had to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and also to the liquor store to pick up a bottle of maple whiskey.

Spent like 10 minutes arguing if it was worse to carry a fresh Pharmacy Bag into the Liquor store or a fresh Liquor Store Bag into the Pharmacy.

Decided both were bad and two trips was easier.

#alcohol #medicine #errands #shopping

Tues. April 7, 2026: An Art-Full Holiday Weekend

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Waning Moon

Snowing

I can’t believe it’s snowing again.

I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend.

Here we are, another week. The Community Tarot Reading for the week is available here. New month, new deck. This month, we are using the Green Witch Tarot by Ann Moura with art by Kiri Østergaard Leonard, along with the Green Witch’s Oracle by Arin Murphy-Hiscock, illustrated by Sara Richard. When we first moved here, there was a store with crystals and cards and oils and herbs just a few blocks away, and I bought the tarot deck there. The oracle deck was a Winter Solstice gift this year. They work well together.

Friday, we had thunderstorms and lots of rain in the morning, so I wasn’t about to go trotting around in it.

I found a box on the doorstep, the item I’d ordered with the gift card I received last week. I’d used it for the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot, by Avalon Cameron with art by Ana Tourian. My friend Jamieson Wolf has been using it for months, and I was intrigued by it. It’s a stunningly beautiful deck, and one of the best companion books I’ve ever seen, with interpretations, narratives, numerological and astrological correspondences, and even journal prompts. There are layers and layers to it, and I look forward to working with it for a long time. It resonates like a tuning fork, so I know I’ll learn a lot by working with it. I will probably use it for the weekly community readings in September (I have decks picked out between now and then).

There are plenty of reasons to only work with a single deck, and develop a very deep relationship with it. There are also reasons to work with multiple decks (which is something I like to do), and I find I’m drawn to different decks for different reasons/needs. Bonestone is definitely speaking to something in me right now. Right deck at the right time, although I’ll work with it myself for a few months before I do anything publicly with the deck.

I invoiced for the completed ghostwriting project, we got set up for the next one, and talked schedule for the two I’ll be juggling for the next few weeks.

Slogged through a bunch of admin. Did the day’s marketing. Planted a couple of types of seeds, since it was a planting day (more cat grass and, finally, the borage).

Made up a tuna and vegetable pasta with pesto sauce for a late lunch/big meal of the day. It turned out really well.

Did some reading in the afternoon, then got dressed and put some makeup on to trundle down on foot to the gallery. It was still in the 60’sF, so I didn’t even need a jacket, which was a nice change of pace.

I was one of the first ones there, and started setting up the tables for the food and drink. They have cloths, platters, etc. in the storage room, so there’s plenty to pull from.

“Stirring the Pot Beyond the Kitchen” which is the wooden spoon sculpture, was hung in the front window! I was so pleased. Only they hadn’t hung the text portion of the piece. But we found it, in the box in the storage room, and I pinned it up. If we hadn’t found it, the world would not have stopped. I would have run another copy and pinned it up the following day. But it was nice to have it there, since people were excited about the sculpture and the women’s stories deepened the experience of it. The eight women I honored in the sculpture are: Susanna Centlivre (the most produced playwright in post-Restoration England); Jeanne de Clisson, the 14th century pirate who, after the French king executed her husband, sold her land, bought three boats, painted them black with red sails and became known as “The Lioness of Brittany”; Lavinia Fontana, the painter whose husband cared for their children while she negotiated prices for her work like the men; Anna Katharine Green, who pioneered mystery writing in the US, even before Conan Doyle in the UK; Dawn Powell, who wrote satirical novels; Giulia Tofana, the 17th century Italian herbalist and poisoner; Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton; and Iris Woolcook, one of my Playland Painters who bought an RV and, with her cat, drove the newly-paved highway in Alaska and wrote a book about it.

And yes, I’ve either written about or am writing about all of them: “By Her Pointed Quill” (one-act play featuring Susanna Centlivre); “Courting the Lioness” (one-act play featuring Jeanne de Clisson); SERENE AND DETERMINED, which had a staged reading at LaMama Galleria in 2024 (featuring Lavinia Fontana); An unnamed one-act featuring Anna Katharine Green that is still percolating; “Dawn and Dorothy in the Afterlife” which will have a staged reading at the LAVA Center in June (featuring Dawn Powell); JUST A DROP, part of  the Athena Project’s Read ‘n Rant series last May (featuring Giulia Tofana); the audio play “Confidence Confidant” produced by the Post Meridian Players in Boston in 2019, the one-act “A Rare Medium” read by Lumos Players in Ohio last year, and a couple of other plays (featuring Kate Warne); LAUGHTER AND TURPENTINE, a stage play in process, and a comedy pilot, both featuring Iris Woolcock.

