Typing With Wet Paws: Now It’s November Edition

November 9, 2024annabowling 1 Comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. There is exciting stuff to share this week but first I must address a horrible injustice that has befallen our household. I am no longer allowed to be unsupervised around Mama Anna’s mugs.

Now that we have the new desk setup, and I am sure it is staying (I am in favor of that) I am bolder about exploring it. For example, sometimes I sit behind the laptop and look at Mama Anna over the screen. Sometimes I like to sit on the end of the desk that is next to the window, because sunbeam. I would like more room on that end. Mama Anna says that is where her planner case goes, so I guess I will adapt. Anyway, on to the Unjust Ruling.

If you know me, you know I love my Mama Anna. I love her a lot. She is my favorite person. I like to give my favorite people presents. (Papa still has the hair tie I gave him, which I greatly appreciate. That man knows how to receive a present.) It is now tea weather, and Mama Anna’s superpowers are back. She drinks tea at her desk. I figured I would give her a present in a place that she would definitely find it. So, mug, right? First, I gave Mama Anna my absolute favorite thing to hoard, a silicone earbud cover. I guess she kind of liked it because she kept it. Then I tried supplying a snack to go with her tea. By that, I mean a few pieces of my crunchies (I mean kibbles, not what I put in my poo sand.) She did not know I had done that, so she was surprised when pieces of crunchies floated to the top of her tea. She made different tea, and that’s when she passed the No Unattended Mugs law. I did get a reward, though.

Mama Anna found movies that I want to watch. I love watching her screen no matter what she is doing (I really like when she plays Sims) but this takes it to a new level. This is a game that Big Sister Skye used to love, and I love it, too. There are different kinds: mousies, fishies, lasers, and other things I haven’t seen yet. There are also other ones that are movies of real life squirrels and stuff. This one is mousies. I love watching them do their mousie things and then when they least expect it, POW! Bam! My lightning paws smack them out of existence. Mama Anna says that turns them into crunchies and then she feeds me, so that checks out.

I said exciting things, and they are indeed happening. Mama Anna has received the formatting proof for A Heart Most Errant, and then she needs to do the uploading form. Some parts of that are scary for Mama Anna because anxiety, but that is part of what I am here for, so it is okay. Right now, she is thinking early 2025 for a release date, and then it is time to put Drama King through the same process. The next two books in the Ravenwood series (the medieval novellas) will be A Heart Most Ardent and A Heart Most Wicked. She will also work on Her Last First Kiss, and then she and Aunt Melva will also work on getting Queen of Hearts out to readers.

Rest assured I will be here with her every step of the way. I am also excited for a future post on MelvaAndAnna.com, where Aunt Melva will introduce my new co-workers, aka her two cats. That will be up soon. Make sure that you are subscribed over there so you don’t miss a thing.

How was your week?

Celebrating Birthdays and Indie Publishing Updates

November 5, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

New week, new blog post. I voted early this year, by mail, and that was wonderful for my anxiety. Wonderful Therapist suggested I may want to avoid news and social media today, or keep it to a minimum, so that is what I am intending to do. (By literally posting on social media, ahem?) My reading nook is up and functional, though not yet ready for a photoshoot, but it’s there and it’s mine, and it’s a comfy place that is only for relaxation.

Updates on A Heart Most Errant:

I have final cover art, though I want to wait a little while to share it, Suffice it to say it is gorgeous, and captures exactly the scene I wanted for the cover. I have submitted the manuscript and formatting form, and the formatter has assured me it is in her work queue. All I need to do is decide on a publication date (looking at 2025, either January or February) fill out the uploading form and then that will be that. For anyone looking for indie publishing services, I highly recommend the Killion Group. I look forward to working with them again, which I will be doing because next up is Drama King, the second Love By The Book title, contemporary romance co-written with Melva Michaelian.

