We got home from St Louis an hour or so ago. Really good trip. I sold 22 copies of Blackbirds. I'm down to 8 spoken for and 5 spares, which probably won't come home from MI with me next week. I even sold one to a total stranger at the Games yesterday. Apparently, part of clinching the deal involves putting the book in their hand. I only had one person hand it back yesterday and he's from Clan McDonald, so a little grace has to be extended. He doesn't know better. ;-)
My kids came to the Games yesterday, too. Alex was in town, having seen the oral surgeon who took out Vicky's wisdom teeth to get his out. It was the consultation, and he'll get them out next month. We met the new BF, and he seems all right. He treats Vicky well, buys her trinkets, and makes her laugh, and it seemed important to her that we like him, so maybe we'll let him live. Just in case, though, I made it a point to reluctantly (on the grounds that it was hot) accept a challenge from my fencing instructor. He lit into me in front of the clan tents and I held my own for as long as we went, which wasn't nearly as long as it used to be. I think it was long enough to get my point made, though.
Oh! We were invited to go to Scotland with clan friends next summer. We're seriously considering taking them up on it. We've got the money put away and have been waiting for Eric to build up some vacation time, but for this he is willing to take unpaid leave.
We went to our old church today, where I was hornswaggled into singing (not that it took much persuasion). It was great to see everyone again, and one of my band sons might be moving to Chicago in a couple years, after he finishes his Associates. Maybe we'll still be here!
So that's pretty much the exciting part of my week. I've gotten a lot done in the apartment. The bad news is I leave again Thursday, this time for a few days in MI with my mom before it gets too cold to sit on the deck.
This week:
- Write something! Anything, for heaven's sake!
- Laundry.
- Pack. Again.
- Put away more stuff.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Wendy asked if Mr. L ever does anything nice. A more than fair question, since all I seem to do is complain about the man. This week, I tried to notice when he does something nice. Here are a few things:
- He's started bringing one laundry basket downstairs (without asking) when I empty his hamper and leave the basket on top on days I plan to do laundry. This helps me, because then I only have to bring my basket downstairs (and his has the towels in it, too).
- He cooks at least a couple of nights a week.
- He lets Lady out in the morning (he's usually downstairs first), and she comes upstairs to help me meet the day.
- Just this week, he took a few items upstairs that I'd put at the bottom of the stairs to go up.
- He's attempted to involve me in the trip planning for this year. I don't care what he does, but I do appreciate that he's letting me know what we're doing.
- He was sensitive to me being worried about Sneaky not being here when she was gone. Of course, I know he was worried about her, too.
Mr. L's lenses weren't made right, so we're hoping the replacement set is, and that they get here before the end of the day on Tuesday. At least he got his frames re-fitted to his face while we were in the shop, so when they pop the new lenses in and ship them to us, they should fit well. He's using his old prescription now, and, well, if you wear glasses, you know that's less than ideal.
I got more type-in done on PBOTL. I've decided to compile my 2014 A-Z blog posts into an ebook, and I'll use that as the freebie for signing up for any of my mailing lists. I may go back and compile the 2013 posts, too, for something similar. Maybe one for each list -- 2014 for the Fiction Club, and 2013 for the blog posts. I'll need something else for my PM blog post sign up. These first two will be fun to figure out cover art, formatting, etc. I need to learn sometime.
We had an interesting moment late this afternoon. Mr. L looked outside and saw a cat under the trailer in the driveway. At first he thought it was Sneaky, but she was on the back porch. Then we thought it was Walter, but HE was on the side porch. A third cat, with a big head like Walter, was crouched under the trailer. We had a kitty triangle for about ten minutes, then the cat under the trailer walked behind the trailer wheels, Walter went under the house, and Sneaky curled up and went to sleep. The third cat came onto the side porch and cleaned the last few crumbs of food out of the food tower. Instead of Sneaky and Walter, I wonder if we've had a third cat that we assumed was Walter (this cat is browner in color while Walter is more silvery). Always something intriguing going on around here.
Floyd has started causing problems at night around the house. A couple of nights ago, I got Lady's treats to put her in her cage for the evening, and Floyd walked in with her. For the third night in a row, he's done this, and I've just closed him in with Lady. He hasn't minded. I suppose because he commandeers the fleece inside the carrier, leaving Lady to sleep on the scratch box. Last night, I put a towel on top of the carrier, and Lady's been sleeping there at night.
The next edition of the Fiction Club newsletter goes live on November 2, so I plan to have a link to photos from the book signing as well as any links to buy Blackbirds.
The first "Looking for..." post went live on Wednesday. Next week's post will have more links. The key is remembering to add to the post as I go throughout the week.
