Fiddle-Dee-Dee, Said Scarlett

Wow, the new meds I'm on are absolutely amazing!

Not only do they put me in a ridiculously good mood, but I'm creative and productive. It's not even noon and already I've taken out the trash, scrubbed the counters, and done nearly all the dishes. The dishes are a big deal. We have been...lax on maintaining the sanctity of our sink.

There is a reason I refer to it as 'The Sink Monster'. Colonies of tiny life had sprung up and begun evolving. I think they were on the verge of discovering fire. Great towering mountains of placewear, caked with the remains of meals long forgotten, rose up from the murky depths. The water...for all that is holy, don't make me recount the state of the water!

But I went into battle despite the odds and powerful enemy. Armed with scrub brush, sponge and the strongest detergent we had, I attacked.

The battle was long and hard. There were casualties on both sides. My skirt suffered mysterious stains. Bits of things worked their way beneath my fingernails. Once, I think something grabbed me.

But in the end I was triumphant! All hail the conquering hero! ;)

I also posted to all my threads! And took a shower. And I can't remember the last time I was in this positive a mood. This morning, nijawial compared me to Tohru. That's never a character I've ever been associated with before....

I'm not even terribly bothered by the fact that my paid LJ account runs out in a few days. I'll just use as many icons as possible in the remaining time... ;)

Wow, so!

I've actually got a hell of a lot to post about, it's just hard getting it all sorted out.

I'll just start with today, since that's freshest in my mind!

I was up ungodly early once more, to go to Wal-Mart. We were just going o pick up stuff for my younger nephew's birthday party, but my father mentioned going to the gardening section. Just to see.

I now have a pot of strawberries, some German Thyme, some Oregano, a gorgeous Ichiban Eggplant plant, and oodles of tomatoes and peppers. And we may be going back tomorrow. So, my garden is well underway! Also did the usual Wednesday cleaning, though I'm still sort of in the middle of that.

I'm nearly done. :/ I'm halfway or so through the final book. I don't know what I'm going to do when it's over. Other than, uh, seek out the fandom most likely. I was mentioning jokingly to t3h_toby_chan that it looked like I'd be back online just in time to plunge headfirst into a new fandom.

It looks like it's not so much a joke anymore.

Uh...what else? Oh, working on costumes! Three for me and so far two for nijawial! We're cosplaying Rune Soldier and Inuyasha for Sabo, and then I have one I'm working on just for photoshoots. Well, technically two. Because I really don't see the point in wearing book/obscure comic costumes to anime/video game cons. But I still want to do the costumes.

Computer is...on its way to functioning properly. It desperately needs RAM, and I've got it defragmenting. Also still needs cords, but whatever. I can use it for at least small periods of time. And it's been enough for me to check my Flist, make some headway on my email, and make a new LJ icon. ;)

I'm looking into some new (to me) anime. I caught a bit of Darker Than Black, which I'd like to see, and a little bit of Vexille. Which was pretty and then highly recommended. And there was one other, but I forget the name. It was being advertised on the program, and was compared to Twelve Kingdoms.

I've finally rented Nightmares and Dreamscapes, though I haven't watched it yet. I've heard that Crouch End is just terrible, which I can understand. I don't think it would make the transition from text to screen very well. Speaking of...I read the first few stories in After Sunset, and I have to admit, I'm not impressed. After reading the forward, I was forewarned (King himself admits he's not sure if his recent short fiction is good or not) but...it wasn't so much bad writing or bad plots, just the fact that of the stories I read, King had already written on those subjects in his novels. It was very regurgitated. I don't think I'm going to bother buying the book until I find it cheaply used.

Alright, this computer (tentatively named Walter) is making horrific grinding and wheezing noises, so I'm going to give him a little break.

IT IS GOOD TO BE SOMEWHAT BACK! I MISS YOU!

1) Yay, the Venture Bros kink meme is gaining speed! It'd be awesome if more people were fulfilling requests, but it's still early.

