writing process

Typing With Wet Paws: Welcome, December Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Mama Anna says it is also proof of life. That means that we are here and we are okay. Kind of like purring. I am very good at purring.

Apart from the fact that I did not get any people food (unless we count the times I stuck my ace into servings of baked potato soup or macaroni and cheese; Mama Anna tells me to get my face right out of those. They are not for kitties.) Thanksgiving was pretty good. Papa made a pork tenderloin, and Mama Anna stayed up to hit some super doorbusters on Black, White and Orange Friday. Surprising nobody, those super doorbusters were mostly about stationery.

This was not one of them, but I am including it because A) it is now time to turn over the autumn planner/journal decorations to Christmas and winter, and B) you are looking at her new blogging notebook. Notebooks, actually, because there is one for her blogs and one for my blogs, and then there is another for her media consumption journal. I should remind her to make a spread for her Spotify Wrapped this year. She did not listen to a lot of music overall which was one of her “hmm, smells like depression” flags. I am happy to say that she is over that no music thing now and discovering lots of new stuff. Apparently, her top genre of the year was something called “Neo Mellow.” Neither one of us knew that was a thing, but apparently so.

If you think another one of the super doorbusters she attacked was Sims 4 related, you are right. She is super into Sims. Reading and TV are still getting there, but music and gaming are good, and yes, there is some writing. Mama Anna is giving serious consideration to how she might get My Outcast Heart and Orphans in the Storm back out there in 2024, as well as what she and Aunt Melva have planned for the second two books of the Love by the Book series. If you loved Meg and Dominic from Chasing Prince Charming, and wondering what their friends and family are up to, 2024 should be your year.

She has also dusted off A Heart Most Errant (if you like both medieval romance and postapocalyptic romance, this one is for you.) and is looking at expanding it so that it can be longer than novella length and ready to go back out on submission rounds when it is bigger and better. Maybe then she will be able to figure out what that guy named Guy should be doing if he gets to be the hero in a second book.

Also important is that I have discovered how to use a heating pad. I don’t only know how to sit on it when it is already on. I figured out that there is a way I can smack the controls with my paw to make it go from off to warm. I say it’s perfect time for that now that we are in this particular season. We have had dustings of snow. Nothing has stuck so far, but that is not far off. Mama Anna has set up her reading nook with soft pillows, fuzzy blankets, space for a hot drink and easy access to journal stuff. As long as I have access to her lap, she will be warm whether the heating pad is on or not.

How is December treating you so far?

Therapy Homework and Other Stories

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Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

The weather is cool and cloudy today. I have a tall tumbler, filled with vanilla chai tea, too hot yet to drink, which gives me time to start this blog. My blogging goal for this week is to blog twice. Once, to help Storm with her blog, and one that is entirely Anna. The tumbler is a plain silvery finish right now. I will probably find some vinyl stickers for personalization. I plan on taking it out in the wild with me. I want to get some foliage shots while the leaves are with us. I miss taking pictures and posting them. The only way to do that is to do it. Baby steps count.

That is some of my therapy homework for this week and the next. I also need to finish reading Lisbon, by Valerie Sherwood. I’m over three hundred and fifty pages into the five hundred and fifty page plus book, so I think I should be able to do this. I have only read this book once, when it first came out, the same year Real Life Romance Hero and I were first married. It’s like reading it for the first time again, but with enough familiarity to know this is the right sort of story to keep my attention. I also get to make notes as to why that is. what does make this book work for me?

Right now, Storm has parked herself between me and my keyboard. She would prefer to be on it, but I have work to do. After I publish this post, I will make popcorn and check out the Frasier revival. Possibly some Yellowjackets, either diving into season two, or going back to season one and binge. I am listening to creepypastas as I write this and will probably do some journal stuff while watching abovementioned shows. TV and journaling seem to go well together around here.

