Bet you thought I was going to miss another month, didn’t you?

I’ve had the double-whammy of a lot going on plus some kind of a creative clog, whether you want to call it writer’s block, creative malaise, artistic apathy . . . the words don’t come.

As a result, I’m dropping the “pic of the day” site for a while to try and conserve my creative energy for some writing (knock on wood).

So with writing being a problem area lately, let’s focus on the successes: reading!

February 2022 #500Stories500Nights

• 1: “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K Le Guin (Selected Shorts, 11-25-21)
• 2: “The Umbra” by Johnny Caputo (Cast of Wonders 480)
• 3: “Obstruction” by Pamela Rentz (Fantasy Magazine, 10-26-21)
• 4: “You Perfect, Broken Thing” by CL Clark (Le Var Burton Reads, 8-2-21)
• 5: “Flight 389” by Jon Padgett (Nightmare Magazine, 10-20-21)
• 6: “If the Martians Have Magic” by P Djeli Clark (Uncanny 42B)
• 7: “Death Has Red Hair” by Greye La Spina (PseudoPod 767)
• 8: “Birthday Boys” by Alice Gauntley (Drabblecast 453)
• 9: “The City Tongue” by Matthew Sanborn Smith (Drabblecast 453)
• 10: “Everything Poops” by Kevin David Anderson (Drabblecast 453)
• 11: “This Most Fertile Earth” by Robert Francis (Tales to Terrify 493)
• 12: “The Fifth Gable” by Kay Chronister (Nocturnal Transmissions 118)
• 13: “The Proxy Marriag,” by Maile Meloy (New Yorker Fiction, 8-1-21)
• 14: “The Depletion Prompts” by David Means (New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice, 10-26-21)
• 15: “Camp Cupid” by Lucy Stone (StarShipSofa 663)
• 16: “Trivial Pursuit” by Jac Jemc (Selected Shorts 2-10-22)
• 17: “Baghead” by Renee Jessica Tan (Selected Shorts 2-10-22)
• 18: “Dick Pig” by Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 1-5-22)
• 19: “In My Brain in My Body” by Evie Mae Barber (Drabblecast 456)
• 20: “Twentyone Twentytwo Seven” by Dave Ring (Overcast 162)
• 21: “Cleared for Reentry” by Briana Morgan (The Wicked Library EW 2022-1)
• 22: “Portraiture” by Davis Walden (The Wicked Library EW 2022-1)
• 23: “The Lady of the Wood” by Cody Mower
• 24: “Rootwork” by Patrick Meegan (Nocturnal Transmissions 122)
• 25: “A Family Man” by VS Pritchett (The New Yorker Fiction, 1-1-22)
• 26: “What the Forest Remembers” by Jennifer Egan (12-27-21)
• 27: “Win-a-burger” by Glenn B. Dungan (StarShipSofa 678)
• 28: “Let the Buyer Beware,” by Michelle Ann King (Cast of Wonders 487)

