maybe if you just got some guts we'd kill 'em with a thousand cuts

I did not get enough done today - I did if I stay home all day tomorrow, but I think there's a chance I will go to Des Moines tomorrow night so that I can catch my flight on Thursday without dealing with fog/ice, and that compresses my usual packing timeline. I also theoretically have some meetings/appointments tomorrow, although some of that may have to shift if I'm going to leave in the early evening.

Other than too-low productivity, my day was good - I did a bunch of laundry and a bunch of house stuff, figured out outfits to pack, ran some local errands, etc. And I had my parents over for dinner - we had a v. odd dinner, since I made the shrimp alfredo that my dad likes, but then I made Ukrainian cheese pancakes for 'dessert'. Both dishes turned out v. well, if I do say so myself, but they aren't usually served as part of the same meal (or in the same country). And it was good to see them before my trip - making dinner was worth not having to get my car dirty by trying to get to their house, which might have been difficult anyway given the extreme amounts of snow/mud between here and there.

After they left, I did more packing, figured out my toiletries, etc. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

you know my river won't evaporate

I was fairly productive today, all in all - there's always more to do, but I was somewhat diligent about crossing things off the list. I worked all morning, had lunch with [censored], and then went into town to review some financial stuff for a nonprofit board that I'm on. Then I came home, did a variety of additional tings, etc.

Eventually, [censored] left, and I spent the evening doing a bit of laundry, eating some leftover prime rib (tasty), doing a bit more work, and scrolling the internet. And now, I should sleep - goodnight!

i know a woman in new mexico

I actually wrote a post last night, but I was typing it on my phone while I was falling asleep (and kept dropping my phone on my face), and I somehow didn't publish it. So, it's below for posterity!

Today was v. lowkey - I'm very tired of it being too cold / messy to do stuff, and it's getting to my mood. But I started off strong - I slept in, and then I made syrniki (Ukrainian cheese pancakes) with the farmer's cheese that I created this week. I used gluten free flour and they turned out great - since they aren't a dough that needs to rise, the gluten free flour worked just fine. And so far there is no sign that the homemade farmer's cheese is going to poison us, so fingers crossed that that trend continues.

The syrniki turned out v. tasty, if I do say so myself - even better with a dollop of sour cream and some blackberry preserves on top. It's interesting to me how Slavic cuisine really leaned into 'sour' as an important flavor, because sour cream goes with everything they make. You can't really taste the cheese in the pancakes, per se, even though it's the main ingredient; instead, it just imparts a savory / slightly sour flavor. All in all, I'm a fan, and [censored] ate several too.

Drewbaby and his friend came back from hunting while I was making the syrniki (they were out at my parents' house in the wee hours to hunt, although they spent last night at my house). They each had one, and then left in search of real food before heading back to Des Moines. Then, I took care of a variety of tings around the house, none of which is interesting.

Eventually, after getting through the day, I made burrito bowls for dinner, which [censored] and I ate while watching last night's SNL. And now, I need to start unwinding so I can go to bed and get a million things done tomorrow - goodnight!

// last night's post:

The last couple of days have been nice, albeit v cold. I went to Des Moines yesterday, which was probably ill advised due to the cold and snow conditions - but I had an appointment to inject botox into my jaw to stop it from clenching, and I didn’t want to forsake it just because of a little weather.

The rest of the day was quick - I didn’t feel like venturing to Whole Foods or Costco, but I grabbed lunch, took care of a return, and came home. [censored] and I then went to mom and dad's for supper - mom made a prime rib, which was a delight.

Today was low key by comparison - i did a bunch of house stuff, ate some leftover tofu, and eventually convinced Michael to drive me into town to pick up Mexican food. It was super tasty, and segued almost straight into Drewbaby bringing a friend to spend the night so they can go hunting tomorrow. And now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

kill the headlights and put it in neutral

I had a pretty decent day, but I'm a little unhappy that we're back to cold / wind / generally abysmal conditions. The day didn't start like that - it was sunny when I woke up, but I missed a lot of it because I slept until nine. I took care of a variety of tings in the morning, trimmed my bangs, took a shower, ate some leftover tofu (truly excellent), and then went into town to get allergy shots.

The allergy shots were fine(ish) - some reaction, but it's dying down. When I came home, the roads were totally fine - and then I got a call from the hospital saying that someone had canceled their mammogram due to weather, and they asked me if I could come in for that slot (in less than an hour). Since I had called earlier in the day to schedule one and they said it might take a couple of months since they were short on techs, I decided to take them up on it. But in the hour that I was home, my windshield iced over, and it started snowing, and the roads started drifting, and I skidded at the corner of the road that leads from the highway to the hospital. And the roads were even worse when I left, so I was glad that I was in and out in twenty-five minutes.

So I came home, did some tings, and took down almost all of my Christmas decorations (except the tree itself, but the ornaments are now all in the basement). I also continued my farmer's cheese experiment, and we'll see how it turns out. I ate leftover pulled pork with a baked potato, sent some emails, and greeted [censored] when he arrived after a harrowing journey home. And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

she's a ten, i'm a four leaf clover

I had a pretty uneventful day, which makes sense since it's still freezing outside and I had the house to myself. I spent the morning writing, which was mostly a delight. I made breakfast tacos, if you can call them breakfast tacos at 1:30pm - scrambled eggs, pulled pork, pickled red onions, sour cream, and salsa, which were delish. Then I messed around with my farmer's cheese experiment, journaled, etc.

Eventually, I made dinner - a new tofu stir fry recipe that turned out perfectly. And then I retired to my room and read all of THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE in one fell swoop. It's the sequel to the mystery I read last week, and it was a total delight.

But now, I need to go to bed (or drink some water and stretch after not moving for 4+ hours) - goodnight!

and i'm great at doing stuff

I have nothing to report today - I made it out of bed early and went to town for an 8:30am meeting, which was more than enough effort for the day. It was still below zero, but the roads weren't too terrible (although seeing around massive piles of snow at corners was a bit of a trick). My meeting was fine, and I grabbed a couple of things at the grocery store after - I'd say their resupply trucks have been spotty, but I'm not at any risk of starving.

Then I came home, did some tings, ate some leftover cobb salad for lunch, chatted with [censored], etc. I also embarked on an experiment to make farmer's cheese - we'll see how it looks in a few days. And I spent the evening taking care of more tings, eating leftover pulled pork, etc.

And now, I think I'm going to get off my computer and unwind before bed - goodnight!

anywhere else i'd be a ten

I am tired of the absurdly cold temperatures - it's giving too many flashbacks to being stuck in my house during the pandemic. And since I can't sell this house and move to my third home, because the third home doesn't exist, I would like to get back to slightly more normal temperatures sooner rather than later.

I was not feeling in it to win it today - I did some journaling, and I read a book, and I made some notes on my manuscript, but otherwise I was pretty lazy. And all of my meals consisted of leftovers (tasty leftovers: cobb salad for lunch, pulled pork for dinner), so I didn't even have to get my act together long enough to cook something.

But tomorrow is a new (cold) day, and I should go to bed so that I can seize it. And finally, happy birthday to Drewbaby! Goodnight!

i want to take you for granted

It continues to be ridiculously cold here - so cold that [censored] couldn't get [censored] to start, and so the truck is sitting in my driveway despite having its engine block heater plugged in for several hours. The cold is ridiculous, but we're getting more of the same tomorrow.

Despite the ongoing snow days, I woke up earlier than usual just so that I could put a pork shoulder in the oven to roast all day. Putting it in at eight meant taking it out around five, and then I let it rest before shredding it. It turned out deliciously, if I do say so myself, and it was extremely hands off (until the shredding process at the end, which is extremely hands on - but the new bear claws I got for Christmas helped).

While the pork cooked all day, I wrote in the morning and then cleaned upstairs all afternoon. And then, when eating dinner, [censored] and I watched Barbie, which I liked a lot. I think it was a little too hyped over the last few months for me to watch it without expectations, but it was fun, so I'm glad I finally got to see it.

Then I came upstairs and finished reading THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, which was fantastic. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes

It is shockingly cold in ye olde Iowa. I realize that it is shockingly cold in much of the US, but we're going to be below zero for days, which feels like an unwelcome start to the year. It's especially unwelcome given how much snow is sitting around unmelted, but hopefully we'll survive.

I was somewhat productive today, but it was mostly in the kitchen. When I got up, I made all the ingredients for cobb salads - which meant cooking bacon, poaching chicken, chopping up tomatoes/onions/lettuce, etc. While the chicken was resting, I took a quick shower, and then [censored] and I had salad for lunch (which was a welcome respite after several days of cooking heavier tings). Then I put together four more salads in mason jars for the next couple of days.

At that point, I retreated to my office with plans to get tings done. And I did do a little bit...but then [censored] needed a ride, which was an adventure bc the roads are quite bad even in town (and impossible in the country). [Censored] needed a ride because his attempt to go to my dad's shop was met with impassible snow at every entrance to the shop, so I had to drop [censored] off and hope that he could wade to the shop through all the snow. It turns out wading was possible...but the snow was so deep around the doors that he couldn't get in to move things around sufficiently so that he could pull out the necessary equipment to dig out the driveway. So I went back to retrieve [censored], and he took a v. cold ride to the shop on a cabless tractor.

I will say, the snow was quite pretty, especially since the sun was out - but it was also -1 at 3pm, which was not great. After my excursion, I did a couple of tings and then had a long chat with the friendship renewal crew (Joann, Jane, and Jen) - we talked for almost two hours, which was much needed. Then I made fresh roasted broccoli to go with leftover salmon (the rice was also fresh, thanks to me discovering the timer setting on my rice cooker so that the rice cooked while I was on my call). [Censored] and I ate while watching some basketball, but the Iowa State game was a blowout (in our favor), so I cleaned up the kitchen, prepped a pork shoulder to roast tomorrow, and retreated upstairs.

