elements, especially as I layer in other important elements.

I always wind up blocking a lot of oafs on social media on Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award nights because they start pontificating about the business when none of them could last an hour on an actual set or backstage. It’s WORK, that requires enormous physical and mental capacity, so others can play. If the result isn’t your bag, that’s one thing. You like what you like, you don’t like what you don’t like, and that’s part of the risk creatives take when putting work out there. Not everyone will like it.  But when they act like creatives don’t work for a living, and it’s not “real work” and they can pass judgement on what it’s like to DO the work when they’ve never spent a day on set, or done anything creative with high stakes to it, I’m done. They know nothing, NOTHING, about what it takes to get it done, so shut the fuck up you lazy, untalented, snarky coward.

Of course, when they show their asses like that and get blocked, my overall life is better without them, so better knowing sooner than later.

As a wardrobe person, I was a little unsettled with some of the red carpet choices. I’m all for wearable art, especially for something like the Met Gala. But award shows are about the creative artists who did the work, and too many of the choices on the “champagne carpet” (how pretentious was that?) were about the stylist’s ego and not about making the creative artist look good. There were some wonderful gowns and radiant individuals, but there were also choices that were not about making the wearer look their best, and often the hair and makeup didn’t work with the gown. And one could tell who used the same stylists, because the looks were too similar and about the stylist, not about the individual being styled, which I disagree with. On the positive side, I liked that there were many bold color choices. Too often, the palette is too similar, and people wear colors that don’t suit them because that’s the color trend for that year.

I read the book for review, and sent off the review on Monday morning, before the storm got too intense.  Emails came in steadily, with cancellations and closures in the area for most of the week.

The storm started just after 8 AM. It started as snow, got heavier, then switched over to rain for most of the rest of the day.

Tuesday’s yoga class was cancelled, and Monday night’s soup class was moved to Thursday, because Jeremy had to travel and decided to get out while the storm wasn’t so bad.

I could not get my act together on Monday. I got through a lot of email. I updated my Creative Ground profile. I did some social media networking. I wrote up some project notes. I managed to get the first 20 episodes’ worth of Legerdemain graphics up on Pinterest. It’s such a pain, because when I try to arrange them in the correct order, after about 5 minutes, I have to log out and log back in. Getting all 60+ episode graphics up will be a PITA.

A director who’s worked on a bunch of my radio plays emailed me to say they miss me and would like more, so I sent off two they haven’t yet done. I still owe them a dirigible play. I guess I should get back to that. I haven’t heard from the other producer in absolute ages, so I’m not sure what’s going on with the play he has, and the other ones he wants. I’m assuming there’s a delay.

I finally gave up on getting anything on the “should” list done. I’m fine on my deadlines, so I didn’t have to worry.

I buried myself in another re-read of the GAMBIT COLONY material. Which of course, means taking the red pen and cutting or adding or making adjustments. There’s a vital position in the production team that I’ve ignored in all these drafts, and I have a feeling I have to suck it up and layer in another character. I also worked a big chunk before I realized that I was working on THE WRONG DRAFT. I’d picked up the wrong binder. When I got back to the correct draft, I’d already put in most of those changes! At least I know I’m on the right track.

It hadn’t started snowing by the time I went to bed on Monday. I woke up around 3:30 (feline shift change), and it had just stared; there was about an inch on the ground, but it came down hard.

When I woke up again just before 6, the power was out. I figured, because there was no scent of coffee.

The cats, however, Weren’t Having it, so I hauled myself out of bed and fed them, then went back to bed for a bit, watching the snow. The lights were on at the college, because they have emergency power generators, so I use the sound of the heaters (or lack thereof) to know if the power is on or off. That, and the fact that I don’t hear the hum of the downstairs neighbor’s television, which is on 24/7.

I finally dressed in layers – fleece-lined leggings under velvet leggings, oversized handknit sweater over turtleneck, thick socks. The snow was intense!

The gas stove still worked, when I lit the individual burners, so I made coffee in the French press and made tea for my mom. We could have a cooked breakfast and all, so it wasn’t too bad.

I’d unplugged the laptop the night before, and I powered it down. There was no internet, but occasionally the phone signal was strong enough to post a picture. The power went off and on all day.

We bundled ourselves under layers of blankets and cats in the living room, so we could watch the snow come down. I had the binders with GAMBIT COLONY and just kept reading. I layered in the missing character (this is a cast of Many, dealing with life behind the scenes shooting a large television series), and, by the time I got to re-reading the latest draft of book 3 in the series, realized I had to change her name because it’s too similar to that of two other characters. While one often works productions where multiple people have the same name, I only do that in this series when there’s a plot-or-character related reason for it, and I try to keep the names of people who are often in the same scenes together different enough not to be confusing.

The original GAMBIT COLONY Series Bible is a hot mess with all the drafts over the years. I know I need to start a fresh one. I’m also considering doing a corkboard type of document to track characters and make sure I’m following through on arcs, much as I would if it was a scripted series. I did a little digging, and it looks like there’s a way to do that in Scrivener. Since I own Scrivener software, and it doesn’t work for me to draft (since it won’t let me draft in standard manuscript format, and that’s a deal breaker for me), maybe I can at least use the corkboard function. I found a tutorial on creating a binder and ditching the document file so it allows one to just use the corkboard, so when I get to that point, I will try.

I’d hoped Office had an index card format, but it only has one for Windows10. I’d have to buy the NoteDex app, and it doesn’t have the flexibility I need. No, thank you. I’ll figure out how to use the board in Scrivener. I’ll also look at DramaQueen, the script software I use, and see if my version has one. I’m still dithering whether I should just suck it up and use some of the grant money (when it arrives) for Final Draft. That would be the professional thing to do. I know Final Draft has the board option. Plus I’d use it for, you know, scripts.

It was great to submerge myself in that GAMBIT COLONY world for a couple of days, but now I need to finish books 5 & 6, and do a big overall revision/organization, because they are all of a piece, and all have to be done before any of them can release, much less get submitted. I have stacks of notes on what happens next; I just have to work it into the schedule.

I heard from a market I’d forgotten I’d contacted that yes, I could submit to them in radio format. Now, I have to go back through  my notes and figure out what it was I meant to send them.