March 2022 #500Stories500Nights

• 1: “Cousins Season,” by S. Fambul (Fantasy Magazine podcast, 2-22-22)
• 2: “Afterlife,” by Stephen King (LeVar Burton Reads, 2-28-22)
• 3: “The Goldfish Man,” by Maureen McHugh (Uncanny Magazine podcast 45A)
• 4: “The Wrong Impression,” by Carolyn O’Brien (The Other Stories 73.4)
• 5: “The Parricide’s Tale,” by Charles Robert Maturin (PseudoPod 800)
• 6: “Myerscough and Skeleton,” by Tim Jeffreys (Tales to Terrify 527)
• 7: “Battleground,” by Davin Ireland (Tales to Terrify 527)
• 8: “The Mathematician” by Daniel Kehlmann (Selected Shorts 2-3-22)
• 9: “Hobbits and Hobgoblins” by Randall Kenan (Selected Shorts 2-3-22)
• 10: “Simons, Far and Near” by Ana Gardner (Cast of Wonders 485)
• 11: “Free Coffin” by Corey Flintoff (Fantasy Magazine Podcast, 1-25-22)
• 12: “Words We Say Instead” by Brit EB Hvide (LeVar Burton Reads, 8-16-21)
• 13: “At the Periphery” by Benjamin Peek (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 7-7-21)
• 14: “Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker (Uncanny Magazine podcast 44B)
• 15: “The Horse Leech Has Two Maws” by Michael Picco (PseudoPod 796)
• 16: “How Lovely Are Your Branches” by Tim Pratt (Drabblecast 455)
• 17: “What Doesn’t Kill You” by Michelle Ann King (Tales to Terrify 524)
• 18: “Bela’s Brood” by EEW Christman (Tales to Terrify 524)
• 19: “Transition / Transformation” by Taylor Mittelsteadt (Nocturnal Transmissions 117)
• 20: “Dream Eater” by Nemma Wollenfang (Podcasts from 3F, 2-3-22)
• 21: “Judge & Jury” by Richard Reynolds (The Other Stories 66.5)
• 22: “Headspace” by Beth Cato (Overcast 153)
• 23: “Making the Merrow” by Samantha Mayotte (The Wicked Library TWL 1107)
• 24: “Loneliness” by Bruno Schulz (New Yorker Fiction, 2-1-22)
• 25: “Long Distance” by Aysegul Savas (New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice, 1-24-22)
• 26: “Kaleidoscope City” by Doug C Souza (StarShipSofa 681)
• 27: “The Briefcase” by Rebecca Makkai (Selected Shorts 3-17-22)
• 28: “Paradise” by Yxta Maya Murray (Selected Shorts 3-17-22)
• 29: “My Hilt Itches” by Sydney Rivers (Cast of Wonders 489)
• 30: “The Dybbuk Ward” by Gabrielle Harbowy (Fantasy Magazine Podcast 3-22-22)
• 31: “Troll Bridge” by Terry Pratchett (LeVar Burton Reads, 2-14-22)

I also finished two audiobooks: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and Impact Winter by Travis Beacham.

I finished A Fortune for Your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet who spoke at this year’s UND Writers Conference.

I am currently reading (also from UND Writers Conference authors) The Farmer’s Lawyer by Sarah Vogel and We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge.

I am getting ready to start the ebook version of a “lost book” from my childhood. It was something I read and re-read in my preteen years, and then it disappeared, probably lost in one of our moves. It had made a big impact on my imagination (one of the first things I remember reading and enjoying that was scifi), but I couldn’t remember the author or the title, or enough to make a Google search pan out. And then I stumbled on it on a scifi chat board. Imagine my surprise to find that it is considered a young adult novel!

My mom was an avid reader of horror, my granny an avid reader of romances, and my dad an occasional reader of scifi and war stories. I tended to steal books from all of their collections as well as always having at least three or four out from the school library. I’m pretty sure the book was in my dad’s collection, an anomaly. He didn’t care for young adult novels, and I generally avoid the genre myself these days. Nothing wrong with it, of course, I just have never been able to connect with a young adult protagonist. I was never able to get into Harry Potter or Twilight, either. Just a personal preference.

So I’m hoping that I’ll still find the novel just as captivating as I did back then: Spaceling, by Doris Piserchia

Speaking of the UND Writers Conference, it was awesome, as always. It was great to have it hybrid, but I wish there had been an option for more in-person events. There’s just something about the energy and fellowship of in-person events that gets lost when you are on Zoom.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Zooming in, too. There’s nothing like “attending” the conference in your PJs with a glass of wine in your hand.

Also, something came up on the last day of the conference and I had to go out of town. Hubby drove and I was able to Zoom into a couple of conference events on my phone while in the car on the way to Fargo!

And what in the world was so important in Fargo that it made me miss part of my beloved writers conference?

THIS GUY!

Say hello to Bruce Beowulf. He’s named after a combo of Bruce Campbell/They Call Me Bruce, both of which sum up his personality. If there’s something you think he can’t get into, he’s getting into it. If there’s something you think he can’t do, he’s doing it. He’s the first dog that’s ever gotten out of the puppy playpen we usually confine un-housebroken puppies in while we are at work. He got out, and we still don’t know how (climbed the three feet tall walls?????).

Normally, pups are confined overnight as well, in a room separate from us. Not Bruce. He literally cried all night. After two nights of feeling like the most horrible mom on the planet, and no sleep, we came up with a solution. We have a dog-modified bed (a queen and twin pushed together so there is room for me and hubby and all the dogs). We put an open wire crate at the head of the twin, right next to where I sleep, and that’s now where Bruce sleeps. No crying at all. He’s smart as heck and knows what he wants, and he’s got me wrapped around his little paw!

