Right now, I am camped in the corner of Housemate’s room, in her office chair, with her fan pointed directly at my legs. I am minutes off a three hour plus video chat with one of my besties, our topics ranging from family to historical versimilitude versus entertainment (not mutually exclusive,) makeup (including me demonstrating product on the back of my hand and holding it up to the camera) and our version of a revival of The Nanny. I have a Jamaican beef patty (nom!) and a cold beverage, and Real Life Romance Hero is taking a well deserved nap in our room. I can head bak in there now that I am done with the chattering magpie convention, as he terms these weekly chats.
The day is beastly hot, though our own beast, Storm, is keeping cool in her “house” (akagiant cardboard box with new bubble mailer bed) and has an extra bottle of water. I have been up once again for the past two days (ugh) so a nap would be very much welcome. I also have library books, some journaling, and season ten of The Walking Dead to keep me company if sleep eludes me once again. Yes, a show about a zombie uprising is my comfort viewing. Read into that as you will.
There is a strong possibility I may perk somewhat after sundown. Whether or not this is proof I am a vampire remains to be seen. I do have long dark hair and an affinity for long black dresses, and my favorite ring is shaped like a skeleton hand. Then again, I do like garlic bread.
My original plan for this post was to talk about the icky angry/sad mood I was in this morning. Tough chanes are happening for some people I love, changes are pending for an organization I have drawn a lot from in my writing career, and there is the up and down (this time down) of submitting manuscripts. I don’t summer at all well, I’m tired, and sometimes taking a dang nap can ge the most productive thing I could possibly do. The fact that it would be in front of the big fan makes it even better.
By now, I am well aware that I am babbling, but at least “write blog” can now get crossed ovff my list, and if I want to be salty about bumps in the road, that’s normal and natural. For a hot Wednesday in August, one might even say par for the course. In the words of my FIL, “well, what are you going to do?” For now, dismantle temporary desk and put laptop back in bedroom, then attempt to settle down fofr a short summer’s nap. No point this time, only blabber. How’s your day going?
Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Aunt Anna informed me that taking a month off is not, in fact, the traditional way to celebrate the one year anniversary of coming back from my unchaperoned field trip. I beg to differ, but she congtrols the cat food, and whether I get to sleep on the people bed, so I’m back. TO be clear, I was in the apartment the whole time. I am a 100% indoor girl now that our camping days seem to be over, and I think I am adpting rather well.
greatest hits picrure from this time last year
Some of my favorite hangout places are the window in Aunt LInda’s room, the window over Uncle Rheuben’s desk, and wherever Aunt Anna happens to be at any given time. My first mom warned her that I would foollow her everywhere, and I had an awesome first mom. Let’s just say that Aunt Anna will never die of loneliness while using the people litterbox. You’re welcome.
Actually, it’s been a full week, with Aunt Anna’s brain throwing slumberless parties for most of the nights> Hencer the erratic posting schedule. It will all sort out in time, especially because I am one hundred percent here for doing my weighted blanket duties, aka being an additional weighted blanket and making sure she stays in place. Not that staying in bed is the only thing, but it helps. Also, that does put me in front of the box fan, so I get to be close to my favorite people and feel the breeze in my fur. Keeping Aunt Anna in one place at night also helps her work toward her reading goals. Theoretically, it would also help her with her Netflix/Hulu to be viewed list. Theoretically.
gorgeous from this angle,too
Moving right along, because Aunt Anna needs to head out and go grocery hunting, and I have to keep an eye on Uncle Rheuben, so let’s go with some random bits of trivia about me:
I like chicken, but turkey gives me icky tummy
I frequently join Aunt Anna in her You Tube viewing, by settling on her hip. Yes, I do complain if I don’t have a good view.
On a related note, if one human shows another something on their tablet, they have to show me too. It’s only polite.
The humans agreed I was going to be the cat who eats on a set schedule, and I do; mine. Families eat at the same time. AKA, if the humans are having food, they need to put something in my dish as well. Usually cat food.