Have you heard of Mash Stories? Each quarter, they post three key words. People write a story of 500 words or less using the three key words unchanged in any way (except for capitalization at the beginning of sentences) and submit them for competition. Readers vote, as does the panel, and at the end of the quarter, a winner is chosen. The competition begins anew with three new key words. It might be fun, and the feedback (or lack thereof) might help with story polishing.
The Week Ahead:
- He's started bringing one laundry basket downstairs (without asking) when I empty his hamper and leave the basket on top on days I plan to do laundry. This helps me, because then I only have to bring my basket downstairs (and his has the towels in it, too).
- He cooks at least a couple of nights a week.
- He lets Lady out in the morning (he's usually downstairs first), and she comes upstairs to help me meet the day.
- Just this week, he took a few items upstairs that I'd put at the bottom of the stairs to go up.
- He's attempted to involve me in the trip planning for this year. I don't care what he does, but I do appreciate that he's letting me know what we're doing.
- He was sensitive to me being worried about Sneaky not being here when she was gone. Of course, I know he was worried about her, too.
Mr. L's lenses weren't made right, so we're hoping the replacement set is, and that they get here before the end of the day on Tuesday. At least he got his frames re-fitted to his face while we were in the shop, so when they pop the new lenses in and ship them to us, they should fit well. He's using his old prescription now, and, well, if you wear glasses, you know that's less than ideal.
I got more type-in done on PBOTL. I've decided to compile my 2014 A-Z blog posts into an ebook, and I'll use that as the freebie for signing up for any of my mailing lists. I may go back and compile the 2013 posts, too, for something similar. Maybe one for each list -- 2014 for the Fiction Club, and 2013 for the blog posts. I'll need something else for my PM blog post sign up. These first two will be fun to figure out cover art, formatting, etc. I need to learn sometime.
We had an interesting moment late this afternoon. Mr. L looked outside and saw a cat under the trailer in the driveway. At first he thought it was Sneaky, but she was on the back porch. Then we thought it was Walter, but HE was on the side porch. A third cat, with a big head like Walter, was crouched under the trailer. We had a kitty triangle for about ten minutes, then the cat under the trailer walked behind the trailer wheels, Walter went under the house, and Sneaky curled up and went to sleep. The third cat came onto the side porch and cleaned the last few crumbs of food out of the food tower. Instead of Sneaky and Walter, I wonder if we've had a third cat that we assumed was Walter (this cat is browner in color while Walter is more silvery). Always something intriguing going on around here.
Floyd has started causing problems at night around the house. A couple of nights ago, I got Lady's treats to put her in her cage for the evening, and Floyd walked in with her. For the third night in a row, he's done this, and I've just closed him in with Lady. He hasn't minded. I suppose because he commandeers the fleece inside the carrier, leaving Lady to sleep on the scratch box. Last night, I put a towel on top of the carrier, and Lady's been sleeping there at night.
The next edition of the Fiction Club newsletter goes live on November 2, so I plan to have a link to photos from the book signing as well as any links to buy Blackbirds.
The first "Looking for..." post went live on Wednesday. Next week's post will have more links. The key is remembering to add to the post as I go throughout the week.
Have you heard of Mash Stories? Each quarter, they post three key words. People write a story of 500 words or less using the three key words unchanged in any way (except for capitalization at the beginning of sentences) and submit them for competition. Readers vote, as does the panel, and at the end of the quarter, a winner is chosen. The competition begins anew with three new key words. It might be fun, and the feedback (or lack thereof) might help with story polishing.
The Week Ahead:
- Pack for the trip
- Get the cats to boarding early and give them their Revolution dosage. Write up the instructions in advance to make the check-in process go more smoothly.
- Drive. Drive. Drive.
- Put together as many pre-scheduled posts as possible.
- Get type-in work done on the trip.
- Write up a review for Cat Gerlach's retold fairy tale in preparation for the short going live on Amazon.
- I think I'll be in Tennessee next time I check in. Y'all have a great week.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Worn out
It's been a week. The first half wasn't bad. Got some stuff done, mostly packing and such. We started moving Thursday at 4 on the dot. Three friends came to help us and we got about a third of it moved the first night. By the time I left Friday afternoon, we had our bedroom moved and Comcast had come to move the cable and internet over. Chad did make it, although I didn't see him, and I got a text from Eric yesterday at 11:15 saying they were done. He said Ryan and Tess were really stressed, between the move and mom disappearing, but they seem to be all right today. A realtor came by to show our former place at 2:30 yesterday and they put in an application, so we may have new neighbors soon.
