Devon Ellington's Blog, page 19

Wed. Jan. 29, 2025: Changing the Sangha Location

image courtesy of 李磊瑜伽 via pixabay.com

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

New Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Chinese Lunar New Year – Year of the Snake

Snowing and cold

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!

It snowed overnight, and is snowing today.

I forgot to mention that, on Monday, there was an earthquake in Maine that we sort of felt here. I thought it was a large truck rolling past. The cats ran around, which should have tipped me off.

It was very windy yesterday, so I tried to get as much done as possible before the internet went down. It sort of wavered in and out in the afternoon, so I’m glad I was able to send out everything I needed.

I did a polish on the short story. I hope to get it out to a market this week. I finished reading the background materials for the next ghostwriting project. I wrote up questions and ideas as I read, and submitted them (a day early). I got responses within a couple of hours, so I can buckle down and do the first section of the assignment, about 6K, starting today. I invoiced the reading fee, per instructions.

The final third of the workshop series was from noon to two. That went well. But with what’s going on at the federal level, everything is in chaos.

I was in touch with my elected officials yesterday. Three times, on three different issues. I’m fortunate, where I live, that they listen and actually do the work. I also was in touch with Chuck Schumer. His behavior through all this has been embarrassing.

It is vital that we ride our elected officials. It takes fifteen minutes or less. There is ALWAYS time, when so much is at stake.

Turned around a small coverage. Hoping for a few more before the end of the pay period on Friday.

Got my act together and walked down to yoga. This was our last class in this space. It was packed. Mat against mat. Good thing we all like each other! Our teacher led us in a gentle practice of gratitude for our experience in the space and releasing the tie to the physical space. She handled it (and us) very well. I was still sad at the end. She’ll be teaching in a space a few blocks closer starting in mid-February, so we will start rebuilding this sangha in the new space. But her space was very important in the way I started to build my life here in the Berkshires, and I’m deeply grateful.

I bought my bolster (at a terrific rate). I have mats, blocks, and all the rest. I have a narrow bolster, but I always wanted a full-sized one, and now I have one. It will help me re-energize my home practice.

Cooked dinner, stressed out about the world, tried to read.

My mind is firing on several pistons for the ghostwriting assignment. I’m eager to dig into it today.

I woke up around midnight, hearing the snowplow. I wondered why they were plowing. I got up and saw quite a bit of snow had fallen! Bea and I sat on the sofa and looked out the window for a stretch. She still doesn’t like human handling, but she likes to hang out close by. We are getting there.

Had trouble getting back to sleep, but finally did. Up around 6, started the morning routine. I had hoped to deal with the car today, but that won’t get much further than digging it out. Right now, it’s snowing pretty hard, and it’s supposed to continue, on and off, all day. They’re saying we’re getting about a half an inch per hour.

So, instead, I will focus on my writing. I have an entire day to write, both my own work and the ghostwriting assignment.

Later tonight, I will make Chicken Lo Mein (with long noodles for long life) for Chinese New Year.

Have a good one!

Tues. Jan. 28, 2025: Multiple Pots on the Boil

image courtesy of Michael Kopp via pixabay.com

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Dark Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Snowy and cold

Hello! Hope you had a good weekend.

If you didn’t get a chance to see it yesterday, the Community Tarot Reading for the Week is here.

Today is the last class at the yoga studio. I am sad. I am happy that the owner/teacher is following her heart, but I am sad for the rest of us.

Mark Cuban is over on Bluesky and people are acting like he’s going to be our savior billionaire. All I see him doing is instigating in posts. What is he actually doing on the ground and out in the world? Maybe he’s doing plenty, but I am skeptical.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Philanthropy is picking up the climate change slack from That Thing’s  withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Friday morning’s snow threw a spanner in my planned schedule, but hey, that’s what living in the Berkshires is. The weather dictates decisions.

Instagram isn’t allowing me to turn off the share with FB. So, any time I post on Insta, it goes to FB, and I can no longer toggle it off. I had already disconnected Threads, and I was, post by post, not sharing to FB, but no longer have that option. Urgh.

Got things sorted out with the ghostwriting client for onboarding. It was very simple. I’d made one simple wrong choice that had sent me off into the wrong app, I cancelled out of it, and we’re sorted. They’re very helpful. I have the materials I needed to get to work yesterday.

Wrote the book review, submitted it, and received my next assignments.

Tried not to doomscroll too much.

Wrote the first draft of “Over the Shoulder” which comes in just under 900 words. I want to layer some sensory detail into it. Ideally, it will stay under 1000 words, but it might go a little over. It’s one of the stories I plotted out in my head before I fell asleep Thursday night, and it’s doing what I want it to do. When three Federal officials come to harass Althea’s neighbor, she throws them off their game.

Hopefully, I can get it into submittable shape this week and get it out the door.

It felt good to do a full draft of something.

It snowed on and off all day, so I did not go grocery shopping, I scrounged around the cupboards and freezer, and put together a crockpot dish.

Turned around a smallish coverage. Landed a medium sized coverage that pays decently.

Windows forced an update, but at least with the new update, I can turn off Copilot (and I did). The option everyone was talking about finally showed up. Also yanked it out of the apps.

