The manuscript is currently at 101, 152 words. It is still not over. Very tired now. Brain is also tired. Coincidentally Kid 2 is finishing her project, so right now our mother-daughters interaction consists of whining to each other through text, “Why won’t it end?” and then staring at it blankly because there isn’t enough
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The Snowdrifts.
It’s Tuesday, the beginning of what needs to be an intense work week, and I have treated myself to a cup of Jasmine Pearl tea instead of my usual oolong. We have plotted the finale of the Sweep of the Heart. Now all that remains is to download it from out brains onto the page,
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The Real Worries
A personal post in the middle of all of that promotional flurry. Those of you with adult children, do you find yourself worrying more about them now when they are adults? I used to really stress out when the kids were teenagers, and they weren’t really doing anything that crazy or bad compared to some
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The Every Day Mysteries
It’s Monday. How did this happen? Most of the renovation is over. We have some shelves that need to be put up, and the front of the house needs stucco repaired and a new coat of paint, but mostly we are done. I’m waiting for it to sink in, so I can exit the crisis
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Monday PSA: I don’t have a mother.
I had my annual mammogram this morning. My mother died of breast cancer. She had “a bruise on her breast that wouldn’t heal,” and she didn’t go to the gynecologist. In fact, she hadn’t gone since she had given birth to my brother, which at that point was over 20 years. I don’t even know
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House Today
Cranky Author is Cranky
Sometimes you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. That’s me today. I don’t want to work. I just looked at our bank account for motivation, and let me tell you, that cleared that fantasy real fast, heh. I don’t want to clean. I don’t want to cook. I don’t want to put
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The odd one out
In the year and a half I’ve had the privilege to be your blog mod (how time flies!), a few of you have asked me where I come from, since I live in England but I’m not British or a native English speaker. Transylvania, Ultrasylvania, or Überwald (if you’re of the Pratchett persuasion). Siebenbürgen, the
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Tales From the Texas Garden
And now for something completely different. Yesterday, Kid 1 went outside to check her peppers – more on that later – and came back inside. “Something is screaming in the jasmine bush.” We all know that there are cardinals nesting in that giant bush, so Gordon and I run outside. I stand by the bush
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A Busy Saturday
During the week, I put things off. I focus mostly on professional tasks and chores that must be done, like cooking or cleaning. I make my tea, then I make my water. If I am up before Gordon, I will make his coffee. I drink my tea, tackling the little things that have to be
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Oh Hello There
Last night at Casa Andrews: We had sedge wrens nesting in a hanging flower bucket right by our door, which meant we had to be super vigilant about keeping cats inside and watching Charlie, because Frenchies have a serious prey drive. The little birds have finally flown their nest yesterday and today, but at the
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Dentist
Kid 2 and I are going to the dentist for a routine cleaning in about 2 hours. Kid 2 has severe dental anxiety. She has not slept last night. She is over at our house, and so far Charlie the Frenchie is laying on her lap for emotional support, and Nykie, Kid 1’s dog, has
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