Ugh. My street could use a fresh coat of asphalt but not like that. And it is hardly the worst in the area. There's a enclave of houses near me whose access road is an horrific mess. It's a fairly high-end pocket, too, so I am a bit surprised. Money usually talks around here.

Good morning!! Sunny here but with showers or storms possible late in the day. But we shall see. We got less than they were forecasting yesterday.

Coffee from Las Chicas, a nice Nicaraguan dark roast, is brewed. Assam and Sunday Tea are ready for the tea crowd. Cold drinks are replenished.

Have a good one, eh.

Quote by AnnaMayZing
especially in the UK

Trust me, not great here, either. We just had a house go for about a million Canadian on our street, where we built for around CA$300,000 in 2000.

Save, borrowing only what is necessary

Traditional television (broadcast, cable) or streaming?

Not sure I need to say more. Metal cover of a great rock tune with two fantastic voices, Daughtry and Lzzy Hale. Rock on!

Neither if at all possible, but I suppose I can handle snowmobiling in a pinch.

Home: own or rent?

Good afternoon. I was without Internet much of the morning as I was redoing my home network. It's a bit more professional now, closer to how I would build a network in my "day job" (I work in IT for those who hadn't heard). Now relaxing a bit.

Trying to figure out my next writing project. There's a possible sequel to my comp entry building in my head but there's also the long gestating sequels to "Spirits of Tan Maldrin" to get back to. We shall see.

Just going to settle in with a tea and cookie for now.

Sundog. They're pretty rare around here so seeing them is a big event.

Lunar eclipse or solar eclipse?

Muggy here but also cloudy with chance of showers so not too terribly hot. Hope the next round is the last and kicks the Big C once and for all for you, Kat.

Costa Rican coffee from local roaster Fire-Roasted is brewed. Teas are English Breakfast and Earl Grey Cream (same as Cream of Earl Grey but from a different supplier). Iced tea and lemonade pitchers are washed and refilled. Soda supply lookin' good.

Later

Quote by verbal
Weird, we haven't had a single day yet where it's hit 90.

We had an early heat wave in May, but then it got cool. Even this week, we really didn't break 30 (86F) like they predicted, just came close. And the humidity has remained bearable so far. However, July looms and that's usually the hottest, stickiest month in Southern Ontario.

I have to choose?😀 But shortcake. Have not had it in a very long time.

Take a class or teach yourself?

Ugh. That sounds unpleasant, Kat. We had work happening on our street earlier this spring but it was just a contractor pulling fibre optic cables for one of the telcos. Of course, they managed to eff up our cable line from another telco that provides our Internet connection.

And good morning to all! How's life in your neck of the woods?

Coffee from Las Chicas is on, a Nicaraguan dark roast. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and English Garden. Latter is a new blend I just discovered that combines Earl Grey with Jasmine Green. Tres yummy. Cold beverages are mixed up in the pitchers in the fridge.

Later.

Salmon. I've kind of lost my taste for steak, at least as we do it in the West. Bulgogi, Korean grilled beef, on the other hand ... drools

Too hot or too cold?

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
I have an appointment today with the cancer doc to see if I get the “all clear” or whether another round of chemo is in my future. All good vibes welcome!

Vibes sent and fingers crossed. I know from you and others that chemo can really kick your ass so hopefully you don't need more.

Also, band is led by Martijn Westerholt who is the brother of Robert Westerholt of Within Temptation and did play keys briefly in that band.

Quote by AnnaMayZing
I have not listened to Delain a great deal, but maybe that should change.

Highly recommended, both the older work with Charlotte and the new lineup with Diana Leah. And Charlotte's solo albums Tales from Six Feet Under and Tales..., Vol. 2 as well. This is from Volume 2.

Ugh. Submarine is not good right now. Maybe a ride in Crew Dragon on a Falcon 9.

Salad or roast veggies?

Hey, it's morning somewhere. Including where I am. So welcome the new day with joy and delight. And if you don't feel joy and delight, Inspirations is ready to help.

Coffee is a strong black Nicaraguan dark roast. Teas are English Breakfast and Sunday Tea. Iced tea and lemonade pitchers are wash, refilled and in the fridge if you need a cold beverage.