This sculpture is a way to honor the women I’ve written about.

“Lifecycle of a Public Information Request (A Satire)” which is the mixed media collage, also got a terrific response.

I was so excited to see everyone else’s work. We associate members are all so different from each other, and yet the work fits together. Part of that is because the installers have such a wonderful eye, and create a beautiful flow.

It was nice to have some in-depth conversations with my fellow associates, too. And yes, the mini chocolate chip banana muffins were a hit. There were a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in ages, including from tarot, so it was nice to catch up.

Around 7, each of us gave a 1-minute talk about our work, which was fun, a bit about inspiration and process. I mean, my process is expanding the ways I tell stories, and I have no idea what I’m doing, so I just keep trying things until they work. A little bit later, a bunch of us dashed out back to watch the magnificent sunset and feel gratitude that we were experiencing it all together.

Several people came up to me and said they love it when I’m part of a show, because my work always surprises them (and they reassured me it was in a good way). So that helped my imposter syndrome somewhat. And they are excited about my workshop on the 19th.

I managed to nip out and dash to the other end of Main Street to visit the pop-up exhibit by our local farmers. Full Well Farm’s owners had pieces in it, and I wanted to support them, along with some of the other farmers I know from the Farmers’ Market. The work was really terrific. Watercolors, sketches, mixed media. A lot of knitted pieces, like sweaters and scarves and stuff. It was nice to get to support the fully rounded aspects of the people who feed us.

Then, I dashed back to the gallery. Another friend from tarot was there, and she introduced me to someone who is doing an art installation in a local forest, and she invited me to be part of the test group over the coming months experimenting with it. That sounds like so much fun. I do love me some trees. I also ran into a friend from the A4A cohort, and we had a nice catch-up and made plans to get together at Steeple City Social for a less harried catch-up.

The gallery owners offered me a “shared show” next season, where I will share the space with another artist. Considering I actually have a bunch of ideas for a variety of strange story-art, that sounds like fun.

By then, the pre-emptive pain patches I’d slapped on each hip were starting to give out (yes, BOTH hips were grumbly on Friday), so I headed out. There was a musical act at Steeple City I would have liked to see (their first performance in 8 years), but the place was packed, and I was in pain, so I waved to everyone I knew there, and kept going home.

I made it home (barely), and was in quite a bit of pain by the time I did. I had some tea and a snack, and wound down on the sofa for a bit with the cats. Bea always acts as though I’ve been away for months, months I tell you, even if it’s only been a couple of hours. The check from Llewellyn arrived, too, which was great.

I finally got to bed, but did not sleep well, waking up often in discomfort. Plus, Charlotte was fussing.

Saturday morning, I was up and did the morning routine. I’d forgotten to prep the coffee before I went to bed on Friday, so there was no coffee waiting for me, and that had to be dealt with. Tessa had been trying to get me up, and I said, “Wait until the coffee starts” and her response was, “it’s not happening and it’s late” and she was right.

Always listen to the cat who runs the house.

I put in the Chewy order for wet food and cat litter. The duck & sweet potato food has been discontinued, and the other food that contains duck has tripled in expense, so that’s that for the type of food that’s been their Sunday treat. I’m not paying $50 for 8 cans of 3 oz. cat food. That’s just not in the budget, especially when 12 cans of their favorite was under $20. The other wet food is still reasonably priced, although each time I order it, the price goes up. It’s very frustrating.

After breakfast, I got dressed and headed down to the Farmers’ Market. I drove (still in too much pain to walk) and parked a few blocks from Hotel Downstreet (it’s still there once a month and indoors, until it moves outdoors in mid-May and goes weekly). I got maple syrup from my favorite syrup person, fresh eggs from my favorite egg person, and then over to the Full Well Farm booth to get greens, pea shoots, the biggest parsnip I ever saw in my life, and a colorful array of carrots. And I got to tell them again how much I enjoyed their work in the pop-up art show. I ran one other errand, and came home.

For lunch, we had greens, pea shoots, and carrots with hardboiled eggs, crumbled on top, and a nice dressing. It was yummy. I’ve missed fresh greens over the winter. I need to see if I can grow some microgreens over next winter. It was warm enough to have the windows open, at least for a few hours, and I read on the porch, while Tessa dozed in the sun. We all agreed to push off the taxes again until sometime this week. Why ruin a perfectly good day with taxes? Especially with these corrupt jerks looting the country right now.

Later in the afternoon, I planted purple basil and red clover. Hopefully, the lowering temperatures over the next few days won’t hurt them.

Slept pretty well into Sunday. Up at the usual time, morning routine. Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here. It was rainy and much colder than the previous day, rather dreary for those who celebrate Easter. It was too dark to sew. I supposed I should feel guilty about not sewing on Saturday, when the light was good, but I did not.

