Life in progress

Category Archives: Life


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#SoCS – Flipping Fabulous

All day, while I’ve been sitting on the couch with my laptop, editing a book, I’ve considered writing my SoCS post about books. About fabricating stories.

The day passed.

I didn’t finish my edit as I’d hoped to.

It was Sunday already by the time I decided to switch off the editing project and start on my SoCS post. So to start, I thought I’d make up my “F” badge for my “absolutely NOT A to Z” post.

And I tried to draw books.

Then I discovered that books aren’t that easy to draw in Paint 3D. They’re so difficult, in fact, that I had to write “BOOK” on my drawing of a book, so everyone would know what it was.

Flipping fabulous, I thought.

So I opened a bottle of wine. Which I am now drinking to celebrate a full day of work that I didn’t get finished, and a pathetic excuse for a picture of a book.

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I write ’em and edit ’em and don’t draw ’em. Or at the very least, why I get paid to write ’em and edit ’em, but I don’t get paid to draw ’em.

Unless you REEEALLY want to throw me some cash.

But not coins … they hurt when they ping off the noggin’.

I should mention here that I’m open for suggestions for “G” words for Monday’s post. Leave them in the comments, if you please. I’ll take the first three–one per person, must be polite. The words, not the people. But polite people are good, too.

Last words of advice: never drink and blog.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

Okay, you can drink and blog if you want to.

This post is brought to you by the letter “F,” and by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the participating posts, and join in! It’s *hic* fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/04/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-6-19/

NOTE: This post is NOT a passive-aggressive plea for validation of my mad Paint skillz. It’s just my thoughts as I thunk ’em. … Holy Shamoly! “Thunk” didn’t get a squiggly red line under it!! I’m totally using that word from now on. Or maybe it’s just out of context …

Nope! Looked it up.

thunk

\ ˈthəŋk  \

Definition of thunk

 (Entry 1 of 3)

dialectal past tense and past participle of THINK

Okay, I’m finishing this post now. And I’m turning my editor brain off. Honest.


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An Echo Encapsulated in an Easter Egg

Hello … hello … ello … llo … o?

It’s me … me … e!

The Easter bunny!

I’m trapped inside this chocolate … mmm … mmMmm …

*nom nom nom*

Never mind.

Did you notice that all the words in my title start with vowels? Pretty cool, eh? They kinda … echo each other that way.

When I put together the title, I realized how well the words that were suggested to me for today’s post fit together. What on earth is better than the idea of being encapsulated in an Easter egg? Having to eat your way out …

Only being enclosed in there with a doughnut could top that!

Aaaand, I think I found my theme for this year’s quite-but-not-quite illegal A to Z Challenge.

I won’t need three words for tomorrow’s prompt since I’ll be using the “fab” prompt from SoCS. Thanks to the three ladies who gave me today’s “E” words. You’ll find their links under the words “echo,” “encapsulated” (should have been encapsulating, but hey! It’s close), and “Easter egg.”

Here’s my homemade “E” badge.

 

 


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Deftly and Diligently Demarcating Doughnuts

I had to talk about something that started with “D.” That’s what “absolutely NOT the A to Z Challenge” is all about for a Thursday the 4th of April (as opposed to, say, a Monday the 4th of April, when we’d still be on the letter “C”).

And since the words that were suggested are all either adverbs or a verb, I figured I’d stick with doughnuts. Because who doesn’t love doughnuts?

Which, naturally, led me to the question how much deft and diligence goes into demarcating doughnuts? Because, let’s face it, there are so many different kinds! For instance, it’s got to be tricky to figure out what’s in the middle of a sugar doughnut. And what if the trays got mixed up? I can just imagine having to deftly stick something in the little hole where the jam goes in and diligently distinguish whether it’s strawberry, raspberry, or cherry, thus demarcating it and putting it in the right spot so no one *gasp!* gets the wrong doughnut.

Yeah, okay, this post is a stretch. But I still want to know …

What’s your favourite doughnut?