Birthday was really fun this year. Housemate took me out to lunch, and Real-Life Romance Hero had my all-time favorite local food, pizza from Paesan’s, and pressies that made me feel exquisitely loved. Nothing like when your family gets you. Subbed coconut cream pie for cake, and settled in for a comfy evening at home.

This past weekend, out of state friends visited to keep the party going, starting with a visit to the New York State Museum. I will probably go back later in the month, as I want to take advantage of the special exhibits and talks for Indigenous People’s Month. A talk on contemporary Indigenous art was starting as we arrived, and I’d like to catch that another time. I did get to peep some of the art, and it is gorgeous. The big attraction for friend, Housemate, and I was an exhibit of early 20th century wedding attire (was that made for a historical romance writer or what?)

Currently, I am endeavoring to forget that one of the bikes in the antique bicycle exhibit was made in 1978. #genxproblems. Also, the gift shop was closed, which was a bummer and another reason to go back ASAP. Double also the fact that I got pictures of my friends in the vintage train car which is probably my favorite permanent exhibit, (okay, apart from the forensic reconstructions of skulls from centuries past) the vintage train car. The trains my mom and I rode into the city were a little after the time of this exhibit, but I never get tired of visiting it.

Storm does owe a blog, which she will get up this week. She has lots to say about all that’s gone on here, including some exciting holiday news. For now, here’s her review of the new weighted blanket cover :

That’s about it for this week. How are things going for you?

Typing With Wet Paws: Post-Birthday Edition

October 25, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The birthday I am referring to is not mine (we celebrate that on February 14th) but Mama Anna’s. Mama Anna loves birthdays. They don’t always have to be hers, but this one was. She and Aunt Linda went out for lunch and then craft store shopping, and then after Papa got home from work, he ordered Mama Anna’s favorite pizza, and they did presents and all hung out. I gave Mama Anna lots of cuddles and head bonks. I could not make her a cake, but I did make her lots and lots of biscuits, which she said are even better.

Even though this was Mama Anna’s birthday, I am the one who has big bed news. Aunt Linda got everybody new pillows (all the humans, that is) which means Papa and Mama Anna did not need their old bed pillows, so guess what — they gave them to me! Mama Anna had put my big cat bed on a small table next to her new desk, and, while it is super comfy, it is also too big for that table, so now it is a bed on the people bed during the day. What goes on the small table now? Glad you asked. It is the old people bed pillows. They are soft and comfy and they are parent-scented, so I love them a lot. One of them is going to go in my adventure cave, but that is for later.

Mama Anna also got another wooden crate to put on her desk to hold the planner stuff she uses on a daily basis, and before she put stuff in it, I put me in it. She didn’t get any pictures, and I didn’t stay long, because it did not have any pillows in it. I am all about the comfort. Technically, everything is a cat bed, but for actual bed-beds, I now have the big cat bed on the people bed, the pillow bed on the small table and then my tent on the desk.

There is one more thing that I should mention this week, and it is about my tent. A couple of days ago, Mama Anna put her hand into my tent, to tap the cushion, which is her way of telling me she would like me to go there. Well. She felt something under the cushion, which did not feel like cushion, so she investigated. She picked up the cushion, and underneath it were the following things:

one empty perfume sample spray (Twilly de Hermes)
two silicone earbud tips (my favorite thing to steal)
two bobby pins (Mama Anna refuses to ask why they are bent)

She. Took. Them. All. She also says that now, she will be inspecting my tent daily. Next time, Mama Anna wants to take a picture of my stash before she confiscates it. If I stash things that are okay for me to keep, then she will let me keep them, but sharp things and chemical things and swallowable things are dangerous, and best handled by grownups.

Also, I gave Papa a gift earlier this week. It was a hair tie. One of the good ones. Papa does not have hair on his head, except for his beard, but it is the thought that counts. He very appropriately praised me. Papa loves getting gifts from me, and I wanted to thank him for the gushy food he gives me every night. He wanted to be the gushy food guy, and I think that was a really good decision.

