Well…all righty then. Mid-week holidays. Confusion. Chaos. *flail* Okay. Not really. All is good. The “Lost Week” is done. Christmas past, New Year chugging along. And here it is Monday once again. It might be the 5th day of the month but it is techinically the first day of work for many. Except retail. Or health care. First responders. Okay. Only for people in offices and schools. Oh, and writers. Our work is never done. 😉
New Year’s Eve dinner was really fancy–pepperoni pizza and cheesy bread from Little Caeser’s. Yum! New Year’s Day was easy peasy. We did nothing. Jake had had a bad night. He has PTSD–yes critters have it too–and anthing remotely sounding like gunfire sets him off and there were a lot of boomers in the neighborhood. Jerks! Lots of time spent petting, hugging, and soothing him. Luckily, Toby was fine. Pete was fine but Loki was worried about his soul brother. Yes, he and Jake are that close. At one point, Jake was up on the couch with LG and Loki jumped up on the arm. LG watched as Loki *petted* Jake with his paw. At that point, Pete, Toby and I were sleeping in the bedroom and missed it. The Kids had stuff to do so no family time. We watched football and ate chili.
In my week off, I binged on Devon Monk’s Ordinary Magic series. The books are set in Ordinary, Oregon, a small town on the coast. A small town where supernaturals live and gods vacation. The MC is Delaney Reed, chief of police. I classify them as cozy paranormals. There is a LOT of humor. And a pink unicorn that is not what she seems. At all. To say I enjoyed them all is an understatement. Sadly, I am now done and I have to find something else to read. Any suggestions?
I’d actually planned to get back into writer mode this week. Then I looked at my calendar. I have to people. Multiple times. Today, I’m off to my eye surgeon for a six-month check-up. Full blown. Which means dilation and all the visual acuity tests. Fun times. Not. Well…sort of. I love my doc. He is all kinds of awesome and has amazing staff. But it will take most of my morning and then I’ll have to wait for my eyes to readjust before I can get on the computer. In my head, I was planning to do a read of the ol’ WIP and all the dangling scenes to refresh memory and get them in some sort of timeline/plot order. So now, that’s my goal on Tuesday. After I run errands. And then Friday, more medical stuff. My PC doc and I made a deal. She’d let me do the at-home test for one procedure if I’d do the bone density and smush-the-girls-ogram. So I did the mail-in thingy and Friday, I have the other two back-to-back. What a way to bookend my week.
There’s not much else going on in my world. Just the same ol’, same ol’. I’ll see what tomorrow may bring. What’s up with you?
Silver James 
Happy 2026! Yeah, mid-week holidays are the worst, and we’ve had two in a row, so we’re due for some extra yummy coffee. (and a lottery win or two.) Yay for yummy pizza, but boo for scared critters. :hugs: Yay for fun books. I wish I had a suggestion for you. Have you ever tried Larry Correia’s Grimnoir Chronicles series? With the week ahead for you, I’d say write if you have the time, but don’t worry about it too much.
I think you already know what’s up with me. After finishing DN3, I thought I had a title for it, but the phrase I used is too recent, so it’s back to the drawing board. I did a blurb, which I may show tomorrow. Other than that, it’s Monday. Back at it and all that. Have a great day and I hope your week goes smooth.
Well, bummer. I liked that title. Maybe I can brainstorm after I see the blurb. Of course, I have no room to talk. My working title for the WIP is “PP#6-Ari.” 🤣🤣
Sounds like you have a full, not too pleasant, schedule. I hope you find some time to just be you in there somewhere.
What’s up with me? The sun…almost… my caffeine level…almost!! That’s about it for now!
Yay for sun and caffeine. They help the world go round. 😉
Your New Year celebration sounds about as quiet and low-key as mine was. Honestly, it’s really a non-holiday for me. I did all my partying when I was younger, and boy did I party! These days, quiet is my best friend.
We had fireworks around here as well. Two of three of our dogs were totally fine with them, but our Sally Jane is a nervous Nelly, so we had to give her a bit more attention.
For book suggestions, if you haven’t yet read them, Angie Fox has a delightful series called The Southern Ghost Hunter series. I love the development of the two main characters as the series progresses. There’s plenty of humor and chilling ghost stories to keep you entertained for some time, and she’s still writing more.
Another series I loved is the Witches of Palmetto Point series by Wendy Wang. These are a bit darker but with great characters and stories. I loved them!
And one more series that I ate up was Taryn’s Camera by Rebecca Patrick-Howard. This is quite a different type of ghost story series. The main character is an artist who takes pictures of old buildings to later paint for developers to use. However, her camera picks up scenes from the building’s past lives that generally involve a murder. Taryn tries to solve these mysteries while battling her own demon. It’s really good and a different kind of ghost story.
That’s what I got. Happy New Year!
I’m with you on the quiet! Poor Sally Jane. Hope she has recovered. I’ve “crossed paths” with the Southern Ghost Hunters, ie. the series has popped up in some emails. I’ll give it a look-see. Thanks! Thanks too for the other suggestions. I shall check them out! You’ve got a lot so thanks and a very Happy New Year to you!
Happy 2026 and first Monday of the year!
I love your New Year’s Eve dinner. I planned on doing the same but then had leftovers from the night before so we ate them.
How sweet Loki is comforting Jake. Too bad there were all those nasty noises to upset him. I don’t understand the guns and I am a gun carrier. It’s just stupid to shoot them off. I don’t mind a small fireworks display but people go overboard with them too. Our poor pets.
I hope all went well today and your pupils are getting back to normal. I laughed because I make deals with my PC too.
I have to people tomorrow. I have my first OT appointment. I sure hope they can help me get full use of my hand back.
Have a nice quiet afternoon!
Good luck with the OT! I know several people who have had good luck after going for a variety of injuries.
Fireworks are illegal in city limits plus we’re under drought watch/red flag conditions (fire watch). If they’d set off a small string or honk their hors or whatever for a few mimutes, fine. But NOOOoooooOOOOO. They were still shooting the dang things off at 3 a.m. Most of the gunfire comes from apartment complexes 1/4-1/2 mile away but that sound carries. To complicate matters, we live one block from the city limits and most the stuff is in OKC. I call 911, I get my suburb. I keep hoping Karma will take care of them. 🤣
Hello there 👋! How are you doing today? It’s my pleasure to meet you here and happy New Year 🎊