The snow is still coming down hard, and will be all day. I expect the power and internet will continue to fluctuate. If it does, I’m still on top of deadlines. If I can get some work done – on Legerdemain, and making the rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain, and today’s episode of Angel Hunt and the latest Process Muse (which is about research), I will do so. I have one script in the queue due Friday, and a novel they asked me to read and comment on for adaptation due Saturday, which I hope to finish by Friday. So we’ll see.

I feel guilty that I was in GAMBIT COLONY world during time I could have been working on the Heist Romance, but since the power was out and the internet was out, I couldn’t have accessed the software anyway.

I HATE cloud-based everything. I want it in my damn computer, so I can work offline.

Anyway, breakfast, then back to the page. I need to get back to work drafting new episodes of Legerdemain. I have episodes for the next couple of weeks, which I’ll upload later this week, but I want to get farther ahead.

I am NOT looking forward to digging the car out from nearly three feet of snow. If it lets up mid-day, I’ll start. Otherwise, I’ll wait until tomorrow and take as much time as I need to do it, in sections. The car looks like a baby igloo, with al the snow piled over it.

Hope you are well, warm, and happy!

Back to the page.

Fri. Feb. 17, 2023: Books and Cats

image courtesy of Gerhard via pixabay.com

Friday, February 17, 2023

Waning Moon

Rainy and warm

It’s going to be 57F during the day, and go down to 18F tonight. Ick.

Meditation was good yesterday. Charlotte participated in almost the entire session, and was delighted.

Wrote the loglines for the next batch of Legerdemain episodes, and started uploading/scheduling next week’s promos. Didn’t get far, because I needed to point the time to other things, so I’ll catch up over the weekend.

Got everything all sorted out for the grant recipient celebration on March 31 at the Clark Institute. I just have to figure out what to wear, and I’m all set. Possibly my teal and black dress, or one of the Banana Republic knit dresses in red or gray (if it’s on the cooler side). I have six weeks to figure it out, so I’m not going to stress (too much). Hopefully, I’ll have had my hair cut by then.

They told me I don’t have to do anything but show up. Having done these before, and that not being the case, I’ll be ready with something to say if asked to speak, and a quick piece of my work. With any luck, I won’t have to use either, but at least I won’t be caught out.

The stitch markers finally arrived, so maybe I can get started on the piece in the thin alpaca yarn I bought when the local yarn shop closed a few months back.

Did the rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain and #28Prompts. Did some research on schedules for a couple of things, so I won’t get caught up closer to the time.

Worked on the article. Most of today will be spent on that, and on organizing the photos, so that the editor can choose which photos to use.

Typed up and revised, revised, revised the very short comic radio plays until the rhythms worked, the jokes landed, and the punch lines hit. Started prepping them to submit  — and saw, in the guidelines, that the plays can only have 2 characters, and I used 3. Ack. Re-assigning lines flattens the pieces out, losing the rhythms. I have to tear them apart and rebuild them completely. I’m so mad at myself. As 3-handers, they’d been worked to the point where they really worked. That’s what I get for not paying attention to the submission guidelines properly from the beginning. I have only myself to blame.

Read the second book in a series where I’d really liked the first book, and was frustrated by the second book. It took a hard turn to right ideology, while pretending to support the left. And the central female character behaved like an idiot throughout. I wanted to bitch slap her multiple times. So the book frustrated me, instead of delighting me, the way the first one had.

Went through the artist resource for the list and found a few things to send to a friend that are more suited to the work she does than to the work I do.

I had another working dream last night, in the same brick buildings I’d dreamed about the night before. Charlotte woke me around 3:30. When I finally got back to sleep, I was back in a cottage on a mansion’s lakeside property (I recognized it from a previous dream). Willa had gotten out (except I kept calling her ‘Irina’ for some reason). I went looking for her. The door to the big house was propped open, so I went in, and it was full of cats. So I hunted through the rooms, looking for Willa. I could hear Tessa, in real life, yelling that she wanted her breakfast, and I tried to tell her that I had to find Willa in the house first, but couldn’t. For some reason, author Elle Griffin was in the dream, too, making pancakes and folding laundry. Go figure.

Today is about the article, with breaks to run some errands. There are more books to pick up at the library. I need to go to the store to get coffee and oat milk. I need to swing by the liquor store. I might make another stop or two, if it’s not raining too hard. But most of the focus will be on the article.

A script and a treatment are in my cue, both at decent rates. They’re not due until Tuesday, so I don’t have to read this weekend, unless I want to. I might turn the treatment around, and leave the script for Monday, since it’s a long coverage.

Over the weekend, I need to do some work on both Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, and prep a couple of other things. I need to do some research for the next section of the Heist Romance Script, and a future section (because I need to return some books next week). I also want to do a lot of work on contest entries, and read at least one of the two books for review. If the weather is nice enough, maybe I’ll go up to the lake or out to the Spruces for a bit, just to get outside. I can take some reading or a notebook with me, and work outside, which is something I will try to do more of this coming season anyway.

In and around all of this, I’ve been doing some noodling on material I want to shape into a series of poems.

I got POEM CRAZY, a book I’ve had since my days living in NYC, out of the library, because my copy is in storage. When I do a storage run this spring, I want to bring my poetry books up.

Better get going. There’s a lot to get done this weekend. But the primary focus is the article, so I can give it a polish and get it out the door on Monday. It’s the first time I’ve worked with this editor, and I want to make sure we have time to do any revisions she needs.

The next episode of ANGEL HUNT drops today. Hope you enjoy it!

Back to the page.

Wed. Feb. 15, 2023: Bit of a Lost Day

image courtesy of 132369 via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy with fluctuating temperatures

Today’s Process Muse talks about why genre matters. You can join the conversation here.

Episode 7 of Angel Hunt also drops today. I realized I did not schedule any of the Angel Hunt promotions for this week into next week, and I need to get on top of that.

The temperature fluctuations are doing a number on me. We’re getting up into the forties, even the fifties and sixties during the days this week, then diving into the twenties at night. My body is not happy. I’m trying to give it rest and stretches and whatever else it needs. Today will require a lot of chamomile tea, I think.

The computer is making funny noises, and the keyboard is glitching, so I have a feeling this baby will be headed back to the repair shop fairly soon. Told ya they hadn’t actually fixed it last time around.

