Dumplings for Lunch

What went before: Did some handwritten work; tomorrow I'll be typing. I still haven't figured out who XX are, but I'm sure they'll tell me bye-n-bye.

Coon Cat Happy Hour has been served up; I've got a couple more things to do, then I'll be pouring a glass of wine.

Everybody have a good evening; stay safe. I 'll see you tomorrow.

Oh. For some reason, this got kicked up by the photo program -- this would be me on my 61st birthday at The Lindsey House B&B in Rockland Maine. FWIW.

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Thursday. Sunny and warm. Thunderstorms called for, later, with hail.

Breakfast was cream cheese on an English muffin with grapes on the side. I am back from the chiropractor, and thought I was in for the weekend, but! There's a Dumpling Truck at the KMD Food Truck Court today, and -- it just might be that I'll have to go out again in a few. We'll see. I mean; it's not like I don't have food. OTOH -- dumplings.

Today, I do intend to devote most of my time to writing, dumplings or no dumplings. Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday will be more of the same. I know what I'm doing first off, so -- all good there.

I spent some time with my Garmin Watch this morning, and to hear it tell the tale, I live a Very Stressful Life. Which I'm supposing is not impossible, Given Everything. It's worth noting that the days when I'm, err, less stressed, are days when I'm writing, so -- I'm going with that.

Tali's fan club will be happy to know that I've finally found a brush that Tali likes; she was purring the whole time, and even turned over for me, so I could brush her belly.

In other news, I'm listening to Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. I'm having an OK time with it, but something about the narration itches at me. Maybe some books just aren't meant to be read aloud? Though Steve read it to me when I was being bathed in the energy of one thousand angry suns every day. OTOH -- I found Steve's voice soothing.

My reading is A Gentleman of Questionable Judgment, the 9th Lord Julian novel, which I had somehow missed, so now catching up.

. . . and, yeah; I'm for dumplings. I was going to have stir-fry chicken and veggies for lunch, anyhow. Dumplings will go great. And it's not like they can't be steamed and heated up for later.

See me convince myself?

So -- who has a long weekend coming up? Plans?

Sometime Later:  The chicken and mushroom dumplings are to die for.

And the lavender honey latte is good, too.

Yeah, I went crazy.

It's summer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here's a picture of Tali, post-brushing, and the boys, Judging me:

 

Books, and brushes, and dumplings, oh my!

BUSINESS FIRST: The Uncle wishes everyone to know that there are still signed copies of Diviner's Bow available from his website. Signed books make wonderful gifts!

The preview is showing Fair Trade because the link takes you to a catalog page where all signed Lee-and-Miller editions are gathered into one happy place.

Here's the link.

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Wrote +/-1060 very drafty words, which I am not adding to the Official Count until the scene is finished. Which it ain't.

So, questions on Tali's preferred brush. It's called a Safari brush, and is a soft, two-sided rubber brush. There are Tricks to using it. I use the brush, then I take a towel and just smooth it over the cat to get the last of the loose fur out. Tali likes both the brush and the toweling, which are both very gentle operations.

What's so special about dumplings? someone asks. No, not Bisquick dumplings. Chinese steamed dumplings, stuffed with chicken, or pork, or veggies, or combinations thereof. There are also sweet fillings available, but today I went with the savory -- chicken and mushroom. Very good; I expect I'll be a return customer.

The food truck court is right around the corner from a house that Steve and I seriously considered buying, Some Time Back.  We decided that a house that had three steps between the kitchen and the dining room, and three steps from the living room to the bedroom, one step from the bedroom to the bathroom, and two steps down to the sunroom, might not be so good if one of us got sick. Nice house in many ways, including having a separate office wing,  and an attached garage, but the stairs were a deal-breaker. But, man, what a location, twelve years down the road.

In more personal news, Ashley has left me; she has discovered that she's allergic to cats. This means I'll be doing my own housework (poor writer; like she hasn't been doing her own housework for 50 years), which isn't necessarily a Completely Bad Thing. I'd been looking for stuff to hang a Schedule on, after all.

Also! I will be taking a Social Media Free Day tomorrow in order to Concentrate on the WIP. For those who worry about me not having enough fun, I do have turkey burgers, and buns, and baked beans, so that I can be appropriately festive.

Everybody stay safe; those who are picnicking or otherwise celebrating -- have fun!

Let's check in with each other on Saturday.