The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Man, I shouldn't skim threads coming off a half-nap... now I have a mental image of a poster brooding a clutch of chicken-kitten gryphs...

Later the same Thursday, and I'm holing up in my room avoiding people (as usual.)

Work existed. Tiring, but done.

The car might be smelling better, so I think I'm on the right track, but my nose is messed up today from the draining bug (see also: half nap when I crawled home), so I can't be positive. We have a steamer thingy I want to use on it this weekend, maybe with some enzymatic cleaner like they use for pet messes; it was kitchen-based garbage juice that spilled, so something that takes out organic smells is probably the best route. Honestly, I'm sure the thing's overdue for a nice, intensive upholstery cleaning anyway. Plus it'll let me procrastinate on numerous tasks.

And the sibling is in a Mood again, and I just found out that I'm expected to make dinner tonight. I thought the sibling was going to a class, meaning automatic nuke your own dinner night... though I could still call nuke your own, as we have a snerkload of leftover leftover stew from last night. But, again, the sibling being in a Mood, that would likely be interpreted as "I hate you, sibling, and want you to starve to death," which wouldn't help the Mood. (Pretty much everything one says or doesn't say, or does or doesn't do, is interpreted that way in a Mood.)

Away I go, to figure out what I can throw together that's least likely to escalate a Mood. Might do chicken strips and fry again. Or hot dogs and beans. Something simple. Something neutral. Something requiring minimal interaction with family while it cooks...

Brightdreamer said:

Man, I shouldn't skim threads coming off a half-nap... now I have a mental image of a poster brooding a clutch of chicken-kitten gryphs...

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tiddlywinks said:

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Because there was someone talking about chicks, and someone else talking about kittens, and my brain was still partially asleep...

Eh, never mind. Visual aid:



I completely deny allegations of doodling this as an excuse to procrastinate on writing and/or editing. If I were really procrastinating, I'd have done a cleaner inking job and cleaned it up more, unless I were exceptionally lazy... which you totally cannot prove I am.

Welp, that's the most adorable thing this morning. Couple that with listening to Josh Keaton do a Voltron-ized version of "You're Welcome" and its a great way to start a Friday

I wish I could doodle like that because it's totally adorable.

the cutest cryptid

*clears throat First Doctor style*

Ahem, Winks,

After seeing some of that twitter conversation last night, I wouldn't be raising my eyebrow at anyone discussing chicken things (or derivatives thereun).

tiddlywinks said:

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So do the chickittengryphs grow up to lay eggs, like a chicken, or knock things off of counters, like cats? Or do they knock things off counters by laying eggs? I can just see one now going 'purrrrkawakKawakpurrrrr

Justobuddies said:

So do the chickittengryphs grow up to lay eggs, like a chicken, or knock things off of counters, like cats? Or do they knock things off counters by laying eggs? I can just see one now going 'purrrrkawakKawakpurrrrr

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They're a barnyard critter, able to both lay eggs and control the small rodent population (omnivorous) and thus obviating the need for separate species of domestic avians and free-range felines. They're also capable of chasing off weasels, foxes, and other common predators, thanks to their cat blood, though they do sometimes fall prey to corn basilisks, diamondback wyrms, and barn owlgryphs. However, they are messy creatures best kept outdoors; inside, they shed feathers, torment housepets, peck and scratch at flooring (particularly carpeting)... and will knock things off shelves, sometimes while attempting to brood eggs or egglike objects. (The chicken parts don't exactly contribute much in the way of brains...)

And clearly I didn't get enough sleep last night, either...

Friday morning, and still sinusy and tail-end-of-cold-y, and wishing I could just crawl back into bed and sleep, but I can't.

Murgh...

Best get moving in the direction of the door if I want to get a paycheck.

Trying to decide if I feel like a hypocrite.

So, a book I'm listening to on Audible takes a low-key swipe at 50 Shades of Gray, and I thought it was pretty amusing.

Then the swipe kept going on and on, to the point where my head went "Nope, not cool actually."

And then I find out that they -actually wrote- the fictional totally-not-50-Shades book. And now I'm leaning back toward amused. Maybe it's what my sister calls the Vasquez principle.

Richard White said:

*clears throat First Doctor style*

Ahem, Winks,

After seeing some of that twitter conversation last night, I wouldn't be raising my eyebrow at anyone discussing chicken things (or derivatives thereun).

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Hey. JA and Pasty dragged me into that one. Plus, it's not MY fault that antho has received so many chicken stories. Though they may be getting another one shortly.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, the picture is adorable, BD.