I’m going to need three words for the letter “E” tomorrow. One per person in the comments, please. And keep it clean. 🙂 If you’re wondering who gave me my three “D” words, click the links under the words “deft,” “diligence” (it was supposed to be “diligent,” but I figured that was close enough), and “demarcating” (should have been “demarcate”). Thank you!

Here’s my homemade “D” badge, complete with doughnuts, to go with my illegal A to Z post.

 

 


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Crikey!

Crikey! is what I said after I texted Alex’s support worker (can’t call them babysitters anymore, since he’s officially an adult) to see if she could come over and “support” him, and she texted me back that she can’t make it because she’s in Australia. To which I promptly replied, “Have fun!” and then ran to my chequebook to see where I put the decimal point on her last cheque.

But the real crux of the matter is finding someone to watch him at all. It used to be that anyone with a minimal amount of ability to use sign language would do, but now that he’s older and more inclined to want to be independent, he requires someone he can communicate his needs to. And there aren’t a lot of people who know sign language.

While I’m sure nothing along the lines of a catastrophe would occur if I left him in the care of someone who knew none of his language, I can imagine it being very frustrating. So why did I even mention a catastrophe? Because Anita made me do it.

Speaking of which, I’m going to need another three words for the letter “D” tomorrow. One per person in the comments, please. And keep it clean. 🙂 If you’re wondering who gave me my three “C” words, click the links under the words “crikey,” “crux,” and “catastrophe.” Thank you!

Here’s my homemade “C” badge to go with my less-than-on-the-up-and-up A to Z post. The red thing is supposed to be a bomb going off. Yeah, I’ll stick to writing.

 

 


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Bloomers

Why is it I get a strange look when someone describes their kid as a late-bloomer and I say mine is a bloomer? Seriously, even early-bloomers are a thing. But bloomers? Totally frowned upon.

That’s bonkers, if you ask me.

Speaking of bloomers, I’m still waiting for the spring flowers. It’s cold again, but the temperature’s supposed to go up a bit later. A few tulip shoots are starting to come through, but I’m afraid the dog might have dug up my crocuses. We’ll see, I suppose. Had I any bloomers to show you, I would.

I plan to buy myself some congratulatory balloons if I can get through this month of illegal A to Z’ing without getting caught. I wonder if there’s such a thing as a “Congratulations for not going to blogging jail” balloon? I’ll check the Dollar Store. If anyone has them, they will.

Thanks to the three bloggers who came up with my three “B” words. If you want to see who they were, click on the words “bloomer,” “bonkers,” and “balloons” above.

Same deal as yesterday with tomorrow’s “C” words–I’ll use the first three suggested in the comments. KEEP IT CLEAN! (Thank goodness the “F” word will be for SoCS! I’ve already chosen one.) One word per person.

Thanks!

 

 


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Ah, the Angst

The angst of still not knowing what to do this month!

And it’s already this month!!

I was reading what looked like a great article on procrastination yesterday.

Looked like it, I say, because I didn’t finish reading it. I shit you not, I set it aside to finish later.

Link at the bottom of this post.

So here I am with my illegal “A” post that is in no way associated with the A to Z Challenge. Why don’t I just link to the challenge and get it over with? Let me tell you.

Got a cup of coffee? I don’t, hang on.

Okay, got my coffee. Aaaand, there’s a dog hair in it. Alex must have dropped the tea towel before he wiped my cup. Oh well. Pick it out and keep going. I’m sure it won’t be the first time I’ve eaten a dog hair if there are any more in there. Now, where was I?

Oh yeah, why I don’t link to the original AWESOME A to Z Challenge? Which is celebrating its 10th year this year, I might add.

Link at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, the reason I’m not joining officially is because of the spirit of the whole thing. The A to Z Challenge is all about finding your community of bloggers. It’s about visiting each other. And honestly? I just don’t have time to guarantee I’ll visit every new blogger who visits me. Some? Yes. All? No.

And, I’m not sure I’ll manage to write more than this one post anyway.