While I am curious about everything, “not for kitties” is enough to tell me to get my face out of whatever the interesting thing might be
I love belly rubs, but only from Aunt Anna
For those who are wondering, no, I don’t miss being outside. Outside is BIG and hot in the summer, and NO BELLY RUBS. In short, horrible. I mean, I met some cool possums and the feral cat colony around where I had my adventure was one where everybody was fixed. I didn’t get in any fights, I didn’t get pregnant, and I was only gone for foru days. The aunts came around and fed me every morning and night until they could convince me to let them get close, so I know I had it a lot easier than a lot of outdoor kitties. That being said, I have zero desire to repeat the experience. Indoors is awesome, it is safe, and all of my humans are super good to me.
I get to sproing around the apartment all day with a happy tail. I have two office chairs to curl up in (Uncle Rheuben has a desk chair, but it is not technically an office chair; I curl up on that, too.) I have two litterboes and two water bowls and I get to eat every time the humans do (plus snacks.) I also have fun toys, which I can play with alllll night long. That’s pretty exciting. Same as me.
That’s going to be it for now, but I do owe Aunt Anna a new blog post, so when you least expect it, expect it.
Headbonks!
yeah, I probably could use some editing on this pic
Hopefully, this blog will be one of them. Insomnia is an interesting thing. Body says “soooo tired,” and then brain says “haha, nope.” When one needs ones brain to create things, that’s when things get weird. Hi, my name is Anna, and I have been awake for over 48 hours.
That was not intentional. It just happens sometimes. This time, it happened on a day when I had meant to do a bunch of the “heavy lifting” writing. Obviously, that is going to change. I am not going to have the house to myself until at least Thursday. Thankfully, I have anifty ofiice setup (mostly) in an unused corner of the bedroom, kitty-corner to Real Life Romance Hero’s setup, so if we are both having office time, neither one of us can see the other, and if we have our headphones on, we don’t hear each other, either. If I want to print something, I need to turn around to make sure he isn’t taking a nap.
One of my tasks for today is to finish setting up my planners. Catchall planner is all ready to go, but the planner I actuallycarry needs some love. I am excited to be in August.
1 year and 2 weeks post Storm’s wild adventure
Speaking of which, I have had a Talk with Soem abou taking a summer break from her blogging duties two days in a row. She says she was observing the anniversary of last year’s unchaperoned field trip. We have agreed she owes me a blog entry at a date to be determined later, as well as being on time this week.
The thing that I hate the most about adulting with insomnia (and creating with insomnia) is when all the brain things are all jumbled. What helps me most is making lists and taking notes. Okay, that is two things. They are related, though, so I think I’m okay here. This is one place where being a stationery enthusiast comes in handy. I can Do All The Stuff, but maybe at a slower pace today and one bullet point at a time.
When I jumped back into vlogging, one of the things I wanted to do was VEDA, or Video Every Day in August. I Love the idea, and it should be a great way to get consistent with posting, and getting used to vlogging but it also requires a whole lot more planning than I am able to give it right now. Maybe I’ll try for VEDO (is that a thing?) in October.
For now, the focus has to be on writing, and for today, that means roughing out a scene in Queen of Hearts and then taking a fluffing nap (Storm will no doubt join me, making this a cat nap with an actual cat) so I can have somewhat of a clearer mind when I meet with Melva this evening and we fly into the mist of the next chapter.
Surprise Thursday blog. I know, I’m as perplexed as you are, but I am writing this from my new office chair (pink leather; Housemate and I put it together last night, and are still friends.) with the laptop stand holding the keyboard and screen at an angle and eight that are much easier on my eyeballs, hands, and back. I made my cursor and mouse pointer HUGE and bright pink, which means I can spot them without a search party. I have been cruising through the to do list today, gettnig the office as is set up for optimal use, and it feels…good.
