Dear Diary - Page 241 - Realm of the InterNutter

Procrasti... nation

I admit. I'm a dawdler. I found a nice source... several nice sources... of sealing wax... online and ready to ship to my location. I'm debating whether or not it's a good idea because they're upwards of $6 per stick. More if they include sealing paraphernalia.

Artisinal stuff is a niche business. Sealing wax is for historian nerds, steampunks, and bridal supplies... because old timey aesthetic equals romance.

It's cheaper and easier to use domestic candles. I at least have those. And, if I go to the right shops, I can get them in seasonal colours, too. If I really want to go all out, I could plausibly expend 15-20 dollars on one of those artsy Make Your Own Candle kits for some Real Beeswax to use.

But let's face it. By the time it gets to the recipient? They probably won't care. The wax is just a very small part of the complete package. I shouldn't fuss.

Then there's the whole "care and attention to detail" business. When you make a gift for people, you're supposed to fuss over the details.

Argh.

I'll probably resolve this by discussion with Beloved.

And as for my morning walk? I still have yet to be attacked by the local flying saurians.

Attempting to start new, good habits

Good morning, dear readers. Today, I'm trying to get healthy on the slow and steady path. I'm overweight and I know it. 99 kilos is more than a few too many.

The Bullshit Medical Indicator reckons I should be at 63-69 kilograms. And we all know how I feel about BMI. It's a predatory tactic used by the weight loss industry to spread eating disorders and call it "healthy".

The last time I was anywhere near weighing sixty kilos was when I

By crikey, it's hot

Mayhem is powering through the sports drink that I honestly thought would last him the better part of two weeks. More fool me. Chaos has imbibed every last juice box we had.

Mayhem needs the drink he has because it's one of the few things that keep his stomach settled in the heat.

And it's a sticky, humid heat this morning that promises melting delights for all the people who never wanted to melt in the first place.

I'm already getting sweaty.

Good news, everyone!

The cat is free of the Cone of Shame! Kaloo, kalay, etc.

She still has to stay indoors for another fortnight, just to be certain that she's healed. And we have to apply eye drops.

Better news - we can use human eye drops with no harm to the cat.

Fantastic news - we managed to get all the supplies we need for less than $50. And by "less than", I mean that I got pocket change back.

The Golden Circle Factory

How to wash a cat's face and other random problems

It's 6:30AM, the temperature in my office is already a balmy 27.5 degrees [82 old school] and Mayhem is not doing so great.

There was upchuck, last night. Which Mayhem thoughtfully allowed to dry. And owing to a scheduling problem, Beloved was not available to help me swab all the scabs off of the cat's eye.

Chaos is being her usual sweet self and doing her star-quality Lump Impersonation instead of looking after herself. I've actually had to tell her

...fargnax

Despite the combined best efforts of both medicine and myself - Mayhem is still throwing up. We can't nail down the cause and sending him to school is counterproductive.

They don't like him being there if he's upchucking.

Meanwhile, he and I will be working on other causes. Starting with the state of his ~~pig sty~~ room. I'm willing to bet there's at least a cubic meter of assorted rubbish and filthy plates or glasses in there. Getting rid of the nasties

Two more days!

Two more days until payday. Two more days until the cat goes back to the vet for a (hopefully) more optimistic diagnosis. I think her eyelid is healing at a glacial pace and she might not need further surgery.

And the Cone of Shame is really a pain in the butt for her, and us. And the medicine for her eye always runs our too firkin early.

I have, however, realised that I don't need to take the cat to the vet

Balance and writing

I do a lot of stories off the cuff. One thousand and thirty, before I get started on today's. Some, like We're Mostly Harmless, I Swear, wind up becoming the cornerstones for novels.

But I'm never lazy about it.

I could have easily copy/pasted my Instants about Amity into the novel-that-is and few would have been the wiser.

I'm not like that. I can't let myself do that. It's a form of cheating and - at least in my humble opinion

::white noise::

Didn't get a lot of sleep, because last night was a rare night out. Kind friends had given Beloved a movie voucher.

FYI, The Mockingjay Part 2 is firkin awesome. Well done, movie peeps, for sticking to the book.

BUT going to see it also meant that I didn't get to bed much before 11PM.

My thoughts are full of static. I want to go back to sleep for a majority of the day. BUT, I also have 1K of words to

Pbpbpbpbpbpbpbpbpbh...

Pretty much how I'm feeling this morning. The sound of a sigh coming out between lax and flappy lips.

We probably have just enough to make it to the next payday. IF the kids' Friday treat comes out of the Penny Pincher Menu so I can afford the tank of petrol for the running around we're doing on the weekend.

Beloved is Forty, as of yesterday. Merry birth, Beloved. I wish I could do more for you.

Still need to get eggs

It's been so long since I went to Hell...

My frelling sleep issues have been acting up. Hello, anxiety. It's been a while since you fucked up my life. Come on in, we're having coffee.

...you little shit...

In brief: woke up at 2AM-ish because I went to bed at 8:30 because I was dog tired because worry.

2AM-ish meant that I would be dog tired AGAIN in the afternoon and I don't need that because I have a firkin physical for insurance's sake, so I did my best to

101 reasons to love Steam Powered Giraffe

Before you roll your eyes at me, this is not going to be an enumerated list. You can breathe, now. It's okay.

One Hundred and One is the number of times that I have listened through the Giraffe's most recent album, The Vice Quadrant: A Space Opera. Or just Vice Quadrant for short.

That's two hundred and two hours of music that I have yet to become sick of. Not one song, not one spoken interlude, not one fragment of this double

Herbing 'till I plotz...

I promised a photojournal entry, and you're about to get a photojournal entry.

We start with a simple, neglected herb garden:

Pictured, smol child, large rosemary Chaos is looking nervous because there was a wasp on the other side.

Chaos showing off a washing basket full of cut herbs We got a basket full of cuttings. most of them were actually useful.

This is just the LEFTOVER rosemary The leftovers. Some sprigs are bundled with the hope of making decent potential tea.

Finished Rosemary oil. It will be going out in much smaller bottles Heat-infused rosemary oil looks gross when its done, and in bulk.

Mint still being processed I had a freaking LOT of mint. So much that

Post-massacre update

I have successfully mutilated the Rosemary bush and decimated the mint population The house and my hands are redolent with the scent of both.

I tried enlisting some child labour to speed up the process, but Mayhem begged off early [feeling useless and then feeling sick] and Chaos got bored of picking mint leaves.

I have a sink full of unpicked mint, soaking in water and lemon juice to stop them browning whilst I take a well-earned break. And about a double-handful

Where has all the money gone?

I discussed money issues with Beloved in the evening. As it turns out, most of the expenses were directly related to bills and paying off debts.

We're relatively debt free, right now. But we're also money poor.

And Christmas is going to be hellishly expensive, even with my frugality in the balance. For example: Beloved suggested using actual sealing wax for the gift basket stuff. Two of the lovely bottle types have corks, and they're going to need a functional seal.

I