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| Serment de l'armée fait à l'Empereur après la distribution des aigles, 5 décembre 1804¹ Jacques-Louis David (PD) |
I haven't posted in a week and that has been somewhat relaxing, yet stressful. I feel as if I am slacking. In a way I am. There are nights I feel the urge to write, after all I have been doing this for nearly eleven years. Every. Damn. Day. It's habit forming, not quite an addiction, more of an obsession. Toirdhealbheach Beucail will know exactly what I mean, as will other bloggers.
I am actually working on the book, rereading it after the edits I've been supplied are in. So far I've only made a couple of minor tweaks, like discovering that the gunner from a German tank had been magically transported to a British tank. Simply picked the wrong name I did. Fixing little things like that takes time.
But truth be told, I'm enjoying the story so far, it's fun re-living it, especially now that I kinda know what happens and can make sure that all roads do indeed lead to Rome. I'd say I'm about 20% of the way there. Then it will be off to the publisher, whoever that may be.
As many of you might remember, my cat Anya was feeling mighty poorly, I was afraid that she'd cross over before The Missus Herself returned from Maryland. The second time getting subcutaneous fluids (aka SubQ, first time was talked about here) had a positive effect, but nothing like having Mama come home. Seriously, she's been a different cat.
While she's not getting any better, she doesn't seem to be getting any worse. She sleeps most of the time, but she does eat (not a lot, but enough) and occasionally saunters about the house. That has helped my morale immensely.
As for the fluid thing, The Missus Herself and I get to administer that every other day. When this course is complete (100 ml a day until the bag, a liter, is expended), she'll get more blood work². Not fun for anyone, I can tell you. But Anya seems to have accepted that this now is her lot in life, as we've also discovered some new cat treats that she simply can't get enough of, she knows that if she allows us to do the SubQ thing, she gets her favorite treats³. That helps makes the process faster and smoother.
I miss the writing, but I'm not ready, nor do I have the time, to take it back up again on anything approaching a quotidian basis. The boys (juvat, Tuna, and Beans) are doing an admirable job of keeping things going. Thank the Lord for good wingmen!
That's all for now.
Be seeing you.
¹ Oath of the army made to the Emperor after the distribution of the eagles, 5 December 1804.
² For those who need to know such things, her kidneys have, to all intents and purposes, failed. Still functioning, but not very well.
³ Rachael Ray Nutrish Soft Spots Salmon Soft & Savory Cat Treats
"Be seeing you". Sound words accepted as a promise.
ReplyDeleteSemper Fidelis
Roger that.
DeleteGood to know you are still chugging along!
ReplyDeleteMore like plodding ...
Delete... but yeah.
When you do publish, I want the first copy! I will pay in advance.
DeleteWe shall see Scott. Others have asked.
DeletePlodding is good. Working at UND, they would organize walking teams for improving health, each team reporting steps/week for a month which were listed. Most teams had inspiring flashy names. Our motley team were "The Plodders". We needed the exercise but knew we would be around the bottom of the list.
DeleteSure and steady, that's me.
DeleteGood to hear about Anya! Prayers still up for her and her family. Rosie is on steroids for sensitive stomach. Makes her hungry all the time and she cannot eat anything but her bland food or she gets diarrhea, so we have lots of meows and cuddles and attempts to steal food from anyone including the dogs, but we all get along great and she is a joy to have around even though she has learned to invert my computer screen display with a flick of her tail or a sit on the keyboard and I still haven’t figured out how. Stay safe and well and we will see you when you get back.
ReplyDeletePrayers for Rosie as well!
DeleteThanks for the news on the book front and cat front Sarge. Seconding Mark on prayers for your four- footed family member. They didn't stint on the number of words describing those cat treats, did they?
ReplyDeleteMarketing, ya know.
DeleteSarge - In all fairness, it is commonly known that Toridhealbheach Beucail has personality "issues". He may not be the best example of a like-minded co-conspirator...
ReplyDeleteIs it an addiction? A habit that has in some form taken over my life? Not sure, but I do not feel right if something is not posted every day anymore, even if I do them in batches from time to time. And finding out that I failed to automate the post and it does not appear on time? This is one of the moments of pure stress when I realize it has happen - the worst place for anyone to be at that moment is between me and my personal computer as I fight my way to update the post.
Great news on the editing - both the progress and the realization of "oh, hey, this is really not that bad". I have had the experience of reviewing my work and suddenly realizing that I have no idea where parts of it came from. Characters are funny things: give them a little slack and sometimes they run with (and sometimes helpfully push you out of the way in the process).
