Devon Ellington's Blog, page 9

Wed. June 18, 2025: Rainy Days Are Good For Reading

image courtesy of  Mirko Stödter via pixabay.com

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and humid

Midweek! It always seems to come up fast, blog-wise, because Monday is an intent post and Tuesday is the long post.

I got sidetracked before digging back into the ghostwriting yesterday morning, by one of my older scripts that poses some interesting challenges in adapting it from the original, interactive form in which it was commissioned to something more traditional. I worked on a few scenes, and then decided I needed to put it away, or I wouldn’t meet my deadline. The two other plays were much easier to adapt from interactive to proscenium. I realized, as I was doing a final proof on the one my friend wants to read, that, in that particular script, not one of the characters is typically “likable” or “good.” Nor are they anti-heroes. They are all rather nefarious. That’s kind of interesting, because the company who commissioned it liked bouncy pieces, and yet this one had several different productions. The characters are constantly lying and changing their stories. It needs very sharp direction.

But I put both those plays aside and dug back into the ghostwriting revision. I finished that a little before noon (a few hours ahead of deadline, yay me) and turned it in. And then spent time on the sofa, feeling like I’d been kicked in the head by a mule.

I managed to do some work on the next book for review, but mostly, I was cat furniture.

Pulled myself together to get dressed for yoga, ran the errands I’d put off earlier in the day, and went to yoga, which was fabulous. Came home, cooked dinner, read a novel that started really well, but I didn’t like the turn it took. I felt it was misogynistic, and the supposed twist near the end of it cheated the reader.

Slept well, up early. In spite of the rain, hauled the laundry to the laundromat. I was the only one there, because I’m not the only one who hates taking laundry out in the rain. But I needed to get the sheets and towels done. I worked on VICIOUS CRITIC edits while I was there, and then had to swing by Big Y on the way home, because I was out of coffee and coffee filters.

On this morning’s agenda: fold and put away laundry, more work on VICIOUS CRITIC, more work on getting the older plays ready to send out, write and submit a book review, maybe do some work on the anthology story or the Llewellyn pieces. It’s too dark to stitch, unless I set up specific lighting. If I’m going to commit to doing more sewing, I need to consider specific task lighting that can move workspaces with the machine. And fight with the tax people and the medical people.

In a holding pattern until I hear back from the ghostwriting client. I wish they’d let us get on with it, so I can invoice. It’s cutting things a little too close to the end of the month.

No painters yesterday and I would figure no painters today, with all this rain. I wish I knew what the plan was for finishing the building, so that I could plan.

One day at a time, that’s all we can do.

Have a good one!

Tues. June 17, 2025: A Creative Weekend

image courtesy of  Gábor Adonyi via pixabay.com

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and cool

I hope you had a great weekend.

The Community Tarot Reading for the Week is here.

Friday was . . .a lot. I was trying to figure out how to restructure the ghostwriting. The painters were there. The damn fire alarms were going off, probably because someone is illegally smoking in their apartment, and I told maintenance that something has to be done. I work remotely. I can’t have the alarms going off for hours and hours. We need working alarms – these bozos will kill us all otherwise. This has been going on for months and needs to be solved.

I caught up on some email. I went to the grocery store and the library. The grocery store had a lot of empty shelves, which is unusual for around here.

The audio producer contacted me 20 minutes before his presentation, asking for data that has nothing to do with writing and everything that a producer or a general manager would have. I license my radio plays to a variety of companies all over the world. This is data I would need to request from producers all over the world for the various plays and it would take weeks to compile. I have done enough fucking unpaid labor for this guy’s “presentations” and now he says, “oh, and if you don’t have that, we might still hire you” – well maybe I am no longer available. Honestly, I’m starting to think he’s on crack. His story changes every two minutes.

When he “hired” me – back in March – it was supposed to be 2 weeks prior to starting the first contract. A couple of months later, he tells me there’s nothing contracted yet, but he’s doing presentations. Then he demands graphics – which I put together within 24 hours. Now he wants years of data that has nothing to do with my job AS A WRITER, and expects me to have it in 20 minutes.

Fuck right off.

I forgot to mention that on Thursday, I had to turn around some small coverages, amidst the chaos. I thought there were two, but there were actually three. Not fun. And, now that MURDERBOT uses voice over, the next 2000 plus scripts submitted anywhere will misuse voice over. Nope. It’s really not worth keeping on keeping on until the agency completely shuts down in September. I made less than $20 for the last two weeks. Even if I had grabbed some of the other scripts in my queue, I would have made only 1/3 of what I used to make for the same amount of work. Not worth it.

I didn’t realize how absolutely furious I was about all of it until about midafternoon.

I spent a lot of time doing rewrites on the ghostwriting assignment. I think I’m doing okay with it.

I did not, however, have the energy to go to the Clark opening, especially dealing with the torn-up roads. I will see the show some day when there aren’t a lot of people.

In the evening, I just read for pleasure.

Saturday morning, I was up early, did the morning routine. I cut the pattern pieces for the first compass pattern. The painters showed up, which meant I had to set up a temporary workstation in the living room, rather than working in the kitchen.

Why the painters think painting in the rain is a good idea is beyond me.

Anyway, after I cut and pinned the pieces for the first compass, I changed clothes and got my act together to head to City Hall for our town’s #NoKings protest. I didn’t take my purse. Just put keys, etc. in my pocket.

