Working Wednesday, December 9, 2020

~ Jenny

I think my brains dribbled out my ears this week. I have about fifty unanswered e-mails and several online tasks that my frontal lobe keeps sliding off of. Plus writing. Cleaning. Sending out my Christmas cards (ha). Getting presents sent since there will be no family get togethers. Yeah, I did none of that.

I’m covered with shame. Please tell everybody what you accomplished this week to distract from my slothfulness. (Sloths are five times slower than a drifting iceberg. That’s been me this week.)

88 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, December 9, 2020”

  1. I said the magic words — “IEP” (Individualized Education Plan) to the school and all of the sudden everyone was falling all over themselves to make sure older son’s specific needs were met. What a shocker (she says, not shocked at all).
    I’m happy of course, but I’m also annoyed I had to go over heads and rattle cages to get results. And yet, it often turns out to be only way. I just can usually do it in a more “soft power” way by persistence and a lot of cookies 😉 but online school puts a new spin on everything, I guess.
    So I have been juggling phone calls and responding emails and coming up with education plans.
    Other than that I finished up my first draft of my Italian presentation on Cardinal Mezzofanti, an Italian polyglot from the early 1800s. Fascinating guy who supposedly spoke 30 languages fluently. He also only slept 3 hours a night, so I’m not sure the tradeoff would be worth it to me. I love languages, but I probably love sleep more.

  2. I planted my first bare-root rose as soon as it arrived, and managed to re-cover the bed with anti-cat netting until the other rose gets here, when I’ll finish planting the whole bed and cut slots in the netting to fit it round the plants. This is the tiny front garden, which the local cats will use as a toilet otherwise.

    Also cleared the cherry tree bed, chucking out the large patch of montbretia and moving other plants that don’t fit my latest plan either to the allotment or my friend Pam’s – she and a neighbour are greening the car park behind their houses.

    I did my Christmas shopping on Monday, mostly in the excellent local bookshop – it took less than two hours. I’ve also printed the pictures for this year’s cards; now I need to cut them up and spraymount them to cartridge paper. I’m making them myself this year, a bit bigger than usual, so I can handwrite notes in them. Felt like a good thing to do.

    I edited a couple of shoots at a ruined farmhouse – one a month ago and the other two years ago. Want to edit one more shoot this week, so I’ve got a handful of photos to share at our photography Zoom meeting this Saturday.

    And after a frustrating week’s delay, I’ve got proofs to read, plus an extra rush job that’s meant to arrive by the end of the week.

    (Of course, the list of what I haven’t done is much longer than this.)

  3. I’m stuck inside s large city with no nature. I’m stressed beyond the telling and very forgetful. I’m cashing my accomplishment watching lots of movies. I refuse to feel shame about being slothful at this point.

    1. Yay! This is what I came to the comments hoping to find. My big accomplishment these days is getting out of my comfy pajamas and into real clothes, but I’m tired of guilt-tripping myself for struggling. I’m ready to refuse shame, too. (Not that I’m successfully doing it, but I’m ready to try.)

      1. Thanks for your two comments!! I’m still behind with presents (even coming up with ideas is hard), I seem to have adopted a sloth-speed for everything I do and my feet are feeling icy cold (just a random observation). I’m just not in the mood for xmas at all…

        1. Definitely not feeling the holiday season this year, either. I really just want to hunker down, finish the book I’m reading, replay a comfort game (like a comfort food, but a video game) and sleep. So, Yes to all of this.

    2. You might enjoy/be inspired by James Wong (@botanygeek on Instagram). He’s in London with no garden and is also half Malaysian/Singaporean. He makes the most amazing miniature living landscapes in terrariums, bottles, and under a glass-topped table. They’re pretty specialist, but rather magical.

  4. There’s always a batch of leftover mashed potatoes in the refrigerator being pushed further back until they reach no man’s land. This week I decided to make something different and tried, new to me, gnocchi(s). Potatoes, flour and an egg. So simple. Incorporate the ingredients, roll into a ball, separate into quarters, roll each quarter into a rope and cut into 3/4 pieces. And this is the fun part roll the pieces on a fork to get the tine marks, rest about 20 minutes and add to boiling salted water until they float. Done. Went well with the sauce from stuffed peppers.