Now, after journaling and doing a variety of other office-related tings, it's time for bed - goodnight!

it's been a long december

I'm not sure what day it is anymore - it has felt like a weekend all week, and I think the actual weekend will start going a little feral. Yesterday was a mad dash to do everything before last night's insane weather started - I made three trips to town yesterday, which is three more than I usually make. But I got groceries before the store was out of milk, then went to a board meeting, and then went back for a third time to get allergy shots. I also got gas in my car, dropped off some stuff at the post office, dropped off some donations at Redeemed, and generally got ready to hunker down.

Yesterday's freedom feels like a distant memory now - we got a whole bunch of snow last night and today, and winds of 30-40mph today have made travel impossible. [Censored] did a lot of driveway clearing with the tractor, but I suspect that it will look untouched by morning. But we got the tractor into the garage and put my car out into the tender mercies of the elements - in the grand scheme of the upcoming weather, a tractor is way more useful than an Audi, so it got priority over my stupid German car.

Beyond that, I had a pretty good day - I didn't get enough done, but it felt like a snow day, so I'm being lenient. I did have a chat with my old editor and she gave me some suggestions / market insights, which was great. And I made salmon teriyaki for dinner, which was a nice change from leftover beef stew and burrito bowls.

I wrapped up the night by watching some Family Guy with [censored], and then I read the first half of THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, which my editor recommended and which is hilarious. And now I need to sleep before I let myself stay up way too late to finish it - goodnight!

i don't wanna wait to do this one more time

I was taken completely and utterly by surprise tonight when [censored] casually mentioned that we're supposed to get another 8+" of snow tomorrow night and Friday. The weather forecast has drastically degraded - I already knew that it won't get above zero for a few days, but another 8" of snow is a kick in the teeth.

However, when I didn't know that, I managed to have a great day. It was sunny for most of the morning / early afternoon, and I managed to get a bunch of stuff done. I also had the last of the leftover pasta for lunch, which was delish. I had a couple of meetings with various people, did some house stuff, and then went into town for a library board meeting. The roads weren't bad at all on the way there (mostly because I live on a paved road and the paved roads are in decent shape; any gravel roads are probably dicey). And the meeting was good, so I'm glad we still had it. But when I left the meeting an hour later, it was snowing again, and it had already obscured the center line markers on the way home.

When I got home, I talked to [censored] while making dinner (the usual burrito bowls, which were as good as always). We also watched a bit of tv while digesting, which was fun. And now I need to go to bed so I can get up tomorrow and run a variety of errands and tings before the snow and cold really kick in - goodnight!

look at the night and it don't seem so lonely

We have thus far survived the epic snowstorm -- we got a little less snow than expected, but still more snow than anyone would probably want. It doesn't help that it's unlikely to melt off, and that we will probably get some more later this week...before the temperatures sink below zero and stay there for a couple of days. 2024 is off to a cold start!

But today was lovely, all in all. I slept later than planned, but I did get a couple of really good hours of writing in over the course of the day. I also dealt with a bunch of emails that I had been neglecting - never enough, but better than nothing. [Censored] and I had leftover cajun andouille/shrimp pasta for the third day, and I am astonished that this is the first pasta dish ever that keeps getting better with age. I also talked to Katie for awhile, and she was an utter delight.

At some point, I vacated my desk and peeled potatoes so that we could have a fresh batch of mashed potatoes, and I resimmered last night's beef stew (which also gets better with age). We ate it while watching the ISU vs Houston men's basketball game, and it was a doozy - very fun to watch, and more fun because the Cyclones won. Welcome to the Big 12, Houston, I hope you hate it here.

After that, I cleaned up the kitchen, did a bit more work and a bit more writing, etc. But now I think I'm going to crawl into bed and either go to sleep (good idea) or read a book (good idea that is destined to keep me up until two a.m., which is a bad idea). Goodnight!

i was born to rock the boat, some may sink but we will float

I spent this morning preparing for snow - which meant getting up earlier than usual so that I could finish cleaning out my garage, which enabled me to get my car into my parking spot. I don't usually park in the garage because it's v. tight (even empty), but the threat of 6-12" of snow made me reconsider.

After I moved all my stuff and helped [censored] with a couple of tings, I walked down to the post office / city hall / lumber yard to take care of some last bits of mail / bills. Then I showered rather rapidly so that I could talk to my friend / former coworker Natalie about writing stuff, which was a delight.

At that point, it was time for lunch - [censored] and I both had leftover shrimp and andouille pasta, which was strangely even better than it was last night (odd for a pasta dish, but the gluten free pasta soaks up all liquid, and so it became quite flavorful and the sauce was less soupy). After that, it started snowing, and I gave myself a manicure while listening to a Conan podcast.

Eventually, I started cooking again - I kicked off cooking festivities earlier than usual, which was a good thing because the new-to-me recipe was wrong about cooking times, and so starting at four still meant that we didn't eat until almost 7:30pm. But I made a beef stew that was somewhat of a cross between boeuf bourguignon and more midwesternish stews, using a New York Times Cooking recipe that I modified (and also doubled). I usually don't modify on the first round, but I'm glad I did - I seasoned the beef with onion powder, garlic powder, and salt before searing, which I think made a world of difference. I also used almost twice as much beef as it called for, with no regrets. I might make a couple of other minor tweaks, but overall it was excellent (good thing, since I made a vat of it).

What really made it, though, was that I made mashed potatoes to serve under the stew. Some might think that potatoes two ways is unnecessary, but I consider it v. necessary. So [censored] and I enjoyed a nice hearty beef and potato feast while watching Mike Birbiglia's latest standup special on Netflix, among other tings.

And now, I need to go to bed - I didn't get any writing done today despite my best intentions, so I'm going to rectify that tomorrow. Goodnight!

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

A winter storm is bearing down on us, and while I didn't do all that much to prepare for it today, I could feel it looming. I did go to the grocery store twice -- once to get the actual things on my list, and then again when I found some andouille sausage in the fridge and decided to make a cajun andouille and shrimp pasta for dinner. The ridiculous part of that decision was that the sausage was three weeks past the date, and so I bought fresh andouille at the grocery store (along with the other tings I needed), none of which was necessary because I had planned to make something else tonight anyway.

But I get a lot of joy out of trying new recipes, so I'm glad I put in the effort. I made the recipe mostly as written, although I doubled the quantities of everything except the pasta - I used gluten free fettuccine, and that stuff soaks up any liquid that it encounters. I think if I made it again, I would dice the peppers and onions instead of slicing them - and perhaps serve it over rice instead of pasta, but that's all tbd. All that said, it was a worthy first effort, and I think I'll keep it as part of the extended repertoire.

Other than that, I have nothing much to report - I did ride my Peloton for the first time in ages, which felt great. I also did some writing tonight and figured out a scene that was blocking me, so hopefully I can get into it tomorrow. And now, I need to go to bed - there's some stuff I want to get done before the snow arrives tomorrow, so I have some incentive to wake up in the morning. Goodnight!

in the morning there'll be hell to pay somewhere along the line

Today was v. similar, in many respects, to yesterday - it was dreary outside, and I got more done than I expected to despite the weather. I also had the same breakfast (coffee) and the same lunch (chicken taco meat + brown rice + avocado), so there is almost nothing to distinguish today from yesterday.

However, the evening was different - [censored] and I went out to Mom and Dad's, where we finished watching the Iowa State/Oklahoma basketball game. Mom made beef and noodles with mashed potatoes -she tried using a gluten free fettuccine that I like, and they turned out perfectly. Pasta can't completely replace her old homemade egg noodles, but it got pretty close, and I was v. happy to eat them.

After we cleaned up, we tried a game of Ticket to Ride: San Francisco, which [censored] had gotten me for Christmas. It was pretty similar to regular Ticket to Ride, but the map is a lot smaller, and the verdict was that the neighbordhoods/locations were hard to read in the hippie-ish font that the game used. But it was fun to try something different, even if [censored] did win.

And now, I need to go to bed (at some point in the next two hours) - goodnight!

the way is long but you can make it easy on me

I had about as good of a day as I could have when the weather felt bleak - it's well-documented that I don't do as well when the skies are grey, which does not bode well for January. But I got up this morning (at a more civilized hour than the last two days), made some coffee, showered, and then wrote for about three hours. This made me feel v. satisfied with myself, even if I was starving by the end of it.

Luckily, while I was writing I also made some fresh brown rice in my rice cooker, so lunch was fresh rice + leftover chicken taco meat + avocado and sour cream, and it was delicious. [censored] had gone on an expedition this morning before I woke up, but returned just before I ate lunch, so we discussed what [censored] had done (yes, I'm censoring as per usual, but you're not missing much).

Then I ran some errands of my own, came home, messed around and took care of a couple of tasks, and then headed east. I went to Nancy and Dan's house for a glass of wine before driving them to dinner - Nancy and I spent a lot of time together during the mural festival but hadn't seen each other in awhile, and so we got together tonight. We ended up going to Honey Creek, which is a resort on Lake Rathbun - it's v. unusual for around here, and it's struggled in the past, but it's under new ownership (who Nancy and Dan are friends with) and I was pretty impressed with what they've done so far. I thought the food was average, but they're between chefs and it sounds like they're getting someone good, so hopefully that improves. But the rest of the property was quite nice, so I would go back and check it out in a few months.

When we were done, I dropped them off at home and got myself to my house before it started snowing - which is a good thing, because we've gotten more in the last hour than I thought we would. And now I need to go to sleep - goodnight!

and my stomach is sick and it's all in my head

I had a pretty decent day today, even if I did wake up at 6:40 for the second day in a row. This time, I didn't get to watch my favorite Dutch theatre troupe - instead, I went to an informal monthly coffee thing for local community people who are working on various community tings. I did not partake of their coffee (I'm still a Philz snob) or their donuts (I'm still a gluten snob), but it was a good conversation and I was glad that I dragged myself to it.