This is perhaps my favorite part of writing. Spoiler alert, I am going to say that about many different aspects of the craft. You have been warned. I have Big Pink, my beloved traveler’s notebook, back in use, her first insert almost filled. It’s got notes on where Melva and I need to be on the same page for me to write my next Queen of Hearts scene, wher to pick up with the A Heart Most Errant edits, and how to haul myself over the stile of the eternal buffering of Her Last Firt Kiss. A lot of those notes lead to “talk it out on paper or to a person” which may actually be my favorite part. I have an assignment of fat least coming up with some bullet points to talk through with Melva about HLFK, as she knows me, she knows the book, and I can send links to any historical stuff she might want to know better.
As of right now I do not have a critique group, and I am feeling the lack. Finding the right critique arrangement (or brainstorming) is a tricky endeavor, much like dating, only this time, a point by poit critique of intimate moves is actually a good thing. Go figure. Fictionally, that is.
In some ways, I have been here before. In some ways, I havve been here forever. Not going to lie, there are many times when I want to kick myself and utter something along the lines of “stop buffering!” Which is not that easy.
Though I have no interest in the Olympics, I am mad about Simone Biles, wondering if Simon Biles would have faced the same load of bullpucky. I love the idea of a female athlete, especially one so young, earning GOAT status (Greatest Of All Time) and I really do hope there are a bunch of little Simones in kindergarten classes five years from now. I am cheering for her choosing the difficult path of putting her mental and physical health first. Big cost? Oh yes. Heroine inspiration? For sure.
I’m sitting here looking at the time, and it’s after five PM already? Weird. Not that I mind, because that means reading time. Family will begin trickling in anytime now. The last two days were family days, which means not writing days, because my office right now is a corner of the bedroom if Real Life Romance Hero is not sleeping, and noves to the kitchen table if he is. People walking behind me while I am trying to write is a big NO. So, the time is for other things. Also for giving the family enough Anna that they won’t mind alittle space when I need to be playing with my imaginary friends and doing the clickekty keys thing.
That’s probably enough for today. Definitely babbling, so time to rein things in and segue into the evening. Still not watching any streaming shows, but very happy to dive into my library hoard.
Right now, I have the house to myself. Real Life Romance Hero and Housemate are both off at work. Storm has found a hidey-hole (work being done outside nearby.) I am pumped full of motivation from a two and a half hour video chat with one of my besties, and fueled by a particularly tasty sandwich. My posterior is planted firmly in Housemate’s office chair because my lower back has declared, rather loudly, that it absolutely requires that we either retrieve my comfy existing chair from the storage unit, or obtain a new one; Preferably pink.
Lzast night, Housemate helped me determine that Ye Olde Desktoppe, or possibly its monitor, has gone to the great AV rioom in the sky. If it’s only the monitor, that’s probably the better option of the two, because then I wil still be able to access my existant edition of Scrivener, not to mention my Sims 2 and 3 installations. If it’s the CPU, which it well may be, then it means time to shop for an all in one (is that what the kids are calling it these days?) Either way, I still have my spiffy rose gold laptop, so it doesn’t affect writing plans.
Since the desktop is now out of commission, I can use its foldng desk for the laptop, instead of the kitchen table. I have no shortage at all of notebooks and pens, which is also a good thing. I am also shopping for a laptop stand, to hold the screen at an angle my wonky eyeballs can actually see. That will be greatly appreciated. For a long time, I operated on the assumption that the challenges posed by a visual impairment meant I would have to work that much harder, if I want to prove that I really want “it.”
“It,” in this case being the only job I have wanted since I was eleven years old, reading my first ever historical romance novel under the brass bed in my parents’ guest bedroom. Not that far removed from the times when I thought the only genres I was allowed to write in were hard science fiction and mystery, neither of which interested me in the slightest, and as one might guess, I fugtured out that was a complete lie, because, well,
not historical romance, but about historical romance, so I count it
I have been reading a paper book before bed the last few nights, and I have slept a lot better than usual. This is definitely going into the mental health tracker as something I want to keep on doing, to keep on going. Books to write, blogs to plan that aren’t random stream of concsiouness blabber (unless you’re into that; if so, you have come to the right place) and videos focusing on the amazing richness of the historical romance genre, from the original Avon Ladies (and a man named Jennifer) to remind me why I got into this stuff in the first place.
