Royalty for a Week, and Shameless The Rest of The Time (Volume IV)

*blows dust off the iron maiden*

Woah. It's quiet around here. I think even my spiders have departed.

Hey, Wicked, it is quiet in the castle lately. So nice to see you about. I've been feeding the smaller spiders flies, and the larger ones chickens. Of course most things taste like chicken, but the dears are happy up in the rafters, biding their time until you come around and take care of them.

I've been so busy with work it's not easy to wander far from those waiting patiently (I hope) to get to them. We'll be getting the remnants of Tropical Storm Crystobal tomorrow, so I'm scheduling a trimming/weeding job that pays well, and it's something if we get rained on we can take off and head for the cover of home. The bigger projects will have to wait for better (cooler and less humid) weather.

Life is a challenge but I love it. Have a great week, one and all!

Thank you, Sir Brad.

Lovely weather we're having. High winds and rain here, but it sounds like Laramie is expecting 4" of snow tonight.

Princess Wicked, I'm sorry to have missed you. It is quiet around here. I don't know where most of the Royals have gone.

I ordered a rain barrel back on the 20th of May because the tap water here is so heavily chlorinated I can't drink it straight so I know the plants would have similar problems. And I can't afford to filter it twice for the plants. Filters cost a fortune. The stupid manufacturer, as of yesterday, still hasn't shipped the rain barrel. I tried catching rain in plastic storage containers, but the water stunk from the plastic, so I know that isn't a good option either. I'm now going to go tap water treated with Vitamin C. That is supposed to neutralize the chlorine, according to a report by a waste management expert. I'm just waiting on the Vitamin C from Amazon.

I hope you all are having a safe and wonderful June. Good luck to those who are querying. May you find your agent, and soon.

I'll go along with the agent thingie - when I get back to querying.

Were you close I'd give you a rain barrel. I have three out on the deck given to me by a customer, and I'm not using them other than turning them upside down and putting candles on them. A friend moved to Florida last week and she gave me her four solar-boulder lights - they're out there, too. Kinda nice at night when they light up and spread the glow.

I didn't know that about Vitamin C and water, though there are de-chlorinators that are eco-friendly. Also, letting water stand for awhile will allow the chlorine and chloramine to dissipate. I use Pur water filters to filter the city water here and they're fairly economical, but well water has a lot more minerals in it depending on the part of the country the well is drilled.I trust it will all come to pass.

My garden is growing great, and promises to product a lot. Have fun and take care of you!

Hello again, Sir Brad. Hello Duchess.

You didn't miss me completely, I'm still lurking.

We have well water. It's hard, full of minerals, and pretty much ruins anything it comes in contact with over long periods of time.

Let the tap water set for a few days, and it should be safe enough for the plants. Rain water is best of course. Hope your barrel shows up soon.

Happy 4th of July!

Wicked said:

We have well water. It's hard, full of minerals, and pretty much ruins anything it comes in contact with over long periods of time.

Let the tap water set for a few days, and it should be safe enough for the plants. Rain water is best of course. Hope your barrel shows up soon.

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Princess Wicked, the rain barrel isn't coming. I finally had to cancel it. The company kept giving excuse after excuse and lied to the store customer service person and did not call me, twice, after promising to do it.


I lost my dog yesterday. I had to take her into the vet and have her euthanized. She was in tremendous pain. She was with me for over 14 years. I am beyond devastated. It is going to take a while for me to recover. I've lost my little love, Amber.

Heya, Royals! How long has it been since I’ve travelled these castle corridors? Ages! And I can’t even put it down to being on a quest.

In my defence I’ve had a whole heap going on, the same as everyone else in the world. A slightly different tune for each of us, unfortunately.

Grand Duchess Amby, I’m so sorry about your poor little dog. They’re worth it but it still sucks every time it happens.

*Pokes head into throne room*

Anyone need a dragon tamer?

Greetings Your Majesties! I'm new to this castle, but I might stay awhile.

Grand Duchess Amby, hang in there, and be patient with yourself. Losing a furever friend is devastating. It sounds like your girl had a wonderful loving life with you. Maybe she's playing with my pups Jewel now... (I lost her in 2018; similar situation. She was 16 when we had to make that terrible vet visit.) I'm just now thinking about getting another pup.