Then I came home, took a v. brief, v. unusual 9:30am nap, and got on with my day. I did some house stuff, mailed some return packages, ate some lunch, and then went back into town for a meeting of the mural committee. We're still going because we need to promote this mural trail to get any benefit out of it, so we had a meeting to discuss some upcoming plans. Then I came home again, did more house stuff (mostly laundry), messed around online, wrote a bit, snacked, wrote some more, etc.

At some point, [censored] got home, which was a good reminder that I had never eaten dinner. So I ate a bunch of cheese and salami while he reacclimated himself to the house, and then we discussed [censored] for awhile. And now I should probably sleep - goodnight!

mijn koninkrijk voor een paard

I had a v. unusual morning - I woke up at 6:30am so that I could catch a livestream performance of my favorite Dutch theatre troupe. I know, most people in the US don't have favorite Dutch theatre troupes. But the group that did ROMAN TRAGEDIES qualifies as my favorite. I saw them for the first time in London in 2017 -- that show was six hours and was an amalgamation of three of Shakespeare's Roman tragedies (Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra), but the audience could mingle on stage with the performers and it was an incredible event. I saw that show again via livestream in the height of the pandemic + my dad's hospitalization in 2021, on a day when it was bitterly cold, and I lured [censored] into watching most of it with me.

Today's show was KINGS OF WAR, which had a similar vibe - it combined some of Shakespeare's English tragedies that covered the reigns of Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III, and (spoiler) the accession of Henry VII. They managed to do it in 4.5 hours (including a 20min intermission), and it was a bit trippy. Like ROMAN TRAGEDIES, the actors wore modern (well, 1960s vibe) suits and the set was decorated accordingly. But, interestingly, a lot of the action took place "backstage" - in a series of stark white corridors that wound around the main set, viewable to the audience via camera crews and hidden cameras that followed the actors through the hallways. This doesn't make sense as I explain it, but it meant they could do some interesting things with settings....the leadup to the Battle of Agincourt felt like a French rave (raucous partying, French techno, fog machines obscuring the dauphin and the French troops, who were overly confident and then lost horribly), and there was one scene with live sheep and another with a surprise baby being crowned (which may, I'm guessing, have been filmed in advance to avoid unexpected crying).

sssanyway, the play was quite good and I'm glad I watched it, but it screwed up my day a bit because I was both tired when it ended and also wired from way too much coffee and not enough food. So I slowly recovered, did a few things, ate a twice baked potato, made some eggs a little later, etc. I also talked to Veronica, which was a delight. And I made some chicken tacos in my slow cooker - it was as easy as possible, since I just dumped chicken breasts, a couple of cups of salsa, and a bunch of spices in and cooked it for four hours. I also made brown rice to go with it, and the resulting bowl was delicious.

And now, I need to go to bed and hope that I stop thinking of random Dutch words overnight -- the play was subtitled, but I heard a lot of broeder, koning, bloed, zwart, etc. and I need to get them out of my head. Goodnight!

high on the hog

Happy New Year! I'm v. excited for 2024, mostly because my handwritten scrawl produces odd-looking threes and it has bothered me in my journal all year.

I woke up this morning after not quite enough sleep, but I felt better than I deserved after drinking a whole bottle of wine (over the course of six hours) and eating two funfetti cupcakes (over the course of five minutes). I made coffee, cleaned some of the dishes in my kitchen, showered, and then went out to my parents' house with a few bags of food and a lot of twice-baked potatoes. Drewbaby, Sammie, and Aunt Kathy came down for lunch, and we had a v. lowkey but tasty meal - we ate the second batch of ham balls that I made at Christmas, as well as twice-baked potatoes, baked beans, and a salad. It wasn't an extravagant feast, but it was extremely delicious, and it was also much easier than most of our feasts, so I'll take it.

Then, everyone but my dad played a few rounds of CAMEL UP - it continues to be a crowd-pleaser, and also is so strategic-but-unpredictable that the wins were spread pretty evenly (I think it was Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and me for the wins today). The Des Moines area crew left around four to get home and prepare for work tomorrow (or, in Aunt Kathy's case, prepare to continue to enjoy retirement), and I talked to my parents for a bit before coming home and chilling out.

This mostly meant hanging out at my desk, which I have greatly missed the last few days after too many shenanigans. But I did make a plate of fancy cheese and charcuterie (which I had bought for this afternoon but didn't get out in the midst of game playing), which made for a tasty dinner. I also talked to [censored] for a bit before retreating to my office again and messing around with my new 2024 planner. And now, I need to sleep - I'm hoping I can get a little caught up tonight and still get up early enough tomorrow to be somewhat productive. Goodnight!

talking bout sun darts

It was gloomy today and I wasn't in the mood, but that's small town life during mud season. I slept very late, and then I made coffee and had a long impromptu convo with Jess, which was a complete delight. I wish people still called each other the way we used to when it was long distance and actually required monetary investment instead of advanced planning, because it's actually great.

Then, I put some potatoes in the oven, did a bunch of house stuff, ate a latte lunch, cooked some bacon, and made some twice baked potatoes for tomorrow's festivities. I kept doing house stuff until I could bear it no longer, and finally showered around five pm. And then I made a double batch of spaghetti sauce - a single batch would have sufficed, but now there's sauce in the freezer for a rainy (muddy) day.

[Censored] and I watched the latest Chappelle special while we ate spaghetti, which had some gratuitously offensive parts and some hilariously introspective parts, as his specials usually do. Then we finished the final season of Letterkenny, which was v bittersweet. It ended just as midnight hit, and we rang in the new year with thawed funfetti cupcakes that I'd kept in the freezer. And now, I really need to go to bed - goodnight!

i talk to streetlights down on every corner but they don't know where i have to go

I should have gone to bed an hour or two ago, but when has that ever not been the case? Today was lovely, though, despite my insufficient sleep. I woke up, made some coffee, and wrote for a couple of hours, which is always a good way to start the day. Then I devoured some leftover burrito bowl, took a shower, tidied up a bit, and gave [censored] a ride to [censored]. And then I went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of tings for New Year's Day, since I have no desire to go to the grocery store tomorrow and much need to make some food.

After I got home and put away my groceries, I had approximately five minutes to gather myself before heading out to the parents' house to play games. We played a few rounds of CAMEL UP, the game that [censored] got me for Christmas, and it remained quite fun - and despite feeling like we're getting better at the strategy of the game, all four of us each won a round, so clearly we haven't settled into some sort of strategic stasis where one person usually wins. This delights me, since all the train-based games are [censored]'s domain, and I like that the camels have thwarted his usual dominance, even if it's temporary.

Then, [censored] and I went into town to pick up Mexican take-out since our beloved restaurant has reopened, and we took it back to Mom and Dad's so that they could benefit as well. It was quite tasty, although I kinda wish I had never had Mexican food at the place we went to in Moberly last week because now nothing can compare to it. And then I came home, hung out in the living room for awhile, came upstairs, painted my nails, sent some semi-urgent emails (but probably not to you), and now need to contemplate bed. Goodnight!

you beat my heart from miles away

I woke up this morning feeling far better than I expected or deserved to - while I didn't get enough sleep last night, I certainly paced myself better than I have in the past with Katie, and so I got ready quite easily. Katie grabbed coffee for us while I was in the shower, and then we packed up and grabbed breakfast in the (very lovely) cafe next to the hotel lobby. And then I drove her to her in-laws' house so that she could reunite with her family, and I said my sad farewells in their driveway.

After I left her, I went to West Des Moines, where I grabbed some stuff for my house at Menards. Then I holed up at a Starbucks for a couple of hours and wrote, which felt great - I really miss writing in coffee shops, so it was a pleasant interlude. Then I grabbed groceries at Whole Foods (and ate some takeout sushi), grabbed a couple of tings at Target, and came home. When I got here, I took a brief nap almost as soon as I had finished unloading my car, and it was enough to fuel me so that I could make dinner (burrito bowls, as per usual).

Then, [censored] and I watched a couple of hours of comedy stuff - mostly a new Trevor Noah special, as well as some shorter videos from various sources (including old clips of the Smothers Brothers). And then I came upstairs with plans to go to sleep, but instead I wrote for the last couple of hours. I kind of want to keep going, but I think sleep is more important, so I'm going to give it a shot. Goodnight!

baby, i'm faded, all I want to do is take you downtown

I am, v unusually, in downtown Des Moines. Katie, a true member of the race of Joseph, is in town for one night only, and I kidnapped her from her in-laws to force her into a night of fancy frivolity.

I did do some non-frivolous things this morning, but I made it up here to pick her up around 3:30. We promptly checked into the Hotel Fort Des Moines - this plan came together 48hrs ago and we got an amazing deal on one of the most iconic hotels in the city, so I snapped it up. We had dinner at Malo, which is a Mexican place that my family went to after seeing Hamilton back in 2018 (so, a little bittersweet since that was one of my last excursions with Uncle Mark, although I didn't know it at the time). Then, after a sedate two margaritas, we were back in our room by 7:30, and we gossiped in bed (and discussed various questionable solutions to the problems of the day) until ten....

... But then we rallied and went down to the hotel restaurant and had a drink and chatted in the lobby until after one. There's a speakeasy here that we didn't explore, so that's an excursion for a different day. And now it's almost two, and I should go to sleep so that I can return Katie to her family and get myself back to the rivers and the lakes that I'm used to. Goodnight!

another dream...the monster's running wild inside of me

I was a little too sloth-filled today - I did a wee bit of writing tonight, but the rest of the day was pretty much a wash. I chalk up some of it to having trouble falling asleep last night, and then my alarm clock didn't go off because the power was shut off at some point last night and my clock apparently doesn't keep itself going without power. It has been so long since I've used an alarm clock instead of my phone that I hadn't even considered this possibility - so better to discover it now than on a day when I really needed to wake up.

sssanyway, I did some random tings throughout the day, read a bunch of stuff, and also ate delicious leftover ham balls, twice baked potatoes, and salad. And eventually I escaped the house and met up with Brenda for a drink at the newly-reopened Mexican restaurant - she was in my dad's class in high school, and she's now the museum director. We worked together a lot on the mural festival and had much to catch up on, so it was nice to see her.