It’s a quiet afternoon now, the work done early. I think I may have heard Storm crunching some dry food in the other room. Housemate will be out later than usual, as she is Laundry Person. The up side of that is that A) she will return with clean clothing for eceryone, and B) I get time and room to spread out, no distractions (but the lovely day and the breeze coming through the window, and did I mention we are basically across the street from a park?) and I feel…confident. Also a little sad.
Why sad? The desktop. I bought this desktop myself with money earned writing for the monies, aka articles for the Heroes and Heartbreakers Blog, a gig I will always treasure. I learned a lot from the years I spent there, read some amazing books, watched a bunch of TV that I would have watched anyway, and some that I never would have watched on my own, and got to recommend a bunch of my facvorite romances along the way. It was a lot of fun and I would one hundred percent to be part of another such venture in the future. Most of that happened on Ye Olde Desketoppe. Same with myfalling in love with the Sims. YOLP was not may first computer with Sims on it, but it had w, 3, and 4 in place, with a bunch of custom content for all three. My laptop has 4 only, so the others will have to wait until the next desktop arrives. I think I can last until then, because I do have other things to do.
Like this. Hang out, talk romance novels and stationery. Write romance novels. Use stationery, often to write romance novels. Which is what I will be doing as soon as I send this post off into the world. What are you up to this fine day?
Tails up ,Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Aunt Anna is kind of busy right now, so I’m going to freestyle it this week.
Me, on a bag in a box
First of all, take a look at my sweet summer digs. I have my footlocker box, with a paper bag inside it. That’s pretty luxe from cat standards. I get a nice breeze from the bos fan, I can see both Aunt Anna and Uncle Rheuben from there, and of course I can see my dishes from here, too, in case anything is happening there.
Next thing is that we had an invader on Wednesday. Okay, Uncle Rheuben said the invader was Mr. Kurt, who is the proprety manager and was only here to fix the bathroom. The tub had stopped and wasn’t draining at all (don’t worry, I have zero interest in investigating that kind of thing) and the toilet wouldn’t quite flushing. Ever. I didn’t investigate that either. Anyway, Aunt Anna was out, writing at Panera, when Mr. Kurt came by to fix things. I don’t know exactly what all Mr. Kurt did, but the whole bathroom works now. I was under the big bed. Never can be too sure about this kind of thing.
Aunt Anna is hoping to get a bunch of reading done this weekend, because she is killing it when it comes to the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Right now, She’s still kind of wrangling her library haul, and the video is still planned, but it’s been a week. Aunt Linda had her car in the shop twice, once for the windshield wipers, and then today for the windshield.
Last night, we had a false alarm. Uncle Rheuben was working last night, and I thought I heard him coming home, so I went to the door, all excited. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It was our neighbors. They only live here on some weekends. I think they are in a different city most of the time. They have dogs, but I have never met them, even though I asked. I have heard them, though. They bark a lot. I guess they didn’t get the memo that we live here now. I mean, the people probably know, but never can tell with the dogs. There is a dog downstairs next door, too. Her name is Ada. She was a puppy when we first moved in, so she is almost grown up now. She’s still wiggly, though. I watch her (and other dogs) from the window sometimes. There are a lot of these dogs in this neighbornood.
That’s probably about it for this week. We’re all doing well here. Aunt Anna is writing. I help her read when I flop down next to her and she can use her other hand to rub my stomach. Speaking of which, I think I’m going to go see if she’s amenable to that option, because I for sure am.
The main point I am taking from the first half of this week is that winging even a couple of days without a written plan does not work for me. Hence this being the first blog of the week. I do not have the spoons to figure out what WordPress’s beef is with me and pictures, so we will be using stock images today.
Very sluggish start this morning, which led to extra morning pages to figure it all out, which led to thinking of planners and a back and forth with my own brain about whether it was too late to even bother and maybe the whole week was um, useless. Obviously not, but throwing together a quick spread for the rest of the week, in the mini dashboard layout Happy Planner I will now be carrying for everyday use, made things feel anchored enough to actually shift out of neutral and get things done. I need the structure, and that is that.