The retreat went well. My storytelling Friday night went very well. The planning committee had asked for my help with an ice breaker, so I had everyone acting out parts of the last story. There are a half-dozen actual characters, if you count the dog and cat, and everyone else was recruited to be fairies. By the end, everyone was laughing, which was the goal. I was thanked all weekend for my stories, which was gratifying, and I hope I'll be asked back. My roommate said she wants to hire me to come tell Celtic Christmas stories for a holiday gathering, so there's some research to do.
Right now, I'm just glad to be home. There is hardly a spot in the whole place that doesn't need some work, but I'm not surrounded by talking women, so I'll take it! The retreat was fun, and I have a lot to think about and process, but dang those women got loud! It was a lovely center, though, with views of Lake Michigan and lots of trees and flowers, so I'm really glad I went. If nothing else, I didn't have to move the couch!
So I have four days to work on unpacking boxes and putting stuff away before we leave again to go downstate for the St Louis Scottish Games. We are supposed to meet Vicky's new boyfriend, too. We'll see if he passes muster. We could have a full-fledged gauntlet waiting for him if we tell all our clan friends! I'll let you know what happens.
The retreat went well. My storytelling Friday night went very well. The planning committee had asked for my help with an ice breaker, so I had everyone acting out parts of the last story. There are a half-dozen actual characters, if you count the dog and cat, and everyone else was recruited to be fairies. By the end, everyone was laughing, which was the goal. I was thanked all weekend for my stories, which was gratifying, and I hope I'll be asked back. My roommate said she wants to hire me to come tell Celtic Christmas stories for a holiday gathering, so there's some research to do.
Right now, I'm just glad to be home. There is hardly a spot in the whole place that doesn't need some work, but I'm not surrounded by talking women, so I'll take it! The retreat was fun, and I have a lot to think about and process, but dang those women got loud! It was a lovely center, though, with views of Lake Michigan and lots of trees and flowers, so I'm really glad I went. If nothing else, I didn't have to move the couch!
So I have four days to work on unpacking boxes and putting stuff away before we leave again to go downstate for the St Louis Scottish Games. We are supposed to meet Vicky's new boyfriend, too. We'll see if he passes muster. We could have a full-fledged gauntlet waiting for him if we tell all our clan friends! I'll let you know what happens.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Lookin for A Girl Like You
I just like the title. Not much productivity this week. Mr. L's tooth is fixed, new lenses are ordered (after a second call and talking to the office manager), yard work is done for the week, looked at domain strategy, did some PBOTL type-in, picked up Lady and Floyd and blogged about that elsewhere, and worked with imagery for a logo on Monday but got derailed.
I've picked images, cropped them, but I'm having trouble working with GIMP to get them merged. It's all about my not knowing how to work GIMP to my advantage. I haven't done too much with the auto-responder thing for Ada Writers yet.
I did get a tip about a guy named Neil Patel who claims to be able to increase blog traffic, and I studied some of his guidance and made a few changes to the blog to try to increase average daily traffic to equal my average peak traffic. It'd be great to blow right by that in numbers, but for now, I'm trying a few things. Check the Blog at quicksprouts.com if you're interested. A lot of it is SEO stuff.
I'm thinking of doing a regular blog post about things I've looked up during the week, and I'm looking for a pithy title. "Searching for A Link Like You" is too long. This post will replace my Tuesday Current Focus on the Philosophical Meanderings Blog. I'm looking for a topic to blog about regularly on Wednesday's at RandR. I think filling in that day will keep traffic to my site more even.
We don't know where Sneaky is. We don't know if she's coming back. Walter is fine.
The Week Ahead:
I've picked images, cropped them, but I'm having trouble working with GIMP to get them merged. It's all about my not knowing how to work GIMP to my advantage. I haven't done too much with the auto-responder thing for Ada Writers yet.
I did get a tip about a guy named Neil Patel who claims to be able to increase blog traffic, and I studied some of his guidance and made a few changes to the blog to try to increase average daily traffic to equal my average peak traffic. It'd be great to blow right by that in numbers, but for now, I'm trying a few things. Check the Blog at quicksprouts.com if you're interested. A lot of it is SEO stuff.
I'm thinking of doing a regular blog post about things I've looked up during the week, and I'm looking for a pithy title. "Searching for A Link Like You" is too long. This post will replace my Tuesday Current Focus on the Philosophical Meanderings Blog. I'm looking for a topic to blog about regularly on Wednesday's at RandR. I think filling in that day will keep traffic to my site more even.
We don't know where Sneaky is. We don't know if she's coming back. Walter is fine.
The Week Ahead:
- Mr. L just wants a quick trip to San Antonio this week with us going down one day and coming back the next. He'll get his new lenses, and I'll mow the lawn.