Journal prep will be extra special this time, as I am getting ready for my own loosey-goosey version of Preptober/NaNo-ish doings. Updates to come as I progress. From my chat with Melva this week, I have to read through what I have on Her Last First Kiss so far and report on my own books. Not only read it, but spot what’s working, what I like. On my own book. This should be interesting. I have an audiobook to finish listening to as I take care of some household chores, and then another one lined up to take its place when I am done with the first. If it’s been difficult to stick with an audiobook the way I normally listen, how about I try listening to them the way I do the creepypastas I have been inhaling like nobody’s business? More sessions of shorter duration and remember there will be no quiz on the material at any point. I don’t know why I have felt like there would be, but there isn’t. There is no wrong way to read for pleasure.

That’s about it for right now. There is reading and there is writing and at some point it will resume making sense. Specific assignments and accountability work well for me, so I will be going with that. Odds are high that I will be making some sort of trackers for my personal and writing journals. I know myself.

What’s going on with you guys?

as always, Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Adoptiversary Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This is a special edition, because it is my adoptiversary. Well, actually, it was yesterday, October fifth, but yesterday was also Mama Anna’s talking people vet session, and the first pictures of me with these guys were taken the day after, because everybody wanted to give me some time to get used to my new family

Possibly first crunchies with forever family

I have had three mamas, and that is the final number. My cat mom was my biological mom. I don’t remember a lot about her, but she was gorgeous (I assume she looks like me) and ran one heck of a milk bar. When I was big enough to set out on my first adventure, I went to my first human mom, Mama D, who took the best, best, best care of me until it was time for me to come to my forever family. I still love my first two mamas and I think about them a lot, always fondly.

As you might be able to see from the picture above, I wasn’t done growing yet when I met these guys, because I am bigger and longer and grownup now. These guys never got to see me as a tiny jelly bean or a li’l potato, as I came to them in my long teen stage. Now I am a big long, which is my final form.

look at me now

Please note that Mama Anna was kind enough to match the cover of one of her journals to the color of half of my nose. Yes, she has another one like it in black, to match the other half of my nose. I will accept this tribute. My bond with Mama Anna and her writing has been there from the very start. One of the very first times I came out of my adventure cave, she had a journal out on the bed, and was working with an India ink pen. I wanted to play with the pen. She said I should not, because the ink might stain my white paws. Well. She had not noticed the black spot I have on one of my front paw toes before then and thought that she had stained my fur. She felt awful until she realized it was original equipment.

Ever since then, we have only grown closer. I have made new human friends/aunts and uncles both online and in purr-son. If Mama Anna wants to have a video chat with anybody, I must be part of it. That is not negotiable. I don’t make the rules. Oh wait, I am a cat. I totally do.

Mama Anna wanted to remind me that one of my main reasons I get to blog once a week is that I am to be her PR kitty. That means I have to talk about her writing. She’ll admit it hasn’t been great as of late, which is one of the reasons she is seeing the talking vet. The talking vet helped her give herself a couple of assignments. First, she needs to finish reading the novel she is currently reading, which is Lisbon, by Valerie Sherwood. She loves that book and has read it only once, so it is like a new book, but one she knows she will like.

Lisbon, by Valerie Sherwood

Another goal is for Mama Anna to write one of her own blogs once a week for the rest of October. It doesn’t matter the topic, so be prepared for some babbling. Some of you like that, so you’ll be in for a treat. The rest of you, maybe ask her some questions so she can maybe use those to help figure out a topic. My Aunt Mary already asked Mama Anna to blog about Lisbon, so she will probably do that at some point.

The other other goal is related to NaNoWriMo and even Preptober. Mama Anna would like to participate in those, but she’s not sure exactly how, so the idea they came up with was this:

  • Pick a notebook
  • Fill it by the end of November
  • That’s it.

What she fills the notebook with doesn’t matter as much as just filling it. Probably extra points for making it be about historical romance. Mama Anna plans on getting together with Aunt Melva for an in person worldbuilding session soon, about the small town they are creating for their new contemporary series. This new notebook, which she will probably introduce you to later, will be saved for stuff about historical romance and maybe fantasy romance that reads like historical.

Will I try to steal her pens that she writes with in that? Yes. Will I sit on the open pages and the closed cover? Yes. Is she fully aware that if the notebook has a leather or faux leather cover, that I will do the pricky-pricky-pricky things with my murder mittens to the cover? Yes. Might she try to foil me by putting a cover over that cover? Almost certainly. Will that stop either one of us? Probably not, but there is only one way to find out.