Such blabber is maybe something to save for AnnaLog, which most assuredly needs more videos, so onward we go. As one may be able to guess, this is one of those blabbery posts so that I can check it off my list and move on along to getting current on a workshop on reclaiming dreams and desires. Rather on the nose with that one, but let’s face it, getting back to somewhat of a supposedly normal life after over a year of trauma is…new territory.
This past weekend, I gave my Play In Your Own Sandbox, Keep All The Toys workshop to a small but enthusiastic group at Capitol Region RWA chapter. This is my home chapter and I love them, so not only did I gegt to see some familiar faces, but with my snazzy new laptop, there were no problems with connectdions and audio and all of that good stuff. I’ll be talking more about that later, either here or on a free post on Patreon, once I get all of that stuff sorted.
Today is all about laying groundwork for the rest of the week. Not only things like washing dishes and putting away laundry, though those are indeed important, and not only “write xyz” on this day, but making sure I take time to take in media and other stimuli that will fill my creative well with what I want to draw from it. That’s not slacking off. That’s making sure I have tools I need to do the job that I am here to do.
This workshop is asking some tough questions. As my BFF said, a few days back, “Anna, meet Anna.” I think this is probably something a bunch of us are going through (with your own name there instead of mine) and there may be a learning curve in getting back to a normal that may be a different normal than one would expect.
Melva and I talked about that a lot during our last Zoom conference. There’s a lot of thinking involved, and, in my case, a lot of blabbering to myself on paper, semi zoning out while playing Sims (current laptop game is Sims 4, only lightly modded, very light on custom content, soooo…a French Vanilla game rather than plain vanilla?) and even time of sitting on the floor with paper and pens and various items of organizational alchemy.
Flying into the mist, some call it, and there are times when I think this is all I talk about here anymore. Then again, it’s what’s happening so it’s at the very least true. That’s also about what I’ve got for today, because I have homework and am burning daylight. Maybe this was meant to be the rambly post, and the next one will be more coherent. At least that’s the plan.
For the last few nights, my brain has been throwing some killer slumber-less parties, with me as the guest of honor. It is not my favorite thing. Being awake at night is different from being awake during the day, and while reading is sometimes possible, especially listening to audiobooks, or letting the robo-voice in my Kindle app turn any book into an audiobook, writing, well, that’s a different story. Pun intended.
Planner fatigue?
We will start with the planner aspect, because I am definitely a planner. Normally, I like to take time on Sunday afternoon to plan out the week ahead. This week, I did plan on Sunday, but the current lined vertical layout, eh, no. Done. Over it. I ended up taking blank pages of a vertical layout from an old planner, glued them to the lined vertical pages that glared at me, and then followed a YouTube tutorial to design the layout. it’s pretty functional rather than decorative, but I am okay with it.
I also took a picture of it, but can I remember what file I saved it to? Nope. I have absolutely zero doubt that I will find it when looking for something else, so I will trust in that outcome and keep going forward.
The worst part about a week like this is that I had to postpone my weekly chat with Melva Michaelian. I like to be current on my assignments when we meet, so moving that back a couple of days and spreading the backlog over those in-between days, should make things a lot more manageable. There’s also figuring out which family members will be home when, when we want to handle some adulting things, like housecleaning, recycling, and quality time, because I actually like the people who live with me, so that is a very good thing.
When my brain gets all oogy, as Real Life Romance Hero puts it, making lists helps me a lot. Focus on one thing at a time. Why am I feeling uncomfortable about that? What could I do to make any degree of change in that matter? How would I like it to look, ideally? There are definitely medical and spiritual components, but I’m focusing on the mental parts for right now.
Taking those couple of weeks away from planning in my catchall planner were not a good idea, even though it felt okay in the minute. Planner fatigue is a real thing, but it doesn’t have to be a block in the road. I like a lot of different kinds of planners. Try a different format, et viola. Stop fretting about what isn’t working, turn to something I know does work, and see if that gets me somewhere better.