So fuel up and go dancing out into the morning sun. 😊

No, this is not writing that runs on both gas and electricity. It is writing that mixes artforms to tell stories using multimedia formats. So a collage of images that tells some kind of story rather than illustrated text. And such. Or that's how I read it. Here's their list of 35 markets for hybrid writing, most of which take more traditional works, too.

https://authorspublish.com/35-magazines-publishing-hybrid-writing/

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Editing was real quick! 😕

Good for you. Editing is rarely quick for me, though I did manage to accelerate things for this one since I was late starting. I wrote most of it, pretty much as you see it, on Sunday and submitted on, I think, Wednesday. The only major change between Sunday and Wednesday was adding the "framing" at the beginning and some changes to the end to close the loop on that addition.

Hmm. Not sure if I answered the poll or not. There's one vote in my month (May) but this software's polling system doesn't actually flag which option you selected so not sure if that's me or not. So, anyhow, I'm a May baby.

Ten is good, if not quite up to past levels. Unless there are some last minute ones that haven't passed moderation yet? It's a good bunch, anyhow.

Music, but rarely radio anymore. I have Android Auto in the new car so often just stream stuff from my phone. Radio is a bit of a graveyard around here save one decent rock station and the odd program on the CBC (Canadian counterpart to the BBC for you UK folks).

Take the most direct route or a slower one so you have more time with your talk/music?

Quote by JamesPBear
Mayhaps you write the truth…literally! What you write becomes true…

Actually, that's a story. I forget the title and who wrote it, but there is at least one story out there about a writer who's writing can change reality. Of course, I could write it and then that would become true. 😋

Quote by NumberOneAngel

This is so inspirational!

Great. Another song for the Tiktok set to overuse (Unstoppable is now my most hated song and it is entirely due to that overuse).😒

One of the heavy metal bands that I was studiously turning up my nose at in the eighties (being a metalhead is a recent thing for me) was the legendary Judas Priest. No more. I had their great album Defender of the Faith (1984) on in the car today. Rocks hard even after 40 years. "Love Bites" is the one song from the album that I actually remember from the eighties.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
It’s not nearly as long as I had originally intended, but it’s what RL gave me time to complete by the deadline.

One thing I decided even before I got my final entry going was that 10K was not happening. I've got projects happening at both home and work keeping me busy and I really only have energy for writing on weekends these days. So I was happy that it ended up as long as it did.

That said, I like it enough and have received enough positive comments that a sequel/spinoff might happen. It would take the Lake Wanessa monster as a starting point and introduce a new set of characters, with a lot of the focus being on those characters rather than the monster. Not sure, though. Need to take a stab at it and see how it goes.

It's morning! Maybe it's good? We shall see.

While we wait to find out. there's coffee and tea hot and ready for caffeination. Cold drinks are in the fridge.

I have not read as many entries as I hoped to but will take another try. Definitely looks like a good roster just from the writers. Life is keeping me busy and occasionally kicking me in the ass.

Quote by verbal
I can’t imagine a swimming pool would be practical in this climate

You'd be surprised at how popular they are around here give that swimming season is often just June to mid-August or early September.

Buy them. We don't really have the space for a vegetable garden right now.

Desktop or laptop ("Pro" tablets with a keyboard count as laptops)?

Quote by JamesPBear
It's always been my favourite flavour, ever since I was a kid.

Coffee-flavoured ice creams or other desserts are about the only way I like coffee. Can't stand to actually drink the stuff for whatever reason (though I've made the odd exception for some of the flavoured ones).

Good day. Off shortly to pick up my new computer. With us tightening up management of work laptops, I've decided that it is time to curtail my personal use of my work machine. Have also been rejigging our home offices and network. Plus regular housecleaning (I wash and vacuum floors, wife dusts).

Cute note on the new computer: About 24 years ago this week, I started in my current role. Since I was the first ever IT person at the company, my first task was to actually order and setup my own laptop. At the time, we were buying Acer Travelmates, a good, basic workhorse business box from the Taiwanese company. My new computer that I ordered almost 24 years to the day later? An Acer Travelmate. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

Quote by Meagananne1986

Been to every state except,Alaska and it's a definite bucket list item (Denali National Park and Mount Denali, highest peak in North America)

I've only been to the panhandle on a cruise and even that is gorgeous. Denali is still a "maybe someday" item.

In North America, car. In Europe, train.

AC or just move to a cooler part of the house (e.g. basement)?

Commercial. With my lousy eyesight and poor coordination, I couldn't even play Flight Simulator on a PC, let alone fly the real thing. Only an idiot would let me have a pilot's license. And I'm not rich enough to do the private aircraft rental thing (where they supply the pilot).

First/business class or economy?