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November is a strange month.

That really should be where I finish this post, but you know me - I'm going to valiantly keep going.

We finally have some cool weather, accompanied by cold rain. Which had brought on my semi-annual change-of-weather sinus drainage and sort throat. I'm hitting the ACV potion later, to try and ward off things turning into a full-fledged cold. I can't afford it right now.

TheHubs™ is knee-deep in play rehearsals, and has just come off of a two week run in another play. Right after [livejournal.com profile] irishredlass left, he received a call that a key actor in a play had been arrested for drugs and was no longer available for this upcoming play, and did TheHubs™ think he could step in? They would pay handsomely - if he could learn the part in 8 days. He said yeah, sure, no probs - until he saw the three-page opening monologue. Turns out he was the two main characters of the play - he played his own grandpa. He was also in almost every scene and had two HUGE angsty monologues topping and tailing the play. He did an amazing job and totally blew everyone away, but it caused him some sleepless nights and a lot of anxiety.

This next play, which is a feel-good Christmas story taking place in Yorkshire, is a lot less anxiety-ridden and is a cake-walk compared to the last one. Thank goodness.

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is less than a fortnight away. October went by in a rush, and November seems to be playing the same game. I have a ton of projects on the go, and I'm not really accomplishing anything. I'm having a hard time motivating myself.

My biggest news is that I'm going to be doing a joint book signing on Saturday, December 2 with my friend Wofford Jones at this charming little bookstore called Joe's Books. I know I've mentioned this already, but that seems to be the only thing I'm actually prepared for. The promotional stuff arrives Tuesday, and the books should be here the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. I'm crossing fingers, toes and eyes that at least someone, anyone, will come in and buy at least one book, and I won't be sat there like a blancmange feeling like a complete failure.

Book 2 is in it's final stages, meaning that [livejournal.com profile] stgulik has worked some serious magic and given me some genius ideas for the beginning of Book 3, which I HAVE to finish next year. Book one is being recorded on Audible even as we speak, and the reader is doing an amazing job - even though some of the more ::ahem!:: saucy parts are making me blush and think to myself, "Holy shit, did I really write that?" I should know better by now.

We're staying home this Thanksgiving, due to the tight rehearsal schedule and my mom's increasing fragility. That really hurts me to write, but she's struggling. She's an independent so-and-so, and tends to overdo it, but the combination of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus is starting to wear her down, not that she will ever admit it. She just had her floor redone, thank balls. The dishwasher leaked, and rotted a hole in the floor, to the point where stepping on it felt as if the only thing keeping me from landing in the crawlspace was the strength of the vinyl flooring. She had it completely re-floored, and new flooring put down. It looks a million times better, and I even got the chance to go there and throw away some of the shit she just crams into any availble space/cupboard/cabinet. My mom is a real out-of-sight, out-of-mind kinda gal, and I found junk from the millenium in there. I threw away five huge garden bags from just two areas in her kitchen alone. She hates clutter, so she just stows it all behind doors and forgets about it. We found exploded tins of peaches, prescriptions 5 years out of date, cancelled checks from 2000, and at least two hundred pieces of those documents that accompany prescriptions. I shredded everything.

She also had about 5000 return address labels from various charities. She didn't buy them, she said. The charity just sent them, hoping she would give. I swear, she could write 100 letters every day between now and the rest of her life and still have those damn things left over.

I shall be starting on Christmas decs tomorrow. I realise it's early, but I prefer to enjoy the decs during the run up to Christmas. They're down by new years.

Irish will be happy to note that I'm crocheting like mad. I still find crochet patterns baffling, but I can manage a decent single crochet and I'm finishing up a huge throw made up of years of left-overs. I'll take a photo when I'm done.

Date: 2017-11-13 01:51 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gelsey.livejournal.com

Sounds like mostly awesome thinfs. Glad o hear from you.

