In which the writer has had more fun
Sunday, September 21st, 2025 12:45 pmWhat went before: OK, so this is no fun. Apparently, I'm having a reaction to the COVID booster -- the very first such reaction.
I am therefore taking the rest of the day off to curl up in a ball of misery under 45 blankets and three coon cats until my head stops hurting.
The good news is that the New Order allowed me to write 1,120ish new words, and the things I'm not getting done are business stuff that will just have to wait.
Hope everybody's having a good Saturday.
Sunday. The adventure continues.
As it turns out, I am ... weller. The headache, which was the worst, is no longer with me. Fever's gone. I am chilly, but that just might be because it's chilly today and I haven't turned on the oil heat, so we're running with what the heat pumps and the sun through the window can provide.
OTOH, now I have muscle aches, and was briefly sick enough to my stomach that breakfast was a big cup of ginger and lemon tea with honey. I just went rooting around in the pantry, and it's looking like that will be Progresso Chicken 'n Rice Soup for lunch.
I have written +/- 1,000 words, and cleaned the cat boxes. A walk is not on today's schedule. I do intend to write some more this afternoon, but there are two outstanding pieces of business mail that I have to get outta here, so that will be happening while I'm in the front of the house heating up my can of soup, and taking a break.
How I got 13 hours of sleep: I took a four hour nap, ably assisted by Nurse Rookie Cookie, who gamely declared he was up for four more, if needed. It being 6 pm by the time I arose, half-blind with the stupid headache, I served up Happy Hour a bit early, had a bowl of rice and two Tylenol -- and went back to bed, whereupon I slept for nine hours. I did wake up once or twice, and noted the presence of Tali and Firefly.
So, apparently the tropes are not a gag, and author trading cards are serious business -- this given the absence of an answer to my latest (no harm, no foul; at this point I'D be giving up on myself. Honestly, who is this out-of-touch old writer, anyway?).
The whole trope idea still makes me queasy and murderous, perhaps not quite in that order, but I believe I have engineered a Work Around. (And this is where we once again and reallyREALLY miss Steve, King of the, "Here, let me not do that for you, 'k? This works for me; you go ahead and do what you do." Insert charming smile.)
Into the trope column on the present form will go: honor, wit, true love, space opera. Those're my tropes and I'm sticking with them.
And, honestly, that's about as far as I can bend without breaking something, probably my last stick of patience, and it's more or less what it says on the label: "The Liaden Universe: Where honor, wit, and true love are potent weapons against deceit and trickery."
I will note that this morning's writing session in Steve's office was adorned by Firefly and Rook, with a brief visit from Tali, who doesn't quiet Get It, yet. I am now in my office, attended by Rook and Tali, Firefly at last look was still snugged down in Sprite's former aerie overlooking Steve's desk.
And that's the mixed bag o'news from the Cat Farm.
How's Sunday treating everybody?