Then I ordered takeout for mi hermano (and myself), came home, and ate with [censored]. After we chatted for a bit, I came upstairs and attempted to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, with mixed results. I did get some writing done, but I also discovered that one of my favorite techno DJs is now in his fifties (makes sense when I consider how old I am), and also married a girl that he met when he was like 48 and she was 19, so that was a downer.

But now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

mahna mahna

Merry Christmas! I had a delightful holiday, thanks for asking. It did require getting up at 6:50am, which is far too early, but that was necessary if I wanted to shower and make coffee before going to my parents' house for our approximate usual start time. [Censored] and I made it there almost on time, and we all spent a leisurely couple of hours unwrapping presents. Many fine gifts were given and received, and I'm happy with what I got - mostly a mix of cooking-related items, fountain pen items, and a couple of rogue games from [censored].

After we opened presents, my mom made brunch - we had the usual breakfast casserole and blueberry muffins, plus some delicious ambrosia that Dad put together yesterday. Then, we took a brief break - [censored] and Mom went to town on an errand, and I went to my house and took a brief-but-necessary fifteen minute nap. I also grabbed the twice baked potatoes that I made yesterday as my contribution to tonight's meal. And then I went back to my parents' house, where...

...we played one of the games [censored] gave me, which is called CAMEL UP. It looks a little odd and gimmicky since it has a pop-up 3-d palm tree and the dice are dispensed by a pyramid. However, we discovered that it's actually a ton of fun - just enough strategy to feel interesting, but a lot of random luck to keep things fresh. We played three games, and [censored], Dad, and I split the wins, which was much more distributed than when [censored] wins 80% of Ticket to Ride games in a season. So, it was pretty fun and I would definitely play it again if I can convince everyone else to.

Then we had dinner - Mom made brisket, which we ate with twice baked potatoes + leftover layered lettuce and apricot salad from yesterday. And then [censored] and I came to my house since the weather was getting much colder and it seemed like we might get some freezing precipitation. At this point, I am almost on the verge of a second wind, but I think I should go to sleep before I allow that to happen. Goodnight!

it's surprising wise men looked to the horizon

Merry Christmas (as of four minutes ago)! I had a pretty good day, but it was almost entirely in service of getting ready for Christmas instead of celebrating Christmas Eve. I did sleep in, which was a bonus, but I then went straight into food prep. I made twice baked potatoes and ham balls, with a break while the potatoes were doing their first bake to eat a leftover burrito bowl. I made far more potatoes than were necessary for four people for Christmas dinner, but I intend to freeze many of them so that Future Sara (and potentially Future [censored]) will be happy.

I also made more ham balls than necessary - I had decided that, since I had to get the meat grinder out, and since the ham my mom bought was three times as large as necessary, that I would make an extra batch of ham balls and freeze them for future festivities. Getting the grinder out was a bit of a trick, since it required reorganizing the basement (and by that I mean untarping everything that [censored] had tarped when the HVAC project was ongoing). But I found the grinder, made one batch of ham balls and baked them for freezing later, and made another batch to take to my parents'. And then I had approximately fifteen minutes to shower...

And then I went to my parents', dropped the ham balls in my dad's care, and took my mom to Sewal to a Christmas Eve program. Their church closed ages ago, but it's still somewhat maintained, and it was nicely decorated for the festivities. We sang several Christmas songs, heard several others sing solo/group endeavors, and listened to Ross read the Christmas story. It was a nice event and I'm glad we went, despite the rain and soggy roads.

Then we went home, and I talked to my dad until the timer went off on the ham balls - at which point I discovered that the oven wasn't actually working (even though it was on), and the ham balls were nowhere close to done. Luckily, the other batch that I'd made came in handy - [censored] went to town to retrieve it, and we quickly reheated it in the microwave, and they were delish. My mom had made layered lettuce, apricot salad, and sweet potaotes, so it was all tasty.

And then I came home, rebaked the second batch of ham balls to get them to the right temperature, cleaned my kitchen, and embarked on the usual Christmas Eve tradition of wrapping presents with [censored] while listening to ridiculous music. And now I must sleep since the family *insists* on having Christmas morning in the actual morning, like peasants. Goodnight!

disappear in the golden sands

I spent the day doing more family stuff - I got up, showered, helped [censored] with [censored], and made breakfast so that I wouldn't feel hangry later. Then we went to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas with her kids and their kids. It was a nice afternoon and good to see everybody, even if it's impossible to properly catch up with that many people in two hours.

Then we ran some Christmas errands before coming home, and I made burrito bowls, which were as tasty as ever. And now I need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow- goodnight!

just find a place to make your stand and take it easy

I should have gone to bed awhile ago because today was pretty tiring, but I caught a second wind (as usual) around eight and so powered through until now. But despite the tiring nature of the day, it was really good. [Censored] and I left the house around 8:40am to head south, since we had a date with my mom's sister for lunch. Aunt Dee lives near St. Louis, and her daughter Moriah was home for the holidays, so we met halfway - which meant eating at a random restaurant in Moberly, Missouri.

So, [censored] drove and I was a kind and delightful passenger for 2.5 hours. We got to Moberly slightly early, which was good - it rained almost the entire way, which made for delay potentials, but [censored] got us there with no issues. I was the one who booked the restaurant, which was a little nervewracking - it's hard to choose an appropriate restaurant where 12 people can sit together, where everyone can enjoy the food, and where they can accommodate my dad and my sister's mobility issues. I was hoping to just take care of the seating/mobility things and was hoping for the best on the food, but we were all thoroughly surprised and delighted. The place (D'Abolengo, for my own future posterity) was legitimately excellent - my enchiladas were covered in a perfect pork/sauce/queso mix, and the dish was one of the tastiest things I've had in awhile.

It was also good to see the family - it's very rare for us to get together since Mo lives in Florida, and I had actually never met her husband even though they've been married for a few years. So, my parents, [censored] and I were there, as were my sister and her husband, my niece and her husband, and Aunt Dee, Mo, Jaime, and Eli. The only person missing was my other cousin Jordan, who had to work -- and my sister's other two kids, but that would have doubled the size of the group with all of their various offspring, so it's probably for the best that they couldn't make it.

Anyway, we had an excellent time catching up, and it was lovely to see them all. Eventually, we parted ways, and [censored] and I made the 2.5 trip home, with a couple of quick stops to buy tings. A five hour round trip is a long way for lunch, but it was #worthit.

We were wiped out when we got home, though, so I messed around on my phone for a long time and came v. close to napping on the couch. I eventually rallied, did some kitchen tasks, ate some leftover Mexican food (from the local Mexican place, which I had for lunch a couple of days ago), and then painted my toenails and fingernails while listening to a couple of podcasts. And now I need to sleep since we have more Christmas plans tomorrow - goodnight!

in the desert you can't remember your name

No time to blog - I went to Des Moines to grab a bunch of groceries today, and I came back exhausted. But I rallied to make rice so that [censored] and I could eat last night's leftover salmon, and I did a load of laundry, and I wrote / worked for the last three hours. And now I need to go to sleep immediately because I have plans tomorrow that require me getting up earlier than I feel I should be required to be (i.e. 7:30am, how barbaric). Goodnight!

spadina avenue

I had a pretty good day, all in all, although too much of my productivity came too late in the day and now tomorrow's plans are in jeopardy. I spent some quality time this morning getting my Christmas cards ready to go - which mostly involved buying stamps, which meant a long conversation with the postmaster about the latest in her life. After all that, she only had one book of Christmas-themed stamps, so I came home and then went into the other town to try their post office. Luckily, they had more stamps, so I returned victorious.

While I was in town, though, I got a few groceries and picked up takeout lunch from the newly remodeled and reopened Mexican place. Their remodel looks nice and the food was tasty as always (albeit slightly more expensive), and I'm delighted that they're back in business. [Censored] and I ate lunch together, and then [censored] had a meeting while I finished stamping my cards. I walked to the post office to mail them (and marveled that it was warm enough to do that on the winter solstice), came home, had a meeting, and then talked to the HVAC guys, who were back to finish one final little bit of work with my system.

Then I ran out to my parents' house to pick up the ham I need for later culinary endeavors, came home, did a bit of work, and made salmon teriyaki with broccoli and jasmine rice. After [censored] and I ate, I procrastinated a bit, but then I cleaned up the kitchen, came upstairs, and wrote for the last three hours.

And now, I need to go to bed immediately, since I have a million pre-Christmas errands to run tomorrow. Goodnight!

shine bright like a diamond

Nothing to report tonight either - I did a whole bunch of little stuff that needed to get done, which felt great in the moment and yet didn't feel like much of an accomplishment by the end of the day. But I am reminded that it could always be worse, and at least all these small things are off my list. And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

again last night I had that strange dream where everything was exactly how it seemed

I have nothing to report today - I spent most of it being fairly productive, at least in terms of setting up some stuff for next year. I also went way too deep into productivity apps - Evernote seems to be in the process of giving up the ghost and I need to find an alternative, and I'm also trying to figure out how to make some Frankenstein combo of online to-do lists + paper planners + journals work for me. We shall see, we shall see.

I did take a break in the afternoon to take a birthday card to my mom, and I also fed myself (tuna sandwich for lunch, leftover noodles and fried eggs for dinner). And while tonight feels like a night where I could stay up all night, it's already one a.m. and I should probably sleep.

