Calibration: https://devonellington.wordpress.com/2026/06/23/tuesday-june-23-2026-calibration/

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026: Calibration

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and mild

And here we are, at a new week. You can read the Community Tarot for the Week here.

Friday, Willa supervised the folding and putting away of laundry. Bea decided to be in my office instead of hanging out in the living room where she usually does.

The clips from the opening of the Obama Presidential Center the previous day (Thursday) were filled with love and grace and joy. Just what we need in these times of grift and cruelty.

For me, the best way I could celebrate Juneteenth was to support Black artists and writers and to stay quiet myself. I don’t have to yap all the time.

I worked on the 3rd episode of the radio serial. I still have 7 minutes of airtime to fill. Time to figure out a subplot. I may rough out a few more episodes and then weave in a multi-episode arc.

Cooked dinner, had a quiet evening, slept reasonably well.

Charlotte was fussing, so I was up far too early on Saturday. Morning routine was fine, got started on the housework. Just before 10, I took a break to tromp up the street to the library to pick up the books that got separated from my stack and didn’t make it home with me on Thursday. It looked like it would rain, so I took my umbrella with me to guarantee that it wouldn’t.

Didn’t feel like doing much. Once the day’s housework was done, I read. I finished a novel by an author who I don’t find to be a particularly strong writer, but I’m trying to figure out why I keep reading the books. The first was marketed as a mystery, but really wasn’t. The subsequent ones have been what I call “amiable fiction.” The stakes aren’t particularly high, the characters are a little too predictable, the story ambles, it’s reasonably pleasant in spite of the gaping plot holes. So why have I read 7 books in the series? Because the characters show up for each other in ways that rarely happens in life. I do think I’m done with the books, now that I understand what kept me reading them. The ensemble is spreading out a little too much for solid storytelling for me. But now I understand the appeal of the books, so it was a good creative exercise.

I read yet another one of the books in this latest trend of tip-the-hat-to-Agatha-Christie-group-stuck-on-an-island-suspense-and-horror-adjacent. I figured it out from the first time the murderer appeared (which was very early in the book and supposed to be a big reveal/twist), and it was no surprise that characters kept getting murdered, since they were too dense to figure it out. There were also points where it moved from close third to third omniscient near the end, talking at the reader to give information that didn’t work in the tone of the rest of it and could have been communicated a chapter or two later in active scenes. It made me tired more than anything else. But it’s a premise that inspires plenty of writers to put their own spin on it, which is at least fun for them to write, and when it’s a little out of their usual realm, fun for their readers who don’t read all the rest of this type of book that comes down the pike. I keep hoping to be genuinely surprised by one of them, because I do like the premise (which is why I keep reading books with the premise), but so far I have gotten too far ahead of the characters in the books built around that I’ve read to be satisfied. I keep hoping, though!

Paged through a book about women writers and their homes that I assumed was from the 80’s because of the dearth of information in it and the writers that were skipped, and then found out it was from 2023!

Made a chocolate mousse in the afternoon, and heated up leftovers for dinner.

Up early on Sunday to watch the sun come up for Summer Solstice. Morning routine was fine, played with some ideas in the morning free-write, more to amuse myself than because I think it will be anything submittable.

I felt very fatigued, which was silly, because Saturday was a restful day.

However, I did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here. I used up the kale and the spinach making pesto out of each of them. We’re getting yet more spinach this week in the CSA box, I think, so I wanted to use up what we had. I used both kinds of kale in the kale pesto. I froze the spinach pesto to use in the future, and put the kale pesto in the fridge to go with that evening’s dinner. I also made vegetable stock – turns out it made just the amount I need for tonight’s crockpot dinner.

I read a bit. There was a downpour as I began cooking dinner, which worried me as far as my friends doing the big outdoor Solstice ritual in Williamstown. But it cleared up after about a half hour or so to be a lovely night, so I hope it went well for them.

Honored the Solstice at the start and end of the day. Slept well.

Up early on Monday. Because of the bad weather predicted, I decided to take my mom for her Xray on Wednesday morning instead. Trying to navigate up the hill and in and out of the facility and the house and the parking lot in bad weather is too much. The storm is supposed to clear out at some point today, so it should be fine to go tomorrow. And it’s a walk-in appointment, so we can go whenever. The referral’s already been put in.

A listing for a corporate scriptwriting job landed in my inbox. At first, it looked interesting. Until the bit about it being 40 hours a week on a 1099. So, in other words, a non-benefitted full-time employee. Nope.

I finished the reading/notes for the scripts for tomorrow’s literary committee meeting and sent them off.