About 200 people showed up, which was a pretty good showing, maybe a little more? I found a couple of friends from tarot and hung out with them, catching up in between chanting and clapping. We got  lots of honking and cheering from the cars going by. Only one guy flipped us off, and one guy drove by with a 2020 flag for That Thing. Sirens started and we were like, “uh, oh, now what?” but it was our local cops clearing the way for our march across a busy intersection, not them trying to stop us from singing or marching. We marched a good circuit. There were lots of clever signs. A group of women were dressed in black scrubs with black and white signs holding the words scrubbed from federal sites. There were lots of families and dogs. The dogs were so happy – extra walkies while making new friends. There was a real sense of coming together to show we aren’t going to put up with this crap, and I was glad that the local cops were there actually looking out for us, instead of against us. They were on edge, of course, because of the assassinations in Minnesota overnight.

And let’s call them what they are – assassinations.

Home, ate lunch, set up the sewing machine. It’s been at least 7 years since I pulled out the machine and actually used it. Once I got it set up, it worked very well. Stitched the pieces, set them out, pieced the compass. Decided I didn’t like the look of the eight points (too busy), so I’m only using four, and then will do the bone compass as four pieces as well.

Because the background is a map, and the compass is part textured and part bordered, it was getting busy in the wrong way. Simplify it, strip it down, so it actually makes sense.

I found some bone skull beads that I bought back in the 90’s and had in my kit, so I will use a few of those, too. I wanted to put those on the piece, but hadn’t sourced what I wanted. And here I had it!

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the actual stitching. I’ve done quite a bit by hand since we moved here, but not on the machine. It makes me want to pull out the dress fabric I have and sew some clothes.

Was heartened by all the videos of the protests around the country. The parade was a multi-million-dollar joke, and That Thing couldn’t even be bothered to stay awake for it. It’s so obvious that he’s just doing what he’s told, and is in such cognitive decline he’s only a prop.

I had my doubts that federal law enforcement would genuinely work to bring in the Minnesota assassin, since That Thing condones violence against opponents. I am glad it didn’t stop the protests in Minnesota. And not at all surprised that the assassin is a “pastor.” However, by Monday morning, he was in custody, so at least someone was working on it.

The silence from the Republicans shows they condone the violence. I mean, the ones who aren’t actively making jokes like the disgusting Mike Lee, who openly condones it. Between that and cosplaying “agents” allowed to kidnap people off the streets, I never, EVER want to hear a Republican or Republican voter claiming to stand for “law and order” again. The lying and hypocrisy is out of control. Also, all those gun nuts thumping their chests, demanding their 2nd Amendment rights to “protect against tyrannical government”? Funny how they’ve all joined ICE. And I don’t mean funny-ha-ha.

Went to bed early because I was exhausted, which meant I was up early on Sunday. It was cool enough to bake my mom’s favorite biscuits for breakfast.

Got another medical bill from my mom’s stroke last year for “imaging” which should have been covered by insurance. Something else to fight this week.

Had a nice, slow Sunday. Worked on the pattern for the bone compass. Had trouble with it. Part of it is that I’m afraid to fail on this project, and, frankly, I was ready to scrap it at one point. But to what purpose? So what if it isn’t perfect? Make the imperfections part of the symbolism.  Simplify. Stretch. Instead of being precious and overly earnest, clarify and let the images speak.

I’m getting there. Just . . .slowly. Which is fine.

Once I piece together this compass, I have to get the black border and backing fabrics and the batting. I decided I will do that part next, then appliqué the two compasses on as part of the actual quilting, rather than stitch them on and then quilt them.

After lunch, I put on Real People clothes and headed down to my friend’s show in Pittsfield. I had to change what I planned to wear, because it was cooler than I expected, and I didn’t want to go sleeveless. Murder Maps took me yet a different way in, which was thoroughly stressful.

But I got there, and I was able to park in the small lot right near the theatre, so that was good.

The woman sitting next to me was very chatty. She and her husband are in the Berkshires “for the summer.” They live in West Palm Beach in Florida the rest of the year, and she was telling me about the local theatre there, DramaWorks, and the good productions they do. We chatted about Barrington Stage and Great Barrington Public Theatre. I told her about WAM, and about the poem at the Mount on Jully 27. They have tickets to a Tanglewood concert earlier in the afternoon, so they might come to the Mount after, if the timing works out.

The play was N/A by Mario Correa, directed by Katie Birenboim, starring Diane Guerrero and Kelly Lester. It centers around the dynamic between the female House Speaker and the newly elected, youngest-ever Congressional woman elected (yes, those two). It’s an intense piece, a one-act without intermission, and was very well done. Script, acting, direction, production values – all really strong. Lots of humor, lots of tension, lots of dynamic conversation. The piece is very well balanced between the two roles. There was a scene depicting the Jan. 6 insurrection which got me more emotional than I expected. I laughed a lot, and I teared up in a few places. The playwright was a Congressional aide, so he knew the world in which the piece was set very intimately. It added an extra layer that an outsider doing research couldn’t attain.

I’m so glad I saw it, and I’m even happier it exists. This is the kind of piece we need out here now. It takes topics that are often theorized and kept at a distance, and makes them immediate and personal, which is what theatre does at its best in a way film can’t.

Chatted with my friend for a few minutes, swung by her apartment to pick up a few things. She was kind enough to give me condiments and things she doesn’t want to haul back on her trip home after her show closes next weekend.

The drive back was smooth. The summer Sunday traffic was good, and the “we’ll leave at the end of the day” traffic hadn’t yet started up. I stopped at Adams Fresh Market to pick up a pie and headed home.

Cooked dinner, read a bit.

Absolutely thrilled to get the email with the air date for “The Effie Effect.” It will start airing on August. 5. You can get more information here, and there will be even more information about a week before.

