from Ring to Ripe

Happy Halloween!  And Happy last day of Inktober!  I managed to survive the challenge of doing a drawing every day for the month of October.  Third attempt, fist success.    Here are prompts/days 1 and 31.  Progress?  Anything?

I feel a bit like those worn out and ripe shoes for today.  Here are the remaining entries since my last Inktober update. I'm sure no one's been able to sleep while waiting for them:

So, yes, it was challenging but fun.  I think I got better at some things and faster as the month progressed, and it was also fun to see other submissions and know I wasn't the only weirdo.  

Now, on to other things.  We've had big snow and freeeeeezing this week.  School kids got two snowdays, and it's not even November.  Foreboding?  Even the local university cancelled classes, which spilled a bit into  my tutee schedule.

I'm not complaining.  I have a to-do list to check off.  Magnum and I are getting more serious about downsizing from our empty nest and selling the thing, and I'm looking forward to a bit of a fresh start.  I've also put reading blogs a bit on the back burner because of Inktober.  Did anyone miss me / notice at all?

And for the first season, I'm considering getting a flu shot.  Magnum says he's getting one as his workplace is administering them next week.  He's not gotten a shot in recent years, but he did have what was probably last year's flu, so it's fresh in his mind.  

I think I had the flu two winters ago and can't remember a time before that, but yes, it did suck the life out of me for nearly a week.  Then again, I've heard from some that the shot made them feel like crap.  

Anyone have any advice or experience to share for this flu shot virgin?  

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

7. Write about something you’re looking forward to.

are unlikable characters more realistic?

I was at the local public library last week having just finished meeting with a tutee.  I didn't feel a strong need to leave right then, so thought I'd peruse the "new books" shelf.  This is usually how my casual reading happens as I rarely plan what I'm going to read ahead of time.



I ended up grabbing [THIS BOOK], maybe because the cover made it look light and easy and/or because it was just under 300 pages.  Okay, call me a slacker, but some of the recent books I was not getting into involved heavy, sappy writing and/or were rather long winded and weren't doing much for me.  I was ready to coast for a while.




I ended up getting very engrossed by this story, surprisingly enough.  It's about a fresh-out-of-college woman who gets a job as an apprentice teacher at an all male boarding school.  Oh, here it comes, yep...

So yeah, she has a fling with one of the students.  That seemed tawdry and cliche', but I opened it up to a random page, and the writing seemed okay, so I decided to give it a go.

I really enjoyed the book, although "enjoyed" seems like the wrong word because it was rather dark and disturbing and... well... messed UP!  Our main character, Imogene, is in fact, one hot mess.

I think what pulled me in is that the story is written in first person from Imogene's perspective.  We learn early enough that she has issues... with anxiety and self-worth and relationships in general.  So the book feels more like her private journal than a realistic telling of events.  It's more a psychological study of a hot mess.

So I kept on reading, wondering where the author was going to go with this and knowing it couldn't end well.  While I disliked Imogene and was disturbed by her behaviors, I felt sorry for her and wanted her to get help rather than punishment.  I admit that's not my typical reaction when I hear similar stories.  *She should know better, the predatory pedophile!*  *Lock up your sons!*

I even vacillated between liking and disliking Kip, Imogene's boy toy.  He'd go from being a cocky, privileged teen, looking to get some action from a naive teaching assistant, to a stressed kid overwhelmed by the cultural pressures and expectations put upon him.

So I was glad with this random pick off the library shelf.  The method seems to work better for me than making a list.  Now, as far as what I didn't like, I think the cover art and the book's description make it seem like it's a light, maybe even comical, romp.  It is not, but that actually turned out to be a good thing.  Four stars.

Do you have a list of books you plan to read?  
Whatcha readin'?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat... sort of... for the prompt:
2. List the top 6 books on your list to read next.

another good-bye, salt withdrawals, and more ink

Another week in the books.  Inktober has me slacking on blogging a bit, but I'm never truly gone from here... 😇

My P.E.O. chapter lost another sister this week.  This was somewhat expected, so unlike when Tiffany died, not as traumatic.  Jeanie was 90 years old and had been in failing health for about the last month or so. 

Although physically frail, she was a total hoot and sharp as a whip.  When she'd had to go to the hospital when the problems began, the security guard informed her that he had to check the contents of her purse.

She told him, "Okay, but it's full of dope!"

Dude had no sense of humor.

She was ready, though.  After she was able to go home from the hospital, another friend told Jeanie, "I'm praying for you", and Jeanie replied, "Well, thanks.  But please don't pray for me to get better.  I wanna go!"




And she did.  She'll be greatly missed.  Rest In Peace, Jeanie. 











We spent time with Magnum's mom and stepdad today.  They live in a senior living community nearby, so we went for brunch in their dining facility.  It's a nice place, really, with a plentiful variety of food.  Gotta say, though, I was having sodium withdrawals.  Everything was so devoid of salt, and I fear I may be a salt-aholic.  The pumpkin spice pancakes were good, though - my first pumpkin spice anything of the season. 

And thank you to everyone for the tooth hole/ sinus sympathies.  I'm feeling almost normal now.  A few more days and I should be cleared to blow my nose, and I'm so looking forward to that!

Inktober continues, and me with my head still above water...

toilets, leaking snot, and some more ink

A few weekends ago, my P.E.O. chapter threw a highly successful wine and cheese social/fundraiser/auction.  It was a good bash with good food and wines, and we made double what we made last year.  I've got a hankering for cheese and wine as I type...

