Rainy Saturday
Sep. 10th, 2011 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sophiapI'm in a part of the U.S. where rain is welcome, and today we're getting a soft, steady rain. It's been at least two and a half weeks since we've had any rain worth speaking about, and I don't mind that it's raining on a Saturday. A week ago today, it was 101 degrees out. A week ago Sunday, the temperatures dropped into the low 70s and we've had temps in the 50s at night. In short, it was like someone flipped a switch and we went from summer to fall.
I am not complaining.
I have replanted one of my containers with flowers and other plants (ornamental peppers, heuchera) in shades of rust, gold, and dark purple. The arrangement is crowned off with some snapdragons in yellow and peach that are paler shades of the rust and golds below. I'm quite happy with it, although the fucking squirrels keep digging in my containers. Also, I now have two dwarf conical boxwoods (named Fili and Kili) flanking my front stoop. This winter, I plan to string them with lights.
There was a neighborhood yard sale today, and it felt good to get rid of a lot of the stuff I'd accumulated that I simply wasn't using. Kitchen stuff, electronics, tchotchkes... I tend not to get sentimentally attached to too much, so going through and purging every couple of years isn't too painful. For me, having the lack of clutter is a psychological necessity. While I appreciate pictures of studies and libraries full of bric-a-brac and can enjoy those spaces in others' homes, it doesn't serve me well in the long run. I don't like things to be spartan or clinically clean, but I need my space not to be "busy," if that makes sense. Also (and I know this will sound like heresy to some), I did a purge of my books. It was all stuff I knew I would never re-read or refer to again (in the case of cookbooks or knitting books). When I put things out, I had a feeling that I would be slogging most of the books back inside. Not so. Less than an hour after the sale went up, someone bought all the books for a flat fee. I noticed the guy was checking the books with a Library Thing scanner, so we got to talking. It turns out that he and his wife are finalizing the deal on a space down the street and they are opening a new/used bookstore. It feels good to know that my books are going to help get a new WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE bookstore get off the ground. And I have some shelf space re-opened. Woot!
As many people are doing today and tomorrow, I am avoiding the news. I am not even turning the TV on. At all. I want to be careful about how I say this as I know there are still people in genuine pain out there, but I think my nation as a whole has drifted into fetishizing the anniversary of the attacks on NYC and DC. I also am a bit resentful that memories of what happened ten year ago are seeming to take precedence over what people have lost--and are losing now--because of Irene and Lee. Anyhow, enough of that. Rant over (except for maybe in comments.)
Stress Conga: I will preface this by saying that there are people I know who are dealing with MUCH worse than what I am dealing with these days, but I still feel like my life has been one damned thing after another for a while. Probably since May or so, actually. Some of it is good stuff (refinancing the house, finishing a major fic project, getting to work on some great projects at work), but even the good stuff is sucking a lot of mental and physical energy. There are lots of little things, such as I don't have time/energy to keep the house and yard at what I consider a basic level of order, or my glasses prescription has changed noticeably in the past couple of months and I haven't had time to get to the eye doctor. Then there are the big things, like the cat getting sick (he's better now), huge deadlines at work that are getting fouled up by other people missing their deadlines, my counterpart/best bud at work leaving for another job (and leaving me with half his workload), and let us not forget my car NEARLY CATCHING ON FUCKING FIRE and forcing me to dip into money I had saved for house stuff because I had to get a new car. In a way, I feel like my week's vacation was barely enough time to catch my breath before the whap-whap-whap started up again. Yes, most of this is little stuff in the grand scheme of things, but it's been constant and I'm exhausted. I had been hoping to go out to the West Coast this fall, but right now the thought of having to plan anything else makes me want to cry. Plus, the money I'd put aside for the trip went into the new car.
I'm back into the writing groove after relaxing post-Big Bang, and I'm working on my next installment of Winter War. I also have a few more SPN projects in queue, including entries for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
spn_cinema (My Neighbor Totoro) and 50states_spn (Missouri - the state, not the character). I'm also hoping to snag a picture for spn_reversebang. Fortunately, the deadlines for these are all nicely spread out. Comments on my Big Bang have slowly been trickling in, and I've been very, very pleased with the response. Reading-wise, I have recently-ish finished "Rivers of London" and "Moon Over Soho" (thank you so much, incandescens!) and I recommend both highly. They're police procedural/fantasy stories that are set in London (the city feels like a character), and the narration is absolutely wonderful, rich in detail and rich in snark. What I particularly love is that for all the fantasy elements, the books feel very grounded in a closely observed mundane reality. I also love that the books get very much into issues of race and ethnicity while not 'othering' anyone. Race matters in the story, for good and for ill, and the author neither soapboxes nor shies away from issues. The main character's background (mother West African, father Cockney) is an inextricable part of who the main character is, and very much not just someting that was tacked on as a way of the author going "look at me, I'm being diverse!" Beyong that, I'm currently re-reading Tim Powers' "Last Call" as comfort-food. Powers (along with Pratchett) is one of my go-to writers for when I want to relax but also think at the same time. I also have Ms. Holmes of Baker Street lined up for later reading when I'm in the mood for something more academic (fortunately, I was able to snag a copy while it was in print, or at least not so obnoxiously pricey).
I am not complaining.
I have replanted one of my containers with flowers and other plants (ornamental peppers, heuchera) in shades of rust, gold, and dark purple. The arrangement is crowned off with some snapdragons in yellow and peach that are paler shades of the rust and golds below. I'm quite happy with it, although the fucking squirrels keep digging in my containers. Also, I now have two dwarf conical boxwoods (named Fili and Kili) flanking my front stoop. This winter, I plan to string them with lights.