But you should definitely do it! Look for the link. Don’t be sneaky like me and do it on the side.

So my next question is, what do I do for the rest of the month?

How about giving my improv muscles a workout?

For tomorrow, I’ll use the first three suggestions for “B” words in the comments on this post. ONE per person. Just please, keep it clean. Ta.

And here are the links I promised you.

The A to Z Challenge sign-up.

And the procrastination article.

Now I’m off to cough up a hairball.

Oh! And I haven’t forgotten the Escapist Coloring Club post for April 1st. I’ll get at that after I’ve finished some other stuff …


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#SoCS – D’OH!

Oh yeah, I’m supposed to write a blog post today, aren’t I. D’oh!

It’s been a day. I managed to get out of the house for a while and not either go shopping for food, nor take Alex somewhere, nor pick Alex up from somewhere, nor do anything for someone else other than me. And it was nice. No internet, no kids, it was like a mini-vacation. For two hours.

You set the bar low, everything seems like a treat that’s not work.

Wow, was that sentence ever backwards.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do A-Z this year. Only one day left and I have no idea what to write about. Besides that, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo Camp to finish off the third book in my Dagmaru series, and I have a couple of editing jobs to do. And on the 24th I’m starting a course. SURE I’ll be able to fit in blogging every day. SURE! There we go–a self-flagellation theme.

Watch out in May for the Linda G. Hill line of cat ‘o nine tails, available in assorted colours. They’ll come with an instructional video, including bonus content on how to blog in your sleep.

That’ll bring in the dough.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This somewhat masochistic-themed post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find the other participants’ links in the comment section and join in! It’s all kinds of fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/03/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-30-19/


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#SoCS – Med Mail

The last piece of mail I received was from the people who provide medications to my mum’s retirement home. She doesn’t get her own mail anymore–it confuses her too much. They accidentally gave her her Visa bill last week and she’s been phoning me obsessing over it.

Anyway, this bill for meds comes to about $1.50 a month. Maybe less. I never know whether to pay it, because the bank charges more (I think) for processing fees than the bill is worth. It’s like the outstanding balance of $.79 I have on my credit card right now. Is it worth it? I dunno.

Alex and I went to see my mum today. As you might have guessed, she’s out of the hospital and back at the retirement home. At this point, though, she gets confused about where she is when she’s in her room. She’s having a hard time finding her way around the building, and everything worries her. She’s almost at the top of the waiting list for a nursing home–I think it’ll only be a couple of months–so when they get to her, she’ll be moving. Not the best situation, but what can you do? If she goes back to the bottom of the list, she won’t get one of the nicer places if it becomes a necessity.

Whatever I do, she’s not going to understand. She’s going to blame me for however she feels about it because I’m the only one she has. I’m responsible for whatever happens to her.

*sigh*

It’s much easier making decisions for your kids’ lives than it is your parents’.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to read all the other posts (you’ll find the links in the comment section) and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/03/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-23-19/


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Goodnight

In an unprecedented move, I’m turning off the computer for a full thirteen and a half hours, starting now.

I’m going to relax. Maybe read a book. Imagine that!

Have a good night, friends. Catch you tomorrow!


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#SoCS – Heart and soul

Every day I do it.

Put my heart and soul into my work.

And still, I don’t feel like I do enough.

Because if it takes me an hour to write a good sentence,

or twenty minutes to edit one,

I haven’t the product–I haven’t been productive.

Writing is a skill

or I should say writing well is a skill–writing poetically is a skill

unlike building a wall of brick and mortar.

Because unlike the repetitive nature of building a wall,

no two sentences are quite alike.

No two stories are alike.

They each have their fingerprint,

the fingerprint of the author.

The soul of the author.

The experiences that make the author who he or she is.

So just because I don’t bang out a story in a few weeks,

doesn’t mean I’m not working.

Perhaps it just means my heart and soul

are unready to let it go.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This totally off the top post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other posts in the comment section and join in yourself–it’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/03/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-16-19/