But before I close, I would be remiss if I failed to wish a happy birthday to my mom! and also to Chandlord! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

shivers and cold champagne

I had a pretty productive day today, which was a good thing because I have a million things to do this week. I spent some time this morning journaling in bed, and then I finally got up, made some coffee, ate a granola bar, and talked to [censored]. We watched the Weekend Update portions of last night's SNL, but we didn't keep going because we both knew that we'd stop being productive entirely if we watched another hour of YouTube videos.

I spent most of the afternoon doing office stuff - including literal office stuff like dusting, rearranging my bookshelves, etc. I also washed my sheets, cleaned out the fridge, and other similarly interesting tasks. Eventually, [censored] left and I experimented with supper - I was in the mood for something spicy and Asian-ish, and I had almost zero groceries, so I read a few recipes online and then improvised. What I came up with was rice noodles with sauteed onions, brussels sprouts, ginger, and garlic, which I tossed with a sauce of peanut butter, chili oil crisp, soy sauce, mirin, and miso paste. The sauce recipe wasn't an improvisation, but the other ingredients were - I had no mushrooms, no green onions, no cilantro, no tofu, and nothing else, so I used more yellow onion than the recipe called for and also sliced up some brussels sprouts that were about to go bad.

Overall, the verdict was probably a 7/10, would definitely eat again but would keep tweaking. I liked the sauce, which was basically a spicy peanut sauce, but I thought that the recipe called for adding the ginger/garlic way too soon, and I think they probably scorched a bit from overcooking. Green onions would have been a big improvement. And the dish needed some protein -- I did fry an egg to put on top, which helped, but tofu or shrimp or chicken would be a nice addition.

Anyway, it was still tasty and I will happily eat the leftovers. Then I cleaned the kitchen, took a long-overdue shower, messed around online, and finally forced myself to write a couple of pages so that I have a headstart on thinking about what I'll write tomorrow. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i'm staring at the asphalt wondering what's buried underneath

I had a fairly lowkey and boring day. I slept later than intended (which is true pretty much every day when I don't have to be someplace early), and then I made coffee, took a shower, and went into town to get allergy shots. Then I came home and ate lunch with [censored] (leftover burrito bowls).

I did manage to get some writing done this afternoon - not quite as much as I would have liked, but I will take it. Then, [censored] and I went out for dinner, since I didn't feel like cooking. We went to one of our usual spots, which thankfully wasn't super busy - I ill-advisedly ate some cheese curds and the breaded fried onion bits on top of my burger, which is probably why I feel like I'm lightly dying. But they were delicious, and the fries were as good as always, so I have no actual regrets.

Then we came home and I intended to get more work done than I did tonight, but I mostly browsed hotels in advance of my writing retreat in January and daydreamed of warmer climes. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

silhouettes when our bodies finally go

I have nothing to report - I woke up feeling like I might be getting a cold, but I took it easy and seem to have shaken that feeling off. I did talk to my HVAC guy for awhile, who dropped by with my bill, and who is always entertaining. I also dialed into a board meeting that I skipped going to in person since they wouldn't have had quorum without me. And I ate leftover spaghetti for lunch, which was tasty enough.

Then I did a bunch of personal administrative stuff, messed around online, made dinner ([censored] deserved burrito bowls, although [censored] deserves burrito bowls even more often than I make them), watched some music videos with [censored], and then scrolled somewhat mindlessly until now. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

good tidings we bring

I had a fairly successful day today - I got a lot of sleep, and then I made coffee, took a shower, and did my nails. I do miss getting manicures when I'm not on the coast, and I was tired of my nails looking shabby, so I filed, buffed, and then added several coats of gel polish. They look pretty great for an amateur attempt, so hopefully they last.

Then I talked to Tanya for a bit, did some online work, ate a v late lunch, did some more tasks, and took the briefest of naps. Then I went into town for the Christmas party for my secret society - I helped plan it, so I got there early to set up, but it was all a breeze. Dinner took a little too long to come out and I was starving, but I had fun talking to everyone and liked my salad when I finally got it. I also followed someone else's lead and got a "punch" (with Malibu rum and peach schnapps), which felt a little naughty and very tasty.

Then I came home, talked to [censored] for awhile, and decided I should go to bed. Goodnight!

do you believe in life after love

I was weirdly busy today, and it didn't help that I stayed in bed until after nine a.m. because I read late last night and the night before last. I took a shower, made some coffee, and went into town for allergy shots - they unfortunately hurt today, which I did not enjoy, but I'm reminding myself that they've been worth it. Then I came home, printed some stuff, ate a quick sandwich, and went back into town to have a meeting about the mural festival. We're planning some activities for the spring, and I really need to get back in the game so that I can take care of some tasks, but that's a problem for Future Sara.

Then I came home again and spent the afternoon taking care of a variety of business tings. When I was finally done, it was after six, so I ate a quick snack and made spaghetti all'amatriciana for dinner. It was tasty, as per usual, and I was glad that I ate something real instead of heating up something from the freezer. And then I spent the rest of the evening theoretically working, but actually procrastinating.

Now, it's not quite 10:30 and I'm starting to feel the suspicious edges of a second wind - but I want to go to sleep before I convince myself to stay up until two. Goodnight!

so kiss me on the cheek, make it a long goodbye

I had a pretty decent day, when I let it be easy. I did some writing this morning, ate lunch with [censored] (leftover scalloped potatoes and ham, delish), and then procrastinated too much in the afternoon. But I took a bit of a walk, which helped me reset (even if I spent half the time walking and half the time, it seemed, standing around waiting for a train to pass through town).

So, I wrote in the late afternoon before and after [censored] left, and it was great. I also talked to Terry, all too briefly. I ate a frozen gluten free pizza for dinner (not, perhaps, the most exciting option), and then I was going to write again...but instead, I realized I probably wouldn't get anything done, and so instead I finished reading ALIF THE UNSEEN, which I had started reading last night. It won a bunch of awards ten years ago and I'm just now getting to it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it was relevant to the strange fantasy/scifi hybrid that I'm currently writing...

But now, I really need to sleep so that I can do the tings I need to do tomorrow. Goodnight!

i will find any way to your wild heart

I didn't blog yesterday because I was in too good of a mood, and I almost didn't blog tonight because I was in too bad of one. Not that anything substantively changed - if anything, it should have been reversed, since yesterday was dreary and miserable, while today was at least sunny and less windy. But the human mind is a mystery.

So, yesterday, I spent most of the day reading a "nonfiction" (I use that incredibly loosely) research book about secret societies, which gave me some little kernels of ideas but mostly made me roll my eyes. I also made scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner, which was a real win (especially since that meant leftovers today).

Today, I probably should have done more of the same, but I didn't feel like reading this morning. Instead, I mostly procrastinated, and somehow wasted most of the day. I think I did a few things that I had been meaning to do online? Actually, I remember what I did - I tried to start laying out my planner for next year, which made me anxious and surly from trying to narrow down my goals while also setting them up in such a way that I might have hope of accomplishing them. And I had a v. tasty ham sandwich, which was something.

I finally took a shower, and then walked into town to drop my water bill payment in the slot at city hall. That perked up my mood a bit, and a little later I ate leftovers with [censored] and watched most of last night's SNL, which was funnier than usual.

Buoyed by all of that, I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and actually wrote five pages tonight, so at least the day ended in something good. And now I'm going to read a bit more of that dumb book and go to bed - goodnight!

no one will ever read the letters or the lies that i told

I had a surprisingly productive day, although I didn't write much...and also didn't get out of bed until 9:30 thanks to staying up until almost two reading last night. But when I did finally wake up, I showered, made some coffee, etc, and then went into town to get allergy shots.

When I got home, I didn't sit down because I knew I would lose momentum. Instead, I spent the afternoon doing Christmas decorations - I'm not totally in the habit of doing it because I used to always travel (to Iowa) at Christmas and so didn't do my own decor. But I was in the mood to do it today, so I put together my tree, decorated, switched outdoor wreaths, and then put all the boxes and other stuff back in the basement. My living room looks pretty festive, if I do say so myself, but I'm stopping there since I don't need to let Christmas explode al over my house.

Then I cleaned the kitchen, mopped, etc before taking a small break. I had my parents over for dinner tonight, so at some point I threw together some shrimp alfredo, which is delish. They got here just as I was finishing it, and it was super tasty.

But now, I'm falling asleep and need to go to bed - goodnight!

never changed by crooked hearts

It's suddenly way too late to be going to bed - I decided to read for a little bit tonight, which resulted in me reading the whole book in one swoop, as per usual. But today was good - I wrote for a bit this morning, then had a dentist appointment. After, I treated myself to a salad and fries at the Continental, and then I ran some errands. My evening was more of the same - writing, laundry, leftovers, procrastinating, etc.

And now it's time for bed so I can hopefully salvage some productivity in the morning - goodnight!

we're gonna play in the dark 'til it's golden again

I had an excellent writing day, which always means I got v. little else done - but I was happy to make that tradeoff today. I also slept until almost nine, which was even better. When I finally came downstairs, I discovered that it was blisteringly hot - I had set a program on my thermostat last Wednesday to turn the heat up to 82 overnight so that I could get the house nice and toasty before my heating was shut off by the HVAC guys that night, and my thermostat helpfully ran the same program again this Wednesday. So, it was 82 downstairs most of the day because the house doesn't cool off very fast - which was good incentive to stay upstairs at my desk, where it was a relatively reasonable 77.

So I took care of a couple of tings this morning (including looking at concert tickets for a show in May), and then I buckled down to write. I had a good morning session, and then I took a break to prep dinner - I tested a new-to-me slow cooker recipe involving chicken thighs, white beans, and 15-20 cloves of garlic. I added a couple of slices of bacon for good measure, since my chicken thighs didn't have the skin on and I thought it might need some extra fat as a result. While that cooked (for six hours), I made some huevos rancheros for lunch, and then did some more writing.

