Tues. Aug. 6, 2024: Attempting to Tip Toe Into the Mercury Retrograde
image courtesy of lynne via pixabay.comTuesday, August 6, 2024
Waxing Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Mercury Retrograde
Rainy, muggy but a little cooler
Are you buckled up for a wild retrograde? There are so many challenges astrologically this month that I wish I could take it as a silent retreat.
Friday, I headed to the library and did a couple of solid hours of research on the 1908 Balloon race. Got some great information, and a wealth on which to build the script. I have a feeling my initial idea will need to be narrowed.
In the newspaper accounts of the time are some great color quotes. I wonder how many were actually true; whatever the “truth” they supply some great character details. I also feel like the press manufactured and fueled the rivalry between the fuel used in Pittsfield and North Adams (pun intended).
North Adams was one of the few places, outside of London, Paris, and Shire City, where one could pay to go up in a balloon for fun at the time. And, in 1908, it cost $60 to go up –a lot at the time.
Yes, there’s a lot of rich white privilege layered in all of this.
Picked up the books that came in, dropped my payment from the farmers’ market residency in the bank, came home to some unwelcome information. I’ve been pondering it over the weekend, and will have to make a decision in the next week or so. I hate making decisions during Mercury Retrograde. I’m always worried I’ll be wrong.
Turned around two medium coverages. Couldn’t get the third one done.
Went down a rabbit hole researching the genealogical records of the character I want to position as my protagonist. She was only 12 at the time of the race. When she was 17, she married a young man from CT (her father had one of his houses there) out in New Jersey. Possibly a neighbor’s son? In the next census, a year later, she’s living in her father’s house again, under her married name. Two years beyond that, she was divorced, remarried to someone I have a feeling was related to her first husband (they share a family middle name), and had a son. Two years later, she had a daughter. A year after that, she was divorced again. Seven years later, she is mentioned as “Mrs.” someone else in her father’s obituary, and five years after that, she died in Honolulu, Hawaii, which was still a territory, not a state.
My sense is that she was quite the hell raiser in her day.
She had a half-sister, from her father’s first marriage, who was about 10 years older, and seems to have led a much quieter life, at least as far as marriages went.
People are fascinating.
Heavy rain in the afternoon and evening. It cooled things off somewhat, and hadn’t gotten as hot as predicted, thank goodness.
In the evening, I read the memoir of someone whose books I’ve always admired and respected, but of whom I’ve been wary as a person. This memoir made me actively dislike her. The selfishness, flaunting of privilege, poor treatment of others, and hypocrisy was astonishing to me. This is someone who talks a good game of connection and compassion, but certainly didn’t practice it during this stretch (and I don’t think I’ve ever known her to do so).
Slept okay and woke a little later than usual on Saturday. Bea waited at the door for her breakfast, although she dived under the bed when I entered the room. She’s coming closer during meditation, but still keeping a safe distance.
The humidity was oppressive. The air just hung, heavy, and unmoving. Even the fans struggled. At least the temperature wasn’t that high.
I decided to turn around the script coverage I had in the morning, so I’d be free the rest of the day. Once I did that, I gave “Too Much Mistletoe” a good proofreading, fixing a few things and layering in a necessary change. I edited the Author Note for it and added it in.
I was tempted to start putting the edits into “Tumble” but since that’s a fairly short piece, I didn’t want to get caught up working through the entire piece.
The rest of the day was just that, restful. It was hot and humid, raining off and on. Bea is out a little bit more, although still doesn’t want anything to do with humans. But she’s getting more and more interested in the morning meditation and tarot pull.
I did some research reading for a couple of projects, and then started reading DARK ENTRY by MJ Trow, which has Christopher Marlowe as a central protagonist.
But it was mostly a quiet day, trying to make it through the mucky weather.
