Quote by gillianleeza

It's too hot to do anything outside today. It's going to be near ninety for the next few days. I was going to start clearing out the garden beds, but I think it can wait until more reasonable weather arrives. There is nothing exciting going on this week, just the continuing saga of aging parents (both are in their nineties now) and dealing with whatever new dementia-driven things my father wants to discuss. Sigh...

Have a good Tuesday, everyone. Cheers!

Our weather finally cooled down a bit. Sorry about your Dad. Been there, unfortunately.

I have major dental surgery in 6 days. Wah. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but my annoyance tolerance is much lower, and I think this is going to be annoying.

Today, though: write, walk, watch baseball. The Mets have a .5% chance of making the playoffs! Note the decimal. Half a percent chance.

Time to face the page. Coffee and tea are going strong, Jimmy Buffet cookies on the counter!

Quote by Mendalla

Paging verbal. This looks absolutely awesome and amazing. Trailer for Godzilla Minus One, the new Toho Godzilla, is up.

That looks INCREDIBLE.

"That monster...he will never forgive us."

Sara, thanks for the Jimmy Buffet cookies. I always liked him.

Not much going on today. I'll play with a memoir-ish story I finished, and try to figure out how to do it right (it's hard but necessary to stay "in the moment" when describing events in the past). Not easy.

We saw Barbie last night. It's really fun, and vey funny. A couple moments of wisdom too.

Other than that, laziness prevails. I'll get off my ass long enough to grill.

Happy Labor Day all!

Only thing that cures writing block is more writing.

Thank for the setup Ape. I can’t pronounce the coffee but I’d love a cup.

So. Here’s what living with me is like: we have two vacations now planned and booked. They are both to total eclipse site (New Mexico and Oklahoma) in 2023 and 2024. Hopefully we will go other places too.

In boring real life, all we have planned is to finally go see Barbie before it leaves the theater. Probably grill some salmon and chicken. Today: write and walk and await Talia’s return home.

Enjoy the three day weekend everyone!

Good morning all. Thanks for the set-up Ape.

Hot and sunny today! I've got a long boring phone call in my future, so I am trying to put it off. Noon. I'll call at noon.

Other than that, nothing new. The active shooter downtown got tazed by security guards and taken away. Glad Kat is safe after the storm passed.

A coffee and a monkey cookie!

Talia is fine, all she got was a five minute scare and a good story.

I hope Kat (and the rest of Florida) is okay. Deeply scary.

Lunch with daughter, then back down this non-fiction rabbit hole. It’s hot and sunny once again, and the Mets are reliably losing. Man, is this team gonna have a fire sale in a few months! Fine with me. Just keep Jeff McNeal.

Coffee and a monkey cookie please.

Mmmmm, McCafe! Can I get some fries with that?

Talia is fine, so don't worry, but there was an active shooter this morning where she works. I don't know a ton of details, but he was actually shooting! No one got shot, I don't think. We had a mass shooting downtown (Club Q) last year, and now this. More guns than people in this country....

Anyway. Woke up too early so my nerves are a little jangly. I hope everyone is well.

Monday, Monday, can't trust that day.

Or maybe you can! Hot and sunny here. Still didn't get out to see Barbie, but we got a TON of housework/yardwork done, so I guess that's a win.

Today: a long day of writing nonfiction, topped off with a walk.

Flowerpot coffee and a cookie please!

I don't know, having people run down the side of an erupting volcano in the dark sounds pretty exciting to me! But yeah, they might need more than moonlight. Maybe the moon is occasionally occluded by clouds to make it even more treacherous?

I dismantled a big ass platform in the back yard this weekend. The bottom part of the thing that had all the black widow spiders in it (they're all gone by now). This thing is my white whale this summer, but I am almost done. Hauling boards and cement out today.

President's Choice coffee! Let's hope he chose well!

Hey, there's SAND in my coffee! Hey, it's still pretty good!

Make that volcano blow Ape! That's the way to end a set of stories!

I've been running errands and such al week, and writing keeps getting away from me. But today, memoir writing all day. No erupting volcanoes there!

I'd love a coffee and a cookie!

Coffee from flowerpot island! Yum! I’ll have a cookie too.

We just booked an Airbnb for the 2024 solar eclipse! In lovely Oklahoma!

I will tell Talia of all your well wishes. It’s cool that she found such a good fit - her previous job was frustrating (although she COULD work from home).

Hot and sunny today, but it looks like it’s finally going to cool down this weekend. Plus rain and thunderstorms! My kind of weekend. We might go see Barbie this weekend, now that the crowds are thinned.

Time to write. Enjoy the rest!

Thanks! I submitted to a couple of these.

I don't like chat rooms.

Hang out by doing something or just chulling?

tine

emit

Grotto coffee and beignets sounds wonderful.

The Mets are playing a bunch of rookies and hungry AAAers now that they are out of the race. It's one of the bittersweet joys of a late season losing team. We'll see if we can take 2 out of 3 from Sara's Braves.

Hot and sunny, writing and walking, same ol, same ol. Talia is really happy with her new job! So, I am happy for her, though I miss her during the day. The cats have taken to playing solitaire to pass the time, they're bored with me.

Enjoy the day everyone!

Painting

Listen to music or the news?

Tint

Tiny

Quote by DenimAngel
Beignets

You need to set up more often Sara! Of course now I have powdered sugar all over me.

Critique group is done for the week, so I can have my life back. Newsletter day, then back to real writing.