Alternating between writing, researching, and procrastinating took up most of the afternoon / early evening. Then I ate my dinner, which was quite tasty - it's probably not something I could make for [censored] since [censored] doesn't like chicken thighs, but it was easy and I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers. I also watched the last half of the Iowa State / Iowa women's basketball game - ISU gave Iowa a run for their money despite the juggernaut that is Caitlin Clark, and it was fun to watch.

Then I cleaned up the kitchen, messed around on the internet, and wrote a wee bit more. And now I need to wind down since I have many tings to do tomorrow - goodnight!

we rattle this town, we rattle this scene

I woke up earlier than expected because my fitbit buzzed me at 7:45am with a text from my friendly local HVAC guy, who wanted to know if they could run a gas line at my house today. I usually have my phone on silent and sleep through any text buzzes, but 7:45am was close enough to waking up that my body sensed the fitbit vibration and I opened one eye to check it.

I was pretty surly about getting up since I didn't go to bed until almost one, but I decided I wanted a gas line more than I wanted to go back to bed. So I texted him to say they should come, and I went downstairs to unlock the garage door so that they could get in. I didn't actually see them until they were almost done, since I decided to go ahead and shower - but [censored] was around today, and he knows more about gas lines than I do anyway. Happily, it all went v. smoothly, and now I have a gas line to my patio so that I can use my grill.

However, the shortage of sleep made me pretty low-energy all morning. So I took the opportunity to do a final backup of my old laptop and wipe it so that I could send it back to Apple for a credit - it paid for 25% of my new laptop, which made it worth sending back, but I felt a little pang of nostalgia for it since it has been in my life for several years. Usually I just toss old laptops into my closet and keep them forever, but this one is now on its way to the return facility, which was the right call.

At some point, I ate lunch with [censored] (leftover burrito bowls), and then I went into town to get allergy shots and drop off my laptop return. Then I came home, did a few quick tings, and talked to Barbara (formerly of Colorado, now of Oregon) for awhile. We had much to catch up on, and it was great to see her virtually. I got off the call just in time to bid farewell to [censored]....

...and then I spent the rest of the evening doing some more organizing of my office. It's getting into pretty good shape, although I have a bunch of stuff to put in the basement or donate -- but my desk and my office supplies are all organized, as is my office closet, and so all is right with the world. I also did a bit of writing, a bit of journaling, and a bit of procrastinating - so all in all, it was a lovely night.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

scandal in the wind

I had a decent day around the house. I spent most of the morning deep cleaning my bathroom after yesterday's toilet installation adventure - not that my bathroom is large enough to require much time to clean, but I was overdue to clean my shower, and I cleaned all the other surfaces too. It is, perhaps, a sign of my age that the end result was exciting, but I suppose I'll take it.

Then I showered, made and ate lunch (huevos rancheros), procrastinated a bit, did a bit of writing, and spent the afternoon working on my office. My office closet is a disaster, and I got a long way toward making it less of a disaster, but there's still work to be done.

Eventually, I stopped doing housework and ate dinner with [censored] - we had a variety of leftovers from the fridge, all of which were delish. We also watched some of this week's SNL, which was bizarre and not particularly good beyond a few hilarious moments. And then I came upstairs, folded laundry, and contemplated my book while laboriously removing the gel nail polish that I'd gotten in San Francisco a few weeks ago. And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

i'm on that new vibration

Today didn't go according to plan, but it was a v. good detour. I woke up, made some coffee, and eventually settled in to my desk to write - and was there for about ten minutes before [censored] got back from an errand and declared that today was the day to replace my toilet. This has been an effort that we've been putting off for months, but it has been getting more dire - the toilet was flushing/filling in a really strange way, which meant it would run for a few minutes every time I flushed it, and that was not something we thought we should allow to continue indefinitely. I'd bought a toilet a month or two ago, so it was on hand, but obviously this is not a project that I have the skillset for.

[Censored], however, does have the skillset, for better or for worse. If I were him, I would play dumb and let me hire someone to do things around here, but I'm v. grateful that [censored] doesn't do that. The project went reasonably smoothly, although it was obviously a dirty job, and there was a bit of a problem because the flange was broken and [censored] had to devise a workaround to mount the new toilet.

But when all was said and done, my new toilet is installed and seems to be great. I've gotten some real upgrades this week, since my bedroom is now warmer thanks to the new HVAC and the toilet behaves like a modern toilet. Now if only I could write a book, I'd really be in business.

sssanyway, after all that, I did a few tings, put on some makeup, and then [censored] and I met the parents in town for the holiday light show. I thought the outdoor displays weren't as creative this year as they were last year, but there were nearly seventy trees inside decorated by various individuals and organizations, so it was fun to see them all. Then, we went to our usual prime rib place for dinner - my prime rib was better than usual, so I was glad that I had ordered it.

I procrastinated for awhile after getting home, but then I sat down to write for a bit. It was a good session, but I'm falling asleep, so I think it's time for bed. Goodnight!

saturnalia

I had an excellent day, especially because I now have heat fully restored in the house. The HVAC guys mostly wrapped up the project today - they'll still have to come back in the spring to finish the A/C installation, and they need to finish running the gas line for my grill (which I opportunistically added to the job), but otherwise everything is set up. Now I have a zone for my bedroom/office and a zone for the main floor of the house, which should theoretically mean I can make it warmer upstairs without overheating [censored]. Time will tell, but so far it's great.

So I did some writing today, but I was a little distracted because the installation required the main guy (Ron) to be in and out of my office all morning. But I did some work, ate some leftover soup with [censored] for lunch, did some more work, supervised the project, etc., etc. After the guys left, I buckled down for an hour, and then I made dinner. After last night's fried food fest, I was in the mood for something totally different, so I made salmon teriyaki with rice and roasted broccoli. In an absentminded move I accidentally made regular long-grain white rice instead of jasmine rice, so we ate like peasants, but it was otherwise quite tasty.

After dinner, I did some truly mindless procrastination for an hour or two, but then I got into the manuscript and did some brainstorming for the last hour or so. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

turn up the lights

Nothing to report today - I got up, showered, and chatted with the HVAC guys before going into town to get allergy shots. Even though I didn't have heat last night, it wasn't bad - my nose was cold when I woke up, but it only got down to 63 in my bedroom and 65 or so downstairs, and then the greenhouse effect of my windows started to warm things up.

When I got home from the doctor and grocery store, I turned around and went straight back bc I realized the eggs I'd but expired a month ago. Luckily, the harried solo cashier just let me grab a different carton, no formal exchange necessary. I came home again, set up my new computer monitor, ate some peanut butter toast, and had a video chat about writing. And then I spent the afternoon doing some work but mostly messing around the house.

Happily, the guys got the new furnace going today and it seems to be working - there's still stuff to do, but I'm not going to freeze. While that momentous thing happened, I talked to Ritu for awhile, which was an overdue pleasure. And then I dragged [censored] to Garden Grove, where we had a tasty dinner that immediately made me sleepy.

And now, I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!

in the midnight hour

No blog tonight - I had an excellent writing day and also made perfect garlic smashed potatoes for dinner, but I was rewarded by having no heat in my house tonight due to the current stage of the HVAC project. Luckily it's pretty warm in here still, and won't get crazy cold outside tonight - but I hope tomorrow's continued work goes smoothly.

And now it's bedtime - goodnight!

now they're calling on the fire brigade

My HVAC project kicked off today... Luckily the contractor gave me two hours' notice before showing up, so I was showered and dressed in time to let them in. I still have heat tonight, which I'm basking in, but it's possible I won't have heat tomorrow. However, I think it will all be worth it despite the inconveniences this week.

While they were in the basement all day, I did a whole bunch of work - I got a new laptop in honor of Black Friday, and I spent the day setting it up. I've let the business side of writing lapse quite a bit since I haven't had any new releases, and I took the opportunity to go through a bunch of files, reorganize things, and make sure I have the right files/programs in the new laptop to start making progress on some year-end goals. It was fun and also bittersweet - I found partial manuscripts I'd forgotten about, and all told I probably have four books' worth of words that didn't become actual books. C'est la vie, I guess, but hopefully this one will succeed where the others didn't.

At some point, I made chicken and wild rice soup with mushrooms, which was perfect (and will be even better tomorrow when I don't have heat). And now I'm going to go to bed early so that I can take advantage of tomorrow - goodnight!

i miss you, but i miss sparkling

I had a pretty productive day, all in all. I dreamed of my book last night (and not in a nightmare kind of way), so I woke up, journaled a little bit, made some coffee, and wrote six pages. Then I showered before having a call with Heather (aka dear respected madam), who was in fine form.

After that, I made a late lunch (huevos rancheros), tidied up the kitchen, cleaned snow off my car, and went into town for allergy shots (which hurt). Then I came home, did a bunch of house stuff, did a bunch of laptop stuff, and took care of various online errands. At some point, [censored] left and I ate leftover tacos from Saturday night, which were still tasty.

And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

we'll paint it red to fit right in

I've had a busy couple of days. Yesterday, I made brunch for Aunt Kathy, [censored], and my parents at the v unfashionable hour of 9:30am in deference to their Midwestern preferences. Then, Kathy, Mom and I went to the town craft fair - I didn't really need crafts, but I bought a couple of things that I thought were cute/unique.

Then, we dropped Mom off at home and Kathy and I went into the other town to check out the stores that were open for small business Saturday. The town is really trying to make new businesses work, and I did get a cute top at a clothing store run by a high school classmate and a pendant at a gift shop attached to the hotel, so I think I did my part to support the local economy.

After that, Kathy left and I spent the rest of the day doing tings, napping, and picking up takeout from the Mexican food truck, which was braving the snow. It snowed a surprising amount overnight, and I didn't leave the house today as a result. I slept in, made breakfast tacos (delish), did some tings, and then finished getting the basement ready for my massive HVAC project. [Censored] was instrumental in this, and I still have some stuff to carry upstairs and a few things to cover with tarps, but otherwise we're good to go.