That’s about it for this week. Mama Anna is working hard on doing her very first indie publishing venture. She is nervous but also excited, so it evens out. What’s up with you?

Five Things I Love About My New Desk

October 22, 2024October 22, 2024annabowling 1 Comment

Happy Monday and happy new week. I am coming to you today from the new desk, Storm by my right elbow today because there is a sunbeam on that end of the desk. Guess I don’t need to refer to my daily task list, even if I was planning on covering my daily/weekly planning for this post. Cats, am I right?

The desk itself. I love that I put it together, with help from Housemate, and that it fits perfectly into the office corner of the primary bedroom. It’s more than twice the width of the TV tray type desk I had been using, and it really does feel like a grownup desk at last. Storm is absolutely delighted, because she gets a bed on the desk, a bed next to the desk and there is prime sunbeam real estate. The desk is also in the corner with the baseboard heating, so it will be nide and comfy on fall and winter days/nights.
A place for everything, and everything in its place. The suggested use for the space at the far right of the desk is for a printer, but I already have it on a low table that is only a chair swivel away, so I didn’t move it an inch. Instead, I plopped down a gorgeous black wicker basket to hold my most used supplies, aka a home for my medium pink Delfonics pouch. I am planning a pouch tour video for later. In the meantime, I’ll pop a picture of the current setup down at the bottom.
Drawers. This could have been included in the above, but the drawers are super cool on their own. They are actually made of fabric except for the fronts. The stuff that was cluttering the table that was next to my mini-desk is now stashed in the three drawers (two small, one deep) in the appropriate organizers, so what I reach for the most is in easy reach. I can reach for it without even looking, and still get the correct item. The bottom drawer had the ability to be set up for hanging files, but I opted not to used that, as I have a hanging file system in storage that I can bring home, so don’t need another. Now that drawer is where I put the printer paper, photo paper, sticker paper, etc. In short, paper.
Storm’s tent. Of course I had to mention the benefits to my purr=sonal assistant. For those needing proof how much Storm loves her tent, I have done my first inspection for stash, and I am not disappointed. I have removed:
- two silicone earbud covers (probably her favorite thing to steal/stash)
- two bobby pins
- one empty perfume sample (confiscated immediately! All other fragrances are now securely stored away from curious paws.)
Nothing. Wait, that’s not like it sounds. For the longest time, I have wanted to have a no desk clutter policy, and so far, I am keeping that for this desk. At the end of the day (still when Storm walks across the keyboard and plops herself between me and the laptop) I shut down, and make sure I have left nothing on the desk apart from the usual suspects: Storm’s tent, the laptop, mousepad and mouse, coaster (skull themed, of course) bottle of hand lotion (currently Crabtree and Evelyn Summerhill) and the tray with my pouch and my English Ruler ruler (I seriously do need the version with Charles III.)

And for cat tax, Storm in her tent. I guess it also doubles as a smuggler’s cave since I have now found a stash in it:

For those who haven’t yet heard, I am also blogging at MelvaAndAnna.com, which will be featuring free short reads by both myself and Melva Michaelian. If you don’t want to miss such things and get a front row seat to future Love By The Book installments, subscribe over there. We would love to have you.

Big Desk Energy

October 16, 2024October 16, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Today is the first full day with the new desk. I am talking real, adult, this is a working writer’s desk, with drawers and everything.

Putting the desk together was an all-day thing yesterday, and the rest of the office/primary bedroom looks like we should expect our disaster relief check any minute, but as anyone who has ever un-f*cked a depression dungeon knows, progress is progress. Huge reminder how many times I had to drop something and tend to an emergency. Things are quieter now, so that’s no longer the case.

Storm will have her say about how the whole desk day went for her, and how today has been Partial Reading Nook Day. I have done enough for one day (actually two.) By this time tomorrow, reading nook should be good to go, especially since the pink velvety weighted blanket cover is due to arrive then. Having a place where I do One Thing is glorious. Having those places be for writing and for reading is even better.