- He's planning the PA trip. I'm dreading it -- as usual. I don't know why I resist this trip so much. Many people wish they could take half the trip this is even once.
- Pulling together stuff to take on the trip.
- Keep working on PBOTL
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Checkin' in
Nothing much noteworthy going on. I'm packing all the boxes I have, plus the extra ones I got from my neighbor before she left me. I'm back to living in a disaster area, but it's only for a few days. We are fervently hoping they don't want to show the apartment this week.
Other than that, we are fine. Cats are fine. As far as we know, the kids and parents are fine.
This week I will pack, start to move, and abandon ship for the retreat, where I will tell stories Friday night, leaving Eric to manage the rest of the move. We won't know until mid-week if Chad will be able to come help him. His mom is having surgery tomorrow to fix a couple of aneurisms in her brain, so if her condition isn't good, we've told him not to come. If push comes to shove, I'll be back Sunday afternoon and can work on getting whatever is left moved over. Since I don't have a day job, I can brew a pot of coffee and work into the night if necessary.
I wish it was done already.
Other than that, we are fine. Cats are fine. As far as we know, the kids and parents are fine.
This week I will pack, start to move, and abandon ship for the retreat, where I will tell stories Friday night, leaving Eric to manage the rest of the move. We won't know until mid-week if Chad will be able to come help him. His mom is having surgery tomorrow to fix a couple of aneurisms in her brain, so if her condition isn't good, we've told him not to come. If push comes to shove, I'll be back Sunday afternoon and can work on getting whatever is left moved over. Since I don't have a day job, I can brew a pot of coffee and work into the night if necessary.
I wish it was done already.
I Just Couldn't Say No
I bought a bunch of domain names this week. I've already mentioned the StrayCatsBooks trio of .com, .net., and .org. I've been getting emails via the domainsbyproxy website soliciting me to bid on mercuryranch.com, which would be coming available soon. They wanted me to bid $99. Then yesterday, I got two emails, one wanting me to buy it for $50 and the other for $20. I thought, "It must be available now, and sure enough, it was. I bought it at a very nice rate and locked it in for 10 years. They offered me an add-on package for .bix, .info, and .net for $13 for the bundle. I locked them in for a year with domain privacy on all of them. I just have to figure out what to do with them and see if I can find a way to monetize them. That's the part I get squeamish about. Mostly, I'm afraid I'm going to do something wrong.
The San Antonio yard was mostly in good shape. The west side of the yard that gets all the afternoon and evening sun was desperately in need of watering after three weeks, and we lost a little bit of grass there, but it should recover quickly.
I came back early Thursday morning to drop two cats at boarding and prepare the house for us to be gone for the weekend. Then I hopped in the truck with Mr. L, and we headed to Dallas.
Thursday evening we picked up a long-time swap meet friend of Mr. Ls and took him to dinner. The friend's wife has required constant care for the last three years (she just moved to a nursing home a couple of weeks ago), so our friend is very tired as well as dealing with his wife's shrinking window for life. He seemed more rejuvenated when we dropped him back at his house after the evening, so we hope the opportunity to get out was helpful for him.
Friday, we attended the Decatur Swap Meet (it rained for the first half hour we were there, then it stopped, and things were nice and cool and not too wet. Mr. L found a Garand cleaning kit, and we stocked up on clamps for holding tarps over swap meet tables. Friday evening we met up with the kids for drinks, dinner, and back to Z-Grill for socializing. The band cranked up shortly after that, so that killed any socializing. After too long, we headed out. I checked at the door to make sure Mr. L was behind me. He was at the middle of the dance floor, getting a hug good-bye from the band's female vocalist (we know her through the kids). I turned right and headed to the truck to unlock it. I got to the truck, unlocked it, started to climb in and looked back in the direction I'd come from. No Mr. L. Where is he? I wait a couple seconds. Still no Mr. L. I close the door, and head back to the restaurant. I see my son in law scurrying out the door. Mr. L is on the ground beside the band's trailer, laid out. Apparently, he tripped coming out of the restaurant. As usual, his face broke the fall (second time in a month he's done this). A crowd of people is around him, including our daughter. He's fine, but he has a couple scrapes on his forehead and a cut on his nose. Another scratch on his glasses lenses, and a chipped tooth. His left eye is blackening (his right eye just cleared up from the last fall). We'll take him in to the dentist Monday morning to see if there's any dental damage other than the chipped tooth and make arrangements to get the tooth repaired. Then he'll call his eye doctor and see about ordering new lenses (a lense got scratched in each fall). Kind of scary, but he seems to be fine.
