Devon Ellington's Blog, page 41
March 27, 2024
Wed. March 27, 2024: We Still Have Icicles
image courtesy of M. via pixabay.comWednesday, March 27, 2024
Waning Moon
Rainy and raw
Half the time, lately, with all the scheduling and posting and whatever, I have no idea on what day I actually sit in!
Today’s ANGEL HUNT episode:
Episode 123: Making Didieron Uncomfortable
Lianna and Gaston confront Didieron Custer.
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 81: Re-Meeting Cute
Tom plays mind games with Nina again. She goes to the bookstore for comfort – and runs into Zack on Christmas Eve.
I got the laundry folded, sorted, and put away. Got the garbage out. Wrote the book review and got that out the door.
Did some budget work for the big grant. Someone offered me free space to have a reading if/when this particular grant happens, so I can mark that as “in kind” on the budget, rather than an additional expense. A local theatre acquaintance, with whom I was talking about the budget, reminded me that partnering with a local theatre doesn’t mean a typical 8-show week for performance, like I’d have in NYC, so that helps the budget, too! However, looking at comparative budgets, I don’t feel those are realistic. Mine has higher numbers, but it’s based on what things cost (and paying everyone involved fairly).
A call for applications to another residency landed on my desk, and I sent that one off (after asking two friends for letters of recommendation, which they were happy to do). Most residencies have dropped the recommendation letters, but some still want them.
I got out a play submission, too.
Turned around a script coverage.
Did both hours of yoga. The gentle yoga is always great; the yoga for fitness kicked my ass, as it’s supposed to. I am the least fit in the class, but if I keep showing up, at least I’ll make progress. And it’s not like anyone is snarky or anything. Everyone’s focused on their own work. I just feel incompetent most of the time. I need to get out of my own way.
Dipsy Doodle actually left me enough room to park. Imagine that.
Leftovers for dinner, and then some reading. I started reading poet Donald Hall’s memoir UNPACKING THE BOXES at the laundromat and continued. It’s fascinating.
Didn’t sleep particularly well. Woke up to Tessa and Charlotte having a furball hurling contest. Yes, we’re in shedding season. Lots of vacuuming and hurling furballs. Oh, joy.
I have to get my act together writing more LEGERDEMAIN today. My subconscious has moved on from the serial version, and it’s hard to get my head back in that game to give it a satisfying finish. But I need to get it done.
So that’s the priority today. I also have to go to the pharmacy, get a few things at the grocery store, and do a big drop off/pick up at the library. More script coverages, and then tarot (unless the weather grows so vile I refuse to go out this afternoon). Contest reading and cleaning, too. The computer is running very badly today, which is frustrating.
Have a good one!
March 26, 2024
Tues. March 26, 2024: When You Leave the House Without Coffee
Image courtesy of Engin Akyurt via pixabay.comTuesday, March 26, 2024
Waning Moon
Partly sunny and a little warmer
How was your weekend? How’d you like the lunar eclipse?
Today’s LEGERDEMAIN episode:
Episode 175: The Seduction of Money
When it comes to corruption, “follow the money” is a sensible philosophy.
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 80: Dinner with Tom and His Dad
Tom brings his father to see Nina’s show; their pity that she has to work on the holiday grates on her.
I was out of the house early on Friday morning. Headed first to Wild Oats for a few things. Swung by the pharmacy to pick up my mom’s prescription. Went to Big Y, where I bought more than I planned, sort of meal plan on the fly.
It was too early to go to the library, so I hauled everything home and put it away, then did the three chapters’ worth of edits on CAST IRON MURDER, and did the DEADLY DRAMATICS videos for the week.
By then, we had to have an early lunch so that we could go up to the hospital for my mom’s echocardiogram. It went well, and the tech told her that her heart is in such good shape she’ll be around until she’s at least 105, which cheered her up. She asked why her blood pressure was up, and he told her there are plenty of theories, but no one knows.
We rolled down the hill and stopped at the library on the way home; lots of books came in, including an antique book in special wrapping from the Worcester Library.
Grabbed a stack of scripts for the beginning of the week to earn some cash.
Was a cat mattress for the short remainder of the afternoon, then baked salmon in honey soy sauce with green beans and sweet potatoes roasted with cinnamon and cumin. It was delicious.
Slept pretty well Friday into Saturday. The plows woke me at 3:30, but I went right back to sleep and dreamed I ran a workshop for kids. I hope it paid well.
It switched between snow and sleet on Saturday.
I did some ancestor work early in the morning. After breakfast, I went back to CAST IRON MURDER. I finished the draft a little after 10 AM, which felt good.
I had to adjust my mom’s medication a bit. The blood pressure numbers have steadily gone up the last few days, even though she’s feeling better.
I turned around the four small coverages I hadn’t done on Friday. I did the episode videos for the week for DEADLY DRAMATICS and got them uploaded/scheduled to TikTok.
Tried a recipe that didn’t work as expected. It still tasted good, although it didn’t look like much. I found another variation on it, which I will try in a few weeks.
Finished DEAD LAND by Sara Paretsky, which was very well done. She’s able to fit such a large scope into a tightly woven story.
