The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Religion0 said:

Rosa have had a few days with no to few potty accidents, so it's looking better. Still slow. Oh! I gave both the puppies hair cuts!

Click to expand...

Yay, puppy pics! They’re so cute!!

Heat exhaustion, OTOH, sucks. Living in Texas, I’m well familiar. I’m not surprised about feeling worse later, it really takes a day or two to fully recover. Take it easy, keep hydrating, maybe take some anti-inflammatories (though be careful with that if you’ve got nausea).

Religion0 said:

Pawpaw?!

Click to expand...

Heh, I like how it says his occupations are "Pet and lawyer". Multitalented!

When I think of pawpaws I think of the part of the "Bear Necessities" song from The Jungle Book where it goes:

Now when you pick a pawpaw
Or a prickly pear
And you prick a raw paw
Well next time beware
Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw
When you pick a pear
Try to use the claw
But you don't need to use the claw
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw
Have I given you a clue?

Click to expand...

Sorry about the heat exhaustion! It's definitely that time of year when the heat is the worst. It's been super hot and humid here, lately.



Morning, Cantina. Last night was a meteor shower and sitting on the back porch for about 45 minutes we saw several small ones and about three really bright ones that were enough to leave a trail behind them. Pretty cool! That was one of the best meteor showers we've seen in a long while.



Bad news. Grammy is going further downhill just in the past couple days. Aunt said the hospice nurse came yesterday and while Grammy's not quite at "beginning active" stage which is the term for being about to shut down physically, the nurse feels she's close. The nurse's visits will increase as Grammy gets worse. When she's at "active" stage where her systems are shutting down the nurse will be there every day. At this rate, she may be gone before the month is out unless she rallies somehow and suddenly gets better, but that's sounding unlikely. We're just praying her passing will be peaceful.

EFB - Sorry to read that. Hospice stage is never easy... I remember Grandpa held on long enough to get back home from the hospital and in his bed. Then it was time to leave. (His pacemaker even shut off, which doesn't always happen at the time of death. Like he flipped the switch on the way out.)

Wednesday, and heading back to an increasingly understaffed and pointless job in twentyish minutes. Sinuses are trying to sinusate again. Otherwise, not much worth mentioning (or worth fighting the often-sticky forums to post about), though I may have finally gotten a solidish start on a Solstice story draft. I'm also getting a transcription routine down, with a target for how much I want to earn per weekend - I don't want to go over 150 extra a month or it messes up what little health coverage I have. I wouldn't lose it, but I'd have to adjust it, and that would presuppose nothing happening to knock my income out from under me completely which I'm not holding my breath on because 2020.

The hospice stage hard. I'm sorry you have to see somebody go through that.

Bright, good luck with the sinuses. Mine are a mess from too many blows to the face.

My internet is back! I'm thrilled because they originally told us not to expect it by at least Friday if not later.

This morning I had my interview for a Supervisor's position. I think it went well but I wont' know anything for a few days.

Today I had my friend's 12 year-old son come help me do some cleaning. Because of the depression/anxiety and health issues, my apartment was looking like a demented old drug addict hoarder had been there for years. It was awful. So, we cleaned, and mountains of clutter were dealt with. Later on today I will be able to mop my kitchen floor, which is something I've been looking forward to for a while. I'm really happy about the progress that was made today.

I'm pooped but happy. I have a long list of things I'd like to do tonight but I'm not sure what I'll get to. Time will tell.

Yay for helpful, hard-working 12-year-olds! I hope you gave him ice-cream? I have no such helpful young people near me. (sigh) And you've got one all trained and everything.
A good kid is usually the product of good parenting. Congratulate your friend, as well.

Well, got a personal R back from the magazine I sent Psycat and the Pie Cutters to. Gotta do a bit of polish, then send it back out again. I will make this piece stick somewhere reputable that pays ok, dangit!

In other news, patch 5.3 for Final Fantasy 14 dropped on Tuesday. The main story quest looks really good so far. I had to log off halfway through because I was getting sleepy.

TedTheewen said:

My internet is back! I'm thrilled because they originally told us not to expect it by at least Friday if not later.