I then did another pass on I WILL BE DIFFERENT, which has been sitting and marinating for a few weeks. I made some tweaks. I have to make my decision pretty soon about splitting it or making massive cuts to it, because each choice will send rewrites in a slightly different direction. I need to have a submittable draft of at least the first play (if that’s the direction in which I go) by the end of August for a deadline, or I miss that request to submit. I’d hate to do that, because it was an individual invitation.

I tried to get some work done on BETTING MAN, but I wrote myself into a corner. Last time I fly in something like this without a tight outline. I’ve really gotten myself into a muddle. I need to sit down with the manuscript pages I have, re-read them, and then write up the rest of the outline. I know points I want to hit between now and the end, but I don’t have a truly viable way to get there. The notes I’ve made along the way are islands along the path, but now I need a bridge.

My own damn fault, but that doesn’t make it easier.

You can bet STAGE FALL will have a solid outline. I’ve already decided I’m starting it at a different point than the draft I began way back when it was envisioned as the second book in the series (it’s now the 5th).

I finished the book for review, and will get that review out this morning.

Slept reasonably well, although I have sense memory fatigue, I think, because there’s no reason for me to feel the level of fatigue I’m currently feeling.

Up early today, morning routine was fine, although the 30-minute meditation felt like 10 minutes. In the morning free-write I did a rough outline of the next episode of the radio series, and I’ll get started on that today.

After breakfast and the morning chores, I put together a turkey chili in the crockpot. I picked things I liked from two different recipes and did some of my own tweaks. So we will see how that turns out. Pretty soon the house will smell amazing all day!

It’s rainy again today, although it’s supposed to clear up overnight. I don’t think I’ll make it to yoga today, unfortunately.

Tomorrow morning, we have to be out the door early to take my mom up the hill for her Xray, so I don’t know if I’ll post before we go or when we get back.

Today is the 5th anniversary of our actual move here, where we left early in the morning, arrived here with the cats, and then the movers arrived a few hours later with our stuff (they’d packed the truck the day before). I’m glad we landed here.

That’s probably where the fatigue comes in, the sense memory of it. Overall, the sense memory stress has been better this year. I’ve been able to catch it early in most cases, and redirect, using tools I’ve acquired in the past few years. The body remembers, and it’s about teaching the body and the brain that the memory is past and not present, and feeling calm and safe in the moment, in spite of all the chaos out there in the world. I’ve made progress, and just have to take it one step at a time.

I hope your week had a good start! It’s supposed to warm up over the next few days, but I hope it doesn’t get too hot. Have a good one, and I’m headed back to the page.

Tues. June 16, 2026: Sometimes It Feels Like a House of Cards

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Happy new week! I hope your weekend was lovely. Pull up a beverage for a long Tuesday chat.

There’s a lot that’s not lovely in the world right now, and we need to acknowledge it and do our part to demand/create change and make sure the despicable and the cruel face consequences.

What happened to Karmelo Anthony was racially motivated injustice, and I hope he wins on appeal. They let white boy rapists and shooters get away with anything, but if a young Black man defends himself, they throw the book at him.

Again, more racism – a neighbor in LA  called the cops because a woman was cheering on the Knicks victory and the cops shot her dog, who was wearing a Knicks jersey – and NO ONE gave her any help. Because heaven forbid a Black woman and her dog celebrate without punishment. I wish every bad everything on both the neighbor and the cop. There is NO excuse for that behavior. It wasn’t a mistake. It was deliberate on that neighbor’s part, and that despicable individual needs to face consequences. And those neighbors who stood there and did nothing as she wept over the body of her murdered dog, whom she loved deeply – every single one of them deserves to suffer a similar loss. There is NO excuse for this behavior.

And this weekend was the anniversary of the murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman, and their dog Gilbert. Their killer hasn’t faced justice, either.

Why is anyone surprised that Gwyneth Paltrow is a shilling sleaze? She’s always been a waste of space.

Tim Allen blaming the actors who played his sons (who are now grown up) as having issues and that’s the reason there’s no HOME IMPROVEMENT reboot just made me roll my eyes. Like re-casting isn’t common in the business. Another waste of space, and again, not surprising at all.

So happy That Thing was forced to remove his name from the Kennedy Center. And not just removed – the façade had to be restored to its previous state. Now do the Rose Garden and the East Wing. Algae in the reflecting pool is just symbolic of this entire regime.

As I prepared the switch over to the ghostwriting on Friday, I heard a fire alarm going off. It wasn’t in our building. It was in the college’s science building a block away. A couple of minutes later, two fire engines came howling up.

I couldn’t smell any smoke, and I didn’t see any (I can see the building from my bedroom window). But the alarm kept going and going and going. I don’t think there was any damage. Not sure what was going on. Or maybe there was an issue with the buildings behind the science building, that are in the process of demolition to make way for a new art center, and the alarm in the science building picked up the issue. I don’t know.

