Inspirations, the Stories Space Coffee House: If you're reading this it just might mean I'm back, sorta. If you're not reading this, well, congratulations.

Quote by verbal
Baseball next weekend!

The kids next door didn't get the memo. They were out on the street with play bat and ball this afternoon. Still too much snow here but we are getting our mid-winter thaw so it is slowly going down.

Wow, WriterGirl's challenge is ticking along nicely. I completely missed that you can do one for each pic. I've done the rainbow but didn't even really think about the other. Oh well, there's still a month.

Fresh pots of coffee and tea are ready, iced tea and lemonade are also refreshed. How's your weekend going? I'm on a long one (Family Day). And right now, my wife is chatting with her family in China since it's New Year's Eve there. Year of the Horse starts tomorrow.

Happy President’s Day, for those in the US. Ha. We prefer to think of it as a three day Valentine Day weekend.

The comp entries are fun. I may give Rainbow a shot. We’ve got a month.

Making some headway on the new novel. Talia was laughing at me yesterday for recording and playing stuff backwards. .driew s’ti seY

!!!!!!eeffoC

!yrt ot reh teG

I am tinkering with my big project. Trying to see how the backstory chapters I have written can fit in while not making them the main story, which is threatening to happen. I mean, I guess I could do them as a part 1 and then the original story as part 2 but I don't really have THAT much backstory material without going even further back. So flashback chapters is what I am playing with.

Windy af down here. It's a little scary, though I can't imagine we're in danger. I'm picking up the grand-boy later, the biggest worry is that he'll blow away.

About halfway through House of Leaves. What a crazy read! It's like walking through a dark house, which I guess it literally is. But having to turn the book and squint and even occasionally use a mirror really makes it a trippy experience.

!eeffoC

I received that book as a gift, but have not started it. I'm not sure I am up to that much work for a book at the moment.

I still have an awful cough and no energy. It's frustrating. I have not seen my father in a few weeks. And now the entire wing, which includes his memory care unit, assisted living, and skilled nursing, is experiencing an outbreak of COVID and the flu. The staff assures me he is fine, and since he has no sense of time, he doesn't know I haven't been there in a while.

The weather has been warmer, and the snow and ice we had weeks ago are almost gone. Now it is muddy and ugly out. My husband and I are going to the beach for a few days, and on the way, we will stop and see our oldest son. It will be good to get away, and I love the beach in the winter.

I hope everyone is doing well. Take care. Cheers.

Quote by gillianleeza
I love the beach in the winter.

I've never see n a beach in winter. It sounds beautiful.

Same old thing here. Writing, with the news in the background. Pick up the grand-boy from school later. I've got a bit of a cough myself - there are SO MANY GERMS at the school. A giant petri dish.

!esaelp eeffoC

It's wild weather at the beach as a Nor'easter passes through. I love the sound of the ocean and the wind. It makes for great sleeping. I have finally mostly stopped coughing, but I need to get some energy back, hopefully soon. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Cheers.

We were both sick over the weekend, but we're getting over it.

Extremely boring weekend, though I did finally get around to finishing Stranger Things. I really enjoyed it. I thought they nailed the ending. Long, fun ride. Sorry to see it over.

!gninrom dooG

Entered both the writing contests (thanks again WG!). Hot and cold, love and hate. One of them is a sci-fi apocalypse, one of them is a simple love poem without the word love.

We're ordering a pizza tonight so we can sit down and watch the State of the Union speech. Regardless of what is said, or what happens, we are watching History, with a capital "H." I hope our better angels prevail.

Coffee would be swell.

The state of the union, at least from the view up here above you, is "royally f**ked". But maybe there's still a way to unf**k it. I just don't know what it is. What your nation needs is a pragmatic leader with a strong economic lens but Carney's ours and you cannot have him.😋 He is far from perfect in my somewhat leftie eyes, but he's at least mentally stable and focused on the real economy unlike Trumpie Dumpie, who seems to live in his dream world.

That's enough politics for tonight.

We are back into winter but a quieter, milder form of it. Temps from -7 to 0C, occasional flurries.

Quote by Mendalla

The state of the union, at least from the view up here above you, is "royally f**ked". But maybe there's still a way to unf**k it. I just don't know what it is. What your nation needs is a pragmatic leader with a strong economic lens but Carney's ours and you cannot have him.😋 He is far from perfect in my somewhat leftie eyes, but he's at least mentally stable and focused on the real economy unlike Trumpie Dumpie, who seems to live in his dream world.

That's enough politics for tonight.

We are back into winter but a quieter, milder form of it. Temps from -7 to 0C, occasional flurries.

Turns out not much happened. A two hour slog of a speech.

No matter. Tomorrow is a new day. Writing and half-listening to pre-season baseball. We have a rookie on the mound!

Coffee and a couple Tylenol please.

Is it too much to ask that one day goes by and there is no horrifying news? Sigh.. I have to limit my consumption of news, or I feel hopelessly depressed or seething with anger. I'm not fond of either of those feelings.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. My brother came for a visit, so that was nice. The weather is slowly warming up, but we will have a few flurries and rain on Tuesday, and by the end of the week, it will reach the seventies. That is welcome news.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and I hope that Monday is kind to everyone. Take care.

Quote by gillianleeza
The weather is slowly warming up, but we will have a few flurries and rain on Tuesday, and by the end of the week, it will reach the seventies.

I was just looking at the forecast here and we are hitting double digits Celsius (13C = 55F) by next weekend. Maybe by the equinox it actually will be Spring. 😋 Or maybe it will be one of those years where we get a shot of Spring early in March, then get another dump of snow later.

Yeah, the world is an f-ing mess right now and it gets me down at times, too. I'm just trying not to consume too much news and focus on my work and hobbies.

Is the world on fire? True.

Am I thoroughly enjoying watching a meaningless pre-season baseball game on a Sunday afternoon? Also true.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. It's a beautiful day here.

Is it right to hate someone for their beliefs? I do not think so. However, I kinda think youall will hate me for my feelings and beliefs and I accept that 😔.

I think a belief system is evil that dictates that women are so tempting to men that they need to wear a burka and gays are so evil that they should be hanged as was/is the case in fundamentalist Iran/Islam. However, killing is also bad.

I am conflicted. I think it is bad for government to force us to do and think things it believes to be right regardless of what the individuals believe to be right. On the other hand, “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”