Good news on Anya and continued prayers up. I get that a person perks animals up in a way others do not: I am reliably informed that I-Bun, our oldest rabbit, refuses to eat his food but only snacks and hay when I am out at my parents' once a month for a week. He gives me the evil eye when I return (literally - he only has one eye) before condescending to eat his rabbit food.
I have given injections for vaccines and microchip insertions at the rabbit shelter, but never IV fluids. You and The Missus have my respect. Glad you found a "behavior enhancement" (e.g., snacks) that make the progress go easier.
Two articles each from Juvat and Beans and one from Tuna this week? I fear this is truly a sign of the End Times or Ragnarok, and it is all downhill from here: seas moaning and roiling, the land shaking and stirring, dogs and cats living together in sin. It has been delightful, but I fear the omens this sort of thing portends.
Chaos reigns!
DeleteAs long as that damned Midgard serpent and the Fenris wolf don't show up, eh, it's a survivable day. Ragnarok Light, so to speak.
DeleteAnd the nice thing about the Fimbul Winter? No mosquitoes...
DeleteNo serpents, no wolves, aye.
DeleteNo mosquitoes? Primo!
DeleteWith our luck, we will get the Fimbul Summer with the Midgard Mosquito.
DeleteHeh.
DeleteWaiting for the book. Hands folded, feet on the floor. I’m a patient man - except of course when I’m awake.
ReplyDeleteHahaha!
Delete"It's habit forming, not quite an addiction, more of an obsession. Toirdhealbheach Beucail will know exactly what I mean, as will other bloggers."
ReplyDeleteI recall a bit of autobiographical verbiage by some hack writer named Robert Heinlein in one of his anthologies. He said he had taken up writing for the pulps back in the day to help pay off his mortgage. After all, it wasn't "honest work" that got him all sweaty and dirty, no, it was done in comfort and sitting down. He got the mortgage paid off quickly because for some reason his work sold in the sifi pulps. So he stopped. He noticed after a month or so he felt cranky, out of sorts, not sleeping well. He talked with some of his friends who were in a writers group. His friend asked, "Do you know any retired writers?" He allowed that he didn't, but didn't know that many, so it might not be a valid sample. "Doesn't matter," said his friend, "You know retired doctors, retired military men, retired lawyers. But no retired writers. It gets in your blood and you have to keep writing." Something close to that, anyway.
I should look up that Heinlein guy and see if he wrote anything worth reading.
Heh. You should. 😁
DeleteI'd stick to his earlier works before he had a brain bleed. Seriously, defining moment when his stuff went from 'Excellent' to 'WTheck?' Somewhere after "Starship Troopers" is the defining moment.
DeleteI haven't read enough to judge, I like what I like.
DeleteThanks for checking in Sarge! Keep on, keepin on.
ReplyDeleteBoat Guy
Will do!
DeleteCool- we even got a cryptic test in the title. I figured for sure you were off on travel somewhere, but ZIP code 23069 does not seem to match up with any known locales for Sarge's tribe. Puzzled some more and finally figure out it is the Julian date for today. Okay, that's enough brain exercise for today.
ReplyDeleteGlad Anya is still ordering her humans around, to their delight. We do love our furry friends.
Wish I could throw some filler material your way, but tied up with other stuff for a while.
John Blackshoe
Do what needs doing JB, glad you puzzled out the title. (I literally woke up in the middle of the night and had to fix it. I had the wrong date at first!)
DeleteSarge,
ReplyDeleteHang in there with Anya. Been through it several times. It doesn't get easier. But, you'll see her again, I firmly believe.
As to "Good Wingmen", it takes Great Leads to make Good Wingmen. And you, Sir, are one.
My firm hope is getting to see her, and many others besides, again. My belief as well!
DeleteAs to your last ...
Ah, shucks ...
Uh-huh, still owe you for yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe mark of a great book is that you can read it, even right after reading it, and enjoy it. Which leaves out most of the 'great literature' according to college professors. Glad you are still enjoying reading your own work. Keep it up.
Good on you for hanging with Anya. Sounds like she still has some vim and vigour, and the return of The Missus helped.
Now, go do good works.
Good works, aye.
DeleteI may have some left in me.
Prayers for Anya. ...Felix. Keep formation with Jumbo as long as you are able...
ReplyDeleteIt's all we can do.
Delete