Wed. June 3, 2026: Steady On

image courtesy of Welcome to All ! ツ from Pixabay

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Waning Moon

Sunny and pleasant

Here we are at Wednesday.

Yesterday was just beautiful out, not too hot or humid, bright, sunny, and clear. After breakfast, I wrote out the bills and a couple of thank you cards for the people who opened their spaces to the crib crawl last week, got stamps on everything and walked down to the post office to mail them. It was just lovely to be out and about on foot.

Good thing I decided to go on foot, because Ashland, the most direct way between the post office and me, was down to one lane due to construction. Much quicker on foot.

Home, took a break to catch my breath and play with cats. I had a bunch of admin to do, including answering a survey about the Small Business Expo. Instead of complaining about the food, I said it wasn’t as “effervescent” as the choices when there were food sponsors, and I wondered if the Stationery Factory was making the expo use their in-house catering.

Mentally, I already left on the trip I won’t be taking until tomorrow, so it was difficult to settle down and get work done.

But I did. I wrote my three script pages for End of Play. I got out a radio play (to a different producer than the one who wants the three radio plays). I got a very nice acknowledgement within a couple of hours, and a request for an additional piece by mid-July. I went through my radio scripts. I have some partials in there that might work, if I can finish in time. They also mentioned that they are looking for series pitches (8-10 episodes). So I will put something together for that, too. And yes, those are all paid (or I wouldn’t be doing them). I figured out one of the three plays to send to the producer who requested plays earlier this week, and will send it either later today or when I get back after the reading, then figure out the other two.

Switched over to BETTING MAN, and got a little over 1K done on it. Not as much as I hoped, but progress.

Heard there was a major drug raid up on Church Street a few blocks away – a house I pass walking to and from yoga.

Got ready for yoga. Walked up to yoga and was glad I was there. We had a really good class. One of my colleagues from the gallery is in the class. He handed out postcards for Friday’s opening. I feel bad that I will miss it, but I have no idea when I will be back or how tired I will be. I’ll go to the closing reception instead.

After yoga, I trotted down the hill all the way to Hotel Downstreet on the other end of Main Street to show my face at the town councilor’s campaign launch kick-off as state rep. I was glad it was a journey down the hill – not so sure I would have attended if I had to walk UP the hill! It was held in Door Prize NAMA, which took over the old 413 restaurant space in the hotel. Jenny of Door Prize was one of the first people I met when I moved here. She worked for Berkshire Cider at the time. She and her husband spent a couple of years doing the Farmers’ Market, pop-ups, and individual catering, and then opened in their own space. There was an article in the local paper a few weeks ago about how four brick-and-mortar businesses have launched in the past few years from starts at the Farmers’ Market.

Anyway, the place was packed, I saw a lot of familiar faces. I didn’t stay long, just long enough to show my support.

Picked up takeout on the way home. We ate, then hung out on the front porch for a bit, watching the light change.

Slept reasonably well, although Tessa and Charlotte were impossible, starting far too early. Morning routine was fine, and I started figuring out the radio series pitch in the free write.

On today’s agenda: script pages for End of Play, work on BETTING MAN, work on the radio series pitch. I want to get that out next week. Checking the bags to make sure I have everything I need to head out the door tomorrow, and that I’m not scrambling.

I’ll have time to settle into the hotel and get dinner before going to the theatre. My play is up first, so then I can sit back and enjoy everyone else’s pieces without waiting for mine!

Off to the page!

#bettingMan #life #playwrighting #radio #theatre #travel #writing

Tues. June 2, 2026: Clackity-Clack Go the Keys

image courtesy of M. from Pixabay

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and Pleasant

Happy June! Hope you’re having a strong start to the month.

You can read the Community Tarot Reading for the Week here. We are using the Mystic Mondays Tarot, which is a brightly colored, modern deck.

Friday was a beautiful, sunny day. After the morning chores, I sat down to go through some email, discuss some author fest info with the library, and then get to work on BETTING MAN. I did 1K, which was a good morning’s work.

