Paksworld

Could not resist.  Could. Not. Resist.    So what do the next ten days have in them, besides waiting for Oath of Fealty‘s release?    Not an orgy of anticipation, because Lifestuff rolls on, ignoring a writer’s desire to wallow for even one day in the joys of  authorship.    Here’s a sample:

Today is a good friend’s birthday, someone I’ve known for over forty years.   I write her a poem every year for her birthday.   It’s not written yet, because when I turned on the computer, up popped some email that drove rhyming words out of my head.  That’s dealt with now.  After the poem, I’ve got to work on revisions.  I also need to make bread (one dry crust of homemade bread is left.)    Also need to get horses’ hooves trimmed.  Also need to schedule spring vet visit, which means guessing which day the land will be dry enough for the vet’s truck to get near the barn (hollow laugh about that, this year.)

Whatever day the farrier comes will eat up an hour or so because I have to get the horses fed and at least rough-groomed before he arrives and then hold horses while he trims.   Whatever day the vet comes will eat up at least  a couple of hours, because at least one of them will need to be floated (teeth worked on) and that means the horse gets a tranquilizer shot, we wait for it to take effect, and then they start grinding away on the teeth.   Each horse gets spring immunizations, dental checkup and floating if required,  and worming with a different set of drugs than I use for feed-through wormer.

And I need to do a blog post at the other blogs, not just this one.

Tomorrow, friend and her husband are coming up here to celebrate our birthdays (hers is the 5th, mine is the 7th)  so before they arrive it would be nice to have stuff off all the kitchen chairs and the kitchen table, and stuff ready.   Which means today should include laundry, including tablecloth and all dish towels.   Also today or tomorrow, I need to work on the music for this Sunday.  (And revisions.)    May do blog post.

Sunday,  my birthday, I must head for church at 7 am, because we’re singing the 9 am service this week…which is good, because in the afternoon another friend is coming up (maybe, weather permitting) to celebrate my birthday, someone who couldn’t come on Saturday.   Reminder to self not to put stuff back on the chairs that I took stuff off of before the first visit.   May do blog post.

Monday, revisions much of the day, and a meeting with the focus group on regional transportation in the late afternoon/evening.  Inevitably I’ll also need to answer business email.   Depending on how revisions go, I may get an hour or two to work on Book III.   There will be post-party laundry to do, too.  Tax work is underway but not finished.   Blog post here.

Tuesday, up at five to drive M- 20 miles to the bus so he can go to class.  Revisions and Book III (must not neglect it too many days in a row) and whatever other business stuff comes up.   If I get hold of farrier today or Monday, trimming of horses’ hooves could happen any day after that.  About 5:30, drive to the bus terminus to pick up M- from classes.  Blog post here.

Wednesday,  revisions, Book III, email,  blog post here, plus laundry, etc.  Cooking happens most days, and that means dishwashing (by hand) but at least one day a week I do a big cook thing, so I don’t have to every day.  (I may add that to today’s, too.)   Drive to city for choir practice Wed. evening, come home and fall into bed because….

Thursday, up at five to drive M- 20 miles to bus for classes.    Choir practice usually wakes me up so it’s hard to go to sleep when I should, and I start Thursdays in a braindead state…often now napping when I get home from the morning trip.   Work on revisions later, then go all the way to the city in the afternoon to take M- his ice skates so he can skate at a rink there until 8 pm, when I pick him up and we head back to our place.

Friday,  pushing on revisions to get them done before the launch, unless of course the vet’s here or I spend the day on tax prep.  Plus laundry and the other household stuff.

Saturday before launch, same old same old.

Sunday before launch.  Our choir doesn’t sing, so I’m off the hook there.   OTOH, I’m having a voice lesson that Monday, so I need to have been doing vocal exercises (oops, forgot to put that in) every day and working on my “pieces.”   My instructor comes back from vacation Sunday.

Monday, day before launch.  Voice lesson in afternoon.

Tuesday, launch day.   Up at five to take M- 20 miles to the bus for classes.   Afternoon, clean up and dress for evening event.   At 4, online chat with Editor and another writer, John Hemry (writes as Jack Campbell, as well).   At 5, dash away from that to the city.   Meet up with M- at place he finds easy to reach by bus at about 6, take him to eat and eat a snack.   Rush-rush-rush, because at 7 I should be at Book People, ready to read, answer questions, and sign books.