Hello, darklings.
You know how you’re reading a slow burn and after misunderstandings, missteps, and a bit of communication bravery, and overbearing yearning the characters finally sync and kiss?
I’ve not tried many drugs, but pretty sure many can’t beat that giddy feeling of celebrating imaginary people getting that win!
Now, then, I know I’ve been late on the blog, but I have been honest to goodness busy as well as numb with exhaustion. It’s shark week, my former roommate and I have been going through items in the house one carload at a time, I worked a ton of overtime, been figuring out what needs replaced so I have a functioning household (especially kitchen), and the allergies have hit in a super rude way the last two weeks, making me either stuffy or numbed on antihistamines.
Today I did some nitty gritty cleaning before I restocked fridge, which included cleaning the inside, outside, and backside. There was a war with dust bunnies thick as dry lint after a load of towels. I’m going to have to move the fridge for cleaning more often. With the comfort of knowing I have food on hand, I still have to do more details cleaning on the cupboards before I sort things how I please there as well.
We still have a fe drawers of kitchen, the entire entertainment center, bathroom, storage dresser, and shed to go through, and then those spaces will get the same detailed cleaning before items are returned and reorganized in a less haphazard manner.
Not too terribly like editing a really messy rough draft, I suppose.
It’s left little time to write, and I am honestly stressed with all the things clamoring for words and editing attention. I’ve got fiction gifts for my writing group friends, my own OWies (Original Works), short stories to submit to a local contest, and some fanfic that has latched on to me and refuses to let go. Between that and all the household things I know need done and the loss of time working extra hours, I’ve found myself creatively pinched with task paralysis.
I know how to beat it. I gotta list my to-do items and set priorities to what needs done first. I’ll get through it, but this last week, just been limping along rather than trying to force myself to do-do-do and waiting for my energy to regather.
It’s not a bad thing, and I’m beating off the rude voice in my head that insists I’m a loser for not accomplishing diddly lately. It’s not true, and my head is too busy for that negative nay-say.
If you all want to borrow my beating stick for that nasty little inner voice, have at. Or better yet, create your own and use it often.
Working On:
Whew! As mentioned above, I am juggling a lot of writing projects currently, which means they’re getting little bits done on them at a time, slowly, as I can, but not finished. I’m going to work more on listing up my writing priorities and start tackling that list more aggressively.
Research History This Week That May Have Put Me on a List (or confused whoever monitors me):
How silk burns. (Btw, it smells like charred meat, since it’s an animal protein.)
Fighting styles from India
The vagus nerve and its effect on heart and stomach function.
Heart stab wounds
Arrow and puncture wounds.
Femoral artery and thigh anatomy.
Police 10-codes.
Enucleation surgery in ancient times, and facial structure changes from an eye socket left empty or containing poor orbital implants.
Writing Whoops:
I typed in “earthshake” instead of “earthquake” and couldn’t figure out why spellchecker thought it was wrong.
“Infarction” and “infraction” are very similar spelled words; their meaning is not!
Things my AI bot has overheard:
“Stop licking that! What are you, a graboid?”
“Kittens getting in dog bowls is how they become cat food.”
“Sir! It’s not nice to grab a ladies nickers as she’s walking by! … Fortunately, for you, I’m a goblin.”
“Ope! Sorry little possum! Do you want more cat food?”
Beasties Update:
My former roommate has taken her two dogs and five cats to her new place. This has
changed the animal dynamic and chaos around here immensely.
To explain, my bestie’s canine beasties are both younger, vocal, and high strung individuals, far too smart for their own good, and they react to stress in frantic and often destructive ways. In such a full house, training proved difficult, especially because one of my own dogs is also very reactive, noisy, and a resource guarding sort. (Newt. Not Sirius. Sirius is best boy.) We had to keep baby gates up at all times to keep my red-headed-chainsaw-pup and the pit-hound-mix separate, and I also muzzle trained her, because she absolutely stresses about being alone in a barred room, and that was the safest way we could accommodate while I was busy in other areas of the house without her destroying my door jam.
The baby gates are now down. Sirius and Newt have free roam of the house. There is now only one barking dog as opposed to three, so it’s easy to acknowledge her warning boofs and ask her to quiet down. (Before they would all just set each other off, and it was yapping mayhem.) With the ability to roam the house freely, Newt has calmed immensely and is eating better and resource guarding less. I’m also walking Sirius more, so we’re both getting in much needed walking exercise once again.
So already the household separation for the dogs has been an immensely positive thing. Mind you, I do not hate my silly pit-hound and spotted-sack-of-anxiety canine nephews, but I’ve always known that it was too many dogs with too similar of mental and emotional challenges to handle without a shittun more training then any were getting.
As for the cats—Well, they feel much safer wandering about the house without so many prey-driven dogs about (just Newt now, who only tries to get them to run when excited by something else). I still have nine. (Ceres, Shouki, Arayna, Nyx, Poe, Shadow, Nandor, Atreyu, and Hecate the Second), and my tiny-house dwelling acre-mate has four, so we’re still very cat heavy on this little plot of land.
Pray the strays stop showing up!
Watching and Reading:
I’ve alas have had no time lately to do much watching and reading, but I do have my next book to read picked out and ready to go!
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