I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, using the farm eggs. What a difference. I can’t wait to get them from the market every Saturday in the summer.

I wafted around in my caftan (the one I made a few months back), reading, doing some housework, working on contest entries. It’s really comfortable. I also have better posture in it, which is a surprise. And better posture means less back pain. Imagine that, something I should have figured out a long time ago. Bea ran around playing, while the others napped.

I put down a book I’d been reading (supposedly for pleasure). There were over 200 people on the waiting list for it at the library, so it’s been a minute (aka several months) since I ordered it. It’s gotten a lot of buzz, and one would think it would be right in my area of enjoyment. But I kept getting ahead of it, and then the protagonist killed a cat, and nope. It wasn’t necessary for character or plot development (it rarely is). It was there to shock, a cheap slap at the readers. I’m out.

I closed out the second category for the contest, and I’m working on the third.

I was delighted that the women’s hockey league sold out Madison Square Garden. That is a big deal.

I read an historical mystery by an author who used to live in the area, and there were lots of recognizable places rendered very well. Unfortunately, there were lots of plot holes that should have been caught by an editor (and this was a traditionally published book). It was an overall enjoyable read, and I may read another book by this author in this same series.

Made us a chicken dinner, with my carrot and parsnip recipe (using the carrots and parsnip from the farm, which was amazing, and layered the flavors), and wild rice a friend sent me. I haven’t cooked much with wild rice (which is actually an aquatic grass), so it was an experiment. It was good.

Quiet night, reading and listening to music while being cat furniture.

Slept reasonably well, although I woke up around 4:30 on Monday. I stayed in bed until 5:30, though, and then started the morning routine, which was fine.

Although I limited my online time over the whole weekend (not just on Sunday), I’ve been keeping track of the posts by the crew of Artemis II. What a delight! It’s so nice to have a group of smart people displaying excitement and competence.

Out the door right after breakfast on foot to the bank to deposit a check. Faster on foot, since Ashland Avenue is under construction until May. On the way home, I passed the bus, and the driver (who has met me once), remembered me and we waved to each other. Imagine that. Meanwhile, there are a set of people I run into once every a couple of weeks who always need me to reintroduce myself. Priorities.

Once I was back, I grabbed bags and books and headed out for errands: CVS; Big Y for a big grocery shop; liquor store; library. I trotted around thinking I was overdressed for the weather, but when I came out of the library it was snowing. Sigh.

Got it all done in two hours, which was pretty good. And it was a big grocery shop, five full bags, but within budget.

Home, hauled it up the stairs, put everything away, started to get excited about cooking again. I’ve been in a cooking slump lately. I mean, I’ve kept us fed, but it wasn’t as much fun when someone else did the shopping for me. I like to see things for myself, and then adjust the week’s menu by what looks good, while still being in the budget. Burpee’s offered me a discount on a trio of plants I’ve had my eye on, so I bought them, and they will ship at some point this month. I accepted the invitation to the Clark Institute Summer Preview in mid-May, which will be down at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Slogged through a bunch of email, did the day’s marketing. Sorted out the library books by project. Tessa fixated on a biography of Rumer Godden for some reason, and started licking the cover, so I had to take it away from her and clean it with sanitizing wipes. Maybe someone read it while eating a tuna sandwich or something.

Charlotte fussed. Because I worked at my desk, she thought I was having a ZOOM call without her.

Got some work done on the ghostwriting, getting ahead on one assignment while I wait for notes on the other. I feel good about it. Also worked on contest entries. Got the CSA sorted out for the season. It’s with Full Well Farm again, and every two weeks, rather than once a week. I pick it up downtown at Savvy Hive, rather than having to drive up to the farm. On nice days, I’ll be able to walk down and back (it’s not heavy). Since we’re likely to be sitting in gas station lines that will put the gas shortage lines from the 1970’s to shame soon, I’m trying to drive as little as possible. That’s why we have locks on the tank flaps now – because during that shortage, people were siphoning gas out of parked cars. I am old enough to remember all of that.

The Chewy order arrived, which was perfect timing, since I used the last can of wet food that morning. Tessa and Charlotte took turns playing in the box.

For dinner, I made an alfredo sauce with shallots, peas, pea shoots, pancetta, with my favorite pappardelle pasta.

I love that the Artemis II crew named a crater on the moon after a team member’s recently deceased wife. I love everything about this mission. Truly the best of us, and we have spent too much time with the worst of us lately.

The community bank where I have one of my accounts is merging with another bank, and I am not happy about it. Bank mergers are never about serving customers, only about screwing them over. I also got a “fraud alert” from my credit union just after midnight – all for absolutely legitimate charges. Hopefully that’s all sorted. So tired of all this fake “it’s about security” when in reality, it’s about control.