Worked on contest entries. Started reading the Christopher Durang material that’s the background for the script commission for which I want to apply. Did a bunch of admin work.

Did a revision of “Over the Shoulder.” It’s just at 1000 words, if I don’t count the title. 60 seconds after I finished the revision, a potential market landed in my inbox – provided I keep it no more than 1000 words!

Started reading the next book for review.

Friday into Saturday, I did not sleep well. I woke up at 2:30 in the morning, fretting, and could not get back to sleep.

After breakfast Saturday, I took the rolly cart and went to Big Y for the grocery shopping. Got everything back, unpacked, changed, slapped on some makeup, and headed to MASS MoCA for Community Day.

I started in Building 6 and worked my way forward. Amy Podmore’s “Audience” is rather disturbing, for all the right reasons. You can read more about that exhibit here. Steve Locke’s “The Fire Next Time” is also disturbing, and very relevant. You can read about it here. The exhibit that captivated me most, however, was Jeffrey Gibson’s “We Are Power Full Because We Are Different” and you can read about it and see better images than I took on my phone here.

I visited the Like Magic exhibit again (you can see it here), which I do on every visit since it opened, and spent some time in the temple to bless your flash drives, which I somehow had missed on previous visits.

Perhaps one of the reasons the Gibson installation felt so relevant was because of the piece I’m starting to design for a cohort exhibit into which I’ve been invited to participate in August. I want to do a piece with textiles and words. And I want to use symbolism of color, shape, and layered meaning. Thinking about how we need to communicate in the coming years under That Thing’s fascism, I look back to the story quilts and other art using symbolism on multiple levels. I want to incorporate some of that. I’m in the pondering stage, and over the next few weeks I will have to make sketches. The piece itself will take several months to construct, especially juggling everything else. But at least I have a clear idea of what I want to do, so I’m not rushing at the last minute. And the Gibson exhibit gave me some ideas on how to achieve it.

The museum was getting crowded, which is great, but I’m not a crowd person (even masked), so I left. I was, however, pleased to see people of all ages, the number of families, and the numbers of large groups of up to 10 or 20, all coming in together. As though neighborhoods decided Community Day at the museum was an excellent day out together, and I think that’s wonderful.

By then, I was tired and hurting, so I limped on home. By the time I dragged myself up the stairs and unwrapped from all my winter things, I calculated I had walked 8 miles that day. To and from the grocery store is a 3-mile round trip. To and from the museum is the same. Within the museum, I walked about two miles, especially with all the looping back I did as I considered relationships between various pieces in exhibits.

I hurt.

I haven’t walked this much since I lived in NYC.

In the afternoon, I took a two-hour nap. I’m not a napper, so this was unusual, but I was tired, and I felt more like myself. Cooked dinner,  honored Virginia Woolf for her birthday and Robert Burns for Burns Night (but without the haggis), read some more in the book for review, went to bed at a reasonable time. I was worried the nap would disrupt my sleep pattern, but it did not.

Baked biscuits Sunday morning, because my mom likes them so much. American biscuits, not English ones. Did the Community Tarot reading for the week, and scheduled it to post.

I’m re-reading A MOMENT’S LIBERTY, which is a collection of diary excerpts by Virginia Woolf. Always fascinating. Read some of Jane Shore’s poetry. Worked on the preliminary design for my art show piece. I keep getting ideas that complicate it and stripping it back, but that’s what the planning stage is about.

Cleaned off the worktable in my office and set it up for the contest entries, so I can sort them as I read them into Yes, No, and Maybe piles.

Finished reading the book for review. Got about halfway through the print review copy of TAPESTRY. There are a couple of small things I want to fix before it goes to print. Nothing major, it wouldn’t change the course of the story, and most people wouldn’t notice. But I notice, and I want to make the adjustment. Read THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES for pleasure, which is a sweet cozy fantasy. Made a nice dinner.

Went to check a notification from the city on Facebook. Took a look around after, and it was a hell site, similar to what Twitter devolved into. The crap that came up on my feed was revolting, and some of the lies were posted by people who know better. Blech.

Slept reasonably well into Monday. Up at the usual time, usual morning routine. Took care of some admin work; noodled with some logos for Boiler House and sent them for approval, which happened; updated the Links page on this blog.

Rewrote “Over the Shoulder.” It’s over 1000 words now, just under 1200, but now it’s almost where it needs to be. That points it to different markets, which is fine. Did some work on the anthology story.

Had to hike around on foot to do a few more errands. Quite a few of the people for whom I hung around on Meta platforms are migrating to Bluesky, so I’m feeling better about pulling back and possibly/probably deleting various accounts over the coming months.

Wrote and submitted the review. Submitted the invoice and was paid within the hour. Yay. Transferred that money to the bank. I have to pay the car inspection, the car insurance, and my web hosting by the end of the week.

Turned around a script coverage (which paid reasonably well). Worked on the background reading for the ghostwriting project. For this test, I’m jumping in to pick up the baton from material someone else originally created, and it has a setting and premise that I’m excited to work within. I’m writing up brainstorming questions/how-much-can-I -away with questions as I go, and I will have them ready by tomorrow’s deadline.

