Friday, January 14th, 2022
Friday Five
TGIF! Let’s get right into sharing five random things about our weeks.
- So I’ve mentioned that our street’s community mailbox was broken into months ago. I think it was right before Halloween. Which means we have to go to the post office to get our mail. Sometimes they sort it wrong, or in two cases, handed us the mail for the entire street. I mean, sure if they want to hire me for full pay and benefits, then I’ll deliver the mail. Otherwise, just give me mine since by law, I can’t just walk in and pick up other people’s mail. So it’s been a bit of a challenge, and we’ve had to carefully track bills and other things that come through the mail because stuff is getting lost. Well….yesterday I discovered we missed one bill that never arrived. It only took an hour or so to figure it out and get it paid, but I’m so sick of this. Fix the damn mailbox. The post office says they have replacement boxes, but the city is the responsible for installing them. And no, we can’t have our own mailboxes because then I might actually get my mail. Sigh.
- I’ve been cleaning. I’m not a fan of doing this, but since I’m not “working” AKA writing, my brain is insisting on doing the things I haven’t gotten to recently. Some things aren’t a big deal like dusting window blinds or cleaning up some computer files. But then I decided to throw away some old wineglasses. That led to me realizing that shelf in that cabinet was dusty, so I pulled out all the glasses and cleaned the shelf. But once I cleaned that shelf, I had to clean the rest of the shelves in that cupboard…and OMG I’ve started a monster project of cleaning out each and every cupboard and drawers in my kitchen. I mean down down to washing everything silverware holder, and checking expiration days on spices and other items. Why do I do this stuff??? I’m truly grateful for a kitchen with a lot of storage but I’m only about 2/3s of the way through this project with many hours of work already invested.
- The gopher has not returned, but that ants kept invading. Twice they tried to get in my kitchen, but both times I managed to quell the beginning of the invasion. Well the little terrorists regrouped and got into my bathroom above my kitchen. We’ve done this dance before with ants. Once they are up there, they can get into the wall that leads to my panty which is their ultimate goal. I know that sounds weird, but my panty wall doesn’t touch any exterior walls so they ants have to go under or over to get to it. Anyway, past experience has taught us that only using the bug bombs works. Luckily it was a nice day, and we hung out in the garage with Maggie for a few hours, then I cleaned and aired out the house before letting her back in. It’s a pain but that should work while keep her safe from the chemicals.
- Bright spot moment. Maggie was on a stay command in her bed in the garage and I was sitting next to her. I’d taken her leash off so she could stand up, turn around and lay back down without the collar getting tight. While I was reading, I looked up and realized a lady was quietly walking two dogs by the house. Maggie was alert and watching, but she didn’t move. I was really proud of her, but honestly, I was also lucky. The dogs walking by were good dogs, so they didn’t react either. But I should have been paying more attention. Wizard thinks I’m too worried, but it’s my job to keep Maggie safe
I don’t actually like her off leash out front. It’s just too easy for something out of my control to happen. - I’m getting my hair cut, then hoping to meet Biker Witch (my sister) for coffee if she has the time.
That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great week!
January 14th, 2022 at 10:02 am · Link
Wow. Talk about a Catch-22. I’m thinking everyone needs to start filing complaints–with the city AND the post office. Document every instance and notify USPS Inspector General. That’s not right. Cleaning is a black hole that sucks you in. BEWARE! Ugh. Ants. ‘Nuff said. Good girl, Maggie! Yay for haircut and Biker Witch! My five:
1. Here. Have some emojis for all the above: 🚫📮 … 🧹🍷 … 🚫🐜🐜 … 🐶👋🏼 … 🚲🧙🏼♀️☕
2. Do to circumstances, I’ve done a lot of decluttering this week. Two large bags for the charity thrift store. Several bags of trash. Two more boxes for Only to sort through. 📦🧹
3. Writing has been hit or miss. I;m close to 54K words now. The scene yesterday totally sucks. It’s supposed to be a very powerful and emotional scene but it’s totally flat. That’s on the agenda for today, along with a couple of errands while the weather is still nice. 💻 🚙
4. Most of my writing progress was admin stuff. CHRISTMAS MOON came off KU so I updated back matter and blurb and got it re-uploaded to the ‘Zon and to D2D. It’s live now almost everywhere. I have four more to go and then all my self-pubs are wide. Only the handful of former Kindle World books that were republished through Susan Stoker’s Aces Press are still in KU. S’all good. 💖📚
5. A blue norther is blowing through tonight, high winds and snow tomorrow. And I’m giving blood. I sure can pick my dates. 🤣🥶🧛🏼♀️
Have a great weekend, all! 🥰
January 14th, 2022 at 4:18 pm · Link
1. That’s just wrong that you still have to pick up y our mail at he post office. Trust me, having had 3 family members be mail carriers and postmaster, they get paid enough to either deliver the damn mail or/and fix the box. If they handed me the mail for the entire street my mouth would go off full blast.
