peace of mind

I have had a v. eventful few days. Work continues to be a slog, which is why I haven’t had the energy to post at the end of the day - but it’s a (mostly) fun slog, so I am not that resentful of the increased demands on my time.

So, let’s see what we missed (what you missed in reading + what I missed in documenting):

Thursday was my birthday (#neverforget), and I celebrated as soon as I woke up by having a funfetti cupcake instead of a granola bar with my coffee. I spent the day slogging through a variety of tings and also fielding texts from a variety of people - the advantage of a 9/11 birthday is that it is remembered by people even if they don’t have it on their calendars, so I feel like I hear from more people than average (and then feel guilty because I definitely don’t remember everyone else’s birthdays).

After I was done with work, my mom, [censored] and I went to Garden Grove to celebrate my birthday at one of the only restaurants around that was open. I always love their cheese curds and fried pickles even though they certainly are not gluten free; I also had a southern Iowa lemonade, and the bourbon made up for the fact that my burger wasn’t as good as it usually is. So, we had a nice birthday dinner, and I ended the day feeling very loved (especially because someone at work refused to add me to a 9-11pm meeting because it was my birthday, so I went to bed while everyone else slogged).

Friday was chaotic = I got up and went into town to get allergy shots, and then I slogged through more meetings than I like to have on Fridays. I also had to pack to leave for SF, which made things more chaotic. But since I was originally supposed to fly out Friday night, the fact that I didn’t leave until Saturday morning made it just a wee bit more manageable. So I got packed up, watered all my plants and gardens, organized things, and also made dinner - I baked some chicken breasts, cooked the last of a pack of bacon that was going to go bad before my return, sliced up some fresh tomatoes and some leftover mozzarella, and [censored] and I had a surprisingly delicious dinner (and I left him with leftovers, assuaging my guilt at also leaving him with plants to water).

Saturday, I flew to SF. My flight was at 9, which meant leaving home at 6…and I only left twenty minutes later than planned, which is luckily not a problem when flying out of Des Moines. I parked in the garage, walked straight through security with my carry-on, and had time for a glass of nerve-calming rosé at the bar before boarding on time. My flights were both smooth from a timing standpoint, but unfortunately I was banking on eating on the Denver->SF flight, and they didn’t end up offering any food because there was too much turbulence.

So I landed in SF early but starving. Since I didn’t have to pick up a checked bag, I grabbed a late lunch at a restaurant at the airport before taking an uber into the city. I checked into my hotel, fully unpacked, and then went to my absolute favorite mani/pedi place, were they cleaned up my hands and feet and made me feel ready to seize a week of girlbossing in the city of sin. After that was done, I came back to my hotel, took a much needed twenty-minute nap, put on fresh clothes, and rendezvoused for some much-needed family time.

Adit (no one calls him the cat), Chandlord, Claude and I met up at True Laurel for drinks (aka cacktales), and my boulevardier went a long way toward restoring me after my travels. Then we had dinner at Flour + Water, which has gotten v. good for gluten free. The four of us now arrange our seating by our joint dietary preferences - Claude and I avoid gluten and eat meat to compensate, while Adit and Chandlord are veg only but eat as much gluten as possible. We split all the veg/gluten free salads on the menus, and then Claude and I split an excellent gf pasta + some salmon. This might be my new fave gf pasta in the city, which is v exciting since a place called Flour + Water is not typically welcoming of our gf sensitivities.

We also (of course) ordered a bottle of wine + another couple of glasses after. This is sedate compared to the outings of our twenties and thirties, but still felt like going big given our advanced ages. We spent most of dinner playing a game we dubbed ‘Vibe Check’ - the person in the hotseat had to pick a number between 1-10, where 1 is worst and 10 is best. The other three then went around and asked category questions - e.g., if someone asked ‘Biblical characters’ (as Claude did of me), then the main person had to name something within that category that matched the number/ranking they were thinking of.

As it turns out, we know each other quite well - they got that I had picked a 4 (for reference: my biblical characters was Paul bc I acknowledge his role in promoting the church and writing great letters, but do not appreciate his misogyny or how judgy he was after his Damascus conversion - and Claude guessed exactly how I felt; my other answers were all similarly mid), and for the rest of our rounds we all got within 1 of the person’s number. As games go it was quite fun and not nearly as dangerous as games involving shots, so I would 100% recommend.

Sssanyway, after we finished dinner (with an excellent chocolate budino), we walked a few blocks to meet up with Michael, who is friends with Chandlord and Claude. We hung out in his lobby with him and his partner, and drank some truly atrocious canned Paloma drink (lukewarm 52-proof tequila and grapefruit is really not good, but I drank it anyway because I’m polite and also have no boundaries). We chatted about a variety of topics related to book bindings, house renovations, SF neighborhoods, etc., and it was all generally delightful.