Saturday, three of us went to the swap meet while son-in-law worked. We picked up a couple Craftsman brand garden hoses, and Mr. L. found a lantern and a wooden Pepsi crate. We're looking for accessories for our vending machine. Thankfully, Saturday evening was a little less eventful. Endless shrimp at Red Lobster, and after letting the guys try it, I got the kids' new TV remote programmed so they can watch TV again (the puppy ate the original one).
Grandchildren are doing fine, but we didn't see them all weekend. The older one was working and lives just off campus at University of North Texas, and the younger one was spending the weekend with a friend.
The cats appear to have left the house in restorable condition. I got a little bit of type-in done on Polar Bear on the Loose this week, but nothing else exciting is happening.
The week ahead:
The San Antonio yard was mostly in good shape. The west side of the yard that gets all the afternoon and evening sun was desperately in need of watering after three weeks, and we lost a little bit of grass there, but it should recover quickly.
I came back early Thursday morning to drop two cats at boarding and prepare the house for us to be gone for the weekend. Then I hopped in the truck with Mr. L, and we headed to Dallas.
Thursday evening we picked up a long-time swap meet friend of Mr. Ls and took him to dinner. The friend's wife has required constant care for the last three years (she just moved to a nursing home a couple of weeks ago), so our friend is very tired as well as dealing with his wife's shrinking window for life. He seemed more rejuvenated when we dropped him back at his house after the evening, so we hope the opportunity to get out was helpful for him.
Friday, we attended the Decatur Swap Meet (it rained for the first half hour we were there, then it stopped, and things were nice and cool and not too wet. Mr. L found a Garand cleaning kit, and we stocked up on clamps for holding tarps over swap meet tables. Friday evening we met up with the kids for drinks, dinner, and back to Z-Grill for socializing. The band cranked up shortly after that, so that killed any socializing. After too long, we headed out. I checked at the door to make sure Mr. L was behind me. He was at the middle of the dance floor, getting a hug good-bye from the band's female vocalist (we know her through the kids). I turned right and headed to the truck to unlock it. I got to the truck, unlocked it, started to climb in and looked back in the direction I'd come from. No Mr. L. Where is he? I wait a couple seconds. Still no Mr. L. I close the door, and head back to the restaurant. I see my son in law scurrying out the door. Mr. L is on the ground beside the band's trailer, laid out. Apparently, he tripped coming out of the restaurant. As usual, his face broke the fall (second time in a month he's done this). A crowd of people is around him, including our daughter. He's fine, but he has a couple scrapes on his forehead and a cut on his nose. Another scratch on his glasses lenses, and a chipped tooth. His left eye is blackening (his right eye just cleared up from the last fall). We'll take him in to the dentist Monday morning to see if there's any dental damage other than the chipped tooth and make arrangements to get the tooth repaired. Then he'll call his eye doctor and see about ordering new lenses (a lense got scratched in each fall). Kind of scary, but he seems to be fine.
Saturday, three of us went to the swap meet while son-in-law worked. We picked up a couple Craftsman brand garden hoses, and Mr. L. found a lantern and a wooden Pepsi crate. We're looking for accessories for our vending machine. Thankfully, Saturday evening was a little less eventful. Endless shrimp at Red Lobster, and after letting the guys try it, I got the kids' new TV remote programmed so they can watch TV again (the puppy ate the original one).
Grandchildren are doing fine, but we didn't see them all weekend. The older one was working and lives just off campus at University of North Texas, and the younger one was spending the weekend with a friend.
The cats appear to have left the house in restorable condition. I got a little bit of type-in done on Polar Bear on the Loose this week, but nothing else exciting is happening.
The week ahead:
- Get Mr. L's tooth looked at
- Get new lenses ordered for his glasses
- Do yard work
- Do writing work
- Work on a logo for Stray Cats Books -- I have some sketches to work from
- Consider a unified strategy for my various domains
- Pick up Lady and Floyd from boarding
- Do preliminary prep work about auto-responders and author newsletters for Ada Writers (Stephen claims they are interested, but I think he just wants meeting content -- either way, I can put together some useful information).
- Begin preparing for the PA trip. It's looming.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Scooped out
I'm all right. Got the website up, no word on edits for SPORE, things are things.
Went to the Clay County Fair today with Bill and Little Miss, have the community garage sale tomorrow, and a nearby farmer's market - both also with Bill and Little Miss. I'm having some post-surgery pain issues today and I have to keep reminding myself I'm only a month out from major abdominal surgery. I really wish my innards and muscles would settle back to where they're supposed to be.
That's about it. Have a good week.
{{hugs}}
Went to the Clay County Fair today with Bill and Little Miss, have the community garage sale tomorrow, and a nearby farmer's market - both also with Bill and Little Miss. I'm having some post-surgery pain issues today and I have to keep reminding myself I'm only a month out from major abdominal surgery. I really wish my innards and muscles would settle back to where they're supposed to be.
