Tag Archives: Ducks

Week 20 Summary: A Demoralizing, Funny, And Bizarre Experience ๐Ÿ™ƒ

This week I went back to my job at Christmas Tree Shops, which, as I’ve mentioned, is closing down (my location is, anyway) meaning that in a few weeks, we will all be out of a job. But I came back here because the job at the market/bakery was awful.

CTS was/is the first true corporate job that I actually stayed at. I don’t count Citel since they didn’t need me after all, and it was an office job that lasted barely a week or two. In addition to that, CTS is my first experience working at a big box store that is being liquidated and closing. As the title of this post mentions, this experience can at times wear you down and demoralize you. Other times, it’s really funny. And it is very bittersweet.

I am glad that I am in such a privileged position to get to do it without panicking about what my next job will be. I can just take it all in, and have fun with it, which gives me a lot of material to blog about. ๐Ÿ˜

This post also has more doll stuff and more art. Let’s get to it!

SIDE NOTE: Thank you in advance to anyone who comments on this post! Though it may take me a while to reply, your comments mean so much to me! ๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿ’˜โœจ๐Ÿ’•

๐ŸŒˆ Monday ๐ŸŒˆ

On this day I went back to CTS. The vibe was certainly… weird. At times, people joke and laugh. At times, it feels very sad. Overall, everyone is stressed out of their minds. The sales are bad right now (for customers): mostly 10% off, with our 20% off coupons gone. This means that the prices are technically more expensive than before we were closing. But perception is everything, and people come in droves, spending hundreds at a time, and in one case, over a thousand dollars. It’s very tiring right now.

Seeing all the signs from my spot at the register really gave me a sinking feeling.

Literally every transaction involves the customer saying a form of these things:

“I’m so upset that you’re closing! I’m so disappointed! How long have you known? How long will the sale last? Why can’t I use coupons? When will the discounts get better? Which day are you closing? You guys didn’t do enough advertising/your name is confusing/I didn’t know you were here. How many stores are closing? Why are they closing? If you’re closing, why am I still getting coupons/emails?”

So with every customer, I repeat the same song and dance:

“I am disappointed too. I also love the store. I am sad about losing my job and my coworker companions. We found out the same day as everyone else, including customers. You can’t use coupons or return items because everything in here no longer belongs to CTS but to the liquidator. We don’t know exactly how many more weeks we will be open, just an approximate. You’re right, corporate didn’t advertise enough. We, the employees, did everything we could. Yes, the name is confusing. It’s not like we could change it. The fact that you didn’t know you were here is part of the reason why we are closing. Only ten stores are closing. We are the only Florida store that is closing. We are the only Florida employees not close enough to get reassigned elsewhere. They are closing stores because they filed for bankruptcy protection and we are a low-performing store.”

Repeat ad nauseaum.

If all the above, in a paragraph with no breaks, reads as tiresome, exhausting, drone-like… imagine saying this to every customer for hours and hours. There isn’t a SINGLE transaction or phone call to the store that doesn’t involve some form of the above. No one stops to think that we have heard it all a million times that day.

One lady who called to inquire about the closing decided to have a 15-minute chat with me, an aimless conversation about all of the above. I couldn’t get rid of her. I heard about five iterations of “When God closes a door, He opens a window” on Monday, and by the last, I wanted to tear my hair out. Two people decided to let me know that they were not, as they put it, “happy campers”.

It is not cute. It is not helpful.

Still, one thought was in my mind all day long: “This is so much better than that other job.” One’s team is everything, and our team is fantastic. My coworkers are already talking of following our manager elsewhere if possible… while that probably won’t happen, it’s a testament to how good of a vibe we had.

I often heard some of the assistant managers complain about this or that decision taken by our store manager. People would often gripe; sometimes I heard about little tiffs with raised voices between the assistant managers and him, but I think he is well-loved by most. In spite of saying these things, many of the assistant managers would happily follow him to the next store and so would I. He’s a great boss, and the assistant managers are SO good, positive, the kind of people that just make you want to do your best. So I’m going to do my best until the bitter end.

Christopher let me grab a $20 rug from the store to cover my very stained carpet that simply cannot be cleaned properly anymore. It looks pretty good!

๐ŸŒˆ Tuesday ๐ŸŒˆ

Tuesday was a very exhausting day. My coworkers and managers had warned me: it is going to get SO much worse. On Monday, I was unsure of what they meant. By late Tuesday I had a better idea.

As the same questions and comments from customers repeat in a never-ending cycle, our partner had some ideas of how I should respond to the “You’re closing the store? Why??” questions:

“We’re closing because Christmas is canceled.”