Read a memoir by someone I mostly know via social media. We were in NYC at the same time, but our paths did not cross, because we were part of different worlds which only occasionally intersected. While I respect the writing a lot, this is someone I prefer from a distance.
Didn’t sleep well Saturday into Sunday.
The snow had stopped overnight. We had around 6 or 8 inches off and on all day on Saturday, sometimes turning into rain, then switching back. It was a big, mucky mess.
Sunday was sunny and bright, although cold. I read for pleasure during the day: D IS for DEADBEAT. I forgot how sad that one was. E IS FOR EVIDENCE. Still not sure how I feel about that one. Started F IS FOR FUGITIVE.
I remember, when I first read the series, how disappointed I was at the fact Kinsey drank white wine. It seemed too girly for me; not feminine, but girly But then, I’m someone who prefers red wine, although in food pairings, I’m coming to appreciate white more with particular dishes. And I drink chilled rosé most of the summer.
In between the reading, I did a deep clean of the room right off the front porch that we call “Tessa’s room” because that’s where her food dishes are. It’s a small room, but the deep clean took most of the day, off and on. I had to polish the wood, clean the glass-paneled door to the porch, clean the rug, wash the knickknacks, decide what to do with various items that migrated there over the course of the winter, but don’t really belong there. I kept picking things up with, “Do I really want this here?” and when I didn’t, I found a new place for it.
I am not a minimalist. If people like minimalism and don’t want stuff around, that’s up to them. I like having items on shelves and tables and bureaus that mean something. I don’t mind cleaning them when they need it, because it gives me a chance to reconnect with those items and their stories.
I’m looking at a lot of joyful decorating on IG lately. Some of it is not my style and would be a bit much for me to live with, but I like looking at it and getting all kinds of ideas, even if I tweak them to suit my likes. It’s a lot of fun.
I tend to scroll past the sterile rooms in neutrals, though. Especially if they don’t have bookcases.
Anyway, the slow work of going room by room to deep clean has begun. I cleaned the lovely ceiling trim and the trim around the doors and the windows, too. We live in a city and we like windows open when the weather allows. Things get dirty, although it’s not the oily dirt we had on Cape Cod, much of which was due to gas powered leaf blowers and chain saws being run 24/7 as the environment is decimated for short-term rentals.
I still have to break down some boxes and clean the heating vents and behind the door, but, for the most part, that room is done. It looks and feels more cheerful now. I still have to hang a painting in there, too. I’d like to hang the horse tapestry, but not sure how to fasten it without putting holes in the wall. And, with the painting, it might be a little too much and make an already small room feel closed in, rather than cozy. The tapestry might do better in the sewing room.
Mid-afternoon, I went down to dig out the car. Not fun, especially since the plow had pushed piles of snow behind the car and it froze down, and I had to chip that all down and move it out of the way. But I didn’t want to have to deal with it in the morning.
Did not sleep well Sunday into Monday, fretting about the car repair.
Up early, morning routine, had the car at the garage by 8 AM. I noticed on my way there, how many women had taken the time to dig out their cars yesterday, and now got in their cars and drove off, while the men just tried to force their cars over the top of ice piles and wondered why they got stuck. And yes, yesterday I saw a good many women in the neighborhood out there with shovels!
Took a cab home. Walked to the bank to deposit the check that arrived from Llewellyn. The sidewalks were treacherous, but all of us who were on foot helped each other over the snow piles left on the sidewalks by the plows at the sides of driveways. They really need to do something about the sidewalks in winter.
Deposited the check, came home, and had a terrible time concentrating.
Finished F IS FOR FUGITIVE. Worked on the other big grant proposal that has to go out this week. I have to finish the budget and then it can go. All the other work is ready; although I have to figure out the specific pages I want to include as a work sample.
Finished the book for review, although I didn’t write the review. I’ll get that out this morning.
The car was ready by about 3 PM, but it took an hour for the cab to pick me up and get me over there. But I got there, held my breath and paid (it was only about $50 more than the estimate), and drove home. It feels good on the road, so let’s hope this solves the problem.
But I was wrecked by the time I got home. I mean, I’d figured by about lunchtime this would be a lost day, but still. . .
Dipsy Effing Doodle moved his car to straddle his space and mine as soon as I left yesterday morning. And yet, when I returned, I still managed to thread the needle and get into what was left of my spot. He left a couple of hours later (he had to enter the car on the passenger side), so I moved my car to where it should be. At this point, after an effing YEAR of conversations, it’s not carelessness. It’s him being a jerk.
Nancy Hendrickson’s ANCESTRAL TAROT arrived. I found it much more confusing than her ANCESTRAL GRIMOIRE, but maybe it’s because I haven’t yet sorted out the genealogy/tarot balance yet. I’m curious to try some of the techniques in the book. I don’t want to wait until I’ve worked my way through ANCESTRAL GRIMOIRE (which is a year’s worth of work, even though I did the first 3 months’ work this month to catch up). But I think I will wait to try anything until the eclipses and Mercury Retrograde are done. Because I’ll have my hands full with those.
Yeah. Mercury Retrograde during End of Play when I’m finishing THE WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE. Fun times. Yes, that was sarcasm.
Speaking of which, the bridge collapse in Baltimore is horrifying. Not surprising, particularly, but horrifying.
