Despite the DH and the puppies' neediness plus having GK home, I managed to make some progress on A Cup of Conflict edits. Just not as much as I would have liked because it's a fucking huge novel. Not to mention wrapping up a ton of loose threads along the way.
In the meantime, the son's visit was a rather pleasant affair. No bitching about Mom's cooking this time. (I think having to eat MREs during the twelve-day prick-waving contest between Israel and Iran had something to do about the lack of complaints.) No dude-bro attitude. I managed not to ask him what he needed because that's maternal interference in his male autonomy according to him.
In particular, I didn't say a damn thing about getting him a AAA card, making sure his debit card was reactivated by the current bank, or getting him some cash for just in case on his drive to the next base.
Anyway, GK left for his new duty station in the early morning hours. This is the first time he's less than a two days' drive from us, so he's already said he'll be home of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
At eight a.m., DH got a call from GK just before DH jumped into the shower. (I was awakened by Darling Husband's voice. He does not know how fucking loud he is when he's on the phone.) From his tone, I knew he was talking to GK and something bad had happened. My first thought was "Shit! He's been in an accident!"
Well, he sort of was. He hit a pothole an hour outside of Knoxville, Tennessee and got a flat tire. He managed to make it to the Pilot at the next exit. He didn't have a AAA card with him. No cash. And the computers at the Pilot refused to recognize his VISA card. That's when he panicked and called DH.
There's not a whole lot we could do since we're 300 miles away.
Somehow, GK limped his car to a tire retail place. Except when they got it on the lift, it wasn't the tire. The rim had bent when he hit the pothole. The very sweet guys at the tire center managed to find a rim for the wide-body version of GK's car, and managed to make it work. The kid's on his way to his fort, and all's semi-well with the universe.
But I was wound for sound because it annoys me that our relationship is still at the stage where I know nothing because I'm a parent and a woman. And DH was expecting me to wave a magic wand and miraculously fix everything.
Which, even if I could, I'm not coherent after four hours of sleep. *sigh*
So after another five hours of sleep, I fled to Starbucks to get some words in of Death Goddess Fighting because the Subconscious is good at relaxing me when she can go play.
It helped. It helped a lot. So, now I can spend the rest of the week editing.
Some do it.
But basically, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off today. DH FINALLY went to see a sleep specialist this summer. I've been nagging him (and I really try not to do that) to do so because I don't need a medical degree to know he has sleep apnea. I've been jerked awake many times by the sudden silence in our bedroom because he's not fucking breathing!
Anyway, we went in to the medical supply place for his fitting and training to use the CPAP. I was surprised about how quiet the new machines are. So, tonight will be the first time using it. I'm totally expecting for him to toss and turn a bit, but as long as he's not kicking me (like last night because he was nervous about this appointment), we're good.
After we were finished at the medical supply place, we went to a different bank to open new accounts. Our current bank was bought over the summer, and the new management isn't...gracious to long-time customers. I don't blame the employees. A lot of them are just as confused about the new policies as we are. But last month I was ready to pull my hair out over trying to pay our fucking mortgage--which was sold to a different broker the day the buy-out was announced. The transfer has not been smooth, and tons of services are not longer available, or we need to pay a premium price for them. So, fine, we'll go someplace else.
Let's just say, GK met us at the bank to open a new checking account himself thanks to some issues with accessing his online stuff and using his debit card with deployed.
After that, DH went home while GK and I went to pick up one of his cars at A-1 Auto Center in Findlay, Ohio. Now, this in one place I will praise to the heavens. Sean and his crew are awesome. They straight up tell you what the problem is and give you an estimate. Their prices are fair. And they keep you apprised every step of the way. So, it was a matter of writing the check and driving the car home.
Well, almost home. DH has soccer tonight, so I needed to get groceries and fill up the tank on the car he uses. And of course, I forgot the list I'd made out last night, so I worked off my memory. Of course, I forgot a few things, including DH's distilled water for the CPAP. *sigh*
I belatedly realized it had been over six hours since I'd eaten breakfast, so I hit the Starbucks drive-thru for one of their grilled cheese sandwiches. YUM!
