The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Candy_Kane54]

There's some high clouds this morning so the sunshine is filtered. It will be close to 90 degrees again today. We really need some rain. I really hate using good drinking water to water the lawn. I do water my potted herbs and tomatoes.

@dmallord - I'm sorry to hear about what they've done to you. I can't believe people can be so low as to do that to senior citizens who have trouble protecting themselves.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing for those who like converting it to waste products. The teapot is hot and there are donuts and apple crisp on the counter.

I'll be over in the corner working on my story while mentally going over everything I can do to protect myself from the kind of fraud that @dmallord is going through. Feel free to stop by so I can vent my anger constructively ...

 

[NotWise]

We'll have another warm, sunny day. The mornings are starting to get a little crisp and our high temperatures are coming late in the day. The swamp cooler didn't kick on until after 5PM yesterday.

I'm contemplating my Holiday story idea. I've submitted a few stories to that contest in the past, and most of them were simply set during the holidays and didn't go far into holiday themes.

I was thinking about writing to a Christmas theme, and started wondering what they were. I gave is some thought, asked Gemini to summarize them, and then divided and reworded Gemini's list.

The "easy" themes were: Generosity and compassion, Family and community, Nostalgia. I qualified those as easy because they seem relatively easily written.

The "hard" themes were: Redemption and transformation, Hope and the triumph and light over darkness, Materialism vs spiritualism.

The "hard" themes seem to require stronger emotional development than the "easy" themes, but it's probably the "hard" themes that carry the biggest impact.

Can you think of Christmas themes that don't fit into that list?

 

[NuclearFairy]

Not exactly Christmas themed, but some extremely old winter holiday themes would be survival, and hope.

 

[stickygirl]

Isn’t Christmas theme all about pregnancy and we’ve got an acrimonious thread already… is it kink if a ghost did it?

 

[stickygirl]

We’re enjoying home made scones with strawb jam. Scones from our holiday landlady. Pretty good. I might try them at home

 

[NotWise]

Not exactly Christmas themed, but some extremely old winter holiday themes would be survival, and hope.

That might not be different from "Hope and the triumph of light over darkness," but with the emphasis on survival it could be. Marie Sandoz's novella Winter Thunder was based on events that her niece lived through just after Christmas in 1949. If those events were moved forward to start before the Christmas holiday instead of after, then it would be a Christmas survival story.

That came to mind because: I read that novella when I was in Junior High and found it very memorable; my parents told stories from the same storm; and, as I learned later, Marie Sandoz (later, Author Laureate of Nebraska) was a contemporary of my maternal grandmother. They were in school together then went in completely different directions. My mother's family is woven into her autobiographical novel Old Jules.

 

[NotWise]

Isn’t Christmas theme all about pregnancy and we’ve got an acrimonious thread already… is it kink if a ghost did it?

Well, in that context it would be about birth. Pregnancy would have gone on before that.

Somehow, we don't celebrate Mary's insemination, which would have been about March 20 by our current calendar. That's commonly pretty close to Easter. Or maybe gestation by a virgin doesn't follow the normal schedule.

I wonder if she came?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Isn’t Christmas theme all about pregnancy and we’ve got an acrimonious thread already… is it kink if a ghost did it?

Phantom pregnancy?

 

[iwatchus]

Not exactly Christmas themed, but some extremely old winter holiday themes would be survival, and hope.

Maybe I am just depressive today, but when you combined Christmas and survival, my first thought was the high suicide rate for Christmas season, which is not what I want to write a story about.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Maybe I am just depressive today, but when you combined Christmas and survival, my first thought was the high suicide rate for Christmas season, which is not what I want to write a story about.

The oldest winter holidays were centered around the winter solstist. They were about celebrating the fact that they'd managed to survive the winter to that point, and to hope that they would make it through to spring.

In some places it even became a holiday celebrating spring starting to chase winter away.

 

[TheRedLantern]

To heck with the Christmas stories, do a Krampusnacht one. Horny demons chasing chesty German ladies and messing with the kids who ended up on the Naughty list. It's basically if heavy metal music were a holiday.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Or the Yule Cat.

 

[MrPixel]

Fun today. My attendance and comments at a nearby city's council meeting last night made the local press. I was impressed by the reporter's accuracy of events. I've had my comments and viewpoints twisted in the past to something I did not say or agreed with. Sorta refreshing, and I'll thank him the next time I see 'im.

