I’ve been almost AWOL, I know, remiss. Once upon a time, I would’ve apologised but I shan’t.
It’s been busy over here.
I’m trying to get [Whiskey Tango Foxtrot] finished.
I’ve got six weeks and three days to have a book that’s ready to go to my lovely editor. Yeah, it can’t be the first draft, so, working here. When I stopped writing yesterday afternoon the word count was just over 62K. A week ago I was almost at 50K.
I am tired. My brain is tired. It’s been a bit of a dick to be honest.
I need to just get this done.

Margot and I have been working away on our joint project. We’ve come a long way from our first “Shall we collaborate?” a week ago to where we are now. It’s very exciting. VERY EXCITING.
We know you’re all going to be as excited as we are!

I’m on my own in the bookshop – that’s become normal now – and it will be like this for the foreseeable future. It’s adding to my overall tiredness though and it’s hard finding time to get to important appointments and also to be readily accessible for Doris who has a chronic illness and requires me to be home, especially while we try and get her daily schedule worked out. She needs support to make that work until it becomes normal.
Last week I had a new helper come into the bookshop for a few hours. She sorted some shelves for me and then vacuumed. So good! 🙂

Would be nice if housework magically sorted itself. I don’t have the energy levels to deal with everything right now and I hate when things get dusty, dirty, or messy.
I’d very much like a huge skip bin before December to chuck EVERYTHING that’s packed away and hasn’t been touched. Pretty well the entire contents of the shed can go and most of what’s in the Harry Potter cupboard (And whatever Freda has lurking in her wardrobe). Anything outside that isn’t used, can go.
The old bookcases in the lounge can fuck right off. I need a couple of decent ones.

I’ve somehow got the half-table that used to be my Nana’s in my bedroom. It’s been moved around everywhere. In our old house, it was in the hallway and since we moved it’s been shoved around all over the house. At one point it had a birdcage on it in the lounge and the bird ruined the surface of the table. It can fuck right off too along with everything else I don’t want to look at.

I was searching for skip bin costs last night. Why don’t all the providers have prices? It’s fucking annoying. I don’t want to fill out their stupid forms and have them harass me forever just to get a price. The prices I have seen are high. Then there is the “where could they put it” problem. There isn’t enough clearance for the truck to get into our yard. I don’t know if it could be lifted OVER the front fence. If it can’t then I need permission from the council to put it on the berm.
And suddenly it’s too hard, I’m stuck with shit I don’t want and can’t get rid of. (Like the old washing machine because no one removes them now when you get a new one, so that needs to go.)

Right, enough whining. I’ve got lawns to mow and cupboard doors to scrub.
[Here I am doing NOTHING to exacerbate my right wrist. Surgeons and doctors do not live in the real world, clearly.]

I want to move this book ahead by another two chapters later today. I will get this finished in plenty of time because I know I can do it.