“We’re closing because an atheist family bought the company and they hate Christmas.”

“What do you mean we’re closing?! No one told me this! Oh my God, am I losing my job?”

“How did you find out that we’re closing? *looks around in a conspiratory manner* It’s supposed to be a secret. Who told you?”

Unfortunately, I don’t have the balls to give any of these responses. ๐Ÿ˜…

I saw a cute doggy on this day:

I wasn’t sure I would ever get the chance to see Christmas trees for sale at Christmas Tree Shops, but lo and behold!

๐ŸŒˆ Wednesday ๐ŸŒˆ

Since Tuesday, our partner has been very, very sick. It’s just a head cold (he has no fever and did two COVID tests) but, it’s quite bad. So I’m trying my best to take care of him, even though there really isn’t much I can do.

On this day I completed a gift for Seven, in gratitude for a great kindness recently shown to me by her when I closed commissions. Of course, it also includes Snow and Ember. I finished it in an old-fashioned style:

For dinner, I made salmon and rice:

๐ŸŒˆ Thursday ๐ŸŒˆ

Another day of the same. On Thursday, I had a customer turn around as she was leaving and ask me, “Do you have another job lined up?” When I responded that I didn’t, she laughed in my face and left. I didn’t even know how to react! Wow. ๐Ÿ™ƒ

Then later in the day, we found these bowls filled to the brim with water. These were in a “cage”, also called a “dump bin” in retail. It’s a massive container that can fit four or five of me, and a LOT of merchandise. Anyway, apparently there was a leak in the roof and these filled with rainwater, which a customer noticed. It was pretty funny.

๐ŸŒˆ Friday ๐ŸŒˆ

Day off! I took care of the snails and the house, worked on art, relaxed, made the guys a nice dinner, and played with my dolls a bit. Yesterday I listed a bunch of old items hoping to make money to buy the other My Twinn doll that I’d missed out on. But then I realized that eBay holds the money for a while now, after a sale. There was no way I would have it in time. So Christopher let me borrow some funds to get her. She is very beautiful. I’m going to call her Emily.

Much like with my upcoming Zanini Zambelli Italian doll, this is a case in which I have no desire to change the doll’s outfit. It is truly gorgeous as-is.

On this day I finally took Samantha out of her box and dressed her up. She looks so beautiful in her new clothes!

In the afternoon I noticed that Buddy moved again, this time to a high shelf. I wonder how long his unseasonal visit will last?

In the evening, we played LEGO. I had wine and a little snack and felt very happy.

I also finished building this Creator 3-In-1 Medieval Castle. It was a pretty neat build!

For dinner, I made fajitas over rice with cilantro and avocado. It was delicious!

๐ŸŒˆ Saturday ๐ŸŒˆ

Saturday morning was dark and stormy. Elliot didn’t want to be outside because of the thunder, so he stayed near me.

Our partner indulged me in getting another toy, a bizarre and adorable Monchhichi clone –a bear. I think I’ll call him Calisson. These are the Etsy photos, he’ll take a while to arrive yet:

I’ve been getting a lot of toys this year, which, if you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ll know to coincide with me being Not Okay โ„ข. And I have NOT been okay. The job stuff is stressful, sure. But it’s the community stuff that has me on a downward spiral and has for months.

Just as I did in my childhood, when I feel isolated and lonely, I seek refuge in toys –their cuddliness, their cute faces. They’re friends that will never go away, or suddenly have terrible hidden pasts, or decide to replace me or not like me anymore. Toys are safe and always have been. They never mock me, I can’t accidentally hurt their feelings and lose their friendship.

So, as self-indulgent and unwise as I know my purchases appear (and they are, make no mistake) I can tell you they’re my current coping mechanism because I don’t really know what else to do with my feelings. Please try not to judge me too harshly. ๐Ÿ˜…

I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but my snails got mites again. ๐Ÿ˜ž You might remember how expensive, difficult, and upsetting an experience that was the first time around. I’ve been very aggressive in treating it, so hopefully they’ll be okay. Here’s a photo of some snails kissing.

Muah.

๐ŸŒˆ Sunday ๐ŸŒˆ

Though this was a workday, in the morning I found some time to de-stuff Fiorella and throw her body and clothes in the wash.

I also washed her hair twice and conditioned it…

Then set it all out to dry. Her thigh has a little tear, but it’s easily fixed.

I will stuff her with brand-new stuffing, fix the tear, and comb her hair. I made her a necklace, and I got her a brand new big ribbon to match the one on her clothes. She’ll look so cute when I’m done with her!