Surprise was C walking out into the backyard this afternoon, finding a huge branch from the neighbor's oak tree had partially fallen on our side of the (new) fence. It was still attached to the trunk, just split and hinged down. This tree had shed another larger branch several months ago in the same way and we knew, basically, that the tree was sick... and dangerous. Called our tree guy, he came right over and said he wasn't a certified arborist, but agreed wholeheartedly that this and the much bigger neighbor tree hanging over our house were dangerous and needed to come down, soon. Aside from quoting the work to handle the fallen limb, he referred us to an arborist, and we made an appointment with him on Thursday morning.

It turns out that a certified arborist can contact our homeowner's insurance company in these instances, and they, in turn, can contact the neighbor or their representative to notify of the dangerous conditions, with the onus on them to mitigate. At that point, if the worst happens, like the big oak taking out the west wing of our house, the liability is theirs. These are the young women who bought the semi-Victorian house as a "bucket list" item underwritten by grandparents, with no clue of what it takes to be a homeowner. They're about to learn, the semi-hard way, or the really-hard way!

It's amazing what one can learn how things work, even in our advanced years.

 

[MrPixel]

On a much more positive note, this morning I received an e-mail via the LitE message system from a reader. They complimented me that my Off-Campus story was "one of the best I had read in a long time." It brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, whoever you are, thank you.

 

[dmallord]

How well does one know their nurses and caretakers? Especially those that have full access to the house? Are they licensed and bonded?

True. The nurses are part of the hospice care services of a major company. Both of those that come are with me all the time they are in my home. All my financials are in the den, so I'm confident they are not linked. Both are good hearted eggs and I get the feeling that they love their work and are good hearted.

My new housekeeper, well, I believe she is as well. No license or bond, just a reliable set of credentials from a social worker who visits to check on my welfare.

From the account provided by my mail carrier, that aspect seems to have two people working their con on the mail fraud aspect. My housekeeper watches TV and has an iPhone. No computer. The bank tells me the access was via a Motorola device. So, probably not her either.

 

[iwatchus]

I just pushed the submit button on my how to for new authors. Now I have no excuse not to work on my novels. See if overnight I can get myself to write the opening for one of them in the morning. A much better end for a day that started with a seriously depressed morning.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Unfun

 

[TheLobster]

To heck with the Christmas stories, do a Krampusnacht one.

As long as we’re talking about German festivities and changing Lit contests, I motion for replacing the Halloween one with Oktoberfest.

 

[sirhugs]

I just pushed the submit button on my how to for new authors. Now I have no excuse not to work on my novels. See if overnight I can get myself to write the opening for one of them in the morning. A much better end for a day that started with a seriously depressed morning.

congratulations.

I just submitted my mature story My Father's Secretary Ch. 2. I am hoping doing that keeps the depression away and lets me work on the other two.
But first, coffeee

 

[TheRedLantern]

My Crime and Punishment story feels like it's in a good spot. It's biggest problem is that I like it too much and I want to let it sit for a few weeks so that I can take a fresh look at it, but the deadline to submit for the event is Friday.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Another cool bright sunny morning with no rain in sight. I'll be out watering the herb garden if my back will allow it. I really wish now I had done a better job keeping my body in shape when I was younger.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is hot. There are donuts and blueberry scones on the counter. The apple crisp is all gone and I'm going to have to make another one. I may even get adventurous enough to make a cornbread.

I'll be over in the corner working on my story. Ignore the muttering and invectives as I try to find a good spot to add in some additional backstory for my FMC ...

@dmallord - it's possible that the company managing your care was hacked and the scammers used that information to move in on you. Maybe you should let them know so they can try to prevent this from happening to their other clients (or at least warn their clients to look out for it).

 

[NotWise]

As long as we’re talking about German festivities and changing Lit contests, I motion for replacing the Halloween one with Oktoberfest.

I don't think people want to give up their Halloween. Besides, most of Oktoberfest is in September.

If I were to do something to the Halloween contest, I'd expand it to include Dia(s) de Los Muertos.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I don't think people want to give up their Halloween

Not when I've already started my "slutty Krampus" costume.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Not sure if this will go with blueberry scones, @Candy_Kane54 but I made apple butter yesterday and am pleased to be able to contribute a jar to your continued generosity.

 

[NuclearFairy]

The store will mail chocolate spread, but not games... Gotta go to the store today to pick up my roommates birthday present.