Dug into the ghostwriting assignment for another revision pass and polish. Did the best I could with it, and got it out the door just before noon. Very frustrated and burned out.

The next 20K assignment has to be turned around by tomorrow, but those notes make a lot of sense. We’ll see what they come back with after this revision.

I was really out of steam by then. Plus, it hit 90F with high humidity. We were promised severe thunderstorms, which never materialized. After lunch, I was cat furniture on the couch with the fans and cooler going. I read this month’s Agatha Christie book club pick, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, which I’ve read multiple times over the years, and actually remembered!

I’m also reading a book called WE KILLED IT, about women in comedy from the 60’s through present day. It’s very interesting, and studying how these writers and writer/performers create and structure there work is useful.

We had an early dinner, I got dressed and got my act together, and headed over to the Clark for the opening of the exhibit that was discussed at the preview presentation in Lenox a few weeks back. It was packed. My friend arrived, and we had a drink and caught up on life, the universe, and everything, and then meandered downstairs for the opening remarks. We wandered through the exhibit, which is gorgeously curated (as usual). It was hard to really take it in, because it was so busy. We will go back early on a weekday in a few weeks and take our time. There are some specific pieces we each want to sit with for a bit.

Drove home, peeled off the dress, hosed down in the shower. I fixed myself a Blue Angel (vodka, blue curacao, lime juice), and enjoyed that with some snacks. I keep my vodka in the freezer, so it was nice and cold. I guess I got very dehydrated over the course of the opening, because after I finished the cocktail, I downed two cups of tea, and then drank everything in the water bottle I usually take to yoga.

Read some more. I had the fan going in the bedroom, and then used the cooler for about a half hour. I figured out how to turn off the lightshow. Unfortunately, Charlotte figured out how to turn it back on around 2 AM, so I was startled awake, thinking I was in a disco. I guess I should be glad it doesn’t also play music?

Unplugged it, and went back to sleep, getting up at the usual time on Saturday. Morning routine was fine. I’d gotten my first word for the exquisite corpse poem overnight, so I acknowledged that, and used the morning free-write session to start work on it. Tessa supervised me when I watered the plants.

I worked a few drafts of the poem, then did morning chores and got my act together to get out the door by 9:30. I headed to Williamstown, to be the extra set of eyes for a friend looking at a property there at an open house. It was very interesting, and we both really liked the realtor showing the property. I was surprised the place wasn’t swarmed, and disappointed that several of the other attendees were dicks.

After the open house, we headed over to Wild Soul River for an iced herbal tea and a debrief, hashing through various impressions.

It was quite hot by the time I headed home. I had a bite to eat and changed into more comfortable, casual clothes. Again, having a functional closet again makes such a positive difference. I have plenty to wear, and most of it mixes and matches well, provided I can get at it.

I came home to find my check from the LAVA Center reading, which was a nice perk.

In the afternoon, I helped my mom turn her closet over for the summer, then worked the poem a few more times before I sent it off. I should get my second word around 4th of July weekend. The poem flows in one direction and then comes back, so each of the 30 poets writes 2 short sections. My first word, around which I build the poem, is the previous poet’s last word. My last word becomes the first word for the next poet. I can continue to work the poem until performance day, provided I keep it to 30 seconds, and the first and final word remain as set. I may do some more work on this one. I’m worried it’s too much rant and not enough rhythm (as inspired by my starter word), although I worked the beats quite a bit in each draft. I’ll let it sit for a week or so, and then look at it again.

I read a bit in the evening, but I was pretty worn out. The property we’d viewed in the morning was quite large, so there was a lot of tromping around inside and out, and stairs and fields and all the rest. I hadn’t realized how much I walked. I didn’t even have a glass of wine with dinner. I had several glasses of peach-cranberry juice instead.

When I turned on the cooler in the bedroom, the light show came back on, which delighted Charlotte. I made sure to unplug it before drifting off to sleep. It cooled down overnight enough to be reasonable sleeping weather.

Up at the usual time on Sunday morning. Morning routine was fine, although I felt a little burned out in the morning free-write. But got everything done. Made omelettes for breakfast, because I was going to be out of the house before lunch and not back until dinner.

Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here. We’ve got an interesting set of cards this week. I mean that in a good way!

I worked on the June newsletter a bit.

I got my act together to head out to Lenox. I realized I’d gotten a bit of a sunburn the previous day. Not too bad, just enough to notice.

The drive to Lenox wasn’t too bad. Pittsfield, as usual, was a little sticky, but I made it through. I was certain I would be late, but I was at Ventfort Hall early. Ventfort is a restoration in progress, and it’s lovely to see what they’ve done at each interval when I visit.