2) My sickness is upon me. I've spent most of the day in bed. I got a little cleaning done, then it hit while I was in the bath. That was...unpleasantly surprising, to say the least.

3) I...think we have new neighbors? I'm too tired and out of it to write up the whole event, but people moved out yesterday and today there has been...a great deal of confusing activity and many strange people. I'll give the whole run down when I'm feeling better.

4) I need to go to the library soon to get some more reference material. I never thought I'd have to be going out for self help books.

5) I hate being sick.

Holy hell.

I've been writing for almost four hours straight - with a cigarette break in there somewhere - and while I've plugged in a good word count so far, I'm starting to see normal words as nonsense and make the most ridiculous spelling errors. Plus, I seriously considered partially stale, left-over jilted bride wedding cake for breakfast*. That means break time! Which will most likely consist of eating lunch, reading, and catching up on internet things.

I finished up No Humans Involved. Entertaining book, and I am definitely not adverse to reading more Kelley Armstrong. It reminds me a little bit of the Dresden books, just in the 'snarky magical person solves paranormal mysteries while trying to keep the norms out of it and leading a normal life'. And it's very...situational, in the same sense that the Dresden books are. So think Butcher meets Laurel K. Hamilton, and I think we've got a good basis of comparison.

I did start Shadowland by Straub yesterday, but I have to admit, 60 pages in and it has yet to grab me. I've enjoyed his collaborations with King, but on his own... there's a tendency towards Lovecraft, and not in the good way. The setting is the 1960s, but Straub has a habit of stuffing Victorian wording into both the dialogue and prose. I'm putting it aside for the moment to read my two library books instead, and will return to it later.

I'm starting my library reads with Bag of Bones.

I'm about 25 pages in, and already I'm hooked. It reminds me of Lisey's Story, but considering we're dealing with a novelist who's just getting over the death of his wife and the horrors that follow, it's unsurprising that parallels would be drawn between the two. But this time it's the novelist who stumbles upon secrets left behind and is over and over again stricken by the loss of his spouse. It does seem, at least so far, to be another Love Story: Stephen King Style. And I do adore when he writes love stories, because his characters are so real. It's always such a gritty, honest portrayal of human relationships, and that's what makes it so painfully beautiful.

Plus, there have already been nods to three other King books. William Denborough, Thad Beaumont and Joe Wyzer have all been mentioned so far. When King references himself/his other works, I always get a little happy inside.

I'm feeling good about my own project, and that's all I'm going to say about it. I'm too superstitious to give even the most vague hints as to what it's about. And with how I've been struggling and picking at only to drop most of my original works, I'm not taking a single risk with this one.

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*I do not know if the wedding cake that was given to nijawial's mother at her office did indeed come from a jilted bride or not, but generally one does not bring an entire untouched wedding cake to an office for co-workers to divvy up if there was an actual wedding. It's a delicious, gargantuan sugar and lemon meringue deal, though, with very lovely bridal piping on it. And that fancy frosting. Mmmm.....

Did you know that TNT plays Angel at 4 AM?

Needless to say, very little sleep was had last night. Half of it was garden variety insomnia, half was the little dude beneath the cut on his wheel. A wheel that sounds eerily like a terribly loud coffee maker - our coffee maker to be exact.

( Ham Ham Picture )

I will probably be scarce on the interwub waves today, as there is a great deal of cleaning I need to do, plus some project stuff that I promised myself I'd be done with Monday. It is very much not Monday, as you can see. It's not so much that I've been procrastinating, it's just that the brain hasn't been cooperating. It can be a terribly contrary organ like that, refusing to buckle down and do what it needs to do. It would rather be contemplating outlandish scenarios and ways to built a better metaphorical mousetrap, I'm afraid. And dear old gray matter up there has always been stronger than anything else, and I find myself overpowered by its wants.

