Aging, Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Reading, Thinking, Writing

Cruising

Parts of my back have flared up, badly. The muscle beneath aches and the skin feels like it is burning off. Good times! The temps have dropped (again) and we got enough snow over night to turn everything white (again). The wind is really blowing as well. What’s creepy is that the trees will be bent sideways with the wind, the next time you look all is immobile. Not a breeze to be felt.

Not much got done yesterday. I used it as a day of rest. I did water the plants. They are doing very well. My agave plant now has seven babies crammed into her pot. I need to repot all of them. But I am nt sure where I would put them right now. So I leave them in and hope for the best. If I can get my greenhouse put up this Spring that will open up more room for over the Winter. I have a few ideas I am exploring since it will be starting as a very basic greenhouse. Chris has put forward some very good suggestions as well. I am very excited about the whole thing.

I don’t know what will get done if my back doesn’t stop. I will atleast get the basics done, dishes and laundry. Last night just before bed I had a bad anxiety flare up. I manage to get things calmed down enough to fall asleep. Barely.

Some cool news though! My friend and I are going to the one day writer’s conference again this Spring! I went through and picked out what I wanted to attend. Some of them are the lesser of two evils. There are several sessions to choose from that do not interest me in the least. But I am paying for them and maybe if I learn about something else I can use it to fuel my own creative endeavors.

The second cool thing is that I won a contest on my horror app. It is called “Slasher” and is dedicated to everything in the horror genre. It is Facebook for horror fans. What is awesome about it is that everyone just becomes good friends. Nobody is pegged as weird or creepy because they like horror. We just share things we love and support each other. I have been on it from the start and it is awesome to watch it grow and flourish! Anywho, I entered a random contest on there the other day and I got a message that I won! Giggity! Other fun things we do on there have been a Secret Santa (the person that runs this incorporates various holidays so we’ve done it for other holidays besides Christmas), random give aways by both the app creator (who stays very involved in the group) and other app users…. It’s just a fun place to hang out. We dry each other’s tears and encourage as best we can. (Several people have finally been able to leave abusive relationships while others have fund people that understand what they are going through with their depression… did I mention a lot of friendships have been made on here?)

I guess I ought to get this posted. I might curl up with a book. I finished Kane Hodder’s autobiography yesterday so I can pick up something new off my shelves. I do have a few new titles that I haven’t started yet. Or I can get one of my writing books out and delve into that. Maybe one of each? Anyway, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Automotive, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Nature, Photography, Reading, Thinking, Writing

Feeling a Little Lost

I am at a loss this morning. Spring needs to come sooner rather than later. I would atleast be able to work in the yard. This morning it is raining and dark. Going into dusk dark. Everything is turning blah for me. There is no flavor to anything. No color to anything.

I still haven’t heard when I can get my car in to be looked at. I just sent another message to my mechanic to remind him. I know he had atleast 10 cars to get through before he could fit me in. I have no idea the repairs needed for each but he sounded like it would be last week some time. I don’t think he forgot but I feel better knowing that I have reached out. Not knowing what is wrong I am not comfortable driving my car any further than to and from work. My neighbor wanted me to drive her to the store for some groceries yesterday. I wasn’t comfortable doing that. I just don’t want to drive more than necessary. I told her maybe today if she didn’t find anyone. I was hoping to hear from my mechanic.

I found a perfect gift for Chris but it turns out that it is downstate. So it is back to the drawing board. I think Stella is feeling sore from rough housing with Archie all the time. I am trying to keep an eye on them and intervene when he starts getting to rough. It’s not that he is being mean, it’s just that he is so much bigger than her now and doesn’t realize how strong he is when he is rough housing. I want to work on training with him. I do for a little bit then drop the ball. And Archie does want to learn. He is very smart.

I tried to work on my novel yesterday. I wonder if I am just over complicating my story. That what seems to be evolving as my story line just needs to be broken down into other stories or other books. After that depressing revelation I ended up getting Stella and Archie enrolled in a free pet finder program. I will try again today to sort my novel out. I think that I am just not following my original story. I had ideas that made sense and added to the story but now the research is just a procrastination tool. The problem is that the story line enhancements I am really interested in. So I keep going back to them instead of finishing the original story. Both stories are good enough to be told, I am just getting lost in the details.