Last week, I’d been thinking about an old friend, who was very important to my early years in NY. She left New York, shortly before I made the leap from off-Broadway to Broadway, returning to Ohio, to be closer to her family and take a teaching job. We lost touch, but I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. I went to hunt down her contact information last week – and learned she died last year.
I’ve been mourning her loss for most of a week now. Yesterday, I decided that I will include her in the inspiration women art project (that of the bowls and wooden spoons). She would find that hilarious and love it. I miss her, and wish we’d kept in closer touch.
Overslept. The cats rousted me out of bed at 5:54 this morning. I flung food in bowls, scrambled into clothes, and made it to the laundromat by 6:10 (I always pack everything the night before). I was home by 7:30, but I still need to fold it and put it all away. One set of fleece sheets is ready to pack away until next Winter Solstice!
On today’s agenda: get the videos for this week’s episodes of LEGERDEMAIN and ANGEL HUNT done and scheduled. Get the review written and out the door. Work on at least one episode of LEGERDEMAIN (I run out of episodes this week and only have one ready for revision). Work on the grant proposal. Turn around a couple of coverages. Work on a pitch for a regional magazine.
I want to go to both hours of yoga tonight. I was going to say, “that will be my reward for getting my work done” but no, just no. I don’t need to earn my yoga class. It’s vital to my wellbeing.
My mom’s doing better, and we’re slowly adding activities back in. Let’s hope it continues.
I finally had my first cup of coffee (imagine – I left the house without coffee this morning and nobody was mortally wounded. Progress). About to eat breakfast and then get back to work.
March 25, 2024
Mon. March 25, 2024: Intent for the Week — Navigate with Intelligence
image courtesy of Pexels via pixabay.comToday, we have a lunar eclipse. And I have to take the car in for repair (so I’m without a car all day).
This week, I have to finish what needs to be finished, as my show goes into rehearsal, Mercury goes retrograde next week (on April Fool’s Day), and I prepare for my trip.
It’s about doing what needs to be done and not making snap decisions, even when pressured.
Fingers crossed I can do it.
March 22, 2024
Fri. March 22, 2024: More Incoming Snow This Weekend
image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.comFriday, March 22, 2024
Waxing Moon
Cloudy and mixed precipitation
And another week gone.
We’re preparing for another half a foot of snow this weekend. Urgh.
Today’s ANGEL HUNT episode :
Episode 122: The Ethics of Parking Magic
Is magic for only for big life events?
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 76: Winter’s Path from Heartbreak
The friends help Winter pick up the pieces, and encourage her to make stronger choices.
Tomorrow’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 77: Tom’s Gift
Tom shows up at Nina’s, late at night, with the gift of a Christmas tree.
Sunday’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 78: Nina’s Christmas Tree
For the first time since her aunt died, Nina has a tree. And kisses under the mistletoe from both Tom and Matt.
Episode 79: Meeting Cute
Nina swears off men. So of course she literally runs into a cute guy in the snow.
Monday’s “Meeting Cute” episode is absolutely pivotal to not only the serial, but the whole Nina Bell series (although I didn’t realize it the first time I wrote it).
Meditation was good. I even managed to get a chapter of CAST IRON MURDER edited before it began!
After breakfast, I made a quick dash to get more ink. Ink’s gone up $2/cartridge since last month.
Came home, did two more edited chapters on CAST IRON MURDER. Seven more chapters, and I am done!
Did not get a residency I hoped for, but the letter was nice and they mentioned wanting to do some work with me outside of the residency. We’ll see if they were serious about it, or just being nice. Part of me is disappointed. Then I remember how disappointed I was not to get a residency this spring, and yet, not getting it made some other really cool stuff possible.
I finished one of the big grant proposals and got that out the door.
Turned around the coverage and a half that loomed. Saw my upcoming serial payment, which is laughable. They just make up the numbers at this point. Head down and finish up, that’s the best I can do. If I can get a few more dollars for the next few months, great.
Did the social media rounds for the serials.
Did some reading, did some meal planning.
On today’s agenda: three more chapters edited on CAST IRON MURDER, work on LEGERDEMAIN, four small script coverages, taking my mom to her echocardiogram, grocery store, pharmacy, library, and doing next week’s episode videos.
It’s supposed to be a messy mix of sleet, snow, and rain today, and then turn to snow overnight, dumping another half a foot on us.
Tomorrow is about cleaning, finishing the CAST IRON MURDER edits, working on LEGERDEMAIN, contest reads, the books for review, and doing some work on the other big grant proposal. I’ll put up the second portion of the episode videos, since TikTok limits how many videos I can upload in a day, even if they’re scheduled across different days and times.
Sunday, I have admin work to do, I’ll dig out the car from the snow, I’ll work on LEGERDEMAIN, I’ll start the CAST IRON MURDER synopsis, do contest reads, finish the books for review. Monday, first thing, the car has to go in for repair. THAT will be a stressful day, especially since I have to take a cab home and then back again. Because if I walk to a bus stop and wait for a bus, it will be at least an hour and a half each way to go two miles.
Next week I will finish a lot of stuff for March and prepping for a busy and somewhat chaotic April. As long as it’s also a lucrative April, I will deal with the chaos.