Woke up at 4 AM in full-blown sense memory stress. I must have been dreaming about packing and being behind again. It’s definitely been better this year, partly because I’m busy and more settled into life here, but it’s not gone. From now until July 4 is usually the worst of it (we moved on the 21st and then I had to go back and forth to finish cleaning out the house). Leaning into the yoga/meditation “be here now” modified to “this is my reality now, not the move” helps. But I’d like to be done with this already, please.

One foot in front of the other, right?

All I can do is the best I can do.

Up early, morning routine.

Some ideas for the ghostwriting revision were percolating, so I was eager to get back to that.

Caught up on some email, first thing. Then dug into the ghostwriting rewrite. The problem is that I structured it very tightly, so changing one thing changes everything, and I don’t want to lose the parts we all agreed work.

I spent all day on it. I finished the draft and will go over it again today before I send it out (it’s due today). I hope they don’t take long to get back to me, because I’d really like to invoice.

The painters were here all day. All they seem to do is move the ladders around the house, painting trim over and over again. This is about the 4th or 5th circuit they’ve done. Which, to me, is something that should be done after the rest of the house is done. I don’t get it. And if the rest of the house is considered “done” – um, no. Just no. Besides, half my back balcony still needs attention and all four front doors.

Cooked dinner, read a bit, and then logged on to join the Athena Project, this month to support other playwrights’ plays. Both plays were interesting. One I think would be good for WAM, so I will get in touch with the head of the literary committee and see what the process is to recommend a script to them.

A friend of mine wants to read one of my plays with an eye to recommending it to a company with whom she’s working, so I looked that over and made some tweaks. I will get that out to her today.

But most of the day is centered around the ghostwriting deadline, and then yoga to relax with at night. As soon as the ghostwriting is out the door, I have to run a couple of errands, and then dive into the fight over the tax bill and the medical bill. Not looking forward to those.

Woke up just before five with sense memory stress again. I really want to be done with it.

I’m hoping the painters don’t show up today to repaint bits on the covered balcony. They can’t finish it in the rain, because the parts that aren’t painted are exposed to the rain.

I also have to run a book over to the college library. I thought I’d returned it, and hadn’t, so there will be a fine. It’s the first book that’s overdue since we moved here. I’m usually really careful about it. Oh, well, at least I’m trying to make it right.

Have a good one!

Mon. June 16, 2025: Intent for the Week — Diligence

image courtesy Public Domain Pictures from Pixabay.com

Monday, June 16, 2025

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and cool

Yes, this is part of the astrological clock in Prague, which I have seen in person (although this is not one of my own photos). Why is this here? When I typed “diligence” in the photo search for Pixabay, this came up.

Okaaaaay.

The Community Tarot Reading for the week is up here.

There are all kinds of challenges this week, and I just have to dig in and meet them.

I wish the painters would finish — and that the house wouldn’t end up being all white. But it doesn’t look like I will get either of those wishes!

Have a good one!

Fri. June 13, 2025: Let’s Turn This Luck Around!

image courtesy of  Huda Nur via pixabay.com

Friday, June 13, 2025

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and cool

I love Friday the 13th!

Yesterday was kind of all over the place.

The online meditation group was good, and Charlotte was delighted. Because the painters were right outside my office window, I took the laptop and did the session in Tessa’s room.

After breakfast, I got the power cord, so I could work in the living room. I got some admin done, but not enough.  I managed to get a complicated play submission out, though, which is a good thing.

One of the things my friend helped me with while she was here was talking through some of the material around the Playland Painters, especially Iris Woolcock. I went down a research rabbit hole in the morning, and I’ve managed to trace her, through census records, etc. until her death in 1979. At one point, it looks like she was technically divorced from her writer husband, but living with him and his wife in Putney, VT. I also found an article stating that she worked on a commission painting the governor of VT at one point, so I want to track that down. I may try to go up to Putney in July or August and poke around there.

I also got some more information on Frank W. Darling, who ran Playland from opening until 1933, and whose assistant, Grace King Hutchins, put together the group of women artists. I think Grace might be from the UK originally. She was definitely his assistant at large exhibitions at Wembley and in Paris. Since I’m having trouble tracing her in the US, I may try to poke around UK records. Frank and Helen (his wife) were in a dispute with the IRS in the mid-30’s, which would explain why the Larchmont house was in her name. By the 1940 census, they lived on a farm in Virginia, and by the 1950 census, Helen’s two sons from her first marriage were living with them again (they had lived with them in the 1930’s in Larchmont, too).

I tried getting more information on Dorothy Dwin from the National Gallery (who has 18 of her sketches). From a newspaper article, it seems she worked the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933-34 as a sketch artist and that article stated she had worked for Playland for six years, which would have made her one of the original painters (as I suspected) as well as a sketch artist on the Boardwalk in the evenings.

It also means that LAUGHTER & TURPENTINE has to take place between 1928-1933, before Frank and Helen left Playland, and before Dorothy left for Chicago.

Information in a newspaper article from Atlanta on Anita Minter claims she’s from Texas (a society page piece, placing her in Saratoga and also in VT, visiting with classmates from FIT, one of whom died in an accident not far away from here). But birth records  and census are showing her in Virginia (if it’s the same person). Somewhere, I have a newspaper clipping about her winning an advertising award in Atlanta.

There’s still not much more information on Dorothy Kraft, other than she and Dorothy Dwin were hired as sketch artists on their evenings off to work rich people’s parties in places like Scarsdale.

It was all very interesting, even if I couldn’t get all the information confirmed.

I thought Iris had made the trip across Alaska in the camper with her dog. Actually, it was with her cat! And there’s a bunch of information about her in the archives of the Anchorage Museum, which I need to talk to their curator about.

