Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
The Rays won yet again today, beating the Boston Red Sox 9-3. That makes their record 13-0! Hopefully, that will bring in the fans. If not, they sent us a coupon for $10 off a ticket.

It's an incredible start, Kat! Certainly better than the Mets, who hover around .500

Percolator is doing its thing, and I have two fine teas steeping in pots. Plus, cookies!

Trying to finish a short story today that just won't end. I don't think that's a bad sign, but who knows?

Talia is home on Tuesday. Meaning this weekend I have to start cleaning the house.

Coffee and a cookie please.

I SEE CUPCAKES!!!

Hope everyone is well. Thanks for the setup ape. Warm here, though the big heat wave has passed. Lunch with my daughter and I should be finishing a story today.

I miss Talia. She’s back in 5 days.

A coffee and a cupcake please.

Flips on lights, gets the percolator perking, sets up two lovely pots of tea, and some leftover Easter cookies (SO good!)

Another pleasantly boring day here. An afternoon baseball game, and a perfect day outside. I've been taking long wandering walks on these beautiful last few days, and I'm sure I have another one ahead of me today.

Enjoy your day everyone. I'd love a coffee and a cookie!

Sounds like a lovely weekend Gil.

I'll get coffee and tea going.

Things are very quiet here. The weather is perfect. With no Talia, my day is: eat, write 1000 words, take a long walk, eat, watch baseball. It works for me, though I miss Talia. The cats have been scarce too. I hope they're not worried Talia is gone.

Mets won last night. Next game at 5 tonight, against Larry's Padres. We miss you Larry.

Coffee and Easter cookies please!

No one's been in here for TWO DAYS!? blinks

gets percolator perking, gets pots of tea teaing, puts out those AMAZING Easter cookies on a nice platter

Ah, that's better.

Beautiful day today, in the mid-70s and sunny! My day is set: write my 1000 words, take a walk in this lovely weather, and then watch the game and the already disappointing Mets. I love days like this.

It's nice to have baseball back, and warm sunny days!

Coffee and a cookie please!

At the dentist. . During the Mets home opener. :( :(.

Thanks for the setup ape.

Sorry about the heat and the drudgery Gil. I'm glad you can at least get some cleaning done. You sound like Talia.

Congrats on that grandbaby reunion Kat!

I have a frikkin toothache. It was bad last night, but woke up calm today. I'm just hoping it doesn't flare up, but I'm pretty sure it will. And no Talia to take care of me! I'm going in to the dentist tomorrow - I must hold out til then. Ramen for lunch!

Mets have lost three in a row, and the home opener got canceled. Bah!

Coffee and something soft. Is there a brownie back there?

Quote by elizabethblack

A day in the life...

This always makes me laugh. I love cats. As you all know.

Cold and snowy here, and we had a huge dust storm yesterday. Weird. Not much going on today - writing, a little shopping, and saying goodbye to Talia, who will be leaving tomorrow for a little while.

Mets lost last night, and lost first place to the Braves. Looked a little lack-luster.

Anyway. Time to make the donuts. A coffee and a cookie please.

Quote by redwriter

After the ear op I mentioned weeks ago (supposed to be a two week job) the stitches finally came out last week--seven traumatic weeks of much blood and worry. Including evidence of an internal bleed in the chest area (obviously not connected to the ear problem). But I was kept in hospital for two nights undergoing various scans and tests. In the end it was decided that the blood thinning tablets I took were the cause of the problem, and I was given the choice of remaining on that tablet or not. As one doctor jokingly (at least I hope he was joking) put it, "Do you want to bleed to death or die from a stroke?" I am off the tablet awaiting review of alternatives. Now I must pick up on my half finished 'Anschluss' story. Writing does not go well with blood loss and writing of a little girl's reaction to that terrible time was never easy in any case.

Dang, that sounds rough. Two days in the hospital! Glad you are on the mend, and that you are returning to your story.

In the story I'm writing today, all the dogs in one neighborhood become (MORE!) intelligent.

Mets are off to a fast start against a not-very-good team. We'll see how they do today.

Elyse, I've been watching your ex on TV lately - just discovered Party Down, and Jane Lynch is very good and vey funny in it.