And of course, yesterday was Wednesday, and next to nothing that involves the computer gets done on Wednesday.

I've been using the body scrub I made, and so far it's doing wonderful things for my skin. The only problem I've been able to see is that when used in the bath as opposed to the shower, it leaves a bit of a mess in the tub after drainage. But it does wonders for the skin. Three days of using it, and already I've noticed a significant difference - skin's softer and more smooth and highly moisturized. If anyone on my Flist is interested in being a guinea pig, let me know!

WE HAS FOOD!

Good shopping day today! Very, very good shopping day today. We have plenty of food, which is wonderful, and I'm feeling far less panicky after talking to my folks. I'm just going to focus on my cooking and the house right now.

So today, I'm hitting the thrift stores I can hit within walking distance and scoping out the wares. We're looking for a long low bookshelf, seating of some kind for the yard, and decorative pieces. Or possibly I'll be walking to Tru Value to look for new knobs to replace the bathroom cabinet knobs with.* I don't know what yet, but I have A Project. I'm always happy when I have A Project.

So, speaking of The Project....

Designing on a very tight budget! What are your favorite tips and tricks? Obviously mine is as simple as 'thrift stores, thrift stores, thrift stores!' but I'm just curious as to other little things that can be done to make over a nice place into a stellar place. Because I'm going for stellar.

If I can't work like a normal person, fine. But I will be damned if I can't manage to cook restaurant quality food for Team Venture and keep a beautiful home. And eventually, once spring comes, I shall be a farmer.

We've got the soil for it, as we discovered yesterday. ;)

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*I may also say 'fuck that for today' and get my hair done. I have to see what salons I can get to in the area, and if they're cheap.

So huge thank yous to: zinjadu, lovelies, cuylerjade, drusillas_rain and ellid! I got your holiday cards, about half of them today! Which greatly improved my mood. :D

Fence is fixed as good as it possibly can be with just me and no tools. All the garbage has been picked up and the trash barrels have been righted, and the shingles and whatnot have been returned to the neighbor's yard.

I can't do anything about the door. The wind knocked the bottom of it out, and while I was able to get it back in sort of, it's hanging funny and gaping open and so the porch is freezing. I also can't do anything about the screens. Or the fact that my beautiful high, standing ashtray is busted up. At least it's no longer stuck in the window of the shed....

I haven't even gone into the shed. I'm almost afraid to. While the doors were closed and locked - and even that almost didn't help, the metal latch is almost torn off its hinges - the windows were not. They can't be, for a variety of reasons.

I haven't even eaten yet, and I'm still so nauseous that I'm worried I can't keep anything down. It's not even 11:30 and I already feel ready for a hot bath and bed. And I still need to pack for L.A.

So much for relaxing and enjoying the wind down after Christmas. I am very, very tempted to treat myself to Sonic and say 'fuck it' for an hour or two while I veg in front of the TV. But I really should get some posts done while I have a few minutes sitting down.

BUT! In good news: I'm not quite as terrified about money as I was. So that's one huge load off my mind, at least.

So I reached 23k and it was decided I needed a little break. What with the drooling and babbling nonsensically. ;)

So here is some stuff completely not related to NaNo at all! To prove there is life outside of Nano!

We finally got all the Halloween decorations, and now the porch is being converted to a sort of work space. nijawial has her art table out there, and my sewing table is set up. I need to somehow move my desk to the shed, but it's out of the way for the moment.

The rats are vastly amusing when we walk by their aquarium. As they're on the floor, they can clearly see just how giant we are, as Nija pointed out to me yesterday. And they are in awe. Hank is still fat, but with his preference for running on the wheel, hopefully he'll slim down some.

My mother is still doing well, though a little frustrated with some of the limitations she has while her teeth and jaw heal up.

If you're into psychedelic music and you haven't heard Infected Mushrooms yet, why not? I highly recommend their Doors remixes. I am generally not one for covers and remixes, but these cannot be missed. Same with Dream Theater's Pink Floyd covers. And I rarely praise covers or remixes.

