Life in progress

Category Archives: Random


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#SoCS – The Hand-Me-Down

It’s a blue robe.

A hand-me-down from a friend of my mother’s–a friend my mother no longer remembers.

They weren’t friends for long. Perhaps a few years.

The robe was too big for the friend, and my mother didn’t want it.

So here it is.

It’s a fluffy robe. Comfortable and warm on cold winter mornings when I get up in the dark of five o’clock to feed Alex. My fluffy slippers are pink. In them, with the robe, I’m sure I must look like a tired, less-than-sweet ball of candy floss.

It’s all pastel, this outfit.

Or would that be an infit, considering I’d never be caught dead outside in it?

And infit.

Yeah.

So, it’s 3:14am and I’m still up and I shouldn’t be. I should be shrugging on my blue hand-me-down candy-floss robe and crawling off to beddiebyes.

Yeah.

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

This comfy post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other posts in the comments, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/09/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-14-19/


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A Few Difficulties and some Good News

Well, it looks like I failed to get the mid-month reminder out for The Escapist Coloring Club again last month. And with Alex being his difficult self today, the prompt for September may be delayed until tomorrow. I did want you to know I haven’t forgotten, though.

August marked the end of the year for the SoCS badge–I plan to get the new contest up once Alex goes back to school …

I’m starting to see a pattern here. Who knew your life could revolve around your child rather than your blog? Haha. Anyway, please watch out for that.

And finally, I called the doctor’s office on Friday when I still hadn’t heard back about my MRI. Turns out no news was good news: everything looks normal.

Obviously they didn’t look too deeply. 😉

So, that’s it. Prompt later today or tomorrow, badge contest to come. Again, sorry for the delays.


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#SoCS – The Grand Scheme

In the grand scheme of things, I’m not that bad off.

When you think about suffering, there are many degrees. There’s having your house burn down around you (that’s really suffering), and then there’s sitting in your living room and being hot but the fan is aaall the way over on the other side of the room (that’s also suffering, but to the 1/1,000,000th degree).

Do I feel empathy for both of those people? Sure. In about the same degrees in which they’re suffering.

I try not to complain about my personal challenges because I have it relatively good.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel sympathy for those who have it even easier than I do.

Because a struggle is a struggle. And you never know where someone else’s breaking point lies.

Right now I’m in my own living room, drinking a beer, the dog sleeping beside me. I finished work for the day at 1am, and I feel good about what I accomplished, even though I didn’t complete what I set out to for the day.

I’m grateful for all the well wishes for my MRI–I should get the results this week coming.

For now, my eyesight is good. And there’s no rain in the forecast–the barometer is holding steady, which is likely why I can see.

Now, it’s almost 2am, and I still have writing of my own to do.

With that, I’m signing off.

The water level is going back down.

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other prepositional posts and join in. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/08/23/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-24-19/

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


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Random Update and a Thank You

First, thanks to everyone who participated in and commented on my One-Liner Wednesday and my SoCS. I’ve read all your wonderful comments, and I shall strive to reply to them all tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I’m going to get my MRI done on my noggin at 7am. I have to be at the hospital 45 minutes early, so that’ll be fun.

Wish me luck. 🙂

P.S. From the date the doctor ordered the MRI to the date of the test was almost exactly one month, for those wondering what the wait times are really like in Canada. Is that much longer than it would take in the US? Just wondering.


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#SoCS – Too Many Minds

Where am I going?

What shall I do next?

Okay, the first question is one I ask regularly and has nothing to do with what I really want to write about. I ask myself where I’m going on a daily, sometimes hourly basis when I get up to do something and I have so much on my mind that I forget what I got up for.

Writing that, I realize it’s all the same beast.

I have too many things on the go. I’m taking courses to further my editing career (please don’t judge this post on any level where grammar is concerned–I’m not allowed to edit it), and I’m taking courses to further my writing career. I’m working full time at the editing job, part time at the writing gig, and learning to boot.

As my mother would say, I’ve got too many minds to go mad.

I have a schedule for myself–my editing and my writing–but that’s all I have listed. Then there are the dozens of other things I do during the day.

I swear, I take multi-tasking to a whole ‘nother level. And what’s worse? I’m still not getting everything done that I need to do.

The good news is I’ve got a few new novels coming out–I’ve written two and a half since November and finished another one. And at least one of those novels will be free for subscribers to my newsletter! Which I have to get organized and start sending out regularly. It’s got cobwebs on it at the moment.

Crickets.

Crickets stuck in cobwebs.

Where was I?

Haha! See what I mean?

So yeah. I’m afraid something is going to have to give, and I have no idea what. It SHOULD probably be social media. I’ve already all but given up my constant Twittering. Facebook is like the alien in Alien–stuck to my face and breeding somewhere in my innards.

There’s something to think about just before bed.

You can see the authoring thing is something I come by honestly. It doesn’t stop.

The imagination, that is. Not stealing other people’s ideas …

I should probably stop while I’m ahead.

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

This totally unedited post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other unedited posts in the comment section and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/08/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-10-19/


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#SoCS – Astronomically Aware

I am astronomically aware.

I am aware that there is a moon and stars.

And planets.

I am aware of the odds (astronomically slim) that caused me to be alive right now.

To have been born into this world, at this time in history.

Although I might think the same thing had I been born in another time …

We don’t know. We just don’t know.

I am aware that I have, up until now, lived a pretty blessed life.

I have what I need.

But that, of course, also comes down to mindset.

I mean, I could say I need a private jet.

I could even believe it if I tried hard enough.

But that would only lead to me feeling like I don’t live a blessed life.