The reading of AMANI, by a.k. payne, was beautiful. The cast and director were fully committed, and brought the love and the beauty of the play to life, along with the harsher aspects, in ways that could open the audience’s heart. Really lovely work. I hope we can nurture this script from reading to full production next year.

There was a short talk back after, and then I headed home. Except for a few sticky bits in Pittsfield, the drive was fine. I stopped in Adams and picked up a cherry pie.

Home, heated up leftovers for dinner, enjoyed the pie. Read a bit in the evening. Intentionally stayed away from the disgusting display down in DC. It takes white trailer trash  to a whole new level, and the comments made against Michelle Obama were a new level of despicable. There is no low too low for this administration. I do not want my tax dollars spent that way.

Gave Charlotte a few minutes of her disco light show at bedtime. Slept reasonably well, although Tessa got me out of bed at 4 on Monday, and I couldn’t get back to sleep.

It rained quite a bit overnight, and the morning was gray and gloomy, but cooler.

I needed to flip my workday somewhat, since we had an Honor Roll session from 12-2. That meant working on the ghostwriting in the morning, instead of in the afternoon. Not to mention all the admin that had backed up over the weekend.

I tried to get some of the admin sorted out first, while dealing with the repeated requests to confirm my mother’s Wed. appointment. I should be able to confirm ONCE and be done. I shouldn’t have to reconfirm 5 times on the same day. I’m going to start invoicing them for administrative time.

A job listing for script writing landed in the inbox. Sounded solid and well within my wheelhouse (mission-specific entertainment and comedy), although the pay was a little under what I charge. But, as I kept reading – there it was. “Answer this prompt” – in other words, write an unpaid sample script as part of the process. How many scripts will they collect, telling the submitters they didn’t get hired, then tweak them and use them? Nope, nope, nope. I do not do unpaid, project-specific samples or tests as part of the interview (or in this case, pre-interview) process.

I was already feeling grumpy and out of sorts (for no good reason), and this did not help. I am also tired of agencies sending me in-person non-writing listings when I have made it clear I am only interested in remote writing positions. If I am signed up for remote copywriter listings, why are you sending me in-person construction jobs? I’m not qualified for construction, and that is not why I signed with you.

Got about 6K done on the 20K ghostwriting revision.

At least I got another assignment from the client from whom I haven’t had assignments for the last two months. Maybe I’ll finally be eligible for the batch payment they’ve been holding since April. I am rethinking my association with them and actively looking for a replacement for this income.

I got my royalties from my books. I’ve slacked off the last few weeks on marketing, and it shows. I was hoping to take July off marketing, but I’m not sure I should.

Honor Roll writing session was fun. I managed to finish the script for the UK producer. I will give it a polish this morning and send it off. I hit the sweet spot of 13 pages (the script could be between 10-15). I only had to write the rest of the scene linking what I had to the last scene, and it clicked, which is always great. I did a pass to smooth over the bridge into the next scene.

Then, I switched over to the radio series. I integrated the producer’s notes into the first part of the pilot (the pilot episode is, technically, two episodes) and made a few other tweaks to make sure everything works. I then got to work on the second half/second episode. This is running a little short, even integrating the producer’s notes, so I have to write 1-2 more minutes. I filled it out a little bit, with some fun stuff that’s not padding. Each of these episodes has to be around 20 pages/minutes. I have a little flexibility, more so than with some other producers, where I have to be precise to the second.

It was two hours of writing time well spent. We had a larger group than usual, since it was End of Play, and it was the group leader’s birthday! So we celebrated her.

All in all, a good writing day. We love those, when we have them.

An interesting job listing landed in my inbox as I was shutting down for the day. I might send an LOI with more questions. If the price and the workflow are right, it could replace the client whose change of direction I find unethical.

Ate a late lunch and then took a break from all the screen time. Got some reading done. Pulled myself together and headed down to Bright Ideas Brewery at MASS MoCA for the Assets4Artists cohort meeting. Artists from the current cohort and the past two were there, so it was fun to chat, catch up with those I knew, and get to know those I didn’t.

A friend of mine from the cohort I was in arrived late (coming straight from work) and we sat and chatted for about an hour after everyone else left. He’s working on project that’s really cool, and encouraged me to be a part of the group and create my own section of it. It would be a dream of many years turned into reality, but I need more information, and I need to be sure I could afford the time and have enough other income steadily coming in to cover the time needed, since this is not a lucrative endeavor.