No, a desk is not a magic ticket to Real Writerhood, any more than a reading nook is one to Real Readerhood, but I like having a place to do a thing, This past week has been a lot of getting things in place. New stuff is coming on MelvaAndAnna, and the journey to indie publishing progresses. Very interesting learning curve. I think I actually like it. Planning and organization are always fun and they do get my brain into the right place to do the things.

The new desk is big enough for not only my laptop and its stand, but my wrist rest mousepad, beverage of the moment, and a lovely black wicker tray holding my at-home Delfonics pouch for journal essentials. Storm has a flannel tent next to my laptop so she can be close and comfy. She loves it. Right now, I am next to a window, my feet at the heated baseboard, nice and toasty, with ample light. I also have my English Ruler ruler, which I need to update, as the one I have doesn’t include Charles III.

The most interesting thing I found in all of this moving around and repurposing and reimagining is that the person (me) putting things in order is not the same person (also me) who dumped and tossed and shoved things into chaos during times of ugh. Some stuff is going to find new homes. I’d rather have a few things I love than a lot of things that are…. there. It’s a process.

Anyway, that’s today. I’m sitting comfortably in an office chair that is the right height for a desk that is big enough to do what I want to do (and it’s not foldable.) I do miss having vertical storage, but it’s also fewer distractions. I am planning video tours of desk and nook when nests are fully feathered, so to speak. What are your writing or reading spaces like these days?

Fall Planner Revamp and Desk Setup

October 9, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Thanks to Amazon Prime Big Deals, I now have a real desk headed my way in the extremely near future. This means I have a concentrated amount of time to take apart the makeshift bookcase I made from two wooden crates and an end table from Housemate’s old house. That table and a couple of other things need to go into storage because the desk is coming. I have been using a “foldable desk” which Housemate measured while I was asleep a few days ago (Real Life Romance Hero was present, so I assume he was aware of this) and it’s about half the size of the desk that is on the way. This is going to bring a lot of changes.

First of all, I will have twice the room I am used to having. Think of the current setup as typing with elbows flush with ribcage, with intermittent cat between me and keyboard, New desk will have space for a box/bed/space that will be for Storm (we will see if she agrees) and three entire drawers, the lowest of which is suited for hanging files. I have a lamp/pen holder/phone storage thingamaboo all ready to go. The big question there, is what pens do I put in it?

Secondly, pertinent to the image above, we have the revamped planner lineup. Here i s a fun fact about Housemate: she likes the mystery boxes/grab bags Michaels sometimes does. There were a few in our local Michaels this past weekend, and it happened to be a buy one, get two free deal. So, we got three. Inside, there were two Happy Planners, both dashboard layout. One dated, one not. I will be destashing or giving away the undated one, but the dated one has replaced the horizontal blank boxes A5 rings I had been using, but not reaching for much at all this month. For those who are new here, I do have a visual impairment, and blank pages are not my friends. Nice, dark lines, however, are my favorite. I will share the layout and a sample spread later.

I like having my planner shelf coordinated. I like the pink, the gold, the black and white. This is probably not the final form of the shelf, but it is what works for now. After the long hot summer, fall is here and my superpowers have returned. I have tentatively mapped out my writing schedule for the near future, and I’m excited about it. This includes first steps into indie publishing and some exciting new things for MelvaandAnna.com.

Also, we have reached a true sign of autumn. We have put Koolio on his winter break. He will be wintering in Housemate’s closet, along with his bestie, Oscillating Fan. The heat is not on yet, but we have freshly laundered blankets, plural, and Storm is always up for a good cuddle. We have reached the time of year when I run on tea (vanilla chai today, out of my Jolly Roger mug) and if this weekend isn’t The Weekend for foliage photography, it will be the next one. I finished reading a vintage historical romance last night, which means I now get to pick out another. Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol is off to an excellent start.

I like the way all this is going.