Yesterday was somewhat of a lost day. I didn’t get much done on much, although I found a fun submission call for short radio plays (which I also sent to a friend), and did some background research on a couple of other residencies that interest me. I’m not sure if I should apply for one of them soon for this autumn (autumn is booking up) or wait until the next application period and try for next spring.

I worked on the article. I’m behind where I want to be on it, physically, but I like what’s actually happening with the article.

I did some work on the March newsletter. I did some admin paperwork that needed to be done on a few things. I did the social media rounds to promote Episode 59 of Legerdemain, and the latest #28Prompts. I really like yesterday’s prompt, and look forward to doing something with it, when I have a hot minute. Got the rest of the Prompts loaded and scheduled into Ko-fi, which will shave off some time.

I’m so tired of people lashing out because others like different things. Yes, people are allowed to enjoy the Super Bowl. It’s not my thing, but it’s fun to watch people get excited and see the photos of the food they prepare and the bandanas they put on their dogs. And hey, Puppy Bowl! Yes, there are plenty of people who don’t enjoy Valentine’s Day. But that doesn’t mean being nasty to those who do. Not everything is about your dissatisfaction. The ones who make the worst of the snide and cruel remarks also tend to be the ones who never do anything to make their own situations better. Well, at least I know who to block, right? No time for that crap.

I turned around two coverages, read a little in the evening, but was tired.

Slept reasonably well, although it was another working dream. Nothing bad, and the building in which I worked in the Dreamscape was a lovely old brick building, but I’d put in a full day by the time I woke up.

Charlotte woke me at 2:30, but I got back to sleep. Tessa started fussing before 5, but I refused to get up until the coffee started. She is trying to figure out which button to push on the coffeemaker to start it earlier.

Got my act together and took things to the laundromat. Got some writing done. I’ve hit a point on something I’ve been working on in longhand where I need to type up what I’ve written and then outline before I can go any further.

I also did first drafts of 3 very short radio plays, with an eye to the submission call I saw yesterday. They can only run two pages, so I will need to tweak and tighten, although the first drafts are close.  But they still need work, and that has to be done in and around everything else.

Switched the heart on the door to shamrocks, because, you know, door décor.

I didn’t plan to go to the library until Friday, but a big stack of books came in, so I’ll go today and clear the shelf.

I need to do a lot of promo today on this week’s ANGEL HUNT episodes, and do the graphics for the next set of Legerdemain episodes. And work on the article, type up the short plays, and turn around three coverages.

I better get going, huh?

Have a good one.

Fri. Dec. 9, 2022: Catching Up on Baking; Planning the Writing, the Cards, the Decorating

image courtesy of Mylene 2401 via pixabay.com

Friday, December 9, 2022

Waning Moon

Chiron, Uranus, Mars Retrograde

Partly cloudy and cold

Yesterday felt slow, although I got a decent amount of work done. I polished, uploaded, and scheduled two more episodes of Legerdemain. I created promo graphics for them. I redid the promo graphic I hated so much on Episode 42. I also redid the graphic for Episode 44. I liked the graphic for Episode 44 a lot, but it was in a style that was completely different than any of the other episode promos, and it was jarring. It also gave the sense that it was an episode that leaned more toward humor, which that episode does not. I uploaded and scheduled all the promos. I also decided, starting with the promo for Episode 45, to stop putting “First 3 Episodes Free on Kindle Vella.” That’s known, especially 44 episodes into it, and the promos will be more useful in the long term without the Vella reference. I think I will leave off the reference on the ANGEL HUNT promos, except for the first 3 episodes which are eternally free.

I’m sitting down to do the 2023 Plan which involved the larger plan for the serials (some of which will run beyond 2023). Legerdemain is sustaining itself well enough to warrant the first three large arcs, and possible one or two more. ANGEL HUNT is finite (and, by the end of this year, I hope I know just how many episodes it will entail. I’m pretty sure it will be over 100, meaning it will run for at least a year). I have to schedule in the radio plays I need to write, and a couple of full-length stage plays. I have a couple of film scripts that need prepping so they can go out to contests. Pretty soon, I will know whether or not I’m going back to the series that went on pause when I got sick. And I want to get CAST IRON MURDER out on submission this spring.

Two more packages of the ten mailed on Monday have been delivered. So, five out of the ten. Of the remaining five to be delivered, two of them having been repeatedly traveling between Springfield and Chicopee, instead of getting out of state to their destinations, so let’s hope they get it together and get going.

That’s why I mailed everything early.

It’s UPS and their lying about an incoming package that gets my goat. The package was out for delivery on the truck with the package that was delivered on Wednesday. Only it never made it off the truck with that other package. And now, UPS keeps telling me it will be delivered “today” but it isn’t.

Slogged through a bunch of email. I need to clean up and unsubscribe from a bunch of stuff instead of just deleting it.

Turned around two coverages in the afternoon. Nothing on the docket for today, which is fine, because that gives me time to catch up on the baking. Hopefully, I’ll get a few more coverages next week, and into the following week.

Too tired to bake yesterday.

Finished reading my friend’s book, and I’ll do the writeup on it I promised her, and get it posted this morning.

Today, I need to get two more episodes of Legerdemain polished, uploaded, scheduled. Then do the graphics for them. Then upload and schedule the ads for those last four episodes, and I’m into the first week of January 2023. Then I can switch to editing the next batch of episodes in this arc, and writing more.

I’ve lost some momentum on THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH, and need to get that back. I’m fairly close to the end of this draft, and then I want to let it sit for two months, without even looking at it.

I need to do the rounds of the library, the grocery, the liquor store later this morning, and then bake in the afternoon. If I want to get back on track with the plan, I need to bake 3 different kinds of cookies today.

This weekend, we write the domestic cards, so I can mail them on Monday. I have to get the new printer set up, and do a test run on the coffeemaker. We also need to finish decorating: the tree, getting the garlands and lights up on the stairs, the small tree on the porch, the additional lights throughout, the mantel, and decide where the 50+ Santas I’ve accumulated will perch. We have a platoon of the smaller nutcrackers waiting to be deployed in the living room, too. And Tessa’s made a nest of stuffed Christmas animals in the sewing room, near the heater.