I switched over to the ghostwriting in the afternoon, and had a strong session, but didn’t finish, as I hoped. It wasn’t due until yesterday, but I wanted to get it in a day early. Sadly, I ran out of steam right before the climactic sequence. Since I need that to be strong, I shut down for the day.

Cooked dinner, including a side dish of bok choy, spring onions, and baby garlic, all from the CSA box, that was absolutely wonderful. The CSA ingredients make such a huge difference.

For some reason, I was completely wiped out and went to bed far too early. That meant Charlotte fussed, and by the time I got her settled, I was wide awake again.

Managed to get back to sleep, and Charlotte was impossible on Saturday morning. The cool nights make good sleeping weather, but it was cold enough for the heat to kick on Saturday morning, and it rained overnight.

Up early, morning routine. In the free-write session, came up with the outline for a completely different play to work on during End of Play than anything I’d considered so far. But it’s a topic I want to explore, and I think it will fit the parameters of the program. It’s actually contemporary, not historical. Got to switch it up sometimes, right?

Too many hours of housework ate up most of the morning. Then, I set up the first piece of fabric (even though it was rainy and a bit dark) only to find out that it wasn’t enough to do that pattern on that fabric if I followed the grainline properly. On paper, it was enough yardage, but not when I actually set it out to cut it. And if I don’t go on the grain with this fabric, it won’t drape properly on my body and will look bad. I searched through my other patterns, and couldn’t find something I wanted to do that would fit this yardage, so I decided I need to modify the pattern.

But first, I had to eat lunch, and then work on the ghostwriting.

Before I got started on the ghostwriting, I got news that the colleague that went into hospice about two weeks ago has died. She actually died a couple of days after entering hospice, but one of the group of friends found the obituary today and sent it around. Something else to grieve. Five of Cups indeed.

I spent the afternoon on the ghostwriting, reworking the climactic sequence until I was satisfied. It took longer than I hoped, but I’m happy with the quality of the work.

Cooked a lovely pasta from my favorite book of pasta sauces. The sauce was pancetta and peas with spring onion, milk, and parmesan (basically an Alfredo-like sauce, but not as thick). Charlotte was delighted that I grated an entire cup of Parmesan, and yes, she had a few bites. She loves Parmesan, but only freshly grated, preferably in front of her. Because she is a princess. I also tossed in some pea shoots, baby garlic, and thyme (using things from the CSA box). It was delicious, and fairly quick/easy to make. The kitchen smelled glorious while it cooked, too. Another good dish to go into the regular rotation!

Read a bit in the evening, played with the cats who all wanted attention all the time.

Slept through the night (I was as surprised as anyone), although I put the winter quilt back on the bed. It went down into the 30’s overnight, and on Sunday morning, the car windshields needed scraping.

I made a concoction of blueberries and plain yogurt as part of breakfast. We are not big yogurt people, although we know we should eat more of it. I copied something that was served at a writers’ residency I did in Vermont around 2015. I thought it was okay. I didn’t love it, but I could deal with it. My mom hated it. So I guess I’m not serving her yogurt, although I will try to eat it every now and again.

The main dish for breakfast was omlettes. I did a pea shoot and thyme mixture (CSA box) and a little cheese. They turned out beautifully, in both appearance and taste. I’m even getting better at the foldy bit. I might do dinner omlettes sometimes in summer.

I heard that a meteor exploded over the eastern side of the state, causing some consternation around Boston and the Cape.

I did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here. We’ve switched over to the Mystic Mondays Tarot, a modern deck with bright colors I just love. I also was pleased by the cards that turned up, since this is a busy week. The cards indicate a strong creative potential, and I want to turn that into reality.

Trotted down to Cumberland Farms and got us the day’s Boston Globe. It’s been ages since we had a Sunday paper. There wasn’t much heft to it. It was okay, but not something I’d get every week again. There is too much catering to rich shelter fantasies, and that’s a huge disconnect both from the way I live my life and from I what I want from my life. I don’t want the life they are pushing us to strive for. I like the one I’m building. However, it was the week of the summer reading in the book section, and I was happy to spend time with that. Some of the books mentioned were already on my list for the summer. Others I hadn’t yet heard about, and will put on my library list.