The Actual Worst Reading Year of My Adult Life?

September 26, 2024annabowling 2 Comments

We are now in the “ber” months -September, October, November, December, aka the last quarter of the year. My Goodreads goal for the year is forty books. I have read eighteen. Goodreads kindly reminded me that such a number means I am eleven books behind schedule. That’s disheartening. Not impossible, but disheartening.

Trigger warning: discussion of homelessness (past) beneath the image.

A lack of interest in reading was the red flag needed to talk to my doctor about this particular flavor of depression and got me into the hands of Wonderful Therapist. WT had some excellent insights about the lack-of-reading thing. Did I use reading as a distraction during our vagabond year? My brain immediately flashed back to finishing Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley in the parking lot where we were then camped, Storm in her carrier next to me, as the other adults were at their jobs and my job was to guard the car and our stuff. Fabulous young adult novel, which I highly recommend, and it’s a landmark in this whole reading thing.

I also think about reading fast during the daytime when we were camped, because night would be long and light would not be in great supply. When we were in a room or Housemate’s Mom’s house, of course, I could read any time I wanted, and I did. I couldn’t have my books with me, and while I will always appreciate the library system and my Kindle, the relationship between a reader and their keepers is a special one. Mine are still in storage, safe, but at the back of the unit, so I kind of wave at them when we make a drive-by visit. Soon, hopefully, soon. Even with the Kindle, reading at night, I had to gauge the battery because if we were camped, there was only one time to charge it during the day and that charge had to last.

So, there’s stuff. Wonderful Therapist is helping me unpack it, which is good, and it is happening. It’s coming along. Slowly. I didn’t expect to be this far behind. I don’t want to move the goalposts yet, but if I’m not closer to on track by the end of October, then I will. i don’t want a smaller “body count” for my books this year, but A) nobody cares, and B ) healing happens on its own time.

I know there are things that work. Vintage historical romance. Blindly stumbling around in the figurative dark to cobble together the kind of reading journal that works for me. Right now, that is a traveler’s notebook insert where I can make notes as I read, and a different book where I print out covers of books I plan to read, all top-tier favorites. The extrovert trait of “it’s not real unless I can talk about it” is true for me in this case. It’s annoying, and the only way out is through.

Vintage paperbacks are where I gravitate most these days. I have been poking eBooks with a stick, but they are not sticking (that will change) and audiobooks, which my brain says, “no thank you” at this moment. That also will change, especially as I have a twelve-book series (two six book series that go together) in my sights to start maybe soon, my umpteenth read of these books. I do not know why my brain has these format preferences, but she’s a tricky one, so I am not going to ask. One thing at a time.

All in all, I am not upset by the current situation, reading-wise. More like “yes, that checks out. That’s to be expected. It will come back.” It will. I find my current relationship with reading to be at an interesting point. Accepting it for what it is takes a lot of the reading-related anxiety and pressure away. Since talking about it is a good thing, that will happen here more often. I am looking forward to that.

How is you relationship with reading at present?

Happy Traumaversary

September 7, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Anniversaries are interesting things. Anniversaries of meeting special people, of weddings, of pet adoptions, of moving to a new home or starting a job, etc, are all good things. Then there are the other kind. Trigger warning for discussion of depression, anxiety, homelessness (past.) I will babble for a bit, then kitty picture, then the other stuff.

Right now, it is a cool September day. We have had rain. We still have clouds. Housemate is off at her mumblety-th high school reunion. Real Life Romance Hero had an at home date day. I am still very much an extrovert, but I like being home now more than I did before. That’s something I am exploring and seeing what I want to do about that. Today was, as Storm would say, pretty great, and not only because she got catnip (but partly because she got catnip.) I did want to post this on the fifth, but that turned out to be a full day; therapy in the morning (always awesome) then errands including three hours waiting for car people to do things to Housemate’s car, but hey, they threw in a free car wash, so yay, I guess.