  5. I answered 3,000 emails, give or take, did all my Xmas shopping on line, cleaned the house thrice, biked 80 miles, and invented time travel. A typical week. Oh yeah, took Cool Gus for a couple of walks.

      2. You have to remember once its invented it always existed. So I noted your question a few years ago. And answered it. You must have missed it.

  6. I actually got most of my Christmas presents wrapped and mailed. I am waiting for the last gift to arrive before I can send out the final package. Considering that I usually don’t have my shopping done by this time, I have impressed myself greatly! lol

    I took today off so I can put up the tree and decorate it. I also have to bake cookies for the cookie exchange we are doing at our office Christmas party on Friday. We are doing our party early because one of my coworkers is going out for hip replacement surgery next week and we didn’t want her to miss the party. That’s also one of the reasons I got my shopping done early.

    Finally, I need to get the Christmas cards ready to send out. The list gets smaller every year but I still send them to friends and family. Plus, I am involved in a bookmark exchange with an online book group; we’ve done this for several years. We send out Christmas cards with bookmarks (it doesn’t matter if they are handmade, purchased, or free from an organization; anything goes). I look forward to getting mine even though I really don’t need more bookmarks. Whenever I use one, it makes me think of her.

  7. My cancer came back from remission the first of September and my oncologist started my chemo back. She prescribed a really strong one that I had been on a couple of years ago. I couldn’t handle it then and I can’t now, so she has taken me off. It causes blisters on my hands and mouth, plus a whole lot of other unpleasant side effects. She commissioned a study on cancer markers and they have come up with one that is for my DNA (don’t ask for details on how they come up with it – I just nodded and said ok) so yesterday I started.a brand new treatment, with pills specifically targeting that marker in stead of infusion. I have been off the chemo for two weeks and finally starting to get a little energy. First day went fine but I take three pills a day so we will see. My daughter in New York is very upset that she isn’t here, but I don’t want her traveling and right now I am doing ok. She lives in the Erie area and they are evidently really seeing the surge. Christmas is taking a back seat this year, although my husband is going to put lights on our outside tree. He knows how much I love lights and he can do that. I folded clothes this morning and never thought I would be so glad to be able to do that!

    4. Really sorry to hear this; and really hopeful that the new targeted treatment works for you. Willing things to turn around with the solstice.

    6. Totally understand the laundry thing. So glad some energy is coming back and here’s hoping the targeted treatment plan is easier on you and works quickly.

    7. Such a bummer that you are going through this. I’m glad to hear they have the markers and a new treatment. Also think you are wise to tell your daughter to stay home. Glad you have Christmas lights and folded laundry! (right now I’m looking at a pile of laundry that needs folding …)

    10. I’m so sorry to hear the cancer’s back. Hopefully the new treatment keeps being easy to tolerate and works wonders.

    11. Fingers crossed for the new treatment. I don’t understand any of the genetic stuff in cancer treatment, but it does seem promising.

    12. I’m glad they have a targeted treatment that won’t make day to day life worse and I hope that it really does the job on the cancer.

      Don’t think that folding the clothes is a small accomplishment! You are banishing chaos and restoring order to your universe, not to mention making getting dressed much easier. Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I have a pile of laundry awaiting my services.

    13. So sorry to hear this. At least there’s an alternative, and more directed treatment. Hope it’s easier on your body.

      Definately time to cut back to just what you really need to feel in a holiday mood or just content.

    16. Thank you to everyone! You have no idea how comforting it is to hear your encouragement. December 30 will be 4 years since I was diagnosed and everyone tells me I’m a tough cookie. So I am looking at this as just another experience. I’m blaming it on 2020 – so hoping 2021 is better!

    17. Oh, hell, RG. Good news on the markers and the pills, though. Sending all kinds of recovery and remission vibes. And lots of white light(s).

    22. New treatment! That’s gotta be good. And one calibrated to you and your own special DNA! Yoickers. {{hugs}} too. I’m impressed with your doctor — and you!

    24. So sorry to hear you have this additional challenge to cope with. All best wishes for the best outcome from the targeted treatment & heaps of Christmas lights.