While Fiorella dried in the warm sun, I moved some stuff around in my studio. I missed seeing my Monchhichis, so I put them where I can see them better. These three are Melon-Pan, Minoru, and Ponzu:

This was my first time getting a really nice photo of Ponzu:

Before work, I had leftover roasted cauliflower and black olive pizza for lunch, topped with cilantro:

Work went fast. It was busy. People continue to be a bit obnoxious about the store closing. But, I saw another pupper!

What a happy guy. Speaking of happy guys, here are some littler ones I saw in the parking lot while waiting for Christopher to pick me up after work:

Mama wasn’t happy about me getting too close and herded them all away. Sorry, Mama Duck.

The evening was wonderful! We met our friends for dinner at Shooters Waterfront. I got some nice photos…

I had a couple of coffee drinks that unexpectedly knocked me on my ass, and a wonderful plate of risotto, shrimp, and scallops. We shared a couple of cheese plates. It was SO good.

Here’s a photo of two of our best friends. They are getting married really soon! ๐Ÿฅฐ

After dinner, my drunk, stumbling ass bullied everyone into a short walk at the beach at 11:00 pm. So off we went, and I asked to go back and be carried after taking like, ten steps. No one carried me.

Anyway, I got some beautiful photos!

We also came across this. Just stuck there in the sand, facing the sea. There was some dribbling around it as if a dog peed on it. Maybe someone had dribbled something over it on purpose as part of a ritual. This was in pitch-black darkness, I wonder what it meant?

On the drive back, I saw the Hard Rock guitar showing off an unusually pretty light display, so I got some video:

Anyway, that’s it for this week! Next week I’ll be visiting my mom, and getting more doll clothes in the mail. It’ll be quite busy at work… Hopefully, I’ll continue to find time to blog and keep you all posted. Have a great week, everyone!

Summary Of The Last Few Days! ๐Ÿคง๐Ÿ„๐ŸŒˆ

Hello everyone, it’s time for the weekly update. As I’ve stated on Twitter, these past days I wake up and after my coffee and news reading it feels so frivolous to do my chores, work on art, or on my blog, or play with the cats. I feel so utterly guilty to have my privileged peaceful existence, for no reason other than luck.

I hope itโ€™s not inappropriate to continue sharing happy mundane things or cutesy art. Iโ€™m not trying to be callous, but I also want to continue recording my daily life, making art, and hopefully making people smile if I can.

Before I move on with my nonsense, I want to share this link with you. It is a C|NET article with information on how to help Ukrainian refugees and others affected by Russia’s unprovoked, cruel attack, it also lists the Charity Navigator ranking of each of these charities. I encourage you to take a look and help in any way that you are able.

A lot of things happened this week. Firstly, I spent most of the week sick. Well, sort of. I hadn’t been sick all of this time, since COVID began, and finally caught Christopher’s latest head cold. So I had a bit of a sore throat and sinus pain and LOTS of sniffling and sneezing but otherwise felt 100% okay, which may sound weird, but generally my colds/coughs/etc are awful, usually bad enough (if attacking my chest) that I need to see a doctor due to infection that will linger up to two months. It has been quite bad on occasion. My last illness was strep throat which was an absolute nightmare… so this was a walk in the park really.

Still, I was in bed a bit more than usual. Tomoyo kept me company.

Recently I’ve been taking more and more walks with one of my partners, definitely a highlight of the days on which we do. My walks are generally very utilitarian… burn this many calories, move on with my day. These walks are now more leisurely, engaged in conversation and looking at little things. Burning less calories I suppose, but it’s pretty good for my mental well-being.

Here is a moth we spotted on one recent such walk. It was very big:

๐Ÿ’˜ Tomoyo ๐Ÿ’˜

Tomoyo has been sweet, staying near me lots. Her asthma continues to be an issue. I try to give her as much affection and attention as I can. Here are some photos I took of her spending time near me while I work…

And a photo/some video from the studio floor…

Turn sound up for cute sounds. She scared herself somehow.

At one point I tried taking a couple of selfies with her. She did not cooperate, this was the best I was able to get.

๐ŸŒณ Park Walk ๐ŸŒณ

Later in the week we went to walk around C. B. Smith Park. I hadn’t been there in a while. We saw some cute Muscovy duckies…

They were very friendly. Next time I’ll bring some healthy seeds or frozen peas to feed them.

They had a bit of an argument at one point…

Here’s a little flower we spotted while chasing iguanas, and just a nice view of the side of a bridge we crossed:

Big mushrooms!

And little ones…

I found my first geocache at C. B. Smith. Though we search together he always finds them first. So I was excited to finally find one, I’m really not very good at finding them yet.