Anyway, anniversaries get me thinking. September fifth is definitely one of those. Gentle readers, I will see you after the *second* kitty picture. The rest of us, let’s go.

Wonderful Therapist is good at scheduling appointments around days that may require some extra support. This was definitely one of them. As interesting anniversaries go, this was a relatively easy one. We’d expected to be between homes for a week, maybe a month. It ended up being close to thirteen months. Thankfully, around one month in, we got a new family member – Storm- who is currently happily snoozing on Real Life Romance Hero’s pillow, while RLRH does his computer things. She’ll be by to check on me soon enough, and when she has deemed that I have had enough time at the glowy box, she will sit on my keyboard, rest her head on my right hand, and refuse to move until I get up, then lead me to bed.

Sleep has been not great this week. Not surprising with the anniversary. We are secure in housing, secure in food, have air conditioning and heat as we need it, all good stuff. this has been the bouncing off the walls all night anxiety and then crashing in the morning. It is what it is for right now. I can do that safely, so it’s a win. We are all three (four if you count Storm, as supervisor) working hard on un-effing our collective depression dungeon, and it’s going fairly well. Didn’t happen in one day, doesn’t undo in one day, and with three of us working on it, under feline supervision, it does go at a pretty good clip.

Last night, I made a piece of digital art (not sharing it, thanks; personal) that is an image from a recurring nightmare, and it felt good to get it out of my head and onto the screen. It’s true that some traumas, we don’t heal from, but around. This is one of those. September fifth will always be homelessversary, because it was. We are secure now. I’m not worried. I’m…remember-y. Not wallowing, not re-experiencing, just remembering. As I told WT, I am looking forward to October, which is full of awesome-versaries. Even September has the day I met one of my best-best-besties. Our friendship can drink. (I don’t, but it can.) Good days ahead. Also, fall, with an eye on foliage.

Okay, back to it. Final-final edits are done on A Heart Most Errant, and it is now in the capable hands of Melva Michaelian, who gets one pass, then we go to formatting. One of the few things I remember from studying early childhood development/education, is that I am a kinesthetic learner, which is a fancy way of saying “let me do it and I’ll figure it out on the way.” Which is what I am doing on the indie publishing journey. I am keeping a list of adjectives I can use for further books in the series (planning on two more plus a short story) where all titles will follow the style of “A Heart Most _____.”

I have never planned a series before (late adopter, I know) so this is more uncharted territory. I do have a secondary character from AHME who has volunteered to be the hero of the next tale, but his heroine? Zero idea. Zip. Nada. Nothing so far. Likely time to delve into some history, so post-plague fourteenth century, here I come. I figure the heroine will flag me down when I get close enough to wherever it is she lives. Writers, you will understand that.

That is it for this week. Storm will get the next blog, and hopefully sooner rather than later. My main point in writing this was to check “write blog” off my list, because when I do, the non-posting-guilt has to leave the building. I am now up to date of From, finished Snowpiercer, blazed through The Accident on Netflix. Time to pick a new show. Recommendations welcome. From and Snowpiercer are both five star shows for me. Maybe a Broadchurch rewatch? What’s good these days, along such lines?

July, Week One

July 2, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Oof. It’s been a while. Everybody was sick in June, with a couple of heat waves thrown in for the challenge of things. The days kind of blended, and mental health, well, ahahahha. Anyway, it’s July now, one day after Canada Day, two days before Independence Day, and the only way out of a blogging slump is to blog, so here I am. Warning, I am going to babble.

At times, the dishes, trash, and laundry took on epic proportions, which we are conquering. Present tense. My beloved rose gold laptop developed a crack in the casing around the touchpad, resulting in her filling line after line with an endless stream of commas any time I tried to use her. While I am sure there is a way to rescue her, my research says that would mean welding or epoxy, which right now is a no. So, I now have a new lipstick red laptop, named Miss Scarlett. She can’t run Sims 4, but can run Sims 3, which I don’t mind because A) color wheel and B) open world.

