Tag: Accountability Check-in

Adventures in pet-sitting (and grocery shopping)

During this long weekend, I am pet-sitting for these two adorable siblings:

Daisy, a golden retriever mix.
Taco, a black cat with a white chin

That’s Daisy and Taco, my furry grandchildren.

I also managed a trip to Half-Price Books to fill up my Little Free Library. And I did some grocery shopping. I asked my daughter what I could pick up for her, and she gave me a list. Good enough. Except for when I came to this item:

Potatoes.

So, I asked via text.

Me: What kind of potatoes?

Her: Normal.

Me: …

Yeah, your guess is as good as mine.

Me: What is normal? Gold? Potatoes for baking?

A bit of an existential question, that: what is normal? Also, what is normal when it comes to potatoes?

Her: Ya just potatoes

Her: Like raw

Her: That I can cut up and put in soup

Ah. Gold it is, then.

I’ll leave you with that. Hopefully next week (this week?) we’ll return to regularly scheduled blogging.

Construction zone

It’s a construction zone around here, so if I’m a little scarce, that’s why. Booking Through Thursday will go on, as ever. But I may not make my weekly check-in.

Yesterday, I did manage to water the garden and clean up a bit (and find the extra flooring the contractors might need). And I made some vegetarian chili and some chia seed pudding. These feel like major achievements.

I haven’t been able to write that much (the noise, people in my space, the dogs (in a spare bedroom), barking at people in our space). But I’ve been getting other things done, like setting up Square and cover refreshes, so I’ve actually been pretty productive.

At the very least, I’ll be back on Thursday for another round of BTT. See you then!

When life gives you lemons, or in my case, COVID

Well, this was fun. What I thought was a mere summer cold turned out to be COVID. Because, of course, it did.

I realized it was more than a cold when I attempted to get out of bed the other day, and that proved somewhat difficult, as did feeding the cat. (What? You think the cat can be denied? No, she cannot.)

So, I’ve been taking it very easy these past few days. I’m better, and definitely upright. I retook the test this morning, and it’s still coming back positive, so no outings for me.

I’m starting to get cabin fever.

But I have plenty to read and binge-watch, so there’s that.

Wishing you all a COVID-free week.

Well, hello there

Look who made a grand appearance this year:

Yellow and purple iris surrounded by purple flowers

Our iris has finally decided to bloom. After … three years, two? I can’t remember when we planted it.

The last two days have been incredible for gardening: high 50s and low 60s in the morning, with partly cloudy skies. I took it into my head to create another sheet-mulch mini-garden, which is what I’ve been doing for the last several hours.

I took some before-and-after photos that I hope to share later this week.

In related news, did you know that the best time to shop at Menards is around seven in the morning? Well, it is. The aisles are clear, mulch and compost stacked at the perfect height, and there’s no waiting in line. Also, everyone there is clearly in scheming mode and making grand plans.

This early-morning trek to Menards could become a (possibly bad) habit.

Workshop weather

We had the perfect weather for an author workshop/online conference last week. Cool, cloudy, rain on and off. I had to turn the heat on at one point.

Mama duck and ducklings in the wetlands
Mama duck and her ducklings, braving the chilly weather

If you’re a writer, you can get a great overview of the workshop on Becca Syme’s Patreon. This post here sums it up nicely.

Granted, we went way more in-depth over the three days of the workshop. I’m still processing all the information.

I’m also looking at the weather report. The sun is making a grand reappearance. The heat is headed our way. I must head off and procure more compost and mulch (I live a glamorous life) and stomp around in the garden for a bit.

Sun on the wetlands
Here comes the sun

Sunshine and Shakespeare

Look at what we found in the yard. A Fivespot! A volunteer fivespot since we have no idea where it came from, and we haven’t been scattering wildflower seeds yet.

Volunteer Fivespot in the yard

Fivespots are annuals in Minnesota. Perhaps this little one self-seeded and somehow survived the brutal winter. If so, it’s resilient.

In any case, it was a nice surprise.

This week, I managed to combine my Shakespeare class and gardening. Part of the course includes studying an adaptation of one of the plays. This week, it’s The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, a retelling of The Winter’s Tale.

The library has the audio version, so I’ve been spending hours working in the garden while someone reads to me. It has been lovely.

In writing-related things, I’ve been doing some preliminary work on book three, The Rose Rebellion. There are things I need to know before I tackle revising The Marigold Miracle. Rose has presented her story to me as a series of sent and unsent letters.

Yes. Because I can’t make anything easy on myself. But I’m having so much fun writing these letters, and I’m hoping that I can (fingers crossed) make them work in the overall narrative.

Next week looks busy, what with an author workshop, but I’m hoping for more Shakespeare and sunshine nevertheless.

Book-packing event

I was going to write a bit more about libraries, along with how I’m approaching this current revision. However, I attended a book-packing event yesterday at the Little Free Library headquarters in St. Paul.

It was so much fun. Between packing books for shipment across the country and taking some for our own libraries, I think we cleared out the two big bins of donated books. I was able to restock my own library, which has been looking a little thin lately. Someone has already snagged the really cool dinosaur book I brought back.  

But now? Well, now. I. Am. Tired.

So I’ll save my musings for next week, but leave you with these beautiful murals on the building’s exterior. I especially love the optical illusion with the butterflies.

Reader mural
Butterfly mural

Shakespeare and Sunshine

Yesterday was cold, rainy, and blustery—the perfect day to watch King Lear. Which is exactly what I did, since I’m taking a Shakespeare course through the folkloric lens at The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

Because, of course, I am.

Today, though? Today, while still cloudy, is promising sunshine. Things are turning green. I really need to venture into the garden, start pruning, and generally prepare for the growing season.

It’s already 62 degrees. I’m going to assume the sun will make a grand appearance later in the day. So, I’m heading outside to stomp around in the mud for a while.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Dishes and DST

Oh, y-a-w-n. It’s everybody’s favorite time of year, when we lose an hour. I feel as if I should go look for it; maybe it’s hiding in the basement.

Or not.

I do know that in a week or so, I’ll be grateful for the extra daylight in the evenings. I won’t feel as if I should be hibernating.

Last week, late Saturday/early Sunday, my daughter arrived home after another international adventure, this one in Australia and Italy. We spent most of last week catching up, figuring out groceries for two, getting her car squared away, and watching the Frost Giants play.

Also? I’ve been mystified by how an extra person in the house exponentially increases the number of dirty dishes.

On the writing front, I’ve been heads down working on The Marigold Miracle. I like where it’s going, but I do worry a bit about the length. It’s going to be longer than the first book. Although, since I’ve added a point of view, maybe that’s expected. Then again, it’s fantasy, so I feel like I have more word count to play around with.

In any case, I hope to have this draft wrapped up by the end of March so I can let it rest all of April before diving back in.

Also, I have all of March’s Booking Through Thursday posts ready to go. You can look forward to:

  • March 5: Favorite format for reading
  • March 12: What did you end up loving (or appreciating) from a required reading list
  • March 19: Spring break/vacation reading
  • March 26: Does your reading change with the seasons

Hope to see you on Thursday!