Quiet evening. Slept reasonably well, and was up this morning before Tessa even started fussing. To find it snowing steadily. Sigh. That modifies some plans for the day, but that’s okay.

On today’s agenda: working on BETTING MAN, dismantling the Grief to Art website (since I’m giving up the domain), taking care of some other admin, doing my taxes, working on ghostwriting, working on the contest entries. That should keep me busy.

Hopefully, there won’t be enough snow to shovel.

Have a good one!

Your screen is really dirty. Let me help you with that...hold still. It was time to get the road salt, dirt and dust off my car after my haircut. If that doesn't bring some showers later this week, NOTHING will. The car wash stopped for about 90 seconds, but it finished. All better!

#car #carwash #screen #clean #Monday #errands

Good morning. 🎥🎞️🍿

25 February 2026

I’m running behind this morning. I actually have to leave the house twice today — once to take Charlie to his annual appointment and once to swing by the pharmacy for myself. That alone will probably add ten miles to my odometer. I’ve said it before: I don’t get out much.

I skipped the SOTU last night because I already knew the gist of it. Instead, I opted for something far more cultured and refined: Anaconda — the 2025 version with Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn, and Thandiwe Newton. Naturally, it features a very large snake. It’s mostly a comedy, not quite slapstick but definitely leaning in that direction. My favorite moment was Jack Black sprinting through the jungle with a “dead” wild pig strapped to his back while a giant snake chased him. The backstory makes the scene even funnier, but you’ll have to watch it yourself to get the full effect. And yes, the pig was a prop — no animals were harmed.

Lately I’ve been wondering how the movie theater business is holding up. Between the COVID shutdowns and the rise of streaming, you’d think it would be struggling. But who knows — just because we haven’t gone doesn’t mean others aren’t heading out simply for the sake of getting out. Our local theater sells monthly subscriptions that let you watch any movie you want, and they still sell individual tickets too. I do wonder how they manage seating these days. Maybe it’s just not an issue anymore. Perhaps the era of sold‑out theaters has quietly passed.

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” — Matsuo Bashō

“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” — Oscar Wilde

“The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” — William Gibson

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #nature #morninjg #errands #movies #movietheater #comedy

Haircut ✅️. Big light stripe on my face darkened ✅️. Now it's time to get many more errands and chores done on my day off ✅️✅️✅️✅️✅️.

#hair #haircut #errands #chores #Monday #selfie #photography

Fri. Dec. 12, 2025: Tessa Loves the Christmas Tree

Friday, December 12, 2025

Waning Moon

Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Snow flurries and cold

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a lovely week.

Charlotte was delighted with online meditation group yesterday. She’s so funny and purry during her favorite Zoom sessions.

After breakfast, I piled on the layers and stomped out to the bank. It started flurrying as I walked, not badly. With all the street chaos, it was still much easier to go on foot than to drive. But at least it’s clear around the laundromat again, so next week, I can catch up on laundry.

Home, dug the back of the car out (not bad, but I still have to clear off the windshield and the top this morning), did some house stuff that needed attention, then managed to deal with almost 400 emails that have been stacking up. The scammer is still trying to catch me out. I am collecting evidence for the authorities.

The #FreelanceFriends chat was fun, as always.

Dug into the ghostwriting revisions, and did some good work. Still not as far along as I want – I think Tuesday is a realistic finish day for me. Today I will see if I can crack this next bit that has to be torn out and completely rebuilt.

The library trustee meeting tonight was cancelled, so I kept working on the ghostwriting, and then cooked pork fried rice for dinner, which was good.

The library cohort meeting, online, was still on, so I hopped on that at 8 PM, and we had a good catchup, and helped each other with a few things. I made a joke about turning some of my frustrations into an art piece for April’s gallery show, and that was met with enthusiastic response. We brainstormed how to do that, and that might be my second piece, along with the wooden spoon sculpture about women forgotten by history.

Read for a bit and played with the cats after the meeting. Tessa loves the tree so much. The minute we put the lights on, she sits under it until we turn it off at bedtime.

Had trouble getting to sleep, and then overslept, much to Tessa’s dismay. Morning routine was later than usual, but happened, and was good. It’s supposed to flurry on and off all day, so today’s errands will just take longer. And then I’ll go back to the ghostwriting.

I was invited to two things tonight, but I don’t think I can attend either.

Tomorrow, I hope to finally get the cookie deliveries to the neighbors, and then I have one more delivery, to the bookshop. A new thrift shop opened on Marshall Street, across from MASS MoCA – if I’m out and about, I might stop in to check it out. We’ll see how the weather holds. I need to work on the textile piece and do the domestic cards. And finish decorating. Sunday will also be textile piece, cards, decorating.

Have a good one!

#cats #errands #fiction #freelance #freelancefriends #holidays #meditation #writing