Ambrosia said:

I ordered a rain barrel back on the 20th of May because the tap water here is so heavily chlorinated I can't drink it straight so I know the plants would have similar problems. And I can't afford to filter it twice for the plants. Filters cost a fortune. The stupid manufacturer, as of yesterday, still hasn't shipped the rain barrel. I tried catching rain in plastic storage containers, but the water stunk from the plastic, so I know that isn't a good option either. I'm now going to go tap water treated with Vitamin C. That is supposed to neutralize the chlorine, according to a report by a waste management expert. I'm just waiting on the Vitamin C from Amazon.

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Chlorine. Ugh.

I remember growing up during a drought, that water is a resource that needs to be managed so that it doesn’t get wasted. Not that it’s a perfect solution, but more an interim until things sort themselves out, how about:

Since plastic does taint the flavour, could you use that for the plants and only filter what you intend drinking? At least until you figure out turning it into wine?

*peeks into throne room
Hail to whoever is the current monarch.
Hugs, again, to you Duchess.
Mwritesdragons, hello. I trust the servants got you settled into your quarters comfortably.
Speaking of quarters. . . *heads off to chambers for a much needed nap

*does a fly-by*

*soars over the royal herd of cattle to make sure they are still there*

Hello royals!!! I know, it's been soooooo long. *bows to the king or queen and gives a big hug to the duchess*

I shall be in the wine cellar inspecting the royal wine if anyone needs me.

Thanks, everyone.

I'm glad to see some peeps come through again. It does this duchess' heart good to see her friends popping by.

I'm not much up to playing yet. Maybe in a little while.

In the meantime, make yourselves at home. If you need anything, ask the servants. They know just how to take care of the castle inhabitants.

Good Sunday evening, dear Royals.

I'll be down in the wine cellar inspecting the wine with Princess Night-flyer.

Goodnight.

Pull up a barrel, Duchess.

*hiccup*

The wine is tasting...er, I mean looking pretty good.

*hands Duchess a bottle of the castle's finest/oldest/dustiest/stuff*

*shoves the cow bones off into a corner*

*hiccup*

:

Good morning, Royals.

How goes the day? Here it is early morning and gives every appearance of clearing today. Maybe. But I like the clouds. We could use a little more rain, I think. So maybe we will get lucky and have some pass through. Whether it is rainy or clear, it is hot. And here in the pine forests of Deep East Texas it is also humid to go with the hot. Summer sucks.

Speaking of the pine forests, another logging truck just sped by. At least their activities around here are likely to keep the wild boar away until they are finished. I don't know where the rattlers go while they work. Hopefully they flee the other way instead of this way. Dangerous animals disappearing for a while is in my mind the only positive of living in a logging area. As necessary as I know the harvesting of trees is for making paper goods, I hate to see it. I don't like to think about it, either. The good news is they go back and replant those sectors they harvest. And once a sector is harvested it will be a good long while before it is harvested again because the trees have to grow back to maturity. So that is something.

If you know how to keep wild boar and rattlers away I am open to your suggestions.

....

Ambrosia nudged the pile of cow bones with her foot and gave a look to Princess Night-flyer. "You know you could have taken the bones to Cook and had Cook boil them up for broth. Now they have gone too far past and turned rancid. Nothing to do but drop them off in the wilderness somewhere and let the wild animals have at them. You will be doing that soon, of course."

Ambrosia wiped off the bottle of wine the dragon princess handed her. She smiled as she read the label. The counter against the wall held a carved walnut cabinet covered with reliefs of vineyards. Opening the door she reached inside and pulled out a sparkling crystal wine flute along with a cork screw.

"Nice vintage, Princess. You know your wine," said Duchess Ambrosia. She suspected however, as she opened the bottle and poured herself a glass of the Merlot, that the dragon had just reached for the dustiest bottle she could find. Which was alright. All the wine in the cellar was the best of vintages. It was the Castle's wine cellar, after all.

"Cheers!"