Talia is gone in two days - wah. She'll not return for nearly two weeks! What will I do?

A coffee and a strawberry shortcake cookie please!

Mets won! Mets won! Good game. Tonight’s is at 4.

Back to the grindstone today. Got a VERY nice rejection email yesterday, so I am hitting them with another story today.

Windy and warm today. Calm weekend ahead. We will attempt to leave the house, but no promises.

Coffee and cookies please!

OPENING DAY!!! Opening Day of baseball season is better than Christmas. I hope everyone's team throws a no-hitter.

About to tune into Sara's Braves and Elizabeth's and Gil's Nats. Mets game at two! Good luck with the B-Jays James. And Larry's Padres are predicted to do very well, perhaps he is watching today. We miss you Larry.

Coffee and a cookie! Gotta go!

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Sometimes when I feel like my story is dumb or I can’t see it going any further, I just let it sit. I move onto something else and then come back several months (or even years) and see if I can revive it with fresh eyes. I hope that you find a way to salvage the heart of the story. In the meantime, cookies do make things less painful. 😉

Thanks Kat. I just want to keep forward motion and keep writing every day. I have fears of getting lazy.

But hey, baseball starts tomorrow! Braves/Nats at 11, Mets/Marlins at 2, D-backs/Dodgers at 7. My day is set.

Time to get some momentum going. A coffee and a cookie would be the cat's pajamas.

Quote by JamesPBear
Sometimes the best way to improve something is to scrap it and start again.

I'm taking the main idea and trying to mold it into a short story.

I was depressed all day yesterday, thinking about abandoning 35,000 words, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'd feel worse abandoning it at 45,000.

Anyway, better today. BASEBALL IN TWO DAYS! And the new story might be good. No coffee or tea or cookies out so I will whip that all up. Costco coffee it is! And the fanciest of teas! And basketball cookies!

I'm meeting with my tax person today. Sigh.

A coffee and a cookie would be the bee's knees.

I may be abandoning the novel I'm 35K into. I just don't like where it's going. It's dumb. Sigh. Of course, now I need an idea to replace it if I plan to get any writing done.

Struggling to wake up. Thanks for the basketball cookies Sara. A coffee and a cookie would be swell.

Quote by Molly

Larry's obituary was shared with me and I thought those of you that knew him might want to read it.

https://obituaries.ljworld.com/us/obituaries/ljworld/name/larry-nigh-obituary?id=51039327

It's nice they mentioned his writing and his work on the stage. And yes, the link to his stories here is a great touch.

We've decided that Curb Your Enthusiasm is the official Binging-TV-While-Sick show in our house. We've blown through several seasons already.

Blinks. Where is everyone? Plugs in percolator, sets up pots of tea, eats fifteen cupcakes before putting the rest on a platter.

Baseball in six days! Baseball previews in the Sunday paper! We've lost our closer for the SEASON but I'm still psyched.

Otherwise, things are chill. I'm pretty much back to normal, though T is still on the mend. We'll have a calm weekend. Did I mention we saw a live production of In the Heights last weekend? It's a really good show.

Okay, time to get to it. Coffee and treats please!

I finally watched Hot Tub Time Machine. Really funny and surprisingly sweet.

Opens door. Blinks.

Percolator is perking, tea is tea-ing, and the cupcakes are out. I’m a sucker for cupcakes.

I finally got my car registered, after 14 months of driving without it. My daughter drove me, I bought her a burrito in compensation. Also found out you can get married at the DMV. Both my daughter and the clerk were trying to get things in motion (I refer to T as my wife, but we are not officially married, we just got tired of calling each other “fiancé”) (I hate that word). Maybe this summer. There’s no sense in urgency. Neither of us are going anywhere.

Therapy today, and No Talia Thursday as well.

Coffee please! And three cupcakes. Did I mention I love cupcakes?

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps

I heard a request for cupcakes so we have : red white and blue (yellow cake )cuppycakes in honor of team USA going to the world baseball classic.

Yay! Thanks, Sara! That was a good game last night, even if USA lost.

Talia is still pretty sick, but working. I am on the mend, enough so that I'm renewing registration TODAY! My daughter is driving me because I'm scared I'll get a ticket when I drive up.