  8. For what it’s worth, I’m sitting here reading this and reminding myself that I really need to be doing work and I’m just… not? Like, everything I worked on yesterday, I’m waiting for input from other people on, and I just can’t make my brain go back and look for something less immediate — even though I know there are things I need to get back to.

    ‘Tis the season, I think is my point here. Definitely isn’t just you.

  9. I finished up editing my Christmas letter, and then attempted to print it on my special Christmas paper – that is evidently too thin for my printer to understand. So, I’m left feeding the paper in one sheet at a time. It’s a little annoying. I did intently *think* about starting my Christmas cards this morning, but I started a new crochet hat project so that passed.

    As for finishing anything? Nope. nada. nothing to see here. Just working on work-work. But I don’t have any evening meetings this week (and only one obligation this weekend), so maybe?

    The DH and I did go out Monday evening to get a tree. Apparently there is a tree shortage. Between the rain and cold weather and darkness, there were no trees to be found at the three lots we went to. Luckily, Lowe’s was off-loading a fresh batch of trees when we pulled up. We took the first one we picked up. Its in the garage right now, resting in its bucket of water. The next step is to go up to the attic and bring down all the Christmas stuff – but that will probably wait until tomorrow. 🙂

    1. I forgot – I completely cleared another 3 barrels full of leaves off the back deck. I did feel accomplished with that! I got it off before the rain (which brought some more back down – but it is a mere pittance compared to what I’ve already hauled off. For those keeping track, it’s been about 10-12 big trash barrels of leaves .)

    2. My plan is to find the Christmas cards I didn’t send last year.
      I am evidently a long-term sloth.

  10. I have done tiny bits of decluttering/dusting which made a big difference to my work room / yoga room / where I live from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

    Acquired several ridiculous articles of clothing to wear for next week’s Zoom happy hour (my team at work).

    Did a tiny bit of writer business.

    Brought WIP up over 65,000 words.

    Add that to ‘fixed the egregious weed situation in southwest corner of front yard’ and I feel like I actually did accomplish something in the past week. 🙂

  11. I got my shingles vaccine on Monday. Yesterday I renewed my driver’s license/ real ID. Then I put on my pajamas and took a nap. Really glad I didn’t get them vaccine before I worked the weekend. I could barely keep my eyes open.

  12. Reports, and other terrible end-of-year paperwork have me exhausted. Food and dog but even dog has to wait sometimes https://www.instagram.com/p/CIlc1iqAwQC/?igshid=o1glokzil8z6

    I am preparing for next year but didn’t take photos because the files I craftily covered are at work and still incomplete. Maybe I’ll save it for next week’s Working Wednesday.

    I’ll be tweeting about a particular school issue and I’d like some response please, on how it works in your state/county/province of your country. Thanks in advance.

  13. Primed some canvases, looked at some instructional videos, painted a tiny still life of a pomegranate on a blue bowl. Satisfactory.
    Brought out the big guns (the comforter, which weighs about 20 pounds), got the cars oil changed. I spread out all the fluffy soft blankets and eiderdowns in layers on the guest bed. Of course, the cat has decided that that is exactly just right for him.
    Did some yoga almost every morning. Virtue!

  14. Wow I fit right in. I talked to my sisters and we agreed to not exchange presents this year; we will meet in person for a mutual shopping spree after this is over (all three of our home states are surging; mostly locked down for two of us; my sister in Texas wishes they were locked down). I did a very minimal start to Christmas shopping for my friends, mostly at the local book store. I donated to local charities. On the chores front, I got my winter tires installed and did aerobic shopping at CostCo while the tire guys were working. CostCo actually had a roving staff person with a big picket sign saying “6 FEET APART, PEOPLE!” I am total laggard on my Christmas letters and cleaning house. On the plus side, the weather has been unseasonably nice and I went hiking 4 times last week to beautiful destinations here in Oregon’s high desert country.

  15. I managed to keep doing my actual paying job even though I would rather just take the month off. I’m grateful to have a full-time job

    We’re having a virtual chili cookoff for charity at work. I ended up making a version of Thug Kitchen’s Pumpkin Chili using things I had frozen and a few things from the vegetable drawer. The proportions weren’t quite the same as the recipe, but close enough. It was delicious! (And there’s a bit more room in my freezer too.)