Date: 2017-11-13 04:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stgulik.livejournal.com
Hey--Book 2 is going to be a hit, same as Book 1. Your readership is out there looking for you.

Tell your mom I get those address labels from charities, too. I save them for when I have to send a check in the mail--so I use maybe one every two years. I'll pass the rest on to my grandchildren.

Here's what happens with my mom: we are working to clean out her closets of the clothes she no longer wears. She currently wears nothing but sweats. So why does she need to keep her knickers? Not underwear; I'm talking those knee pants that were popular for about a month in 1985. She made herself eight pairs back then, and she's determined to keep all eight for eternity. Meanwhile, her healthcare worker occasionally brings her bags of second-hand ... clothes! More clothes! Such an enabler. :-)

Date: 2017-11-13 12:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mimimanderly.livejournal.com
I used to get loads of those address labels, but don't anymore. I think that they don't send them much anymore because people don't write letters/mail in bills as much these days. Everything is done via computer. I threw away all of mine. I mean, how difficult is it to just print my address on the bloody envelope, especially since I send out so few.

Aw geeze... I remember knickers. My mom made me a pair in brown velveteen, with a matching vest. I think they were out of style by the time she finished making them, but I wore them a few times. See, that's the difference between fashion and style. Fashion is fleeting, and to be avoided. Style sticks around, and is generally classic. Some people find classic boring, but I'm not one of them. I prefer to have a small wardrobe of things that I love and that I know look good on me and are good quality, rather than a bulging closet of cheap, trendy "fast fashion". Perhaps you can have a word with the health care worker to ixnay on the lothesclay?

Date: 2017-11-13 01:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] teddyradiator.livejournal.com
Oh heavens, don't get me started on the clothes! My mother has three bedrooms, and every one of them is stuffed with clothes. We converted one of the bedrooms into a giant closet, and it barely holds a fifth of her clothes. When I tried to chastise her about so many clothes, she played the most insidious guilt card I've ever been dealt. "Well, when you were growing up, I didn't have the money to spend on my own clothes, and now that I do, it's my one weakness."

I don't have the heart to fuss at her about it, but even she admits she has an addiction and something needs to be done. The trouble is, that will only happen when she passes on, because the last time she allowed me to even look at her clothes was when we put in the closet racks, and then only in that room. The other two are also so crammed with clothes she has no idea what's in them, and she's as slippery as an eel when it comes to getting out of letting me go through them. I've decided just to let sleeping clothes lie until she's gone, and then I'll just call the Haven of Rest and tell them to come and get them all.

Date: 2017-11-13 04:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mywitch.livejournal.com
Hooray for Christmas decorations! I would really love to see Trev in a play sometime. I bet he is marvelous. It's so nice to see you here, Teds! So sorry to hear your Mom isn't feeling great. A weakening parent is terribly hard to wrap one's mind around. Miss you ❤️

Date: 2017-11-13 04:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] teddyradiator.livejournal.com
Thank you, precious. I miss your smiling face so much it hurts sometimes. ♥

Date: 2017-11-18 11:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] teddyradiator.livejournal.com
Oh heavens, don't get me started on the clothes! My mother has three bedrooms, and every one of them is stuffed with clothes. We converted one of the bedrooms into a giant closet, and it barely holds a fifth of her clothes. When I tried to chastise her about so many clothes, she played the most insidious guilt card I've ever been dealt. "Well, when you were growing up, I didn't have the money to spend on my own clothes, and now that I do, it's my one weakness."

I don't have the heart to fuss at her about it, but even she admits she has an addiction and something needs to be done. The trouble is, that will only happen when she passes on, because the last time she allowed me to even look at her clothes was when we put in the closet racks, and then only in that room. The other two are also so crammed with clothes she has no idea what's in them, and she's as slippery as an eel when it comes to getting out of letting me go through them. I've decided just to let sleeping clothes lie until she's gone, and then I'll just call the Haven of Rest and tell them to come and get them all.

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