It made for an interesting morning, and then the day took a turn.

I got my notes back for the outline I’d turned in on May 23. They want a rewrite of the 6K. They loved the emotion and character arcs, but want to separate two of the central characters, which means restructuring the whole damn thing. I don’t mind the work; what I mind is that means a delay in invoicing.

On top of that, my mom got slammed with a state tax bill for over $900. There is NO WAY on Social Security and a pension from which they withhold every month, that she owes over $900, with accruing penalties. So next week, I have to deal with all that bullshit.

I mean, they already steal from her pension every month, and her pension is tiny. They’re supposed to give that back after taxes are filed. Not only are they not giving it back, they want an extra $900? How about making some rich people pay taxes, instead of the old and the sick?

Added stress.

I put on Real People clothes and headed to the library for the trustees meeting, only to discover it was cancelled, because they didn’t have a quorum. It was marked on the city calendar, but I hadn’t checked it. So that was a gift of a couple of hours I appreciated, and could enjoy a leisurely dinner.

At 8 PM, I had a virtual meeting with the library cohort, which does so every month. It was so good to see people again, and have great discussions. By the time I signed off, I felt better about everything, and very lucky to know these great people from all over the country.

In spite of all the crap going on, be it at personal and federal levels.

A friend of mine is in a play on the other side of the state this weekend. I wish I could see her, but I’m already booked. Tonight is the opening at the Clark. Tomorrow is tomorrow (if you know, you know), and I have a responsibility to show up. Sunday, I get to see the show that the friend who was here earlier in the week is stage managing down in Pittsfield (and I’m excited; I really want to see it).

Somewhere in there, I need to cut and start stitching the textile piece.

Today, I will focus on the ghostwriting revisions, and getting to the library and the grocery store. The painters have been doing their thing the last few days, moving ladders to different windows, going up and down, but I’m not seeing much progress. And I’ll be so disappointed if the final color is this white. It makes us, literally, a white elephant on the block.

Oh, well. Not up to me.

At least both the bank and PayPal confirmed they’ve dealt with the scam receipt for the gun I did not buy.

Have a great weekend, and we’ll catch up next week!

Thurs. June 12, 2025: Back to Work

image courtesy of Pexels via pixabay.com

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Last Day of Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Hazy and warm

You can read about the garden here.

Yesterday had a few twists. Morning was great; nice breakfast, drove my friend back to where she’s staying while she works her show. My mom came along for the ride. It’s good for her to get out of the house. It was a lovely summer day, and a nice drive, in spite of the road construction.

Home, found out there was an issue with the previous day’s purchase at Big Y. The payment hadn’t gone through. They had my receipt (and I thought payment went through, because I never leave until I see “approved”), but something went wonky. So I went back and sorted it out.

Home, got some research done. Worked on the graphics about my previous shows the audio producer said he needed for his presentation. Sent them off. I made them as slides, so he can just pop them into his PowerPoint.

Got a shock when I got an email claiming to be from PayPal that I’d bought a tactical semi-automatic pistol for over $900. Um, no. On so many levels. So I warned the bank that it was not an authorized transaction, then I hopped onto a live chat with a PayPal rep, who assured me it was not real, it was not something they would allow through, and asked me to forward the email to their phishing department. I did, and then deleted it. I’d screenshotted the information and had also given it to the bank. I had not clicked any links or called any numbers in the fake email, so as long as it didn’t carry a virus, we’re good (and Gmail claimed it scanned the receipt and it was clean). But that was a fraught period of time.

I was ready for a breakdown by then. Two card incidents in one day on two different cards is too much banking technology gone wrong for my liking.

I got some research reading done, but not much else other than the above. In a holding pattern, waiting for the notes on the ghostwriting project, so I know in what direction to go next.

Heated up leftover tarragon chicken (which reheats really well and was really good). Realized it’s almost the end of the week again, which means I need to meal plan for next week.

Slept well, although I had weird dreams. Up early. Online meditation group this morning. Then, I will work on the anthology story, start the Llewellyn articles, turn around 2 short coverages. Some longer coverages showed up, but pay 1/3 of what they used to for the same amount of work, so I did not accept them. This whole wind-down is being handled so poorly, and with such a lack of respect for the readers.

A job listing showed up in my inbox to write feature films. The employer basically wants a WGA writer, but don’t want to pay WGA rates. In other words, exploitation. Pass.

Hopefully, the ghostwriting notes will land today, so I can figure out that schedule. Until then, I will do other work. Tonight, I have a library trustees meeting, and then a library cohort meeting on ZOOM. I also want to get some tidying/cleaning done in my office. There’s a lot of filing to do. I need to invest in some more project bins. I’m juggling enough that I need bins accessible for different projects (and then I need more drawers/shelving to put things away when I’m done).

I’ve built a reasonable research library at this point (even if most of it is still in storage). My system of pulling materials and keeping them together in a bin for the life of a project works, and I need to get back to that. Once the project is done, materials get filed or put back on their shelves, so I can access it easily the next time it’s needed.

I am thoroughly disgusted at the abuse of power happening. We also have to hold individuals accountable. Each individual claiming to be ICE is responsible for their actions (since they won’t follow professional protocols, we have no reason to believe they are who they claim), as is each individual National Guard member, and each individual Marine. “Just following orders” does not cut it. They are making specific choices against their communities in violation of the Constitution they are sworn to uphold, and that must be addressed.

Just heard about the airplane crash on a flight from India to London, too. More tragedy.

Onward!

Wed. June 11, 2025: Books and Art

image courtesy of StockSnap via pixabay.com

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Hello, and here we are, midweek again!

