Drunken Owls and Other Delights

Oh hi there! It's Sunday afternoon, which means it's time for my usual weekend errands of laundry and gardening (today was a community garden clean-up day, in which A and I spent some time picking up trash and also cleaning and reorganizing the sheds so they're less of a hot mess). We got home just in time for us to get our awaited IKEA delivery (a drying rack for A's knitting and a storage caddy for the laundry room).

It was also high time for the PC cleaning. I've been forgetting to run the cleaner software as of late, so said PC was quite happy that I gave it a very thorough once-over this time. It definitely needed it, especially since I've been doing a lot of file reorganization, Plex server updatery, and writing work! I also never turn it off (mainly because of the Plex so others can access my entertainment collection), but it's something that should be done now and again. What I'm delaying, however, is the latest Windows 11 update, because a) I really don't need it, and b) if I did update it, I'd then need to dig in and turn off the stupid AI crap that I definitely do not need nor want. It's not a critical update, so I'm going to avoid it for a long as I can. Or at least until I have the spoons to do the settings adjustments.

In reading news, I have been obsessed with the manga and anime The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity lately. It's firmly placed in Everything Is So Dramatic levels of teenage drama, but I appreciate that because the story precisely about dealing with that kind of stuff as a teen. It's very well written and each character has their own fleshed-out backstory and conflict to deal with. And it's also a really sweet love story as well. I highly recommend it.

In health news, I think I've FINALLY shaken this stupid cold/allergy, though I'm still getting stuffed up every now and again, including today. I'm just not continuously clogged as I was last week, however. Meanwhile, I have been feeling rather tired a lot lately, and whether that's due to Day Job Stress/Overwork or said congestion keeping me up at night, I'm not sure. Maybe both. I don't feel it's a major worry, but at the same time I am keeping an eye on it just in case it becomes one. Besides, I ain't as young and agile as I used to be!

In writing news...I'm just a few chapters shy of being caught up once more with the latest revision of Theadia. Which means I have two things to do staring soon: one, I need to go back and start writing the 'WRITE THIS LATER' gaps, and two, I need to actually, y'know, finish the dang novel itself! I've been working on this one for quite some time now, but I'm really excited about it as well, and that's always a good sign. I'm still roughly on schedule for "sometime next year" as its drop date. I might even look into commissioning a cover for this one! Heh.

And finally in Day Job news...well, let's just say there's still a lot of Hurry Up and Wait in regards to wanting a transfer. Right now there's a lot of Managerial Drama and Metrics Obsession going on which is taking precedence, as well as Holiday Season starting up. I'm a bit annoyed that I've been put on the backburner because of it all, but there's not too much else I can do except occasionally poke at the main players and remind them I'm still there and waiting. I'm also still a little annoyed about the lower hours, but I'll set that particular commentary aside for now.

In the meantime, Sunday also means Sunday dinner, and A is currently making beef stew which has the entire house smelling amazing right now.


Hope everyone has a good week!

Spent WAY too much money at IKEA across the bay (thanks to my in-laws for the gift certificate!!). We now have more furniture!

Will take more pictures soon...for now, we're having lunch and will soon spend the rest of the afternoon putting stuff together. :)


Also later: my post o' future plans, predictions and resolutions, writing and otherwise. :)

EDIT: Just got back from another trip to IKEA...it seems someone in the warehouse put the wrong chairs in the bin, so we ended up with one that we wanted and three that didn't match (and added to that, the wrong ones weren't on sale so it was an extra $30 each). Worth the trip though, because they look quite nice!