How was your week?

Typing With Wet Paws: Finally Fall Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We are now officially over the line for the beginning of autumn, aka the age of Mama Anna’s superpowers. We have observed our third moving-in-iversary to this apartment, which we continue to celebrate by, well making ourselves at home. This means Mama Anna gets to organize, refine, and decorate, which are all things she does super duper well, especially when the weather is like it is today. That means cool and rainy. Think of what most people would do when it’s a warm sunny day, and then that’s pretty much how Mama Anna is on days like this. , She is happy and wants to do All of the Things.

Thankfully, one of those things she likes to do is take pictures of me. I think this houndstooth purse makes a lovely complement to two of my colors, Now all she needs is an orange accent. No worries. I’ll shed some orange hair on it, and she will be good to go. Except she should never go. Ever. Anywhere. Only if she takes me with her. Other than that, she needs to stay here and write stuff. I like watching her write stuff.

Aunt Linda says that even though it is cooler now, it is not yet time to put on the heater until she gets rid of the, um, surprise I left her in proximity to one of the baseboards. I think it will probably happen soon though because Papa is from California, and people from California often have a lower threshold for this kind of thing. Soon, it will be time for the Big Laundry (today is a regular laundry) where all of the bedding and towels get washed at the same time (by some hired humans, not my regular ones) and then that stuff will be ready for the upcoming winter. I have a feeling that having ALL of the blankets warm and clean and smelling good can only mean good things for Mama Anna, which means good things for me.

Mama Anna and Aunt Linda did go to the special candle store. They got two autumn-y candles, a room spray (for the bathroom; flames are not good in a room where humans use spray cans, because kaboom) and even some wax melts for Mama Anna to make her own candles. Today, she has been listening to her special story-making music while she does some organizing of the big bedroom, because it is also her office and Papa’s office. It’s a big room, but then I don’t know a lot of rooms, and I am cat-sized. Anyway, the only thing missing from the whole feel of the day is that she did not have any tea. That is not because there is no tea in the house. There are several kinds of tea in the house. There are also bags of things for recycling in front of the place for making tea (That will all go away when Aunt Linda can help her take it where it needs to go.) Also because there is not milk in the house. I have nothing to do with that; it’s only the day before grocery day. Before you ask, yes, I did put crunchies on the list. Crunchies are delicious, and they are all mine.

The best part about the return of Mama Anna’s superpower is that I have figured out the very best perk. I mean, yes, she will be happy, and there will be new stories for people to read and buy and publish, but we are talking about me here. Let’s keep our priorities straight. Anyway, that priority is that I have figured out how to sit on the corner of Mama Anna’s desk while she is writing on the computer, and I can watch the words as they appear on the screen. This is very similar to when Mama Anna first started writing for real, and some of her college dormmates would stand behind her while she typed so they could read in real time.

I think this season is going well. What about you?

Typing With WetPaws: Welcome Back, Super Powers Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It has been a while, but that awful summertime is over, and Super Powers are returning. Happy New Year to all our Jewish and Messianic friends. The picture above these words was taken by Aunt Linda, as I was taking a much-needed nap in her window. Some of the fans are off now, and Mama Anna is even wearing a sweatshirt as she helps me write this. There are noises from the humans about a Big Wash, which means ALL of the bedding, including blankets. I know what this means. This means it is time to be cozy and cuddly and snuggly. I am all about all of that.

Another thing that lends itself to cozy and comfy is that Mama Anna is listening to something I find very interesting these days: creepypasta. I do not mean things like spaghetti with spiders in it, but a certain kind of story she listens to on You Tube. It’s usually first person, kind of scary, but she doesn’t find it scary; she finds it interesting, and even listens to it to help her sleep. Yes, she will be bringing this up with the special talking people vet. her favorite kinds of stories so far are those about things that happen in the deep woods, and also where the narrator works at a place with some strange rules to them. Maybe she will try to write one for one of her blogs.