Adit and Chandlord then went with Michael to the Stud (and later to Grubstake, which I’m very sad to have missed, but I couldn’t have survived until 1:30am PT / 3:30am CT after waking up at 5am CT). I walked Claudia back to her car, grabbed an uber from there, and then came to my hotel and fell asleep with the lights on because I was too tired to think.

Today was a great recovery day though. I woke up fairly early, grabbed coffee downstairs, and then chilled and ordered room service breakfast. I also ran over to Chandlord’s to get a set of keys from her - SF hotels are cheap this weekend but out of control this week, so I’m checking out tomorrow and staying with her. Then I came back to my hotel, showered, and walked to the Embarcadero…

…where I had lunch (don’t call it brunch) with John and Jess at Coqueta. I was in the mood for tapas and paella, which I never get in ye olde Iowa, and Coqueta delivered. My salt air margarita was perfect, and the paella was fantastic - and the patatas bravas (fried potatoes if you’re Iowan) were so good that we got a second order. It’s warm in the city right now, so we sat outside, and we people-watched and water-watched and caught up on life in general, and it was all a delight.

After we parted ways, I did basically nothing for a couple of hours (and finally gave up and took a proper nap). Then I grabbed a chai from the Yemeni coffee shop down the street, came back to my room, and wrote for a couple of hours. Eventually I realized I was finally hungry again, so I grabbed a burger and a glass of wine from the hotel bar. And now, I need to start unwinding so that I can hit the work slog hard tomorrow - goodnight!

she might have let you hold her hand in school but imma show you how to graduate

Apologies for not blogging yesterday - I had a fun excursion with [censored], but came home v. tired. We went to Rutledge, which is a flea market in the middle of nowhere approximately two hours southeast of us. I wanted to go for the nostalgia vibes, and possibly for my book; we went there back when we had turkeys many years ago, and I had v. vague memories of the place (it makes sense that they were vague, since I was six or seven at the time).

We didn't end up buying anything of note, although I did get a tshirt. But it was fun to wander around for a bit - and also somewhat depressing, given that there were a lot of people who had put in a lot of work to haul a lot of random stuff to Rutledge and did not appear to be making a lot of sales. And I managed to leave without buying peacocks, which I think showed great restraint.

On our way back, [censored] and I had a late lunch in Bloomfield and went to a Dutch Country Store that was pretty impressive. And then we were both wiped out when we got home, agreed not to eat dinner (although I ate the peanut butter sandwich I'd taken with me to Rutledge), and went our separate ways. I thought I would go to bed early, get up early, and get cracking...

...but today I got up at ten and did basically nothing. I did make some eggs for me and [censored], and I cleaned the kitchen, and took care of a few other random tasks. I also did a wee bit of writing in the afternoon. But I have nothing of interest to report from that, so we'll draw a veil over it.

In the evening, [censored] and I went to our parents' house and had dinner - my mom made fried potatoes and baked beans (which I was grateful for, since I love her fried potatoes), and my dad grilled bratwurst and hot dogs. It was all tasty, and we hung out for awhile after. And now, I really need to sleep and aim for a more productive day tomorrow - goodnight!

i'll be living that good life

I should have gone to bed two hours ago, but that's a common refrain. Today was a rush to get out the door. I spent the morning doing a variety of tings, as well as prepping for a writing talk I had to give this afternoon - my former teacher, who is now a Methodist minister, asked me to give a talk at her church, and I had said yes a long time ago. I didn't have to prep really hard, but I did outline what I wanted to say and made a handout for the group, so that all went well.

I also did some other tings, showered, and made lunch (another citrus salad with tuna, which is so delish). Then I went to my talk - happily, 10 or 12 people were there, which was quite a good turnout. I told [censored] later that all the teachers who liked him better in school told me to tell him hi, which was not a lie; two teachers liked [censored] better than me, and they were both there. They clearly liked me well enough to show up, but I know they preferred [censored]...but to each their own, I guess.

sssanyway. My talk went well, and it was fun to do, so I'm glad I got through it. Then I sped home and packed for my Colorado trip. I had hoped to be ready to leave as soon as my talk was done, but that clearly didn't happen. Also, there have been a lot of storms in Denver that were headed across Nebraska, and I was nervous about driving into them. So I purposefully left relatively late (after 6pm) and drove only as far as Lincoln, where I had a hotel where I could park my car in the garage in case of hail. This will make for a long day tomorrow, but it is preferable to driving through a thunderstorm at night.

