Month: March 2020

#TuesdayThoughts: Not this time

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Normally in April, for the past several years, I’ve done the A to Z Blogging Challenge, where you blog the alphabet, A to Z, six days a week and visit other blogs in the process. It’s fun and I’ve met a ton of really great people (hi really great people!) but I’ve decided I’m just not in the mood this year.

It could be a good distraction, sure. On the other hand, it requires an effort I just don’t have right now. My energy is so consumed by what is happening in the world, and I think that’s OK.

We don’t have to do everything. Even if, in theory we have the time to do everything.

So give yourself a break as you figure out how to adjust to everything that’s going on. This is a lot, and I swear it’s using up half my energy, even when I’m not thinking about it.

If you decide to participate, enjoy it! There are fantastic blogs and really fabulous people. And if you don’t, enjoy that too. It’s really fine. Whatever that thing is you decide you don’t want to do.

Have a great Tuesday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

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#MondayThoughts: Now with more thinking

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One of the things about sheltering in place is we have a lot of time to think. That can be great, leading to ideas and innovations and new things to try; and that can be very very bad as we spiral down into imaginings of the worst.

I definitely have a tendency toward heading to the worst, going deep, deep down the rabbit holes and emerging on the other side.

People always suggest yoga and meditation, and I do think that helps, at least me, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Vigorous exercise also seems to burn the anxious right out of you.

I know a lot of people turn to alcohol, with a drink or two to unwind, but I find the more stressed I am, the more stressed alcohol makes me, a day or two later. I suspect it has something to do with how it breaks down for me.

But if you notice a similar pattern, you may want to ease up on that avenue.

The crochet can also help, keeping my hands busy until my mind unties its knots, ironically while my fingers tie theirs.

What helps you?

And while you contemplate that, have a stellar Monday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#FridayThoughts: End of week 2

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So our mayor had to close the lakefront path and parks because people crowded onto them, none really staying 6 feet apart, apparently some in large groups. Come on, people.

But since then the weather seems to be on Mayor Lightfoot’s side, with a damp, dense fog hanging heavily. Fitting.

We’re near the end of our first week of “shelter in place,” our second week of distancing during which I was essentially sheltering in place. I’ve gone out only to do shopping, mine and my parents’, and we are probably only at the beginning now.

It’s a stressful time.

So it’s OK to be stressed. We don’t know what is going to happen, not to us, not to our loved ones, not to our countries, not to the world. And uncertainty is really difficult to manage, day in, day out.

Or so I keep telling myself when I continue to buy chips. And ice cream.

Anyway, have as fabulous a Friday as you can, and enjoy the weekend. Six feet apart.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#ThursdayThoughts Ten Word Photo Prompt: Creepy

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Photo by Tỷ Huỳnh on Pexels.com

It’s THURSDAY! And it’s time for a ten word story.

Using the photo above, write a ten word story. EXACTLY ten words.

Ready? Here’s mine:

The Masker again, now offering extraction.

She hesitated.

Then nodded.

#WednesdayWisdom: Normalcy and no more

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Went to the grocery store and when someone stood two feet away from me, instead of six, I felt my space had been invaded. I never would have noticed him before, but now, when he reached in front of me to close a fridge door someone else had left ajar, it was though he’d touched me.

Strange times.

Stocks were good though, I think the buying frenzy has softened, now that people know the stores will be there and supplies will be there. I shop for my parents as well, working through their list and I wonder if people assume I’m hoarding.

Maybe.

So yesterday was about trying something new while we’re in this uncertain landscape, and I couldn’t think of what I wanted to try. But I think it will be this: I think I will reach out more. How hard can that be?

Possibly very.

So here’s the next thing. What’s something you want to give up? It can be resolution-like if that works for you, quitting smoking, perhaps, eating healthier foods while at home and giving up the more processed stuff.

It can be more abstract. I’m currently adoring and charmed by “Dispatches from Elsewhere,” a show with just the exact right tone for now, and if you’re not watching it you should, you can stream it on AMC. One of the lines really hit me: “It’s OK to be wrong.”

You can start something, try something, whatever you want, and it’s OK to be wrong.