I'm still taking my daily walks, even during these 90+ degree days. I like the heat. I keep hydrated, and take it slow, and end up sweaty as f*ck, but it's oddly enjoyable. I'm usually out over an hour at a time. I wish I could say I think about stuff while walking, but I think my mind is mostly blank. I suppose it's like meditation. Sweaty meditation.

I'd love a beignet (hard to spell!) and a TON of coffee.

Quote by gillianleeza

We received an invitation from our son for their spring wedding celebration. It's lovely and states it will take place in the Splendid (our last name) gardens. Our yard is far from splendid. My husband and I looked around the yard and shook our heads. We have a lot of work to do. He can make our deck beautiful and build the archway she wants to walk through, and I can do a lot of yard work but making our yard "splendid" might be out of our grasp. We'll do our best.

Good news, we went out on our boat this weekend and encountered no jellyfish. I have no idea why but I am not complaining. It was good to be out on the bay and in the bay. Back to responsibility tomorrow.

Have a great Monday, everyone.

Cheers!

That sounds lovely. I really enjoy small intimate thoughtful weddings.

We are zeroing in on an Airbnb for the 2024 solar eclipse somewhere in Oklahoma. This is AFTER booking one for the 2023 solar eclipse. Poor Talia- willing to put up with astronomy road trips. I am a lucky man.

Critique tonight. 40 page story. Yikes!

It’s hot and cloudless today. I will try a short walk.

Enjoy the day!

blinks at empty room Okay. Kitty Zoomies and Languorous Llama are our teas. Special Dark Madagascar Roast from Costco in the perker. Sara's delish cookies on a platter.

I still have a black eye, but it's better. I really do think i had a concussion for a day, but I'm back to normal. Or as normal as I get.

Hot and sunny here. Digging into some tough memories for writing today. Arg. My therapist approves.

I did a recording on another site for a comp entry. Listen if you get a chance. I won't link or say the title, but it's a word from Poe's poem The Bells.

Enjoy the weekend!

Quote by Mendalla

There's rumours abounding that the ape has abandoned the cafe to the insane ministrations of Godzilla. These are not entirely true. He's just my backup. After all, if Kong and Goji can ally against MechaGoji on the big screen, surely we can run a cafe together.😋

Coffee for the day is Jamaican Blue Mountain. For teas, we have Assam Tarajulie (nice black from Northern India) and Earl Grey Cream. Pitchers are washed and refilled with fresh unsweet iced tea and lemonade. Soda stock looking good.

Sigh. Off to fight Skull Crawlers again. This constant monster x monster crap gets you down after a while.

Finally, someone sane to set up this place! Kong and Gogi can team up to fight a lack of caffeination!

The side of my face still looks kinda messed up. I have a therapy appointment today - I will have to convince her Talia didn’t give me this shiner.

After that, off to the dentist! It’s mental and dental day!

Enjoy the day all!

Cubes - melt more slowly

Fanta grape or strawberry?

abracadabra Costco blend is a-perking, teas are a-steeping. Ditzy Dalmation and Manic Monkey are our blends.

So, I’m a doofus.

I jumped out of a swing on the playground yesterday, trying to look all cool, and I face-planted right into the mulch. A little embarrassing, but no biggie. I have a pretty big black eye this morning. The cats are looking at me a little askance.

Talia is all worried I have a concussion, but I don’t feel any more dizzy and confused than I normally do . Still, might take it easy today.

I am also ditzing around with the idea of recording some audio for another site. I may do that with my concussion day off.

Enjoy the day!

Ooh, jellyfish. I remember being fascinated by them as a kid. Until I got stung by one. Sorry you can’t boat, Gil.

Lunch with daughter today, and writing of course. I may have to blow off my walk today.

What, no coffee or tea? presto Costco coffee is a-perking, teas are a-steeping. Kooky kitty and jaunty gerbil are our blends. Plus, cookies!

Cheers all.

Just finished season 2 of The Bear. Really enjoyed it.

Cool and cloudy day. No Talia and the cats are nowhere to be seen.

Memoir writing again today. My therapist calls it “poking the bear.” It’s slow, specific work.

Anyway. What else? I have made amends with the good friend who I got into politics with last weekend. No hard feelings. No one’s mind was changed.

The Mets actually won a game!

I’d love a cup of coffee and one of those cookies.

Talia and I watched the meteor shower from the backyard last night, 12-2 or so, so up and around late today. We saw a handful, nothing dramatic. But it was a nice night, and we enjoyed it. I was able to mansplain many meteor factoids to my long-suffering wife.

Grocery shopped today. Watching a thunderstorm roll in, and wondering if I have the mental fortitude for watching the Mets lose to the Braves one more time. I think I may sit this one out.

Enjoy the day, all.

Ooh, death by lava! Sounds gruesome. I like gruesome.

I'm critiquing all day today for novel critique tomorrow, and that's on top of a ton of stories for another site. Critiquing is good for me and my writing, but boy, it can be dull work sometimes.

Up early to let the guys who are working on our deck - second day in a row. Retirement has made me lazy, I'm used to sleeping late!

Hey, if this McCafe is too hot and I spill it in my lap, can I sue you? (Sorry, a little legal humor.)

Enjoy the day all!

walks in whistling, loads up the percolator with some of Costco's finest, and out two teas are steeping: Caffeinated Caterpillar and Chilly Chicken (sorry the names are dumb, it's early), and Sara'a cookies on a silver platter

Our deck is getting power-washed and re-stained the next two days, so I am up really early to greet the workers, Yawn.

Sending out a short piece of autobiography today. Wish me luck!

Cool, dry day, a little smoke from fires. I'm hopefully going to fully wake up soon, Right now I need LOTS of coffee.

Enjoy the day!

Gas

Little kittens or older cats