Packed for Thursday’s trip for the play reading. Because I always need to be packed well ahead of time. All I have to do is toss in my toiletries kit. Later in the day, I finished packing my script bag (script, hotel confirmation, directions, books to take with me).

There was a ton I could/should have been doing, but since I worked all day on Saturday, I wanted some quiet time on Sunday. I’m finding I need more time in between activities as I age. I can’t do as much back-to-back as I used to, and I don’t really want to. I don’t want to feel like I’m rushing all the time. I want to enjoy where I am instead of always worrying about where I need to be next.

I modified the pant pattern, and was able to cut it out the right way per the grain, and even had enough for pockets. The pattern itself doesn’t have pockets, but I have a pocket pattern, and if a pattern has side seams (which this does), I generally put pockets in it, unless it’s a style and fabric that wouldn’t work with pockets. Some knits and body-skimming styles don’t look good with side seam pockets. I mean, I’m past the point in life where I’m comfortable in body-skimming styles, but whatever. I prefer side seam pockets to patch pockets most of the time. This is a cotton blend, so it’s fine. I should be able to use the same pattern modifications for the black jacquard fabric, too.

The problem was that I didn’t feel like setting up the sewing machine, testing the bobbin, and actually doing the sewing part. I usually enjoy that bit. It’s the measuring and cutting that gives me agita. Anyway, I ran out of steam.

I got some reading done, some that is background research for the ghostwriting, and some for pleasure. It was rainy and raw out, so I cooked chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner, and used the giant parsnips from the CSA box for my carrot/parsnip dish.

I couldn’t actually see the blue moon because of the cloud cover!

Slept reasonably well, although Charlotte and Tessa started fussing around 3:30. I wound up putting Charlotte in her playpen until I got up.

Morning routine was fine. Found an email from an audio producer requesting 3 scripts this month (short ones), so I have to figure out what to send. Or if I have to come up with something new (which is separate from anything I do for End of Play). Or if I should just adapt one of my short stage plays.

I did my first 3 pages for the day on the script for End of Play before breakfast. The goal is 2-4 pages per day for these 30 days. Tessa decided she had to share my chair while I wrote them, so I was perched on the edge, which made it a little more difficult.

I had to flip my day a bit yesterday, because the 20K ghostwriting piece was due. I spent the morning with tweaks, layering, and a polish, getting it out the door right before lunchtime.

I hoped to work on BETTING MAN in the afternoon, but caught up in other things that needed attention, and did not, so I will have to make up for that today. I tried to figure out which audio plays to submit per the producer’s request. I decided on one, and have to come up with two more.

Heated up some leftovers for dinner, read in the evening, trying to deconstruct a genre book by a popular author to figure out why it’s so popular. I have thoughts on it, but I’ll share them on a shorter post!

The seedlings I ordered arrived: patchouli, tomato, fennel. They were in rough shape. I’ll go into more detail on Thursday’s garden post. Let’s just say some triage was in order.

Slept reasonably well. Charlotte and Tessa started fussing way too early and I just let them fuss. I refused to get up until 5:30. After I fed them, Tessa and Bea had a good playtime session.

On today’s agenda: I have to trot down to the post office and mail some bill payments. Then, it’s the day’s script pages on the play and work on BETTING MAN. If I get notes on the other ghostwriting assignment (that I turned in a couple of weeks ago), I will try to turn them around today and tomorrow, but if I don’t get them in time, they’ll have to wait until next week.

I hope to go to yoga tonight, and then make a quick stop at my town councilor’s launch party for his campaign as state rep.

It was in the 30’s last night again, but is supposed to be quite a bit warmer the rest of the week.

Back to the page!

#bettingMan #books #cooking #EndOfPlay #freelance #sewing #theatre #writing