Speaking of Tessa, she has decided that since Charlotte eats out of Tessa’s bowl, Tessa will now eat off Charlotte’s plate when she’s in the kitchen. This is the cat who has never eaten anything that wasn’t in her warm, freshly washed bowl. But she has had enough of Charlotte’s food theft. And Charlotte believes everything tastes better out of Tessa’s bowl.

Willa stays out of it.

Have a good weekend, friends, and I’ll catch you next week.

Thurs. Nov. 10, 2022: A Sunny Autumn Day

(image courtesy of Tim Hill via pixabay.com)

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Waning Moon

Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus, Mars Retrograde

Sunny and cold

I’m late posting, because I was busy writing.

The latest on the garden, and last night’s avian visitor, is over on Gratitude and Growth.

I realized I need to rewrite my cover letter template, the one I use as the basis for sending out LOIs. It’s become outdated.

Did some work on future posts for THE PROCESS MUSE yesterday. Did the SM rounds to interact and promote Process Muse. I’m behind reading other Substackers, and need to build time into the weekly schedule to do that. It’s very much about being a reciprocal community. I’ve blocked off some time tomorrow to catch up.

Did a library run, dropping off books, and picking up the eight books waiting for me. Turned around two scripts in the afternoon. Made chicken enchiladas for dinner, and they were excellent.

I feel better about the election results. I spent a good deal of time yesterday listening to people whose opinions I respect. I’m still wary, but I feel like I have a fuller perspective now. And, as I said, I’m happy about the results in my home state. And I want indictments to happen. NOW. No more excuses. When you crime in real time on video, there need to be consequences.

I was tired and went to bed ridiculously early. Busy in the Dreamscape, putting a garden to bed in front of what looked like a British cottage, only it wasn’t as damp.

Up early, and at the desk. Got in one chapter of THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH before meditation. I was on a roll, with the next scene boiling in my head, so I wrote a second chapter after mediation. My total today is 4007 words, and I’ve passed 25K for the month, so I can take a breath. I don’t want to skip any days, but I don’t have to panic, either. At a third of the way through the month, I’ve hit half the word count, so steady work until 50K will mean I can slow down later in the month around Thanksgiving.

Meditation was good, although Charlotte was a pill until she got settled in front of the Zoom screen.

I have a script that needs to be turned around quickly, today, so once I make the social media rounds, I will do that first, before going back to any other writing or reading. I’m in good enough shape that I can take tomorrow off script reading; I have two scripts in my queue for Monday.

I have house-and-hearth stuff to do in the next few days, along with working on THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH, LEGERDEMAIN, and ANGEL HUNT, and finishing reading/critiquing my friend’s book. I want to get that out to him this weekend. I also need to get back to the radio plays.

If you’re taking the holiday tomorrow, I wish you a good long weekend. If you’re not, we’ll meet again here virtually tomorrow!

Have a good one!

The next episode of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it!

Fri. Aug. 19: Migraines and Tension

image courtesy of Kerbstone via pixabay.com

Friday, August 19, 2022

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny and warm

I had a migraine yesterday, but not the option to lie down until it passed. You can yammer about self-care and health all you want, but the reality, for many of us, is that we can’t just stop whatever we’re doing. Fortunately, since I work remotely, I could at least be grumpy and miserable at home.

The major need was to get the next batch of LEGERDEMAIN episodes edited, uploaded, and scheduled, and get the ads done. Although I’m still behind in the general ads from the last batch.

I’d hoped to get episodes 21-30 done. I got through episode 29. 30 really launches that last act of this first large arc, and it makes more sense to do it with the last batch of episodes. That last batch needs a lot of revision, and will probably wind up broken down into shorter episodes with more drive, which then puts the first major arc over 40 episodes. Which means the initial offering will go over 100. So much for that pretty 90 number! Oh, well. Needs must.

I changed the episode title of one of them. I’m overusing “Welcome” in episode titles.

Anyway, in spite of numerous computer crashes, one of which messed up the dashboard badly and I had to do a lot of work to get it untangled, I got all nine episodes revised. That was nearly 11K words, and I did about 3 drafts on each episode.

I wrote the episode loglines for the nine new episodes, and got to work on the episode ads. I only got five done before I ran out of steam.

Freelance Chat was fun, although I was distracted and a little grumpy. I had rehearsal stuff to deal with for a radio play. I worked on the Shakespeare horror story which has to get out the door this weekend. I’m struggling, because it keeps taking a comic turn, and they were very clear about not wanting comic horror, but horror-horror.

I got some admin done, but not enough. I got a little more done this morning. The Chewy order arrived, so there’s cat food for the next six weeks. And I ordered the tulip bulbs we’re going to try to plant in troughs overwinter and leave on the porch, and then put out on the balcony in spring.

Berkshire Gas hit me with an enormous “settle up” bill for the end of the balanced billing year, and raised my monthly rate yet again. Which is going to make the next few months difficult. So much for thinking I could ever get ahead or get any time off. They also shouldn’t be allowed to double the price per unit IN THE SUMMER, and then probably double it again in the fall, making sure they screw us all to the wall.

Today, I have to run errands. I meant to run some of them yesterday, but never left the desk, so they all have to happen today. It’s supposed to get very hot again during the day, but cool off at night, so we’ll see if I stay here all day to work, or pack up and go somewhere cool.

I need to get the ads done and finish a draft of the horror story. I should turn around a script or two, since I only read two days this week so far, and I have that big ass gas bill to pay. And I need to get the cats to the vet to get their shots updated. And, you know, establish with a vet here.

So I’m feeling stressed and overburdened right now. It will right itself, especially if I make the time over the weekend to get some rest.  But once I get this first big arc uploaded and scheduled, I can focus on writing the next arc. Episode 29 takes me through November 1, releasing twice a week, and the last episodes will get me into December. So that gives me some breathing room to do the next arc, but I also can’t drag my feet.

I also need to do some more work on the Legerdemain website this weekend. I want to be able to start promoting it, but I can’t do so unless there’s fun content on it, not just the episode releases and loglines.

I also need to read the next book for review, so I can send off the review on Monday.