I drove the whole 3.5 hours without stopping, and I checked into my hotel without incident (the only incident being I had a different hotel in my head and so was v. surprised to see the lobby looking so different from expectations...but this is actually nicer). Then I had a late snack of a salad and some wine at the restaurant, which I enjoyed while writing for the last couple of hours. And now I really desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

the moon is on my side, i have no reason to run

And just like that, it feels like summer, and my room is now too hot instead of too cold. I really appreciate Marvin's foresight in putting the master bedroom over the garage, where it is exposed to the most temperature fluctuations. Clearly he didn't read any medieval romances which explained how to put the lord's main room in the most temperature-friendly part of the castle.

sssanyway, today was good - and I'm happy that it felt like summer, since I am in a 100x better mood when it's sunny and warm. I did some writing this morning, which was fine. I had a chat with a friend, then took care of some tings, and then had lunch (a jarred cobb salad, which is always tasty). Then, I went for a walk, partially to snoop -- [censored] ran an errand and reported back that the city council meeting had changed dates, which was tres interesante because I was planning to go to the city council meeting to bring up an ordinance issue (more on that in a sec).

So, I went for a walk and chatted with the city clerk to verify the timing of the meeting. Then I walked some more, and headed out toward the town cemetery; on the way, I ran into Ross, who was driving back from either his farm or the cemetery, and we chatted in the middle of the road until someone finally (many minutes later) needed to get through. Then I ran into the town mayor, which was illuminating. Then I came home, did some writing, and showered.

I did go to the city council meeting, and I won't go into detail here, other than to say that I expected to live here for more than nine months before going to a council meeting to ask them to enforce their ordinances against livestock in town. It seemed to go fine, although we'll see what actually happens - I'm guessing it's not the end of this story, but who knows!

Then, [censored] and I grabbed Mexican for dinner (we went into the restaurant, and the server brought us cheese dip before she even took our order, so I'd say they know us). And then I came home and did some internet procrastination. And now I need to sleep, since I have early mornings the next few days - goodnight!

hold back the river

I'm sleepy tonight, but I'm also looking forward to taking my first dose of Claritin in a week. I spent the morning doing a variety of minor but necessary tasks, and then I had a v. boring lunch (a turkey sandwich, albeit with pepperjack cheese) since I hadn't cooked anything ahead of time. And then I had an appointment with an allergist - I'm pretty happy that an allergist comes to the local hospital once a month, and that I was able to get in today so that I can figure out what's going on with my allergy situation.

tl;dr: I'm allergic to a lot of things! I already knew this, since I'm not a dummy, and also I did a full skin test back in 2008 and did a couple of years of allergy shots then. They were supremely helpful, but my allergen tolerance is slowly wearing off, and I've been low-grade miserable at various points in the last year.

The doctor gave me a new skin test, which revealed that my reactions aren't quite as bad as before, but are definitely bad enough to treat. And I decided to go ahead and do shots - you have to be available pretty much twice a week for four months or more, and this seems like the easiest time in my life to do them. That's especially true because the hospital is 8min away, and they will administer the shots, so that's about as convenient as allergy shots can be.

Of course, the skin test made my back supremely itchy (even after he sprayed copious amounts of benadryl spray on it and gave me oral benadryl to go), so I spent the rest of the day doing stuff while trying to ignore my back. I prepped the ingredients for cobb salads for the week, and I said goodbye to [censored], and I took my trash out for the week. I also ate leftover Mexican and talked to my parents. And then I procrastinated a bit too much (fashion photos from the Met Gala are always a lure), but I managed to write for 45min or so and so salvaged the night.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

a short stretch at the embassy

I got up this morning and wrote in bed before I did anything else, which was helpful -- less helpful is that writing by hand in bed tends to aggravate my wrist almost immediately, but at least I get something down before picking up my phone or getting distracted by anything else. I did get slightly distracted by the robin that I'm still mildly at war with, but otherwise, it was a good way to start the day.

Then I did some stuff for the mural festival - I wrote an article for one of the local papers, which I think went pretty well. Then I had lunch with [censored], who got some [censored] from next door since I was eating very coastal-bougie avocado toast with fried eggs and [censored] doesn't like avocados or eggs (I hope that's not violating too much of [censored]'s privacy to share).

I spent a bit of time cleaning up, took a shower, and then went with my dad to investigate new phones for him since his current phone is too old to get updates. This took a bit of time, but things are mostly squared away, except for the fact that we had to order the phone and so can't get it until Monday. Also, the sales person took away from our conversation that I'm an unemployed bum and not that I used to work for the company that made the phone we bought, so I did a good job of staying uninteresting and incognito.