    The other big accomplishment was making a second wall Christmas tree. I have too many ornaments for just one. Basically it’s a tree made from dowels connected (hot-glued/tied) with twine, with fake garland and LED lights wrapped around them, held on the wall with a few Command hooks. I bought the garland for another project a few years ago, I had extra lights from a post-Christmas clearance sale, and the dowels cost about $7, so it was quite economical. The most difficult part was figuring out how to cut the dowels to use up every last inch.

  16. I’ve recently started “co-working” with friends over zoom. We chat for ten-ish minutes, then work for a few hours on our respective work projects, doing intermittent comments and jokes the way you would get to at a real office. I’ve just gotten to a point where I need the extra accountability, and so far it’s working.

    I also (FINALLY) got my mom to try Agness and the Hitman. She’s loving it, as I knew she would. And I made snickerdoodles with my sister, and picked up a new social media client, which is good.

    Cons: I somehow managed to lose my wallet in my apartment, which means I have to clean the apartment in order to find the wallet. ARGH.

  17. I gave my “makeup” table a glance yesterday — it’s so messy — and realized that one corner of it is a tangle of Christmas lights and linens never put away last year. Well, one up for foresight!

    If we, staying slothful, amassed more and more sloths from around the world, always slowing down, perhaps we could slow down the icebergs. Slowing down the icebergs would keep more of them in place in the Arctic and Antarctic. The slower the icebergs go the slower climate change happens. Just keep it slow . . . .

  18. I do a regular gym class on Tuesday mornings and this week was brutal. It’s Thursday morning now and still ow.
    Here’s how it went down:
    Warm up: tabata
    40 secs on, 20 secs off x2 of each of the following:
    Walk out push ups (stand, crouch, walk hands put to plank, push up, walk hands back, stand)
    4 side runs, 4 squat jumps
    One leg superman balance with leg lift things
    10 high knees run, 10 pylo jumps
    Side run with touch down x4, more squat jumps.

    Then circuit stations in teams of three – two people do the station, the third runs two laps of the hall, swap out, and keep going until the instructor tells you to move to the next station.
    The stations were back/shoulders, legs, triceps, biceps, boxing. Each station had 4-5 exercises.
    Then a core track.
    Then lie whimpering for a while.
    Then coffee and chat.
    Then two days of owwww.

    1. Our gyms are all closed by the governor’s orders. So I have been doing simple workouts at home. Plus: I’m doing them. Minus: I tend not to challenge myself. Your workout sounds VERY challenging!

      1. Yay that you’re doing them! I complain about the ouch, but I’m definitely happier when I’ve been active. And also when my jeans fit comfortably.

        I am VERY grateful that we have no covid in the community (just at the border quarantine-isolation hotels). Everything is pretty much normal and open now. We had a successful early-and-hard lockdown in the early days of the pandemic where gyms were closed (along with absolutely everything else except supermarkets and a very few other ‘essential services’) and I did online workouts then, I kinda enjoyed it, but I never got to ouch doing them. I had set myself a lockdown goal to learn to do a handstand. #fail

      2. I can heartily recommend zoom workouts for motivation. I do pilates twice a week (which is actually twice as much as I was doing it in real life before the lockdown). Knowing that I’ve paid for class and they’ll notice if I don’t turn up is enough to get me there, and then knowing that they can see if I’m not trying does the rest 🙂

  19. I keep crossing all these tasks off my to do list but there are always more of them so I never actually feel like I’m accomplishing anything. I think I’d prefer slothdom.

  20. I ended family/friend Christmas presents a few years ago, and I’m particularly grateful this year. I usually bake for local friends and places like the vet’s office that goes above and beyond. But I don’t think the vet’s office will accept hand-made stuff that I might have breathed near. So they’re getting packaged chocolates, and only the friends in my bubble (tenants and next-door neighbors, all of whom are taking precautions) get the hand-made stuff.

    My big project this week was getting a new washing machine, and OMG, have they improved in the thirty years since I got the one that died mid-wash last week. I can’t wait for the next time I need to wash bed-sized quilts. The tub is huge. A little too huge — I can’t reach the bottom if things are small and flat. And it spins so thoroughly I practically don’t need to use the dryer (slight exaggeration).