Afterwards I got treated to an acai bowl, it’s one of my new favorite things, especially after a long, hot walk such as this one!

๐ŸŽฎ Variable Barricade ๐ŸŽฎ

Variable Barricade released this week! To the backlog it goes… but slowly I am resuming “normal life”, and expect to enter a proper gaming schedule soon. ๐Ÿ™‚

This is something I really want to do in a serious manner… I love gaming and just cannot find the time. I need to create an actual structure within which to do so, or else I’ll have invested hundreds of dollars in games I do not allow myself to play because work seems too important by comparison.

๐Ÿ• Date Night Pizza Dinner ๐Ÿ•

For date night this week, we finally went to Mister O1. We tried last date night but the wait was too long. It was pretty good. Simple as it was, the appetizer was my favorite.

We ate outside. It’s really nice to do that for a change.

๐Ÿ‘ฝ Smoke Shop Trip ๐Ÿ‘ฝ

Another day this week I got to visit a smoke shop. I don’t smoke but they have so many cool and hilarious things, such as this E.T. offering free condoms:

And these adorable Grogu pipes, which I just had to photograph to show my sis-in-law:

๐Ÿ„ More Park Walks ๐Ÿ„

Friday was my favorite day this week. Our normal walk ended up feeling more like a long date. ๐Ÿฅฐ We went to two parks, one which I’d been one (Secret Woods Nature Center) and one to which I had not (Topeekeegee Yugnee Park).

Secret Woods Nature Center is always lovely, shaded, with lots of little things to see, including many tiny crabs and spiders.

It’s a very magical-feeling place. When you’re there, all the noise from the city and traffic mere steps away seems to just fade into nothing.

(CW: SPIDER ahead.)

One of the many leggy friends we came across…

On the way to the second park, a huge plane flew right over us. I was able to get some cool pics:

Next came what really was the best part of all! Topeekeegee Yugnee Park was FULL of squirrels. Never seen so many in one place.

This time I’d brought a baggie with healthy treats for them: raw unsalted peanuts, seeds, etc. Not too much, just enough to have the pleasure of feeding them for a bit. They were shy, but soon I was surrounded, it was wonderful.

There were birds too, trying to steal all the seeds, and they were fast. So I had to be quick, too, to help the squirrels get some, because they feared the aggressive birds.

Here’s some video of that. Pesky things… I do like the birds too, but I wish they shared better!

And one more video of squirrel feeding. Forgive my dumbass voice, I was so excited.

Here’s a couple more photos of this lovely place:

Anyway, yeah, this was an utterly wonderful experience. I want to come again as soon as possible.

One last super cool thing. A geocache we found. It was a hole in a tree and the stopper was stuck of a piece of bark! Incredibly well done.

Iโ€™ve made sure not to identify the specific park or location, so hopefully itโ€™s okay to share this photo, I just thought it was fascinating. I would have never found this by myself!

๐Ÿฅž๐Ÿ“ Saturday Morning Pancakes ๐Ÿ“๐Ÿฅž

This has become a bit of a thing, by which I mean that I beg for pancakes every Saturday morning and for the last three weeks, it has happened.

This time we added chocolate chips, and whipped cream, and the best strawberries I’ve had in months/years. It was delicious!

๐ŸŽธ Saturday Night Outing ๐ŸŽธ

Saturday night we all went out together. We went to Ra Sushi first, a restaurant I’ve always wanted to eat at. It was a good time as it always is when I am in such wonderful company, but man, service was S L O W, and my ramen was literally the worst I have ever, ever had.

BUT! The drinks were very good. I had three mojitos and some sake. I spilled one of my mojitos but it was almost empty. I was not very steady for the rest of the evening. ๐Ÿ™ˆ

After dinner we went to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where we had some alcoholic ice cream…

…and I gambled and lost $5 on a slot machine.

Here’s a couple of really cool Wall-E and Eve cakes we saw:

We got home late and tired but it was a very enjoyable evening. I’m glad to be making so many happy and fun memories together. ๐Ÿฅฐ

๐ŸŽจ Weekly Art Summary ๐ŸŽจ

Here is all the art that got done this week. I also worked a bunch on my book, so it was a pretty productive one, overall!

I think this was a very good week, at least as far as my own life is concerned. Certainly not for the world. I keep reading the news, hoping for some sort of peaceful resolution. Here’s hoping next week brings better news on that front.

Summary Of The Fourth Week Of January! ๐ŸŒˆ ๐Ÿฆ†

Weโ€™ve had some chilly mornings this week! Enough for me to wear my sweater during my walks, which Iโ€™ve enjoyed more than usual as a result.