That's about it. Have a good week.
{{hugs}}
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Relaxing vs Taxing
No. That's not a song title. But it's illustrative of what's been going on over the last couple of days and probably offers insight into my dislike for the Hershey trip, which is looming and hanging over my head as I type.
The annual city-wide garage sale for a neighboring town was this weekend. Mr. L lives for this. I have to admit, we've found a few treasures, so I can't really blame him. He gets the newspaper with the addresses in it. He curses at his computer for two hours while he maps all the addresses into his mapping software to print out. Then we go on a treasure hunt. He's animated and chattering the whole time. I am dreading it, and I've just figured out why, and he's been saying it all along. To him it's relaxing. To me, it's taxing. He is energized by the chase and the thrill of finding something unexpected. I'm happy to find the unexpected treasure, but I dislike the process for doing so. Driving hither and yon. Deciding if we want to stop, parking the truck, getting out of the truck, walking around the stuff, walking back to the truck, getting back in the truck, finding the next place on the map, driving to it, repeat. I don't really enjoy it. He loves it. It's the Hershey trip in microcosm.
He found a couple items for the shop this morning. I found three zipper binders for $1.50 (those things sell new for $15-26 each!). He bought a clarinet and two music stands for $22. We bought ten puzzles (over $100 new) for $5. Not a bad haul. He found a lantern for $2.50 yesterday. For parts.
Still working on the Polar Bear on the Loose type-in. Got the bills paid. The new credit card finally arrived, so I got my automated bill payments reconfigured (my credit union switched from Visa to MasterCard and promised me a lower rate card; the new card is more than 2% lower, and it was already in single digits -- doesn't matter much, because I don't carry a balance, but just in case).
The Week Ahead:
The annual city-wide garage sale for a neighboring town was this weekend. Mr. L lives for this. I have to admit, we've found a few treasures, so I can't really blame him. He gets the newspaper with the addresses in it. He curses at his computer for two hours while he maps all the addresses into his mapping software to print out. Then we go on a treasure hunt. He's animated and chattering the whole time. I am dreading it, and I've just figured out why, and he's been saying it all along. To him it's relaxing. To me, it's taxing. He is energized by the chase and the thrill of finding something unexpected. I'm happy to find the unexpected treasure, but I dislike the process for doing so. Driving hither and yon. Deciding if we want to stop, parking the truck, getting out of the truck, walking around the stuff, walking back to the truck, getting back in the truck, finding the next place on the map, driving to it, repeat. I don't really enjoy it. He loves it. It's the Hershey trip in microcosm.
He found a couple items for the shop this morning. I found three zipper binders for $1.50 (those things sell new for $15-26 each!). He bought a clarinet and two music stands for $22. We bought ten puzzles (over $100 new) for $5. Not a bad haul. He found a lantern for $2.50 yesterday. For parts.
Still working on the Polar Bear on the Loose type-in. Got the bills paid. The new credit card finally arrived, so I got my automated bill payments reconfigured (my credit union switched from Visa to MasterCard and promised me a lower rate card; the new card is more than 2% lower, and it was already in single digits -- doesn't matter much, because I don't carry a balance, but just in case).
The Week Ahead:
- Head to SA with three cats on Sunday.
- Water through Wednesday and do necessary yard work
- Listen in on Apple Launch broadcast to see what's new for fall
- Take phone in for battery and sleep/wake button warranty fix on Wed.
- Return to Central TX early Thur morning, dropping Floyd and Lady at vet for boarding on my way by.
- Finish getting the cats ready to fend for themselves for the weekend
- Head to Dallas with Mr. L for the weekend -- swap meet and hanging with the kids
- Try to sandwich in writing work around this stuff
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Book blurb!
Here's the book blurb for Blackbirds First Flight:
An unhappy wife can’t decide what to do about her boorish husband until an uneaten meal gives her a dark idea...
Something is raising zombies in Tulsa, and Justina Grave is the only one who can stop it...
When a fat farm promises to make Edyth thin again, her dream comes true. She will never be fat again—or safe...
Hopping a freight train can be a cheap way to travel. Unless you pick the wrong boxcar...
One kiss gives Francois immortality, but at a cost he doesn't see coming...
A woman warrior must choose her fate as the Romans ravage her land...
Stalked by terrible creatures seeking vengeance, a band of robbers runs for their lives in medieval France...
This anthology will lead you into dark, twisted places filled with mystery and delight. Enjoy thrilling stories and chilling poems by authors Stephen B. Bagley, Kent Bass, Wendy Blanton, Gail Henderson, Tamara Siler Jones, and Jean Schara.