The Topic Workbooks are chugging along nicely, and doing the content calendar/scheduling the ads has taken a lot of pressure off me. Being able to upload some of the Legerdemain ads has also been a help.

I need to get back to work on the next three radio plays, too. One has to go out by the end of the month, and the other two are due in September.

One thing at a time, right? All I can do is the best I can do. But it all has to get done, and I have to be ferociously protective of my time and energy right now.

I’m also not going to chase people down for stuff. I said I could do X within a specific time frame, and needed Y by Z. You don’t get it to me, it’s not happening. You’re not paying me. I said I could help out, but only within a specific time frame. I am not nagging or begging or “sending reminders.”  Be a fucking adult and do what you said you would do when you said you would, or communicate so we can adjust the schedule. Don’t just not do it or makes excuses or  ghost, and then expect me to jump when you get back in touch. I have paying work that takes priority. We set dates. Cough up or shut up. I am moving on to people and projects where any other parties involved step up and supply what’s needed with in the time frame. And pay.

Obviously, I need to make some serious meditation time this weekend.

Back to the page (and later, to the library). Have a good weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Tues. June 14, 2022: An Enjoyable Weekend

image courtesy of Rustu Bozkus via pixabayc.om

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Full Moon

Pluto & Saturn Retrograde

Sunny and warm

Busy weekend, but a good one. Headed down to Pittsfield for a quick jaunt to pick up a few things I couldn’t source elsewhere. Turned around a script coverage. Got showered, dressed, and put on makeup to go to the art opening. It was close enough to walk, and the weather was good enough, so I did, even risking walking in cute shoes. I mean, I couldn’t wear sneakers with the dress. I could, but I didn’t want to.

The opening was artist Conrad Egyir’s solo show, after a year of teaching as an artist-in-residence here at the college. The work is wonderful. The way he captures eyes is compelling. There’s so much life in them. He’s also a really nice guy. We had a good conversation. The exhibit runs until September 1, so I can bring visitors to it.

One of the things Egyir mentioned echoed what the artists in the Open Studios at MassMOCA said: that being here gave them a sense of freedom and liberation to experiment and try new work. They didn’t feel the commercial pressure and expectations they felt at home. People are busy doing and creating here. Instead of putting newcomers through tests to join various inner circles, they open up, include, and encourage, and that’s a nice atmosphere to be around.

Attending these events makes me think more about my own work. How can I take more chances? How can I mix disciplines to tell stronger stories?

Came home, got into comfy clothes, and made dinner, then worked on the next review assignment.

Signed up for a yoga class – again, in walking distance (although I will drive). It’s one of the few studios in the area with strict COVID protocols. I’ll take the class, see if I like the teaching style and feel comfortable at an indoor class, and go from there. It will be my first in-person class in nearly three years. It’s at the end of the month, a special new moon yin class.

Going to the art opening tonight and going to class in a couple of weeks are both calculated risks. If I’m wrong, I’ll pay the price.

Actually slept well on Friday night, although the cats got me up early. I was at the Farmers’ Market just after they opened, and so excited to gather the week’s bounty (and talk to the farmers and other shoppers). Farmers’ Market is as much as social experience as a shopping experience.

After the Farmers’ Market foray, I went to the grocery store and built the week’s meals around what I bought at the market.

When I came home and put things away, I had to make another batch of vegetable stock, because my “odds & ends” bag in the fridge was full. I’ll need to rearrange the freezer as I freeze lots of stock, so that we have it in the winter. I used a lot of cilantro stems in this batch, so the whole house smelled like cilantro (which is a smell I enjoy).

The Goddess Provisions box arrived and it’s wonderful, built around the sun, and summer solstice.  Ellen Byron’s book, BAYOU BOOK THIEF, the first in her new series, arrived. After lunch, and answering some follow-up questions on a script coverage, I started reading it, and finished it on Sunday. It inspired me to see if The Pump Room in Chicago ever put out a cookbook or cocktail book in its heyday. I have one of their drinks carts and some glassware, which an extended family member who worked there gave my parents when the restaurant underwent one of its renovations. I’d like to see what they cooked. One of the later chefs, when it was part of the Ambassador Hotel, has out a cookbook, but I want something from the early days.

It was supposed to rain on Saturday all day, but it didn’t, so people went out and enjoyed the day. In the evening, people had their drinks out on their porches and balconies and called out conversation from safe social distances. It was fun.

A Twitter pal was talking about how there should be magicians at funerals, and now I must write a short story “The Funeral Magician.”

Up early on Sunday, thanks to the cats.

Discussed airlines and airports between LA & NY with Dianne Dotson, in preparation for her upcoming trip. Liana Brooks and her family fly out of Seattle Sunday, to live in Korea for two years.

There’s a lot of transition in the city where I live now, especially among artists coming and going in various residencies. I always lived that way in theatre, too. And it makes me realize how stuck I’d gotten on Cape, not actively pursuing more residencies and opportunities, even before the pandemic made it unsafe to travel. Sometimes it was financial; but other times, it was almost as though I felt I didn’t have the right to it, because I have everything set up the way I want/need it in my home office. There’s got to be a middle ground between living in transient situations and getting overly stuck. I want to be grounded and put down roots and feel like the place I live is my wonderful home. But I also don’t want to feel like I “shouldn’t” go for residencies and other short-term opportunities.

Granted, they’d have to be short, since I am the breadwinner and the caretaker of an elderly parent. But I still should do some of them.  I have a few ideas, for the next couple of years.

I’m not yet comfortable attending conferences in person. Too many people. Too few COVID protocols. But residencies with small groups and protocols in place should be do-able. I’m not yet ready to fly again, with the airlines being irresponsible dickheads turning planes into spreader events, but maybe something in driving distance now and again, until I feel comfortable enough to try, would be a good thing.

There were plenty of things I “should” have done, but I chose rest instead. I did, however, wash the inside of the large kitchen window, and re-set the fun little items along the sill that I took down when we decorated for the winter holidays. The outside of the window needs a good scrub, too, but it was supposed to rain, so I decided to wait.

I read THE SACRED BRIDGE by Anne Hillerman, which was good (although I figured out the murderer the first time the character appeared on the page).

Had a restful afternoon/evening using various products from the Ipsy and Goddess Provisions boxes. Made scallop-and-vegetable pasta for dinner.