Cooked dinner and read for pleasure in the evening. Started reading a book which had been highly recommended and has a long waiting list, and it just didn’t do it for me. There’s nothing wrong with it, the writing’s fine, the premise is good, but I’m not in the mood for the genre. I have a second book by the same author in my library pile that also has a long waiting list, and I think I’ll just send them back unread. Let others actually enjoy them.

Slept well. Up early, my brain teaming with ideas for the ghostwriting project. Saw that all federal grants have been paused. That’s going to hurt a lot of colleagues, and a lot of arts organizations (among other things), as intended. It also means two of the big grants I was going to prep over the next couple of months should probably go on pause. And the commissioned play, about which I was having second thoughts, should probably go into the mix again.

Remember: what’s happening now shows that ANYTHING can be reversed. And, when you look at history, it happens. This is bad, this is rough, but if WE take action, we can make sure it’s not forever. I don’t like that so many federal employees are just acquiescing, instead of fighting as long as possible, but I also suspect things aren’t being reported properly. I’m hoping there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and more of actions like the Inspector Generals calling out illegalities is happening. It will continue to worse until enough people grow a pair and grow a spine and change it. And Chuck Schumer’s continued posturing, after HE LET IT THIS GET THIS FAR, is just embarrassing. I’ve worked with him on many issues over the years, and this is ridiculous. Manchin and Sinema gave him cover to be ineffective; it was his JOB to bitch slap them into line, not use their antics as a fundraising tool.

On today’s agenda, try to figure out something to get the car going again, work on the anthology story, work on ANGEL HUNT, attend the last of the trilogy of workshops, finish the background materials for the ghostwriting project, and go to yoga for our final class. I have no doubt there will be tears.

It’s snowing on and off today, which means I can’t work on the car and get it to the inspection, which is a little worrisome, but one step at a time.

Have a good one!

Mon. Jan. 27, 2025: Intent for the Week — Stay on the Tightrope

image courtesy of Vanesa via pixabay.com

Monday, January 27, 2025

Day Before Dark Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Cloudy and cold

I have a lot coming at me this week, from various angles. It’s imperative that I keep my balance, hold boundaries, and show up to do the work. It will be a challenging balancing act.

The Community Tarot Reading for the Week is up here. Except for one card, it’s all Major Arcana.

Tomorrow is the Dark Moon. Wednesday is the new moon/Chinese Lunar New Year, welcoming in the Year of the Wood Snake. Thursday, Uranus (finally) goes direct. Saturday is Imbolc.

I have a large client project, other client work, my own work, a workshop, a final yoga class at my beloved studio, and have to get the car over to the inspection facility. . .somehow.

It will all happen. It just will take some juggling.

What’s your intent for the week?

Fri. Jan. 24, 2025: When Annoyances Stack Up

image courtesy of svklimkin via pixabay.com

Friday, January 24, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Cloudy and cold (started snowing as I posted)

And we’re at the end of another week!

I went through the notes from the ghostwriting client in detail; overall positive, it’s mostly getting to know their house style. They didn’t think another revision was needed on the earlier material, and are happy to move on. I’m happy they are happy!

I’m in the process of phasing out my use of Meta platforms. I deactivated the tertiary pages on the Facebook account, and I will rarely post on the page left. I may deactivate all the pages at some point, or delete them. I will then phase out my time on Threads. Instagram will be the longest and most difficult phase out, since that’s a mix of fun and business, leaning heavily toward fun, and also how I keep up with a lot of artists through A4A. As an advisor, one of my responsibilities is to follow/encourage the cohort on social media. So, while the first two may be a matter of weeks, Instagram will likely phase out over several months. I’m taking things one step at a time. There’s a lot of democracy-based advocacy happening there right now, sometimes from surprising places, but I have no doubt the ass-licking billionaire who owns it will shut that down right quick.

For the moment, I plan to remain active on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Tumblr, with some Instagram activity. I will occasionally check in on Counter Social. I will update the websites and other links to reflect that.

It would be nice to be able to walk away dramatically, but as an artist, I’m a small business, and it needs to be handled as a business decision, in addition to being a values decision.

I forgot to mention that, on Wednesday, I put up curtains on the stairs. What? A draft was coming in around the front door, because this is an old house and nothing fits well, be they doors, windows, etc., and the landlord (good as he is) isn’t fixing them anytime soon. Shutting off Tessa’s room for most of the day and all night helps a lot. But there was still a breeze coming up the stairs. This is great in summer, but not much fun in winter.

I found a tension rod long enough to span the point where there’s a difference in ceiling height. It’s a lightweight rod and I only could put sheers on it; between that and the banisters, I wasn’t sure it would do any good. But I hung them. They look like I’m setting up a haunted house attraction, but they actually make a difference.

I also worked on the February newsletter blast, about the screenwriting workshop. That will go out the first week of February.

I packed up the rolly cart with books and headed off to the library. Dropped off and picked up. There was no delivery today because the computer at the sorting warehouse was down yesterday. However, the books I need as background for the script commission application and about the BLACK CROOK arrived, so I’m okay for now.

