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.

Da Bear is in!!!!

!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.

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.

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.

The Rainbow Dancer (Rainbow, of course)

The raging storm outside mirrored the chaos in my soul; the grief of recent loss and pain.

A woman wearing a black dress entered the meadow behind my home. She began to dance in the rain. I went out to her, not entirely sure why. Her dance continued as I approached.

The storm calmed. Clouds broke, releasing a rain of colours. The dancer stopped and smiled, dissolving into the coloured light.

I stared at the rainbow. Joy flooded my heart.

Story is now simmering. It's not specifically St. Patty's (it's the rainbow) but there's a bit of a Celtic witch theme to it and I was listening to a playlist called "Celtic Witchy Vibes" as I wrote and edited it.

Been toying for a while now with editing my horror stories from here into some kind of anthology to try my hand at e-publishing. Was going through reading them and did a heavy edit on "The Voice of Ice" (which I will likely post here in place of the old version if I don't go ahead with the project). It was my first story on SS and was already heavily edited from the original that I published in a webzine owned by a late friend.

Other stories are more recent so better written and edited. Most just need proofing and tweaking though I'll probably edit a few more times. Probably add a short intro or foreword explaining my love of horror and the themes that come out in the collection (cosmic horror, monsters, ghost stories). Now juggling them to try to figure out the order. Probably the revised Voice to start but them maybe a thematic arrangement rather than chronological. I think chronological makes more sense for an established writer doing a career anthology. For a first collection from a new writer (which I effectively am here), thematic seems more sensible.

Still not sure I will do this, but we shall see. At least it is giving me something to do whilst I meditate on WriterGirl's contest and figure out what I actually feel like writing these days. I zipped up my whole drafts folder and archived it for now because nothing in there was really progressing. Even my long-form piece that I've mentioned before (fantasy female Robinson Crusoe) has kind of stalled as I have second thoughts about the whole backstory I've been building.

We tried to go out but left it too late. So home for today and then maybe we'll try again tomorrow.

Roses or a mixed bouquet?

We have a bit of a perfect storm up here. Valentine's Day falling on a long weekend (in most provinces). Monday is what we call "Family Day". And the weather is warming up so we might get rid of some of the snow over the coming week to boot.

Sorry to hear Covid is still keeping you down, Gil. Take it easy and get yourself well.

So Happy Valentine's Day to all those romantically inclined out there.

Can I combine them and write a story about a lucky gay robot? 🤣

(I jest. But I will probably come up with something.)

Quote by verbal
Man. Woke up, turned in the news, and saw House Representatives and AG Bondi in a live screaming match on Capitol Hill. Things are getting weird. The government is no longer interested in answering questions.

I'll take your news over mine, if you don't mind. 9 dead and 27 injured in a school shooting in BC. The dead includes the shooter and two family members she killed before heading to the school. School dead are 5 students and a teacher.

Probably not. The whole generation ship thing seems like a recipe for boredom, really.

WYE accept a starring role in a movie, play, TV show, etc. if offered?

Bottle though, to be fair, I hear there's now some decent ones in the boxes.

Make a careful, reasoned decision or flip a coin?

Quote by WriterGirl
I’m trying to understand curling at the Olympics, but don’t. Can’t figure it out, but looks interesting.

I come from a family of curlers. Grandad and Dad both curled. Other family members have taken it up at various times. My cousin and his wife have both worked in curling rinks. He's an ice maker and she's an office manager/administrator. Heck, his father was pastry chef for a hoidy-toidy curling club in Toronto in his working life.

But me? Only just barely understand the sport, mostly because of it being on TV every Saturday afternoon in the winter when I was growing up (CBC used to have a lot more curling coverage than just the big tournaments). I can sort of follow a match but the details and intricacies escape me still.

I am getting into figure skating right now. Kind of bypassed the team event but I watched the ice dance rhythm dance last night. Tonight is men's short program. Problem is that I have not really paid much attention since Beijing 2022 so I'm woefully ignorant of a lot of these athletes, esp. the up and comers.

I can't see doing a total reboot. Too many good things would be lost. Tweak some things here and there? Sure.

WYE accept a new job offered by a company "headhunting" if you were not otherwise looking for a new job?

At one time, buy it. Nowadays, I am inclined to wait for the library. Though I'm not usually in line for bestsellers anyhow. My tastes run a bit too fantastical for that generally.

Paper book or e-book?

Quote by verbal
Busy not preparing for the Super Bowl here. We're going to a play instead.

Sounds like a good idea, though seeing Green Day diss Trump on national television has a certain appeal to it. He's an "American Idiot" if there ever was one.

Cold day here and my furnace cocked up overnight. Got it restarted but made for a chilly start to the day.

Hm. Just to get it moving again, I use ice melter since I have a concrete driveway now and straight salt can be hard on concrete.

See you favourite artist/band at a big festival/arena show or a more intimate setting like a club or concert hall?

Hot (in more ways than one) Mexican sister act The Warning dropped a new single and video this morning, this time collaborating with another Mexican artist, Carin Leon. Fantastic performances by all and the bar setting works nicely for this song. Rock on, folks.

It's snowing again (sung to the tune of "It's Raining Again" by Supertramp). Just light snow but we must got more overnight because the roads in my neighbourhood suck and I had to have my wife to a medical appointment before eight.

Fresh Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is on for those in need of it. For teas, we have Yorkshire Red and Earl Grey. Iced and lemonade pitchers are washed and refilled. Hot chocolate is available along with mini-marshmallows. And what the heck, here's a pie to add to the goodie supply.

Don't know that my joints would hand that anymore but maybe in segments. Walking and hiking are kind of my principle forms of exercise nowadays, at least outdoors.

WYE eat terrestrial arthropods like insects or spiders (vs. aquatic ones like shrimp and lobster)?

Quote by letswr8

Hi i am from Kerala, India

Hello and welcome. I have never been to your country but I have a co-worker from India and my son's in-laws are from Pakistan so certainly have connections to that part of the world.

Ape trudged through the snow, wearier than ever of shoveling.

Good afternoon. Been busy with life so have not had much progress on any writing projects. Perhaps on the weekend.

Refreshed coffee and tea.

THe video that goes with that gif. Sadly, one of the last to feature the late Freddie Mercury before AIDS took him from us.

Quote by verbal
Still no laptop. I am going slowly mad without one.

If you get that one, you are officially old.

?dne reven ti lliW

Good afternoon.

Quote by verbal
We got a woodpecker and some blue jays on the bird cam yesterday.

I keep thinking I need a cam in my backyard. There's definitely things going on out there when we are asleep. Many years ago, I woke up one morning to find half a rabbit in my yard. Presumably, something ate the other half but I have no idea what. And there's weird s**t, literally, that shows up sometimes just laying there in the grass or the basement window wells.

Probably some Olympic stuff soon (sports start Wednesday, opening ceremony is Friday). CBC, our national public broadcaster has the Canadian rights and will have 24x7 coverage on Gem, their streaming service.

Benjamin Badger peeked from his hole, excited for new adventures.

My wife and I have talked about it and I know someone who sort of did it (bought a fifth wheel and truck to pull it, lived in a trailer park out West in winter, traveled in summer). Not sure we actually will, though. Interest seems to have waned

WYE take an around the world cruise, basically living on a cruise ship for months or even a year or more?