Click to expand...

Our internet provider has done that, too. "We'll be out there in a week or more to fix that for you!" But push a little and oh look, they're able to get it back up today or the next day.

Siwyenbast said:

I will make this piece stick somewhere reputable that pays ok, dangit!

Click to expand...

I feel this. Here's hoping we're both able to do it!



Morning, Cantina. Da lab pup's foot seems to be better already, which isn't surprising since she's a fast healer. We're very happy and she'll be extra happy to be able to play since she's been desperate to do so the past few days.

We got some pop-up storms late yesterday morning and early afternoon, one of which seemed to develop rather quickly right over the house. Normally both dogs aren't too bothered by thunder, but I was trying to get them to go out back before the storm got going in earnest and suddenly I saw a flash and the thunder cracked directly overhead really loudly. Both pups startled and ran back inside. Got some good rain, but thankfully not so much as to cause more damage to the entrance of the driveway.

It's cloudy this morning and we might get more pop up storms, but at least we don't have to go to the store or anything. Guess I'd better go get back to editing.

Hey, Cantina. Grammy passed overnight. Don't have all the details yet, but aunt had called earlier in the day to let us know things had taken a turn for the worse and the nurse told her she didn't think it would be much longer, and it wasn't. We're very sad and will miss her terribly, but we're at peace. It's for the best she didn't linger. She's with her Jesus now and we have all confidence we will see her again.

Aunt's been exclusively Grammy's caretaker for many years and gave up so much of her own life just to keep her out of a nursing home. We're a little worried for her as this is a huge life change, but the lines of communication are open and she has friends who will check on her and a friend who's going to help her try to find an online job when she's ready for that.

An actual funeral may not be possible with the Covid stuff going on and my parents and I have known for a long time we wouldn't be able to go when the time came even if a pandemic weren't going on. The 300+ miles by car would be physically hard on dad, he has to sleep with a bipap for his sleep apnea and oxygen for his heart failure, he's on daily insulin for his diabetes, and daily diuretics also for the heart failure, so to haul all that down there would be extremely difficult. If he had a medical problem while there, the area's medical care SUCKS EGGS so that would be an extra concern. Aunt understands all that, though and has told us not to worry about it, and we've told her to call at any time if she needs to talk.


Not much else to say right now. It's a sad day.

EFB - Sorry for your loss. Extra-sorry for circumstances preventing the closure ritual of the funeral... I don't suppose Zoom/streaming a memorial is an option?

Bright- I have no idea. Aunt knows how to do Skype but her laptop kinda sucks, so trying to do something that way probably wouldn't go well and I don't know what another option would be. I don't even know that they'll be able to have a memorial beyond a graveside service. The majority of people Grammy knew, family included, are really old, already passed on, or living far away. Young people who could help with tech are few and far between in that town and aunt's been through so much as it is, none of us want to push her to figure something out. Anyway, we've been mentally prepared to not be able to go for a good decade now, what with Grammy being in her 90s and both her and dad's health being so up and down. Grammy knew we loved her and we knew she loved us. That's all the closure we need.


It touched my heart last night when dad was talking to my aunt on the phone and suggested maybe Grammy should be buried in the sweater I crocheted her years ago and she loved so much and got dozens of compliments on, and aunt said, no. For one thing, Grammy'd already picked out what she wanted to be buried in, and the other thing was that aunt can't bear to part with that sweater because it holds so many good memories of Grammy for her. She'd even been keeping it out where she and Grammy could see it, they loved it so much. I worked so hard on that sweater and that meant a lot to me that it's been able to serve as more than just warmth or fashion and will keep doing so even now.


*hits post and crosses fingers she won't have the do the dumb Captcha "click the pictures with the boats" thing for the fourth time today*

EFB - So sorry about Grammy. *Hugs* She sounded like a great person.

For my paranormal story I needed a animal that was a mix between a vampire bat and a canary. Why? Because I need something for the infant daughter of a vampire and a supernatural canary-woman to be able to shift shape into. Anyways... I found an epic bird. I present....The vampire finch!!!!