Every once in a while, I get sense memory stress from this time last year (the next two weeks could be particularly rough). As I mentioned yesterday, I use meditation techniques to bring myself back into the actual moment, and remind myself I’m not going through that right NOW. That was the past. NOW is different, better, and what’s important.

The TONY Awards were on Sunday night. I was delighted that Matt Doyle won for his work in COMPANY. I worked with him on SPRING AWAKENING, and enjoyed it. Patti LuPone won for her work in COMPANY as well (of course she did, she’s Patti LuPone). I was happy to see Shoshana Bean nominated for MR. SATURDAY NIGHT (we worked together on WICKED). The tribute Bernadette Peters did for Stephen Sondheim was lovely. I’m lucky to have worked with both of them.

Slept well on Sunday into Monday, which was nice. Tessa had a fit because it was nearly 5:45 by the time I got up to feed them.

Got some writing done, caught up on email. Went to re-order checks, and discovered when the account was set up at the bank, they’d mis-spelled the address, even though they copied it from the lease. So I went to change it, and, as usual, it was Big Drama. I am so sick of being treated like a criminal instead of a customer every time there’s something to be addressed. The thought of moving banks again is overwhelming, or I’d do it as soon as my “year” is up in August (here, you can’t switch banks until you’ve been with a bank for a year). NONE of this is about security, as they claim. It’s all about control. None of the systems are to actually serve the customers.

Because it was a beautiful day, I walked to the library to drop off/pick up books, mailed some bills at the Post Office, and stopped at the bank to make a deposit and leave the letter with all the details in writing for the manager. Of course, there was still Big Drama all afternoon, and I am sick of it.

We had squirrel hilarity at lunch (which I will write about in the garden blog on Thursday), and then I took Willa out after lunch in her playpen. Charlotte ran away when I tried to put her in her playpen, so I only took Willa out, and then Charlotte pouted. Her own fault. Tessa would rather be on the front porch, on one of the Adirondack chairs, and not limited by a playpen.

Started reading a book which I sort of like, sort of don’t. It’s set in Cornwall, which I like. The plot reminds me an awful lot of the first season of BROADCHURCH. And the author uses third person omniscient. Not as badly as many authors do, but not all that well, either.

Got the Mystic Mondays booklet of New Moon and Full Moon Spreads – I will use one tonight, for the full moon. Ordered a couple of things online, including putting in a new Chewy order. They’d never contacted me, as I requested, when the cats’ preferred food came in stock. It is now $4/bag more expensive than it was. So we’re sticking to the less expensive food, which they are eating just fine, which is $8/bag less than the original food.

Started a script coverage, but kept getting distracted. I have plenty of time until it’s due, and I grabbed some more for this week, so all is good. Sent off a couple of radio plays to a producer with whom I’ve worked before. They’re darker than he usually uses, so they might not work for the company, but I want to keep everything out there, earning its keep!

The kitchen island I ordered arrived, ready to assemble. I’m sure it will take the rest of the week, but, once it’s done, it will be great. The box was 70 pounds, but I managed to get it up the stairs.

Enjoying the long evenings, where we can sit on the porch or the balcony, reading or just being. Next week is the Summer Solstice, and then the days start getting shorter. So I will enjoy as much as possible. That is one of my goals this summer – to actually enjoy it.

Busy day today, so better get to it. Hope you are well, happy, and having a good one.

Fri. June 10, 2022: At The Desk

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Friday, June 10, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto and Saturn Retrograde

Cloudy/sunny and pleasant

Boy, did it rain yesterday! We needed it, and hey, no more pollen on the car. But there were intense bands of it.

Meditation was good, and Charlotte was right there with me. Got some admin work done. Did a library run to drop off/pick up books. The librarians are stressed by the unmasked patrons. They’re all still masking.

Unpacked and washed the second box of teapots. It feels good to have some of them back, and I’m eager to bring the others back up in autumn.

Freelance Chat was good. Lively conversations, with lots of resource-sharing. I feel very lucky to be a part of the group.

I also enjoy CounterSocial a lot. I’m finding so much kindness and in-depth conversation over there.

I started on a script coverage, then put it aside to negotiate a radio script contract. We came to an agreement, I signed, I did requested revisions on “The Collector” and I was paid before I’d even sent off the revision. That’s the way I like to work! It’s not a ton of money, but it was handled with professionalism and integrity, and I’ll choose that every time. This producer has the first look/licensing option on the next three radio plays (and then I have to finish the dirigible radio play for the other producer).

So this writer has to get busy at the page! Monthology draft first, though.

Started reading the next book for review. I read the first book in this series, and this one is the second. Zero character growth, which is a shame. There was a lot of potential here.

Ellen Byron’s book didn’t get delivered today; now it’s been promised for tomorrow. As long as I have it for the weekend. That’s my treat for finishing my work.

The public hearings about January 6^th are powerful. What happened that day is horrifying. Every single insurrectionist needs to be in prison. Those who are elected officials need to go to prison for life, or be exiled from this US and ever allowed to return (or profit).

This is what happens when you allow yahoos to romanticize the Confederate flag for decades, and allow white supremacy to flourish.

 My short story “The Ramsey Chase” has an alternate history future for the US, where the Confederate States seceded again and the US is a series of smaller countries. That doesn’t look far off the horizon right now, even though it was written back more years than I like to think about.

Slept reasonably well, for the first time in a long time.

On today’s agenda: writing, script coverage, a quick trip to Pittsfield for a couple of things. I hope to finish everything by a reasonable hour, so that I can enjoy the start of my weekend.

I will have a journal prompt over on my Ello page later this morning.

I plan to write through the weekend – the Monthology story, work on the Big Project, work on the radio plays – but I also plan to enjoy myself. And, you know, Farmers’ Market tomorrow, which is my big social event of the week!

Enjoy your weekend!

Thurs. May 26, 2022: When The Day Evaporates

image courtesy of Christoph via pixabay.com

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Waning Moon

Pluto and Mercury Retrograde

Partly sunny/cloudy and pleasant

There’s a garden update on Gratitude and Growth here.