The computer is glitching. How much of it is because the new Windows update is causing issues and how much of it is Spectrum, and how much of it is the chaotic new Google update, who knows? But it’s a PITA.
Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend, and we’ll catch up early next week!
March 21, 2024
Thurs. March 21, 2024: Staying Organized to Clear the Decks
image courtesy of deepcove via pixabay.comThursday, March 21, 2024
Waxing Moon
Snowy and cold
You can read the latest on the garden at Gratitude and Growth.
Today’s LEGERDEMAIN episode:
Episode 174: Magic and Money
The former prime minister’s hypocrisy is brought into even sharper focus.
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 75: The House in the Hamptons
The friends are honest with Dmitra about her show as they race to save Winter in the Hamptons
I was dragging yesterday morning. That whole woken up at 3:30 by the smoke alarm is not my idea of a good time. I was trying to get something done when a whole bunch of alarms went off – someone in another apartment burned a pan. No real fire, all good, but at least I know the other alarms in the apartment and the building work until I get this one replaced!
Got out a submission in the morning. I had a really strong sense that I needed to submit it on that day, for whatever reason, so I hunkered down and got it done.
So many people try to figure out the “odds” on any given submission. I look at it as 50/50. Either they want it, or they don’t. You try to aim for the publishers most in alignment with your vision for the piece and hope you hit the right target.
Edited three more chapters of CAST IRON MURDER. The draft should be done by Saturday and ready for full submission (yes, I still have to write the synopsis. Blech). I’m tightening up a lot of language in this draft (thank you, multi-colored draft pointing out passive phrasing, adverbs, and qualifiers). The overall plot, story, character arcs are doing, in this draft, what I want and need them to do. This book is ready to go out into the world and earn its keep. I make it clear in the cover letter that this is NOT a cozy. It deals with social issues and older characters dealing with various desires and needs, and I don’t want it watered down for the constantly-moving-right cozy category.
Some medium coverages came in (yay), but it meant I had to rejuggle the day to get everything in by deadline.
The weather was all over the place: it was snowing, it was sunny, it was snowing, it was sunny. Elemental whiplash.
I got one of the bigger coverages turned around and part of another one, which I will finish today, along with, hopefully, the next one of that size, and then all three will be done, and I just have the four smaller ones to do on Friday.
I skipped tarot to get some rest, which was a good choice, because during those hours it began to hail, and then changed over to snow. I would not have enjoyed driving in that!
I’m out of ink again (of course I am), so I have to deal with that today.
Did the social media rounds for ANGEL HUNT and DEADLY DRAMATICS.
Did not work on LEGERDEMAIN, which will come back to bite me in the butt this weekend, but that’s the way it goes. I need to get at least four episodes uploaded and scheduled this weekend. I run out of episodes as of next week. I’m not sure how many episodes I need to wind up this arc – somewhere between 10-20. Closer to 10, I hope. If I can focus and write 1-2 episodes per day, starting this weekend, I should be able to have them written in a week or so, and then revise, polish, upload, and schedule.
Everyone’s nervous about royalties/bonuses, but this week, we hear about January (if they bother). We won’t get a real sense of how the changes affect us until the March and April numbers, which come out in May and June. I’m sure it’s negative; they can say it’s to “better reader experience” all they want, but it’s to find reasons not to pay their writers. I’m just trying to get as many $$ as possible out of these last few months, which is why I keep promoting. Get the stories finished, to serve the regular readers; promote them for the binge readers once they’re complete. Get on with the other projects.
On today’s agenda: meditation, errands, finish one grant and get it out the door (I have to do a slightly different version of my resume, which sucks, but, needs must). Edit the next 3 chapters of CAST IRON MURDER. Turn around 1-1/2 medium sized coverages. Promote the serials. Maybe work on LEGERDEMAIN. Work on the books for review (the second one arrived yesterday) and the contest reads.
Tomorrow will be a little chaotic, because I have to run errands in the morning, and then take my mom for her echocardiogram in the afternoon, and I have no idea how long that will take. I might take some contest reads with me for the waiting room.
The weekend is about LEGERDEMAIN, CAST IRON MURDER, spring cleaning, finishing the other grant proposal, a bunch of snow, and whatever else I can fit in! Hopefully, some more poetry. And I need to do some research, so I can get out a slew of LOIs next week.
The car repair is next Monday; the following week (the first week of April) Mercury goes retrograde, this blog turns 20, my play goes into rehearsal, END OF PLAY begins.
I want to clear as many decks as possible and make room for new opportunities between now and then.
I’m starting to feel a little more like myself, which helps.
Have a good one!
March 20, 2024
Wed. March 20, 2024: The Need for Rest
image courtesy of edmondlafoto via pixabay.comWednesday, March 20, 2024
Waxing Moon
Snowing
Again, this morning, it’s snowing. Which scuttled plans to go to the laundromat.
Today’s ANGEL HUNT episode:
Episode 121: Lachlan Solves It Again
While Lianna and Gaston snipe at each other, Lachlan’s practicality offers a solution.
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 74: Nina’s Theory
Nina thinks she knows where Winter went to ground.