Came home, heated up some leftovers for dinner, read a bit before bedtime. Got an email from a theatre in the Midwest requesting a play submission. I’m not sure I have what they’re looking for, but I’ll go through my script roster today. If I find something that fits their guidelines and is available, I’ll send it off. Always nice to be asked!

Woke up at 1:30 from a dream that I was behind packing to move – sense memory stress from the move here. I’ve been pretty good about not having it this year, or at least having much shorter/lighter bouts of it, but this was bad, probably because I’d talked about how I arrived here at the cohort meeting. The worst of it is usually from around June 22 – July 5th, but it’s steadily lessened each year. I’d hoped it was almost gone this year, it’s been long enough, but maybe this was the big echo. I mean, there’s plenty of other stuff that needs my attention and causes stress, and there are also plenty of good experiences over the years since the move layered over that time frame (April 30-July 5) that positively adjusts the sense memory each year a little bit more.

On today’s agenda: polishing the script and getting it out to the UK producer, checking my roster for the requested submission, working on the radio series, finishing the revision notes on the ghostwriting. I hope to get to yoga this evening.

Have a good one!

Bunna would like me to hurry up and finish off these webinar scripts - me too doggo, me too. It's actually sunny out and we all want a walk.

Wish I was being paid to write theatre scripts again but I've got bills to pay and it sucks being a poor artist.

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That Old Time Radio: https://devonellington.wordpress.com/2026/06/10/wed-june-10-2026-that-old-time-radio/

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Wed. June 10, 2026: That Old Time Radio

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Cloudy, hazy, humid

Another mid-week.

When I returned from taking out the garbage yesterday morning, Willa shot out the front door. Fortunately, I always look down going through doorways and caught her before she’d gotten more than a few feet. She was racing around, full of pep back inside, so I changed my plans and gave her a good, solid playtime to wear her out.

She has no idea she is nearly 14 years old. She thinks she is still 2.

I did a final polish on the radio series pitch and got that out the door. Whenever I send off a big project, I’m always ready for a nap. The adrenalin crash always hits fast.

However, I still had stuff to do.

That Thing closed down blocks of businesses in Manhattan who depended on the income from a major sports event, just so he could be an asshole and take a nap. It also negates the whole “ballroom is necessary.” He was booed right out of town, trying to save face with “scheduling conflicts.” That Thing shouldn’t have mucked everything up (and guess what, the Knicks lost). There’s a war on that he ignores except to lie about it. I’m tired of the grifting.

Tried to hunker down and get to work. Got a response an hour after I sent the radio series pitch from the producer saying he liked the pitch and wanted to look at the pilot. So I did another polish on that, and sent it off.

By then, it was almost lunchtime, and I hadn’t yet made the salmon salad! I did that, it was yummy (used CSA ingredients in it), and then took a break, which meant I was late getting back to tackle the ghostwriting.

Then, I heard back from the producer, who had great, specific notes on the radio play I sent him right before lunch, and is interested in producing the first season of the show (10 episodes). I’m excited. Contract terms sound reasonable, and we’ll see if we can get this done. Until everything is signed, sealed and delivered on all our parts, I can’t go into detail, but it’s a great opportunity, doing just about my favorite thing in the world. It’s not a lot of money, but it is paid (although I probably won’t be paid until each episode goes live, which would be at the earliest next year sometime). It’s not a WGA contract (WGA covers radio, rather than the Dramatists Guild), but their NY rep has always been helpful and supportive and encouraged me to ask questions on my road from smaller productions to WGA productions, so I have that support. A colleague of mine has worked with this company before, and had a great experience. There are several points in the process where it could fall apart, even after contracts are finalized, but that’s the way it goes.

Good notes are so important. I’ve found that there are three kinds of notes: the ego note, the I-would-write-it-this-way note, and the value note. The first two are useless. The ego note is the note-giver inserting themselves to put their fingerprints on a project. This happens most often in film or television, where you have a lot of people throughout the process trying to justify their jobs. There are lots of parodies of working in the business where execs give these types of notes, and you can bet that someone in the writers’ room had someone say something as off-the-wall as they scripted. It usually has very little to do with the premise, tone, and drive of the show, and more to do with the latest notion of what’s trending.

The I-would-write-it-this-way note comes in every discipline (far too often in writing groups from unpublished aspirants), and it’s the note giver liking the premise but wanting it done their way. Then write it, hon. It won’t be a copy. It’ll be your vision of the premise, and that’s perfectly valid. But don’t expect me to rewrite to your specifications if you’re not my employer.  Now, in something like the ghostwriting, it’s my job to deliver what they want in their world the way they want it. That’s why they pay me, and that’s a whole different animal. In something I’ve created, unless that person is paying me, that kind of note is too similar to the ego note to be helpful.