Got out a couple of LOIs. One got back in touch about “not being able to tell” from my portfolio about my skills and demanding an unpaid, project-specific piece. I told them we’re not the right fit; I didn’t realize I was dealing with people with the typical 6th grade reading level, and I’m used to working with people who have critical reading skills. Happy to burn that bridge. Another company also said we would not be moving forward because they don’t pay for the SERIES of writing tests they administer, and I won’t make an “exception” for them. Honey, then you’re not worth my time. Next!

Companies who collect unpaid writing samples from interviewees are getting free labor, and they’re just going to say they “went in a different direction” and use this pile of unpaid work without hiring anyone as they claim they wanted. Don’t do it.

Turned around a script coverage.

Got my prep and onboarding materials from the ghostwriting client. Had difficulty with one of the platforms, and submitted some questions that we can sort out today, so we can jump into the actual work on Monday. It’s a tight deadline. It’ll be worth it, if I can pull it off, but the next few weeks will be stressful. How this assignment shakes out will shape a good bit of the coming work year, so there’s a lot at stake for me.

The only tax document I’ve received so far is from the serials, and a good reminder that it was the right choice to end them and move off that platform before they shut down.

Finished the next book for review, so I will write it up and send it off this morning, and hopefully get my next assignment.

Had trouble sleeping (because I was doomscrolling). However, I got an idea for a rather dark, timely short story. I was afraid, when I woke up, that I lost it, but I found it again, and will, at the very least, make some notes or try to get some drafting done. I anticipate it will be under 2K, so it shouldn’t take too long. I also have an idea for an absurdist one act, also topically relevant, that I will play with. I don’t think it’s quite right for the commission pitch, but we’ll see.

While I was trying to get to sleep, I also planned out the details of the first day of the screenwriting workshop, so I will work on those slides this weekend. I want all the class slides for the whole month done by early February, and then just work on handouts.

I’d planned to go to the grocery store first thing this morning, but it looks like it will snow any minute, so I may wait a few hours. Oh, there they are! Snowflakes. Not walking the mile and a half round trip hauling a cart full of groceries. I’ll wait a few hours and see if it clears up. The computer is trying to push an update, and I’m worried about it. I’d rather do it over the weekend.

I want to work on the anthology story today. I have another coverage to turn around. I have to write and submit the review. I want to work on the materials named above.

Tomorrow is Community Day at MASS MoCA, so I will trot down there for at least a couple of hours. One of the cohort members is doing a reading in the afternoon, but it’s sold out, so I will probably go in the morning, unless I’m writing.

Weekend plans then include writing and prepping my class. Next week, I dive into the intense work for the ghostwriting client and figure out how to jerry rig the car to get it to the inspection station so it can fail, and I can buy some time to get it fixed.

Have a good weekend!

Thurs. Jan. 23, 2025: Up and Down

image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via pixabay.com

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Cloudy and cold

You can read about the latest on the garden over on Gratitude and Growth.

Windows11/Microsoft Office has forced Copilot into Word. The steps people have posted to turn it off do not show up in the options or settings. I hate it. It’s very distracting to have it show up at the beginning of each paragraph. I want it gone. I’ve uninstalled the app, which has done exactly nothing.

Hard to get going yesterday. Got the blog up, did my daily rounds, did the rounds of the social media on which I’m still posting, did some follow up emails on a few things. Considered starting up the marketing from the content calendar for the month, ignoring the sites on which I’m not posting anymore and just posting per calendar on the ones I am. But I’d have to rejuggle the whole thing. So I’m not sure what I will do. I might just post everywhere next week, and then reconfigure the calendar for February. Posting marketing consistently on social media translated into sales for November and December. Let’s see what only posting where I want to stay will do in February.

I checked in on Counter Social and people were having hissies about others promoting work, so I guess that’s just a check in every few months. If I can’t do both – be social and promote my work – I very literally can’t afford to spend time there.

I wondered why I was faffing around. I mean, it was all stuff I needed to do, but why was I having trouble concentrating creatively during my best creative hours? Then I remembered, through sense memory, that this was how I felt from January 2017 – January 2021. Almost all the time, even though I pushed through as often as possible. Okay, then. I know the root cause. Now I can work on solutions. They won’t be instant, but I’ll get there.

I suited up and went out on my errands on foot. I had an escort from my murder of crows, even though it was only a few blocks. It was kind of cold, but not bad as long as I stayed in the sun. Got everything done, got home, unwrapped. Still had trouble concentrating.

I did, however, get a slew of contracts from the ghostwriting client for the next round of paid testing. I have a Big Deadline on February 12th, which is doable. There are multiple pieces to this next round, each with its own contract. The contracts are simple and straightforward, so I went through them, signed them, and returned them. Looking forward to it. I’ll set up the project folders today and get to work on Monday.

I turned around 4 small coverages. 2 more coverages, hitting somewhere between small and medium came in. I’ll work on them today and tomorrow, depending how the rest of the day shakes out. I’m hoping I don’t have to work for that client over the weekend. I’m at about half of where I should be for this pay period, which makes sense with another week in it.

