November the Last

Can you believe that? The last day of the month? 

One more month left of this craptastic year! Which of course doesn't mean 2021 is going to start less craptastic. None of this is going to go away just because the clock strikes midnight on December 31st! There's no "fresh start" for this time of our lives. 

This is always a crazy month though, and this year is no different. Of course, there are no holiday parties to attend. There will be no "Ugly Sweater" party this year. At this point, I'm not even sure I will do the Christmas Eve Open House. There will be no 21st birthday party for K4, no anniversary dinner out for That Man and I, no New Year's Eve parties, but yet, things will be a different kind of crazy. 

I did decorate my front porch - well, it's about halfway done. I'm waiting for my lights to get here and I need some greenery. But the snowman has been repaired, Santa has been scrubbed up, and it looks pretty cute. I think. I also started shopping. I have four out of seven grandkids done, plus 2 grandkid birthdays, so that's a bonus. And K4's birthday and That Man are almost done. 90% of that happened today. 

We won't get our tree for few weeks. It'll just die with our heat. But I will get everything else done before that day. It's a bonus that I never put away my Christmas dishes from the hutch. Ha! 

Part of me doesn't know why I'm pushing forward with decorating and food plans. Christmas could very well turn out like Thanksgiving. But yet... It gives me something to focus on, so that can't be a bad thing. 

That's all I have...

Behave! 

Black Friday Rest

I hope you had a wonderful holiday yesterday, however it turned out. 

Our plans changed yet again, but we had a really good day. A ended up getting sick and had to get a Covid test. Her results weren't back yet (still aren't), so they couldn't come. So it was just That Man, me, and K4. 

We still went all out. K4 and I made pies Wednesday night, per our usual routine. Two pumpkin, an apple, and a vegan apple (just in case the results came back and were negative), and a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. K4 bought a pumpkin cheesecake from her work to add to the mix. 

We cooked all day and finally sat down to eat around 4-ish at our decorated table. We were stuffed, but the food turned out amazing. We had a blast all day together - talking and laughing, and yeah, crying a little. 

By the time we finished our pie eating, the kitchen was clean and we were ready to crash. We facetimed with K5, and with Mr. B. Talked to K3 and A, and texted with K1. Texted with my family and his. 

It was a really good day, despite missing people. 

I'm still tired though. I slept in this morning, but still feel like I could take a nap. Of course, I woke up at 3:30 and struggled to get back to sleep. K4 had to work today. That Man and I took the day off. Though we both still have to check messages and take care of emergencies. So far it's been quiet though. 

Oh! Look at the top upper left! That's my new book cover for the reprint that's coming out this spring! I am in love with it and so grateful my cover artist got my vision! 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday...

 Whooot! Friday! 

Here's my list:

1. I got my turkey. Umm... Since our Thanksgiving plans have changed (again)(and again)(and might change again) and I am feeding turkey to three to four turkey eaters (at this point). My turkey is almost 21#'s... HA!! But hey... It was a free turkey up to just about the poundage we got, so... we have a freezer and it will not go to waste. 

2. Yeah, Thanksgiving plans changed. Yet again. There is work. There is other family. There is work. (Yes, I meant to type that twice) We will adapt. I am trying hard to accept that things won't be the way I envisioned, and that's okay. It will be the three of us and K3 and A, and maybe some drop ins for dessert and frivolity, though that is not guaranteed. At this point, I am trying to just go with the flow... 

3. Oh and hey! It's Friday! 

4. That Man picked up awesome pizza on his way home tonight. No cooking. No cleaning up. Nice, nice break and I appreciate it so much. 

5. Writing the words. I am making pretty damned decent progress. And I am happy with that progress. 

6. Sleeping in tomorrow. We'll see how that works. I haven't been able to stay in bed for very long these days anyway...

7. Talking to two of my siblings tonight. That's good stuff. I wish to talk to the other one, but he forgets to respond to text messages and that's okay. The last one was pure silliness. 

8. I also talked to my cousin who lost her mother last weekend. I won't get into my feelings on this because I started a post last night about my aunt and it was so long I had to delete it. Suffice it to say that my aunt's death has hit me hard. She and my momma were the best of friends and I have so many good memories of my aunt and my aunt, and my momma together. Also, it doesn't help that my cousin calls her mom momma as well. I'm still not sure how we're related, but there's no mistake that we are absolutely family. 

That is all!

Behave!

Tuesday...

So... One more Tuesday before Thanksgiving. 

It kind of snowed a little today! Whoot! 

Things are changing in our state constantly with the Covid. It's frustrating, confusing, and infuriating. I won't get into it or else this will be a huge rant. 

I stopped at the grocery store during my lunch break today after going into the office to put away supplies, sort 2021 calendars, and help a coworker with a spreadsheet. Toilet paper is flying off the shelves again. I would say six out of ten people had tp in their carts. Most of the shoppers had this panicked look in their eyes. It was hard not to fall into "panic-buy mode" with the rest of them. I didn't though. I got what I needed and got the heck out of there. I still need to get my turkey and trimmings. 

Things are still in the works for Thanksgiving. There are too many unknowns, which is why I haven't purchased my turkey or the trappings yet. It's going to be small, I am sure. And that's okay. I will get to cook and use my Thanksgiving dishes and I will do that even if it's only the three of us after all. K4 and I have decided on some desserts we will be making and my list of things to do is ever growing. 