Yesterday, we had a nice, easy start to the day, and I made Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

We headed out to the Clark Art Institute. The road to reach it is all dug up, and you can go in, but you have to go out a different way. We had fun going through the permanent collections, and I revisited some of the paintings I regularly go to see. A couple of Sargent paintings are on loan for the exhibition at the Met in NYC. It was disconcerting how they rearranged those walls. They did a beautiful job, but I’m so used to entering the room and seeing specific paintings that it was a little jarring. But great that they are traveling and making others happy.

After the Clark, we figured out the detour and then headed up to Bennington, where we visited the Bennington Bookshop, which is delightful, and The Coffee Bar next door. We then headed back to North Adams by a different route, to show my friend more of the city and the historical district. We stopped at the post office so she could pick up some fun stamps (her home post office has boring ones), and the Big Y to pick up a few things (I dropped the ball on dessert).

Home, hung out for a bit, had good conversations, and got geared up for yoga. We’d hoped to walk, but it was raining, so we drove. Yoga was great, as always. We enjoyed dinner (and dessert) and tried to coax Bea into sociability. Bea was playing in the living room, but she’s still skeptical of humans, especially new humans. But she’s done really well. Charlotte was less shy, too. Tessa made it clear that she was keeping the bench to herself, and we had to all get over it. Willa, as usual, is the friendliest with guests.

Slept well, up early this morning. It looks like it will be sunny. Maybe the painters will show up? It was mucky and rainy the past few days, so it wasn’t a particular surprise they weren’t here.

After breakfast, I will drive my friend back to Pittsfield, then get back to work. The audio book producer has asked for some materials to use in a presentation and needs them tomorrow, so I will put those together. I need to offer some ideas for a project tied to Boiler House Poets. I’m supposed to get my notes back from the ghostwriting client, and hopefully, we move to the 20K portion of the project.

It’s also the full Strawberry Moon!

Have a great day!

Tues. June 10, 2025: Art and The Perfect Cocktail

image courtesy of ArtandHome via pixabay.com

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Day Before Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and cool

I hope you had a good weekend!

The Community Tarot Reading for the Week is here.

Friday morning, I wrote and submitted the review first thing, and requested my next assignment (which I received).

I did a polish on the ghostwriting and submitted it. Fingers crossed it’s what they want! Or at least close to it.

I expected to get the notes on the outline I submitted a couple of weeks ago, with either a rewrite on it or moving forward to the 20K version, but they won’t have it to me until tomorrow. Which takes pressure of me while company is here.

Headed to the library to drop off/pick up books. Did a big grocery shop at Big Y (because, you know, company – gotta have the meals planned and snacks and all the rest), and the liquor store. Hauled it all home and up the stairs.

Worked with my friend on the logistics, because we both have shows that were originally in the same town, but the venue of mine was moved to a different town and my start time is earlier than hers, and it’s her opening night, and it all became much more complicated that we hoped. We decided I’d pick her up Monday morning instead, which takes a lot of pressure off both of us.

Got my next book review assignment.

Turned around the two small coverages, did a bunch of admin. Tried not to feel the absolute exhaustion I feel every time I turn in a ghostwriting project. I have to figure out a better balance there.

The weather was awful, so I skipped First Friday. Cooked dinner, read, played with the cats. By Friday night, I’m usually too tired to go out.

Up early on Saturday. Did a bunch of housework. The bench that’s usually out on the back balcony, which was stored in Tessa’s room while the painters are here, is now in the living room, with the cushions on it. We were taking book to see who would be the first cat on it. Did housework, read. Read Agatha Christie’s CROOKED HOUSE (this month’s Read Christie pick). I’m sure I read it ages ago, but I didn’t remember the twist at the end. Finished Josephine Tey’s  TO LOVE AND BE WISE, which was very good.

Bea spent most of the day out on the porch. She’s happy out there.

After dinner, I put on Real People clothes and makeup and headed to the Adams Theatre, to see the dance piece my advisor invited me to see. Absolutely fell in love with the space. I would love to do one of my own readings there, and it would be a great space for WAM, too.

The performance was the world premiere of LA PLAYA, by choreographer Olga Rabetskaya, with music composed by Maria Vasilevskaya. It was danced by Carl Ponce Cubero, Lavy, Elliana Lynch-Daniels, and Emma Weiss. The first half was fairly straight-forward, character-driven storytelling, and the second half was more abstract. Live music onstage was mixed with various sound cues, projections were used, it was a fascinating multi-disciplinary piece. It received an enthusiastic response, and there was a short Q & A after. The trust those four performers had to have with each other to execute the choreography was immense, and that was as beautiful to watch as the actual content.

It was a collaboration between the artists who were in residence at Floating Tower at Chase Hill (run by my advisor) and the Adams Theatre, as part of their Incubator Program. Yina Moore, the Artistic Director of the theatre, has really done a wonderful job since she took over.

I’m really glad I went. I want to support my advisor, and I want to support the creation of work like this whenever possible (and, in turn, have my work supported). The cohort program I was a part of in 2024 continues to make a huge, positive difference in my life.

Home, went through the mail, was happy to receive a check I wasn’t expecting until the end of the month. It was hard to settle down after the performance.

When I got home, Tessa had claimed the bench! She was lounging on it like the queen she is.

Sovereignty won the Belmont Stakes. Because he won the Derby and the Belmont, and Journalism the Preakness, both horses won’t get the acclaim they should. All because Mott wants to force restructuring of the Triple Crown. It’s supposed to be a challenge. If it’s “better for the horse” to skip one of the races, then that horse is not Triple Crown material. And, as I’ve said dozens of times, because of the way they’re being bred (not for stamina), even fewer horses are than ever were before. We’re not going to have another Secretariat. The problem isn’t the race schedule. It’s the breeding choices. They’re being bred for fragility (calling it speed) instead of stamina.