The value note is fantastic because of the precision and because it strengthens the piece within its world and vision. I’m lucky that I have Trusted Readers who give value notes, as do my Boiler House Poets colleagues. (I’m telling you, poets give great script notes because they are so precise with language). Those value notes, from Trusted Readers, help a piece land a contract. Then you go through a whole different set of notes during development, rehearsal, and production. So when I get a value note from a producer or a director or a dramaturg during the process, I’m always delighted, because that gives me something tangible to strengthen the piece. There are plenty of people on a production who may give the first two types of notes, too, and then you have to sift and have conversations about whose note to take. The point is, a value note is a great opportunity to strengthen the piece.

I still have another script in mind for this producer’s mid-July deadline for a different project. I’m on the fence about whether to continue with that, since I have the series and another piece under consideration with them, and this mid-July deadline is slightly out of my wheelhouse. The piece is a stretch. I still have to finish a script for the UK producer and get it out the door before the end of this month. So I guess my End of Play pages are all going to be radio, not stage. Which is fine by me.

Right after the back and forth on the radio series, I got the next set of notes from the ghostwriting client. Those are very clear and do-able, and they’re excited about what I did with the concept, and where I see it going for the next three books. I’m still wrestling the notes on the other project, which I should have done either late today or first thing tomorrow. Then, I have to turn around this other set – so, basically, 40K ghostwriting revisions in about a week, and then I can start tackling the radio series, while juggling the other two scripts and the Llewellyn article. I’ll do a few pages of a non-series script per day, and a few pages of the series script. Once I get the non-series scripts out the door, I’ll turn my attention to the Llewellyn article (which isn’t due until September 1, but I need to get it out the door in August for my own schedule). Somewhere in there, BETTING MAN has to get back into the mix, along with the I WILL BE DIFFERENT revisions and the final push on ANGEL HUNT. I’ll figure it out. It’s good to have a summer where I can do what I love.

When it gets too hot to work at home, I’ll pack up and work at the college library.

Good thing my schedule settles down after this week on the out-and-about front! Because June, July, and August are going to be about scriptwriting and ghostwriting and Nina Bell. After I get these two ghostwriting projects out the door, I have 5 more on my contract with this client (3 for one series, 2 for the other).

Yesterday was supposed to be the luckiest day of the year astrologically with Venus conjunct Jupiter in Cancer, opening doors to desired paths, so I was happy with the way things shook out.

However, one also has to go through the door and deal with what’s on the other side. If you stand in the doorway, nothing changes. You have to take action on the opportunity, knowing there are no guarantees.

So we’ll see. I’m excited and cautiously optimistic. Now, I have to buckle down and do the work.

Heated up leftovers for dinner, read in the evening. I should have done more ghostwriting, but I was out of steam by that point.

Slept reasonably well, up at the normal time. Morning routine was fine. I have a feeling I’ll be noodling the radio pieces in my morning free-write.

Today, I’ll do some script pages in the morning, but the bulk of the day is about the ghostwriting, the other 10-11K I didn’t get done on Monday. I have to take a break around 4 to trot down to Savvy Hive to get my CSA box. Greens, greens, so many greens this week!

The next few days are supposed to be hot, so I will adjust as needed. Yesterday was just a perfect summer day – clear blue sky, not too hot or humid. Not as hot as predicted. I’m hoping the entire week will turn out to be not as hot as predicted.

Have a good one!

Sliding into Summer: https://devonellington.wordpress.com/2026/06/09/tues-june-9-2026-sliding-into-summer/

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Tues. June 9, 2026: Sliding into Summer

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and warm

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

You can read the Community Tarot Reading for the Week here.

Once I posted on Friday, I continued cleaning things up from my trip. Decontaminating anything that had been in the hotel room, making sure the car was decontaminated. Everything was probably fine, and I doubt anything traveled with me, but I wanted to make sure.

I didn’t really nap, although I dozed a bit in between tasks. It was warm, but not too humid, which was nice.

Cooked a nice salmon dinner. I could barely keep my eyes open after I did the dishes, so I went to bed ridiculously early. The cats were confused.

Slept reasonably well, in that I woke up a few times, but managed to get back to sleep without much trouble. It was a little uncomfortable when I went to bed, but cooled down overnight.

I was up early on Saturday, due to the cats’ demands. Fed them, did my morning routine. The latest meditation timer dropped out because I haven’t upgraded to the paid version, so I hunted down another one to try free online (not an app). Meh. There are analog meditation/singing bowl timers, but they’re expensive and not worth that kind of expense to me, and a regular kitchen timer is distracting. I’ll figure it out.