I forgot to mention that, on Monday, I sent off a letter of interest for a stage play commission. It’s within my wheelhouse for mission-specific entertainment, but for a younger audience than I usually write, so we’ll see. But it was worth the letter.
I took care of a bunch of admin. I managed to write an episode of LEGERDEMAIN. Hurrah. I’m looking at each remaining episode as a way to wrap up a specific storyline. I edited three more chapters of CAST IRON MURDER (close to 8K). I’m almost halfway through the edits for the draft. Did the social media rounds for LEGERDEMAIN and DEADLY DRAMATICS.
I felt like crap, so I cancelled out of yoga and rested in the afternoon. It was the Spring Equinox, about balance. I’m out of balance (mostly due to exhaustion). The best gift I could give myself was one of rest. I think the last few weeks of stress have caught up with me. I took a COVID test, just to make sure (even though the only symptom I have is fatigue). It’s negative. It’s exhaustion. I’m not 20 or even 30 anymore, and I have to pace myself better. At the same time, the bills still have to be paid.
I dipped into the poetry books a friend had sent me for my birthday. I could read a couple of poems, think about them, doze off for a bit. I want to get back to blocking off a chunk of time every week just for poetry.
In the evening, I read THE BLUE TRAIN by Agatha Christie (for the AC book club). It’s one of the few where I did not figure it out early on, and, when I had an inkling, I hoped I was wrong.
Tessa pulled me out of a weird dream around 1 AM, the details of which fled as soon as I woke up.
Then, a little after 3:30, the damn fire alarm/carbon monoxide detector began its “end of life” beeping every 30 seconds. I managed to find a chair high enough so I could yank it down. But it’s from 2013, and definitely needs replacing. So, I will get in touch with maintenance this morning. They need a ladder to get it back up; the ceilings are high.
Had a hard time going back to sleep, and then Charlotte and Tessa were both impossible. I shut them out of the bedroom, which caused major meltdowns.
I woke up late, overtired, to more snow, and decided not to go to the laundromat. It’s supposed to snow on and off all day.
I was supposed to go to a talk at the Clark this morning, and then I hoped to do some research in their library until it was time for tarot (since it’s all in Williamstown); but the talk was postponed yet again, and I have to deal with maintenance today, so I guess I’m home until I leave for tarot.
I want to work on another episode of LEGERDEMAIN. I need to do a final proofread/polish the first two chapters of CAST IRON MURDER and get those out the door, and possibly get one of the grant proposals out. I have some small script coverages to turn around today or tomorrow (this is not a lucrative week, and I am not happy about it). I’ll work on the book for review and some contest entries as well. Plus get out a few more pitches.
I should have planted a few things yesterday and I didn’t. The next planting day isn’t until next week, although I might plant cat grass before that.
Have a good one!
March 19, 2024
Tues. March 19, 2024: Snow on Spring Equinox
image courtesy of Annette via pixabay.comTuesday, March 19, 2024
Waxing Moon
Spring Equinox
Snowing
Snowing on the Equinox. Yup, it’s the Berkshires.
Today’s LEGERDEMAIN episode:
Episode 173: Plans For the Spy
Shelley has ideas on using the spy for her own purposes.
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 73: The Angel Tree at the Met
Nina and Tom visit the spectacular Angel Tree at the Met. Which gives Nina an idea.
I love this DEADLY DRAMTICS episode, because it’s set at the beloved Angel Tree at the Met. A Christmas episode on the Equinox is a little weird, but that’s the way it all shook out.
I packed up my lemon cupcakes, etc. on Friday, and joined the picket line for about an hour and a half in the rain. Always worth it.
Then, I had to run errands and get back to work. I turned around both coverages before dinner time, which was a good thing. I hope the next two weeks have more and better paid coverage than these past two weeks had.
Finished reading C IS FOR CORPSE. As soon as I began the re-read, I remembered who did it (and that I thought the climactic sequence was a little rushed). But, overall, I enjoyed it, and I remembered how much I learned from this series. D is on hold; there are holds ahead of me on it, so it must be a book club pick somewhere! I want to read them in order, so I’m not ordering too far ahead. Once D is in transit to me, I’ll order E, and so forth.
Very tired, and slept pretty well, although I dreamed I was at a performance sitting with someone I haven’t seen since college!
Three of the Boiler House Poets Collective colleagues were doing an event at a bookstore on Saturday, so I sent them greetings for a good event!
I did some research on tarot spreads, to jump start some of my own spread creation. For the ancestor work, I’m supposed to create a spread this month. In the land of synchronicity, I’d just been thinking that it had been a while since I’d created any spreads, and it was time to do so. I also want to try some spreads on a couple of other questions. It’s time to experiment.
There was a call for art within a 60-mile radius of the exhibit, and I’m within it. I have some ideas, but I’m not sure I will be able to execute them within the timeframe of the call. While my initial vision was very literal, it’s evolving beyond that, so we’ll see if I have the resources (mostly time and energy, I have most of the supplies) to do the work in April. I have an idea for three pieces (which is the limit); two have evolved to be done in fiber, one in paper. Not sure I’ll be able to do any of them in time to submit, but I might work on them for myself. We’ll see.