Finally got to sleep. Woke up early. It was nice and cool in the apartment.

Up early Sunday. Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which was not as upbeat as I hoped, and the computer was an absolute pain the butt.  Did some more housework.

Put on Real People clothes and makeup and headed out. First stop, Wild Soul River to make a contribution to their matching grant fund. It’s not as large as I wish, but it is something and little bits add up to big bits.

Drove down Rt. 7 toward Lenox. It was lovely until I hit Pittsfield, but it seems that every road in that city is torn up right now.

Once I got past Pittsfield, it was okay, although the tourist drivers were asshole nightmares. Once I got into Lenox, there was an art walk, which meant tents everywhere and lots of traffic, both by car and foot. I inched my way through there, took a wrong turn and ended up at Tanglewood instead of Ventfort Hall, and had to backtrack.

I finally got to Ventfort Hall. Last time I was there, for an Elsewhere Shakespeare performance, it was a gravel drive and I nearly missed it. Now it’s been paved and the signage is better.

Parked, chatted with some staff, checked in. In spite of all the kerfuffle, I was early enough to chat with fellow WAM members, and have a pastry and a drink on the lovely terrace.

The reading was ROOTED, by Deborah Zoe Laufer, directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo. It was stage managed by my fellow literary committee member, Sara Recht, and the cast was Jayne Atkinson, Jennie M. Jardow, and Hero Marguerite.

It was a lovely, layered, beautiful play. Jayne, as usual, was radiant, and Jennie and Hero were wonderful, too. It was a lovely experience, that made me laugh and also get a little teary at times.

Eavesdropping in the audience ahead of the reading was a trip (and material I will use for my own work). The audience is mostly older, white, and affluent. So there were a lot of conversations about opening the cottage and being up for the summer, like something out of the Gilded Age. Since we were in a mansion from that era, I guess it was appropriate.

The talkback was good after, and included Jenny Hansell, of Berkshire National Resources Council, which was terrific (the play takes place in a treehouse, where the central character has lived for 20 years). It was also meaningful that Genée, the Artistic Director, thanked committee members (including me) for being there.

All in all, it was a lovely experience in a beautiful space.

The drive home was less fraught than the drive down, fortunately, once I’d inched through Lenox again, and scooted around the worst of the construction in Pittsfield.

Picked up groceries for dinner and dessert at Adams Fresh Market on the way home. Changed clothes, cooked, and after dinner, cleaned the bathroom. You know, the glamorous theatre life.

Started reading a biography of Moss Hart, which is an interesting contrast to his autobiography.

Caught up on news headlines. Needless to say, I am angry about how the feds are mishandling L.A. How about following the Constitution? Which would have avoided  the situation in the first place? Oh, wait, those in charge use it for toilet paper.

The Tony Awards were unabashedly defiant this year, and good for them. It was also interesting that gowns were either huge swaths of fabric or very elegant outlines.

Charlotte woke me up at 4 on Monday and was such a pest, I gave up and got up at 5. Got some stuff done around the house. Headed down to Pittsfield to pick up my friend. We had hoped to stop at Red Shirt Farm for produce (and I had checked the website for hours), but it was closed. So we went to Wild Oats instead, and chose vegetables to go with the meals for last night and tonight.

Came home, got things unpacked and my friend settled, and headed to the library to pick up a pass for MASS MoCA. We spent a few hours there. I showed her the Boiler House, we went to the Anselm Kiefer exhibit, which is just beyond powerful and disturbing. The wedding dress with large shards of glass penetrating it has so much to say on so many levels. I have to go back and spend more time there. There is a temporary exhibit, called “The Archive of Lost Memories” by Randi Malkin Steinberger. She rescues lost/abandoned photos, slides, tintypes, photo albums, etc., and creates art with them, while honoring what they are. It was an amazing and moving exhibit. It’s only there until June 30, so I will return on Community Day and spend more time with it. She was there with the work, so we got a chance to chat with her about some of the specific pieces.

We spent time in the James Turrell exhibit, including Into the Light, which I’d seen with the cohort, but went into again with my friend. It was just as disorienting and fascinating the second time. We visited a bunch of the exhibits on other floors (Laurie Anderson, Louise Bourgeois , Amy Yoes, Amy Padmore, Spencer Finch), until our brains couldn’t process any more.

In the R & D store, I got a book on illusionists and the paranormal (which is relevant to multiple projects of mine and was on sale). We also discovered that Randi Malkin Steinberger had put together packets of some of the lost photographs and they were for sale in the store, which was very exciting.

We returned the museum pass to the library. The plan was to go to Bear & Bee Bookshop and browse. We’d checked online that it was open, but it was not. So we wandered Eagle Street. Gallery North was unexpectedly open, because the gallery member forgot it was Monday! So we got to go in and browse. One of the exhibits was by fiber artist Sarah George, who is a wool sculptor and animal portrait artist. The detail and precision of her work (and often, the sense of fun) was wonderful.

Then, it was off to Steeple City Social for cocktails and snacks. We had a drink called a Twinkle, which is vodka, elderflower, and lemon, served in a gorgeous vintage glass. It was the most perfect cocktail I’ve had in years. We also had some devilled eggs (very different recipe than mine, but oh so yummy) and sweet and salty nuts. We chatted, on one of the large vintage couches. Friends from tarot were there, and we had a nice catch-up. And then Randi Malkin Steinberger and her friend showed up! We told Randi that we’d bought some of the photo  packets. I’d opened mine and even found a piece of original art in it, along with the slides, postcard, and photographs. Randi asked if I’d planned to let her know (she put her email with original art pieces), and I said yes, and we talked about me putting it on my Instagram and tagging her as well. So that’s on the agenda!