This time, it kind of did. Housemate has her staycation this week, so we are scheduling how to best manage the days when there are two adults in one apartment, and even the days when there will be three. Real Life Romance Hero has his days off as well, so there are going to be days when I will, most likely, have to put on the hot pink cat ear headphones and put on the flashing ear lights. That’s our family signal for I Am Working On Writer Stuff. Do. Not. Disturb. Or. Else. Do Not Fight Me; You Will Not Win.
Because I love writing. I really, really, really do. Even when I am tired. Even when I am super tired. Planning helps. Pretty stuff helps. Tea helps. Remembering why I do this, remembering that it’s the kind of work I have wanted to do since I was but a wee little princess, and my best shot at being the me-est me that ever there me’d, well, that goes a long, long way.
do I need a new signoff pic? Because I think I need a new signoff pic.
Last night, I promoted the kneeling chair I have been using since the 90s from office chair to cat tree. This was a difficult decision. Somewhere deep in the storage unit, I do have a more traditional office chair, a gift from a local writer friend two moves ago. We will be digging it out, but probably not until my back stops twinge-ing, I am not sure exactly what the cause of this back pain is, but the most likely culprit is the kneeling chair.
I still love the dratted thing. I bought it decades ago, with money I earned from working retail. I probably paid more than I should have for it, but A) it was my money, B) a favorite author/writing inspiration had that same model chair and loved it, and C) it was (and is) pretty darned cool. It is, however, old enough to own property, join the military, get married without parental consent, and drink. It has probably wanted to do exactly that over the years we have been together, and it deserves its retirement as Storm support. (Unless Storm decides she no longer wants the chair now that it is not my office chair anymore. She is a cat, after all.)
Real Life Romance Hero moved one of the kitchen chairs in to take the place of the kneeling chair. I like the straight back, and I am already feeling the change in how using the computer physically feels Back support for the win. While I do believe there is a lot of truth in the proverb that a poor workman blames his tools, I am also fully aware that having good tools does’t hurt.
That’s largely where we are in a lot of things in the Annaverse. (Is that a thing? I say it’s a thing, and I rule the Annaverse, so now it’s law.) We have been in our apartment for six months now, so half as long housed as we were unhoused, and believe me, we are insanely delighted to be able to say that. It’s time to not only put down roots, but to make sure those roots are the right roots for the lives we want to live. For me, that means embracing life as a writer of romance and romance related blabber, and making sure that I have what I need to do that job most effectively.
Thankfully, for me, that means making a lot of lists. I would take a picture of the papers and binder discs that are scattered all over the stripped bed right now (housemate is off doing mega laundry; she is a superhero) but my back says that is not an advisble move with the angles I would have to put myself. Sitting in a straight backed chair is good, though, and lying on my side in a pillow fort is good, too. Fortunately, those are both writing positions of choice. So far, so good.
Research is underway to get a new laptop PC. We have become, over the last couple of years, the laptop graveyard> I am not going to give up on the vintage MacBook Pro, but the others, well, those probably are best suited to recycling. The HP laptop with no H key, and the screen that folds all the way back when it wasn’t designed to fold back at all; the hot pink laptop that I still love but which screen won’t show anything unless I I lie flat on my back and hold the screen at an angle that is best described as three-quarters closed. This is probably a severed wire, and probably an easy fix. We will see. RLRH also has his share of laptops that have gone to that great power strip in the sky. I can’t play Sims on that one, though, and that’s become essential. Hence the research. Writing and Sims. I know my priorities.
We may also be doing some research into office chairs, and/or pick up an interim chair in case the chair in storage won’t fit in the back of Housemate’s car, and will need to wait for when we rent a van and move the “real” furniture home. Furniture comes from a variety of sources. Parents’ homes, secondhand, locally sourced, brand new, and the nebulous area of me finally deciding that the best way to incorporate the hammered copper topped coffee table my grandfather made when my dad was little is to repurpose it, maybe as a dresser topper, or maybe with a new set of legs, to serve as a dining table or desk. We will see. I know I want my secretary desk, that I have been in love with since I was about four, for my longhand pursuits, and then pick everything up and take it to a separate computer desk when it’s time to transcribe.
