From Eric:

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me.

It can only be one word.

No more.

Then copy & paste this in your journal so that I may leave a word about you.

Mabel dearest has been allowed in the rest of the house for a week or so now, and so far is doing fine. The only issue is that she constantly pants while in the rest of the house, even if it’s cool. Not sure if it’s just unfamiliar surroundings or what, but it gets old at times. I’m really not sure what’s causing it. But I will keep monitoring her to make sure there’s nothing else going on.

It actually rained today. With real raindrops, even! I had to go out and do a little raindance. I’m hoping for more rain tonight. While the rain we got was nice, I’m still going to have to water my plants in the morning if it doesn’t rain tonight. Ugh.

I’ve been busy writing, too. I think I’m on Chapter 6 of the rewrite of HD, and I’m pretty sure I’m over 15k, but not sure how far over. It’s going really well so far. Some surprises, which aren’t all that surprising, since this is a complete rewrite.

I am going to attempt to insert some of my favorite lines from the prior-final draft of HD so I don’t lose them forever. And I’m contemplating posting the previous draft on Pieces of String too Short to Save just so when HD is published you all can see how much it changed en route. But we’ll see.

A quick update:

I went to see Batman Begins tonight.

As a particular fan of the Batman movies in general (except, perhaps, the one with Batgirl in it), I thought this one was a perfect fit in the mythos. Very well done!

Although the creepy doctor guy was just too weird. Those had to be colored contacts, because I don’t think people have eyecolors like that in real life.

I could see it again and not mind one bit.

In other news, I wrote most of the day yesterday in an effort to keep cool, and I still plan to write a little tonight. Things are getting interesting!

And it’s very, very hot outside. I am praying for rain. If it rains every day next week while I’m off, I would be very happy. Do you hear that, Lord? No one prays for a rainy vacation except for me. (But we dearly need it. I have about 5 1/2 feet of water left in the cistern, and 12 feet or so left in the well.)

Well, tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day in the last four years or something like that. Ugh. It was hot today too, at 92. I *almost* feel lucky that I was at work all day.

I don’t have much planned for the weekend, other than staying cool. I will write, and work on the entry room, however, because I only have this weekend to finish it before I am on vacation.

I do need to remind myself to buy some more emery boards, because Miss Chloe has stolen all of mine. And she’s not using them on her claws!

For posterity: (And on a slightly lighter note (tone-wise, not weight-wise.)

The bookcase is in place. (That’s the weight reference.) All painted and situated, and now I have lots more shelves to fill in the kitchen.

I planted four out of eight tomatoes in between the lettuces that are left. Some of the lettuces are starting to bolt, so I’m going to be eating salad every night for supper until they are gone. Hey, it’s healthy!

Chloe keeps filching Mabel’s dog biscuit jerky treats. I’m finding them all over, half eaten. (At least I think it’s Chloe. Could be Mischa.) Someone also filched the paintbrushes out of Ethan’s treasure basket (for when he poops in the potty, of course) and left them on the bathroom floor.

And I’ve given up on keeping my nail file intact. I’ve picked it up three times this week already.

I hate working 10-hour days, but I like being off on Mondays. There has to be a balance somewhere in the mess, but I haven’t found it yet.

I’m on vacation in less than two weeks! Yay!

Three years ago, this could have been me.

This hits home, because Bonnie Speece was the human resources director for the library system I once worked in. She came to the library right before I left. I don’t remember if I ever met her, but I feel for her nonetheless. I knew terror. I knew despair. I contemplated just driving away one day, driving until I ran out of gas and never going back. I contemplated a lot of things back then.

It could have been me. The possibility was there. Things could have gone horribly wrong and I could not be sitting here at my computer this evening. I could have been dead.

See? See what you could have done? (He still reads this blog once or so every month, contrary to my wishes. So I know he’ll read this. If I allowed him to post a comment, I’m sure he would do so. But he’s been banned from posting, and if he figures out a way around it, I’ll devowel him again.)

He told me once that restraining orders were nothing. That if I got one against him, he’d make sure I’d suffer for it. That if he went to jail, it was no big deal, and that I’d end up with all our debt combined.

I started to post a rant the last time I noticed his unwanted presence here, but then I decided he wasn’t worth the effort of posting a rant.

I still believe that. However, I can’t stay silent, either. I can’t pretend it never happened, because it did.

See what you could have done? I realize you didn’t, but the possibility will always be there, won’t it?

And while I’m on the subject, why don’t you just go away? Permanently. Live your life and leave me mine. You owe me that much, at the very least.

One of these days, I hope you realize and accept what you did to me. To yourself. But I’m not holding my breath. I have work to do.

