A wonderful thunderstorm last night, or so I'm told. I have a vague memory of hearing distant thunder, and I think I once heard the patter of rain, but what I really know is that Sophie spent the night on my bed, "protecting me." Today she seems reluctant to be away from me, and when I napped, she napped on the bed again.
I'm packing for a brief trip to see my oldest child and his family, and I think the bag I pack in makes her nervous. I tried to explain I'm leaving the Burtons behind to guard the fort, but I am most definitely taking her with me. I guess she's not yet reassured.
This day started out just fine--I spent the morning and early afternoon doing various chores at the computer, some of which were frustrating--like countless tries to put my next novel on Amazon for pre-order. The designer and I can't get the specs right and have concluded that Kindle Direct Publishing is picky. But in the afternoon, shortly after Sophie and I napped, I could not get into my email. Then, briefly, I could not get on the internet, nor could I save something I typed. My conclusion is that the TCU server, which hosts my email, is down. Of course by the time I figured that out, the whole university was closed for the evening. You'd think they'd leave someone on the switchboard to answer questions like mine!
Just before the computer quit, I found a calendar note that I was to do a distance radio interview at four--it was 4:10 by then, and I had no phone number for the podcast station. Panic ensued, and I frantically emailed the publicist who had arranged the interview, tried to find phone numbers--and finally thought to check my calendar. Sure enough, I'd double entered it because the real date is August 24, and all the information is in that entry. Be still, my over-beating heart.
Tonight, the Burtons have taken the two little boys to a Rangers game, so I'm left at home, which doesn't bother me, except that I'd really like to check my email, thank you.
I did fix myself a really good dinner--emptying out the vegetable drawer. That darn drawer freezes things, and I have yet to figure out how to raise the temperature. Asparagus is particularly susceptible to frost. I'll have to ask Christian, but anyway tonight I found about a third of a zucchini and some asparagus, half of which was frozen. I used the remaining half. Cooked a handful of spinach fettucine, rinsed it, added a bit of olive oil, and set it aside while I sautéed the asparagus and zucchini and some diced ham in butter. (Cooking on a hot plate, you cannot do the sauce while the pasta cooks because you only have one cooking surface; innovation is necessary.) Put the pasta in the pan to heat--and got it so hot I had to let it cool before I could eat it. But it was a great meal, and it occurs to me that pasta is a good way to use leftovers. You can fix any number of combinations. I topped my meal off with a bit of dark chocolate with sea salt, a gift from Megan.
Now I'm back at my computer, still wishing for email, but grateful for the internet connection. Next I'll try to save what I typed in Word. Life is always fun with computers--but some days my frustration tolerance is not good.
I'm packing for a brief trip to see my oldest child and his family, and I think the bag I pack in makes her nervous. I tried to explain I'm leaving the Burtons behind to guard the fort, but I am most definitely taking her with me. I guess she's not yet reassured.
This day started out just fine--I spent the morning and early afternoon doing various chores at the computer, some of which were frustrating--like countless tries to put my next novel on Amazon for pre-order. The designer and I can't get the specs right and have concluded that Kindle Direct Publishing is picky. But in the afternoon, shortly after Sophie and I napped, I could not get into my email. Then, briefly, I could not get on the internet, nor could I save something I typed. My conclusion is that the TCU server, which hosts my email, is down. Of course by the time I figured that out, the whole university was closed for the evening. You'd think they'd leave someone on the switchboard to answer questions like mine!
Just before the computer quit, I found a calendar note that I was to do a distance radio interview at four--it was 4:10 by then, and I had no phone number for the podcast station. Panic ensued, and I frantically emailed the publicist who had arranged the interview, tried to find phone numbers--and finally thought to check my calendar. Sure enough, I'd double entered it because the real date is August 24, and all the information is in that entry. Be still, my over-beating heart.
Tonight, the Burtons have taken the two little boys to a Rangers game, so I'm left at home, which doesn't bother me, except that I'd really like to check my email, thank you.
I did fix myself a really good dinner--emptying out the vegetable drawer. That darn drawer freezes things, and I have yet to figure out how to raise the temperature. Asparagus is particularly susceptible to frost. I'll have to ask Christian, but anyway tonight I found about a third of a zucchini and some asparagus, half of which was frozen. I used the remaining half. Cooked a handful of spinach fettucine, rinsed it, added a bit of olive oil, and set it aside while I sautéed the asparagus and zucchini and some diced ham in butter. (Cooking on a hot plate, you cannot do the sauce while the pasta cooks because you only have one cooking surface; innovation is necessary.) Put the pasta in the pan to heat--and got it so hot I had to let it cool before I could eat it. But it was a great meal, and it occurs to me that pasta is a good way to use leftovers. You can fix any number of combinations. I topped my meal off with a bit of dark chocolate with sea salt, a gift from Megan.
Now I'm back at my computer, still wishing for email, but grateful for the internet connection. Next I'll try to save what I typed in Word. Life is always fun with computers--but some days my frustration tolerance is not good.