I ought to get this posted. No new photos so I’ll recycle some old ones. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

A Monday Muddler

Mother Nature seems to have remembered which season we are supposed to be in. The temps are barely in the double digits and we seem to have gotten several inches of snow over night. Yay. With the windchill it is even colder. I have pulled Stella’s hoodie out and left it by the door. Archie doesn’t seem to need anything. He just naturally runs hot.

Yesterday morning was slow enough that I worked on plans for various things at work. I mocked up flyers and printed recipes. I also tried to come up with other ideas. I have a feeling that if my big event goes well I am going to be expected to do a quick video clip to post. I am ok behind the camera but not in front of it. So we’ll see.

Three more days. I came home wiped out last night. I had a hard time staying awake til my appropriate time. I kept falling asleep. I am hoping that the night goes fast. Well, the next three days to be honest. If I can get all my tills counted I should be able to get out at a decent time. I am hoping before 10pm. I plan to bring bones in before I leave for Chris to give to the pups when he leaves. Hopefully that will help with me not being home.

I need to water my plants again. It is so dry in the house that most of them need to be watered twice a week or they start looking all shriveled. I also have adopted six more plants. They are succulents and small plants. I plan to put two to a pot. I also hope to get repotting done as well. I might leave a little early Wednesday so I can go pick the stuff up. I really don’t want to have to leave the house on my days off. I can spread out a tarp or something and get everyone repotted on my days off. I should probably think about starting my seeds. When we get closer to being able to plant outside I will start some of the seeds in egg shells again. Not all of the seeds like the egg shell idea so I will have to be choosy. I also need to start planning what is going to be happening in my gardens this year. I need to make a serious effort instead of the usual fit-it-in-when-I-can that normally happens. Especially if I am putting up my greenhouse.

I am going to wrap this up and ger it posted. Thank you everyone for reaching out. And as always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

The Struggle Bus

It’s going to be rough going today. An anxiety attack hit before I even turned out the light to go to sleep. So I tossed and turned til around 3am when I finally fell asleep. I don’t remember any of my dream, but I do remember not being happy when I woke up. Every little thing that goes wrong (and it feels like there are a lot already) gets under my skin. Four more days to go…

The weather here is a bitter cold with the wind. The kind that freezes you to your core. I am grateful we only have a small amount of the snow that usually goes with. And the lack of sun this winter is disconcerting. That is putting everyone on edge.

I am trying to find something positive to write about instead of talking about the negative. Archie is doing well. He and Stella keep each other busy. I just covered Stella with a blanket. She hunkered in and sighed. Archie is currently chewing a bone. Mostly he is being quiet.

I should wrap this up and head to work. Thanks for the support! Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Aging, Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Food, Friends, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, Reading, retail, Thinking, Writing

And We Wait

It was one of the hardest things to do to leave Archie at the vet’s office this morning. I keep telling myself he will be ok but the way January is…. I just don’t trust it. So I am biding my time until 2:30pm when I can go get him. I took the earliest possible time. Stella has wadded herself up behind me on the love seat. I don’t knw how she managed to get the blanket so tight around herself. She is sound asleep.

I was worried about icy roads on the way in this morning. We, thankfully, had no issues. But I will probably leave early to go get him because I miss him and am worried. Everyone has been very understanding of my craziness lately. I am forever grateful. A coworker got me a bouquet of tulips that I wanted. I loved the colors but I decided against getting them because I needed the money for Archie. While I was busy dealing with a cooler that had gone down he got them for me. I did my best not to cry. It was a near thing.

I think I will make Chris breakfast if he wants this morning (or rather this afternoon). He’s not feeling well and I need to make sure I take care of him. He made us dinner last night even though he didn’t feel good. And he has had the patience of a saint this past month while I have tried to deal with all this crap going on. He needs to be taken care of too.

A bunch of friends from work are checking on me. Bless them. I am going to try writing today. I haven’t really done anything with my novel. Not even looked at my research materials. I also need to see about pulling that interview together. At the very least I want to print her responses to my questions. That way I have a paper trail.