And then I made fresh spaghetti to go with leftover sauce, watched the ultimately depressing Iowa State basketball game, ate leftover chocolate cake, did some online stuff, and decided to go to bed before I buy any more black Friday deals for myself - goodnight!

last train to clarksville

Happy Thanksgiving Day Two! Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Sammie came down today for a day of merriment, which meant I had to get up and be somewhat presentable for the second day in a row.

But first, I made myself eggs since I forgot to eat dinner last night and was feeling it. I also did a wee bit of black Friday shopping online. And then I baked a chocolate cake to use some of yesterday's leftover cream cheese frosting - the cake was a new recipe, but it turned out deliciously. I probably needed to make a second cake since my leftover frosting situation is absurd, but this was a good start.

I also showered, cleaned the kitchen, and prepped the ingredients for a salad before heading out to my parents' house. Lunch was mostly yesterday's leftovers plus my salad, but the meal was perfect - v easy and tasty. Then we hung out, talked, drank some wine, and some of us played Ticket to Ride. Kathy, Drewbaby and Sammie hadn't played it before, so perhaps it's not much of an achievement that I won, but I will still take the victory.

Then we ate dinner - we had a baked potato bar, which was the perfect follow up to lunch. And then Drewbaby and Sammie headed north, and Kathy came to my house, where we talked to [censored] until bedtime. She's staying over and we're doing brunch + local craft fair stuff tomorrow, so I need to go to bed if I'm going to cook again for the third morning in a row. Goodnight!

chordal drift

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a pretty lovely holiday, all in all - I baked all morning, although I wasn't perfectly satisfied with the results (I think I need to switch back to the other gluten free flour blend I sometimes use). The chocolate chip chewies were v. tasty, as usual, but I thought my pumpkin cupcakes were a little too dense. Ah, well, c'est la vie.

After baking, I had just enough time to shower before going out to mom and dad's for dinner (aka lunch). my sister and her husband came as well, and we had approximately a million pounds of turkey, along with the usual suspects (mashed potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, gravy, etc.). It was a really lovely lunch, and it filled me up enough that I forgot to eat supper, so I would say it was a success.

After [censored] and I got back to my house, I sat around for awhile and dozed off briefly, before watching Iowa State men's basketball play in a Thanksgiving invitational (they pulled off a v. impressive come-from-behind victory after being less than impressive earlier in the game). And then I spent the rest of the evening doing some writing work, journaling, etc.

And now, I need to go to bed so that I can continue the festivities tomorrow - goodnight!

feelings doing somersalts

I had a decent day, all in all, but I spent too much time looking at my computer. I did a bunch of random stuff this morning, and then I had lunch (some roasted chicken+squash+onion+brussels sprouts that I'd frozen last month, which I will have to recreate because it has been a v. nice thing to have in the freezer for quick lunches). I also talked to [censored] about fences and toilets, as we do. Then I took a shower and took a walk downtown to pay my gas bill (v. exciting).

After that, I did some work, and then I made dinner (Grandma Barb's spaghetti sauce, even though I don't have a Grandma Barb). [Censored] and I both enjoyed it, and I spent a little too much time scrolling on my phone after, but c'est la vie. Then, I was going to bake, but I had something that I absolutely had to finish tonight, so I spent the last couple of hours cranking it out. I'll get up tomorrow and bake, I swear.

And now, since I have made that claim, I should go to bed so that I can make it happen - goodnight!

in my button-up shirt a natural disaster

I am feeling somewhat surly about the fact that I spent the day running errands instead of being more creative - but it was raining all day, so chances are slim that I would have been productive with my book anyway. Instead, I did some tings around the house, got allergy shots, and then drove to the next town over to get the groceries that I wasn't able to pick up in Des Moines last week. While I was over there, I had lunch at my favorite restaurant in that town (their cobb salad was particularly tasty today), and then I went to Walmart and Fareway.

Thus stocked up, I came home and spent some time putting away groceries, dealing with last night's dishes, taking out the trash, etc. And then I spent the evening in a mix of journaling, scrolling, doing a couple of tasks, and otherwise being quite lazy.

But tomorrow is another day, and we'll see what I get done - goodnight!

i don't wanna go because i know the conditions

I got several tings done today, even though I inadvertently stayed up until two last night and so slept later than intended. But I did a bit of writing this morning (after talking to [censored] about fence and before eating some leftover chili for lunch), and I finished cleaning out my pantry. I also did some other house tings. And I went out to my parents' house to give my dad his birthday card (happy birthday, Dad!) and pick up some special paper to print some stuff.

The stuff I had to print was a bunch of star-shaped logos to put on a Christmas tree at the local festival of trees and lights. My secret society decided to decorate a tree this year, and I was able to take a logo that my mom had, edit it to improve the printing, and then cut it out, punch a hole in it, and put it on ornament hooks. I took the ornaments in to the fairgrounds tonight, where a bunch of people were in a frenzy of decorating. I didn't stay for the full finishing touches on the tree, but it was coming together nicely when I left, so that felt good.

Then I came home and made burrito bowls, even though I had intended that we would get takeout from the Mexican food truck. I also experimented with making a queso - the verdict was that [censored] and I don't like having too much tomato or other ingredients in the queso, but it was pretty tasty for a first attempt. And we ate while watching last night's SNL, which was as close to uniformly excellent as anything I've seen them do this year.

Then I cleaned up the kitchen, came upstairs, procrastinated for awhile, and did a bit of writing work to cap off the night. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

scrollin' through a life i barely recognised

I didn't get enough done today because I got sucked into twitter reading about the fresh drama at Open.AI -- I've been staying off twitter, which has been good for my productivity, but it still sucks me in during moments of breaking news. I also slept until nine, which was v. nice but didn't help in terms of getting up and getting about my day.

However, I took care of various tings, washed my sheets, made fresh brown rice to go with leftover tofu stir fry for lunch, and did a whole bunch of organizing in my pantry to see what I have and what I need to replace. And eventually, [censored] and I met the parents for dinner - we went to our usual steak place, where I had a ribeye, and it was a v. nice evening.

But now, I need to sleep so that I can get more done tomorrow - goodnight!

love locked down

I have nothing to report - I got allergy shots this morning, then made a lightning trip to Des Moines to stock up on groceries and home goods. I made it home right before dark, and I spent the evening putting things away, eating leftover chili, and reading all the speculation in Silicon Valley over the firing of the OpenAI CEO. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

a dreamer til the end

I need to go to bed immediately - I was writing just now, which was great, but now it's later than I had planned to stay up. Today was good, though - I did some work stuff this morning, then had a mural festival meeting, and then chatted with the guy who's embarking on my HVAC project while he poured concrete for my new A/C pad. Then I talked to my friend Durand, who is a delight. And then, after a brief nap, I made brunch for dinner, which [censored] and I ate while watching last week's SNL and various other comedy tings.

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

skipping stones

I had an excellent day - it's amazing what can be accomplished when I manage to ignore my phone. I spent the morning journaling, writing, and reading a variety of tings. Then, I made myself lunch - I usually eat leftovers for lunch, but I had no leftovers, so I made a tofu stirfry with broccoli, red peppers, and onion, along with some brown rice. Yes, this is a v. unusual meal for southern Iowa, but sometimes I want tofu - and with the right seasoning (in this case, an Omsom sauce packet) and the right cooking method (lightly coated in cornstarch before stir frying to get some crispiness), it's pretty tasty. I doubt anyone will steal my leftovers, so I will get another couple of meals out of it, which is fine by me.

Then I did some tings around the house, had a meeting, did some more tings, and took a brief walk since the weather was so nice. And then I ran out to my parents' house to consult with my mom on some Christmas tree decorations for our secret society. When I came home, I made dinner (v. unusual to cook two meals in a day from scratch) - I was in the mood for chili, and I thought [censored] might appreciate those leftovers more than the tofu. So I made my favorite black bean chili, and it was delish. While it was cooking, I did some laundry, cleaned, etc. And after I ate, I had a conversation with someone in New Mexico who wants to plan a mural festival similar to the one we did here - I wish him well, and also am glad I don't have to plan another one anytime soon.

When I got off the phone, [censored] had arrived, so we caught up for awhile before I came upstairs. And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

she's a butcher with a smile

I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I'm going to go to bed ASAP and try to rectify that. But I did get settled back into the olde Iowa today. I cleaned my coffeemaker, which I'm sure is what enabled me to do some excellent writing / brainstorming on the book. I ate some squash/chicken/Brussels sprouts dish that I'd previously prepped and frozen, which was a delicious lunch. I got allergy shots, which were less fun but still worthwhile. And I stopped by the office of something I'm on the board of to help the director with a technical problem, bought groceries, and fully unpacked from my trip. Oh, and I did two loads of laundry as well.

So, all in all everything was good, although I would have been even more #inittowinit with more sleep. On that note, it's bedtime - goodnight!

I've got my spine I've got my orange crush

I made it home after an entirely smooth and uneventful day - I had breakfast at my hotel, packed, did a bit of writing, checked out around noon, and was able to get an Uber just before the imminent shutdown of the streets around my hotel for the APEC event. I got through security in a flash, had a bit of sushi before the flight, read/journaled all the way to Denver, and survived a long layover by doing some book brainstorming.

The flight to Des Moines was boring and a few minutes early, so I was in my car at the moment that my plane was originally supposed to land. And now I'm in bed and hope to stay here for many hours - goodnight!

time after time

I had an excellent day in the city of sin - my writing workshop was great, and I'm feeling more unblocked than I have in a long time. But I didn't sleep well last night due to the timezone difference, and I was so "on" all day that I'm pretty wiped out. So I'm going to go to bed, have a leisurely morning, and then hope I can get out of the city before everything gets too crazy with security shutdowns for the apec summit. Goodnight!

i've been sitting here for ages, ripping out the pages, how'd i get so faded

Today was great and I feel like I made some solid progress on the plot / development issues with my book. My brain didn't want to wake up at first (probably because I only got four hours of sleep after last night's family time extravaganza - I was not hungover, but I was incredibly tired). But then I got into the groove and the book started humming, so that was a delight.