Storm, as always, supervises it all.
As for the writing, my plans to jump right into it this morning snagged on getting the mega laundry ready to head out, with a pause for my weekly conference with Melva. We talked about the audio complications that kept our interview from going as well as we all wanted, how an offhand joke will make a great scene for our planned Christmas collection. That will probably go into the notebook I am setting up for my collaborations with Melva, most likely in index card format. Getting stuff down in the quickest away possible and filing it away works well for me to get the thought where it belongs and letting me focus on the work I need to be doign now.
I am very much into “now” right now. What can I do now? What works best for me now? What do I need right now? What is no longer serving its purpose and needs to move on along so it doesn’t become a stumbling block? What have I put away that I really need to bring back out because I miss it and want it and it’s part of the bigger picture and always has been? There’s a lot of stuff like that.
For today, getting this blog post up, even if it’s a big blob of blather, was essential. I don’t need the guilt of a missed blog post dogging me into writing time or family life, and consistency is something I want to improve. Hence this, and also trusting myself and my words, hence stopping it here and moving along to the next thing on my list for the day.
Tails up, Storm Troopers! It’s Black, White, and Orange Friday. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws, Since it is Black, White, and Orange Friday (commonly abbreviated to Black Friday, but really it’s a day to celebrate Calicos in all of our glory) when prices are dropped in many places, that it will be easier to shower the Calicos in your life with gifts. I like gushy food, in case anyone needs a suggestion, and catnip is super fun. I also like blankets a whole lot, which works out well for me, because Aunt Linda makes blankets. How cool is that?
What is also cool is Aunt Anna rebooting her Patreon. She has learned a couple of things about Patreon, some of those being:
Actually making content.
Telling people about that content.
Umm, that’s pretty much it, except for the whole finding one’s niche and playing to that. So, I will do some of it for her. Here is her Patreon, and here are a couple of posts that are available for everyone, no tiers requires:
If you like Aunt Anna’s posts here, want to see what books she recommends, make her find books for you (yep, she does that) or participate in polls that will help shape romance stories yet to come, drop on by and consider lending your support. Will said support get you exclusive picture of me? Chance are high, that is all I am saying.
post-Thanksgiving dinner nap
In case you are wondering how our Thanksgiving went, it was pretty fun. Aunt Anna played Sims a lot, Aunt Linda knitted, and Uncle Rheuben made the best grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. Dinner was frozen lasagna, for reasons I am not allowed to go into, but the humans said it’s the company that counts, and they still count this as a successful Thanksgiving. They will have turkey and some pies later.
This Sim got struck by lightning. His eyes were like that for a long time.
The decorating has begun around here, but the first bit is not technically a holiday decoration, because Aunt Anna plans to leave the lights on her planner cart forever. They make her happy, so they stay. I have not been chewing on them, but I am a prime suspect in why Uncle Rheuben’s less than a year old laptop that never goes anywhere suddenly doesn’t even turn on anymore. We will be looking into that. I maintain my innocence, but I do have a track record. Eh, I’m cute.
This will be my second Christmas with these guys, but my first proper Christmas, since last year was a tricky year. I am pretty excited about it. I think I probably had a tree and stuff when I was with my first mom, but I don’t remember. I wasn’t allowed in the room where the tree was when we visited Aunt Linda’s brother, but we will be home this year, and I am definitely up to the whole experience. Aunt Anna says that today is the first day she allows herself to play her Spotify Christmas playlist. It’s umm…eclectic, that’s all I am going to say, and it does start with a Thanksgiving song, so maybe she can bump that date back a day for next year. She does want to listen to more music these days, so this should be a big help. Do you have any favorite songs think she might like?
It’s also Time To Start Reading Christmas Romances. I will let her tell you about that later. I think that’s about it for right now. so I will let Aunt Anna have her computer back.
Typing With Wet Nails 