@Brightdreamer: Chickens in general are pretty decent at keeping down the rodent and snake populations, but usually can't be arsed to do so. (Some cautious searching on YouTube should illustrate what I mean, but be careful with the animal death vids on YouTube as some are very problematic. "Chicken steals mouse from cat" is not too bad. There are also some "chicken kills snake" videos that aren't completely horrible. But I did look at one that came up under "Chicken kills dog" and although both animals survive - chicken eventually kicks dog's ass - it was stressful.)

Thanks for the comments on the doodle. TBH, I haven't knocked out a critter like that - doodle and description - since my click-and-take adoption days umpteen years ago. Guess that part of my brain isn't all dead, after all...

Later the same Friday, and today I proved that it is possible to do my job while half asleep. Helped that the numbers were very low - as in, get out an hour early low. Got myself lunch on the way home to celebrate. Now I'm chilling for a bit, then I need to look up how long to cook a turkey breast in the oven and get that going. Because I have a turkey breast that needs to be cooked in the oven, which should be thawed after a few days in the fridge.

Away I drift.

ETA - Cross-posted with Aggy B; it makes sense that they'd be able to take on snakes and such, being ground-dwellers defending their flock and flightless young. Didn't figure they'd eat the flesh, though... and the feline bits of a gryph need nourishment as much as the avian parts.

Aggy B. said:

@Brightdreamer: Chickens in general are pretty decent at keeping down the rodent and snake populations, but usually can't be arsed to do so.

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That's why my family kept peacocks at our apple orchard.

And by keeping peacocks I mean, a peacock showed up one day. Then a bunch of peahens. Then there was only one peacock and peahen. Then there was a bunch of peafowl. I don't know why they stay but they do.

And there's nothing like waking up to the sound of a peacock at 5 am.

Hi ya'll! *Waves and then descends back into the thesis pit*

Brightdreamer said:

Because there was someone talking about chicks, and someone else talking about kittens, and my brain was still partially asleep...

Eh, never mind. Visual aid:



I completely deny allegations of doodling this as an excuse to procrastinate on writing and/or editing. If I were really procrastinating, I'd have done a cleaner inking job and cleaned it up more, unless I were exceptionally lazy... which you totally cannot prove I am.

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That is awesome!

Brightdreamer said:

They're a barnyard critter, able to both lay eggs and control the small rodent population (omnivorous) and thus obviating the need for separate species of domestic avians and free-range felines. They're also capable of chasing off weasels, foxes, and other common predators, thanks to their cat blood, though they do sometimes fall prey to corn basilisks, diamondback wyrms, and barn owlgryphs. However, they are messy creatures best kept outdoors; inside, they shed feathers, torment housepets, peck and scratch at flooring (particularly carpeting)... and will knock things off shelves, sometimes while attempting to brood eggs or egglike objects. (The chicken parts don't exactly contribute much in the way of brains...)

And clearly I didn't get enough sleep last night, either...

Friday morning, and still sinusy and tail-end-of-cold-y, and wishing I could just crawl back into bed and sleep, but I can't.

Murgh...

Best get moving in the direction of the door if I want to get a paycheck.

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O.O

I guess now the smibbles have company.

tiddlywinks said:

Hey. JA and Pasty dragged me into that one. Plus, it's not MY fault that antho has received so many chicken stories. Though they may be getting another one shortly.

- - - Updated - - -

Yo, don't blame me! Pasty did it first! I merely gave credit where credit was due!

Also, the picture is adorable, BD.

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Raindrop said:

So at the moment, I leave like a student, pretty much. Minus the partying. It sucks.

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I'm kind of miffed, actually. I've been to uni twice (once right out of high school, and once in my twenties-to-thirties), and my partying has been seriously lacking all throughout. Like, the first time, sure, I did stupid things and got inebriated on various things - but where was the random hookups? Nowhere, that's where! And the second time, I had a more lovable personality, but still no hookups, and nothing in the way of inebriation. And for this I have 2 worthless pieces of paper and tens of thousands of dollars of debt! Bah! Bah, I say!

Jade A said:

Cliff, Raindrop - I'm in the same boat It's rough

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*shitty life fistbump*

Saturday, still marginally morning, and it's sunny out there. Hopefully it stays that way.

Got a nice, indulgent snooze-in, despite the lingering crud, so that was good. Now I have to get the room tidying done and figure out the plan for cleaning the car; may have to go out to find enzyme stuff for the steamer. Or I may do it tomorrow. Because, yes, I am that lazy, plus my lungs are still scuzzy enough to trigger coughing fits.

Otherwise, I'm anticipating the usual slack-off Saturday lack of progress on anything.

And the room (still) won't sweep itself, so I'd best wander off and get to that.