I also caught up with some writer types, and I got a full report on the Vegas writing conference that I missed from Veronica. She and I had an early dinner together at Aliment, and my steak salad and french fries were exactly what I needed (as was, of course, hanging out with Veronica). And then I retreated to my hotel and journaled a bunch, and I have a pretty clear sense of what I want to get out of an intense plotting session tomorrow.

And now, I need to sleep and try to catch up on last night's deficit - goodnight!

no squealing and remember that it's all in your head

Shhhh - I'm secretly in San Francisco. I decided to come at the extreme last minute to do some writing stuff related to nanowrimo, and I'm hoping it will unblock the last blocks with the plot of my book (which I have made good progress on this month, but it's still not there).

However, the fact that I came at the extreme last minute meant that I didn't have time to let anyone know that I was coming, other than my writer friends. Happily for me, though, the people I did reach out to today mostly didn't have plans. I spent the whole morning/afternoon traveling, which was a drag since I woke up at 5am to make it to the airport on time. But my flights were perfectly smooth and I didn't have to get a suitcase from baggage claim, so that felt winning.

Within forty five minutes if landing in SF, I met up with Lauren (aka Subz) for a late lunch in Burlingame. She was in fine form and I could have talked to her for ages, but we parted ways and I took an Uber to SF to check into my hotel.

I spent the evening running errands, eating a funghi pizza at Delfina, taken a nap, etc.  I took a brief nap, and that could have been the end...

... But instead, despite the lure of staying in bed, I went out. I met up with Vidya, Claudia and Adit, and we had a couple of bottles of wine at Linden and Laguna, followed by a punch bowl at Hazies. We've still got it, I guess, but we'll see how i feel tomorrow.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

if your dreams don't scare you they're not big enough

I had more going on today than I usually do - I wrote in the morning, but then I talked to Tanya, who was as delightful as always. Then I ate a cobb salad for lunch and tried to buckle down on work with mixed results. I had another call in the afternoon, and then I went into town for a library board meeting. It's a nice (and entertaining) group of people, and we had a good conversation even if the state completely screwed library funding, so we'll see what happens there.

Then I sped home, made a quick dinner (leftover fried rice and leftover broccoli + two fried eggs), and then went back into town for a meeting of my secret society. The meeting was good and I won the giveaway tonight, which was exciting since I never win. And then I ate some lemon meringue pie while discussing local politics (mostly chickens) with the ladies.

Then I came home, messed around a little, and did a bit of writing. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

and then they put you on the day shift

I had a lovely day, all in all. I spent the morning doing various desk tings (including a little bit of writing stuff), and then I spent the rest of the morning making lunch. I had intended to prep some of it last night, but I was feeling lazy then, so I had to cook this morning so that [censored] and I could eat. I made the fixings for cobb salads, which took a bit of prep, but it means that I now have four jarred cobb salads in the fridge waiting for future lunches. I feel like I'm almost past the season where I'll be in the mood for a cobb salad, but it tasted good today.

Then I cleaned up, did a bit of work, and went into town to get allergy shots. They reacted as usual, but not terribly, so I'll take it. After my shots, I grabbed a couple of groceries, came home, and wrote for a bit. But I mostly let myself get sidetracked by other things I needed to take care of, which was fine with me.

When it was time to think about dinner, I decided to experiment with a chorizo fried rice recipe. It came out of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's THE WOK cookbook, which I got last year for Christmas. He contributes to one of my favorite online recipe sites (Serious Eats), and I follow him on Instagram, so I knew it would be good. I usually don't modify a recipe on the first attempt, but I decided to add some shrimp, increase the amount of rice, and scale up the soy sauce / sesame oil accordingly.

After I'd diced the chorizo, shrimp, onion, green pepper, and scallions, and defrosted the frozen corn just a little bit, I turned on my induction burner as hot as it would go so that some I could heat my skillet (note: I bought a wok but I haven't fully seasoned it). It turns out the turbo burner on my induction stove is perhaps faster/hotter than gas, because my fried rice produced so much smoke that [censored] and I had to open a bunch of windows (and the front door, and briefly the garage door) and I was coughing as I finished cooking. But that level of heat produced some absolutely delicious fried rice. There were some lovely smoky bits, some perfectly crusty lattices of rice, and yet none of it was overcooked.

So this is a hard one, because from the taste alone + the ease of making it, I would absolutely add this to the rotation. But the smoke level was definitely carcinogenic (not to mention pervasive through the house). I think I'll try again at a slightly lower temperature point and see if 20% less flavor yields 80% less smoke.

Ssssanyway, after [censored] and I enjoyed our rice (and cleared out some of the smoke), we watched a bit of TV (including an interview the Please Don't Destroy guys from SNL did with Jimmy Fallon), and then we watched three episodes of OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH. It continues to be absolutely absurd, which means I love it.

And now, I need to sleep since I have a million tings going on tomorrow - goodnight!

mixing up the medicine

I was pretty productive today, all in all - I had a meeting in the morning, and then I did a variety of writing/finance/house tasks all day. I took a break to make an omelette for lunch, which was perfect (onions, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, goat cheese, plus leftover roasted potatoes). And I spent some quality time in the basement, which is close to ready for my overly complicated HVAC replacement.

Eventually, [censored] and I had dinner - I made salmon teriyaki last night, and I made fresh rice and roasted broccoli to go with the leftover salmon tonight. [Censored] and I ate and then watched Nate Bergatze's latest comedy special - he hosted SNL a couple of weeks ago and was hilarious, so I'm glad to see his other work is getting picked up.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

i'm gonna shake it like the thunder tonight

I was way lazier than I intended to be today - this is always the consequence of coming back from a trip, but I really thought I would be more productive than this. But I did get some excellent writing done this evening (if I do say so myself), helped [censored] with something, and inspected the amazing job that [censored] did fixing my gazebo while I was gone. I also took care of a variety of tings around the house. And I made myself some roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts to go with some pulled pork that I had in the freezer, which felt much more industrious (and healthier) than the pizza I had intended to order.

But now, I need to go to bed so I can do all the things tomorrow - goodnight!

cheers to the 2010s

No blog tonight- I made it back home after an interminable drive. It took longer in this direction, mostly because I didn't have the same blizzard pressure and so stopped and sat down to eat lunch and dinner (as well as grabbing breakfast and coffee before leaving Denver). I also got coffee from the world's second slowest Starbucks in York, Nebraska (the world's slowest is one in Kerrville, Texas).

But my trip was uneventful, other than seeing the immediate aftermath of one extremely terrible accident on the other side of I-80. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

hanging by a moment here with you

I had a wonderful day in Colorado - so wonderful that I almost regret cutting my trip short, but I decided to get out of here tomorrow so I can spend the weekend dealing with my basement HVAC situation. I woke up this morning, showered, grabbed some coffee, packed, and checked out in time to meet Morganne for lunch at The Kitchen. We've known each other for ages (she was on my team in 2008), and I always love catching up with her. And my halal chicken sandwich was absolute perfection, so that was a good way to end my time in Boulder. I actually mostly hate that city and have finally accepted that to be the case, but Morganne and the Kitchen are wonderful.

Then I drove to Denver, with a stop at H Mart to pick up many packets of rice noodles for pad Thai + better jasmine rice than I can get in Iowa. When I got here, I checked into my hotel, spent literally seven minutes here, and then took an Uber to LoHi. I met up with Alex at Lady Jane (one of my old haunts) - she was on my team for three days a million years ago, but we've stayed in touch, and I was delighted to find out that she recently left our mutual former employer under similar circumstances to mine (voluntarily and long overdue). We caught up and compared notes, and it was great.

Then I was supposed to meet Katie for dinner, but she is sick, and I'm v depressed that we won't see each other this time. But I had a plan b (who didn't feel like a plan b because they hadn't responded to me until last night and didn't expect me to be free). I ended up at Bar Dough with Andy and Nina, which delighted me - I missed seeing them when I was here in May, and they are some of my favorite people here. So we caught up, and Andy's stories about what I left behind didn't stress me out too badly, and it was so great. Then we came back to Wildflower for a nightcap, which I highly recommend.

And now, I must sleep so I can face the long dark of Nebraska tomorrow - goodnight!

sending out an sos to the world

I had a lovely day in Boulder, although I've screwed up my sleeping schedule by napping from 9:30-11pm and then sending emails for the last hour. But I got up this morning, made myself presentable, and went to Boxcar (one of my old haunts) for a latte and some writing time. My lunch date cancelled due to having COVID, so I was on my own - and that meant going to my favorite paper store and the Boulder bookstore, since I was, as usual, convinced that a new notebook would solve all my plot problems.

This equipped, I went to Postino, where I had lunch and wrote for awhile. Lunch was tasty, but it would have been tastier if they hadn't gotten half of my order wrong. I liked what they brought instead, so it was no big deal, and the glass of zinfandel I had with it went a long way towards making everything better.

Then I went to a happy hour that I organized for myself - and I was pleased to see Alisha, both Tomases, Steph, Morgan, Morganne, Morganne's baby, Midou, Caroline, Stacey, Isaac, Dave, Alice, Vicky, and a couple of other random stragglers. It felt like an old pre-pandemic work happy hour, and I gave them permission to use my name and likeness to throw future happy hours for themselves even when I'm not around.

Then, Caroline and I had dinner with Sara (other Sara) at River and Woods. I had my beloved poutine, which was delicious but made my stomach hurt, which is why I crawled into bed as soon as I got to my hotel. But now I need to go to bed for real so that I can accomplish all the things tomorrow - goodnight!