Now that summer is basically over, and will be officially over next week, Mama Anna is feeling much more herself. That means much more like writing. She is still working on the reading thing, which she will also mention to the talking people vet but is pretty sure that will come in time. Probably also with a nice autumnal candle.

Photo by thevibrantmachine on Pexels.com

Some scents that she likes for this time of year are: cinnamon, clove, woodsmoke, tobacco, leather, wine, pumpkin, apple, coffee, fallen leaves, and that sort of thing. Aunt Linda wants to go to Yankee Candle, which Mama Anna is all for, even better if they can meet up with some friends who also like going to candle places. I mean the factory, but maybe Aunt Linda only means the small stores in the mall. That one is good, too. Mama Anna is also playing around with making her own candles with wax melts and wicks, but she is starting on that journey, so buying candles is still a good idea.

I, of course, am not allowed to investigate candles, no matter what fragrance they have. Something about fire. Blankets are much more fun, as they are fuzzy and soft, like me, and good for napping. I am extremely good at napping. When Mama Anna is at her keyboard, i am usually sleeping in her sock drawer right next to her desk. I let her know I want in my drawer by scratching the drawer below it. Mama Anna says that sets a precedent, but Papa says I’m cute, and this was a curb dresser, so it’s okay. It’s a good thing he’s cute.

Mama Anna’s schedule says it is now naptime, so I had better sign off now, as I am nap commissioner. I will let her update you all on writing and stuff in her own blogs. What are you currently reading?

Headbonks!

Low-Hanging Fruit Day

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Today is a low hanging fruit sort of day. It’s the middle of July, for one thing. For another, I have a doctor appointment tomorrow (routine, no worries) and my anxiety did not sign up for that, so is kicking a fuss. Fortunately, that’s what the appointment is about, so that is for the good. Put together soupy air (seriously, folks, I have seen air fish, that’s how humid it is around here in NY state) anxiety and the regular stuff that comes with carrying out both writing and domestic warrior queen duties in such an environment, this is one of the days when it’s time to focus on the easy stuff, call that good enough and then flop back in front of the fan. This will include cuddles from feline companion, because Storm needs her cuddles regardless of weather.

the coolest of cats
(seriously, at the point where fans converge)

Reading wise, things are looking up.

Circle of Friends, Maeve Binchy

Oh my mercy, I loved this one. Five stars on GR, review incoming, and definitely a book that I want to write about in a future post. I class this as historical fiction (Ireland in 1957\8) with romantic elements (there are relationships, some HEAs, some other outcomes, but the focus is on the, well, friends.) Up next is another Binchy, The Lilac Bus. My other current read is Don’t Let in the Cold, by Keely Parrack.

YA thrillers usually work very well for me, and this one has a blizzard setting, so no surprise that I am zooming through this one. I am always up for a blizzard, especially when I am dealing with air fish in the here and now. I’ll be back to this one when the adulting for the day is done.

For today, the writing low-hanging fruit is obviously this blog. Next up is a character interview because I absolutely can get back on the historical romance horse, which I prefer to actually do than whinge about it being haaaaaaaard. (Which is definitely worth mentioning at tomorrow’s appointment.) My favorite kind of research is talking to people, and that includes my own characters. This is, at its core, “dude, what’s going on?” mode and it’s kind of one of my favorite parts. Getting out of my characters’ way is also some tasty low-hanging fruit.

Dinner gets to be some mix of a) there are two other adults in the house, b) we have plenty of non-oven-needing food, and c) we live in a city with delivery options. There’s also d) there are food place right there in walking distance. In other words, some variation of I Am Not Cooking. That’s always one of my summer favorites.

What’s your low-hanging fruit for the day?

as always, Anna

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Well hi there. Anna here. It’s a hot July day, and I says to myself, Anna, if you blabber your way through a blog post, you can cross “blog post” off your list for the day and then you get to write the interview questions for the next scene in Her Last First Kiss, and after that, you get to go back to reading A Circle of Friends, by Maeve Binchy, in front of the box fan, with a huge glass of ice water. This is a strong motivation, because I am only fifteen percent through said book, and already adore it.

