Lee Hutch's Blog, page 8

С Днем Рождения, Машка!

Мой ангел

Dear Readers,

Today is a special day! My history crush/guardian angel Mashka turns 121 in actual years, but she is eternally 19. In honor of her birthday, I decided to do a special post that links all of my previous posts about her. So if you are new to discovering my history crush, this post will explain it all. But first, I have to share the birthday tribute video that I made. Previously, I had made a long tribute video but the YouTube Nazis took it down. So for her birthday to...

Civil Wargasms: A Podcast

Dear Readers,

After many requests and much cajoling, I have started a podcast. It will focus on the Civil War and I am calling it: Civil Wargasms. You’ll notice a new tab by that name on my website homepage and from there, you can access the weekly episodes. Or you can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or Podomatic. And…I have also made a Facebook page and a podcast account on The Twitter.

It is not for the faint of heart or those with no sense of humor, as it will focus on some of th...

For Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go

Dear Readers,

This might be a somewhat shocking update. Then again, it might not. Despite my best laid plans of editing Molly’s Song whilst working on the first draft of Dark Raven, it hasn’t worked out that way. Though I’ve written a little of Dark Raven and, despite having the whole thing plotted out and outlined, the story just isn’t grabbing me by the unmentionables at the moment. The edits of Molly’s Song are progressing well, which might actually be the root of the problem. Having t...

Molly’s Sources

Dear Readers,

It has been 13 months since I came across some photos of an unnamed 19th Century prostitute and, while reflecting on the image, recalled the lyrics to “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum. Helen of Troy may have had a face that launched a thousand ships, but my ‘Molly’ launched a novel. I’m going through the editing process at the moment, for a couple of hours a day as I have other tasks taking up my time too. Fingers crossed, I hope to introduce you to Molly and her world at the ...

Imagine a Catchy Title…

Dear Readers,

I struggled to even come up with a title for this post. It’s been a rough two weeks for me. I woke up in the day after Memorial Day and knew right away that I was in for it. Typically, I know how rough a day I’ll have within ten minutes of waking up. For a solid week, I battled horrific back spasms, neck spasms, and pain in my shoulders. It all stems from my injuries, so there is nothing new wrong with me. Friday, I had a toradol shot at the doctor that didn’t even make a dent in ...

Restoration Update

Friends,

Last week was…crazy. We had the house rewired. They are 98% done and will be out tomorrow to take care of a few smaller things left to do. While that work was going on, we uncovered some interesting things about the house. And did some other restoration work in two rooms. It’ll be a while before we are completely done, but we have some ideas on how to return it to its original 1930s appearance inside. I think when we are done with all the work, I’m going to write the whole story of how...

Quick Update

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And as I work, a photo of my Mashka watches over me.

Dear Readers,

I will not be posting a weekly pandemic journal on Thursday as I have been doing for the past nine weeks or so. With the disruption caused by the electrical repairs to the house which start today, I wont have consistent power inside to type each days entry. (We are replacing the entire electrical system, all the wiring, breaker panel, etc). Also, today I start working on my third novel, tentatively titled Dark Raven and set in...

Human Trafficking Awareness

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Friends,

As those of you whove followed the progress of my novel Mollys Song (hopefully out this winter), you know that it touches on human trafficking in the 19th Century. As a firefighter, of course I knew a little bit about human trafficking, but we werent provided with much training at all back then. As a person with an academic background in history, I knew a little bit about the historical context, especially in the 1800s. However, I had no idea how prevalent and pervasive an issue it...

Journal of a Pandemic Year: Part Nine

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Tatiana looks quite pleased with herself.

May 8th

 A bit of good news this morning. Actually, a lot of good news. We were able to secure the funds to rewire the house. 11K for a total rewire and a new breaker panel to bring the house up to current code. They will start work on May 18th. We cant do it next week since it is final exams for me and so I need to have electricity and internet service to grade exams, enter final grades, etc. I think well be dead before we are finished paying for all...

Journal of a Pandemic Year: Part Eight

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May 1st

Yesterday afternoon, the doctors office called and said that I could do a telehealth appointment this morning instead of going into the office. I jumped at that chance, obviously. My appointment took around ten minutes, which is the same length it takes when I go in person, but the difference is that I didnt have to drive twenty-five minutes there and twenty-five minutes back home. So it definitely saved time, not to mention, it means no exposure to The Rona. I did go to the pharmacy...