Then, my dad and I went down the street to a Ukrainian grocery store that I found solely because I was looking at the map around the phone store. I knew there were a lot of Ukrainians in the county north of us for unknown-to-me reasons, and they used to have a store on the square, but they moved to a new location and it's really nice. There was a lot of stuff that is no relation to standard American cuisine (would you care for some birch sap to cure your liver after too much vodka?). But they had a great salami / kielbasa counter, a wide assortment of tinned fishes, some frozen pelminis (which I would have bought if my stomach could handle gluten), some baked goods, and a bunch of other fun and interesting stuff. I bought some salami, and I'll have to go back and explore the next time I'm in town.

Then, my dad dropped me off at my house, and I was here just long enough to do a couple of tings before [censored] and I drove to meet the parents for dinner. Our usual prime rib spot was packed and also weirdly smoky inside, and I had a ribeye instead of prime rib, but it was quite tasty. Then we came home and watched some tv, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i can see the sands on the horizon every time you are not around

I have had a busy couple of days, and I am not used to being busy, so it's been an adjustment. Yesterday, the conference continued from 8:30 to noon, so I sat through the remaining presentations, which I mostly enjoyed. Then I ran some errands in Des Moines (mostly stocking up on bougie groceries and organic meat) and drove home. I got here in time to unload my car before going into town with [censored] to have dinner at the Mexican restaurant - we usually do takeout, but I had a meeting in town last night, and I didn't want to drive to get takeout and then drive back an hour later.

So, we ate our usual orders at the Mexican place, which is always better in person since it's absurdly hot and tasty as opposed to lukewarm and tasty like the takeout it. Then, [censored] came home and I went to my meeting (secret society, nothing else to divulge).

Today, I had to get up and get around earlier than I wanted to - I had a call with someone at nine, and then I had to go into town to debrief about the conference and then have a meeting about the mural festival. I was home by 1:15, and I ate leftovers before having a call with Heather (aka dear respected madam). Thus feeling entirely overstimulated, I dozed and did some crosswords for a bit.

Then, I made a valiant effort to write - I didn't get many words, but I had a flash of inspiration that my end up solving my current block, so I intend to explore that more tomorrow. Then I made dinner - the usual burrito bowl, which is always tasty. I know at least a couple of you want the recipe and I have not forgotten, but it's not written down anywhere (I have made it up out of a couple of other recipes + trial and error). I do need to write it down so that [censored] can inherit it someday, but it's not happening tonight.

Then, I sat around and chatted with [censored] and procrastinated / relaxed, and now I need to consider going to bed. Goodnight!

pulling against the stream, pulling against the stream

My day started with a Starbucks venti cold brew with cream, which is an unexpected delight in my current life. It also started with putting on a blazer and real pants instead of a tank top and joggers, so this was quite the feat. I made it to the conference in time to pick up my badge and rendezvous with the other two people from my county, so I felt pretty good about my ability to be professional despite being utterly out of practice.

The conference itself was pretty good, I guess. The first speaker was the new head of Extension, who has been in the job exactly six days, so his presentation was a bit fluffy and a good reminder of the value of faking it until you make it, but he seemed nice enough. The next keynote was about food security, and I liked her overall, but I suspect she was somewhat polarizing to the crowd (and her suggestions were things that need to happen at a national legislative level related to the Farm Bill, not things that I can go back to my county and do). And then there were several breakouts of varying utility, along with a lunch where the lieutenant governor spoke (and I liked him quite a bit and wished he were the real governor, since he seems less interested in being a VP pick or highly paid Fox News commentator than our current governor has morphed into).

So overall it was pretty interesting, but I'm oscillating wildly between being eager to get involved and feeling like maybe my talents would be better suited elsewhere. I can get excited about rural issues and feel like there's a long-term investment to be made that will yield results in ten, twenty, thirty years....and then I open twitter and am reminded that Iowa is trying to overturn the previous ban on its no-abortion-after-six-weeks bill. What that *really* means is a woman has two weeks to realize she's pregnant after a missed period if she doesn't want to keep it, since pregnancy weeks start at the date of the last period and not the date of conception. Worse, if she wants the baby but miscarries poorly, she's likely to have a horrific time waiting for the long-dead baby to turn septic and put her life at risk so that the hospital can avoid liability for the D&C rather than providing the woman with the standard medical care for miscarriages that preserves her ability to have children in the future. This is already happening in other states with 'fetal heartbeat' (which is, by the way, not a heartbeat) abortion bans, and it's a tragedy that Iowa is headed down this path.

So, the governor's "we're all for individual patient and parent rights, except we're really not" nonsense makes me immediately think I should move. It feels a little hopeless to be someplace where the government is pushing through things like school vouchers and abortion laws that 65+% of the population disagrees with, and primarying members of their own party who chose to take stands in previous cycles against the most egregious of these laws. And it feels especially hopeless when two of my county's biggest selling points are its hospital and its schools, both of which are likely to be negatively affected in the next decade by what's happening right now.