As I mentioned yesterday, while I was at the laundromat, I did 26 pages of the multi-colored draft on CAST IRON MURDER. Yeah, that will take some time, to clean up the sloppy language. I’m keeping some of it as a cadence choice for a particular character, because it supports/reveals who she is, but will fix it in plenty of other places. So much for being happy with the book!

Had a terrific conversation with my Llewellyn editor about the article I’ll write for them in 2024. Which will be contracted in the next couple of weeks, and due in August. Because almanacs work two years in advance. The material I wrote last year for next year will release in August.

It’s also a reminder to put reworking the Cerridwen iris Shea website into the schedule for this summer, as well as sorting through the twenty-six plus years’ worth of material I’ve written for Llewellyn annuals, where the rights have reverted back to me, and I can publish them elsewhere. That’s kind of a major project, since there were years where I had multiple articles in multiple annuals, which is part of the reason I burned out.

Another thing on the list, right?

And then, the rest of the day just sort of evaporated. Much of it was due to the combination of grief and rage against the elected officials for allowing continued gun violence and refusing to do anything about this. I’m tired of my government’s determination to kill me and those about whom I care (and even those about whom I care, who I don’t know). I’m tired that we are expected to pay to be murdered. It has to change. Part of that is that Democratic leadership has to change. They need to be as ruthless, no, MORE ruthless than Republicans.

I did some research, and found out that one can file a petition with the IRS is a tax-exempt organization has broken the rules. I looked at the checklist, and the NRA has broken many of them. Gathering supporting documentation won’t be difficult. I posted the link multiple times, but I doubt anyone else will do anything. I also worked on a letter to Chuck Schumer demanding Joe Manchin be removed from all committee assignments. Stop pandering to someone who stabs us all in the back at every opportunity. The carrot hasn’t worked. Used the stick and beat the SOB into submission until he’s voted out. I’ve worked with Senator Schumer. I like and respect him a great deal. But he’s not ruthless enough. If McConnell can always get everything he wants, Schumer needs to be just as much of a dirty fighter.

We took Willa out on the back balcony in her playpen in the afternoon. She was fascinated by the sights and smells. So different from being out on the deck on Cape. I will have to take the cats out in the playpens by turns – there isn’t room for all the playpens at once, like there was on our deck. So each day, one of them gets to go out. I have a feeling Tessa won’t like it, but I at least want to give her the option. Charlotte definitely wants to go out. And she’s very good in her playpen.

Put in a Chewy order. The food Tessa likes is out of stock; I’m trying one bag of a similar one, and ordered treats and the cactus scratching post. Because the 100% response to the Twitter poll was that I should get it (like I wasn’t going to, anyway). I had to buy a toy, too, to get it up to the level for free shipping.

I’m trying to look at the lack of script coverage work as a gift of time, to heal from burnout, and enjoy it, rather than worrying.

I read the next book for review, and will write up/submit that today, and hopefully get assigned a new one before the holiday.

Meditation this morning, then some work on the Big Project. I have to do a library and grocery run, and then it’s back to the page to work on the Monthology story, some more edits on CAST IRON MURDER, and the radio plays.

There’s plenty to do, I just have to stop frittering away time.

Have a good one!

Fri. May 20, 2022: Preparing for a Hot Weekend

image courtesy of SplitShire via pixabay.com

Friday, May 20, 2022

Waning Moon

Pluto and Mercury Retrograde

Partly cloudy and warmer

Meditation was good yesterday, although it took me a bit of time to settle into it. Charlotte had no such problems. She loves the weekly Zoom meditations with the Concord Public Library.

Got ahead on some blog work, did the social media rounds, caught up on email, did the necessary admin work. Now that I’m figuring out how to use Counter Social, I’m liking it. And I’ll take an anonymous hacker as the leader of it over a spoiled brat billionaire any time. But Twitter is still my main hangout, at least for now.

Freelance Chat was fun, although the pricing/rate suggestions given by the weekly guest don’t suit what I do.

Turned around a script in the afternoon. I’d been requested, which is always nice. A little worried because my queue is empty. I should be pleased; it opens up the weekend. But I’m below my financial goal for the month with them, which concerns me.

However, I read the next book for review in the afternoon/evening, and this morning I will write up the review and send the invoice for the last batch, so there’s that money. But if scripts are available this weekend, I’ll read over the weekend.

Played with the flash fiction I wrote the other day. I will type it up over the weekend and do a couple of revision passes on it, so that it’s in a decent shape for Ko-Fi. The most intriguing part, for me, about this, is the tension in the relationship between the two characters. Is this something I want to explore further?

It rained on and off all day, sometimes intensely, so I was glad to stay in. But I have to swing by the library this morning on my way to the Williamstown Historical Museum to drop off/pick up books. I have about six to return, and there are ten waiting for me.

Started a book that had come highly recommended, but it’s in present tense, so, nope.

Knowledge Unicorns was fine. Some of the kids are finished with their exams. The rest have their last ones this coming week. Only two more sessions, and we will be done, after two and a half years of working together. Definitely bittersweet.

I decided not to do the proposal for the project in autumn. It would have to be indoors, and with numbers rising, new variants, and monkey-fucking-pox, it’s not worth the risk.

This weekend is supposed to be in the 90’s, which just makes me cringe. I will clean the fans later today, so they’re ready in case we need to use them in addition to the ceiling fans. Considering that it’s cold enough for the heat to be on this morning, I don’t want that large temperature swing. It does a number on my body.

The plan is, in the cooler portions of the day, that I can get a lot of writing done, especially on the radio plays, The Big Project, and the first draft of the anthology story. I also want to get back to the revisions of “Personal Revolution” and the Topic Workbooks. I realized how to solve a logic problem in “Personal Revolution” by simply changing a character’s job location.

Hopefully, the heat won’t drain every last drop of creativity out of me, and I can get things done, whether or not any script coverage comes through.

Have a good one.

Thurs. May 12, 2022: Making the Most of Tech Issues

image courtesy of Gretta Blankenship via pixabay.com

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto and Mercury Retrograde

Sunny and warm

Just like that, we leapt into summer. It’s gorgeous, and as long as the humidity stays low, I’m fine about it.

Details of how we’re setting up our garden spaces are over on Gratitude and Growth.

The computer announced it was doing the Windows11 Upgrade at 7:30 in the morning. It took 14 hours. Not a happy camper.