A few things about the administration firing all nonwhite, non-cis, non-males in the coming months: this is part of their bigger plan. Fire anyone who’s not a cis white male. Eliminate the Department of Labor and then unemployment benefits. There’s already a stoppage on any health information distributed by government sites. This is intentional to drive up poverty and disease. Then, when people protest, turn the military and the domestic terrorist militias on us. This is what the Democratic cycle of posture, cave, fundraise has gotten us. They had four years to eliminate this threat; instead, they enabled it to fundraise, and then wonder why they lost. This is also on anyone who voted for the Sociopath or didn’t vote.

Also a note on this “forced reportage” – aka snitching. No such thing. Each individual can refuse to snitch. You’re going to be fired anyway; at least slow everything down as long as possible and be fired for doing the right thing.

Remember how vital the first 100 days are. Slow it all the fuck down. That’s why there’s so much aggression right out of the gate, in addition to wanting to overwhelm and disorient us. Pick you battles and take a stand.

There’s a Venus Retrograde coming from March 1 – April 12, in the same signs as it was 8 years ago. I went back to re-read blog posts from that time. We had many of the same people in power, and a lot of the same chaos. Do what you can where you can.

Speaking of Venus Retrograde, I have a very strong desire to radically change my look. Which is the absolute wrong thing to do near or in a Venus Retrograde, because it is bound to end in tears. I need to ride it out, and make changes when things are on a more even keel. I may get a fairly safe haircut between now and March 1, if I can get in with the stylist I like. I’m almost back to pandemic hair. But I’ll keep reminding myself to hold off on the bigger changes that are tempting me.

I got disappointing news on the second big project on which I was waiting to hear. They went with someone else. I’m very sad about that. At the same time, it opens up the possibilities of some other opportunities I thought I would probably have to pass by and not even try to land. Some of those deadlines may have passed, but others have not. I need to recalibrate and think where I want to put my attention, in and around the ghostwriting, and hoping to land a couple of other part-time clients. And hope I pull off the ghostwriting in a way that they want to keep working with me!

Meditation this morning, then some writing, then a library run, then some client work. I haven’t made much progress on the anthology story, ANGEL HUNT, or VICIOUS CRITIC, so I hope I can get back on track with those in the next few days.

Peace, my friends.

Wed. Jan. 22, 2025: Another Step Along the Path

image courtesy of Albrecht Fietz via pixabay.com

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Sunny and cold

And here we are, at midweek. Hope you’re having a creative one.

-15F at 8 AM this morning. Yikes.

I was saddened to hear about the death of Cecile Richards, the former President of Planned Parenthood. And also sad to hear about Jules Feiffer. And then guitarist John Sykes.

Something to remember about the current chaos is that it is intentionally generated to siphon your energy. The people behind it are energy vampires. They have nothing within themselves, so they feed off others, especially if they can cause harm and fear through deliberate cruelty. Be aware of what’s going on, but don’t feed them.

I managed to get out a play submission. I contacted my editor about the book I can’t download, and sent some information off to the cohort manager.

I rewrote some of what I had on the anthology story, and continued on. I had to plant something, because I changed my mind about the identity of the murderer, so I had to strip out the irrelevant herrings and put in some new ones.

I got out a couple of LOIs. I worked on the materials for one of the two big grants. I batted around some ideas for the commissioned script application, and ordered some research materials from the library. I caught up with some emails that needed attention.

The workshop itself was, again, terrific. It was a continuation of what we began last week; we will conclude next week. We dug into some individualized specifics, and worked together in small breakout groups. The other two artists in my group are both based in Maine. I’m so excited about their projects, and we exchanged information so we can keep in touch and cheerlead each other.

As I cooked a late lunch, after the workshop, I got an email that the company for whom I did the ghostwriting project wants me to do a deeper, more intricate (and paid, again) test. I’m delighted. I like working with them; I’m looking forward to a more in-depth experience. If we like each other in this round, too, it would be fairly steady work. We will go to contract by Thursday, and I figure we’ll start next week.

Got everything sorted out with the next book for review, the one I had a hard time downloading. It’s all downloaded, so I can get going on that.

I turned around 3 small coverages.

Dressed warmly over my yoga clothes and headed down to the studio. It was a little brisk, but not too bad. Yoga was great. Several of us were getting misty during class, knowing that next Tuesday is the final one in this space. The space and the people have been an important part of building my life here. It seems like a version of this class will continue on Tuesday nights at a different studio, but taught by the same teacher, at least for a while. That studio is right by the library, a couple of blocks closer.

A friend from class drove me home, which was kind of her.

Cooked dinner. Read in the evening, while various projects percolated. We closed the door to Tessa’s room to try and keep the rest of the apartment warmer. It worked. Tessa’s Sherlock Holmes pub towel with her food and water bowls are now in the hallway. She does not approve, but it helps keep the temperature at 68F in the entire apartment. With that room open, even with the porch closed off, it was dipping to 66. I worried if I pushed the furnace too hard, it would break down.

Slept in this morning, until 7. The cats were not amused. Even Bea complained (she’s learning from her big sisters). Bea’s newest trick is to pull things out of bowls and off the edges of tables and chairs. It’s pretty funny, as long as it’s not a breakable. First you see the ears. Then the nose. Then she grabs something and runs.