After breakfast, I cooked some chicken (before it got too hot) and made a curried chicken salad, which kept us lunchy-fed for a few days. I misplaced the recipe I’ve been using since 2012 somehow (it’s been in the same binder since I started using it until I needed it today), but I remembered enough and improvised the rest, and it’s good. I used CSA ingredients for the greens, etc.

I took out the garbage and did a quick trot on foot to the liquor store. It’s rosé season. It was much more humid today, and I was worn out even by the few blocks of the trip. I do not do well in heat and humidity.

On the way back from the store, I helped a woman get an elderly man into the bus. They had to take the bus to the ER at the top of the hill, because they were afraid of the ambulance bill. I completely relate. We shouldn’t have to live like that in this country.

Once home, I worked on the radio series pitch. I decided I’m counting radio script work as part of End of Play pages, even though I’m moving between projects. I have deadlines to meet.

Took a break late morning for some research reading, and made some notes on a character inspired by what I read. The character is fictional, inspired by the research. At first, I thought I would set the piece in the UK, but now I think I will set it in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. I mean, the piece needs to wait its turn in the queue, but I can work on the background notes and outline between now and then. Historical literary fiction, imagine that. I’m sure a murder will sneak in at some point. One usually does.

After lunch, I read some more, turned on the ceiling fan, and took the laptop into the living room. My office was too hot for decent work. Perched on the sofa with the ceiling fan going, I was comfortable. So was Bea, who hung out with me.

I did solid work on the radio series pitch. It feels right.

It was warm and humid, although it didn’t get too hot inside the apartment. I heated up leftovers for dinner, and chopped up some strawberries to go on top of the chocolate gelato for dessert. We had a thunderstorm pass through with a little rain that was nowhere near as severe as we were told to expect.

Golden Tempo won the Belmont Stakes, which was no surprise. He looked great in his workouts at Belmont. He’s happy and secure (kudos to his trainer and groom and exercise riders and jockey). He’s mentally mature for a three-year-old horse. He knows the deal. He trusts his jockey to tell him when to move up, they worked together as a team, and he did what he does, which is hang back (12 lengths from the lead this time), then pick off the horses in front of him one by one, and pass them as they wear out near the finish line. He actually pulled away pretty well at the end. The race was ¼ mile shorter than when it’s down at Belmont Park (where it will be again next year), so that was easier on all the horses. Still, it was impressive.

Cherie DeVaux, the trainer, is the first woman trainer to win two of the three Triple Crown races in the same year. I got conflicting search results about who the first woman was to train a Belmont Stakes winner, and I no longer have as much thoroughbred history in my brain as I used to. If I get a chance, I will dig deeper into reliable sources in the next few weeks. (I heard it was Jen Antonucci in 2023 with Arcangelo, from a source that seems reliable. She is the first woman trainer to win any Triple Crown race. Can I say how much I hate how Google has destroyed search capacity? At least Duck Duck Go still has some).

Slept reasonably well, up early on Sunday. Morning routine was fine. I found a meditation app that actually downloaded into my phone and sounds good, so we’ll see how long I have access to it.

Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here.

I made Pain Perdu for breakfast, the New Orleans version of French toast. We had some ciabatta that was aging, and I didn’t want to waste it. I use a recipe from a spiral-bound community cookbook I bought on one of my trips there, and have tweaked it over the years. Pere Antoine’s, my favorite restaurant in NOLA (alas, closed now) used to make a terrific Pain Perdu, and I’ve never been able to replicate it exactly. I was much closer this time. The recipe calls for 3 eggs mixed with ¾ cup of sugar. I add a teaspoon of vanilla. The bread is soaked in the mixture, flipped a few times to fully coat it, then fried in a buttered pan. Again, flipping the pieces, so that there’s a bit of brown on the egg mixture coating the bread, but it’s not charred. The recipe calls for a sprinkling of nutmeg, but I found mixing nutmeg and cinnamon brings me closer to the recipe I’m trying to replicate.

I suspect that the restaurant added a dash of dark rum to the mixture, but I’m not sure I can face dark rum at 7:30 in the morning when I’m not in New Orleans.

After I did the dishes, I gave the stove a good scrub. I clean it daily, and do bigger cleans regularly, but the past few days the cooking’s been a bit messier, so I wanted to give it attention.

Then, with Willa’s “help” I watered all the plants. I check the ones on the back balcony every day and switch the water in the hanging birdbath to keep us mosquito-free, but not everything has to be watered every day.

I did another revision pass on the radio series pitch, tweaked a few things, cut a few things, and I feel good about it.

Lunch, then I made some lemon mousse. I realized I missed sending a birthday card to a friend, so I took care of that – a belated e-card with apologies, but at least it went out the door. He was pleased to receive it, and told me the day itself was just another 12-hour workday (he works in theatre/film, too).