Mercury is retrograde for most of April, so everything could go even further into hell without the handbasket. I would prefer it to be a time of quiet and reflection (at least once my play is done), with the focus on all of us healing, and on finishing THE WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE during End OF Play.
Did the morning chores. Did the taxes, which are always fraught, but only took a couple of hours, because I keep my documentation updated and together. Worked on a week’s worth of DEADLY DRAMATICS videos, then backtracked to do the LEGERDEMAIN and ANGEL HUNT videos. Only TikTok wouldn’t let me upload them all. I’m really growing to hate that platform.
I headed out for Heart’s Pace just before 3 and did the tea tasing there. It was a lot of fun. Nice people, excellent teas. I bought a bag of “Olli in Paris” which is Earl Grey, bergamot, and pomegranate, which I really liked. Turns out one of my neighbors is now working there.
Worked on some ideas for tarot spreads.
Made turkey meatballs in marinara with pasta for dinner.
Read Sara Paretsky’s SHELL GAME, published in 2018, which was excellent, and did not pull any punches politically. I haven’t read Paretsky’s work in a long time, and I’m not sure why.
Very tired and slept well. Charlotte’s eye is better; the medication is working. Of course, she started something with Willa and got whapped in the face again. Sigh.
Created three new tarot spreads. I was going to do one, for the ancestor work, but the first two spreads I came up with (which have been percolating for a while) are great spreads, but not relevant to the work I was doing. I finally came up with one that was, but at least I now have three spreads I’ve created. It’s been a long time since I worked on any new spreads. Now I need to test them a bunch of times before I can share them.
I found some images for the inspirational women art piece. Some of them I will need to check for veracity; there will also be times when I have to decide if an image can represent someone where there’s no accurate historical depiction/portrait/whatever. But at least I made a start on that, rather than keeping it in the “work on it someday” category.
I also did some planning for a couple of other visual pieces. One I might be able to keep as mixed media/ceramic; the other, I think I will do as fiber. I’m simplifying the vision for the mixed media/ceramic. I’m worried the fiber will look like a summer camp project, but if it starts going in that direction, I need to push it and go over the top. We’ll see what I can come up with, as far as materials are concerned.
I was so tired I could barely stay upright to eat my lunch. I went back to bed after lunch and slept most of the afternoon. I woke up after a couple of hours, did one thing, then went back to sleep until it was time to get up and make dinner.
I then went to bed early.
Did not get any of the spring cleaning done. I will try to build in a half hour to an hour every day so maybe by, like May, it will all be done! We have lots of lovely moldings around windows and doorframes that’s a delight, but it takes time to deep clean properly. I mean, it’s not like we ignore the regular daily/weekly cleaning, but the deep cleans twice a year make a big difference.
I had weird dreams. One was at the hotel I keep dreaming about – this time I was checking in, not already a guest. I keep assuming it’s the Marriot Marquis in NYC, but the configuration is different, as is the location, so I don’t know what the heck is going on. The second dream had to do with taking over a job at a bar (I hope, for all our sakes, the position had nothing to do with the public) to cover for an old friend from a bar I frequented in Edinburgh, who had to take a leave of absence because his wife was having a mental health crisis. Not sure what that was all about.
The cats rousted me out of bed at the usual time on Monday. We were preparing for another snowstorm. My mom wants to do more around the house, so she is doing one or two things per day for a few days, then, if she feels up to it, adding in something else, so that we have the balance of keeping her active without overdoing.
Then I had to sit down and face LEGERDEMAIN.
So, of course, I sat down and did the March newsletter into the new version MailerLite forced us onto. I hate it, it doesn’t give me enough graphics adaptation capacity, but at least the newsletter got done and out I write chunks of newsletter as things happen, and then it’s pretty much the overall edit and popping in text around chosen graphics. I like to keep it simple. It seems to have worked. I will sit down and play with the graphics sometime between now and June, when the next newsletter goes out.
It was, of course, a procrastination tactic to avoid LEGERDEMAIN. It needed doing (the send date was going to be on Thursday), but I got it out of the way today instead. Which means more LEGERDEMAIN time on Thursday, maybe? Yes, I’m procrastinating on L. I need to get over it, because I can’t allow Amazon’s corporate frufrah to ruin a project I love.
I ran the taxes to the post office (because it was more than a single stamp per envelope), picked up a few things at the grocery store, and did a library run.
Did I work on LEGERDEMAIN when I came back?
Nope. I did the video for “Plot Bunnies” (which is under the Ava Dunne name) instead. It’s a backlist title, which happens around Easter, so I’m promoting it. You can watch the video here, on the Delectable Digital Delights page.
I did the three versions: the TikTok, the wide version, and the Insta version. I will get them uploaded to where they need to be in the next few days, and start running the PB ad, too, where a video doesn’t make sense.
I did the social media rounds for DEADLY DRAMATICS.
I turned around the small script coverage.
I edited three chapters of CAST IRON MURDER. I thought I’d done more than I had; I’ve only edited six chapters so far. Well, as of the end of the day, I’ve done nine. But I need to get going on that, if it’s going to get out the door by the end of the month. It’s not a particularly long novel (by choice) and I’m tightening it up a lot, especially language-wise. I know where I want to submit it; it’s just a case of finishing it and getting it out the door.