*staggers out of the smibble pile*

Well. I received notification today that I was one of nine finalists for a grant, but not the winner. Which is... about what you'd expect. (Flattered to be a finalist. Bummed because I could have used the grant money.) I did get some insightful feedback on the creative portion of the application so that will be useful down the line.

Trying to rework and finish up a piece for the Tor.com novella call. Plus some contracted work that I'm excited about but struggling to find a solid beginning for. Plus SparkleGoat 2 and 3. >_< (Yes, yes. I'm spreading myself a little thin. But finances are still dire and unless I sell some things they will certainly not get any better.) So, anyway. *waves* I'm still alive. Struggling, but alive at this point.

Aggy, retreats amongst the smibbles

Lissibith said:

Good morning Cantina. Anyone reliably have spring yet in their neck of the woods?

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Ours took such a long time to arrive that now it appears to want to skip Spring alltogether and move right up to Summer. The garden erupted in flowers of all sorts. I think I even got a bit of sunburn today.

But while it is all kinds of beautiful I am rather worried about the low level of pollinators I'm seeing. The small bumblebees are making the most of it and a handful of butterflies have showed up. It looks like the bees in the wall haven't survived the winter cold-snap but a new swarm usually appears sometime in May. But surely there have to be other bees around. Where did they all go? Can't be too early still for hoverflies either, I'm thinking.

I don't get. We've been working hard for years to make our garden excellent for wildlife and they increasingly seem to snub us. And it's not that they're all locally extinct or something. I keep seeing other people with smaller gardens or ponds have like dozens of butterflies and frogspawn stacked on top of one another. What are we doing wrong? At least no shortage of snails and mice, though. Or mosquitos. Which reminds me I need to badger my dad to repair our batbox.

E.F.B. said:

Froggy, I'm sorry TraumaCat is still having such a rough time. I do think vets sometimes jump the gun on talking about putting animals down. Not always, but sometimes.

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Of course, TraumaCat not liking the grabbing, being shoved into a carrier and the trip to the vet's office one bit, was practically panting when the vet looking her over. Her breathing wasn't nearly as horrible-sounding back home, but then the vet can't check that.

Rhinoscopy once again found a lot of junk in TraumaCat's nostril but no clear cause, results of the chest photos will be available next week. Not holding my breath. The vet gave her a shot with some decongestant so TraumaCat is breathing a lot better right now but it'll only work a couple of days. And god help us all, the vet precribed nose drops. Nose drops. For TraumaCat. Twice a day. I'm not sure for whom it will be the most aweful, her who's getting them, or me who will have to be administering them. No good deed goes unpunished. Still, gotta try, I guess. But not looking forward to it.

Friendly Frog said:

But while it is all kinds of beautiful I am rather worried about the low level of pollinators I'm seeing. The small bumblebees are making the most of it and a handful of butterflies have showed up. It looks like the bees in the wall haven't survived the winter cold-snap but a new swarm usually appears sometime in May. But surely there have to be other bees around. Where did they all go? Can't be too early still for hoverflies either, I'm thinking.

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I've seen a visible decline in pollinators over the years where I live, particularly butterflies. Part of it, I know, is because of local spraying for gypsy moths, that affects other species of caterpillar and insect, though it seems to be tied into the overall (very alarming) trend of biodiversity loss.

Do you have any garden centers with master gardeners in your area? (May just be an American thing - master gardeners have to put in so many hours of community talks/service to keep their status, so you often see talks/ask-a-gardener tables at local nurseries in spring and summer.) Maybe they could answer questions on pollinator attraction and help troubleshoot.

Later the same Saturday, and my slacking off plans are in full force. Got the room somewhat tidied, sprayed the car seat with enzymatic cleaner (which needs 240-48 hours to set), and I even opened the story I was considering for the Tor novelette call (not the May one, I expect - it was supposed to be a novel, but it was always a little low on word count and the end parts never really work right for me, so I'm wondering if cutting it back might strengthen the overall story. A weak tree might make a strong bush.)

*falls into smibble pile* Tired. (Not in a bad way.) Crampy. (In the monthly female issues way.) Otherwise, it hasn't been a bad day, and I shall now attempt wordage.

If it's warm tomorrow like it is today, we'll try to give puppy her first bath. Current plan is to do it in the kiddy pool out back. We got the pool for her after she discovered her water-loving gene and was splashing her big fat puppy feet in her water bowl. Since then she likes to take flying leaps into the kiddy pool and splash and get wet, so we're hoping she won't mind an actual bath too much. I see us getting very wet and soapy, though. We probably should give da beagle a bath, too, but he's small enough we can wash him in the kitchen sink.