I’d tried to find the movie version, with Minnie Driver, but that’s apparently not streaming anywhere, so book it is. At the moment, I am on a movies from the late 60s-mid-70’s drama movies kick One would think such movies would be readily available on streaming services, but one would be wrong I did find The Sterile Cuckoo on Amazon Prime Video, which I loved. I did not know it was a book first, and that the book covers three years, where the movie compresses all of it into one school year. I found this movie when I was actually looking for Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, which was also a book first, by a different author. I can rent it on Amazon, and I will probably cave, as well as Summer of ’42, which I have wanted to see since I was nine and fell crazy in love with the theme song. My parents would not allow me to see the movie, even though these are the sane parents (okay, mainly my dad) who took me to see The Manitou.

Anyway. :breath: I have a huge soft spot for broadly middle of the twentieth century coming of age movies. If there are dual timelines or a where are they now type of epilogue, all that much better. My educated guess is that it’s the saga element that I love and crave in my historical romances.

Earlier this week, I had a long video call with my friend, Mary, how is a huge help with historical research assistance. With a few pointed questions and referring to her impressive historical nonfiction library. An hour or so of that, and then boom, the foundation of a Tudor-era quartet, there it is. This will be going in the journal pictured above, in a way that makes sense to me, along with the corresponding information for the pirate trilogy, and a couple of standalones.

All of this, of course, means that I need to make with the tappity tappity and get Her Last First Kiss to the end of this new draft. My medieval novella, A Heart Most Errant, may need more eyes on it, to figure out any related stories (writer friends, I’ll do the same for you) and will be headed back out on submission in the fall. For today, I get to ask some pertinent questions of a character to get a scene moving. That, I am delighted to report, can be done in front of above-mentioned fan, sipping above-mentioned journal.

After that, it may be movie time. What vintage coming of age movies would you recommend?

as always, Anna

New Phone, Who’s This?

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I got a new phone earlier this week. I don’t think I’ve had a phone for, ummm, well, years now. Too many emergency phone calls interrupted by emergency phone calls, all culminating with me reacting to a phone call from a friend by screaming, throwing the phone straight up in the air and running out of the room. That is not an exaggeration. I have a witness. Anyway, that was the exact moment that I decided I didn’t want to have a phone anymore, and so I did not. Computers were fine and are fine. E-readers and later, tablets, were and are fine. Phones, not so much, because reasons. Fast forward to the way this family started June, and okay, yes, phones are back on the menu, mostly as tablet junior, and texting over phone calls.

Not going to lie, June was a wild ride: Real Life Romance Hero’s accident and recovery, me getting shingles up and down both arms right after he got released (all better now, no scarring even) and the hand brace he picked up for me the day of the accident (this man has his priorities) as well as the family dynamics things that go on when the status quo shifts as much as it did. Thankfulluy, we seem to be on a more even keel.

I have always loved “Closing Time,” by Semisonic and when I saw it used in a Facebook post by a top tier favorite author, I knew I wanted to use it as my first quote in my first Archer and Olive journal. Forget the perfection of paralysis, because enough of that. Which means start throwing stuff on the pages. This works well for things beyond journaling. One of the things that I did on zero energy and low mobility days was to watch lots and lots of YouTube. Ditto IG reels on days when attention span was a thing of a moment. Gives a gal ideas, that does. Maybe I could start making some of my own.

BookTube is always a wonderful source of entertainment, and I have noticed an interesting lack of people talking about the historical romances that I love best, both to read and write, and well, I can talk about that. I can talk at length about stationery and planning/journaling, about the TV shows I have watched, am watching, or am following by recap because I think the streaming services are breeding. I can talk about a lot of things, really, and I do like a few “lifestyle” vloggers, not the kind showing off name brand thus and so, but the “okay, today we’re doing a thing I was going to do anyway, and you get to hang out with me” kind. I could probably do that.

Melva and I have agreed that it is about high time to make use of the website that we actually own and could turn it into a decent resource for both of our readers. (Bonus points if you caught the double ententrde; it was intentional. As a joke.) This means new content: gulp: and of course, as here, consistent content. Which of course means that I get to justify one of the spare planners waiting to be called to duty as a content planner.