It was an okay, but not great sleeping night. Up early on Sunday. Morning routine. Kept a quiet Sunday, mostly reading. I read a draft of a friend’s new play, which is very good. I finished DARK ENTRY, and read ASHRAM ASSASSIN by Andrew Cartmel, which was entertaining. I started another book, but am not yet sure about it.
Bea was out and about much more on Sunday. From lunchtime on, she was out from under the bed, playing in the sewing room, observing how the other cats interact with humans, community napping when the others took their naps in the living room. They really just all hang out. It’s a fairly quiet household, most of the time. Once she starts interacting the humans, she can have more active playtimes. The other three are all technically seniors (although Willa still thinks she’s two), so they don’t play as much anymore, although Willa and Tessa have bouts of energetic playtime. Bea will get there. It takes time, and we don’t have to rush.
I percolated a few things in my brain, especially when it comes to the article that’s due this week. I have some other decisions that need to happen in the first two weeks of August, and I’m weighing positives, negatives, and options.
I want to take the message of the retrogrades and slow down. The past few months have been wonderful and transformational, but will be meaningless if I don’t take the time to integrate what I’ve learned into life. How often do we take a workshop or do a residency or gain new information, and feel energized, but don’t actually DO anything with it? Just go back to the way we were doing things before? And use the excuse of “life” as the reason? That doesn’t cut it, especially not this time. I was given these great opportunities. I grabbed the experiences with both hands while I was in the midst of them. Now, I have to take what I learned and use it moving forward, or it was a waste of everyone’s time and energy, and is about me blowing the opportunity instead of using it as a building block.
It cooled off overnight to be a decent sleeping night, and I even got up a little after 5:30 to start the day. Tessa and Bea were impatient for their breakfasts.
The morning meditation was excellent. I’ve been good about my evening meditations throughout, although they are shorter than they should be, but I’d become erratic about the morning meditation. Getting back to consistency with that is a good choice. Gives me a clearer brain to start the day.
A large, quick-turnaround coverage came in on Monday, giving me one large and two medium coverages due by early Tuesday morning.
Before that, though, I put the edits into “Tumble.” And then Word went all wonky and all the formatting was lost in the document. So I had to go back through it from the beginning and fix it, and check the edits. But at least it’s ready for proofing now.
I had to pick up some prescriptions for my mom and get in some groceries. It was getting rather hot and uncomfortable. The entire staff of the pharmacy is masking again, which gives a good indication of how high the COVID numbers have gone around here. More people than usual were masked in the grocery store, too, and most of the unmasked were obviously tourists.
I got a great quote for my article, and our first A4A Advisory meeting is set for about two weeks from now.
Bea had enough socializing for the moment, so after breakfast, she retired to her den for a morning nap.
I turned around the three coverages, which took most of the rest of the day. In the evening, I started the next book for review, a very well written mystery set in Bern, Switzerland. I got more information for an upcoming interview with an organization for whom I might teach next winter.
Slept okay. Up early planning to go to the laundromat, but it was bucketing down rain, so I put it off. I attempted to go back to bed (it was just before 5 AM), but Tessa was adamant that if I was up, I fed them all. Charlotte tried to start something with Bea, and Bea just regarded her with a cool stare until Charlotte backed down. Bea’s got a core of steel under that sweetness.
With Willa, it’s like GROUNDHOG DAY. She keeps forgetting Bea is here, and every day, for Willa, it’s meeting a new cat. Although she’s pretty mellow about it.
Morning meditation is good, and new story idea is tickling.
The main focus today is the Llewellyn article, now that I have everything I need for it. I hope some coverages come in, but if not, I will focus on the article and notes on the new idea. If there’s time to give “Tumble” a proofread, I will do so. Otherwise, that has to wait until tomorrow. I also need to send my friend the notes on her new play. Will try to finish the book for review at some point today or tonight, so that I can send off the review tomorrow. Tonight, I have two hours of yoga.
I’m hoping for a quiet, but creative day. Have a good one!