Good day/evening/night Grand Duchess and Royals.

We don't have wild boars around here, in upper Texas, however we do have a lot of rattle snakes, skunks, bobcats, and coyotes. I don't know how to keep any of them away...but they do a really good job at keeping me away from them.

And yes, of course nothing tastes better than cow bone broth! But as I started staggering towards the kitchens another wine bottle caught my eye and I was certain it needed some inspecting...and well I just got distracted and forgot about the bones. No worries, though, I'm about to fly over the moat I'm sure the crocs would love to have them or the piranhas, or whatever lives in there.

I shall breathe fire into the clouds and see if I can intimidate the sky into making rain for you.

Good evening, Your Grace.

Up here at the Summer Palace, the ARoRL sucks hot toads.
My General Contractor is a moron. And a cheat. And I know his lawyer.
Sigh. Life goes on.
Stay strong. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Good morning, dear Royals.

Awwww, Prince Michael, I am so sorry to hear of your ARoRL woes! I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction.

Life in the Castle is quiet these days. I do hope everyone is being safe and sane in these trying times. Remember, there is always fresh coffee on if you want to have a cup brought to you by the servants. If you don't want coffee, your preferred beverage is always waiting.

In the ARoRL, I have spent my first full day alone without Amber. I have to take care of my brother's 3 dogs, which I think is highly unfair. I still sometimes wake in the night thinking she is there and break down in tears when I realize she will never be there again. The duty of taking care of his three dogs is not helping. I don't want to care for someone else's dogs when mine is gone. I just want to get used to being without the constant commitment of having my dog. I can't get there taking care of his dogs, because they need care. I know my brother doesn't understand. It just makes my grieving harder. He had to go to Missouri because his wife went up there for the summer and he has to go bring her back home. He is going to stay for a month, but he will be out on his lake property staying away from everyone else. I hope everyone else stays away from him. It is my fear that some of his friends or his wife's brother will decide to seek him out for beer and conversation. As long as he is isolated, working on his property and staying away from people, he will be ok. But if these other people start coming around his risks go up exponentially. He is 70. Too old to be out there amongst idiots.

I will check in again soon. I think I will go for a walk in the Castle gardens. Have a wonderful day, Royals.

Hey everyone! Just quickly checking in and hoping everyone is OK!

I'll be posting around soon.

She felt odd gathering all of the staff and soldiers into the throne room. But someone had to witness her ascension to the throne. Her actions needed to be as legitimate and legally binding as possible given the absence of all Royals. She had called the clergy in, as well. She would be crowned by the bishop. There would be no failings here in propriety.

The garb forced to be worn in the pageantry of ascension rankled. It was all too cumbersome and heavy. She would be hard pressed to draw the sword she wore beneath the robes of state if there was need. Of course she was surrounded by the entire military so there was little to fear from attack. And the garb would not hinder her use of magic should the need arise. Ambrosia stood outside the closed double doors to the throne room, tossed the scepter from hand to hand to relieve the sweatiness on her palms, and awaited her summons by the bishop into the throne room. She had walked the procession so many times it should not have made her anxious. If taking the crown was not making her anxious, what was causing these butterflies? The absence of the Royals, of course. She had to figure out where they had gone. If this was magic she had not discerned it. There had to be something she had missed....

The doors opened and Ambrosia immediately stilled, took a breath, and stepped forward onto the carpet runner. This ceremony was a well-known friend and she glided gracefully toward the throne. There was a hush of anticipatory silence as she knelt before the bishop. When she rose again, the crown on her head, she ascended the stairs and turned toward the onlookers. What she noted nearly stole her breath. There were tears in the eyes of her people. The sense of relief was palpable. The queen had come home.

regdog said:

All Hail Queen Ambrosia. It is good to see you ont he throne again, my Queen. I am passing through on my travels and had to stopped by the castle and say hello.

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Princess! It is good to see you. How have your travels been? I trust you will pass this way again soon. But before you go perhaps you would like some dinner? Cook has outdone himself. I think he believes he is still feeding a full castle. Stay and rest awhile. Then when you must be on your way I will have your pack stuffed to the brim with delectable delights.