Sliding into home a little late this week, but I’m still getting here. For this week, I ended up picking 5 projects to work on, with a goal of 2000 words on each of them. And when I got done with that, I’d be done for the week. Except it’s Saturday, and I still haven’t quite gotten there. I didn’t start this plan until part way into the week, and we did have two baseball games, so that all could have played a part. I think I’ll try to stick with this and see how next week goes before I decide whether it will work or not.
Writing
Here You Come Again
2060 words. I moved from the Deepening Desire and into the Maybe This Can Work beat. The characters have gone from leaving notes on the bookstore’s bulletin board to texting, though Maire still doesn’t know the identity of the person she’s communicating with. Things are definitely going to start heating up.
Book Babe: And if you want me to know you better, you could start telling me about that list. You're leaving me hanging here.
text thread from Maire’s phone
Slanting Sunlight
2069 words. I did a lot of reworking of the original content and also added new words. I’m really liking how this is developing.
No one else had ever thought she was enough to stick around for. Except Jeremy. But, she really didn't want to be thinking about her brother right now. Especially as she was stepping up onto the porch. So close to being all alone with Bree, and that was really the only thing she wanted to concentrate on.
In the Moonlight
2215 words. A lot of this was reworking from the original version, though I did make a few changes to the way things had originally gone.
My shoulders relaxed. I'd appease my mom, and I'd still get out of here without feeling like I led him on. We'd all win.
If only everything in my life could be managed like that.
Dear History
2465 words. I got through the rest of Aaron’s 1861 journal entries. Next, I’ll get back to writing letters between Thomas and Aaron through 1862.
And now the only thing I can think of is when I can get to town and see David again. And will he kiss me again?
From the journal of Aaron Mathis, November 12, 1861
Queer Cruise
2042 words. This is one that I’m retyping as I go through it and making edits as I go. I’m almost through Chapter 4 now.
But, Benjamin thought it just might be worth any waves they had to swim through to find out.
Reading
I’ve read a few enjoyable books in the last week, but nothing that leaves me gushing.
Crafting
Pride Whales
I’ve finished a couple of these. I ran into a problem, when i realized the yarn order I’d gotten didn’t include one of the skeins I’d bought. It was quickly taken care of, I only had to wait for it to arrive. But, I’d already started one that needed that yarn. I went as far as I could with it, stuck a stitch holder through the loop and started a different one. I managed to finish the bisexual and genderqueer whales and then picked up the rainbow one again. I’m almost finished with that one now.
Story
I’ve got another story from the Castlemore Residences series this week.
Eliana sighed and took off her headphones. There'd been a lot of racket out in the hallway a while ago, and she'd been having trouble concentrating. She thought it had finished, but now there was a loud pounding.
"Oh."
Without the padded headphones, and the music she put up as high as her eardrums could handle, she realized the renewed commotion was actually someone knocking on her door. Feeling a little sheepish for not realizing that sooner, Eliana saved the post she'd been working on for a client and pushed back from her desk.
There really wasn't much room for it in the living room of her apartment, but she'd tried working on the couch and sitting at her table in her even smaller kitchen space. There was barely room in there for the table. None of those options helped her productivity. So, she'd made room for the small desk, even if it meant trading in a full size couch for the loveseat. It was only her here anyway, so it wasn't like she needed the extra seats.
There was another knock on her door, and she sighed. Hopefully she hadn't done something to upset someone in the building. She couldn't think of anything.
When she opened the door, it took her a moment to recognize the older woman. Mai lived on the second floor, Eliana knew at least part of her apartment was right above her own place. But, they'd never interacted all that much. She'd probably had more contact with Mai's stepson, Lars, in the time she'd been living here.
"Can I do something for you, Ms. Huang?" Then, I bit my lip. "It's not Lars, is it? I just saw him the other day, but I haven't—"
"The boy is fine. With his father this weekend." I screwed my face up at that and Mai gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I see you understand. But, we will deal with it when he is home. That's not why I came to see you."
"Oh. Do you want to come inside then? I was about to...well, no, I wasn't about to take a break. But, I really should."
Mai gave a deep laugh at that then coughed as if to get a rasp out of her voice. "I guess my interruption was timely then."
"Very. come in. I can make some tea. Or I have water or juice. That's it, really. We could go out to the kitchen, if you'd—"
"It's fine, Miss Pastore."
"Uh oh," Eliana said. "What did I do?"
***
Mai couldn't help but laugh again. The girl was funny, whether she was trying to be or not. And she knew Eliana wasn't a girl. Still, she was about sixteen years younger than Mai, so it was hard to think of her as anything else. She was barely older than Mai's stepson, so yeah, she still seemed like a girl. Still, Mai was well aware most grown women didn't want to be referred that way.
"Don't worry," Mai said. "you haven't done anything. Why would you think you did?"
"Well, usually, when I get 'Miss Pastore'ed, it means someone is a bit irked with me. I've been using my headphones when I have music playing, so that shouldn't bother anyone. And I have--"
"I haven't heard any complaints about you," Mai said quickly, before the girl could run through all the things she hadn't done that might have bothered someone. "If anything, it's the opposite. I know you spend time with the kids. Lars is always in a better mood after your poetry readings. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."
"My poetry? Or the meetings. You're welcome to come. It's open to everyone, not just the kids. Though they are mostly the ones who attend. But, really, it's always good to have different perspectives. And it's not a critique group, just a sharing time, really."
Mai figured if she just kept her mouth shut, Eliana would run down eventually. But, there was only so much time before Lars came back from his father's, and she would like to spend some time with her partner. So, she really should just get out what she'd come here to say. "I might come to one of these meetings, though I don't write much myself. But, actually, I wanted to talk about the poetry."
"Is someone upset about something I shared? I swear I don't read much of the more, um, mature material I've written."
Mai laughed, even as she wondered what in Eliana's past made her jump to the conclusion that someone was upset with her so often. "Not at all," she told Eliana. "In fact, Lars has said how good it is. Impressing a sixteen-year-old boy, well, almost sixteen, but still, that's impressive. And I'm about to start a poetry unit with my students. And like I said, I don't actually write much of it. Of course, I know the technical stuff, and can tell them that side of writing one. But, I thought the personal touch might have more of an effect on them. So, I hoped maybe you could walk them through an exercise of how you write a poem."
"Oh," she said. Then, she brightened. "Yeah, of course. I'd love to. When?"
Well, that had ended up being easier that Mai had worked herself up into thinking.