Freeing.

That’s my thing. Letting go of the stigma of being wrong.

Look at that, it’s a long one today. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#TuesdayThoughts: Bring in the new

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Still working on the positivity thing. First of all, spellcheck does not recognize positivity, so I think that says, well, it says a lot.

Secondly, it’s tough to be positive when Republicans have called upon people to sacrifice themselves to the money gods to appease Wall Street, and none of that is hyperbole or metaphor.

Not hyperbole. Not metaphor.

But taking a step back from the Hunger Games, Senior Edition, yesterday we thought about the routines we’re going to try to stick to with all this going on. Today, let’s think about what we can try that’s new.

Now see, I had this idea for the post, and I still don’t know what I want to try doing. Maybe I’ll report back tomorrow.

The world is our oyster, only the world is, for most of us, limited to our clam shells. I think that’s a mixed metaphor, but only a little.

So I’ll think on that, a new habit I’d like to try while we’re in this strange limbo. And if you know yours, feel free to share it.

And meanwhile, have a great Tuesday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#MondayThoughts: Routine routine, whatcha sticking to?

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It’s another social distancing Monday, and here in Illinois, we’re sheltering in place. I’m relatively certain that last week I promised to put a more positive spin on things.

Hmm.

So how about we talk about one thing we’re keeping the same during this strange strange time. Blogging, for me, is a gimme, given if you’re reading this I must have written it, so that’s not so fun.

During this weirdness, I’m going to try to stick to my exercise routine as much as possible. Daily Burn isn’t doing new episodes, though they may be streaming some on instagram, but later than my normal work out time.

That’s mine. So what routines will you be sticking to?

And as you ponder that, you have a great Monday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#FridayThoughts: Adjustment

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Here we are in this brave new world, and it’s pretty much as bleak as you’d think it would be. We have no idea how far we are into the tunnel, or even if it’s open on the other side.

So that’s fun.

Speaking of fun, I’m going to try to sprinkle some into the blog next week, just to brighten things up if I can, though of course this place will reflect my thoughts, as it always does. Because who doesn’t want to know what’s on my mind?

Don’t answer that.

The muck seems to be getting muckier, and there’s not much we can do about that, but we can try to make the most of what we have and what we can do. And that was plucky enough to annoy myself.

So much for positivity.

Off we lurch into another Friday, with an uncharted weekend ahead. I hope your Friday has much light, and have as great a weekend as you can dream up.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.

#ThursdayThoughts Ten Word Photo Prompt: Arrivals

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Photo by Eunhyuk Ahn on Pexels.com

It’s ten word story time! I mean why not keep playing until the apocalypse buzzer, right? We might as well do SOMETHING with ourselves.

So using the photo above as a prompt, write a ten word story. Exactly ten words.

Ready?

Here’s mine:

Darkness tore the sky, pink edging the ship’s lumbering descent.

#WednesdayWisdom: Wisdomless

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I was out in the world today, not more than recommended, mind you, but for the essentials, getting groceries for myself and my parents. The stores weren’t frenzied, they weren’t packed, but the shelves were bare in places, the produce gone in large swathes.

People tried to give other people space, and it seems creativity will dominate cooking for the foreseeable future.

There was no flour.

Absolutely no flour.

It mad me sad, if you want the truth, sad for what we’ve lost, some things incrementally, some all at once. Sad to feel the energy in the air, the uncertainty, the tentative smiles.

Sad that, in the face of the apocalypse, the thing we hold most dear is toilet paper.

Which there is none of, by the way.

This era feels like a foreign land, ground shifted beneath our feet, all the while we were yelling “no” into a void soundproofed with money. Oh how they love that money, those people who coax the void, who nurture it, who are it, deep inside.

Void and money.

So here we and here we’ll be until they tell us it’s safe to come out. And maybe some of those “give him a chance” people will finally learn there are some chances some people should never have.

That much should have been obvious.

Have a good rest of your Wednesday.

Check out  my full-length novels: 
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)   
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) 
Her Cousin Much Removed
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s quick and weird and FREE!
Peruse Montraps Publishing
See what I’m writing on Medium.