I spent a bit messaging with my cousins last night. We have our own private chat outside of the normal family one. I don’t feel the need to include everyone in our conversations. But both are coping since their Mom’s death. My one cousin is quietly going through her Mom’s stuff trying to simultaneously clean out her Mom’s stuff and pack up to move. But all in all they are moving forward. It is hard to believe it has been two weeks already. One week since the funeral.

I guess I will wrap this up and try to keep myself distracted. I will try to include a photo of the tulips I got. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Gardening, Learning, Life, Love, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Travel, Writing

Weirdness

A lot of craziness going on here. Last night the whole state of Michigan had no 911 services for several hours. Then this morning I wake up to all flights have been delayed in the U.S. due to computer problems. What bothers me the most (besides the obvious) is that my Aunt’s body is due to fly out today. The funeral is Monday so there will be time but it is the principle of the thing.

I busted tail on my novel yesterday. I made some headway but I also found a possible issue. But I could have it work to my advantage. It will take some finessing though. Archie is his happy self but Stella seems a bit sad. It has been going on for several days now. I worry.

Nuts, My battery saver just went on. I forgot to plug both my laptop and Kindle in yesterday. This may be cut short. The day is again grey. It has been so long since I have seen the sun! I hear the birds out back. I did get the feeder refilled yesterday. It was completely empty with the exception of a bit of suet.

I don’t know how work will go. I hope well. I hope quickly. There will be a lot to do. I guess I will add a few photos and get this posted. My mind is all over the place. I am sorry of all the disjointed writing. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Aging, Animals, anxiety, Cooking/Baking, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Holiday, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Trying Again

Well here we are in 2023. Yesterday was crazy but fun at work. Inventory went well. I stayed up with Chris to ring in the new year. Barely. I kept falling asleep. But I promised myself that I would. The new year has dawned dark, wet and chilly. Not much above freezing but it looks warmer outside since the snow is melting. I have also awakened with a sore throat. I had planned to try to sleep in but I got a tickle in my throat that would not go away. I think the new year brought a bug from last year with it. Everyone at work has been getting sick (the joys of customers coughing on seemingly everything). I guess it’s my turn. Hopefully I can still function tomorrow. I have Archie’s vet appointment. I had to wait almost a month to get it so I can’t cancel. He needs his first round of shots and I want him microchipped. I also need to set up an appointment to get him fixed. I would prefer that done sooner rather than later.

And craziness at work. I have just spent the last 10 minutes trying to help them at work via text messages. Now Archie thinks I need to be done with this and spend the rest of my time with him. It is play time. But we need to stay quiet because Chris is still asleep.

When I got home from work yesterday Chris had made his famous potato soup. It is amazing as always. It should last us several days. I believe it was the first thing he made in his big cast iron pot. That will probably be my breakfast, lol.

2022 had one more surprise left for me. I found out last night that my former store manager from Younker’s died of a massive heart attack. We butted heads a lot but I still really liked her. I am glad she was able to fulfill her dream of retiring to Floridia. Her birthday would’ve been the 27th of December.

I’m sorry I’m not more bright and shiny for the new year. I’m hoping my three days off will help. I wish all of you the best 2023 you can have! Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Holiday, Learning, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, Thinking, Writing

Plotting

I am becoming frustrated with WordPress. I seem to have problems almost daily. And it is the same set of problems. They fix it for a while and then it comes back. They have tried to tell me it is my system, but I have done what they recommend, and nothing works. Some of my computer savvy friends have suggested that it is too many changes on their end are causing the issues and that the problems I am experiencing are not being addressed just temporarily fixed until another change comes down the pipe. Regardless of the what and whys it makes me want to change servers.

I did manage to sleep in. I didn’t make it very late last night. I tried but my body refused. Right now I have two tiny bundles behind me. Great big Archie is in the same size ball as Stella. Both are snoozing away. I’m not sure what today’s goals are. I do want to work on my novel. I am still waiting on the last of the delayed Christmas gifts to arrive. They should’ve been here yesterday but no one seems to have gotten any mail yesterday. Another project is my plants. All need to be watered, some need to be repotted and I think it is about time that I replace the food spikes from 6 months ago. My tomato plant that I was so proud of seems to be on the way out.