But boy is she glad not to be outside in this weather!

When I opened the curtains this morning, 13 crows sat on top of my car. (Yes, I counted them).  “Are you going to sing to me?” I asked. They marched around on the car for a bit, then hopped off and ate something that was in the parking lot (someone’s garbage bag must have broken on the way to the dumpster), and then took off. It was pretty funny.

Willa kept interrupting the morning meditation.

On today’s agenda: work on the anthology story, going over the next set of notes from the ghostwriting revision (they don’t need another revision; they just answered some questions I had about their house style). Work on the grants. I have to gear up and run an errand on foot later this morning, when it gets up to a balmy 11 degrees. I have another 3 small coverages to turn around this afternoon, and one tomorrow. Hopefully, some more will come in over the course of the next week, before the end of the pay period. I also want to start the next book for review.

I’d like to get in some work on ANGEL HUNT and VICIOUS CRITIC, too, but with such a late start (I’m at my desk about 2 hours later than usual this morning), I don’t know if that will happen.

Have a good one.

Tues. Jan. 21, 2025: Buckling Up

image courtesy of  Dorian Krauss via pixabay.com

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Partly cloudy and very cold

Welcome to a new week, and let’s hope we can survive the new era.

There’s a new community tarot reading for the week up here.

I reported a job listing on Friday because it was labeled as “remote” but required the person to be in the office at least one day a week. That is not remote; that is hybrid. Get a fucking clue and stop lying.

(Yes, I’m going to be swearing a LOT for at least the next four years, at the very least. Those are the words that best describe my meaning).

Friday snowed off and on in the morning. I finished the rush coverage and got it in. I packed up the rolly cart and went to the grocery store, where I did a light shop. The cheapest eggs were $8.29, and there weren’t many of them.

Hopefully, some of the farmers will have eggs at the market. If they are similar prices as to the store (and they often are), I’d rather the local farmers had my money. The food co-op is not in walking distance, or I’d be buying them there.

Came home, unpacked, had lunch, and turned around two coverages. One of them was outstanding, one of the best things I’ve read in a long time.

Cooked dinner, read for pleasure in the evening. Slept reasonably well.

Saturday morning, I did a bunch of admin work, set up more file folders, put the last few years’ folders in the cabinet. A colleague of mine asked if I would read the book releasing this autumn and blurb it. I said yes; her work is wonderful, and I’m honored to support it. When the library opened, I took the rolly cart and did a library run, since I had 12 books waiting for me, and a stack to bring back.

Home, unpacked everything, housework, lunch, turned around the other two coverages. Was floored that the writer of the piece I loved complained because I praised it and thought it was good. Fine. I did the work, I got paid. I’d planned to continue championing it, but nope. It doesn’t get one more minute of my time and energy, nor does the writer. Bye-uh.

My friend is healing well from her surgery, and I’m glad. I still feel guilty that I couldn’t provide on-site help. But it’s not about me; it’s about her healing, and she got what she needed, so it all worked out.

The TikTok ban went into effect early. I deleted the app from my phone and computer. I feel slightly guilty at my relief at not being able to be on the platform, taking away my responsibility for making the CHOICE not to be on the platform, which is what I should have done. I disliked the platform itself and found it exhausting, but necessary for book sales. However, in the bigger picture, I disagree with the ban. It has nothing to do with security and everything to do with censorship and oligarchy.

Slept well. I always love going to bed on Saturday night in clean sheets, and linger as long as possible on Sunday mornings!

The prediction of 1-3 inches of snow arriving Sunday upped to 9. Of course, the 3 inches predicted for Saturday was rain because 40 degrees is too warm for snow. So at least all the snow was washed away before the next bit came in.

I did the Community Tarot Reading for the week, with the link as mentioned near the top of the post. We’re still using the Rackham Tarot. It’s such a beautiful deck, although sometimes hard to read because the art wasn’t created specifically for divination. However, I primarily use it for dream work, and it’s very good for that.

Percolated the anthology story and the anthology poem for a bit. I have to plant/integrate some information earlier in the story. As far as the poem goes, the overall shape and themes are there; now I need to drill down into actual words and images.

Percolated on something I want to write set in Northumberland, which is one of my favorite places in the world.

Read a lot. I’m almost finished with the Richard Jury series to date. Just a few more (and then there’s a new one coming in July). As frustrated as I get with them sometimes, I keep reading, so they’re holding my interest. Reading them as a writer, I’m learning a good deal, both in what resonates, and in what does not.

Of course, TikTok was reinstated after a few hours on Sunday. The Democrats got played. And they wonder why people don’t turn out to vote for them. The thing is, I don’t really want to go back on that platform. I think people who want to be on it SHOULD be on it, but I am going to try not being on it and see how it affects sales. I don’t think it will move the needle much. It was important for the serials, but I think other venues are better for the books I write.

Did a couple of hours of research on various things for the Northumberland project. I’m really enjoying the research, and the many happy memories I have in that area.

