Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Waxing Moon
Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Mars Retrograde
Partly sunny/cloudy and cold
I hope you had a great holiday weekend, if it was a holiday, or a great weekend no matter what.
Curl up and let’s have a catch-up.
If you missed my post on creating an Oasis on the Goals, Dreams, and Resolution site, you can read it now.
Friday was mostly about switching out fabric: taking the autumn fabric off various surfaces, deciding what Yuletide fabric would go on them, ironing as needed, washing what came off.
Basically, if it doesn’t move, it gets covered with fabric and décor, so the cats keep moving when the boxes come out.
Saturday morning, I realized that the chapter I wrote on Friday needs to be about two or three chapters further into the book, since it sets off the climactic sequence. I renumbered that chapter and went to create the interim chapters. I only got 709 words written, before we really had to get going on our day.
It was Small Business Saturday, so that’s what we did – we small businessed.
First, it was down to Cheshire to Whitney’s Farm to get the wreath. On the way back, we stopped at Adams Fresh Market for a few things. We dropped everything off, then headed up to Bennington, where we parked off Main Street and visited the local small shops and got our holiday shopping done, except for one thing I got in Williamstown on the way back.
All small business/individual artist stuff.
When I got home, the few things I’d ordered (from yet another small business) arrived.
So everything is ready to be packed and shipped this week.
Whew!
We also visited a favorite thrift store up in Bennington. I found some adorable vintage ornaments, including a pair of glittery airstream trailers that totally fit in with THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH. I found a wooden hot air balloon ornament, and a few other things, including a piece of a Christmas village.
I’ve always wanted a Christmas village, but haven’t found what I want within my budget. This year, I decided who needs matchy-matchy? I can create it just by picking up thrift store pieces I enjoy and build something unique.
Because you know I’ll wind up creating stories set in it.
When we got back, I got a few more decorations packed up into the closet in Tessa’s room, and got out the small tree for the porch. It’s together, but without lights and ornaments.
Sunday, I chose not to write. I made a mad dash to a store I dislike, in the hopes they would have some taper candles, and I got the last box of white tapers in the place.
We cleaned off the mantel, put up better hooks, and put some of the decorations we want up there. I also packed away a bunch of stuff that had been there.
In previous years, in fact, since I have a memory of these holidays, we always displayed our holiday cards on red ribbons hung beside the doorframes. It looked good in Chicago, in Westchester, on Cape Cod. I did it when I lived in Florida, San Francisco, Seattle, and Manhattan.
But here, it doesn’t look right. The doorways are tall, and even re-cutting ribbon for the full length looks spindly. These doorways need grand garlands. Which is not happening this year.
So I bought a cork bulletin board. I covered it in holly fabric, with burgundy and gold ribbon around the edges, and we will pin our cards to the board and keep in on the fireplace mantel. It looks nice, and we will build the rest of what we put on the mantel around that.
We got the carolers up on their little table. And the gold bells on the living room door. We worked on the big staircase from the front door up to the actual apartment. The nutcrackers march down one side of it, the tallest at the top, the smallest at the bottom. On the other side, we have the deer going up, the largest deer at the bottom, the smallest on top. We still have to do the garland and the lights, but at least these pieces are in place.
And that’s all that got done. No tree in the stand or decorated yet.
I started to berate myself for not getting it all done in one day (I used to get it all done in one, eight-hour day). Then I remembered how much I’ve accumulated since then, and that we are still trying to figure out what looks best where. Last year we just kind of slapped it up wherever. This year, we are putting more thought into it. If it takes time, it takes time.
I found Charlotte’s banana in all of this, which has been lost for weeks, and all is now right with her world.
I was tired and my back hurt by Sunday night. I went to bed early. In the morning, I had answered some questions that came back after one of the coverages, going into more detail and offering some resources to the writer.
Up early on Monday. Tessa supervised my morning yoga, making sure I didn’t slack off.
I did, however, have a hard time getting it together.
I managed to finish the chapter on THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH. One more interim chapter, and we’ll be where we need to for Friday’s chapter to happen, and then hurtle forward.

I got the promotions uploaded and scheduled for “Just Jump in and Fly” which always gets a push at this time of year. Since it’s one of my favorite pieces, I like promoting it. I had to do a new graphic for “The Ghost of Lockesley Hall” because the ad just didn’t work. But I got it done, uploaded and scheduled. Then, I got the Topic Workbook promotions uploaded and scheduled through the end of the year.

I’m allowing all the promotions, of the above, and of Legerdemain, to run through the end of the year. Then, we’ll see what Yegads Muskrat is up to. If the platform continues its rightwing extremist skew, my audience isn’t on it anyway, and I’ll lock down my account and see where else makes sense. I don’t want to give up the account, but I’ll lock it down. I can’t even do anything with the Fearless Ink account, because if I sign out of the DE account to go to the FI account, I can’t sign back into the DE account. Maybe I’ll sign into the FI account from the library.
I bit the bullet and signed up for Post’s waitlist. We’ll see.
The tablet is running slowly and I’m having trouble doing anything on Hive. I wish they had a desktop app. So many writers and readers are there that it makes sense to be there. But if I can’t do anything on it, it’s just a frustrating waste of time.
There are people running around screaming and bullying about this site and that site, pretending they actually know what they’re talking about and their “deep dives” into the sites are anything but self-serving. The sites all screw with our info, that’s part of the deal. You take precautions, and leave when you don’t like it. And the truth is, no one knows which platform works for what, because it will depend on who winds up where. Twitter was unique in its time and place. That it survived as long as it did is amazing. Now, it’s time to try new things. The whole adapt-or-die thing.
Turned around two scripts in the afternoon. Was too tired to try any more decorating/unpacking. Read a little bit for pleasure. Went to bed pretty early.
Up around five this morning, which was good. I got my morning routine done early enough to get to other things quickly. I could really enjoy the morning yoga, which was nice. And, yes, Tessa was right there to make sure I didn’t try any shortcuts!
The big thing I started this morning was one of the two holiday stories that have to go out this month. I should have written them in August, but, hey. I’ve been thinking about this one since about October. I drafted about 2K this morning; it will need some work, and it will be longer than I’d hoped, but that’s the way it goes. This is the one that will go with the December newsletter. I’d written sections of the story in my head for a few weeks now, so it wasn’t just trying to figure it all out. I’m also writing in my head the flash fiction that will go up on Ko-fi. As soon as I draft this story, I’ll switch over to that one.
Which means this is probably a day off writing THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH. Which is okay, because I hit the 50K I needed for Nano. And now I can flow between projects as needed, rather than stressing over hitting 50K.
I have to contact an interview source for the article recently contracted, and get that scheduled. I need to ask my friend when he wants the notes on his manuscript. I need to get to the post office today to mail the last overseas cards and the one overseas package, because I didn’t do it yesterday in the rain. I have to research the artist whose pieces I bought as gifts on Saturday, so I can make a little slip of paper to enclose with the gift (the store didn’t have the info, and not even all the pieces have her name). Note to creatives: At the very least, have a removable sticker with your name and website on the pieces you sell.
I have two scripts to turn around this afternoon. Hopefully, I can do it fast enough so that I have time to work on the decorations. Tonight, I need to start a book I promised I’d comment on for another friend, and I also want to start the domestic cards. My original idea is to write a few every night, but it might be a stronger choice to block off, say, tomorrow night or Thursday night and see how many I can get done.
The Artists Working Group is supposed to meet late this afternoon. A few days after Thanksgiving sounds like a COVID spreading opportunity to me, and I don’t trust that they will mask without being asked.
So I will skip it.
The next episode of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it!
Have a good one.
