Beautiful Thing of the Day:
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spring in the Cumberland Mountains (redbud and dogwood trees). |
Tip of the Day
It's very difficult to use your creative brain while you're anxious.
That's just science, not a failure of will power.
Give yourself a break if you're not writing at all.
It will come back.
Instead of writing, use the other parts of your brain for revising.
Start reading your manuscript out loud.
I'll bet you hear some things you didn't see.
Fending off 3am anxiety
Providing proof I will watch damn near anything about Brooklyn: Gravesend (the 2020 title, not the 1995 one)
Four hour-long episodes, written by the same guy who stars and directs. There's a reason, on full display here, why those jobs are usually done by more than one person.
Progress on biscuits
People are now sending recipes, which I think is hilarious.
It's not the recipes! It's ME.
And I made muffins.
They were sort of ok.
Pet photo of the day:
Dingo and Kiwi hate each other but decided to team up and help the humans of the world who still don't quite get the whole social distancing concept. --client Greg Levin
The new Bosch can't come soon enough!
Thank you, Janet. Your blog and the community you created with it are awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, our feline overlords, are best equipped to teach us social distancing. Dingo and Kiwi are wonderful.
Fending off 3am anxiety
ReplyDeleteWhen I wake up in the middle of the night and my rodent wheel takes off I hit the couch and turn on a movie I have at least watched/listened to fifty times since all this started.
Sleepless in Seattle. Wrong coast but how perfect is that?
"Jingle Bells backwards by the New Jersey Cape Mayettes."
Bosch mixer??? Those are the best!!
ReplyDeleteKitties! It always amazes me a little how some people can add a cat to the household menagerie and things go really well and some...it doesn't go so good and they never manage to get along.
ReplyDeleteStill hanging in here. It was 25 this morning and so foggy, I couldn't see more than 20 feet past the front porch. It's starting to burn off but will still be too cold to do much outside for most of the day. I'm getting desperate though, and thinking about starting some roma tomatoes and english cukes from seed. I don't know where I'll put them, but I'm thinking there might not be much in the way of planting by the time this is over.
It's the Tennessee Williams sequel we've been waiting for! Cat In A Cool Porcelain Sink. Plot summary: Maggie and Brick, played by Dingo and Kiwi, still hate each other. (But they look good doing it.)
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous redbud and dogwood trees! Those vivid colors lift the spirits
As for "Bosch," it's either some kind of appliance or a fervent wish to put the Kai-Bosch on this whole pandemic situation.
all y'all shall be the death of me yet.
ReplyDeleteBosch!
As in Harry Bosch??
As in the Amazon series???
If you haven't seen it, we may have to rethink your location.
Well, I woke up at 3am-ish to a cat gakking. We all know that sound. I wasn't sure who it was - we have three boyZ - or where he was. Turns out he was on the bed. Awesome. Not.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting fact: I earned my living as a firefighter/medic. I've seen every gory thing you can imagine, had my hands in every gory thing you can imagine. I'm not squeamish. And yet, I can't clean up cat puke without gagging.
In other news: I'm about to take the horse clippers to my head. For real.
I love cats who sit in sinks. But is that Dingo or Kiwi? And off topic, Mr. Levin, but that is a gorgeous fireplace.
Sorry. I'm a little chatty this morning. The unyielding responsibility of this very large herd in these scary times is sobering. It hit me in an overwhelming way yesterday.
I love the cat social distancing. I wish I could explain it to Gage who insists on living under the desk and shuffling back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. Which, of course, includes clawing his way across my bare feet. Moral of the story, wear shoes.
ReplyDeleteOh, you're going to the bathroom? I shall assist you.
No, Gage, I can do this myself.
But, you'll miss an opportunity to pet me.
Of course, come along because I'd hate to sit down once without your head in my lap and just, you know, go to the bathroom.
Can you move, Gage?
I have to stop and eat and drink on the way back. You'll just have to wait. I'm not the one who put my dog dishes in the narrow hallway.
But every single time?
Yes. I must stay hydrated. Forty laps of water, exactly.
(I've counted. It's always forty.)
Do you want to go out while we're passing the door?
Not right now. I'll wait until you're writing and smack dab in the middle of something, then I'll claw my way out from under the desk and over your feet, then do that adorable pee pee dance you love.
All right, Gage. I love you. (said between gritted teeth)
Love you, too.
I've reached the dreaded diet plateau. Gained two pounds actually, but it's water weight witnessed by swollen legs and feet. I know what to blame that on. Staying up until 6 am writing the other night. This too shall pass, but it's frustrating.
I found a workout video I'm going to vary things with. I need low impact due to knees.
I've been dancing. My MC gets arrested by an agent who is a sociopath and insists on singing to her. So, I was researching songs and ran across The Rose of Mooncoin I can't resist. When you have a choice, you must always dance.
I ordered Exante diet drinks. The order was lost. I talked to customer support. They asked me to give them five more days after it had been a month. I said, "All right, but this stuff better taste like rainbows and unicorn dreams when I get it."
I got it Saturday. Not exactly rainbows and unicorn dreams, but not bad. Lemon cheesecake or toffee caramel for breakfast. I'm not sure.
I hope y'all have a good day. Listen to good music. Remember this too shall pass. Read some Corrie Ten Boom. It gives you some perspective.
I think I'll revise my comment:
ReplyDelete"I agree. That new Harry Bosch can't come soon enough!"*
(*Sprints off to binge watch old episodes. Tries not to think about kale.)
Update: Lemon cheesecake does indeed taste like rainbows and unicorn dreams.
ReplyDeleteMelanie, I too have that one thing. I worked step down at the hospital. I've seen/watched/done/cleaned up everything imaginable that a human body is capable of. But for the life of me, if there's mucus involved, I can't. I just can't. Human, cat, dog, doesn't matter. It's that one thing for me.