Friendly Frog said:

Of course, TraumaCat not liking the grabbing, being shoved into a carrier and the trip to the vet's office one bit, was practically panting when the vet looking her over. Her breathing wasn't nearly as horrible-sounding back home, but then the vet can't check that.

Rhinoscopy once again found a lot of junk in TraumaCat's nostril but no clear cause, results of the chest photos will be available next week. Not holding my breath. The vet gave her a shot with some decongestant so TraumaCat is breathing a lot better right now but it'll only work a couple of days. And god help us all, the vet precribed nose drops. Nose drops. For TraumaCat. Twice a day. I'm not sure for whom it will be the most aweful, her who's getting them, or me who will have to be administering them. No good deed goes unpunished. Still, gotta try, I guess. But not looking forward to it.

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Ugh, nosedrops. :/ I'm guessing that will be as fun to administer as when Erin kitty (tomorrow will be the first anniversary of the day we had to have him put down ) had surgery and the vet gave us a liquid oral pain reliever we (mostly me) were supposed to squirt in his mouth. I think I got it in his mouth once. All the other times it either got partially in, or ended up on the wall/carpet/wherever the dumb syringe was pointed when I tried to squirt it into the struggling cat.

Sunday, technically nine minutes before noon so it still counts as morning.

Still some lingering night cough issues, but overall I'm on the right track. Nose is a bit drippy today, but that may be allergies; with the rain slacking off, things are looking distinctly yellow outside again, and I generally don't bother with allergy meds when I'm fighting crud issues. (Don't want to risk interactions, which is probably illogical but there it is. Besides, the crud bugs usually overwhelm the allergy issues anyway.) Meanwhile, I'm trying to do some site work. Can't hit the car with the steam cleaning thing for another three hours, so hopefully I can make some progress in the meantime.

First, though, it's lunch time.

(ETA - Later the same Sunday, and got the car steamed and vacuumed. I think I've pretty much taken care of the odor issue, but can't be sure for a few days, as my nose is still unreliable. I also made some progress on site work; finally tackled the McCaffrey reviews, which were holding me up because there were several of them to transfer and I'm a lazy and unreliable person. Well, it counted as progress to me... Also got an Amazon order in, because I needed something and Mom needed something and then I wanted to get the total up over 35 bucks, so I had to order a couple books to round things out - totally didn't want to, but you see how I was stuck. I aim to end the day by watching something (contents of "something" to be determined later) tonight, but first I have to get my nightly spitballing done, peek at my possible-novella-with-revisions again, and get a few more reviews transferred to the new template. At least three more, dang it. Let's go, you lazy beast...)

This time of the year is so crazy busy that I've been all over the place and none of it the things I personally would like to be doing for myself. Next few weeks are super busy as there are sports, weddings, and whatnots. Plus the mad rush for the end of the school year. Just remembering to breathe is about all I can do. Plus work decided to heat up with a million things all due at the same time. Yay.

Then Ilona Andrews is not doing new updates on the current Innkeeper serial until May, so I'm sad panda because that's my little slice of enjoyment on dreary days. Alas, I shall try to write my own words and entertain myself with my own story.

Cliff Face said:

I'm kind of miffed, actually. I've been to uni twice (once right out of high school, and once in my twenties-to-thirties), and my partying has been seriously lacking all throughout. Like, the first time, sure, I did stupid things and got inebriated on various things - but where was the random hookups? Nowhere, that's where! And the second time, I had a more lovable personality, but still no hookups, and nothing in the way of inebriation. And for this I have 2 worthless pieces of paper and tens of thousands of dollars of debt! Bah! Bah, I say!



*shitty life fistbump*

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Can I be jealous of only tens of thousands of dollars in Student Loan debt? I owe twice as much in student loans as on my house, definitely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range. I'll be paying on it until I die, thanks interest.

This weekend had glorious weather. Sunny and 60. As celebration, I got out my art show tent to take photos of my setup to submit to juries when applying to a show. This is an art form in itself. Having not too much clutter, so it looks classy, but enough items to ensure you have enough stock for a show. Everything must be visible from a straight-on view. The lighting must be right and natural (white top tent). Balance, attractive, etc. I set it up (took about 2 hours), took photos, posted to a FB site that is dedicated to critiquing just such photos, waited for feedback... adjusted, took more photos, waited for feedback - did about 4 rounds of this. Then I got it the best way, and had to wait for the sun to set a bit so there weren't harsh shadows on the front of my booth. Finally DONE.

Sore today.

Husband did some yard work. He's sore, too, but the nicer weather has let him wake up today not in agony. This is a win.