Thurs. July 3, 2025: Getting Things Sorted

photo by Devon Ellington

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Foggy, humid, rainy

You can read about the latest over on Gratitude and Growth. Yes, I’m using the same photo on both posts, because I’m proud of what we set up yesterday out back.

No group meditation with Concord Library until autumn. Charlotte will be sad.

Yesterday morning, I got some admin done, got the laundry folded and put away, got the garbage out, and then set up the back balcony, or, at least, started it. Since the painters haven’t shown up in days, and there’s a holiday weekend coming up, I want to be able to enjoy the space. And I want the neighbors who can’t seem to stay in their own area to see how our area is clearly defined. I’m still tempted to buy and hang a curtain divider. I also re-hung the back bagua mirror. I can’t rehang the front one until the front door is done.

It looks kind of pretty. The painters removed a bunch of hooks and plant hanging tools, which I now have to replace, but at least we got a few things out and hung. I have not yet finished rearranging the plants on the front porch from the plants and tables I pulled for the back.

I look forward to doing some writing out there, weather permitting!

Tessa is pouting because she spent a great deal of time sleeping on the bench when we had to have it in the living room, and she misses it.

Submitted a play. Percolated the anthology story. I know a section further along, but haven’t figured out the bridge section yet. I will let that simmer over the weekend, and hopefully can tackle it early next week. Turned around 8 small coverages.

Had zero motivation to work on the ghostwriting, due to lack of payment. Because let’s face it, I wouldn’t be doing the work except I’m paid to do it, and if I’m not being paid. . .in the afternoon, I contacted the money person – who is out of town. So I contacted HR, who was very nice and said they would look into it. Meanwhile, I went on a mini-strike, looking at the scripts showing up in the queue, wondering if I should grab a bunch of those, and then, once I’m paid for the ghostwriting, push that next deadline out. I also finished reading the next book for review.

We spent a nice chunk of time outside on the back balcony in the afternoon. Willa fussed, so I put her in the playpen and she came out, too. She was very good.

Heated up leftovers for dinner and worried about either getting paid, or finding enough work over the weekend to make up for what hasn’t shown up. However, overnight, the money arrived, so it all works out. I still grabbed an extra script, though, to read on Monday, a medium-sized coverage that pays less than it should, but still, along with the bunch of small coverages I’ve done this week, will cover a bill or two. There was an artist meetup I considered attending, but I felt I was too distracted to really be a worthwhile contributor to the evening.

Woke up to see, from my bedroom window, a bright star in the early morning sky. Venus, perhaps? A few minutes later, fog came in and obscured everything, but it was a nice wake-up view.

Found that I’d been paid, so I immediately put in the Chewy order for wet food and treats, and wrote and scheduled a thank you to HR. I will write and submit the book review this morning, and ask for my next assignment. I have a bunch of checks to write for bills, and will get those out the door (some will be delivered in person, others mailed). I have to pick up the backing fabric and batting for the textile project this morning, so I can work on it all weekend, and then do the grocery and library runs I would normally do on a Friday. I’m only getting in a few things for tomorrow, the 4th, and then doing the big shop on Saturday, once I see what the farmers’ market has available. Later in the day, I have a handful of small coverages to turn around and then I’ll spend a few hours on the ghostwriting (since I did nothing yesterday, on my mini-strike). Most of what didn’t get done I will make up for on Monday, but I do want to put in a few hours today, so I don’t get too far behind and have regrets next week.

Tomorrow is a holiday here in the US. Not much to celebrate around its purpose for us, but I plan to take the day off client work and focus on the textile-and-text project. I checked in with the gallery yesterday, finalizing a few things about the workshop I’m teaching in early August, and suggesting that I read my text piece that goes with the quilt at the opening, and use the exhibit itself to create the piece honoring each of the other artists, and read that at the closing. They are excited by that idea, so that is what I will do.

A gallery run by a fellow cohort member has an amazing exhibit opening tomorrow, so I will go over and support her and the artists participating.

The bulk of the weekend will be devoted to the text-and-textile project. And maybe getting some rest. Next week, I have to really dig into the ghostwriting. If scripts keep coming in, I’ll add those in, and maybe the final pay period with the agency will be decent. Because this is the last influx we will have.

Have a good, long weekend!