My friend got a taste of how you run into the same great people in cool places in this small city, which is one of the reasons I love it here.

Home, and we cooked dinner. My friend helped chop and prepare ingredients, which made things much easier to handle. It was a recipe from Patricia Wells’ FRENCH BISTRO cookbook, a chicken in tarragon vinegar and white wine, with shallots and tomatoes and fresh tarragon. We had mashed potatoes with it, and the Bok choy we bought at the market. And apple pie for dessert!

We did the dishes, and then sat in the living room for a good chat. Tessa hadn’t moved from the bench all day. Charlotte came shyly to join us. Bea kept a safe distance. Willa mostly stayed in my mother’s room, but had gotten a lot of extra attention during dinner and dishes, so she was happy.

Got a bizarre email from a potential client who wants some stuff he can use in a presentation packet by Thursday. I will figure it out.

Caught up on some news, including the ridiculous way That Thing is mishandling Los Angeles. Shame on any National Guard or Marine who “follows orders” against the people in this situation. They should outright refuse.

I never want to hear anyone defend the Second Amendment as necessary to fight tyranny. Instead of so doing, they all joined ICE to be a weapon of what they claimed to fight.

Slept well, although Charlotte fussed a lot. Up at the normal time.

I’m making us Eggs Benedict for breakfast. The plan today is to head for the Clark, and then maybe hit a bookshop (if we can find one that’s open). Yoga in the evening.

It’s raining today, but shouldn’t be too bad. Have a good one!

Mon. June 8: Intent for the Week — Flow With the Options

image courtesy of Michal Jarmoluk via pixabay.com

Monday, June 9, 2025

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and humid

This week is a lot of “if this happens, then that has to happen” so I need to let go of micromanaging anything and just keep looking at the overall week to make the pieces fit. It’s all potentially good stuff, there are just moving parts.

And fun! A friend is coming to visit overnight. So there will be things like looking at art and having good conversations. Hopefully, the recipes I’m making turn out!

I’m supposed to get the ghostwriting notes on Wednesday, which means I can enjoy my time with my friend without worrying about getting behind.

Have a good one, and we’ll catch up tomorrow.

Fri. June 6, 2025: Sticky and Humid

image courtesy of Ryan McGuire via pixabay.com

Friday, June 6, 2025

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Hot, humid, cloudy, stormy

It’s Friday! Yippy skippy!

I’m looking forward to a weekend that starts with a lot of housework and the farmer’s market, includes two shows, and a friend coming to stay for a couple of days next week.

I had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance about online stuff. I’ve decided to unsubscribe from some things because the person insists they “don’t do” or “don’t allow” politics. Which, of course, translates to the current situation supporting their white privilege and they skew right. As my yoga teacher said a few months ago, “breathing is political” and that’s even more true now than in previous times. So I am disengaging from those. Also, as my acquaintance pointed out, there are so many who post just for the outrage of it. “Oh, this terrible thing is happening!” While bearing witness is important, what the heck are you DOING about it when you’re not posting? Too many people are posting for the adrenalin hit, not because they are then, later in the post, providing resources to address the situation, or offering legitmate citations or solutions. Another type of poster to shed. Because these people are both draining energy and causing harm. They can do whatever they want on their own pages, but I don’t need to have them show up on my feeds or engage with them. Our paths are different.

There are posters I trust, who have factual information, and also resources and ideas. People who do the best they can to live their lives with some sort of integrity and treat others with basic human dignity. That is where I put my time, so I can take informed action, or get new ideas.

And I also want to balance it out with fun posts, too, because we need to retain joy in our lives. I want to do that as a poster and as a reader.

On a practical level, I have to start marketing again. When I market, I sell reasonably well. When I do not, I do not. Since every day is a dumpster fire, every day feels inappropriate to market, but I have to do it anyway.

I rewrote sections of the outline. I’d written myself into a corner. I had to figure a way out of it. But I think I have. I will do a final proofread this morning and get it out the door! Hopefully, I will also get the notes back to expand the outline on the other series, and then I can invoice for that section.

I was tired by the end of it. And it was hot. It made it up to 88, although not that hot inside. I had the fans going. It was about 80 inside, which is bearable.

Cape Cod Beer sold out to a corporation. I can’t say as I’m surprised, but it’s a shame. It’s a slap in the face to their customers, but that’s the model. Build something, sell it for a lot of cash, it gets destroyed.

Although our local Chinese restaurant here is back in good hands, the one we liked so much. The owners wanted to retire. They sold it. They did not sell out to a corporation. They thought they were selling to owners who would honor the customer base. The new owners were shut down by the health department. The old owners bought it back, cleaned it up, changed the name, and are back serving the people who love them. Which means the lo Mein will taste good again! Yes, I’m a white girl, and lo Mein is a comfort food.

I am angered and saddened by the murder of Jonathan Joss. Not surprised, sadly, and not surprised that the San Antonio law enforcement and community is trying to defend it. It was definitely a hate crime, and these public denials by those who should have protected him don’t change that. May those responsible suffer for eternity. May the dog they murdered hunt them in their dreams forever.

So this fight between That Thing and the Rich Addict – while it’s mildly entertaining, I wonder if it’s just a performance to cover more ICE atrocities. I remain skeptical that it’s a real falling out. What was that little performance meant to cover these past few days?