Then I will decorate for Christmas. I have started my shopping, though not by much. We have two grandkid birthdays before Christmas, too. And, of course, I have no idea what Christmas will look like. K4's 21st birthday plans are up in the air, but we will make the most out of it. And we have started watching Christmas movies, which, if you know my husband, is remarkable. He hates anything Christmas before Thanksgiving and we've watched probably six Christmas movies in the last week. That just goes with my point that if it makes you happy, do it. 

That Man and I both took off the Friday after Thanksgiving. We both worked last year and it was the lamest, most-boring day at the office. I would rather sleep in and spend my day relaxing and writing. 

Anyway. The new book is coming along nicely. I am happy with it so far. 

And that is all I have on this windy and freezing cold Tuesday!

Behave!

Sunday Again...

Sorry it's been a week... Last week was pretty boring. I started posting a few times, but found I had nothing to report. 

Now we're back at Sunday. 

That Man and I went to our favorite little cabin along the river. We left Thursday after work and got back a little after lunch today. 

It was a beautiful weekend. We talked, laughed, cooked, watched movies, slept, and enjoyed the river. We took the dog with us and she was an absolute mess. She was freaked out by the river, the train, chickens, and the stray cats around. She was better by today, of course. 

I wrote, slept in, showered in the most amazing shower (seriously, I need that shower). 

We got home, took a nap, ate some soup, made some cookies, I wrote. It's raining now. And super windy. 

And that's all I have.

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up!

 Okay, so the weekend didn't turn out nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped... But it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend! 

I did sleep in on Saturday and it was beautiful. That Man made breakfast. We watched some dumb tv and then got busy. 

The old fencing is now gone from the yard. The camper is winterized and cleared of all food and things that can potentially freeze. The Jeep is cleaned inside and out. The weeds are pulled from the front of the house. The porch has been cleaned and rearranged a bit. Leaves have been raked. The vacuum has been run inside the house. That Man's car has been taken to the mechanic. Shopping has been completed. Laundry is done. House is in decent shape. Yard is getting there. Christmas gifts are being discussed and a plan is being made. 

We pretty much wrecked ourselves on Saturday. Getting the fencing out of here and doing leaves, among other things, broke us into two sorry excuses for sore and exhausted humans. We did make some banging empanadas for dinner though. After that, it was couch time and movie watching. I wrote. Went to bed pretty early for a Saturday night. I know we're early to bed anyway, but this was crazy early. 

K3 stopped in for his packages, so we got to chat with him for a while. It's always good to see that kid! He laughed at us in our soreness! He offered to set up the new Fire Stick we bought because ours is overheating, but I didn't want to have to deal with setting up the apps and passwords and stuff... 

Didn't sleep in as much today, but still did. That Man made breakfast again, and then we set off for errands. Went to the home improvement store, but ended up leaving in frustration. It was packed and they rearranged, so we couldn't find anything on our list. Went to the mega box store for cat litter, and then, we had no choice but to go to the mega mart for RV antifreeze. Ugh. But I got the candles I have been wanting, so that's a plus. It was insanely busy, too, so getting in and out was priority. 

I did take a quick nap today, which was good. And I wrote a crapton of words, so that's awesome. The book is going well and I am happy. 

Also awesome is a writing retreat in my future! I'm so very excited. The house is gorgeous and secluded. I will be with my bestest writing friends and I will be nothing but a writer and friend while I'm there. I will have my own room and probably my own bathroom. I am so very much looking forward to it. I haven't been on a writing retreat in over five years. To say how much I need this would be an understatement. 

Tomorrow is Monday again. I'm at the point in the evening where I'm wishing for another weekend day. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Oh Friday!

Here's the list:

1. No problems on my mammogram. Got the call this morning. 

2. Just That Man and I tonight. It's a good conversation evening. Relaxing. Movie watching. 

3. Ordering burgers for dinner. Neither of us were hungry until about an hour ago. We had awesome food delivered. 

4. Sleeping in tomorrow. And I will. It's much needed. I just might overshoot my normal "sleeping in" time! In fact, I mean to. 

5. Light weekend plans. Some yard work. Some house cleaning. Some store going, resting, and relaxation. 

6. Getting words on the page.  

7. Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Plans are coming together with That Sister. And then Christmas. I definitely agree with the mindset that since 2020 has been such a sucky year that we should go with what makes us happy. I'm not ready to decorate for Christmas yet, but it's on my mind. Thanksgiving and Christmas both make me happy, so here we go! 

That is all! 

Behave! 

Thursday Rambling...

Oy vey has it been a long week already and it's only Thursday! 

I voted. That's all I'm going to say about that. 

Had my annual mammogram today. Ouch, but whatever. It's done now. Get your tatas checked, folks. It's important. 

We fixed our hallway light tonight. The fixture finally came. It's been ages since the light worked. We've swapped out plans for a while now. First we were going to put a small ceiling fan up there, which I still want, but it wasn't gong to work. I love the new light though. It's nice to have the light on the stairs again. Though I still want the tiny fan light! 

Writing - I've managed every night but Monday. The counts aren't fantastic, but at least I'm getting something. I filled out my art sheet for the re-release that will come out in the spring. That was exciting and a little painful. 

Weekend plans - no idea yet. Oh wait... we have to go to the mega box store for cat litter since they didn't have it the other night. Other than that... we'll see...

That's all...

Behave!