As publisher of our newsletter last month, I had intended to include a few photos of the shindig.  Guess who forgot to take any photos 😑.

Typical.  

So  I emailed all of the members who were in attendance, asking if any of them snagged some shots.  Nope.  Not a one.  Well, we just chalked it up to having too  much fun wining and cheesing and auctioning to snap photos.  

Similarly, this past weekend, Magnum and I went up to college town to visit with Wolfgang and Meego.  Chaco even joined us for a while on Sunday.  Photos of our activities?  Nope.

This was the only shot I got of our weekend away.  Yes, it's of our hotel bathroom:

I snapped it because I thought I'd record the strange layout.  See, I'm not a "statuesque" woman, but I'm also not a shorty.  At 5'5", I'm pretty average, with probably longer than average arms.  Gotta say, that toilet paper roll was quite a stretch.

So there, that's my weekend in pictures.

Actually, we had a nice time.  Weather was perfect.  College town has so many good restaurants and breweries.  It's a good thing it's rated platinum for bicycling, or several residents (and visitors) would be obese.

I did manage to stick to my vegetarian ways.  There is much more to the veggie life than salad.

My overall caloric intake was also probably helped by the fact that my mouth is still recovering from my tooth excavation of last week, so I ate more daintily than typical.  That portabello mushroom sammich was just as delicious eaten with a fork, though.  Wish I had a pic...

The oral surgeon told me I may get water in my nose when I drink or may have blood in my nose from the tooth hole since my sinus has a hole in it now, too.  He did not mention that snot would continuously seep into my mouth from the tooth hole, but that's been a LoVelY side effect as well that makes total sense.  It's still allergy season for me, and it's like my allergies know I have a tooth hole to have fun with.

Okay, this post has become way too much about toilets and TP and draining snot through tooth holes...

The other random update is that I've somehow managed to keep my head above water on the Inktober challenge of 2019.  I have to remind myself that it's not about being perfect or even great, just about touching pen to paper every day, so there's that.  Here are the latest.

Wolfgang is also participating, and it's fun to see his submissions.  He has fallen a bit behind, and that's because he clearly has more of a life than I do.

where's the tooth fairy when you need her?

Yesterday, it was sunny and nearly 80 degrees as I was gallivanting on my bicycle for some excuse or other.  The main excuse was that I knew today would suck.  I checked the weather app this morning and wasn't surprised

It's yucky outside as I type.  Winter is... here?

But enough small talk about the weather.  It's been another busy and productive week, and I'm a bit grateful for some weather induced downtime.  For one, I got that cursed tooth removed yesterday afternoon.

And for all the trouble it gave me in the past 6 months or so, that tooth wasn't happy about leaving.  The oral surgeon was a pleasant man with nice chair-side manner.  But when push came to shove, he pushed and shoved and drilled and twisted and drilled some more and pushed and... well, you get the idea.

Now, here I sit in recovery with a big gaping hole in my head, but I'm glad that sick tooth is no more.  Dr. had to dig up into my sinus to get all the roots out, so the sinus feels weird and needs to heal up too. Among other things, I'm not allowed to

• blow my nose
• play a wind instrument
• blow up balloons

for at least two weeks.  Darn, there go my clown plans.

The avoidance of wind instruments and balloons is pretty easy to abide, but I keep thinking of how nice it would be to blow my nose like a real person.

When under such limitations, however, I think of my friend, Bunny.  A few years ago, Bunny had carpel tunnel surgery on both wrists at the same time.  She wasn't able to use her hands for two weeks afterward, so her husband was her hands for her during that time.

Think for a minute of all the things you do with your hands...

Yeah.

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Linking up with Mama Kat this week for the prompt:
3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: sick

a rant and some ink

Welp... a while back I mentioned a strange tutee I have who calls to schedule a lesson, then I get there, and she decides she doesn't need the session after all?  To cut down on the (my) waste, when she calls me now, I only agree to meet with her online.  That way, I at least don't waste any time travelling to her college.

So here I sit.  I waited for 15 minutes.  Yup.  No show.  This is the second time she's done it.  I'm DONE.  Stop calling me!

I've given her some breaks because I know she has some anxiety issues and some ADHD and takes meds.  I get that she might be feeling anxious about a session she scheduled a week ahead of time.  But I've told her... just TEXT me.  An hour's notice is all I ask.  I want to help her out because I understand she's had "troubles" with previous tutors, and she seems to like me?

I'm thinking I either give her the heave ho next time she contacts me, or if I'm available, it'll be a now-or-never lesson. 

Anyway, sorry for the rant...

On the bright side, it's been a busy and productive week.  Schedule's been pretty full with nice respectable tutor students, plus Inktober 2019 kicked off this week!  Weee!

So far, I've managed to keep my head above water.  Yes, we're only 4 days in, but 4-for-4 counts! 

Just 27 more to go... heh.  

This challenge has really grown in recent years.  I first heard of it in 2017, so this is my 3rd year participating.  I have yet to get all 31 drawings in.  Third time's a charm?

I'm thinking the explosion in participation could be Inktober's downfall.  Most artists I know are mild to heavy non-conformists.  All this participation just might quell participation!

Okay, enough thinking in circles.  I'm out.  

Any advice on the wishy-washy tutee is welcome.