    One heads up for anyone anticipating buying an appliance soon– apparently lots of them are on back order, presumably because people working from home are upgrading their stuff. I had to get a fancier washer than I’d planned, because the basic ones were on indefinite back order. Confirmed it with a plumber, who says he’s been having trouble getting stuff he needs to install for customers. So don’t wait to the last minute. And check for energy-efficiency rebates in your state. I got a rebate for about half of the extra cost, since the fancier one was more efficient.

    And if anyone missed it on Sunday, I’ve got a quilt and chemo caps (or nightcaps) and a query critique and paper copies of Helen Binney mysteries all up for auction at https://www.32auctions.com/MysteryLovesGeorgia which ends Friday at 6 pm Pacific time, and things are going for less than they did in the Romancing the Runoff auction (although that may change before the end).

    1. My washer is very deep, I have to stand on my tip toes and stretch to reach socks but that extra tub depth is so worth it.

      1. My neighbor’s oven died in September so we have been cooking her bread and cakes. She does the work, we get the lovely smells and a weekly loaf of challah. She can’t understand why we were not sympathetic to her complaint that the oven delivery has been delayed a third time.

  21. Managing to keep up on my cleaning schedule, but just. I did get those kitchen drawers and cabinet cleaned. Not getting rid of alot but at least everything is better organized.

    I should keep up my organizing momentum. Maybe I’ll do my teeshirts next. It’s easy enough.

    Now I’ve got to clear the 1-2 inches of snow from the walks. Fresh air!

  22. I am now paying for my inertia in November. I forgot to apply for special coverage for one of my pills and used the last one this morning. Fortunately, I can get the next best option over the counter, but will have to pay for it out of pocket and very few places in my neighborhood carry the one I need in generic. There was a coupon for the name brand in Sunday’s paper, so I should be able to get something before too long . I should have started this process almost a month ago, so I hope the fact that I left it for so long will not slow things down more than usual. I also hope that I remember to submit the request for the one that runs out in February in plenty of time.

    I also went online and found out that the USPS delivered my niece’s birthday present as promised. I don’t know if that means that she actually got the package or if they left it out for someone to steal, but according to them it was delivered. Since her birthday is in another 9 days, she may be waiting to open it and will call or write then, but I am more worried about whether she received it than if she liked it. I haven’t seen their new apartment and have no idea how reliable their mail delivery is. Having lived in an apartment where the mail was sent back marked, “moved. left no forwarding address” every 2 years has left me a little paranoid about mail delivery. I’ll have to send off an email and ask.

    1. Do you know about https://www.goodrx.com/ ? Most of my human scrips are cheap enough through insurance, but the insulin I needed for my cat (now in remission, yay!) was pricey, and GoodRx got me a decent discount (although not as much as the discount for humans who need the same insulin).

      The service sounds too good to be true, but it’s legit.

      1. I’m on Medicare Part D, so I don’t think I qualify for that. My doctor was sending in the forms to the insurance company today and I hope that this will all be fixed in a week. Since this is a renewal of something they’ve approved in the past, it is pretty straightforward. (Unless they lose the fax from my doctor the way they did 2 years ago.) The insurance company was just bought out by a larger company, but that is fairly recent and I doubt they have tried to combine their databases yet. So I expect that it will go through in a week or so. Thank heavens we are between holidays so I don’t have to worry about that slowing things, too.

        1. I’m on Medicare too, but if you’re paying outside your insurance, the GoodRX coupons should work. You just opt not to process it through insurance. It’s only rebates that are prohibited for anyone on Medicare/Medicaid, I believe (not a legal opinion, haven’t researched it, just my layperson understanding).

          1. Thanks, Gin. I hope that what I bought with the coupon will tide me over until Express Scripts does their thing, but I will keep the Good RX info handy in case it takes longer.

  24. I am in overdrive. Today is my last day of freedom before going back to work ( we are on alternating teams because of covid and I am really not looking forward to tomorrow), and I feel like time is pressing down on me. I don’t know if it is reaction to this year, but I’m waiting for something to happen. And so, am prepping like a mad person. Most of Christmas is done. Most of my to do list is done, I am cleaning in between projects and I still don’t feel ready…

    Hopefully it’s the moon or too much sugar and I will settle down soon.