In the afternoon, I repotted the rest of the plants. I got everything done except repotting the aloe, and it took all afternoon. But the plants are in their new homes, and happy. The tomato plant I bought at Whitney’s got so big it needed the tomato cage. The other tomato plant has somewhat recovered from its UPS ordeal, and is settling in with its basil and marigold friends. My bad hip was very unhappy by the end of it, but I’m glad I got it done.

In the evening, I cooked a dish from one of Marcella Hazan’s books. I hadn’t used one of her recipes in ages. It was chicken with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, white wine, cherry tomatoes, and olives. It turned out well.

Read in the evening out on the porch with all the happy plants, made some background notes for a project. I didn’t watch the Tony Awards, although I checked updates. I watched clips of it the next day, and wished I had watched the show, or even better, been in the audience. Over the years, I worked one Tony Awards show, and attended two. It was always a terrific experience, and everyone was happy to be there and had so much fun.

Pink did such a magnificent job, as did the director, Liz Clare. I was so happy for Shoshana Bean’s win. I worked with her on WICKED, and really like her as both a person and a performer. Playwright Bess Wohl’s win for LIBERATION will give WAM a boost when we produce her play CAMP SIEGFRIED later this year. I was delighted for everyone’s wins, and thought the numbers chosen were done so well. The speeches by the Tony winners, in my opinion, tend to be better and more heartfelt than in a lot of other shows. It made me proud to be a part of the lineage for the years I worked there and beyond.

It was cool enough to sleep well. Up at the usual time, morning routine. Tried to stretch out the unhappy hip.

After breakfast and morning chores, I sent off questions/suggested topic for the Freelance Friends chat I will host at the end of July. The organizer likes it, and we’ll move forward with it.

This week is kind of busy, but then I’m trying to keep things calm and quiet through the end of July. I had to explain yet again to someone who asked me why I don’t show up at local evening writing groups that I write all day to earn my living. Off the clock, I like to do other things. You don’t ask plumbers to join plumbing groups that do extra repairs in their off-hours. I attend writing groups when I can, as part of my workday, like the Honor Roll sessions. I attend WAM and Athena Project readings, and provide script analysis in those evenings. That’s enough for me. If local groups met during the day, I could go sometimes, provided I wasn’t on tight deadline. I understand that they’re not meeting during the day because people have day jobs, but my day job IS writing, and I shouldn’t be expected to put in extra unpaid hours. On my off hours, I’m happy to go to readings, etc. to support other writers, but I don’t want to be writing. I want to relax and have fun doing other things that refresh the creative well.

I really wanted to go back to bed, but there was work to do. I did another revision pass on the radio series pitch. I wrote about 2-1/2 pages on the radio play that needs to go out hopefully this week. But it’s more likely that play will go out next week. I need to make sure it’s polished enough to submit.

By then, it was time for errands. Post office, grocery store to pick up a few things we’d run out of or I’d forgotten to get on Friday, and the library. Dropped off 13 books, picked up 6. Home, hauled everything up the stairs and put it away, and then took a short break before turning my attention to the 20K ghostwriting revision.

Worked on the ghostwriting the rest of the day. There are some notes that seem contradictory to me, but I will do the best I can. I had hoped to turn it all around yesterday, but it was too much. I got a little under 10K done. Some of the notes make me grumpy, but too bad for me. It’s my job to figure out how to make it work.

In the evening, the Boiler House Poets Collective had a ZOOM call to check in with each other and catch up. Great to spend time with everyone, even virtually, and look forward to our time in-studio in October.

Cooked dinner, read a fun book, went to bed late. Good sleeping weather, which is nice in preparation for what is supposed to be a hot stretch of days. I suspect we will need our cooling units, which I will unpack and set up today.

There’s no yoga tonight because my teacher is on vacation, so I will do a final pass on the radio series pitch and get it out the door, and then work on the other radio script that needs to go out the door this week or next week. Once that script is done, I have one more radio script to get out the door by mid-July, and then I will turn my attention to the contracted piece for Llewellyn.

Once I have today’s script work done, I will spend the bulk of the day on the ghostwriting, and hope it doesn’t grind me down into nothing.

On a happier note, a friend of mine is going to join me on Friday night at the Clark opening, and then I am going on a short adventure with her on Saturday morning.

I have to make breakfast and do the morning chores before I get back to the page, so I better head off. I want to prepare a salmon pasta salad (to keep us lunchy-fed the next stretch of days) before it gets too hot to cook, too. Have a good one!

Behind Altitude: What Episode One Actually Took

https://majestymusa373737057.wordpress.com/2026/06/05/behind-altitude-what-episode-one-actually-took/