Time and Again

I don't really care how time is reckoned so long as there is some agreement about it, but I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind. I even object to the implication that I am wasting something valuable if I stay in bed after the sun has risen. As an admirer of moonlight I resent the bossy insistence of those who want to reduce my time for enjoying it.
— Robertson Davies

You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight saving time.
— Dave Barry

Daylight saving time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.
— Anonymous

So . . . I got up a little earlier than usual this morning, so I was a little surprised when the cat started howling outside the bathroom door to hurry me up. Usually he only pulls that when I’ve slept in.

I come downstairs, open the curtains, feed the cat, and puttered around the kitchen for a bit. On my way back through the living room before going upstairs for my shower, I glanced at the clock on the bookcase and to my surprise it was closing in on 8 o’clock.

Say what? I thought it should only be closing in on 7 o’clock – how long did I spend puttering around in the kitchen? So I went back into the kitchen and the clocks on the stove and coffee maker both assured me it was almost 7. The clock above the sink insisted it was almost 8 o’clock.

My first thought was that we’d had a power outage for an hour sometime during the night. Yes, I’m that slow in the mornings. Then it occurred to me that if we’d had a power outage the digital clocks would be behind, not an hour ahead.

I checked my phone – it also insisted it was an hour later than I thought. Finally, I checked the calendar on the wall and sure enough, Daylight Savings Time had started. The hubby doesn’t do well with digital time pieces, which is why the battery operated clocks were changed, not the digital ones.

*sigh*

I don’t like the time change at the best of times. I like it even less when it catches me by surprise.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

WORDAGE REPORT

Despite the fact that my total for new words is higher than it’s been in a while, this really wasn’t a great week for writing. I was in a funk and I just couldn’t seem to pull myself out of it.

I skipped the Monday post on my other blog again because I didn’t have anything to say again. And I just didn’t wanna.

NEW WORDS:
Blog Posts – 1162+991=2,153
Christmas Story – 1,943 words
Total words: 4,096 words

Three minute words – 127+121+141+145+122+133+131=920

Goals For Next Week:
Finish Christmas story, work on journal entries for Elemental Spirit, maybe write a poem.

EDITING:
My editing partner returned Magickal Mayhem to me on Friday, with her invaluable insights. I’ve looked over her notes, but that’s as far as I’ve got so far.

Goal For Next Week:
Start the final edits on Magickal Mayhem.

MARKETING MONDAY:
Okay, so here’s the thing. After two long years my stitchery group was finally going to have an in-person meeting, and it was going to be a “stitch and show” where we show off some of the work we’ve done. And I didn’t have a whole lot to show so I spent the weekend and Monday stitching like crazy to get a couple of things finished.

However, that being said, the wondrous Jamie DeBree passed on a link for a ten word story competition, and who doesn’t have time for ten words? I’m sad you can only send one in, because it was hard to decide between the half dozen I managed.

Goal For Next Week:
Submit two stories and one poem.

TECHNO TUESDAY:
Yeah, this was kind of a bust too. That stitchery meeting I mentioned? It was Tuesday morning, all morning. And I didn’t even have enough time for a bite to eat before the hubby and I were off to a meeting with our lawyer to go over our wills (which took a lot longer than I expected), and on the way home we had to pick the cat up from the vet (where he’d had an ultrasound). So that was pretty much that.

Goal For Next Week:
Set up Paperwhite

CRAFTING:
I found some other lace for my challenge piece and it looked really good around it. Like a lace frame. So then I figured I’d better get my cross-stitched name tag made and as simple as it looked, it was rather time consuming. I stitched my name in red thread on black aida cloth, then I decided it looked a little plain so I sewed red beads around the edges.

Goal For Next Week:
Finish current afghan I’m working on so I can start stitching with a clear conscience.

WHAT I’M READING:
Two Noras last week, one of which I pretty much spent yesterday reading (one of the reasons this post is so late). I read The Witness and Blue Smoke. And now for something completely different – I picked up a copy of Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. I’m about a third of the way through it and despite the fact it’s a really popular book, I’m not sure I like it. Especially if it’s headed where I think it’s headed.

On the Kindle. I finished Becoming Dragon by Eve Langlais. Next up will be The Merman’s Kiss by Tamsin Ley.

Goal For Next Week:
Stay away from Nora Roberts' books. I cannot be trusted with them. Once I start, it’s highly unlikely I’ll stop until it’s finished, which means I get nothing else done.

GOAL REVIEW:
While I did work on my Christmas story, I didn’t get it finished. Did not work on the journal entries, did not write a poem. I did submit a single story, but it was only ten words. I did not get my Paperwhite set up, nor did I work on my granddaughter’s dress.

Wow, I did really bad on my goals, didn’t I? Well . . . I can only improve, right?

Have a happy writing week.