I made it home fifteen minutes before DH left and finally did my usual morning routine of going through e-mails. And writing my blog posts.
It's already nearly five p.m., and there's a ton of book and publishing stuff on my plate as well as admin tasks.
What I really want right now is a nap! Alas, I'll get more caffeine and get shit done. My reward for getting A Cup of Conflict's first draft done is to go see Superman again. Not to mention the original TMNT movie is back in theaters for its 35th anniversary.
See y'all next week!
The dogs have been bathed. The Princess Pup is easy, but the Grandpuppy needs an extra pair of hands since I can no longer lift fifty-five pounds, much less in the form of a wriggling black mixed breed who detests baths with a passion.
All bedding has been changed and washed since the puppies are clean. I started cleaning bathrooms, but only got as far as the toilets yesterday.
I'm down to the last box of paperwork that drowned in the basement flood in May. The rest have been dried, shredded, and disposed of.
I still need to repack GK's kitchenware in the plastic tub I bought. Thankfully, he doesn't need that stuff right away since he'll be in the barracks at his next duty station.
Ironically, I've been cooking a lot. GK is tired of DEFAC food and MREs. However, he doesn't seem to understand that I am not a DEFAC, nor do I open at five p.m. But having a healthy, physically active, twenty-something male means cooking greater amounts than usual and no leftovers.
And he'll have to wait for cheeseburgers until after DH and I get home from yoga class tonight. LOL
I hope y'all are enjoying the last vestiges of summer!
First, Genius Kid (aka GK) will be home in approximately twenty minutes from the second I wrote the title of this post. He's been deployed overseas for the last year, and his parents and his dog (aka The Grandpuppy) miss him terribly.
Second, I will be writing the final chapter of A Cup of Conflict later this evening. GK will go to bed early due to the seven-hour time difference, and DH has soccer tonight (he runs the time clock for the high school teams and their season started last night). The book is currently at 115+K words. With one more chapter to write and editing, it will come out at 120K.
I knew it was going to be a long book, but DAMN! There were a ton of loose threads I needed to wind up in this trilogy. In case any readers haven't noticed, the Justice series is four trilogies with a stand alone story in the middle.
I'll let A Cup of Conflict rest over the weekend and get some words in on A Barrel of Vintner while I'm still in Anthea's head.
So what does this all mean? Since GK is home, and my contractors have last minute summer plans, I'll need a couple of weeks for edits and formatting. I'll set up the pre-orders on the retail sites later tonight or tomorrow.
The official release date will be August 29, 2025!
I'm so happy this book is essentially done! But to certain readers (you know who you are!), please don't ask me when the next Justice book will be out. I'm still recovering from this one.
But I still climb of bed. I still buckle down and write my words everyday. And I'm clapping back even when an alleged ally spouts the same lies the MAGA crowd as been treating as the gospel for the last ten or more years.
Someone asked me what do we do to keep the U.S. from turning into Nazi Germany. Frankly, it's too late. We're already worse than Nazi Germany.
You see people knew what they were getting when the voted for Tribblehead the second time. He has never hidden his agenda. The first time was practice. He learned how to circumvent the system by destroying it from within. And he takes great glee in doing so.
Children are arrested in school based on their skin color, regardless of their legal status. Men covered head to toe so you can't see who they are, with weapons and no identification, prowl the cities and grab people off the streets. A concentration camp has been built in Florida. Politicians and civilians are threatened and beaten up for being on the opposing side.
And like every other abuser in my life, Tribblehead counts on wearing us down until we're too tired and broken to fight anymore.
Just one problem with that plan. I'm post-menopausal, and I no longer have any fucks to give. If the only way I can keep fighting is by writing stories about people who do the right thing, then by all the deities that ever were, ever are, and ever will be, I will keep getting out of bed and spreading hope.
Because when hope dies, so does the human race.
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