It's so cool and fits my story perfectly. I love the picture of it pecking the blood from a larger bird.

In other news on that story, I was writing the vampire's name--Baxter--and spelled it wrong because of my clumsy fingers. I hit the first option under spellcheck and Baxter's misspelled name turned into "Bacteria" *Facepalm* Spellcheck is a poor speller's best friend but it can be really dumb sometimes. (LOL just got the mental image of the Baxter's friend calling him, "Baxter-teria" when he gets sick. I'm totally gonna use that.)

JJ Litke said:

Yay, puppy pics! They’re so cute!!

Heat exhaustion, OTOH, sucks. Living in Texas, I’m well familiar. I’m not surprised about feeling worse later, it really takes a day or two to fully recover. Take it easy, keep hydrating, maybe take some anti-inflammatories (though be careful with that if you’ve got nausea).

Click to expand...

They are just so sweet! Their scarves are supposed to keep insects away, I have no idea if they do, but they're so cute I don't mind either way.

Yeah, I'm better now, but I was really out of commission for a few days. Ayran was a good invention for this exact situation.

E.F.B. said:

Heh, I like how it says his occupations are "Pet and lawyer". Multitalented!

Click to expand...

Naddpod has that great humour, and Pawpaw is absolutely one of the funniest parts.

Sorry about your grammy.

Aah, the heat wave is over and we're back to the absolute worthless summers I remember from my youth: Cloudy, sticky but not actually warm, and with lots of unexpected rainshowers and thunderstorms that usually mean you can't plan anything outside with certainty.

It started raining when I was watering the plants, go figure. Ah well, the heat wave did a lot of damage. Lost a couple more of this year seedlings, apart from the vitex, it appears to like this weather. And the red sedum I bought for my nephew's birthday later this month has turned green from the heat. Hilarious in a way.

I'm not sure I missed this sort of summer, but at least the garden is happy with some water. With a bit of luck the ground water levels get replenished too and we won't start autumn with a deficit. Again.

E.F.B. said:

She'd even been keeping it out where she and Grammy could see it, they loved it so much. I worked so hard on that sweater and that meant a lot to me that it's been able to serve as more than just warmth or fashion and will keep doing so even now.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear about your Grammy. But it's lovely that something you made is so appreciated by your aunt and your Grammy.

The Second Moon said:

For my paranormal story I needed a animal that was a mix between a vampire bat and a canary. Why? Because I need something for the infant daughter of a vampire and a supernatural canary-woman to be able to shift shape into. Anyways... I found an epic bird. I present....The vampire finch!!!!

Click to expand...

If the vampire finch doesn't work out for some reason, you can look into oxpickers, I suppose. They eat ticks and other parasites from large mammals in Africa, but it has turned out they're not averse to some blood drinking if they can get away with it.

@ Friendly Frog - Oh cool! I didn't even know birds could drink blood until a few days ago. Isn't that so cool? I just love researching unusual animals almost as much as I love creating them. Speaking of that, I didn't even know a rat terrier was at thing until I adopted one. LOL.

Oh EFB, I’m so sorry about your Grammy. The story about the sweater is lovely! It’s so sweet to know you made something that was so precious to both her and your aunt.

Morning, Cantina. Thanks for all the sympathies. <3 Friday and Saturday were crying-for-an-hour-each-day rough, but yesterday we got to do something fun and that helped.

Turns out a funeral will be possible. Everyone will just, to quote my aunt, "look like bandits and medical personnel in their masks." Sounds like everything Grammy wanted for it will happen, and multiple people want to offer a eulogy, so that's good.


Wore my new pair of super cute heels out for the first time yesterday. (And by new pair, I mean first pair because when I was a kid I hit all my growth spurts early, was always the tallest kid in class and eventually tallest in the school, was self conscious about my height, and only in my 20s have I finally gotten over it and found a pair of heels I love and don't care that they make me 2 1/4" taller.) I'd worn the shoes around the house off and on to get used to them, but yesterday was the first time wearing them for more than an hour, and ow, leg muscles I don't usually use are sore now. It's not awful, though. Really, the only thing I think would make them better would be if I could find some way to pad the joints of my big toes since they were getting pretty sore pressing into the sole of the shoe as they were. The gel arch support inserts I have aren't long enough to help with that, and I did try putting mole skin on those toes, but it ended up wrinkling and sticking to the inside of the shoe and making the discomfort worse.