Hot, sticky evening. I finished the next book for review. I will write and submit the review this morning, and ask for my next assignment. A sticky night meant I didn’t sleep well. A thunderstorm and some rain came through, but only cooled things down a little, and the humidity is still high. We are also under flood watch. I hope I can get my errands in before the weather gets too nasty.

Up early, feeling a bit out of sorts. There’s a lot to get done in the next couple of days, and then some fun.

Late last night, an email arrived saying I was hired for a content writer position I applied to in December, for assignments “based on availability.” I don’t remember anything about it, and the email was a little vague. I will think about it over the weekend, and do some digging into the company. They liked my submission materials. Yay? But shouldn’t there be an interview process involved? The pay is a little on the low side, and there’s no sense of expectations as to workload.

I have two small coverages to turn around today, too. I forgot all about them this week, focused on the ghostwriting.

Have a good one!

Thurs. June 5, 2025: Sunshine!

image courtesy of Michaela  via pixabay.com

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and warm

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

It got up to 88F yesterday, and is supposed to hit 90 today. But we managed to keep it comfortable inside, even without A/C. And it’s supposed to cool down tomorrow and into next week, so we should be fine.

I was out the door early for a walk to the post office to mail bills. It was lovely. I met many dogs. Couldn’t tell you a thing about the humans on the other end of those leashes, but I had love fests with the dogs.

Home, did some admin, worked on the ghostwriting. Cleaned off a portion of my desk (yay, but now I moved a stack of papers that has to be sorted “someday”, boo).

I then worried that I’d lost the receipt for this computer that has the 4-year warranty information on it. But I found it in the folder I’d set up the day I bought it, safely stashed where it’s supposed to be. I decided to contact Staples, since, in the year and a half I’ve had the computer and the warranty, they’ve refused to give me information in any of the previous dozen or so times I asked for it. I got on live chat, and the representative first told me I had to go to the store. I reminded them that the store no longer exists because THEY CLOSED IT. I gave them the POS number and all the relevant information. They said they “couldn’t” retrieve the receipt. I told them to connect me with someone who could. They said I had to get into my account and try to retrieve it, since they couldn’t. I told them I had the damn receipt printed out from their site THE DAY I BOUGHT IT in addition to having the original register receipt. I offered to screenshot or put a jpg into the chat, but the chat doesn’t allow that kind of insertion. I told them that everything I bought through them usually is warrantied through Asurion, but when I uploaded the receipt THE DAY I BOUGHT IT, Asurion told me it wasn’t with them. And Staples, for a year and half, has refused to give me any answers. Whenever I asked, they said they had no information about what kind of warranty it was. They would have happily kept the money I paid and never honored the warranty. It took an hour, but I was reassured that yes, it was with Asurion. Turns out the jerk who checked me out (and tried to force me to buy a bunch of additional “protections” I didn’t want or need and refused to add on) had never hit the button in the register than sends the information to Asurion. The customer service rep did. I printed out the chat. Then I went back to Asurion and uploaded the photo of the receipt, and this time it went through.

The only reason it was resolved was that I wouldn’t accept it when Staples tried to give me the brush-off. They should have solved it the first time I asked today, not the fourth. They SHOULD have resolved it the very first time I asked about it, the week I bought the computer IN WINTER 2024, or at least in one of the dozen or so times I’ve asked about it in the interim.

I lost an hour of my workday for something that was fixed with a single keystroke. Now, we all make mistakes, and maybe the original jerk who checked me out just made a mistake. I doubt it, because he was a jerk. But let’s say it was a genuine mistake. It should have been fixed the very first time I asked about it, the week after I bought it. It shouldn’t take a year and a half to fix a keystroke mistake.

And I’m sure these reps hide behind “policy.”

But it’s fixed, and my warranty is good for another 2.5 years. I’ll take it. AND it’s with Asurion, who I trust, and who’s always done right by me in the past. I was afraid I’d have to drive to Bennington or Albany and leave the computer at a store.

I mean, I don’t need it yet, but I want it sorted for when I do.

Went back to work on the ghostwriting. Replotted a section, which meant everything needed tweaking, then decided to twist it a different way, and had to redo it again. But it was good, steady, fun work. I have to figure out a big twist so we can get to the climax, and haven’t quite done that yet, but I’m getting there.

The painters were busy. The cats did not like it. Charlotte sat in the windows and flirted with them until the noise was too much even for her. Bea hid in her crate. Tessa hid in my office. Willa stayed in my mom’s room. The painters seem to be replacing all the siding and now everything is painted white? If that’s the case, we will be a literal white elephant on the block, and the first time it rains, it will look dingy. They also left a section, in front, without any siding (for today’s work, I expect) that is made up of the original wooden boards from when the house was built in 1890. Beautiful boards, but I’m worried that the overnight moisture then under the new siding will cause a problem.

Disappointed in someone who talks a good game, but when it comes to actually walking the talk, only does so when it’s convenient. Nope. No time or patience for that.

One of my cohort advisors invited me to a performance in Adams on Saturday night, and then a big party at his house after (he held the welcome dinner for our cohort last year). I hope I can go. It sounds really fun. It depends how much I can get done between now and Saturday afternoon!

Leftovers for dinner, the evening spent mulling over this last plot issue for the ghostwriting, but not actually writing.

Slept reasonably well, woke up at 3:30 with sense memory stress. It’s not as bad as in previous years, but it still exists. That’s when the yoga and meditation tools come in handy. A little before 5, Bea came into my room (new for her) and was very chatty. It was cute.

I had my own morning meditation and routine, and will have the online meditation group with Concord. Charlotte will be happy. The rest of the day is about finishing the ghostwriting, so I can proof it and send it off tomorrow morning. I have to finish reading a book for review, too.

Have a good one!