But that's an issue beyond tonight. After the conference, I was in need of some solo time, so I found a nearby restaurant and holed up with my journal. I ordered some crispy potatoes, and it turned out that was literal, since it was just four whole potatoes cut in half and crispified, which was a little much. Then I had a caesar salad with some salmon, which was a good balanced for the potatoes (which I did not finish). And now I need to sleep so I can wrap up the conference tomorrow - goodnight!

i'll dream each night of some version of you that i might not have, but i did not lose

I'm questioning some of my life decisions because my day started off with a mammogram, moved into dinner with my parents, and ended with watching an episode of 'Wishbone' with [censored], which is really not a combination of things that a 41-year-old should probably do on a Friday. I like to think that I'm hip and cool, but this does not bode well for my aging process.

sssanyway, it was a good day overall. The mammogram was routine, and I was in and out pretty fast thanks to the fact that I didn't have to wait any length of time for any part of the check-in / exam process. Then I drove around the county a bit on a whim before coming home, eating some leftover pad thai, and spending the afternoon being productive. I wrote for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and then I cleaned my office - I still need to dust and vacuum, but it's pretty well organized at this point, and I'm at the point where I can start putting up art and tying together some other loose ends.

Then, I met my parents for dinner - they took me out to the place where we usually get prime rib (although my dad got fried shrimp), and it was pretty tasty. We also discussed the state of AI (artificial intelligence, not artificial insemination, which is the big AI business here since livestock semen is always in demand), among other topics. And then we parted ways, I came home, [censored] arrived shortly thereafter, and somehow went down a 'Wishbone' rabbit hole that I do not understand but also didn't mind following for one episode.

And now, I need to log off immediately if I'm going to be in bed by midnight (and I really should have been in bed at eleven) - goodnight!

the wind outside is frightening, but it's kinder than the lightning life in the city

A thunderstorm swept in right before I started to write this - not entirely unexpected, since it reached almost 90 degrees today and now it's dropping into the 40s, but the timing isn't ideal since I'm trying to convince myself to start going to bed earlier and this certainly doesn't encourage me to sleep.

However, the day was mostly okay - it took a noticeable turn for the better when the sun came out, since I really do not feel very motivated when the skies are gloomy. But I got some stuff done this afternoon, which was a welcome development. I also had my first balcony writing session of the year - since it was almost ninety degrees, I felt like I had to sit outside. Luckily, my balcony is on the north side of the house, so the house blocked most of the wind from the south....but the wind still picked up enough to roll swaths of dust across my yard, and my keyboard felt just the slightest bit dusty by the time I was done writing. The words were slow to come, but I had a potentially excellent idea or two today, so I'll take them.

I boycotted cooking tonight, so [censored] and I had leftover burrito bowls tonight (after carefully rationing them by eating other things for lunch - I had leftover Mexican takeout from Saturday and [censored] had leftover spaghetti sauce). Then we watched a comedy special and some other tings, and then I came upstairs. I finally got my weather radio set up so that it will wake me up if there's a tornado, and I also did some planning for the rest of the week.

And now I need to go to bed if I'm going to start my new "go to bed earlier" goal tonight - goodnight!

this light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors

I've had a v. small town couple of days. Yesterday, I had a meeting about the mural project, which I'm pretty excited about - I think I have signed up for more than I would ideally like to do, but I also think it's pretty amazing that the county is getting 18 new/refurbished murals, so I'm #inittowinit. I also had dinner last night with Allie (my niece) and Chris (my soon-to-be nephew whose name I know with about 50% accuracy, but I like him more than that fact would indicate). We went to the Mexican restaurant in town, which I ate for four meals in the last seven days because I tend to have leftovers, and I'm sure the wait staff was surprised to see me with someone who wasn't [censored].

So, that was fun, and it was a good reminder that I am about to eat at a bunch of places where my alcohol bill alone will be more than my full meal bill here. #funfact I spent ~$50 in restaurants in February, so I would expect that most of my meals in SF/Seattle will exceed my monthly total in Iowa.

sssanyway. Yesterday I also spent some time saying farewell to my parents, although I saw them both today, so I guess yesterday doesn't count. Today, I met with someone about the mural stuff, then ran some errands, came home, ate leftover Mexican, and spent the afternoon packing. [censored] showed up early after taking the afternoon off, and my mom stopped by to get a tour of the plants that I need her to water while I'm gone. So, I packed with some low-grade interruptions, but I think I have most of what I need and can easily rectify anything I'm missing.