  25. I finish my drawing of Mum’s dogs. I’ll post a photo of it on working Wednesday soon.

    And I went out to a campsite we’ve been helping care for last weekend. Idea was to build a shed but we had too many people (great problem!) so most of us weeded and mulched baby trees instead. I was soooo stiff but it was great seeing the trees thrive.

    Writing this, I realise I’ve achieved stuff, but it doesn’t really feel like it. House and garden are a mess. Work-work is busy and we’re behind. And I’m really tired. I need to remind myself that I’m doing okay, really.

  26. I have been dealing with the worst brain fog of my life lately, along with randomly bursting into tears and having fits of rage. I know a lot of my friends are dealing with similar stuff. Sounds like we’re all hitting a new and fun phase of pandemic fatigue. Hopefully this, too, shall pass. Meanwhile, I’m lucky enough to be able to take a few days off of work, and I’m planning to try to be gentle with myself and try to catch up on sleep.

  27. Wow. I am in awe of all of you, as I practice my slothdom!

    I have been living in my housedresses. I don’t bother to get fully dressed unless going out or expecting someone, and since we are locked down (Washington state), neither happens! So I keep the household running (planning meals, orderingngroceries for delivery, cooking and surface cleaning), read/respond to my email, and listen as my college senior whines and slogs through his schoolwork. We’ll get flu shots on Saturday; I’ll have to get dressed. Oh, I edited his 1500 word paper for him yesterday.

    And I read. A lot. Actually read two good books yesterday, I’ll mention them on Thursday. I’m about to skip ahead and read the last chapter in my current book, then delete it. I love the prices on Bookbub, I’ve found many excellent authors there, but there are also those books that sound good but don’t work out for me. But at least they were cheap!

  28. Can’t say that I have been working really WELL — I needed to send out a newsletter to the local chapter of my ladies’ organization. What I have done for years is keep a file named Flier News, where I stick anything that turns up that might be of interest, and then pull the items for the current month into a mailmerge file which I tart up and then save as a PDF and then mail out.

    So I was busily doing the tarting up last night, and determined to do the mailout before I went home and to bed (today is early morning Elder Shopping and I’d been informed that we need Much More Cat Litter and More Fancy Feast, which is what the two little animated appetites are munching through, plus other groceries). Finished the final, proofread PDF at ten minutes to midnight and sent out an email to all the ladies. Went home, and when I fell into bed, I checked email on my phone and discovered that I’d sent the cover email without the attachment. Blush.

    Oh, well, it’s been mailed out now. Next is the agenda for Saturday’s Zoom meeting, and then I need to compose the quarterly logic puzzle.

    Christmas gifts mostly either arrived or in transit, all I have to do is find a cat-free space to wrap them . . . happily, my favorite part of the holidays is the music, which I’m enjoying even as I type. And the Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar. And spice cookies.

    Speaking of gifts, I leaf through Buzzfeed shopping lists every so often, and today there’s a list which might be of interest:

    The Best Book And Gift Pairings Your Bookworm Friends Are Sure To Love

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelstrolle/book-gift-pairing-holiday-gifts-presents?origin=nofil

  29. Over Thanksgiving I painted our 1980s entertainment center to use as art supply storage. Today I remembered the brushes are still soaking. So…I changed the water.

  30. Today I worked hard at replacing our tub faucets. Anyone paying attention may recall that I also claimed to be working hard on this last week…basically, it’s been six exhausting days of thinking about it, plus one day of actually doing it (AKA lots of swearing loudly while accidentally squirting both water and WD-40 all over the bathroom). But now the leak is finally fixed, the parts are all shiny & new, and I feel enormously accomplished.

    Maybe next Wednesday I will clean the bathroom.

  31. I roll out of bed – usually five minutes after I was already supposed to be at work – turn on the computer and work in my PJs until I’m so cold that I remember to put wood in the fire. Somewhere in there I feed the dogs and let them out.

    Eventually, I get some breakfast, and if I feel like it, I get dressed.

    It looks like my job is being eliminated so now I have to find the energy to find another one. At sloth speed. It could take a while.