Fortunately, nothing was on deadline or in the script queue, or I would have been screwed.

I mean, Mercury Retrograde and all that, but fourteen hours?

I let it run, and went about my non-computerized day. Yeah, I know, it says you can use the computer while it’s upgrading up until the point where it needs to restart, but that simply wasn’t the case. I managed to get the blog up, and check email, and that was a struggle. So I closed down the tabs and let it run uninterrupted. And it still took 14 hours.

I went to the library to drop off and pick up books, and to get my Commonwealth catalogue sign-in issues resolved. Because I need my access to the Commonwealth Catalog!

Went to pick up my mother’s prescriptions, and to go a quick grocery shop.

Home, and we did some repotting (even though it wasn’t a planting day, according to my calendar, but the new plants can’t wait until Saturday). We ran out of potting soil, so that’s on the list for today’s errands.

I’d made a sesame-poppyseed dressing for which my friend Artie gave me the recipe when he’d visited the Cape house several years back. I made it before we started the repotting, so it blended by the time lunch rolled around. I tried to re-create the spinach and strawberry salad he’d made us. It wasn’t as good as when he made it, but it was still good. And the recipe makes plenty of dressing (which is really good), so I put it in a glass jar, labelled it, and we can enjoy it with other salads.

We started setting up the back balcony, which is also detailed in the G&G post. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re getting there, and it’s a lovely space. The rug is a little short; if we can find another one to match it, that will unite the space better. We also put down the rug and rearranged the enclosed front porch (also detailed in the G&G post).

And collapsed onto the chairs on the porch with a cocktail when we were done!

But both spaces feel really good now. We can enjoy using them until it gets too cold in the autumn.

Since I couldn’t do any computer work, might as well get this done, right?

Made a mushroom-spinach crabmeat concoction for dinner, wrapped in phyllo, and remembered how much I loathe working with phyllo. It was decent, but the mushrooms overpowered it, and the crabmeat wasn’t a high enough quality to hold its own. Also made a batch of lime cilantro mayonnaise, and a big batch of curried chicken salad. Used up all the cilantro I bought, which had already started to fade, although I bought it this morning.

The Radio Theatre Project wants to do “Pier-less Crime” later this month. I’m delighted. I love working with them. They’d hoped to do it when everything shut down, so there was a delay, but they’ve performed the entire Frieda/Laz trilogy.

Once I figure out how to make the dirigible play work, they’ll get first crack at it.

I have two scripts in my queue, one for today, and one for tomorrow. I’m way under my pay goal with that client this pay period, but I earned more than expected from the client for whom I finished the five-month project (the contest), so it balances out.

Meditation this morning, and then I want to get some writing done. Later this morning, we are going to run some errands, and then it’s script coverage in the afternoon. I have to learn how to navigate Windows11. It looks different, but as long as I can do what I need to do, I’ll adapt. It wasn’t working well at all this morning, so I wiggled some keys, not really knowing what I was doing, but it works now.

I have a ton of email to slog through, some paperwork to do, and catch up on Ello. But somehow, it will all get done. I’m trying to retrain the stress sense memory from last year not to be so reactive to every little thing this year.

Spending the early morning first writing session of the day in the lovely garden spaces helps. Tessa isn’t sure about the rug on the porch. It feels strange under her paws. But Charlotte was really sweet with her (for once) showing her all the new stuff this morning. And the two scout crows peered in and made a few comments. Willa was still in bed. She “helped” yesterday and is Very Tired today.

Have a good one!

Fri. April 22, 2022: Earth Day!

image courtesy of Purwaka Seta via pixabay.com

Friday, April 22, 2022

Waning Moon

Sunny and pleasant

Earth Day!

How lovely that we have a beautiful day in which to celebrate Earth Day. I have a couple of errands I will do later on foot, to enjoy it.

I had trouble settling into meditation yesterday morning.

After breakfast, I dealt with emails and with admin work. Then, I sent off the trio of Frieda/Laz plays to the radio producer in NY who was interested in them.

I spent a good chunk of time converting “Pier-less Crime” (the third Frieda/Laz play) into US Numbered Format for the producer in Minnesota. I’d already converted “Intrigue on the Aurora Nightingale” thank goodness. I got both of them off to Minnesota. That company is recording the first one in June, so if it goes well and they want more, they’ve got them in house and can just license them, and we’re good. They’re a trustworthy company; I’ve worked with them on several plays.

In the afternoon, I turned around a script coverage, and I answered follow-up questions on a previous coverage.

A book I ordered arrived, and I’m looking forward to reading it, probably a week or two down the road. The Ipsy bag arrived, full of lovely things for the coming month.

My mom’s new cellphone arrived, and we started the activation process from Tracfone (which has devolved from mere incompetence into harassment) to Consumer Cellular (who is no great shakes either, but at least they had a decent phone, and let’s see how the plan works). Anyway, it’s a cute red flip phone with talk and text, which is all she wants, and not a Smartphone that’s too complicated for her, so she is happy. Getting the contacts in was a hassle, but we got that done. Now, we just have to wait for the migration to complete. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.

I’m really tired of these companies treating customers like criminals and claiming it’s in the name of “security.” If you assume everyone is a criminal, you shouldn’t be in business.

I have zero sympathy for Disney right now. They could have avoided all this crap by simply not funding right wing extremists in the first place, and then pretending they supported LGBTQ, and facing backlash from Republicans. Disney always tries to play both sides against the middle for maximum profit, and I hope this costs them a lot of money. They will win, in the end, because they have the lawyers and the money. And, frankly, they built the infrastructure in that area, so they’re going to defend it. It’s just performance for the GOP base, anyway. They’ll all be back in bed together in a few days. Not weeks or months. Days. Even if they pretend otherwise.

Still have a migraine, but I’m hoping that the lovely weather and doing errands on foot will mitigate it. Plants can go out on the porch again today, yay!

I’m focusing on contest entries today, and will probably work through the weekend on them, so I can make my final decision, write up the reviews for the winners, and submit the results over next week.

Before that, though, I want to get in some work on “Owe Me” and on The Big Project.

Have a good weekend. I’m hoping it will warm and sunny, so I can enjoy reading amongst the plants!