Jury is still out on whether I want to do anything with my Sims doings, but this feels like enough for one day’s blog. I want some down time before I help Storm figure out her blog for the week.

As always, Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Hello, Summer Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It has been very interesting over here since we last had a chance to visit. Papa smelled a lot like people vet and has had to check in with his people vet a couple of times. No cone of shame, but Mama Anna is going to have to give him some pills, and he is getting a lot of rest. He hopes to get back to his usual activities soon, which means Mama Anna can as well.

photo by Aunt Linda

Here is a picture of me sleeping on Aunt Linda’s phone. I thought that would keep her from taking my picture, but I forgot about her tablet. Mama Anna was on the other side of me, and she was originally in the picture, but she is also the one who edited it, so make of that what you will. You can probably see one of her notebooks peeking out around the edge of this picture.

There is a lot of pen and paper stuff going on around here, of which I highly approve, because I get to sit and/or sleep on a wide variety of paper products. Even though Papa does not have to wear a cone of shame, Mama Anna does have a thing on her hand called a brace, because she went that hard on things like writing, typing and using a computer mouse. In short, she makes ouch sounds when she uses her thumb unless she has the brace on. Then it’s okay and she can do the things she wants. She can even rub my belly with it, so that’s good.

Summer is not the favorite season for anybody around here, but then again, we are in a pretty good place right now. I mean that physically as well as metaphorically. We have some really cool (see what I did there?) fans that come out and into full use this time of year. I like the big square one aimed at Mama Anna’s and Papa’s bed. If I flop exactly right, I can get the real breeze and the breeze from the fan flowing through my belly fur at the same time. That’s the dream.

Mama Anna and Aunt Melva are working on their very first newsletter, which they will have on their melvaandanna.com website. There are exciting things afoot there, and they are 100% working on a new contemporary romance series. Aunt Melva is also working on some things on her own, that are different from what she writes with Mama Anna. Mama Anna is also planning out what she wants to do with her historicals; not just in the “x would be fun someday” way but in the “I will have this done by this time” thing. Since this means that she will require close su-purr-vision, I had best make sure I am in top shape for the task.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws; Papa Smells Like People Vet Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It’s been a while since anybody posted here, but Mama Anna and I have good reasons. Most of them are that Papa spent a lot of last week at the People Vet. No cone of shame, though, so good for him. What I understand is that he fell in the pharmacy and split his head open. Two arteries and a muscle were involved, but the people vets are super super good and he is okay now. He is back hunting (he calls it work) and Mama Anna is digging out of the domestic chaos that ensued from that week’s events.

One of the things Papa was in the pharmacy to get was a thumb brace for Mama Anna. Since I do not have thumbs, because I am a cat, I am not sure exactly what went on with that, but she moved her thumb in a direction thumbs do not generally go, and it hurt unless she taped it to something straight, which made her think that a brace would help, and she was right. She has been wearing the brace since the first day Papa was in the hospital, and it is working great. She can hold a pen and use a mouse (the computer kind, not the delicious kind) and give me belly rubs, so that’s all good. Huzzah.

Mama Anna and Aunt Melva are working on a brand new contemporary romance novel, probably a series. Mama Anna is back on writing Her Last First Kiss again. She is also entertaining some other ideas, both for historical romance novels and web content. She would like to do more vlogs. I one hundred percent intend to video bomb her as much as possible, so that might be an incentive to watch those vlogs. She also wants to show off her planners and journals and pens and stuff.

Mama Anna is working on getting back into the reading groove. She is currently reading Wool, by Hugh Howey, the book that inspired the TV show, Silo, which she super wants to watch, but is following by recaps instead, because she does not have Apple TV. Mama Anna is very, very allergic to wool in real life, but it should be okay to read an e-book with that title.

Another thing Mama Anna wants to do is to take more pictures. She really kikes doing that, but hasn’t done as much of it as she would like. This was taken in the park that we can see from our house. As in really easy to walk to whenever she wants. She says I have to stay at home, though, because apparently, I cannot be trusted around ducks. Not that I have ever encountered ducks. She just knows me.

What are you all up to this week?