It started snowing around 1 PM on Sunday, and snowed well into the night. I figure about 8 inches of snow fell, all told? And it was quite cold.

Monday started cloudy but brightened up.

I designed a personal tarot card as part of a homework assignment on something I’m doing. I’m pleased with the way it turned out. It’s private, so I’m not posting a photo of it anywhere. It’s for my own work.

Pondered a possible commission proposal. I have a few weeks to put it together, if I decide it’s something I’d like to try. It’s a hefty commission, and it would be a creative challenge in the right way. I have to let it percolate and see if anything worthwhile comes up. I saw two other grant proposals that are a huge stretch, but could be worth it. Why not me, as much as anyone else? I have to think about it. I looked through my materials, and I think I have everything I need for these proposals; it’s just a case of organizing the information the way they want it.

Started the outline for the Northumberland project and wrote my way in for about 1400 words, so it would shut up.

Stayed off social media and news feeds as much as possible, but the closer we crept to noon, the sicker I felt. You could just feel the cruel, vicious, gleeful energy rising.

What’s coming is squarely on the shoulders of Merrick Garland, who refused to prosecute in a timely manner; on the Democrats who were more interested in appeasement than in making sure we protected democracy; on every voter who voted for That Thing or who didn’t vote at all. The rest of us, are, unfortunately, collateral damage. Chuck Schumer has a lot of answer for; if the Democrats don’t stop the useless cycle of posturing, caving, and then trying to fundraise off it, we’ll be in even worse shape than we are now.

I am going to live my life as best I can for as long as I can. The bulk of my activism will be offline.

Got out a couple of LOIs. Grabbed some more scripts for the next few days, although I didn’t do any coverages yesterday.

After lunch, I bundled up and dug out the car. The snow was light and fluffy. The car started right up, but the coolant light’s still going off, so I can’t drive it anywhere. At least I moved it back and forth a bit, so it won’t stick to the ground.

Tried to book the last two yoga classes before the studio closed. I’m in for tonight, but waitlisted for the final day. Which makes sense. I’ll probably go down to say goodbye anyway.

I do have some good news: I was accepted as part of the upcoming cohort of the For the People Leftist Library Project, starting in February, and running for 12 weeks. I didn’t think I’d get in, since so many people applied, and there were limited slots. I’m so pleased to be a part of it, and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the cohort for those 12 weeks and beyond. You can read about the Project here.

Wrote and submitted the book review. Have to talk to my editor about the book I have not been able to download. By accident, came across an article from Manhattan Wardrobe Supply that fits into the Nina Bell series, so printed that off and put it with those materials. Worked on contest entries.

Slept reasonably well. Did not want to get up this morning, especially since it was -7F.

On today’s agenda: writing, adaptation, a 2-hour workshop, 3 small coverages, yoga. Better get going.

Monday, January 20, 2025

Fri. Jan. 17, 2025: Digging In

image courtesy of Mark Miller via pixabay.com

Friday, January 17, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Snowy and cold

And we’re at the end of another week. I am so tempted to sleep through the weekend – and sleep through the next four years (at least), but that is not an option.

I forgot to mention that, on Wednesday afternoon, Charlotte had an anxiety attack. She hasn’t had many since we moved here; she feels much more secure here than in the previous location. But she had one on Wednesday afternoon, so I stopped what I was doing and comforted it her through it. She was fine for the rest of the day, and has been fine since, so I don’t know what set it off.

She was very happy that we had online meditation group yesterday morning!

After breakfast, I did a final polish on the support letter, printed off the needed copies, signed them, and walked them down to the A4A office. On the way home, I restocked on cough drops.

Just before I left for my errands, I put the air purifier on again. I’d bought it during the pandemic, and then have used it here, off and on, when we were affected by wildfire smoke. Just to try, I put it on.

I mostly stopped coughing.

So it’s environmental, not an illness, probably coming through the heating ducts. Good to know, and no wonder why the cough medicine made me feel so awful.

Sent out a pitch package for a script writing job that sounds like it would be kind of fun and a bit of a stretch.

Adapted a bunch of serial episodes into four more chapters for ANGEL HUNT.

Saddened to hear of the deaths of David Lynch and Dame Joan Plowright. Each had a very different impact on my work, and on my working life.

I was getting squiffy because the problematic client hadn’t paid me, but then the payment (small as it was) showed up. Every penny counts. I also got December royalties, which, although not a large payment, is helpful.

Some more coverages came in, at reasonable rates. One is a rush coverage that, for the single script, pays me almost as much as I made the entire last pay period. I started it yesterday evening and will finish it this morning, close to deadline, but still within it.. Four more coverages came in that are due by Sunday. Although I resent having to work through the weekend yet again, the pay is reasonable, and I need the money. I hope coverages keep coming in for the next two weeks, so I finally have a solid paycheck, while I’m juggling these other possibilities.

Worked on the contest entries. Pondered the Nina Bell timeline. The three pieces in the immediate future are all set in 1997. I need to sort out 1998. Something I was going to set in 1998 I may need to push forward to 1999.

Hardly coughed at all the rest of the day, with the air purifier on. Although I went to bed early, I slept well and woke up without coughing. I will put on the purifier again later this morning and run it all day again.