The reason [censored] came home early was to see the town play - tonight was the dress rehearsal, but it was open to the public, and since I couldn't go this weekend, we decided to go tonight. Dad went with us, while Mom went to a meeting that I skipped (and I saw someone else in the audience who skipped the meeting, but we agreed not to tell anyone we saw each other). Mom and Dad were in this play when it was first performed 41 years ago, and the town has done it several times since then - this was the fifth iteration. In a nice gesture, they read off the names of other people who have played each role in the previous iterations, which was a bittersweet trip down memory lane since there were a lot of names of people who have passed away (including my granddad).

So, the play was pretty entertaining - the play is an old Western, and they edited some of the gunslinging and replaced the guns with slingshots, but left in the questionable traitorous Native role (played by one of my high school classmates, who was definitely #inittowinit and told me after that I need to be in the play next year), so I'll give them an overall E for effort on the modernization. I'm glad I went, and I hope they keep the tradition alive, so we'll see.

Then, [censored] and I came home, sent Dad on his merry way, and watched a rather hilarious comedy podcast. And now I need to go to sleep - I am supposed to leave tomorrow, but I need to go to the airport early due to forecasted snow, and I still have some tings I need to do before I leave. Goodnight!

good times never seemed so good

Sunday Scaries seemed to come early today, but since time is a meaningless construct and my weekdays and weekends are often flipped around, maybe that's not a surprise. I did get a couple of things done, and I ran an errand to get some pants and a dress hemmed - as per usual here, the person doing it is 82 and will charge basically nothing and also apologized that she won't have it done until early next week, but I had to spend thirty minutes giving her a full rundown of myself / my family + get a download of gossip from her. Since her son and her granddaughter, in a weird twist of family trees and timing, are both my age, there was of course plenty of gossip to be had.

I also had an impromptu writing date with my Bay Area people, which I was invited to because weather rained them out of getting together in person - we actually mostly talked instead of wrote, but it was good to see them. Then, [censored] and I got takeout from the Mexican place in town and ate it at the bar in our kitchen, where the only people to gossip with were each other instead of the tables around us. This was a good thing, since both of us have lots to do this weekend and gossip isn't high on the list.

Then we hung out, and I came upstairs with the intention of reading or doing something else mildly productive, but I failed (although I did try a new retinol product, so at least I did something for my vanity). And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

and now i pull up in my green honda

I had a lovely and relatively productive day today, although I probably should have gone to bed two hours ago. I spent some time this morning taking care of email and getting ready, and then I had a meeting regarding my volunteer project. One of the women there told me that she'd told her husband, after seeing how I was organizing something, that I'm like my grandma on steroids, which she assured me was a compliment. I'm pretty sure she meant my organizational skills (mine are related to spreadsheets; Gram's were related to feeding dozens or hundreds of people), but she may have also meant that I'm a couple of inches taller than Gram. However, my height advantage is not due to any sort of illegal drugs, and is more due to Gram shrinking before her death.

sssanyway, I was flattered, so I'll take it. After the meeting, I came home, ate some leftover fish chowder, did some more work, and ran a few errands. I also made dinner, which took waaaaaay longer than intended - I was trying a new recipe, and while the food tasted amazing in the end, it took more like forty minutes to cook instead of twenty (and this was at the final cooking stage, not including the twenty minutes of prep before that). I'm looking forward to the leftovers and I would probably make it again, but I need to tweak it to figure out if there's any way to speed up the process.

While the dish was simmering, I wrote for 40-some minutes, which I'll take. And I ended the night with some Zelda - I may be overdosed, which is what I need to get out of playing for awhile, so hopefully tomorrow I won't feel the urge. But it was fun to play tonight, so #noregrets.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

slightly bored and severely confused

Today was better than yesterday, but it was probably the rush of adrenaline that comes with knowing that we're about to get inundated with snow and wind. I also had a 9:30am in-person meeting, which is incredibly rare in my new world (and in my old world, where no one went to the office even after we were all supposed to go to the office). I went into town to talk to someone about the volunteer thing I'm getting involved in, and I think I'm now even more involved, which is pretty par for the course when it comes to me getting involved in things.

Then I ran to the grocery store to opportunistically stock up on things, came home, and realized I should have bought eggs, since they were the only thing I actually needed. I made lunch first (mason jar cobb salads, + one for me to eat today), and then ran back to the grocery store for eggs. Then I had a call, changed into my painting clothes, and did some bathroom painting. I only got two walls done, but it's going well, so hopefully I can wrap it up tomorrow.