I'm still reading Dead Beat, and still trying to get unstuck in Twilight Princess. Jumping and I are not friends, at all. Need to go back and finish up SH3 again, too. Am tempted to try a Vincent cosplay at some point. But Claudia first!

Steamboy? Not as awesome as I was led to believe.

Now time to catch up on cleaning, because holy crap, it's Friday. When did that happen?

My hands itch from cleaning solution. Most likely because they've been immersed in it all day.

This morning we went to the Pumpkin Carnival in the square. I threw together a quick costume, which mostly consisted of layering all my gothy skirts, wrapping some cloth around me, messing up my hair and sticking on a witch hat. I got a lot of compliments, though, and pictures taken! I've got a really nice one I had done at the photobooth that I'll have to scan at some point. We mostly just wandered around, grabbed some snacks, and I entered the homemade costume contest, but as there were two adults in the 10+ category (me and this guy who did an awesome Jack Black from School of Rock costume) and one kid, the kid won, which is fitting.

Then we came home and there was epic cleaning. Technically there is still epic cleaning, but I needed a quick break. I stripped off everything but one skirt and my skirt, coaxed my insanely hairsprayed hair up into a bun thing, and set to work as soon as I was home. nijawial is handling the porch while I tackle the kitchen. Found pencil shavings and old soup. The wonders never cease.

The epic amounts of cleaning is because chocomimi is coming for Halloween! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see her, and for her to see Silent Hill!

Started Silent Hill 3 last night. I forgot what a pain the controls are for that one. Heather may run the fastest of them all, but she can't do it in a straight line! Got through the mall though, and put it down at the subway, then popped in Castle in the Sky. Which was adorable! And quite heavily influenced the design of Shevat in Xenogears, I'd guess. Then I was exhausted, and went to bed around 11.

Woo, food, then back to cleaning!

We found a stash of old, dirty diapers in the cieling of the shed.

Old. Dirty. Diapers.

Who does that? Aside from the Damn Dirty Hippies, of course.

Biohazard suits are now required for shed cleaning. ;)

Going to be getting painting done today! And we'll see what else. But first, a small story.

Animals love our yard. We've had a variety of neighborhood animals come in and hang out on our porch, and a history of animals just trying to get into our house as though they live there. Last night - I kind of crashed early, and without warning, apologies about that! - I woke up in need of the bathroom and found myself trapped in my room.

Due to a broken doorknob, this is very common, and usually I can jiggle the knob until it's aligned right. Last night I couldn't, and Nija had to come save me. Afterwards, I was a bit 'mrrr' so I stepped out on my little 'porch' to have a cigarette. (My 'porch' is a slice of tree that sits outside my door.) As I was smoking, I look up passed the Devil Shed and see a shaggy neighbor dog trotting through the yard.

I just sort of mentally go 'argh, neighbor dog, please don't poop in our yard' and watch Big Shaggy as he trots around. As I'm halfway done with my cigarette, he seems to notice either me or the open door behind me, because he trots right over, tail a'wagging, like he owns the place and wants to come inside. And he finally enters the light from my porch, and I get a good look at him as he sits down just a few feet away from me, looking happy as a clam.

It wasn't a neighbor dog.

It was a coyote.

Coyotes at my folks' place isn't uncommon, what with living out in the middle of the wilderness area. We live in town. And yes, we do get coyotes down in here, but generally they're skittish, rather scrawny looking things. Not big, shaggy, handsome boys who act like they're Rover coming in for the night.

I just finished my cigarette, not taking my eyes off him, and he just sat there watching me, completely relaxed and at ease. I snuffed my cigarette in my ash tray, and he stood up and once I closed the screen door between us, he just trotted back off towards the shed.

I went back to bed and told myself not to forget about that, as it wasn't a dream, it actually happened. Sometimes I have trouble telling the difference.