A snippet, since I’m hotsyncing tonight:

Malachi flinched. “You said I could go. You said once I told you my name you would leave.”

Lucas had said that, and he meant to uphold his promise. But the look in Malachi’s eyes told him the boy had not believed him even before he’d decided to give Lucas his name.

“I spoke the truth,” he said. “But you also asked me a question. Do you want an answer?” He saw the denial form on Malachi’s lips, and then his eyes lose focus again. A moment later, Malachi scowled and nodded.

“Yes. I want an answer, if you’ll give it to me.”

His anger was the first emotion other than fear Lucas had seen him exhibit. And he had the strange impression that Malachi had somehow been communicating with someone. Someone who wanted to know about the Council’s plans for Sarah Campbell–at the possible expense of Malachi’s life.

Not that Lucas intended to harm him, but that was beside the point. Who had such a power? Lucas doubted he could do such a thing himself. It required quite a bit of surrender from both parties–and a lot of trust if the connection was to be benign.

From the depth of Malachi’s fear, Lucas doubted this particular connection–if that’s what it was–had anything to do with trust.

“The Council doesn’t know Sarah Campbell is here,” Lucas finally said, keeping his suspicions to himself for the moment. “I asked her to come on my own when I heard about her business.”

Malachi nodded, a small smile drifting across his features. “She has a gift, doesn’t she?”

“Sarah’s mother was my student,” Lucas continued, ignoring Malachi’s comment, however true it might be. “I wanted to see how her daughter had grown up.”

“Are you going to tell her about her past?” Malachi blurted the question, then trembled as his eyes focused inward again, cementing Lucas’ suspicions. Obviously, that had been the wrong question to ask. But why?

Malachi’s eyes closed. He sat for a moment in silence, his teeth clenched against what Lucas suspected was a scream.

“Ask your Master why your questions should not be answered,” Lucas suggested, playing his hand.

Malachi’s eyes snapped open. For a moment, Lucas thought he would hyperventilate as he struggled to breathe. “You–You know?”

“It’s an uncommon spell to share such a bond, but it does happen and I’ve seen it before,” Lucas said. “I won’t try to tell you allowing your Master or Mistress to do this was a mistake. I think you already know.”

copyright 2005 Jennifer St. Clair

I’m playing with the assumption that Gabriel is using the Hunt in human form to spy for him. So far, it’s working quite well. Current wordcount (before writing tonight) is 10,303.

Well. It’s not quite noon yet and I’ve already accomplished something today! (I changed the time on this post so the pics would show up below it. So it really wasn’t noon when I wrote this. Honest!)

Let me backtrack a bit–

Yesterday was Burlington, so Dad and I went. I did find some bargains: an old cane for $5, a really nice quilt for $15, some fabric on the dollar table–12/$10, another stick bookcase for $10 (I love these, but the prices at Burlington ranged anywhere from $20-$65, and since they would be so easy to make, I have a hard time spending lots of money for one), and a nice oak cabinet for the bathroom (I owe Dad $20 for this since he paid for it.)

And of course, two months after I searched Burlington for a $15-$20 chair, I saw not one, not two, but seven chairs for $20 or under. This happens quite often, really. But since I’d just bought two chairs, I didn’t come back with any others, even though it was tempting.

We took Dad out to dinner for Father’s Day (I think he liked his candles and his juicer from me and everyone else’s gifts as well), and I didn’t really get a lot done yesterday, either.

Oh, and after Burlington we stopped at a Farmer’s Market, where one lady had hardy hibiscus plants! For cheaper than I bought my first one, even! So I bought two (Well, really five, since one pot has three and one has two), a red yarrow, and creeping rosemary. We’ll see if I can keep that rosemary alive, since I don’t have all that much luck with rosemary.

Today I decided to make a stab at finishing one side of the flowerbed. There wasn’t all that much left to do (Okay, about seven feet by three feet, which is enough) but I have tomatoes and potatoes now to plant as well as the flowers I just bought, so I wanted to get something done. After breakfast, I got dressed and brought Mabel out with me and proceeded to finish one side of the flowerbed. The edges where the flags are still need to be weeded, but the sod is gone. Yay!

This means I only have one flowerbed and a large strip of grass left. Pictures are below this post.

Also on today’s agenda is more painting, and planting some of the stuff I bought. I will pot up the annuals as well. Might as well get dirty all at once.

For posterity’s sake, just in case it doesn’t make it: my first orange, after 18 years. (It’s the little green dot. Sorry it’s a bit blurry; it’s hard to focus my camera in full sunlight.)
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What’s left to do. Only a portion of this is all grass; there are flags on this side too.
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