  32. I was going to say I got nothing done this week, but it isn’t true. I built, and then fixed (three times!) a new computer, with lots of phone consultations with my son. Of course, this happened out of desperate necessity, since living without internet makes me panic.

    But mostly, this whole last year, all I manage is developing new ways of organizing my enormous (and daily growing longer) to do list. To everyone here I say- you are not alone in your slothdom.

  33. Okay, I concede that sloths are relatively slow. Turtles also have a reputation for being less than swift, but if you waste – I mean invest as much time on the interwebs as I do, you will have seen one of those videos where 20,000 baby turtles race from the hatching nest to the beach and beyond. They haul butt! The majority are eaten by avian and piscene predators, else we would be overrun by shelled critters.

    Still, I find myself in the sloth camp. I have cleaned my fridge, all but some leftover meat and half a tomato beyond their turn-to-poison-by dates, just waiting for the trash bag to fill enough to ensure rapid exit from the man-cave. There’s afresh pile of cardboard recycling, gotta go out in the morning. This week, for sure. More than anything else, someone needs to run the vacuum over the floor.

    But I have finished Bet Me and decided to re-read The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes. It occurred to me that this is the least re-read Crusie (/Dryer/Stuart) in my library. Which is to say, never re-read. I don’t know why that is. And I never read anyone else mentioning it on Thursdays, either. Huh.

  34. I live in Georgia and so fielded dozens of calls urging me to make a voting plan. We put our blue ballots in the dropbox on Sunday and then watched with horror as sanity fled too many of those in power, putting our votes and voting rights in jeopardy. Wrote a letter to the editor about one of the candidates. Alas, it hasn’t been printed, but it made me feel better and garnered much-needed support online. Now waiting for my husband’s COVID test results. He’s coughing up a storm, but no fever, no loss of taste or smell, so we are hopeful it’s just bronchitis. I read way too much news and had to talk myself off a ledge, which led to signing up for “friendbanking” training to support the Senate runoff candidates we need to win: I have to do more than pray for a Blue Christmas. Decorating, buying, wrapping, and sending gifts all were completed on Friday. It was my therapy for dealing with the profound grief I feel. God bless you all and thank you, too.

  35. I cleaned and organized the backdoor coat closet, the front hall utility closet (we use the back door more so the front became a catch all), under the kitchen sink, the fridge, and the “cleaning products cupboard.” I honestly don’t understand why they built that one, it’s miserable, small, and nearly unusable. Now I’m investigating turning the bifold doors into a single door that opens properly. That could be dangerous as I have several sets of bifolds that I loathe.

    I also put up outdoor Christmas decorations like I said on Sunday. We are going to finish those this afternoon.

    It is now Thursday:

    Okay, so Paul came into the office and told me his woodworking router died and he needed a new one to finish the job he was working on (an actual paid job, even though the payment is in moose meat). We found one in the bigger town to the north of us (as opposed to the southern town where we usually go) and headed out to get it. On the way there, he suggested we pick up some Visa gift cards/prepaid cards for my parents for Christmas and drop them off since the turn off to head home from the big town is only about an hour from my parents’ place and we didn’t want to send gift cards in the mail to be stolen. So our 3 hour tour turned into a 6 hour expedition and the Christmas lights still aren’t done.

  36. I am so tired. Getting work done for the day job (running an artists’ cooperative shop in the midst of Covid in December is…challenging) and not much else.

    I have a Zoom meeting tonight for my RWA chapter (my last one as secretary after two years, thank all the gods) and then an online multi-author chat tomorrow afternoon for Llewellyn, talking about Yule.

    I got carried away and ordered a bunch of solar lights to decorate the yard. Which I still haven’t had the energy to put up. But there’s no sun this week, so I’m not sure it matters.

    Ended up with a really horrible cough and trouble breathing, so I had to go to Convenient Care. Luckily, one of my friends is a PA there, and I was able to see her. As I thought, just post nasal drip plus tight chest muscles due to fibro, probably aggravated by the Covid lung issues leftover from almost certainly having it last February. On the bright side, I had to have a Covid test and it was negative, so I can at least tell people not to panic when they hear me cough.

    Did I mention I was tired? But I’m going to get the last packages wrapped up to send out on Saturday, and then start in on the cards. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

    Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate.

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