When I lost interest in painting, I wrote for awhile and knocked out five pages. I also ate a v. late dinner right as [censored] got home - he beat the storm, but the winds are turning. We watched the ISU game and chatted for a bit, and now I am going to go to bed so that I can paint and write and cook again tomorrow. Goodnight!

and all that's left is a version of events favorably framed for the sake of self-defense

I was having a case of the Mondays, but it was hard to stay in that mood when the weather was strangely gorgeous. It will go back to being miserable tomorrow, but today was almost sixty degrees and sunny. I took advantage of it by taking a long walk around town while listening to a couple of podcasts. Because it's mud season, and because the town has let most of the paved roads lapse into gravel, and because there are no longer sidewalks on most blocks, I mostly walked down the streets to avoid the mud on the edges. Luckily, I met very few cars, and only one dog that had decided to claim an entire block as its territory, so it was all good.

Other than my walk, the rest of my day was good too - I did some planning this morning while drinking coffee, and then I ran into town to meet with someone about this volunteer thing that I'm getting involved in. Then I came home, made an omelette, and talked to Caroline. Then, I procrastinated for awhile, took a nap, ate some lunch, and took a walk. I also did some journaling and laundry somewhere in there -- all v. exciting stuff.

Eventually, I went out to my parents' for dinner - since the weather was nice, my dad felt like grilling, and he made v. tasty barbecued chicken. He also bought me flowers for Valentine's Day, which was super sweet. And my mom made baked potatoes, which are almost as good as flowers in my book. So we chatted for awhile, and then I gave my dad a ride into town to pick up a car, and then I came home and folded laundry.

And, for the record, I forced myself to write for an hour tonight since I wasn't able to this morning - it felt like garbage, but I think I got some ideas for where this scene is headed, so I'll take it. And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

would you miss me in the end if i run out of oxygen

I had an excellent first official post construction day, which felt amazing. It started off amazingly mostly because I was able to laze in bed until almost nine - I was awake by eight, but I had no desire to get out of bed, and I had no reason to because Randy wasn't here to start work and [censored] wasn't here to judge me.

Eventually, though, I did get out of bed - I made myself some coffee, foam rolled to get the kinks out of my shoulders, and then wrote for a solid hour. I got almost four pages, which was great - and they were four good pages, in that they revealed some story that I wasn't expecting.

If that was all I did today, I would have been delighted. However, I did have to stop writing so that I could take a shower, eat some lunch (a v. uninteresting but nostalgic Amy's enchilada, which was the frozen meal of choice when I lived with Adit a lifetime ago), and then run into town for a meeting related to a volunteer group I'm participating in. That meeting ended in thirty minutes, which was good news for me.

So, I washed my car (it was above freezing today! yay!) and then, on a whim, drove to Indianola to look at paint chips. I know, I literally just finished construction. But [censored] and I are going to repaint the bathroom, and I still need to paint the dining room, and I think I want to use Benjamin Moore instead of the paint I get locally (don't tell the local guys). So I got paint chips, and then I checked out a bookstore that I hadn't been to before - it was small, but I was pretty impressed with their fantasy/scifi section, so I picked up a couple of books on a whim.

Then I got gas for my Audi, which takes fancy fuel that I can't get near my house, and picked up groceries before driving home. When I got here, I messed around a bit before making dinner - a spicy miso carbonara pasta that I absolutely adored. I can't make it when [censored] is here because [censored], like the FDA, doesn't like undercooked eggs (and I'm guessing [censored]'s jury is also out on the amount of chili paste I put in it). But I loved it and have leftovers for the next couple of days, so that's a win.

After eating, I procrastinated a bit with Twitter, reread what I wrote today, and then finished a book I started reading last week - SATURNALIA, about an occult/alchemical secret society in Philadelphia in a near future when the climate is wrecked. It was pretty good, and I liked the writing, but I didn't love the ending (but that could just be me). Still, it was a much better use of my time than reading twitter, so I'm glad I finished it.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

i'd dress them wicked, i'd give them names

The flooring is all installed and I'm v. v. pleased with it (and also pleased that it's done). The installer will have to come back at some point to put in a trim piece that hadn't arrived at the store yet, but the kitchen, pantry, dining room, and bathroom are all done. And they all look great - I'm glad that it all looks good, because I was worried it would go horribly awry at the last minute if it turned out that I'd made the wrong choice based on the flooring samples.

Installation would have actually been done sooner, but I ended up feeding the installer (and [censored]) lunch, which added some long-winded (pun intended) tornado discussions to the mix. Still, we were done by 1:30 or so, and my house is almost done. Of course, Randy has to come back next week to finish the trim, and then there are myriad other projects that [censored] and I (and my dad, in some cases) have discussed - doors, patio / privacy fence, gazebo refresh, trees, install window treatments, basement storage overhaul, garage redesign, garage door openers, a possible remodel of my bathroom, finish redoing the prison bathroom in the basement, etc., etc., etc.

