February, 16, 2023

Daily Diary, February, 16, 2023 Day 898:

I thought I might do something different today, in part because I’ve been getting so much written (yesterday I got 1300 words written), I suspect that this might be one of those days I start to stall out.

So, I’m going write this post as I go along, sort of to keep track of the day, and hope it helps me keep up the pace.

I was wakened by the furnace turning on at 5:30, after a pretty decent night’s sleep. I fixed my spartan breakfast of a protein drink and half of a whole wheat English muffin, took my main morning pills, and fixed my first thermos of tea for the day (thermos holds about 2 cups worth) starting out with my favorite, sticky rice Pu-erh.

During breakfast and until about 7:30 I went through and cleaned out my email inbox, scanned the headlines and frontpage stories in the New York Times and Washington Post on line, and answered a question I got on one of my comments on someone else’s substack post. From 7:30 to 8, while my husband was out for first walk with Leeza, I dusted and swept upstairs and down, put away a load of laundry that I forgot and left in the machine last night.

Since then (it is now 8:45) I’ve soaked my eye, done the breakfast dishes (husband dried) and brewed my second thermos of tea, this time my second favorite, Lapsang Souchong, Imperial. Then I cleaned out inbox again, wrote this part of the post, and now I am going to get to writing.

9:15, I realized I had been so busy writing that I ignored the 9 o’clock alarm telling me to take my antibiotic (have to take 2 hours after eating and before eating.) So jumped up and took it. Now back to writing.

10:15, Fed ex arrives with my “Cheese of the Month,” package. Because I am in the middle of an intense couple of paragraphs, just pop in Fridge without even looking at what 3 cheeses I got this month.

10:30 finished an emotional scene. I have written 421 words since 8:45. Then, perfect timing, the phone alarm went off again, time for another set of pills. I took this opportunity to check out the cheese (and make a note to write about cheese, one of my favorite things that didn’t make the list I made earlier.)

10: 30 to 2pm. First a shower, then soaking my eye for the second time, and then I started getting prepared for the usual Thursday Zoom noon meeting. Then I prepared a plate with the new cheese (and one small cracker) and another protein drink for lunch. I also brewed my third thermos of tea, back to Sticky Rice Pu-erh. I will pull out the cheese when the meeting is over. Then I got on zoom fifteen minutes before meeting starts to chat with early arrivals, then the meeting. Afterwards, I ate lunch while watching International House Hunters, which I find a nice 30 minute break, then time to get back to work. But first brewed my fourth thermos of tea, this time the lapsang shouchong.

Between 2-3 wrote another 296 words. At 3 I paused to learn about DNA results for Leeza that my husband got as an email. One of his best friends had gotten the kit for him for Christmas present, then, back to work.

At 3:30- alarm goes off for my afternoon pills and to test my blood sugar.

Now 4:12. I am stopping work now, to finish this post, then soak my eye for the third time and start making my salad for dinner. I have gotten 1088 total words written so far today, and I might be able to get in some more if I decide to write after dinner. Very, very good progress for a Thursday when such a large chunk of the middle of the day taken up with my zoom meeting.

Before I go, here are the three main breeds (out of ten listed) for Leeza. She is 30% American Staffordshire Terrier, 25% Siberian Husky, 14% German Shepherd. I don’t see the husky at all, but definintely see the Staffordshire Terrier with a dollop of German Shepard in the ears, muzzle, and the darker markings on the ears and tail.

Here is a picture of Leeza standing up.