2. I know it’s tons of work but doesn’t it feel good when a cupboard or drawer are cleaned? I only do mine every year or so but am happy when complete.
3. Ants can be so hard to get rid off. After trying all the remedies I have learned that I have to have the house professionally done in the spring every year. It has done the trick for me.
4. Maggie is a very well trained girl.
5. Getting your hair done and seeing Biker Witch is a great Friday. I hope you two were able to get together and have coffee. Did you do anything different with your hair?
1a. Well it’s getting cold again and we’re supposed to be on the backside of the latest winter storm. That’s okay with me. It means Sunday/Monday we’ll get a bunch of snow and hubs and Harrison may be able to go out and play. If it’s too cold his mom will say no. Funny, I never kept my kids in due to the cold. I just bundled them up even more than normal and had hot coco made with half N half when I brought them in. Parents these days are too protective.
2a. Today is youngest’s girlfriends birthday and Sunday is our eldest’s birthday. Courtney is busy working so we won’t see her and eldest is Covid phobic so we won’t see him either 😥.
3a. My mail stinks too. My credit card bill normally arrives on the 7th and I mail it on the 14th. It still hasn’t shown up. I’m going to have to work it out with my bank and pay them electronically because I never want to pay interest.
4a. I saw a post from some author I’ve never read but it was about her cats. Someone had given them catnip cat beds for Christmas and they love them. I have been on etsy and I think I’m going to buy one for Spunk. A large one is about $30.
5a. I got my granite sink all cleaned this morning and feel like a huge job is done. It looks so good. It only took me 15 years to figure out how to really make it look good. If you gently scrub it with baking soda and vinegar, completely dry it, and then lightly coat it with mineral oil it looks brand new.
Well, I hope you have a great weekend!
January 14th, 2022 at 5:58 pm · Link
Silver, yes we do need to file complaints. I will get on that this weekend if I can. I need to do something constructive rather than just complain. So true on cleaning! Today I was too busy outside the house to clean, so that’s good
1) Thank you!
2) That’s a lot of decluttering! How do we accumulate so much?
3) First, yay on 54K! But boo on the scene that fell flat. I’m sure you fixed it today, but that’s so frustrating.
4) It’s been a huge project getting your former KU projects launched wide, but it’ll be worth it!
5) Giving blood is awesome and important. That said, please put your own safety first. You can donate blood another day if the weather is treacherous. As a friend who cares about you, I had to say it
Hope you have a great weekend and stay warm!
January 14th, 2022 at 6:09 pm · Link
Viki, it’s been frustrating, but it’s time to take action in writing where it has a better chance of having an impact. I haven’t done it before now because we were getting through the holidays and then life was playing a game of twister with us. But I’ve had enough now. On my hair, it’s similar, just letting the length grow a bit longer. This style is simple and manageable, so it works for me.
1) I don’t remember keeping my kids in if it was cold either. Most of the time, I was outside with them
But I don’t live in snow, so I can’t really talk. I hope Harrison and Grandpa get to play outside.
2) Hope Youngest’s girlfriend and your Eldest have great birthdays!
3) So many people are dealing with mail problems. Can you go online and pay it? Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s a major pain. Fortunately I got my late bills (high speed internet) taken care of easily.
4) Spunk totally deserves a catnip bed! One of the things about social media is getting tips like seeing what that author got for her cats. I’ve found many cool things and tips that way. (With so much negative online, it’s nice to see positive too!)
5) You have a granite sink? That’s really cool. Mine is stainless steel, but rarely doesn’t stay clean–probably because I’m always using it, LOL. Glad you’re happy with your hard work!
Have a great weekend!