When you're on quarantine (and under the weather) as I am, there isn't a whole lot you can do.
Over the last week, I've gotten Coven to a point where we're maybe a week away from sending it off for a proof copy. Other than that, working from home, and being a parent to my babies, there hasn't been a whole lot I've been interested in doing (or have energy for) and I've found myself getting photos since my cell camera has been readily available to me.
There's still some work to do on Coven but she got her drop caps in (those ornate letters at the top of a chapter) and has been formatted. Obviously she's in need of some page numbers (and a few more minor edits). I'm pleased as punch to announce that between the last draft and this one you see to the left, I was able to remove just shy of 6,000 words from the manuscript. As you can see (in the lower left portion of the screen shot), it's still going to be a pretty hefty book. If you like big books (and you cannot lie), you'll love this one!
Over the last several weeks, the agave in the front yard developed an enormous stalk. I don't know why but something about the stalk made me uneasy, like it was gearing up to do something really nasty. (Lots of things in our yard--like the two Acacias--tend to do nasty things. Most desert-dwelling life is that way.) Well, after weeks, that massive, 6-feet-tall stalk bloomed. The flowers(?) aren't the prettiest things (see below) and to be honest, I don't really know what I expected from this plant. But then hubby looked into the agave. In the two years we've been here, it's never done this. Hubby informed me gravely, "This isn't something to celebrate."
It turns out the agave, also known as "the century plant," blooms only once in its lifetime (and is rumored to take 100 years to do so). In other words, it's committing suicide and we will need to replace it before long--HOA rules, you know. It only dies under good conditions so I guess this misguided plant actually thought we were treating it well. Meanwhile, given the same conditions, our Acacias are behaving like they're being abused. This last summer was rough with what was not-so-affectionately nicknamed a "nonsoon" ... the much-needed monsoonal summer rains never really showed up. Nonetheless, the Acacias still got all pollened-up and of course dropped that pollen all over everything in our yard. (Those are all the yellow spots on the ground in the first agave photo.) If you'd like to learn more about the agave, check this post out.
Meanwhile inside the house, there have been cats positively everywhere. (Just kidding; we have only two, but they have been keeping me company and keeping me entertained while I work.)
You know what's always fun? Feeling like you can't breathe and then having your pulse oximeter tell you, "Nah, you good," and you're like "but I totally don't feel like I'm good!"
I'm asthmatic and some unidentified upper respiratory virus has been through my household with varying degrees of misery since the beginning of March. Doctors at 2 different ER visits and an urgent care visit refused to test my son for COVID-19 when he was hella sick and all his other tests came back negative/normal, and hubby's test was negative ... if that was accurate, and it may well not have been. Suffice it to say that unless this escalates, I'm going to assume the worst (it's The Virus) and not bother to try getting tested for it because I've already seen how that goes. I'd rather just stay at home right now, anyway.
I'm gonna wrap up this blog post. The final draft of Coven is calling my name, and after that ... either working on book 5 in The Witches' Rede series or trying to figure out why the dishwasher won't drain (whichever is less painful, I guess).
To the delightful souls reading this blog, the lovely folks who are waiting patiently for the next installment of my series, thank you for everything from the bottom of my heart. And a special shout-out to whoever it was who devoured Rays of Sunshine in one sitting on Kindle Unlimited. You just helped pay for a new home manicure tool! ♥
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay entertained.