Gah… I have a catch or fluid build up on the right side of my neck that I can’t seem to get rid of. It hurts and inhibits me turning my head. I am not sure what to do about it. I have tried rubbing it out but only seems to last as long as I am rubbing. Hot and warm water do not help. As a matter of fact that seems to make it worse.

The big push through this week is going to be inventory. It has to be done by Friday. I get several deliveries Friday so that needs to be stocked so I can get it counted. My distributors have been over ordering my stock (despite me leaving several notes as to when our inventory was) so it is going to be a major pain. I already told Chris that I am not sure what I am doing on Friday. Since it is a major delivery day I am also getting the kids who are supposed to stock said product from the distributors. They don’t arrive at a set time so I need to figure out when I can count my beer backstock (having inventory the day before a major alcohol holiday is a bad bad idea). I don’t want to have to come back after my shift but I may have to. I can get liquor done easily (but I order my own stock so…). I received three pallets of beer yesterday. That is not all going to fit out. I am getting more Friday. I also need to educate everyone on how to use a deduction sheet. Once my backstock is counted nothing should go out. But with New Year’s this weekend that is going to take a big chunk of my sales. So I have to put up a deduction sheet. Not everyone knows how to use them. Sooooo my work will be cut out for me.

Archie is letting me know that I have been at this too long. He is sighing and his paw is on my shoulder nudging me. I have a few new photos to share. It has been dark and dreary here. I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Animals, anxiety, Books, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Friends, Gardening, Holiday, Life, Love, Medical, Nature, Photography, retail, the World, Thinking, Travel, Writing

Blizzard Chronicle, Day 2

The wind is raging outside. We’ve probably gotten the promised 2 feet (61 cm) of snow and more. The wind is blowing things around just making things messy in general. We can barely get out of the sliding glass door. I don’t think I will be able to get out any other door to get to the garage. That bothers me because I will have to leave it unlocked when I leave if I go out that way.

We closed at 7pm last night due to the storm. This morning we aren’t opening until 9am. Fortunately I got my liquor order done yesterday so I didn’t have to be there extra early today. I think I was able to get ahold of everyone about the time change for opening. Some of the regulars will be put out. They will have to cope.

I just got a message from a coworker asking if we were even going to be open today. She says even the county trucks are getting stuck. I told her to stay home if it is too bad. They live about 20-30 minutes away on a good day. No idea how long it will take them in this stuff.

The pups are having a hard time getting out to go potty. It’s just too deep. Archie seems to like it though, the weirdo. He got sick this morning. Not sure what. Probably the book he shredded while I was at work.

I had better get going. Gonna be a long day. Thanks for reading and stay safe! I do have some photos of this weather but no time to download them. I will add them tomorrow.

Animals, Books, Cooking/Baking, Creativity, Dogs, dreams, Emotions, family, Food, Friends, Holiday, Life, Love, Nature, Photography, Reading, retail, Thinking, Travel, Writing

Getting Closer

The temperature drop is on the way. Yay. I was supposed to go shopping with the Girls on Friday but I might have to bail. I am going to have to get up at 4am to do my liquor order since we are closed on Sunday for Christmas. I need get in touch and tell them. That will be a bummer because a. I wanted to spend time with them and b. I have a few more bits that I want to get.

Archie is restless this morning. He let me sleep in (it seems that Stella has taken to sleeping on the love seat the past two nights) til almost 9am. We went to bed at a decent hour. I think that helped.

We had a Christmas miracle! Dad actually called to talk. Acted like nothing had ever happened. He calmly said that he was staying in his apartment and was looking for a nurse to stop by a few days a week. While I was glad to hear from him I was still a bit frustrated. I think we chatted for about 4 hours.

I did spend a good portion of my day on my novel. I am trying to make headway with my main character. Chris said home because he got sick on breakfast. For once my constitution was stronger than his. I didn’t have any issues. We had the same thing to eat. It tasted good but unfortunately something in it wasn’t.

Today will be more work on the novel and at the very least watering the plants. I also need to do a little baking. I have to have a dish to pass for tomorrow. I am thinking of going the easy route and just doing biscuits or something. I haven’t decided.

I guess I am done. Chris has gotten up early and now the dogs are getting too loud. Thanks for reading and stay safe.