Tag: The Traitors Australia

Love Is

…definitely not getting up at six on a Monday morning, methinks. I slept pretty well, but didn’t want to get up (I never do, so nothing new there), and am a little discombobulated; yesterday kept seeming like Saturday, and it wasn’t. My primary accomplishments of the day were getting things delivered so I didn’t have to leave the house, I finished reading Mississippi Blue 42, and finished watching season 2 of The Traitors Australia, which means I am almost finished with everything up for streaming on the Peacock app and will soon be looking for something else to watch. But the Festivals are this weekend, and Paul will be back to his what-passes-for-normal in his life next week, and we are very behind on a lot of streaming shows (new seasons and new ones to watch), so picking out something to watch shouldn’t be difficult. I also managed to keep avoiding the news for the most part since leaving Thursday, and I kept it going through the weekend. I really don’t want to check back in, do I? I have noticed the increase in the cost of gas–up to over $4 a gallon here in New Orleans. Remind when precisely gas was over four dollars a gallon during the last year of the Biden administration?

Sigh.

The last time I bought gas before the funeral trip, it was $2.59 a gallon and I was irritated with myself for not filling up the day before. So. Much. Winning.

I feel a bit weird this morning–not unwell, but not well, either. I suspect it has to do with the weather being different down here than it was over in Alabama, and my sinuses are having to get used to our heavier air again here. I slept well last night, too. It was a nice, relaxing day overall, in which I did some spot cleaning and some picking up around here, and of course I had things delivered. I have to swing by the post office for the mail on the way home, and I will swing past the grocery store on my way back to the house. I need to make a list–I don’t think I need too much, actually–and I do have a few things to do when I get home tonight. I need to also check my to-do list, and add some things to it. It’s becoming more and more clear to me that I can’t trust my short-term memory anymore. I think I’m going to start watching an episode of Jeopardy every night, because it makes me think and sharpens my brain.

I’ve not even checked my email since last Thursday–there’s a lot of it, so am afraid to look, but I am sure most of it is easily delete-able sales attempts. Or loan offers at loan shark interest rates. I don’t think I’m expecting anything crucial. Wish me luck when I open the inbox later.

I was very pleased that I finished reading Mississippi Blue 42. The only reason it took so long was because of brain fatigue; too tired when I get home from work to read for a while and same with the weekends. I really enjoyed it, and listening to the first half or more certainly made it easier for me to get back into reading the physical copy, which was marvelous. Eli Cranor is a marvelous writer, and the book inspired a lot of creative thoughts for me…it was also interesting because my uncle, whose funeral I attended, played college and pro ball and was a high school football coach (a successful one) until he retired. We really are such a college football family, it’s wild. I get my love of it from my family; and it’s always been so much a part of my life that I can’t imagine what it’s like not to follow college football. I turned Paul into a fanatic, too. (He was already a big sports fan, so getting him into college football wasn’t terribly hard.)

Season 2 of The Traitors Australia was absolutely amazing, with an enormous twist at the end that I saw coming, but wasn’t sure would deliver. But it DID! Now, all I have is one season of New Zealand before I am done, but I may go back and rewatch the most recent season of the US so I can evaluate and write a newsletter about.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely Monday, Constant Reader, and I will check in on you again tomorrow!

The great statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel.

Fall from Grace

Thursday morning and I am driving to Alabama this afternoon. I slept well yesterday, but still got tired yesterday afternoon. I am almost finished with an editorial job, which hopefully I will get done tonight before I go to bed at the hotel. I didn’t do much of anything when I got home because I was tired; I just ran the dishwasher (I’d meant to turn it on before I left yesterday morning but didn’t) and repaired to the chair with my purring cuddle kitty and finished The Traitors Australia’s first season. There’s only one of those left and one season of New Zealand on Peacock, and then I am going to have to track down how to stream Canada’s. I am going to listen to Eli Cranor’s latest novel on the drive over and the drive back, and should finish the entire novel by the end of the weekend.

Sigh. I also didn’t pack last night, figuring I could do it after work. My original plan was to drive over this afternoon then drive home after the service tomorrow–old-timey thinking on my part; get it over and get home. Then I realized I have to take Friday off regardless, so why not drive back on Saturday morning? I also thought I’d only leave two hours early, and go from the office. (Dad pointed out that it was kind of nuts to drive back on Friday; which is when I realized how stupid I was being about this entire trip.) Instead I am going to leave work at noon, come home to do some chores and pack, and still get on the road around the time I planned originally to leave work. I don’t have to rush anymore, and rushing always amped up the stress in the pre-medicated days. Now I can just take my time and relax, you know? I can make a packing list this morning at the office and be organized better. I have things to do at the office today before I leave as well, but as long as I stay motivated, I can get everything finished before I head out.

Sigh. Here’s hoping, at any rate.