And since I’m a glutton for punishment and already dealing with a busy life as well as writer’s block, I’ve decided to take a summer class this year. It’s partially because of the convenience of the summer class. It’s a “business communication” class which should be helpful for both my writing career and my day job, especially since the last time I took a business writing class, email wasn’t a thing. Time to update my skills. And, over the summer, the class is offered online; in the fall, it’s only offered in-person. I’d rather do the online version.

Speaking of school, my current major is social science with a communication minor. I (think) I’d like to switch to a communication major, but there’s one small sticking point: a required block called “experience.” This block is generally filled with an internship or working as a teaching assistant, which would be problematic for me given my day job. I’ve been in contact with advisers and they are working on trying to figure something out (though one did seem to have the attitude of, “so be a teaching assistant, what’s the big deal?”). So we will see how that works out. Worst-case scenario, I don’t major in communication. Not the end of the world.

My big project for the the next few months, through summer (in addition to the class), is to refresh the creative well. I’ve gotten some wonderful advice and suggestions from a really amazing author, and I plan to put some of that advice into action. Sometimes, changing up the outlet for your creativity can help, so I plan to dabble in some other creative play, like woodcarving and sketching. Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was pretty good with a charcoal pencil . . . because that’s all we had back in those “dawn of fire” days, y’know.

Speaking of creative play, I bought some rollerskates–REAL roller skates, not those new-fangled rollerblades–and I plan to relearn how to use them. I used to love rollerskating (yes, back in the roller-disco days) and I was pretty good. I want to see if it’s still as fun as I remember . . . which probably means that one of these blog posts will be written from a hospital bed in traction, but I’m up for the adventure. And as long as I only break a leg, I’ll still be able to write!

Current obsession: I actually have two things I’m obsessing about lately. One is Dirtwire. I had never heard of them before I started watching Larry Yazzie fancydance on Instagram, but now I’m obsessed with their sounds.

The other thing I’m obsessing about is Black Hills gold. It’s weird because I’ve never been a jewelry person. I wear my wedding ring and my crow necklace, and that’s it. But I’ve gotten back into wearing earrings lately, and that sparked the Black Hills gold obsession. It was really popular around here in the seventies and eighties, but you don’t see much about it now. Maybe the obsession has to do with some subconscious latent nostalgia I’m not aware of? Rollerskates, black hills gold . . . what’s next? Leg warmers?

And finally, after all this rambling, we get to the question of the month: What’s your favorite family tradition?

We’ve had lots of family traditions over the years, but a lot of them have fallen by the wayside as the kids grew, moved away, and life changed. We did start a new one this year that I’d like to keep going.

We moved back in 2018. Since that move, life has been . . . challenging. There have been financial challenges, emotional challenges, health challenges, relationship challenges, etc, all happening at the rate of 100WTFs per month. Way more than what you would expect, global pandemic not withstanding. Now, I’m not saying I’m blaming the house, BUT . . .

I’m not sure this house was ever more than a house to anyone. It’s twenty years old and has been sold several times (as opposed to my old home, where it was 20 years old when we sold it and we were the only people to have ever lived in it). It’s not too bizarre for a home to sell often around here. There are a lot of people who buy intending to stair-step (upgrade as soon as they are able to). There are a lot of transient people (a military base and a college mean a lot of people are in the area only temporarily). And, as was the case for the last resident of the house, a lot of people buy houses just to rent them out. So houses here are often just houses and not “homes.” I know a lot of people don’t buy into negative energy or bad vibes, but I do. Not saying that the house is haunted or cursed, but just that has some residual negativity hanging around like an old fart.

When we moved in, I added a door hanger for hanging wreaths on the front door. I had been buying seasonal wreaths for it, but for winter, I made my own wreath out of items sourced here from the yard. Hubby liked the idea, too, so I think it’s something we are going to continue on. There’s a good vibe about creating a welcoming wreath for the front door out of materials that “belong” to the house and yard. To me, it just says, this is our home, we belong together, and it definitely makes a positive vibe.

That’s it for this month! Until next month (knock on wood), Stay Spooky!