Tues. Nov. 14, 2023: The Joy of a Flexible Schedule
image courtesy of Nick Collins via pixabay.comTuesday, November 14, 2023
Waxing Moon
Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde
Snowy and cold
Yes, it snowed! Just a dusting, making the neighborhood look very pretty.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:
Episode 137: Jed and Sebastian Face Their Realities
Love can’t always conquer all.
Friday was not as productive as I hoped. While we don’t have the constant daily 6AM – 2AM year-round leaf blowers and chainsaws going here the way we did on Cape Cod, it is the end of autumn and they are doing the leaf cleanup. So Friday morning was a barrage of horrible noise that interfered with my ability to work.
I managed to slog through a bunch of admin that needed my attention, but I didn’t really want to do. But it was necessary, and now it is done.
I received information from the previous day’s health insurance webinar, and printed that out. I will go over it before I make appointments or ask questions.
I started doing some web design stuff, but the instructions and what came up on my screen didn’t match, which was frustrating. I want to have a section of my website to have a very different look than the rest, but I don’t think the template gives me those options. And a lot of what I want to do can only be done on a “posts” page, so it makes me wonder if I should do a completely different subdomain.
I have to think about it.
Once the leaf blowing noise quieted down, it was so late, I’d lost my best working hours. It was exhausting.
Had a quick bite for lunch and headed over to the Clark for the rare book talk. I got there early (of course) and sat in one of the tall booths reading art books and the latest NEW YORKER.
The talk itself was very different than I expected, but good. One of the librarians gave it. It was listed as a “rare book” talk built around World War I, but it was more about the ephemera and prints than books. Which was fine, but different.
The talk was packed; I’d gotten an email that it was full and there was a waitlist. I learned a lot of tidbits of information I didn’t previously know, which will be useful when I least expect it.
And it makes me more eager than ever to spend some time researching in the library.
Swung by the grocery store on the way back for a small shop. Just kind of puttered around in the couple of hours after I was home, feeling like Friday was a lost day. Especially since I wrote less than 1000 words.
Received my edits and proofs for the 2025 almanac, which my editor needs before Thanksgiving. I usually don’t get them until late January/early February. So I guess I know what I’ll be doing this week. She loves the pieces, which is great, because I wasn’t sure I’d hit them right this go-round. There aren’t a ton of notes, so it shouldn’t take me too long, provided I proof properly.
Read in the evening, which got some ideas spinning.
Up at the usual time on Saturday, fed the cats, read a bit. Wrote an insert scene for GAMBIT COLONY, a project on which I’ve been working on for years, which might or might not see the light of day. I really want to go back and do more work on it – it’s my stress relief project, and I tend to want to work on it in winter, when I’m in hibernation mode. But it can’t take priority over other projects. I did, however, spend too much time re-reading the latest draft of the first book in the series.
Scanned and sent a zipped file of slow cooker recipes to a friend who just got a slow cooker. She’s in for a treat! Slow cookers are so great when you have a busy day and come home tired. Toss everything in before you go to work, and you have a tasty meal when you get home.
Drafted an episode of Legerdemain.
Teak-oiled the bistro table. Once it dried, I rearranged the tables on the front porch, so the bistro table could go out there, and the small red table were the small Yule tree goes, and rearranged some of the other plant tables in the house. Scrubbed and disinfected one side of one of the balcony rugs; it took all afternoon to dry. Did some other household chores.
Read. A 24-hour turnaround coverage came in after dinner, so that dictated Sunday. Coverage still isn’t up to what it was pre-strike, and I had two workdays with no coverage work last week, so I took it.
Up at the usual time on Sunday. Made some more notes for GAMBIT COLONY. Drafted an episode of Legerdemain. Did the big rush coverage job. Scrubbed the second side of the rug. Figured out some crafty stuff I want/need to do in the next couple of weeks, but now I have to get the materials to run tests and see if they work. I have some of the materials; if I can get my hands on the rest and run tests this week, I can do them over next weekend.
Of course, I completely forgot that I was supposed to write the overseas cards THIS weekend, because I have to mail them a week from yesterday, but I’ll get it done this week. There aren’t that many anymore, sadly. Some people have died, some have gone out of touch.
Did the episode graphics for Legerdemain, and all of the episode videos for all three serials. Got those uploaded and scheduled.
Charlotte woke me up at 3:30 on Monday morning and was a pain in the everything. I finally fell asleep again and overslept. Wrote an article.
Put in the order for the craft materials, for pickup. It came through quickly, but I had to pick them up all the way in Pittsfield. It was a pretty day, so my mom decided to come along for the ride.
On the way, she wanted to stop at a particular thrift store; we found some lids and cute candleholders. We went to pick up the craft materials, and then I stopped in another store and grabbed some ribbon. Drove back up, went to a local store to pick up a gift for a cousin, stopped at a thrift store where I got a Santa flying over a village; stopped at another store where I got the bags for the cookie platters. Stopped at the library to drop off/pick up books.
Phew.
Unpacked everything, had lunch, turned around a batch of scoring sheets.
Willa decided she is sick and tired of Charlotte being the Princess in the kitty condo all the time, and staked a claim. She and Charlotte Had Words. But no smacks.
Then, I stripped down the kitchen table, covered it with butcher block paper, and got to work. I was basically running experiments, to see if this first batch of objects would work. They look like they turned out well, but I’ll know better once I paint them today, if they are what I want for this particular project.
It started snowing while I worked. Amazing how quickly the weather turned.
Once the pieces were done and drying/cooling, I put the table back together so it was a place to eat again. Made the hunter’s pasta I like so much, with mushrooms and prosciutto. Read in the evening, but was tired and went to bed early.
Slept through the night. Up at the regular time. This morning, I will alternate writing/turning around the almanac edits with painting. By tomorrow, I should be able to put the finishing spray on the pieces, and then we’ll see if we move forward with this project or not. I’m hoping it’s a “move forward” and I can actually finish it this weekend, along with the overseas cards.
It snowed overnight, just a bit. It’s supposed to alternate snow and rain today. I’m staying home and working.
In other words, even though I’m keeping track of word count, this is not a typical month, because there are so many non-writing things involved. I probably won’t get an accurate word count until January.
But then, in the life of a freelancer, there’s a lot of fluctuation.
Gotta hit the page this morning: At least one Legerdemain episode needs to be written, not to mention all the other projects needing attention, and I need to slot in stuff based on time and deadlines.
Have good one!