There was a neighborhood yard sale today, and it felt good to get rid of a lot of the stuff I'd accumulated that I simply wasn't using. Kitchen stuff, electronics, tchotchkes... I tend not to get sentimentally attached to too much, so going through and purging every couple of years isn't too painful. For me, having the lack of clutter is a psychological necessity. While I appreciate pictures of studies and libraries full of bric-a-brac and can enjoy those spaces in others' homes, it doesn't serve me well in the long run. I don't like things to be spartan or clinically clean, but I need my space not to be "busy," if that makes sense. Also (and I know this will sound like heresy to some), I did a purge of my books. It was all stuff I knew I would never re-read or refer to again (in the case of cookbooks or knitting books). When I put things out, I had a feeling that I would be slogging most of the books back inside. Not so. Less than an hour after the sale went up, someone bought all the books for a flat fee. I noticed the guy was checking the books with a Library Thing scanner, so we got to talking. It turns out that he and his wife are finalizing the deal on a space down the street and they are opening a new/used bookstore. It feels good to know that my books are going to help get a new WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE bookstore get off the ground. And I have some shelf space re-opened. Woot!
As many people are doing today and tomorrow, I am avoiding the news. I am not even turning the TV on. At all. I want to be careful about how I say this as I know there are still people in genuine pain out there, but I think my nation as a whole has drifted into fetishizing the anniversary of the attacks on NYC and DC. I also am a bit resentful that memories of what happened ten year ago are seeming to take precedence over what people have lost--and are losing now--because of Irene and Lee. Anyhow, enough of that. Rant over (except for maybe in comments.)
Stress Conga: I will preface this by saying that there are people I know who are dealing with MUCH worse than what I am dealing with these days, but I still feel like my life has been one damned thing after another for a while. Probably since May or so, actually. Some of it is good stuff (refinancing the house, finishing a major fic project, getting to work on some great projects at work), but even the good stuff is sucking a lot of mental and physical energy. There are lots of little things, such as I don't have time/energy to keep the house and yard at what I consider a basic level of order, or my glasses prescription has changed noticeably in the past couple of months and I haven't had time to get to the eye doctor. Then there are the big things, like the cat getting sick (he's better now), huge deadlines at work that are getting fouled up by other people missing their deadlines, my counterpart/best bud at work leaving for another job (and leaving me with half his workload), and let us not forget my car NEARLY CATCHING ON FUCKING FIRE and forcing me to dip into money I had saved for house stuff because I had to get a new car. In a way, I feel like my week's vacation was barely enough time to catch my breath before the whap-whap-whap started up again. Yes, most of this is little stuff in the grand scheme of things, but it's been constant and I'm exhausted. I had been hoping to go out to the West Coast this fall, but right now the thought of having to plan anything else makes me want to cry. Plus, the money I'd put aside for the trip went into the new car.
I'm back into the writing groove after relaxing post-Big Bang, and I'm working on my next installment of Winter War. I also have a few more SPN projects in queue, including entries for
spn_cinema (My Neighbor Totoro) and 50states_spn (Missouri - the state, not the character). I'm also hoping to snag a picture for spn_reversebang. Fortunately, the deadlines for these are all nicely spread out. Comments on my Big Bang have slowly been trickling in, and I've been very, very pleased with the response. Reading-wise, I have recently-ish finished "Rivers of London" and "Moon Over Soho" (thank you so much, incandescens!) and I recommend both highly. They're police procedural/fantasy stories that are set in London (the city feels like a character), and the narration is absolutely wonderful, rich in detail and rich in snark. What I particularly love is that for all the fantasy elements, the books feel very grounded in a closely observed mundane reality. I also love that the books get very much into issues of race and ethnicity while not 'othering' anyone. Race matters in the story, for good and for ill, and the author neither soapboxes nor shies away from issues. The main character's background (mother West African, father Cockney) is an inextricable part of who the main character is, and very much not just someting that was tacked on as a way of the author going "look at me, I'm being diverse!" Beyong that, I'm currently re-reading Tim Powers' "Last Call" as comfort-food. Powers (along with Pratchett) is one of my go-to writers for when I want to relax but also think at the same time. I also have Ms. Holmes of Baker Street lined up for later reading when I'm in the mood for something more academic (fortunately, I was able to snag a copy while it was in print, or at least not so obnoxiously pricey).
no subject
Date: 2011-09-10 11:31 pm (UTC)It's good to hear about your forward momentum, and my goodness, what an awesome outcome for the books you relinquished! That's a boatload of good karma there, along with some clear space.
I can't wait for your new projects--Totoro is a favorite refuge of mine. I have to ration rewatches to two or three a year in times of direst need.
I feel dreadful that I've gotten distracted and stalled on your BB. Not...that you've been waiting on my comments, but in any case, they will resume, shortly. I love what I've read so far and am looking forward to being able to get back to it with some degree of concentration.
I keep feeling I should do a status of me report. But then I lie down till the impulse goes away.
I'm sorry the trip isn't working out, but maybe we'll see you next year.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-11 05:07 pm (UTC)It will be a while before I get to the Totoro fic, but I'm already noodling around with ideas for how to approach it. I don't want to lose the sweetness and innocence and hopefulness of the film, but I also want to acknowledge that the SPN-verse is a dark, dark place. I'm thinking that it would be set while Sam is four and it would be filtered through his point of view. He's still an innocent at that point, and Dean might not have entirely hardened. Part of me wants to use Castiel as the Totoro stand-in, but a) I have a niggling feeling that might have been done and b) I think it would be interesting to see a genuinely benign nature spirit in the SPN-verse. Hmm. Maybe I can do both, somehow.
Also, no worries about the BB! You'll get to it when you get to it.