Friday, June 12, 2026

IRL

 

 The humidity has been so bad...but we had a breather from it yesterday. 

It seems one thing leads to another for me this summer. I feel pretty frazzled this week since hubby is back in the hospital. On the other hand, I did have a trip to Ortho for a check-up and another shot in the shoulder. Things are much better with the frozen shoulder. She told me it's just a little inflammation, and I don't have arthritis.  Which was great to hear.

Still, I have to be ready at a moment's notice when a relative calls, and I have to take them in for a urine test to make sure he hasn't had alcohol. 

So the punch line here is ALCOHOL IS BAD. Bad for depression. Bad for your health. And very bad when you don't know what moderation really is. It's the culprit slowing down my husband's heart.

I've had some sleepless nights due to my antidepressant. I didn't know what my problem was. I thought it was my sinuses, but it's actually GERD that keeps me awake. Yes, this might have been what caused the flu months ago. Anyway, I am doing my best to drink lots of water these days. No soda pop (as we call it here in the Heartland).

Of course, I miss writing. And hope to get back to it soon. And I've been having issues, as well, with the site where I like to make my sets. It's been down, as well. So yeah, my summer of discontent. 

Friday, May 29, 2026

About last night

ellie: Q & A with Nico and Amy

 Sorry, I've gone rogue again this week, but I had the opportunity to read something last night that I had actually written. Now of course, saying that means I might have gone off the cuff a time or two. But it all had to be around 3 minutes long. While mine wasn't nearly as tragic as a few were, I still found a way to project the character in different tones. Of course, I didn't win, but it was encouraging. I was glad they thought of it as more of a performance. It was also good to learn from some I knew about what they write about.

As always I have character-different stories, and I do pick up on several things in life to use for these characters. Sometimes, I feel it's a great way to remember those moments I have spent with someone. Nico's character is a little like some of the boys I met while teaching Resource. They were sensitive to what the world had given them. Some had amazing grandparents who raised them. Although there was a fear that local gangs would swallow them, even back in fifth grade. Some had mothers who never cared where they might end up, they had too much going on in their own lives to make ends meet. While others were taking care of their mothers at a young age. Yes, usually they were fatherless, but even when they had one, it didn't mean they had time to spend with them.

Of course, Amy is a character I've made high maintenance. Especially in Eli's eyes. And sometimes, I did make her a bit hateful. But she came from a broken home, too. A daddy's girl at heart, but to have her mother move back in has never made her home feel the same. And I don't think she's ever known what true friendship is. But the fact is, many of us don't know either. 

As somebody told me once, "You're great at coupling." Even so, doesn't mean it's a happily ever after, but it might on occasion.

Recently, Buck Dancing came into my feed on YouTube. I laughed, but then when I watched it was like visiting the folk art of the States. And of course, it's always great to find out something you didn't know about that person until the moment arrives. I felt that way about many I listened to last night.

Oh, by the way, I didn't Buck Dance for anyone last night. I only have private sessions in the laundry room.