Working on improving Etsy listings today, though I might go over to the General Writing Questions to ask something later.

It's repair day today!

- I've refurbished an old pair of headphones where the foam had deteriorated. Cleaned them, cut a piece of pillow stuffing as filling and crocheted two colourful covers to keep it all together. Soo much better.
- I glued my old pair of sunglaces back into one piece. I accidentally sat on the last year. It was only cracked but the eye-piece kept falling out and I needed a pair quick so I had to buy a new pair then. Now I came across the old cracked pair and figured I could use a spare one for I glued it back together.
- I tried to fix one of the old walkmans but while it is one that totally comes apart, the one thing I'd need to replace (the belt) is fixed and I'd need to break soldered contacts to get it out, which I'm not going to. Bah, who designs these things?
- I tracked down both parts of the cat-harnass so we can accostum SecondCat to the garden and the harnass itself. He's pretty mellow with it, walks alongside you like a little dog, then before you know it, he's up a tree, very unlike a little dog.

The Second Moon said:

@ Friendly Frog - Oh cool! I didn't even know birds could drink blood until a few days ago. Isn't that so cool? I just love researching unusual animals almost as much as I love creating them. Speaking of that, I didn't even know a rat terrier was at thing until I adopted one. LOL.

Click to expand...

Isn't it just? The natural world never fails to amaze me, just when you think it can't possibly be weirder, nature throws something new at you.

So sorry for your Grammy, EFB

yay for puppy picks! And repairs~!

/venton

So, I sent in final edits for the last book in my series. Also the last book I'm doing through my small press publisher (long story, but there was a heated discussion about getting my rights back as each book came due). Anyway, the proofreader sent it back with questions. Now, some of this was my fault for not editing some things. Part was the editor's fault (publisher-provided) for only doing one run through it when she normally does three. But some of the proofreader's questions have my hackles UP.

My story is set in the 5th century in Ireland. NONE of the characters would be speaking English. English didn't exist then. It was barely Old English, and the characters would be speaking Old Irish or Latin. But the proofreader said (and this is a quote)... "Also, there are some problems with words she's used which did not exist in the 5th century, such as OCEAN (13th century), CHRISTIAN (16th century), and MOTHER (16th century)..."

MOTHER??? Are you F-ing serious? Would you rather me use 'mathair' in the Irish?
And Christian was used in Acts in the Bible, so don't give me this crap. "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Sure, i could use 'Christianus', which is the Latin version, but I'm not translating the rest into Latin or Old Irish so why??
Ocean? It comes from the Greek, Okeanos. There was a Titan named that. Ancient Greece predates the 5th century AD.

GRRRR

/vent off

Omg, GD, that’s some of the least helpful feedback I’ve ever seen! Does she expect you to put the whole thing in Old Irish or something?

GD, that's really odd and understandable frustrating that she's fixating on stuff like that. How does that help anything?


Morning, Cantina. Editing progress has been going well, as has crafting progress. Only two or three more projects before the Wizard of Oz collection is done!

On aunt's end of things, it seems she's handling things about as well as anyone in her situation could. People around her have been helpful in some ways, giving her food, emotional support, and money to help with the expenses. Younger uncle even had one of those has-an-alien-replaced-him-or-something-because-he's-being-nice moments and paid a good chunk of the funeral cost. At the same time, a lot of people, younger uncle included, are being UNhelpful by getting on aunt's back about literally everything. Piling on the to-do list she already knows she needs to deal with, and so on and so forth. Like, come on, people, her mother only just died 5 days ago. Her life has radically changed now that she's not literally taking care of another human 24 hours a day. She'll do what she needs to do when she needs to do it and she's not an idiot who needs to be reminded how the outside world works. Just get aaaaall the way off her back and let her have some freaking peace for a few days to process and grieve.