Slow burn horror anyone? It's got one read, no comments. This one's pretty good, IMHO. https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/horror/tadpole-summer

Baseball begins in 8 days!

A coffee and a USA cupcake please.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Hope you’re both feeling better soon.

Thanks Kat, we are. This is the first day I've really felt back to normal. 80% anyway. Talia is getting better but slept all weekend. Still we are on the mend.

Yes, Scott, I have a story up, and your name is in it! A crucial character, no less. I'm trying to focus the ending a little, if anyone has any suggestions.

Good horror critique group last night. I'm actually running one of them now.

I'm going to try to get my car registration renewed before I get a ticket and a fine. I'm really paranoid about it now (it's over a year late) (don't ask).

Baseball is getting close!

Coffee and a cupcake, if there are any. Do we have cupcakes?

Thanks for the set-up, and Happy Equinox everyone. Still feeling pretty lousy. So is Talia.

A coffee and some Nyquil please.

Quote by Mendalla

Rejection slips are a rite of passage for a writer, aren't they? And they motivate you to do better (or pick a better market, anyhow).😀

Good afternoon. Poop hitting fan at work today. Can't say more but suffice it to say, ape not happy. Somewhere, out there, there is a piece of human garbage that I want to throttle with my bare hands (well, I might wear gloves and a mask just in case but you get the point).

In my new story the protagonist's best friend is named Scott.

The big magazine I was hoping for passed on my story today, after asking me to keep in on "hold" for a month. Heavy sigh.

Coffee and cookies. Are you sure there isn't any liquor hidden back there? I wouldn't mind a dollop.

Those are some seriously yummy looking cookies, Sara.

The Mets lost their closer for the year, and I am tired of rejection slips. I'd use the excuse of St. Patrick's Day to say f it and get drunk, but that doesn't sound any fun either. Sigh. Sit and write, like every other day, I guess. That's the way out.

A coffee and a cookie would be great.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Well, as I promised I would, I can tell you that my book, The Nurses, is now on sale at:

The Nurses | Anna Morgan (vikingbay.co.uk)

Now everyone in the world can read the tale of Katarina and Maria. I hope they like it. 😀

Very nice looking volume, Anna. Serious congrats are in order.

blinks No coffee. There's...no coffee.

Okay, the percolator is perking, the tea is teaing, the cookies are cooking. Done an done.

I'm not back 100%, but I'm up and around. I took a leave from the novel to write a sweet end-of-the-world tale I thought up while sick. Tadpoles, anyone?

Baseball is starting soon, along with March Madness. I quit watching exibition games, so I don't know how the pitch clock is coming along. Folks were having trouble adjusting last game I looked into. It's one of the few rule changes I like.

Nice horror tale, Rache. You have a firm grasp of those horror tropes. What a cool genre, huh?

Coffee and a monster cookie please.

Thanks for the set-up Ape.

I am finally on the mend. Sadly, Talia seems to have gotten my cold. And, unlike me, she has to work (and has a crazy week too). Let's hope hers goes easier than mine did.

The one bright spot is that while sick, we started binging Curb Your Enthusiasm. Yeah, I know it's been around 11 seasons, and I've watched a couple times, but it always made me tense (so much cringe). For some reason, I finally got hooked.

Coffee a a cookie please.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

…now that, I don’t know.

Also I ordered one of those copies so there’s probably even less now…but I’m happy cause more Drew is always a good idea.

I found the DVDs. I'm looking for it streaming for free!

My cold/flu is still lingering. I feel pretty crappy. Got any cough medicine back there behind the counter? Not up for coffee today, I don't think (gasp!).

Take care everyone.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic
Btw verbal - if you’re still looking for his sitcom, try Etsy. Just trust me on this one.

You mean buying one of the DVDs? I looked on Etsy but saw nothing.

Feeling better than I've felt in days! I think this flu is finally on the decline.

I have ben sick as a dog most of the weekend. Got out of bed for the first time in three days today. I'll got back soon. It's not COVID, but it's not fun.

I got two really good weird story ideas while sick - one of them about JFK's brain! Cue the scary music.

I don't think I'll be writing today - just sort of getting caught up.

Congrats on the story Ape, and good luck with the conclusion. Coffee and a cookie.