We've had nearly 6" of rain this week, most of it Friday night. To say we're soggy is a bit of an understatement. Creeks are running very high.
Good Stuff:
- It's not raining today. It looks like it wants to, but so far we're not actively wet.
- We went to the big farmers market in St Louis yesterday, so not only are we stocked on fruits and veggies, I have a spare jar of honey and a dozen free-range eggs, plus we picked up a few things for Vicky and dropped them by her house.
- Jeli (my grandcat) remembers me! She jumped up in my lap and give me a good sniffing over. Vicky said she doesn't do that with other people. Yeah Grammy vibes! (No, I'm not in a hurry to test them on a human subject.) Surprisingly, none of my furries seemed to notice all the white fur on my clothes.
- We joined a local gun club. (Very local--just a mile up the road.) IL is supposed to have a concealed carry law coming on the books soon. (We're the last hold-out, and it wouldn't be happening if a circuit court of appeals hadn't to our state lawmakers that it's unconstitutional not to have one.) I'm pretty comfortable with a rifle, but they don't conceal well, and it will be good for me to get used to firing a handgun. I'm still finding ways to stretch my comfort zone.
- I drew the floor plan for my fictional church. On paper it looks huge. I have to keep reminding myself that the whole thing could fit in our church's sanctuary and gathering area. Maybe now that I have a better handle on the logistics I can start getting more words.
- I figured out part of the problem with the book was my timeline. It was too big, like twice as long as it needed to be. I shifted the end back from Thanksgiving to mid-July instead of coming up with more work that needed to be done. If I knew more about construction methods in general (and in the early 20th century specifically) it might have been easier to add jobs and obstacles, but I'm out of my element as it is. I wouldn't know what I do if it weren't for a retired contractor friend of ours who, thankfully, is getting used to bizarre questions! I scared him when I asked how to start a fire with know and tube wiring. ;-)
- I'm a lot closer to perfecting a gluten-free scone. I did a test batch Friday and they were gone yesterday. It just needs a little more lemon.
Not So Good Stuff:
- I'm unhappy with the way my clothes are starting to fit. The number is fairly steady but higher than I'd like so it's time to get serious again. I really let things slip when we were busy. I'm going to step things up at the gym and see if that does the trick. Not buying more mint chocolate chip ice cream will probably help, too.
- May was awful for writing. I'm glad it's June.
- I have no free Saturdays until mid-July. Good thing I write during the week.
- I'm supposed to have a new story to tell next weekend. Yeeaaahhhhhhh.
This Week:
- Seriously. Write Marjorie already.
- Swab out the freezer and turn it back on.
- Pack for Kansas City.
- Do the usual household stuff. Hopefully it will dry out in time to mow before the next batch of rain comes in. This has been the wierdest year for weather since we've been here.
- Remember to blog tomorrow.
8 comments:
Maybe it's just that May was a bad month for writing. I can deal with that. Maybe that means June is a better month for writing. I could certainly deal with that!
Handguns are fun to shoot. I need to shoot mine more often. I think the last time I fired mine was when I qualified for my concealed carry license -- and again when I re-qualified. That's four years between firings. I shot well, but for a hobby I profess to enjoy, that's not much participation.
9mm is a nice round to work with, popular, and reasonably effective (although my personal preference is a .45Auto). For concealed carry, you'll want to look for one of the smaller framed weapons. They have gotten very scarce. Or, Eric can use a fanny pack or a backpack to carry, and you can use a purse or an iPad case (Ful makes a good one--not designed for concealed carry, but it works well.) http://ful.com/ -- they seemed to have changed the models, because I can't find mine on their site.
The reason I don't shoot my handgun more is that bullets cost $. I have a Taurus .357, which will take lower cost rounds, but frankly, after I shot the target a few times, I got bored. And you have to wear ear plugs and eye gear and sign the release ... I used to enjoy shooting cans when I was a kid out in the country before it became so safe. :)
Here's a pic of it: http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=273&category=Pistol
Do you use graph paper to draw your church? I learned the fine art of graphing from DnD. Had to draw a lot of dungeons and castles to scale.
I love my Tauruses (Taurusii?). I have .357 (Model 66, I believe) and a PT99 (9mm). Both are very smooth shooters. I forgot to bring my eye and ear protection to SA with me for the requal class, so I had to buy more. Ugh!
I chose a revolver because I've had automatics jam on me. I think revolvers are more dependable. I have a speed loader for it, too, which I think is a cool piece of tech even though it wouldn't be practical in a real fight. Automatics have the advantage there.
Very valid points. The speed loaders take practice.
I have an antique Colt .380 I won't use for self-defense because I don't trust it. The spring in the magazine is presumably worn. It jams a lot.
I prefer the Taurus revolver for my bedside weapon (for the first defense -- I have a semi-auto I can get to). Mostly because I'm not comfortable keeping a round in the chamber with the hammer back for carrying around or for home defense. With the revolver, if time is of the essence, it's ready to go.
When preparing for deployment, the Air Force taught to keep the weapon with a round in the chamber, cocked, and no safety on. That was for a potential combat situation, and it made sense to train like you fight. I'm a little more cautious in a non-combat environment (at least one not designated as such--grin).
I like that a revolver doesn't have a safety. I had a Beretta for a time, but the dang safety would hang. Not that I was ever in a situation when I didn't have time to fiddle with it, but it was annoying. My uncle bought it from me.
I keep one chamber empty in my Taurus. No reason other than it feels safer.
Thanks for the gun suggestions. We have a couple but I've considered a revolver for my personal use.
Yes, Stephen, I drew the church out on graph paper. It seemed like the simplest solution.
There are some programs that help with that in the DnD world. I'll try to find them again.
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