However, all of that is going to wait for awhile - I am really deeply eager to get into writing the book more steadily, and I also want to do some travel, so I need a break from house projects. Still, I'm glad that we did the kitchen / bath, since the space is so much more functional that it will make living here even better.

sssanyway, I took care of a variety of tings this morning and afternoon, and then my houseguests arrived - Aunt B and Uncle B came in from Colorado for "Christmas", and Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby are arriving tomorrow. Luckily, the flooring is done, but unluckily, there still isn't a toilet on the main floor of the house. However, so far so good. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town, and it was delicious - and the staff was excited to see my dad, since he rarely goes in anymore and usually [censored] and I just pick up takeout. Then, my parents went home and the rest of us came to my house, where Aunt B and Uncle B got the tour of the latest house developments, and then we talked until relatively late. And now, I really should sleep so that I can make a million food items tomorrow - goodnight!

please book me first-class to my fancy house in london town

The house remodel is tantalizing close to being finished - the flooring guy came today, and he finished the bathroom / linen closet / kitchen despite being by himself and despite gossiping with me for a good hour of his work day. All that's left for him is the pantry, dining room, and clean-up, so it's quite likely he'll get done tomorrow. That still leaves a bunch of trim/finish work for Randy, and some further plumbing adventures for [censored] (who likes to do that kind of stuff), but the end is near.

Beyond that, I have v. little to report. I did some minor tasks throughout the day based on my ability to focus, but I continue to find it hard to write when there's someone in my house and I can't put on my noise canceling headphones to ignore them. I also ate a v. late lunch of avocado toast - the flooring guy doesn't take a consistent noon break the way Randy does, and I was starving but didn't want to cook anything real while the flooring guy was working. So I made avocado toast, and I'm sure I was judged for it, but it was v. tasty.

After the flooring guy left, I did a bunch of tidying up, did some laundry, and ate some leftover coconut chicken curry. I also talked to Katie for an hour and a half, which was v. needed - we are the only ones who understand each others' experience with 1980s Iowa + living in big cities, so I miss being able to discuss that over margs at Bar Taco instead of over the phone.

Eventually, [censored] showed up, and even later, I decided I should sleep. I still haven't gotten around to crawling into bed, but perhaps it will happen soon. Goodnight!

so i woke up with a curse, i was searching i was looking through the purse

I had a strangely busy day, which was probably good because it was incredibly gloomy out, and I could feel the freezing rain start to drag on my mood. Rather than sitting at my desk or kitchen counter, I spent most of the day curled up on my chaise in my bedroom - good for my coziness, bad for my spine.

I spent some time in the morning reading the lecture for my writing class and thinking about the main takeaways. Then I had a long chat with a college friend, which was really lovely. After that, I swung my kettlebells for a bit, took a shower, and had a late, ravenously-consumed burrito bowl for lunch. And I chatted with Katie, who is always a delight.

I spent the afternoon taking care of some tings and talking to Randy, and then I had another long chat - this time with Barbara, whom I hadn't seen in ages, and who has now abandoned Colorado just like I have (although she moved to a small town on the Oregon coast, which is far more picturesque than here, although maybe my view of the gas station and the rodeo arena is just as impressive as her view of the Pacific Ocean). It was great to catch up and talk about writing and life, and hopefully we'll chat more now that I've (mostly) recovered from my extreme Zoom aversion.

After that, I procrastinated a bit, did some laundry, and ate leftover salmon for dinner. Then I wrote a handful of notes to myself about my book, folded my laundry, and spent the rest of the evening reading the first section of THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA. It won the Booker Prize last year, and it's a magical realism novel set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's civil war - so far it's interesting, and the premise/voice are compelling. But I need to stop reading it and go to bed immediately if I'm going to wake up in time for construction to begin tomorrow - goodnight!

criss-cross in the wrong direction

I did a lot of thinking today - which doesn't mean that I actually wrote fresh manuscript words, but there are some days where thinking is more important than anything. I also continued to navigate my remodel (I had no decisions to make today, which was a relief), and I had a v. boring but tasty sandwich for lunch. I also had a long catch-up with Heather (aka dear respected madam), whom I hadn't talked to in ages - she was as great as ever, so I'm glad that my post-day-job aversion to Zoom is slowly healing because I really do want to be able to connect with people again.

After I talked to Heather, I quickly reheated some chicken and composed a beet salad for dinner. Then, I went to a meeting of my secret society - I'm the second youngest person there, but I've been a member longer than several of them, which is an interesting situation. I guess in this case I'm what the tiktok kids would call a 'nepo baby', since my mom and aunt and grandma and great-grandma were all in the group, which is why I was initiated at eighteen instead of waiting until a more respectable age. All that aside, I had fun at the meeting and got some jello for dessert, so I'll take it.

Then I came home, did some more thinking/journaling, and wrote a couple of emails (v. unusually for me, don't get excited). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!