However, this week also had some lows. On and off I’ve been a tad depressed, in spite of so much to look forward to. Time is moving very slowly for us right now, as we are excited about the very immediate future, and it all seems so slowly in coming. It’s stressful, and some of the happiness I feel feels wrong, for complicated reasons. It will get better, as will the stress and anxiety, but it feels as though time is passing like molasses, as they say.

I’ve also had a litany of minor accidents, maybe my mind being so lost in “stuff” has made me careless. As of Friday morning when I write this (which I will finish in the evening) it doesn’t feel like a great week, but that might change as the day goes on, who knows.

๐Ÿฆ† Sunday ๐Ÿฆ†

On Sunday I saw a cute duck during my walk, just foraging in the grass. It wasnโ€™t scared of me so I was able to get a good photo.

I took a different route on this day, which Iโ€™m sure I will take again. Itโ€™s very peaceful and with nice views.

Here are a couple of photos of Rosemary and Elliot that I took in the afternoonโ€ฆ

๐ŸŒˆ Monday ๐ŸŒˆ

Monday was productive but also a bit lonesome because Christopher had to work late. I kept busy though, and had a pretty good day overall. In the morning, I went on a very long walk. It was nice and cold. I went all the way to Barnes and Noble and got a cheap little book, then walked to our local Cuban coffee shop and had lunch while I read. It was so pleasant.

I took a break from commissions to play Yoshi’s Island. This game is so cute and colorful!

๐Ÿ€ Tuesday ๐Ÿ€

On Tuesday I met a sluggy friend at the start of my walk! It was so big! I wanted to take it home with me so badly, but it was not a good time to do that. I never see these guys, just their trails. It was longer than my index finger.

This one was really fast moving, too. It was moving right over the hot sidewalk too, in the middle of a very dry day. Very odd. I wanted to assist it to the grass, but I didn’t want to touch it, so for a bit I didn’t know what to do.

In the end I grabbed the biggest blade of grass I could find, and had it crawl over it. Then I could gently pick it up and place it on the grass it was trying to move towards all along.

It disappeared into the grass very quickly. Kinda made my day to see it. Gastropods are so cool!

I stopped by the Cuban place again after my long walk. More reading and snacking delicious food after (or rather in the middle/as a break from) exercise. It’s such a delight.

I bought Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea today because watching Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water has me really excited to read it (and I’ve wanted to for years anyway). In addition, Christopher let me have a special treat today!

The Jurassic Park / The Lost World special edition from Barnes & Noble. I’m so excited to read it!

During two of my walks this week, I listened to a new podcast (well, new to me): Medical Murders. I started with this two-parter about Dr. Morris Bolber. I highly recommend it and have embedded it below:

CW: Blood mention in the paragraph below.

On this day I also managed to pinch my finger with the camera tripod quite terribly, but the skin didn’t break. I did bleed a good amount, under the skin, which had never happened to me before! It grew into a large blood bubble. I had to poke it with a needle like three times during the afternoon, just trying to get all the blood out. It was so painful! And would only be the first “accident” I had this week.

๐Ÿฉน Wednesday ๐Ÿฉน

To begin with, while I was having breakfast on Wednesday morning, our neighbor’s sprinkler burst quite spectacularly:

Most of Wednesday was wonderful. I worked on commissions and on personal art, and overall made a lot of progress. I did housework, and our friend’s brother worked for hours in his future bedroom. I had to bring down a lot of the things I had hanging on the wall, since his work on the other side was making them move around rather precariously. But by the evening, the wall no longer had holes, and the closet door frame was nice and smooth:

In the late afternoon, I went on my walk and also to the grocery store, determined to make a nice dinner for Christopher. Shopping went well, but by the time I left the store, it was nighttime, and here is when my day went from pleasant to, well, not so. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ

Recently, I’ve had more and more instances of running into shady people on the sometimes nearly-pitch-black streets during my evening walks. I try to avoid it, but sometimes I leave the house too close to sunset without realizing it.

Some instances I suspect are likely nothing, but still scary, such as the van that was stopped ahead of me recently, as though waiting, and when I saw it and stopped walking, waiting for it to drive off, it instead backed all the way up until it reached me, and when I started frantically walking ahead again trying to get away, a woman in the passenger seat began to relentlessly try to get my attention, only to apologize profusely when I began to call Christopher on the phone (and then driving off).

