You're Doing It Wrong

What is this picture? I’m guessing I did this somehow while I was carrying the phone. It looks like the area where the big food cart used to be and is now going to be a luxury hotel/condo tower and an awning? I have no idea.

Our office technology is mostly fixed and we are back at it, in the office, full time. January was super busy with all kinds of things that need to happen at the beginning of the year.

Since the pandemic the bus ridership dwindled so much that they combined 4 routes into one and reduced service. More stops, fewer options.

So I’m back to super long days. I don’t hate it but it means I don’t get anything done around the house on work days. It’s a different rhythm to get back to.

This is my Indigenous bookshelf. It’s not complete because I have books stashed all over the place plus digital books. I only pulled out the ones with an Indigenous author and that I could find right away. If you count books with an Indigenous topic, I have at least 3x this many.

I participated in an Indigenous romance author QnA with Erin and Dani of Indigenous reading circle. Here is the URL (When I look on my browser, the URL is crossed out but if you click it, it works fine.) I’m not sure if you can watch it without an Instagram account. Give it a try. It was super fun and I am so impressed with the work these two are doing to promote Indigenous authors.

Here I am represented at the Thai food cart.

Out of time. Pressing publish without proofreading. I love the danger!

Here’s an older clip of no tail taking a little drink in the snow.

And here’s another in the serious of that mean ol’ raccoon beating up on anyone who tries to drink when he’s there.

No big news. We are both mostly recovered but still scattered coughing and we’re usually pretty pooped by the end of the day.

Yesterday was the first day I was pretty close to “normal” whatever that is, and even did a little bit of exercise.

I’m catching up on projects and chores. I’m hoping to get to the office on Monday. Who knows what is waiting for me after I’ve been home so long?

Last pumpkin processing for the freezer. Bob said, “Do you even have any containers left?”

I forgot the entire purpose of yesterday’s post was to say that Bob’s PCR test came back negative. So maybe we don’t have covid?

It’s hard to be confident in anything right now.

Since we’re both still coughing and congested we will continue our quarantine and if anyone asks if we’ve had covid we’ll say, “Maybe, maybe not.”

I feel like this photo could be made hilariously inappropriate with just a teeny bit of drawing. I had to cut off another wedge to fit it into the pan properly. I took a photo of it in the oven but my oven is so gross I can’t bring myself to post a picture.

The other night I was sitting in front of the TV and heard frantic beeping from our microwave. Since no one was using it, I was concerned.

I got up and the display was flashing letters and symbols, the light inside was blinking on and off, and there was a crackly sound.

I’ve consumed A LOT of horror/scifi/fantasy in my time so I knew what this meant:

Creatures from another dimension or maybe aliens were trying to use it cause havoc in our world.

I unplugged it and Bob took it outside and we saved the day.

Bob got that microwave when he moved into his own apartment, about 40 years ago. It should probably go into a museum.

Good Bye microwave!

I looked around in the shop to see if I saw the peanut shells or I could find more signs of mouse. I found this paper towel behind a box. Mouse took some of the pumpkin seeds I was saving! Don’t worry, I have saved seeds all over the place. But this is a sign that mousey is more comfortable out there than he should be.

Measures forthcoming.

28862 / 30000 words. 96% done!

This is it for Project of Forever, part 1 of 3. I’m not exactly sure how things are going to end so in the end it’s very skimpy.

Project of Forever, part 2 of 3 will be underway shortly.

So spouse got what I through was a miserable cold but he wanted to get tested and paid for the Cadillac offering which was a buffet of antigen, PCR, and influenza tests.

A couple hours later he got a negative test. A couple hours after that he got an identical test sheet back only the result was positive.

So, one of those.

I think this little mouse is so cute! Look at those little ears. Spouse is not amused. He suggest we put out a trap in front of the camera. We’re not doing that. He’s out in the shop where the garden stuff is.

It took three days to get someone from the testing entity to call him back and that person suggested that he go with the positive test. He also didn’t know when we’d get the results of the PCR test. Maybe Monday (a full week since the test).

I went down with the crud on Friday and initially I was going to try to get tested, too, except everything was full except this place Bob went and there was no way I was doing that.

I am assuming I am positive, too. Unless the PCR test is negative and then I don’t know what we are. We have our own private virus.

Meanwhile, we’re holed up here with our tissues, Fisherman’s Friend, and hot tea. Not how I wanted to spend my long weekend but I am catching up on all my Marvel movies. Shang-Chi today!

27763 / 30000 words. 93% done!

This is part 1 of 3 for the project of forever. I have one more segment to write for this and it gets set aside and I will start work on part 2 of 3 for the project of forever. I have a few unrelated projects I’m working on, too.

A little itchy

For New Year’s Eve we made clam chowder. I bought a box of oyster crackers to go with. Oyster crackers is one of those things we try not to have around the house because we mindlessly eat them until the box is finished. I don’t even understand what’s so yummy about them. What are they? Flour, salt and probably a bunch of food-ish additives so they hold shape.

After our meal I put them back in the cupboard but not in an obvious place. Because if anyone is going to mindlessly eat the crackers, I want it to be me.

A couple nights later we were reheating the leftovers and Bob said, “Where are the oyster crackers?”

I went to get to get them and he gives me this look of betrayal and says, “Did you hide them?”

It’s long gone by now and even this isn’t the full picture. I kept forgetting to take and post pictures of the snow.

We didn’t get that much but enough to cover the lawn and look pretty.

I would crack the top off the raccoon ice bucket and throw it aside. I did it three times.

Bob and I went to see Licorice Pizza on Christmas Day.

I LOVED this movie. I said, “That was awesome!” the minute the credits started rolling and I never do that.

When I was a sweet young thing, I lived in the Valley and I shopped at Licorice Pizza (the record store has nothing to do with the movie) and I still have my record crate that I bought there.

It lives out in the shed and we use it to hold all our gross dust and spider webs.

In the movies and on TV people are always dry swallowing pills. No one ever says, “Wait, I need to get a glass of water.”

One night after seeing this yet again I turned to Bob and said, “Why do they always dry swallow pills on shows. Who does that?”

Bob said, “I do.”

I didn’t know people really did this.

I am a grown ass woman and I have to take my pills, vitamins, whatever, 1 at a time with a big gulp of water and even then I still miss sometimes.