I have a vast wardrobe of knit maxi-dresses which of course are easy to sleep in and which inspire me to do just that: wear one all day and then curl up to sleep in it. That is bad; my life needs some demarcations since it’s already amorphous (what day is it, anyway?). So I have made a new resolution: At midnight, no matter what I’m doing, I’ll take off the damn dress and put on pajamas. Which lead me to buy cheapo pajamas and nightgowns, which are delighting me because I was getting sick of wearing those damn dresses 24/7. Well, it’s pandemic life; I was getting sick of everything. (No, I didn’t set my stove on fire because I was sick of it, but it is giving me a chance to get rid of everything in the kitchen I was tired of, so BONUS.). Today, new pajamas are making me happy.

What made you happy this week?

Mhairi MacFarlane’s new book, Just Last Night, is great. There’s a darkness to this one, but it gives the story so much depth. I loved it.

What did you read this week?

I know this is late. I’ve been working.

What did you do this week?

May 25th, as all Douglass Adams readers know, is Towel Day, the day to flaunt your towel in memory of an amazing author, who gave the best general advice of all time: Don’t Panic.

May 25th is also, as any fan of Terry Pratchett should know, Wear the Lilac Day, in honor of the events of the Discworld People’s Revolution (see Night Watch) whose rallying cry was,”Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard-Boiled Egg!” And after Pratchett’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, Wear the Lilac Day has been used to raise awareness and funding for Alzheimer’s research.

Because of this, today is the day that Argh Nation Wears the Lilac Towel in honor of these two great authors. We shall never forget (although we may be a little absent-minded at times and are easily distracted). Thank you, gentlemen, for multiple weirdly great characters in many twisting, startling plots not to mention brilliant observations on life in general and some of the funniest, smartest writing in specific. You are missed. Continue reading →

{This was set to publish on Sunday and didn’t. That does not make me happy.]

When my kitchen stove went up in flame, the plastic things on both sides of it melted. I ended up with a lot of plastic blobs and no kitchen tools. (Okay, the stainless steel stuff made it, but that was all hanging on racks out of the direct flame zone.) So when it came time to replace them, I did something I’d never done: I bought a set. In turquoise. Because you know what looks good in a blackened kitchen? Color. It feels like those pictures of burnt forests when the wildflowers start to grow again. Then there’s my bathroom which I had done all in white tile figuring I’d add the color later and it would be easy to change. Now I have a bright orange plastic fish that holds my tooth stuff and bright green canvas fish hanging under my window to hold washcloths and a turquoise squeegee next to the mirror . . .

Color makes me happy. What made you happy this week?

I was reading about libraries that keep bats on site to eat the insects that would otherwise eat the books, and I came across a new word (well, new to me) for bats: flittermice. I purely love that word.

And it reminded me of when I was in Australia and somebody described somebody who was extremely happy about something that had happened as “chuffed as fluffy balls.” I purely loved that, too.

And then there’s “gobsmacked.” I have no idea where I picked that one up, but it’s a perfect way to describe somebody who’s absolutely stunned by what’s just happened.

Sometimes the Good Word comes from an associate who surprises you with it and then you wonder how you ever lived without it. “Clusterfuck” comes to mind for that one (and thank you, Bob Mayer).

And then it occurred to me that Argh People, being extremely word-oriented, probably had some great Good Words, too. So share the wealth, people. Put your Very Good Words in the comments (with definitions) so we can all feel chuffed as flittermice about them, especially the ones that leave us gobsmacked (that would be “tittynopes” or the last few crumbs or grains of rice left on a plate, and I still don’t believe that’s a real word, that has to be a joke).

I’ve been reading a lot of Book Bub blurbs and sample chapters on Amazon, and I’m starting to worry about the romance genre. It seems to be falling into specific subgenres, which is nothing new, but these new subgenres are . . . perplexing? Let me be more specific. Continue reading →

I’m packing up books (remember them, the ones with paper and ink?) and storing them in the garage in nicely labeled boxes because this house is about to sink under its own weight. Next up: Yarn. Dear god, all the yarn.

What did you work on this week?

The Atlantic is hosting a virtual event on happiness (doesn’t a virtual meeting on happiness seem like an oxymoron, like military intelligence>) this coming Thursday:

“In just one week, The Atlantic will host a free virtual event that explores what it takes to be happy and how to build a more meaningful life. Continue reading →