One would think that a month of sick would be great for reading. It was not. It was great for watching YouTube. We will try again on reading this week. I definitely have enough books, both paper and electronic. Right now, I am sitting in front of a gorgeous turquoise retro-style fan, near an open window, in my comfy office chair. The desk is kind of chaotic, because this TV tray thing has reached the end of its usefulness, so I am small desk shopping.

But the writing, Anna. Are you doing any of that? In a word, yes. Last week, Melva and I roughed out the very loose outline for a romantic suspense we plan to pitch. I did indeed hit my Camp NaNo goal in April and outline a historical romance, which is still simmering. Next up is to whip A Heart Most Errant, my first post-apocalyptic medieval romance, into publishable shape. It’s surreal that I wrote the first form of that story ten years ago, but it’s been a wild ten years. Her Last First Kiss is slightly younger than that, but that’s up next. It feels like I’ve been on a loop of that for, well, forever, which is part of the reason I have been hesitant to blog.

So, what changed? My first indicator is to say I don’t know. The second is therapy. My therapist is awesome, and she’s a big reader. One of the first things we did was swap book recommendations. She is also very helpful when I want to bounce a story’s emotional dynamic off her. She’s also great at reminding me how far I’ve come from where I was when I figured therapy might be worth a try. In short, it’s a lot, and yes, it is worth writing about.

Journaling and planning have been an absolute rock for me in this time. I did not think to prepare pictures for this entry, so will share pictures later, but photography and photo editing are also newish interests. I am very much looking forward to pretty leaf season. We are 33% of the way through summer, so that is encouraging.

Anyway, that’s the interesting stuff for the first week of July. What are you all up to?

Everyday Carry, Spring 2024 and Camp NaNo Progress

April 16, 2024April 16, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Welp, it’s spring. I have the window open as I write this. My ensemble for the day is a sleeveless shift dress with an unzipped oversized hoodie over it. My home office is an absolute mess because of spring cleaning. Next week means a trip to the storage unit, to put away things we aren’t using a at the moment and get out some things we’d stashed for the winter. A couple of days ago I (finally) set up an actual bookcase to hold the vintage historical romance novels that are te focus of my current reading. I have a lot to say about the whole vintage romance thing, but that is another topic for another day.

Today is the day to share my everyday carry. It all fits in this pouch, which lives in my purse and can go out on its own.

The main pocket holds a traveler’s notebook with three inserts (agenda and two notebooks) and the zip compartment looks like this:

I am currently going with a green theme for spring. We’ll see if I want to make a change at the start of the new month. The flowered notebook has perforated pages, which makes it double as a notepad or come in handy when somebody needs a piece of paper out in the wild. There is an additional zip pocket in the back, which holds a selection of Crayola SuperTips in pastel colors.

Skinny washi tapes are from Tim Holtz. The two blue items are a correction tape runner and adhesive runner, and the tin with my favorite Golden Girl (Dorothy Zbornak is an integral part of my final form) holds ephemera, including tea tags, stickers, washi samples and miscellaneous things that catch my fancy. There is also a growing collection of enamel and pinback pins, not pictured, as I am still moving them around.

It’s not perfect (what is?) but it feels right for right now, as does this entry staying pretty much as it says on the tin (of the title, not the actual tin.) Camp NaNo is going pretty well at the halfway point. Not perfect but doing its job. Not at goal, but close enough. What I set out to do was to prove to myself that yes, I can (still) do it. So far, so good. Here, we see the puzzler in her natural habitat, dogpaddling in a sea of unset gelatin, grabbing onto floating ideas as they bob past on fickle currents, and…I like it.

I don’t know all of the story yet. Most of the characters have placeholder names. the stately home where most of the story takes place is still under construction in more ways than one but that’s fine . At this stage of the game I am shoveling sand into my sandbox with all the enthusiasm and precision of a toddler on her first day at the beach.

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

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