These people were likely lost, and I felt silly to be frightened, but to have that happen in a dark empty street at night away from anyone is very scary, especially when you watch as many crime documentaries as I do. ๐Ÿ˜… Anyway, there have been similar instances (which is why I’m glad to have the pepper spray Christopher got me) and that last one had left me a bit rattled. So I wasn’t happy that I didn’t make it out of Publix until after sunset on this particular day.

Because of this, I avoided the street on which the aforementioned event took place, since I feel so vulnerable there, and instead went in the direction of Pines Boulevard. This was much busier (technically) being the main street, but surprisingly dark too. I walked as fast as I could, with my big heavy cart full of groceries, pepper spray in hand.

At one point, I saw a man ahead of me, walking in my direction. Since we were both in the middle of the sidewalk, I moved all the way to the left. Instead of moving to the right to pass me, he did the same thing. I thought it was an awkward miscommunication, so I quickly moved all the way to the right, even though it was very hard to maneuver my heavy cart. Well… the man promptly did the same, as he continued to approach me while staring me down. He was trying to block my path in a very obvious manner. ๐Ÿ˜ฅ

Now I knew I had a problem. Promptly I moved back to the left, rushing to pass him before he could try to block my way again, and as I did this, he very aggressively tried to get my attention, going “Excuse me, EXCUSE ME” not in the tone of someone who needs help, but in the tone of someone who is trying to intimidate or confront you. He got as physically close as he could, too. He sounded even angrier when I ignored him completely. I rushed ahead, looking back to make sure he wasn’t following me (thankfully he didn’t) and soon turned into the neighborhood.

I was pretty panicked, silly as it may sound, because this guy could have easily attacked me and I don’t think anyone would have noticed in time to help me. ๐Ÿ˜ฃ And the neighborhood was much darker and empty than the street where this took place. So I felt even more scared. I pushed my cart as fast as I could, almost running… and then suddenly everything turned upside down. There was a hard dip on the sidewalk, that at a slower speed or had my cart been less full, would have simply stopped me on my tracks. I could not see it in the dark. Well, stop me it did… but I was going so fast that the cart tipped over ahead of me, and I went completely over it. ๐Ÿ™ƒ

I’m sure it would have been hilarious to see (though thankfully, no one did) but it was probably the most spectacular fall I ever had in my life. It was extremely painful, and so sudden. Having confirmed no bones were broken, I threw things back in my cart and tried to keep rushing on, only to notice that my cart was kind of wrecked and bent out of shape. It looked as though it may fall apart at any moment. This turned out not to be the case upon inspection at home, but at that moment it certainly seemed so, and just rolling it was almost impossible.

Here I started losing it, so I called Christopher (who, being still at work, could do nothing to help me) basically to cry at him. But as I try, three times, to explain what has happened, the call keeps breaking up. He can’t understand me, and is getting very worried; I’m getting frustrated beyond belief and nearly sobbing at this point –and then as I’m still on the phone with Christopher, our friend calls me. He was right by the house, moving more things in. I couldn’t believe my good fortune.

Anyway, he comes to rescue me, and as I’m sitting in his car and in the subsequent minutes the dull pain I had grows astronomically. I wanted to just have a good cry so badly. But there was a lot to do –get my groceries in, get his stuff in too. ๐Ÿ˜” He calmed me down a little and left. But by then I’d lost all my motivation to make dinner, and my mood had tanked pretty badly and remained so even into the next morning.

I ended up having a hot dog for dinner, and that is after cookies… I just wanted to feel better. ๐ŸŒญ

Christopher was a little down on this evening, too. Back pain among other things. But we helped each other feel better.

โœจ Thursday โœจ

Even though I didn’t sleep so well, by the time I really started my morning I had perked up. โœŠ All morning long Christopher kept teasing smiles out of me, and just being affectionate and sweet, it made me feel happier and I was significantly cheered up by the time he was off to work. He really has had such an impact in me just getting through this week. I don’t know what I would do without him.

I did some of my chores and had fun working on my half of a trade with Priddy, as well as even more commissions. ๐Ÿ˜Š And I finished reading this book:

It was quite good and I realized upon finishing that it’s by the same author who wrote Jip: His Story (another book I own and love) who, of course, is also the author of the famous Bridge To Terabithia which, surprisingly, I’ve never read. I guess I should, given that I clearly love Paterson’s writing.

In the afternoon Christopher and I spent lots of time together doing nothing but cuddling on the couch and talking –about our lives, our relationship, the future and its possibilities. Then I made dinner and we watched TV. And then we just went to bed. It was a quiet but cozy night.