I can’t clean the interior ducts, but I can clean the exterior and Lysol over them regularly. I used to spray Lysol over them every few weeks, but I got lax about it. And I always scrub the exterior as part of the spring and fall cleaning, but maybe I should do it a little early this year.

I’m definitely feeling the impact of the retrogrades (especially Mars and Jupiter) because it feels like I can’t get any of the answers I need to move forward. So I’m trying to set into place alternate plans and possibilities, and I am thwarted there, too.

On today’s agenda: finish the rush coverage and do either 1 or 2 more of the medium coverages in the afternoon; grocery run; adaptation; book review (which I keep putting off, and it’s not a hard one to review). More work on the contest entries.

Over the weekend, I will turn around the remaining coverages (and hope I can grab more for next week). There’s housework to do (because there’s always housework to do). Tomorrow, I will do a library run. Too many books came in to make it viable to go to the library AND the grocery store on foot today. So I will go grocery shopping today and to the library tomorrow. I need to continue the pace on the adaptation work in order to meet my deadline. I need to work on the anthology story and on my class preparation. I would like to work on a poem on Sunday.

Monday is Martin Luther King Day, and I will be honoring him. I will not watch the Other Thing that is happening that day. I’m trying to keep Sundays as my offline day, and this week, except for writing, I plan to block off Monday as that, too.

I hope you have a good weekend, and let’s batten down the hatches and show up as we need to for what’s coming.

Have a good one.

Thurs. Jan. 16, 2025: Bit of a Rough Road

 via pixabay.com

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde

Snowy and cold

You can read about the latest on the garden over on Gratitude and Growth.

I get a newsletter called “History Facts” that has all kinds of oddities in it. Yesterday’s was about the first Broadway musical, called THE BLACK CROOK, performed in 1866. The article was short, but funny (once I worked my way around all the ads). So now, of course, I want to know more about it. And maybe write about it.

According to the article, it ran for 500 performances and grossed more than $1 million dollars – in 1866, mind – and had a sequel called THE WHITE FAWN.

And I just really need to track down these manuscripts and read them. (I found a couple of books from the library that I ordered).

The theatre was called Niblo’s Garden at Broadway and Prince Streets (not the Broadway neighborhood as we know it today). That gives me more to dig — in the NYPL Performing Arts Archives, in the NY Historical Society, at the Museum of the City of New York’s archives. The “when” is up in the air, but I’m hooked by the crook!

I have never been a fan of Paris Hilton, but she is stepping up to help in the fires, especially when it comes to helping animals, and I respect that. She’s doing more than the trio of ass-licking billionaires, that’s for sure.

Worked on the support letter, and it’s almost where I want it now. I think it will be ready to print, sign, and drop off by today.

Did a library run to drop off and pick up books. Turned around a medium sized coverage. Adapted a bunch of serial episodes into chapters for ANGEL HUNT. Did a bunch of admin work.

Read a memoir by someone whose work I admire, but the memoir was so filled with unaware white privilege that I was put off by it.

Had a rough night. Woke up around 1 with a racking cough. Took some honey, took what was supposed to be a 12-hour cough suppressant, used a cough drop. Finally managed to fall back to sleep. The cough suppressant kicked my ass, and it was hard to get up. It took Charlotte, Tessa, and Bea to get me out of bed around 6:30, and I was completely disoriented. The suppressing part only worked until about 7:30 or so, so much for 12 hours, but I continue to feel drugged and dragging.

If you’ve ever been curious about backstage, Playbill has an excellent article on the difference between a swing, an understudy, an alternate, and a standby. You can read it here.

I also read an article in THE CONVERSATION, spurred by the Neil Gaiman situation and the author-fan relationship (which can be carried over to any performer or public figure). While the points about consent and unequal power make sense, what the article ignored was how those coming into power next week will affect this with the way they encourage this type of behavior and don’t believe that consent is necessary.  In fact, they often enjoy when there isn’t consent. As usual, by wanting to appear apolitical, the piece appeases the right.

As much as I appreciate what President Biden has done for the past four years, the points he set out in his speech last night that need to happen to preserve democracy were all things he and Congress had the power to do in these past four years and chose not to do. I realize the pandemic had to take priority, but they could have enacted term limits, expanded the Supreme Court to remove the corrupt rightwing majority, and more. Most importantly, the instigator of the insurrection could have and should have been arrested and jailed by Jan. 22, 2021. It’s very frustrating. Yes, Manchin and Sinema caused as much intentional destruction as possible, but there were ways to work around them.

I also saw a term coined over on Bluesky for the Democrats who are appeasing and “working with” the incoming administration – Vichy Democrats, which I think is appropriate.

On today’s agenda: online meditation group, polishing the support letter and dropping it off at the A4A office, running a few errands. Hopefully, some coverage work will come in. There was a deadline yesterday, and we’ll see if it actually has any effect on our workload. And how long they take to pay us this time. I have a book review to finish and turn in, more adaptation work to do. I should get out a few pitches, work on the short story, and work on VICIOUS CRITIC. We’ll see how much actually gets done.

Have a good one.