Tues. Nov. 5, 2024: Election Day in the US
image courtesy of Amber via pixabay.comTuesday, November 5, 2024
Waxing Moon
Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde
Election Day in the US
Cloudy and mild
The stakes are enormously high today in the United States. Will we have any quality of life, or will the majority of us be turned into serfs?
We may well not know for several days, but it’s going to be difficult. The fact that there’s any support for the Narcissistic Sociopath is beyond comprehension.
If you didn’t get a chance to check out the Community Tarot Reading for the Week over on the Cerridwen’s Cottage site, you can do so here.
Back to our catch-up.
Friday, I did the grocery shop/library runs, and mailed the rent. Then, we took a jaunt down to Target. I wanted to take a look at something in person. Glad I did, because it turns out I didn’t want it. I stocked up on basics like toilet paper and toothpaste and the like. They no longer stock the refills for Palmolive, so I had to source that elsewhere, but I got everything else on the basics restock list.
Home, and just gave myself the rest of the day off. I re-read more of Rosemary Edghill’s Bast mysteries, and loved them more than ever. The new Chewy order arrived, with a giant bag of dry food and a new interactive toy that Bea immediately fell in love with, and tried to teach the other cats how to use it. Willa and Tessa are interested; Charlotte is a baffled princess.
I pondered a lot of things and tried to sort out, in my mind, a lot of things. I went back and looked up some things that were in conflict with other information I found, and now I wonder if I have to track down some of the players and ask, while they are still alive. I have to think about it and make some decisions.
Saturday was more reading, and running an errand to get the Palmolive that wound up being some spontaneous holiday shopping, since they had something I needed in stock, and I knew it wouldn’t stay in stock for long. So I grabbed it while I could.
Did a lot of reading. Attended a sigil workshop by a friend of mine In Williamstown that was really potent and wonderful, and also tied into some of the things I’ve been pondering.
The clocks turned back on Saturday night into Sunday. I always love it when we “fall back.” It energizes me. Sunday morning, I changed the beds and had all the Samhain decorations down and packed by 10 AM. I also finished bringing in everything from the back balcony, and tarped the bench with the bistro chairs stacked on it for the winter. I washed and disinfected one of the rugs, and the second one on Monday.
Throughout, I did the Ceremonies for the Dead every night. Tonight is the last – for those who have no one to mourn them.
I read a lot and thought a lot and played with the cats a lot and got housework done and tried not to stress too much about the election. I failed on the latter, but I also know I put in the work I needed for the cycle, and did what I could.
It was unseasonably warm through much of the weekend, and the plunged below freezing on Sunday.
I did not get a grant to which I’d applied. It wasn’t a particular surprise – they’ve never given me a grant. The first few years, it was “keep applying, we want to make sure we give it to people who keep doing the work and progressing in their career.” But when you look at their past grantees, none of them have done anything except take the grant money and not take the next step in their careers. They have no careers, and no credits. After the first few years of that, it’s always been “you have too many professional credits” even though I tick all the boxes they claim to want. Whatever. At least this time, the rejection was polite. Two years ago, their rejection was so rude I’d written them off for good, but this was a new grant that was a little different, so I figured why not try? I would have liked the money (and I certainly need it, especially with these new medical bills piling up) but I’m not surprised I didn’t get it. I will, however, write off this particular organization for good. It’s not worth putting the time into the grant application.
Woke up at 3:30 on Monday, fretting about work and the election and everything else. Finally got up a little after 5. Had a good meditation session (after feeding the cats, because nothing can happen until that happens).
There were three major contest deadlines on Friday, and only 3 small coverages came in, which worries me. We should be inundated with work. We should have been inundated since the end of August, and the fact that we haven’t been sends up red flags about the health of the agency to me.
There’s a lot that has to happen this week, and I had to dig in and do it.
I had a good meditation session, and a few things were clarified. I wrote the next chapter of VICIOUS CRITIC, just over 2K. I got the final proofs done on STRANGERS. It was a pain in the everything because sometimes the corrections didn’t hold, sometimes the formatting wonked. Fingers crossed it’ll go through correctly. It’s novelette length, and will be only in digital format, and for 99 cents. It will release the Tuesday before American Thanksgiving.
Don’t worry, I’ll remind you!
I do have the blurb and initial UBL link up on the Delectable Digital Delights page. I will have more information, links, and a video up in the next few weeks.
I then spent 5 hours doing the videos for TAPESTRY. It shouldn’t have taken that long, but Canva has changed how some things worked, and made things harder instead of easier, because that’s always what these places do when they pretend to “improve” things. If you want to see it, you can see the wide version here. I also did the TikTok and Instagram versions. Since the book releases next Tuesday, it was time. I still have to do the media kit.
I started working on the graphics for the STRANGERS IN THE SNOW video, but ran out of energy. I also have to do the ads for it, and do the ads for the whole group of holiday shorts. I need to print off some blank calendar pages so that I can figure out the timing of each and put it in the content calendar. From just before Thanksgiving through Twelfth Night, I will be pushing the shorts and the two Nina Bell mysteries that are releasing during that time. I hope I have enough in the budget to do some paid ads, but we’ll see.
I turned around three small coverages and panicked that nothing else was coming through.
I accepted both offers to return as a judge to different contests (one I’ve been doing for at least 10 years now, probably more). I was surprised that the organizations are so excited that I’m coming back. I’m glad to be valued, but still surprised.
Finally got out the planning meeting notes for the Boiler House Poets Collective.
I had a workshop that was a partnership between MASSCreative and Assets4Artists this evening. It was a good overview of how arts legislation moves through the state governmental process. I’ve been advocating with MASSCreative since I moved here, so I knew most of it, but some of placement of bills was new information. Based on some of the conversations, I have some ideas for workshops. Not sure if I’m the one to teach them, but I will write up proposals for A4A and see where we are.
We had a late dinner, and then it was about reading and playing with the cats. Both sewing room doors are open now, and the three older cats are bound and determined to teach Bea that all space is everyone’s space. Bea is not an aggressive cat, and she loves other cats, so she doesn’t really mind, but I don’t want them in her food or her litter box. She does want the door to the hallway closed when she eats breakfast and dinner, though, so that’s what we do. She doesn’t like it if the others can approach from both sides during mealtime. Of course, they’re busy with their own meals, but the possibility worries Bea.
Bea has taken charge of the entire large kitty condo, and she loves it. She’s starting to approach the humans a little more, although she still doesn’t really want to be handled. But I think we’re pretty close to petting time for Bea. She sees the others get a lot of affection, and it’s her natural wariness around humans battling with wanting affection, too. We’re letting her advance at her own pace (ignoring the advice to force her to submit to human handling and she’ll “get used to it”). Bea is different than a lot of other cats, and we need to let her be herself.
Reworking some plot points in VICIOUS CRITIC, pondering an idea that’s been trying to form for the last couple of weeks.
Today, I need to finish up some work for Assets4Artists, work on VICIOUS CRITIC, hope some coverages come in. I can read the next book for review, if I have time, and working on the STRANGERS video and the MURDER BELLS video would be a good idea, if I have time.
I’m waiting to hear about rehearsal. I’d like to at least go to Gentle Yoga tonight. I need it. Because I’ll be up tonight, wondering if we have a future to look forward to, or if it’s all going to be destroyed.
Have a good one.