In the evening I received Priddy’s half of our trade (you can see my half in the art summary below). Priddy is the first person to draw the bear version of my character:

I love everything about this drawing, it was a highlight of my day and quite fitting for this accident-filled week… ๐Ÿค•

๐Ÿ“š Friday ๐Ÿ“š

Overall, this week I have been doing a lot of reading. ๐Ÿ“– In addition to reading Lyddie from cover to cover and FINALLY finishing The Beasts Of Tarzan, I began Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas. ๐Ÿฆ‘

On Friday I finished yet another commission as well as a piece of personal art that might become a YCH. I cleaned the snail tank too, and a lot more work got done in the room for our friend by his brother –by end of day tomorrow, it should be fully finished and then we can take care of the final details, such as adding a closet system, reinstalling the fan and putting the closet doors back in place.

My stress level is still quite high, I’m still kinda down in the dumps, it comes and goes. Even tonight I’m still banged up from the fall, my arm and legs hurt, I’m irritable… but I’m also happy, I’ve gotten so much work done, and even when I feel down, Christopher is right here, keeping me grounded so to speak. Things will be right as rain again very soon. In the meantime, I’m working as hard as I can and staying focused.

๐ŸŽจ Weekly Summary Of Art ๐ŸŽจ

Here is all the art I’ve completed and posted this week, in case you missed the individual posts!

I’m going to start posting these summaries every week. It’s really nice to just be able to see all my progress for a given week in one place (and if you missed anything, you can view it here).

Especially considering that this doesn’t take the weekend into account, it’s been a very productive week. I’ve more than halved my commission queue and even done personal art, gift art, and a trade! Not too bad. ๐Ÿ˜Š I’d like to get to Monday with the four remaining pieces in my queue lined.

Week Off To A Happy Start! ๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ’™

Today was a pretty good day. I got Grover all decked out for Christmas! He looks happy. Tomorrow Iโ€™ll decorate the house, maybe, if I have the time and energy.

During my walk today (when I went to get some wrapping paper and cards) I met a duck and a cat. It was odd to see the cat so close to Pines Boulevard, where itโ€™s so noisy, but he didnโ€™t seem to mind and stayed away from the cars.

After that, I worked on the remaining Christmas art, and finally finished it! Then Grover and I had an afternoon snack together.

I caught Kotoko enjoying a perfect little patch of sun, just her sizeโ€ฆ

I wore my new Attack On Titan shirt today, even got a compliment on it. ๐Ÿ˜ I really like it.

I worked really hard on dinner tonight. I made teriyaki chicken bowls. Christopher liked it and ate a lot so I felt really proud.

Now itโ€™s bedtime, so Iโ€™m going to sleep after reading a bedtime story or two.

Hope everyone has a lovely night!

Summary Of The Last Few Days ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿž

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re having a happy Thursday morning. I decided to let a few days accumulate into a single post, since, well, I haven’t had much interesting stuff to share recently.

Christopher and I have been spending more time together in the evenings, and it has been lovely. Elliot keeps us company. He always comes to the couch when Christopher gets home. Unlike our other cats, Elliot tends to spend his entire day out on the porch and doesn’t visit me much, but he always comes in when Christopher gets home. I think he misses him.

We began our evening by playing Mario Party Superstars:

Christopher won, of course…

After video games, we watched Lamb. It was really freaking weird. The weirdness is not a problem, it’s great, but I felt like it built up a lot for no real payoff. It just wasn’t very scary either.

On Tuesday, my copy of Cupid Parasite arrived! Still a while until I get to this one. I’ll be playing my next otome the weekend after this one –the final fandisc of Code: Realize.

We will be taking a trip to a place that will be all decked out for Christmas, so it’s a perfect time to finally play Wintertide Miracles, especially with such a long car ride.

This is completely random, but I’ve been fooling around with wigs, and liked how this photo came out. ๐Ÿ˜

In the evening we watched the latest Paranormal Activity movie. It was okay. I had a little snack:

Yesterday I went on my walk, and to shop for groceries. I caught a couple of shots of this pretty butterfly on the way:

There were also several ducks foraging for food, and I got a photo and some video:

When Christopher got home, I had the smell of coffee and banana nut bread in the air. ๐Ÿ˜Š It was my first time making it and it turned out decently good:

Here is Cerise ready to try some:

Afterwards I made panko-crusted tilapia for dinner. It was pretty good.

Anyway as you can see I don’t have much interesting stuff to tell even when putting a bunch of days together. Right now, I am busy working on Christmas art for family. After that, I will resume commissions. I am also really, REALLY pumped for our upcoming trip. I pretty much cannot think about anything else…

Today I have to do my chores early, so I’ll wrap this up here. Enjoy your day, everyone!