And it’s yet another messed up week for me; I think this is three or four in a row? There was the water main breaks affecting two separate Mondays and I was sick the Monday in between those two. This week is disrupted by an unexpected trip. But getting home Saturday afternoon will give me the chance to get things caught up, make groceries, and maybe do some cleaning and get the apartment back under control. I do feel like I am actually getting a grip or a handle on my life again…and I just remembered the Festivals are next weekend, too, so that’s not going to be a normal pair of weeks, either. Ah, well, maybe some sense of order will return to my life in April.

One most excellent thing that happened yesterday was a conversation in a group text with some friends led my mind to spiral into what the plot for the next Scotty and its title (French Quarter Follies), so I madly scribbled down some notes and now I know what Scotty XI (eleven???) will be; I was a bit worried because I hadn’t been able to come up with anything, other than I wanted it to be another swing at Carnival. That was kind of exciting; my creativity has been mostly limited to non-fiction (blog and newsletters) since I finished writing the last book and now I am starting to get some of the old creative ADHD back. I’ve not been able to harness and focus it yet, so I am letting it have free reign to bounce all over the place and see what happens. I think listening to Eli’s book on the drive will also kickstart me back into reading fiction again–and I think my next reread with be a Phyllis A. Whitney classic–my very first of her novels for adults, Listen for the Whisperer. (I love that title, too.) I need to complete my reread of The Egyptian Cat Mystery, too.

I also picked up a copy of Bob the Drag Queen’s novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, based on recommendations by Kristopher Zgorski and Catriona McPherson, which I’d really like to dig into.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have yourself a merry little Thursday, and most likely won’t be back until Saturday when I get home, or may even wait until Sunday. Until then, au revoir.

It’s Only Love

Wednesday and halfway through the work week! Huzzah! Yesterday wasn’t terrible. The funeral plans for later this week are cemented and I’ll drive over on Thursday afternoon and back home afterwards on Saturday. I am going to listen to Eli Cranor’s Mississippi Blue 42 in the car going and coming, and then I can finish it off once I get home. Reading progress is reading progress, after all, even if it is listening, after all. I had slept well on Monday night, but I still hit a wall at work yesterday afternoon. I ran by the mail service to get the mail and had some groceries made and delivered, but was very happy to get home and feed the Sparkster, change into my sweats, did a load of dishes, and provide Sparky a warm lap for the evening. I’m still bingeing The Traitors (season 1, Australia, for those keeping track) and went to bed relatively early. I slept gloriously, and Sparky was even cuddled up with me when I woke up without the alarm (I forgot to set it as I climbed into bed last night). I am feeling good this morning so far, and my coffee tastes amazing. I don’t know how cold it is out there–today’s low is 44–but again it’ll be a layers day. I have to pack tonight–it just hit me that I am driving over tomorrow afternoon–when I get home from work. At least this drive isn’t up 59; I-10 to Mobile and then 65 north. I’ve not been this way in eons; the last time was my last book signing or event in Atlanta, whenever that was.

Heavy sigh.

I don’t think I’m going to be terribly busy today with clients at work, which is great because I have a lot of paperwork to get caught up on. I think when I get back on Saturday I won’t have any errands or anything to do that will require my leaving the house; I can always have things delivered, and I can stay home and rest and relax and try to get caught up more on everything. The Festivals are next weekend (!!!) and so I probably won’t get a lot done at all then, either. Where has March gone, seriously? I guess I lost track of days and time during this Traitors binge I’ve been on. Tomorrow I’ll come home before leaving town, so I can load up the car and head out. I should pass through Mobile before rush hour, and once I am on 65 N it will be an easy, simple drive. The drive home should be even easier. Woo-hoo! God, how anxious I used to get when driving out of town! It’s lovely having no travel anxiety any longer.

Then again, I’ve not flown anywhere in several years, have I? And really have no desire whatsoever to set foot on another plane at any other time soon, either. But I do know the last time I flew–I think for San Diego Bouchercon?–I primed myself and refused to get stressed or anxious, and I managed to succeed without the medication I was put on later for it! I do have a rather strong will when I want to, don’t I? I just don’t understand why I have so much trouble motivating myself and always default to being lazy. (Is it being lazy? I used to get yelled at a lot growing up for being lazy, but I was always reading, so maybe in my head I associate reading with being lazy? And since I am not really reading at the moment, I am definitely being lazy. But it’s also nice to relax my brain, too, you know?

I can literally justify or rationalize anything, can’t I?

And on that note–sorry to be so brief, but very little is actually going on at the moment, and my mind is consumed with finishing an editing project and getting ready for this drive tomorrow. I will be here tomorrow, but most likely not again until I get home on Saturday afternoon. Have a lovely Wednesday, Constant Reader, and I will see you tomorrow morning.

BGEast wrestler Mitch Colby