Got a very nice, albeit negative response to an LOI I’d sent out. They’re going with someone who has a Master’s in a subject I do not. Which is fine, and the note they sent was so kind and respectful that they are on my “good companies” list.
Cooked dinner, read for a bit, went to bed. Woke up early to go to the laundromat, saw it was snowing, and decided there was no way I was going out in the weather. I’ll go later in the week.
Dreamed I was at the Clark talking to someone named Pat .Um, okay?
Settled on the couch and dozed off. Charlotte tap danced on my ribs for a bit, and then took a nap, too. Felt better after that; I’d felt like crap when I woke up. I’ve had a bad headache for the last few days. Stress and exhaustion, I think.
I’m perplexed at all the panic-stricken articles about the April 8 eclipse. It’s a solar eclipse, not an apocalypse. But these articles are acting like no one’s ever lived through one before. Stock up on food? Come on, it’ll get dark around 3 PM for a couple of hours.
Am I looking forward to driving back from my play reading that day? No. More because it’s during Mercury Retrograde than because there’s an eclipse. We were on the road last year during a partial solar eclipse, and it was eerie. I’d planned to sleep in and make my way home leisurely. I will probably get on the road a little earlier than planned and not make the lunch stop I intended, but just get home by lunchtime and not have to worry about people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Although I don’t really see that happening around here. People are more likely to sigh at darkness making it like winter again, and get on with it.
Anyway, today’s agenda: LEGERDEMAIN, promotions for the serials, promotions for “Plot Bunnies.” Hopefully, some script coverage comes in; if it doesn’t, I’ll do some more work on the CAST IRON MURDER edits, the contest for which I’m being paid to read, the book for review, and some spring cleaning. Spring cleaning in the snow. Is that satire? Or irony?
I’m scheduled for yoga tonight, but I’m not sure I’m up to it. I’ll see how I feel this afternoon.
Have a good one, my friends. Here’s to another week.
March 18, 2024
Mon. March 18: Intent for the Week: Slow, Steady Forward Movement
image courtesy of Gordon Johnson via pixabay.comHello, there!
We are supposed to get some more snow overnight. I’m going to try to run a few errands later this morning, and set down to get some creative work done.
I’m working on small steps this week, not large leaps.
What’s your intention for the week?
March 15, 2024
Fri. March 15, 2024: Spring Cleaning Prep
image courtesy of Steve Buissinne via pixabay.comFriday, March 15, 2024
Waxing Moon
Rainy and cooler
The Ides of March
I can’t believe it’s already Friday again.
Today’s serial episode is from ANGEL HUNT:
Episode 120: Cissie’s Ploy
Cissie is smarter than Lianna and Gaston expected.
Tomorrow’s serial episode is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 70: Confrontation with the Sexy Saxon
Nina and Tom confront Winter’s married lover.
Sunday’s serial episode is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 71: Tom’s Research
Tom dug up some interesting information about Winter’s married lover.
Monday’s serial episode is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 72: Playing Hooky with Tom
Tom convinces Nina to spend the afternoon listening to jazz and then going out for Indian food. But it can’t be a date.
Yup, this weekend is when the DEADLY DRAMATICS episodes start dropping, one each day, through May 13. ANGEL HUNT will continue to drop episodes on Wednesdays and Fridays until June 14; LEGERDEMAIN will continue to drop episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first TEN episodes are now free; the rest cost 10 tokens each, no matter what the length.
Backtracking to what I actually did yesterday: meditation was good. After the morning chores, I got out an LOI for a really interesting job. They probably want someone younger, but I figured why not throw my hat in the ring for it?
Wrote and submitted the book review, and got my next two assignments. Got the car repair appointment set for March 25. I have to leave the car there all day, which means I’ll need a cab back from the mechanic and then out to them again, since I can’t stay all day. That will be a PITA. But the car will be fixed before I have to go to Cooperstown.
Managed to get to Pittsfield to the pet store to pick up some eye ointment for Charlotte. The staff were pretty awful. It’s only the second time I’ve ever set foot in that store since we moved here, and I hope it’s the last. On the way home, stopped to pick up some cleaning supplies for the spring cleaning (including a gallon of vinegar). They didn’t have the eyehooks I need, so I’ll try the hardware store for those. I also forgot batteries, so I’ll have to get those at some point over the weekend.
Came home, treated Charlotte’s eye, got lunch done, the dishes done, then tried to concentrate on some work. Which did not happen. My mom was feeling good, though, and her numbers were terrific, so that was a plus.
Baked lemon cupcakes for the picket line. Showered and started reading C IS FOR CORPSE (the next Kinsey Millhone) out on the porch, enjoying the sunshine, until I had to get dressed and leave for Suzette Marie Martin’s open studio at Eclipse Mill. This is a series of oversized paintings on eco-grief. She layers actual text of climate science over the color washes of the painting, and then charcoal figures inspired by the myth of Adam and Eve driven from the Garden of Eden over it. Her re-telling of the myth is rooted in human actions having consequences, and how climate change is the consequence of human action. I drove out to Amherst to see her work last summer, after we’d met at a local artists event last year, and it’s fascinating. To see more of it and hear her talk about her process, her passion, and her activism through her art, was wonderful.