It goes on sale October 1st! Watch for it!
An unhappy wife can’t decide what to do about her boorish husband until an uneaten meal gives her a dark idea...Something is raising zombies in Tulsa, and Justina Grave is the only one who can stop it...
When a fat farm promises to make Edyth thin again, her dream comes true. She will never be fat again—or safe...
Hopping a freight train can be a cheap way to travel. Unless you pick the wrong boxcar...
One kiss gives Francois immortality, but at a cost he doesn't see coming...
A woman warrior must choose her fate as the Romans ravage her land...
Stalked by terrible creatures seeking vengeance, a band of robbers runs for their lives in medieval France...
This anthology will lead you into dark, twisted places filled with mystery and delight. Enjoy thrilling stories and chilling poems by authors Stephen B. Bagley, Kent Bass, Wendy Blanton, Gail Henderson, Tamara Siler Jones, and Jean Schara.
It goes on sale October 1st! Watch for it!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Long Twin Silver Lines
I did a bit of driving this week. I made an extra (unnecessary) trip back to the house on Friday to check on cats, give Lady her medicine, and scoop litter boxes. The house was calm and quiet (and had been that way while we were gone), so the cats looked up with a, "What are you doing here?" expression when I came in the door.
I think the swap meet went well. We positioned the trailers and set up the canopies on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning, we pulled out good for sale and were available to sell stuff. Mr. L worked until 10 then began his rounds. Before noon, he'd purchased a trunk lid for the Spitfire (ours has a rusted area). On Saturday, he found two Jeep wheels and tires, and a Jeep air cleaner assembly. He also may have a line on a '46 Mercury coupe. If he buys that, we'll have four '46 Mercurys. They only made six versions of it. He'd have bought that stuff whether we set up or not, so that doesn't count against our profitability for the weekend (thank goodness). We just made back the cost of our four spaces on Friday. Saturday, we almost made back the cost of our room--a bonus. Instead, Mr. L misplaced his large external battery he uses for recharging his tablet and phone on the go. I've ordered a replacement, but that made a serious cut into our profits if we don't find it. We've searched everywhere, and it has not turned up yet. We had a mix of auto parts, household items, and miscellaneous stuff, and it all got looked at and purchased in some quantity. I enjoyed the meet, and I hope Mr. L wants to set up again next year. So far, he seems to have mixed feelings about it. I think as he sees we really did sell stuff that he might be more enthusiastic about returning next year.
I took the game camera back out to the ranch with fresh batteries this morning. I trimmed branches to give the camera a clearer field of view. I met the ranch manager from next door, and we chatted across the fence line for a while. Nice guy. He's the son of the guy we coordinated the fence replacement with. The wealthy businessman who owns the ranch has a gem in this management team (company?). They've worked together for a long time, and it shows.
I did some back end work on FM moving a pips directory over and creating a main page for it so moderators can work with pips in preparation to making pips an option on the site again.
I made my room reservations for the Ada book signing. Wendy and I will ride up and back from Dallas, and we're looking forward to the experience. Trying to decide how many books I want at the special price this week. I still have to decide what to wear for the signing.
The Week Ahead:
I think the swap meet went well. We positioned the trailers and set up the canopies on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning, we pulled out good for sale and were available to sell stuff. Mr. L worked until 10 then began his rounds. Before noon, he'd purchased a trunk lid for the Spitfire (ours has a rusted area). On Saturday, he found two Jeep wheels and tires, and a Jeep air cleaner assembly. He also may have a line on a '46 Mercury coupe. If he buys that, we'll have four '46 Mercurys. They only made six versions of it. He'd have bought that stuff whether we set up or not, so that doesn't count against our profitability for the weekend (thank goodness). We just made back the cost of our four spaces on Friday. Saturday, we almost made back the cost of our room--a bonus. Instead, Mr. L misplaced his large external battery he uses for recharging his tablet and phone on the go. I've ordered a replacement, but that made a serious cut into our profits if we don't find it. We've searched everywhere, and it has not turned up yet. We had a mix of auto parts, household items, and miscellaneous stuff, and it all got looked at and purchased in some quantity. I enjoyed the meet, and I hope Mr. L wants to set up again next year. So far, he seems to have mixed feelings about it. I think as he sees we really did sell stuff that he might be more enthusiastic about returning next year.
I took the game camera back out to the ranch with fresh batteries this morning. I trimmed branches to give the camera a clearer field of view. I met the ranch manager from next door, and we chatted across the fence line for a while. Nice guy. He's the son of the guy we coordinated the fence replacement with. The wealthy businessman who owns the ranch has a gem in this management team (company?). They've worked together for a long time, and it shows.