And that would suck.

Astronomically.

I am astronomically aware that there are an astronomical number of things I am unaware of.

Get your mind around that one.

… or not.

It even gives me a headache.

And I wrote it.

Problem is, I believe it.

So it’ll probably keep me up all night.

I am astronomically aware of how lucky I am.

To have the ones I love close by.

To have the means to communicate with the entire world from the comfort of my living room.

To have had all the opportunities I’ve had throughout my life, and the wisdom (for the most part) to know what to do with them.

I am astronomically aware …

that I should be going to bed now.

Good night, dreamers.

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

This deeply astronomical post was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other astronomical posts in the comment section, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/08/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-3-19/


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#SoCS – Cleaner

What a friggin’ day. I spent most of it working–worked at home in my usual spot on the couch, worked at the library, worked upstairs in my room where it’s boiling hot, worked back on the couch …

I meant to clean up a bit, but it didn’t happen. My son did do some laundry for me though, so I have freshly cleaned-and-dried-outside-on-the-line sheets on my bed. The place is slightly clean-er.

There’s nothing that gets my kitchen floor cleaner than dropping a glass and breaking it. I did that last night, and boy, was my floor sparkling this morning! … Come to think of it, that might mean I didn’t get all the glass …

Just kidding. Alex walks around in bare feet, and then there’s the animals. The floor is clean.

The point is I do do more cleaning when I absolutely have to. Half the time I do laundry when someone is out of underwear. Or the dishes when there’s something there’s none left of. Forks. I should have sixteen forks, but do you think I can find more than five at one time? NO! Forks have become my Tupperware lids. My other sock.

I suppose I should be grateful: if I had more forks, the dishes would pile up more.

I hate cleaning.

I really do.

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

This dirty post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link and find out how you can join in! And while you’re there, find all the other clean and dirty posts in the comments. https://lindaghill.com/2019/07/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-27-19/


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#SoCS – Foresight

I can’t really call it foresight, because I didn’t plan to have this happen again. But I did record everything I did to try to help myself last time I had vision problems, so YAY, I can check out my own blog to see if anything in particular worked.

Because it is happening again now. I don’t know if it’s stress, or blood sugar, or what it is, but my vision keeps going extremely blurry. I’m thinking it could have something to do with eating, because I just had a couple of forkfuls of pasta salad and I can see quite well–better than before I ate.

So I probably need to have a blood test. If I’m pre-diabetic, it’d be good to know.

I’ve had four days of this, and it majorly sucks.

In other news, after I decided on the prompt yesterday I was thinking about what I could write that I could use “fore” in. As I gazed out my front window, I looked at all the weeds on my lawn and thought, “My fore lawn looks forlorn.”

So that’s it! From now on, until I fix my front yard it will be referred to as my fore lawn. And the back yard? My hind lawn. Because it, too, is hinding in the weeds.

I’m here ’til Thursday. Try the veal.

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

This sadly funny post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find all the other awesome posts in the comments and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/06/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-29-19/


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#SoCS – Leave it alone

Why do we have such a hard time leaving some things alone?

In my case, a book. Used to be if I started one, I had to finish it, no matter how boring it was or how much I disliked it. I couldn’t stop until I’d read the painful last page. But the older I get and the more books I want to read, I’m getting better at it.

In Alex’s case (he’s my son), something that hurts. If he has a scab, he’s gotta pick it. No matter how much I tell him to stop (that actually makes him do it more), or try to explain to him that he’ll make it worse and possibly the body part will fall off, he can’t leave it alone. He’s covered in scars from tiny scratches that he turned into major wounds.

No, nothing has fallen off. Yet. And maybe the fact that I tell him it might and it never does is why he never believes me and, thus, never stops picking. Unfortunately, I can’t cut off any of his body parts while he’s asleep just to show him I’m right (he’ll wake up if I do and then the whole experiment will be ruined), so instead I’m stuck with a kid with scars. And I have to watch him make himself bleed, which might actually be more painful for me than it is for him … If it hurt him that much, he wouldn’t do it. Right?

I’m rambling.

I’m just going to leave this here.

Here are some leaves.

baby maple leaves

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to find all the other posts linked in the comment section and join in yourself. It’s fun!

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


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#SoCS – Social Responsibilities

I think social media might be ruining me.

Okay, I’ve never really enjoyed the idea of going out and being sociable, unless it was with close friends. And even then, the path of least resistance–staying home in my pjs–often felt more comfortable than going out. Usually, I’m okay once I get there. It’s the idea of going.

But now, I’m getting so used to typing my sociability rather than being forced to speak, I’m getting lazy. You know, with having to come up with the first thing out of my brain and being stuck with it. Because when I’m speaking, it’s out there. When I type it, unless I hit send by accident, I can reword it until it’s right.

But you know the one thing I’ve always hated? Waiting for my turn to introduce myself to a group. You listen to people say their name and their position/relation/whatever, and it’s getting closer and closer to your turn and you start rehearsing what you’re going to say in your head because you don’t want to screw it up, and by the time the guy beside you is finished, you sputter and spit out your reply so badly that you wish your shoes could swallow you or that the power could suddenly go out, giving you a chance to escape when nobody’s looking.

Or maybe it’s just me.

I suppose there’s the odd person who actually revels in the opportunity to speak, but nah, that ain’t me.

I’m a lot better at it, though, now, than I used to be. When I was a kid, I HATED speaking in public. Now I still hate it, but at least I don’t really care what people think of me when I do. I hate it now in lower case.

There’s a difference.

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

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to find all the other awesome posts listed in the comment section, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/06/14/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-15-19/