ReplyDeleteI won't be cutting my hair. I wear it very long so up it goes. But I also wear acrylic nails. I think it's time to run them under the bench grinder again before they get long enough to rip my natural nails off.
Other than that, Velcro Murphy follows me from room to room and even Loaner Cat can't seem to get enough of me. It's not like this is a new routine for me, but maybe it's because husband had upset the status quo. They follow me around while I spend hours picking up after him. :/
I've been tempted to watch Bosch, but I want to read the first few books before I do. Given the length of my TBR right now, I'm not sure when that will be. :\
ReplyDeleteyes Bosch!!
ReplyDeleteThe trick to picking up cat puke is to put a paper towel over it until it cools down. I can't pick it up warm.
We have two bedrooms, one per cat. They have designated petting hours, Harper is only allowed a pet and a cuddle in the evening. He is allowed to watch TV with us. He is not allowed on Ramona's king sized bed.
He is allowed to clean her ears for her before dinner. She will occasionally reward him with a lick.
Ramona has been catching foolish mice trying to get her food. Then we hear the triumphant song of the tiger while I am saying, no do NOT bring that up on the bed you brave ferocious creature. Sometimes it turns into Lick and Let Go so she can catch it again.
I am very upset about the tigers with the virus.
Bosch fan here! We binged on them about two months ago. But I think I'm no longer patient enough to watch a series in real time. Do you suppose they'll release a whole season at once?
ReplyDeleteI tried starting seeds indoors, and I'm afraid we are going to have a weird diet come August/September. The only thing sprouting are the broccoli sprouts (which we will eat soon) and something I labeled ? Spaghetti squash or pumpkin, I don't know. I saved them from a prior year, possibly even last year, but I did not label them.
Funny thing I read: "Does anyone here find they get 3 weeks to the gallon?"
Query I'm pondering. Do you think Janet would go for a pandemic Cookbook? Something like "Biscuits A Plenty? Or Biscuits For One?" Just a thought.
Melanie and Nightsmusic, I am gonna need updates on the outcomes of your beauty...adventures.
ReplyDeleteI bribed the toddler with sweets to sit still while I cut her hair. She hasn't stopped begging for gummi bears since. So I told her the germ-wizards like to pick up candy and throw it at her Immune System Army, and she ate broccoli instead while we shouted KAPOW, TAKE THAT.
Bosch has been on my ever-growing "I bet I'd like that if I watched it" list that usually doesn't come to fruition. Maybe I should change that. Finished Ozark season three, so gotta pick what comes next to binge.
ReplyDeleteUnrelated, I forget who mentioned it last week, but thanks for talking about Save The Cat! I've picked it up, and have been giving it some real thought. So high five to whoever that was :)
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ReplyDeleteWell, if the cats can follow the rules...
ReplyDeleteLove those spring blooms. Still lots of snow on the ground here in Anchorage. (We're supposed to be in Arizona, but, you know, travel restrictions.)
Roxy sends greetings to Murphy, Gage, and all the other loyal reef dogs who are rejoicing that their people are spending even more time at home, where they belong.
Author Lesson of the Day: I mailed a paperback with stamps and a media mail label from my mailbox (which I've done many times before.) It was returned, with a label explaining that packages over 1/2 inch thick using stamps must be presented at the post office due to security concerns. Which negates the reason I ordered the stamps. Que sara, sara.
I'm honored you shared my cat pics with your fans and followers, Janet. My cats, however, are NOT. They are really hissed (the cat-equivalent of "pissed"). They claim they never signed a waiver giving me permission to share those pics with anyone. They said I should have gone through their agent. I told them MY agent is their agent. They simmered down immediately after I showed them my agent was a shark. So we're good now.
ReplyDelete(By the way, folks, Dingo is the giant orange one; Kiwi is the teeny, sweet gray one.)
I"m waiting for Bosch, too. I'm rewatching the other seasons. Even having a fictional character who cares that much makes me feel better.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is a nurse who lives with me and sleeps on the sofa bed in the living room (long story how that came about). She is currently caring for patients who are symptomatic and in isolation. She said the hospital requires staff to wear their masks for three days before throwing them away.
We are trying to figure out how she will quarantine effectively with our shared kitchen and main bathroom if she gets sick.
Ahh, cats and their territorial quirks. Regretfully My Cat From Hell played for two days last week. There is something about it that forces me to watch it.
ReplyDeleteI have read almost all of the Bosch books but don't stream Netflix, so I haven't seen the show.
I hope y'all stay safe.
Tip of the Day, albeit hidden in the 3 am anxiety section:
ReplyDelete"written by the same guy who stars and directs. There's a reason, on full display here, why those jobs are usually done by more than one person."
I wonder how often an agent reads a manuscript and thinks along a similar vein. "There's a reason, on full display here, why writing and editing are usually done by more than one person."
Critique groups are awesome, and Zoom lets you meet "in person" for free these days. And for more than 40 minutes, so don't worry about that limitation for now.
Beta readers are even more awesome than critique groups, and you don't need to get within six feet of each other for that either.
You might, however, have to turn off the TV. And the iPad. And the...
Another Bosch fan here - although I'm not sure we get them the same time as you so I might have to wait longer for a new series.
ReplyDeleteYou watch anything with Brooklyn... Have you seen Brooklyn-99, Janet? The Hub and Barbarians watched it and I got sucked in. Latest season screening now here and it's our Friday night ritual to sit and watch together and have a laugh.
Afterwards is "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown" (a British comedy game show spin-off from "Letter and Numbers") which I've got the Barbarians hooked on as well.
All I'm going to say is muffins are so much better than biscuits, especially when you add a banana and walnuts to your batter. Yum!
ReplyDelete