One of the things her paintings provoked in me was the fury (and I use it in the Greek sense of that term) about that particular origin myth itself. When you look at the expulsion from Eden, it is the start of hierarchy justifying oppression. I mean, look at it: you have a being angry that creatures He created wanted knowledge and used the free will given to them, He lost complete control over them, and punished them and all humanity beyond them for seeking it. You have a group of human men who decide that they are the ones who understand the real meaning of this divinity, the ones who can interpret divine will to humanity, and they are the ONLY ones who do, that humans (especially women) are inherently sinful and if they suffer, it’s because they haven’t “earned” anything better. They set themselves up as having the right to oppress those who don’t “deserve” basic human dignity. Sound familiar?
I also met some wonderful other artists who live at Eclipse Mill (the building is live/work lofts just for working artists), including a painter and a painter who is also a poet. We talked about art and the strike at MASSMoCA and many things. I’ve been invited to several events there over the coming months.
Came home, went to hop onto a ZOOM call, only to find it had been cancelled. Made dinner, did the dishes, treated Charlotte’s eye. Read a little.
Dreamed about Suzette’s paintings coming to life.
Up early, getting the morning chores done. I’m down on the picket line this morning for a couple of hours, then I have errands. I have two script coverages to turn around this afternoon (and possibly evening). One is medium, one is larger, but I was requested for the latter. Since tonight is the end of the pay period, I want to get both of them done. I’m still below where I want/need to be for the pay period, but it will pay for most of the car repair.
Tomorrow, we’re doing taxes and some spring cleaning. I have a bunch of videos to create tomorrow and Sunday. In the afternoon, I’ve been invited to a tea tasting at Heart’s Pace, which is in walking distance, and I look forward to that break. Sunday, I’ll finish whatever videos I need to for the week and do some more housecleaning.
I’d like to fit in some writing in and around that, but I might give myself the weekend off from it. Monday is all about finishing up grant proposals, and the rest of next week is very busy. Next week, I also need to get back on track with the new LEGERDEMAIN episodes. I run out of episodes at the end of the month, and I don’t want it to end on that episode that doesn’t wrap anything up. I think I’ve figured out how to do something satisfying, but now I have to put butt in chair and do it.
Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side!
March 14, 2024
Thurs. March 14, 2024: On the Picket Line with Scabby
Scabby the inflatable rat. Photo by Devon Ellington Thursday, March 14, 2024
Waxing Moon
Partly Cloudy and mild
You can read the latest on the garden over on Gratitude and Growth.
Today’s serial episode is from LEGERDEMAIN:
Episode 172: The Visitor from Aloofquina
A visitor from a strongly isolationist kingdom is in Legerdemain for more than theatre.
I got all the morning chores done, cut up the two batches of brownies and packed them in small foil packets, and walked down to MASSMoCA. I joined the picket line for a couple of hours. It was a lovely day to be out. Energy is good on the line. I was happy to see how few visitors crossed the picket line, and how much support passing drivers showed.
Walked home, shed some stuff, picked up the pre-packed bags I’d done for errands. My mom wasn’t feeling well, so I made her drink juice. Turned out she was dehydrated, and felt much, much better once she was properly hydrated. It’s got to be a constant cycle of juice, water, tea when she’s on this medication.
I ran errands. There was a mess up in the medication at CVS. The pharmacist was great about helping navigate through it; the insurance company was a prick, as they are. Picked up a few things at Big Y, including coffee filters. Did the library drop off/pick up.
Home, and exhausted. We had a somewhat late lunch. I worked on the next book for review while we enjoyed the sunshine on the porch. I should be able to do the review today, and hopefully get my next assignments.
Received the estimate for the car repair. More than I hoped; less than I feared. Now I have to book the appointment and get it done before I have to head out to Cooperstown for my play.
I went to tarot circle, which was terrific. I’m so grateful for that community.
Home, dinner, read B IS FOR BURGLAR (Sue Grafton). I had a later edition of the book, and it didn’t have the logistical lapses that my friend found when she read it a few weeks ago. Mine was published about eight years after it was first released. It may have been fixed in that edition or maybe the mistakes weren’t caught in the British edition. I was specifically watching the tracking logic of the stolen identities, and it followed through on this edition. Which is interesting.
I did not have it in me to do any script coverage; I have one today, and I hope to get in some more for today and tomorrow.
I’m thrilled to hear that off-Broadway crews are doing union organizing. May the coming generations struggle less than I had to!
On today’s agenda: meditation, writing, a book review, work on some videos, work on the grant proposals. I think I’ve figured out at least the next few episodes of LEGERDEMAIN. I need to do a run down to Pittsfield to pick up a couple of things I can’t get here. That will be later in the day, since they are doing some paving work around here, and it’s not like I can get the car out and take it anywhere at the moment. The computer has been running poorly, but until the car repair is done, there’s nothing I can do about the computer.
I put together a resource list for the artists in my cohort, and will send that out today. I will also bake lemon cupcakes to take to the picket line tomorrow.
I’m going to Suzette Martin’s open studios tonight, where she will show her new large canvases in progress, and talk about her work built around eco-grief. Suzette is such a lovely person (as well as being a talented artist). I’m looking forward to it.
Have a good one!