I did some back end work on FM moving a pips directory over and creating a main page for it so moderators can work with pips in preparation to making pips an option on the site again.
I made my room reservations for the Ada book signing. Wendy and I will ride up and back from Dallas, and we're looking forward to the experience. Trying to decide how many books I want at the special price this week. I still have to decide what to wear for the signing.
The Week Ahead:
- We're supposed to be making boards this week, but Mr. L is dragging his feet. I'm not sure if this is new or if he's really always been this way, but he will tell me he wants to do one thing -- make boards for the house, but first he has to move his bass (which needs repair since he broke it at the New Year's gig) to keep wood shavings from getting inside). So, since I understand we're making boards this week but he has to position the planer and move his bass, I suggest I can run to the ranch while he's doing that this morning. so I'm ready to help him when he's ready to work. By saying that, I'm pushing him to fix the bass right away before we begin making boards right away. Um...not quite. I guess him saying we need to make boards this week will translate into making boards...sometime. Okay, then. No problem. I can plan around that just fine. As I told him at breakfast, I want to push him, and I don't really care what order he works in. I'm just trying to plan so I'm available when he's ready for me.
- More work on Polar Bear on the Loose this week. I'm doing type-in. It's fun.
- I still have a book review to do for Library Thing's Early Reviewer program. I thought this book was going to be about Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, it's a memoir by the frustrated 60's radical who was chosen to head the King Papers Project. Not quite what I was anticipating. On Chapter 15 of 22 and plodding through.
- I'm taking a podcasting class. I have to give it much more thought, but I'm seeing a couple of possibilities. I'm thinking about using podcasts as pre-launch content for books. I'm also considering doing podcasts for friends who are launching books in an interview format. I figure I have enough friends who are self-publishing books, I might only have to do podcasts with friends, so I could call it, "My Friends' Books." I think I could do one a month pretty easily to cover friend's new releases of. Does that sound remotely interesting to any of you?
- I need to troubleshoot some problems I'm having with Kitty City. I'm rethinking whether I should be using Granite Hill as my series, and Wendy and I will probably play with that a little on the way to Ada from Dallas.
- I need to pay bills. I'm sure there are a few other sundry items to consider, but after four days of hanging out in a park field and the motel with Mr. L, I'm feeling a little out of sorts. That will "sort" itself out soon, I think.
- Have a great week, y'all!
Plumb tuckered out
It's past noon. I'm dressed, but barely. I haven't put in contacts or bothered to brush my hair. Happy Labor Day! Oh, I do have a load of laundry going.
Alex and Chad left yesterday. I thought we'd have Alex until today, but he has stuff he needs to do, so I sent him off with a hug, his brand new computer, and left-over lasagna. He came to church with us before he left and that made me happy. I had to sing--I'd signed up last month thinking we wouldn't have any more company after Mom left--and it was great to see the two of them stumbling over the new song together, grinning and pointing at the words. I treasure those moments in my heart.
I've been working on Blackbirds this morning. Thanks, Stephen, for sending the PDF. This will allow me to read through it at a slower pace, and give it a quick read-through tomorrow when the book comes.
There are a bunch of things bouncing around in my head. Today will be mostly devoted to sorting them out and developing game plans. There's the move, of course, which should happen in a couple of weeks if we can nail down a date with the manager (we'll have 48 hours instead of 24), learning how to e-publish, and plans for the volunteer work I'm doing for our church's women's retreat next month. There isn't much I can do anytime soon for the book signing in Ada. I've done all I can for now. I even have a good idea of what I'm going to wear. :-)
I think it's time to get organized...
Alex and Chad left yesterday. I thought we'd have Alex until today, but he has stuff he needs to do, so I sent him off with a hug, his brand new computer, and left-over lasagna. He came to church with us before he left and that made me happy. I had to sing--I'd signed up last month thinking we wouldn't have any more company after Mom left--and it was great to see the two of them stumbling over the new song together, grinning and pointing at the words. I treasure those moments in my heart.
I've been working on Blackbirds this morning. Thanks, Stephen, for sending the PDF. This will allow me to read through it at a slower pace, and give it a quick read-through tomorrow when the book comes.
There are a bunch of things bouncing around in my head. Today will be mostly devoted to sorting them out and developing game plans. There's the move, of course, which should happen in a couple of weeks if we can nail down a date with the manager (we'll have 48 hours instead of 24), learning how to e-publish, and plans for the volunteer work I'm doing for our church's women's retreat next month. There isn't much I can do anytime soon for the book signing in Ada. I've done all I can for now. I even have a good idea of what I'm going to wear. :-)
I think it's time to get organized...