Another Week Down ๐Ÿ˜ด

First things first, here’s my outfit for today. Waifu shirt, because why not.

Today was mostly a very good day. Christopher and I spent most of it together once my chores were done. We shopped for groceries, played Overcooked, and watched Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, a lovely movie with unique, beautiful aesthetics. It made me tear up at the end.

At some point, I made us coffee…

After that movie was done, we watched the Muppets Haunted Mansion special (I didn’t like it, even though Gonzo is my favorite character. Muppets are very hit-or-miss with me). Then I went on my walk. On the way there, I came across a standoff between a huge iguana and a bunch of ducks. You can still see the iguana in the video below, which I wanted to record because their interaction was funny, but the moment I approached, all the ducks made a beeline for me, scaring the iguana off, which is why it’s on the side:

They wanted food, and tried hard to be cute, nodding their heads and shaking their tail feathers. Alas, I had nothing.

(CW for upsetting animal accident talk below)

I was excited to take a 10km walk today. But just a few kms in, something really upsetting happened and I had to turn back. I was going to write about it in detail, but there is no point in dwelling on the memory beyond the following: I saw a little dog get run over on Pines. It was very upsetting –even for me seeing it almost a block away (though I was half a block from the crazed doggy at one point) for the poor woman who had gotten off her car to try to get the dog, and for whoever ran it over.

If you know Pines, you know it is a very busy road. It caused a big problem and I’m sure upset many people, as a great many cars had to stop very suddenly, and many noticed what happened. It was a big thing, though it was over in mere moments. I turned back immediately and called Christopher to calm myself a little, I was okay, but it just left me so sad. There was nothing I could do.

Once I got home, I jumped in the shower and Christopher put the Bagel Bites in the oven, a last treat before he goes back to work tomorrow.

We watched a documentary about a controversial topic that ended up being very depressing. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ But it was a good day nonetheless. Tomorrow I have to get lots and lots of work done… so I better get ready for bed or I’ll blow my bedtime again.

Just a Duck ๐Ÿฆ†

Today was busy as heck… I’m feeling a little too stressed out, frankly. But we had a nice time hanging out together in the evening. Before that I had my walk, and took some pictures of a duck friend I came across on the way:

He wasn’t very interested in getting acquainted.

Sorry for the short post… so busy, tired and stressed. I hope I can start next week feeling less so.

First Day Of Fall ๐Ÿ‚

Hi everyone. I hope you’re having a good Wednesday! I’m under the weather because of my period but still trying my best even with my walks and all. Today I took yet another different route.

This time I ran into a group of ducks. They were very tame. When I knelt down by them, they all scurried in my direction and got very close, perhaps waiting for a snack.

I had strong cramps during my walk so it didn’t feel great. Plus, the sky went from fairly clear…

…to doomsday-like by the time I turned back.

Once I reached Pines though, I’d left the worst behind me. Somehow, I didn’t get rained on.

By the time I was in our neighborhood again, the sky was clear and stunning:

In the afternoon I zoomed with my mom and worked on one of the next illustrations for Meganeea. This illustration, which features Gideon, will also be the next chapter banner for a few chapters going forward, replacing that of young Faahvrigรผo. The book (pen and ink) version is fully finished. Now I just have to color it for the banner.

I also played more Legend of Mana. I’m blown away all over again by these gorgeous backgrounds…

The weather is quite bad… I’m not sure I can go on my second walk, but I want to try. In between that and my period I get depressed. But funnily enough it’s a really good gaming mood. So maybe I’ll do more of that!

Friday Again! ๐ŸŒˆโœจ

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! I’ve had a very productive day and really looking forward to the weekend. I have a nice picture of the owls today, a little closer than usual:

Today during my walk I spotted a duck walking SO slowly right into traffic. So I rushed ahead and scared him back onto the grass. He was so displeased, and flapped his wings and glared and honked, but he never stopped walking away and soon rejoined his friends a ways off the road. Then I let him be.

After I got home from my walk I changed into my proper outfit for today. I hadn’t worn these shortalls in a while, but thanks to all the exercise and weight loss recently, I’ve been feeling more comfortable with them again:

After my lunch I had my last Jelly banana pudding. I couldn’t resist these when I spotted them, because the container is so reminiscent of the ones I used to eat as a little girl. Thankfully, it was also delicious!

I took pictures of the cute art all around the cup:

Got a little more of Tarzan read, as well. My god is this book racist, lol. Definitely a product of its era. But it’s a classic I want to be able to have under my belt.

Anyway that’s all for now, I’m gonna try to get a little more art in before I stop for the day!