At least she's able to know me and my parents understand and won't pile on her, so she called dad last night just to vent for two hours. Hopefully that helped.

Your poor aunt.

My little doggo was diagnosed with a kidney disease, or rather, bloodwork revealed a declining kidney function. She also began having issues with the urinary disorder food she already was on -- refusing to eat it, though she ate Little Cesar commercial dog food just fine. I took her to a natural vet who recommended a home cooked diet of no more than 30 percent protein, and the rest filler (grain, potato, pasta, etc.) with fish oil and a supplement.

The first home cooked meal was a hit. She ate a lot, much more than she has been eating, and also ate a lot of watermelon which is a recommended treat. The result, pooing all night. The poor thing is miserable and I feel horrible in overfeeding her. She keeps looking at me in a reproachful way.

Given what wolves and wild dogs eat, I can't believe how sensitive some dog's stomachs are. I hope you find a good medium, Cobalt. I'm having some success keeping the diarrhea and vomiting down, but I can't tell if my one dog is or isn't feeling okay. I did give in to letting them eat out of one bowl. They both want what the other one is eating.

I hope your doggo gets better.

Hugs to everyone and their relatives/friends.

EFB, I'm so sorry for your loss but I'm very happy that you have been able to see the good in it and take solace in how she did not linger. And it's great that you have some wonderful memories.

I've been extremely busy lately. Lots of ice cream. I'm selling some ice cream locally to raise money because I sorta overspent recently and have bills to cover. Oops.

I got some good news at work but I can't talk about it yet because I'm waiting for the Official Green Light from the boss lady. Once I get that I can spill it but until then I get to vaguely say things like "good news" and "things are going to change."

Lately I've been more energetic and positive. I'm hoping it's not an up-cycle and that I'll just crash again soon. But I'm making the most of it that I can. I went on a road trip recently to help a friend haul a bed. It's the first time I've gone anywhere that I haven't been before in over 2 years. So, it was a huge step for me.

Screw you, Anxiety!

Tonight I made pickles for the first time and I can't wait to try them in 10 days.

I haven't been editing or writing, which isn't good, but I'm getting so many other things done.

A few days ago I paid my friend's kid to come over and help me clean. We made a massive change in my apartment and it no longer looks like a demented old drug addict hoarder lives here. I mean, it's still dirty, but not nearly as bad as it was. And that helped my mood immensely.

Because I'm selling ice cream I need to make a ton of it, which means I need to get back to that soon and whip up a batch.

I love how productive I've been and how much I've gotten out and about. I love how normal it all feels. I just wish I dropped weight as a result of my new lifestyle but that hasn't happened yet. But I'll keep at it. Tonight's goal is to get my video uploaded after I whip up a batch of sorbetto. Hugs to all who want/need them!


ETA: Am I the only who one writes a post with lots of sentences and breaks and whatnot and then when it gets posted it's one single block of words? That's why I went back to fix it.

EFB I'm so glad your aunt has an outlet of comfort with your family. Even a little thing like that can be a safe haven in a storm.

Yeah, that proofreader comment was so bizarre. When I first started with this publisher, I had a different editor who wasn't a historical fiction writer himself. There were several words he flagged as 'too obscure' that were common in the genre. Luckily, my publisher switched me to a better 'fit' editor, and we're friends now. I also do her taxes and she's done my self-publishing editing on the side (in exchange for me doing her taxes!)

Well, I've got a pub date for the 9th and final book in my series - Oct 14. Only a few days from the 5-year anniversary of the first in the series, and the day that first book reverts back to me. My publisher recommended I not re-release immediately as it might interfere with the sales of book 9, and that it takes a week or so lag to take down the ebook from the various sites. Also, she gave me a 'gift' - the print version didn't come out for another two years, so the rights to that doesn't come due for another two years. She's letting that revert at the same time as the ebook so there isn't more than one version. Not that I make many print sales online, so it doesn't cost her much. Most of the print copies are those I buy to sell at art shows and signings (I've sold about 50 that way).

I finally got the video thrown together and uploaded. I added an extra bit of food pron in the first minute and I could use some feedback on it. I mean, if you get time.

Here's the link