The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Candy_Kane54]

@Rustyoznail - we had severe thunderstorms blow through last night and even had the tornado warning sirens going off as radar indicated spin in several of the storm cells. Luckily, I didn't have to head to the basement ...

I've got a fresh pot of coffee going for those who need a hit of caffeine and the teapot is hot for those who want something a little less caffeinated. There are snacks on the counter for those who are having a snack attack.

I didn't get any story written but I did get some plotting done as I fleshed out the crime being committed. Hopefully I'll string some words together today.

 

[Duleigh]

Looks around the coffee shop, Candy isn't around. Bravely takes the coffee pot with all the Character (meaning: It has only been rinsed, never scrubbed) and loads up Mr. Coffee with that coffee that advertises that it's "Veteran Made" and hits the BREW button (Rest assured it's made by Enlisted Veterans, the brand made by officers requires that I break out the fine china and we sip our coffee with pinkies extended)

The doghouse is empty! Mrs. Duleigh took Great Grandma Duleigh up to the far northern reaches (if the residents of that area heard me call it the 'Far Northern Reaches' they'd reinstitute public caning) I'm on my own with naught but a case of sugar free hard lemonade and a book to write.

Life is good.

 

[MrPixel]

... we had severe thunderstorms blow through last night and even had the tornado warning sirens going off as radar indicated spin in several of the storm cells. Luckily, I didn't have to head to the basement ...

At least they weren't nearly as bad as the storms earlier this month. The first wave petered-out by the time it made it to our side of the river, and I was hoping beyond hope. But alas, not to be, the second wave dumped 1/2" of rain we didn't want.

The weather has put a major kink in finishing the backyard. The masonry fence is all gone, but we still need to get the dead oak and stumps excised, and the tree people can't work in either rain or strong winds. Given the forecast of a week of rain starting Wednesday, the mud pit continues. Got hassled by the next-door neighbor's parent about the fence; had to tell her to consult with her daughter (a renter) about the letter we sent advising them of what was coming. Resisted the impulse to snark about the landlord's refusal to kick into the pot.

Getting a little writing done. The next installment in the Barstow series is getting there in fits and starts, but the pressure is on since the subsequent chapter is done and needs to wait because of timeline.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Haven't been able to get a photo this year, but my dinosaur is back. This is the photo from last spring.

 

[NotWise]

Snapping turtle?

 

[YmaOHyd]

Snapping turtle?

Yeah. I think about two, two and a half feet tip to tail.

 

[Duleigh]

Haven't been able to get a photo this year, but my dinosaur is back. This is the photo from last spring.

View attachment 2520697

Waiter, I'll have the turtle soup, and make it snappy.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Good Day! I'm running late, now where is the French Press? I need to get my coffee going.

 

[NotWise]

I got a vote on Love is Enough! That story gets so few votes that anything is noticeable. In this case, the vote wasn't a 5. I had to scroll back through my table to 2021 to find the last vote that wasn't a 5, and to 2020 the find a vote less than 5 that wasn't swept before another vote came in. It was a 3.

 

[NotWise]

I wrote almost 1000 words on the new story. It's the opening scene, and I love writing opening scenes so that every word counts.

 

[Duleigh]

Well... I won something this year...

 

[JGittes]

@NotWise, how did the final move out of the office and turning in of keys go?

 

[NotWise]

@NotWise, how did the final move out of the office and turning in of keys go?

My pocket feels a little lighter without the three office-associated keys I carried all the time. The building manager even took the two key fobs I had with spare bathroom keys. She gave one--a miniature classic VW van, white over red--to her husband and the other--a plush orca my late employer brought back from a cruise on the inland passage--and gave it to her daughter.

Furniture got moved on schedule, and the office walk-through went smoothly. If anyone is looking for small-office space in ABQ, then I have a recommendation.

My desk ended up here so I'd have a place to put the office computer. My home office now has two desks against opposite walls. When I feel moved to it, I'll finish off the two remaining tasks in the scope of my last project. People have asked me about consulting jobs--all in the nebulous future--but I'm not sure I want them. I certainly don't need the income.

I did have a pretty enjoyable day writing, but I'm afraid that it's a story doomed to I/T oblivion.

 

[AloneTooLong]

At least they weren't nearly as bad as the storms earlier this month. The first wave petered-out by the time it made it to our side of the river, and I was hoping beyond hope. But alas, not to be, the second wave dumped 1/2" of rain we didn't want.

The weather has put a major kink in finishing the backyard. The masonry fence is all gone, but we still need to get the dead oak and stumps excised, and the tree people can't work in either rain or strong winds. Given the forecast of a week of rain starting Wednesday, the mud pit continues. Got hassled by the next-door neighbor's parent about the fence; had to tell her to consult with her daughter (a renter) about the letter we sent advising them of what was coming. Resisted the impulse to snark about the landlord's refusal to kick into the pot.

Getting a little writing done. The next installment in the Barstow series is getting there in fits and starts, but the pressure is on since the subsequent chapter is done and needs to wait because of timeline.

Be glad you weren't in Edinburgh, TX: last week 12.1" rain over 2 days. Our town (central Texas) got about 1" in the same time frame; Kerrville, TX (the Hill Country) got golf ball size hail (during the last few days of March). It is A/C weather at my place.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

It turns out we did get four touchdowns in the area, just nothing close to my house.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is hot. There is a selection of various teas on the counter along with some donuts and muffins.

@Duleigh - having been both enlisted and officer, I can attest that the officers use china because the coffee they drink would eat through the Styrofoam cups the enlisted use ...

 

[NotWise]

Thanks CK. Glad the whirling weather missed you.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

In appreciation of @Candy_Kane54 having taken up the provision of comestibles for this place, I'd like to propose a sign be fastened to her chosen writing space: Candy Kane Corner. All in favour, please signify by raising your mugs.

 

[Duleigh]

@Duleigh - having been both enlisted and officer, I can attest that the officers use china because the coffee they drink would eat through the Styrofoam cups the enlisted use ...

Having been in several positions where it was my job to both assist officers and train young officers it's clear why they drink from fine china. It's what mommy sent for their birthday.

Being a senior weapons guy in many combat units I worked with the unit officers and saw goofy shit that will keep me in the writing hobby for decades. I even worked for an officer that didn't have a security clearance so I couldn't tell him what we were doing out on the flightline. (He was an Australian) I could have gotten away with so much stuff

 

[NotWise]

The weather service thinks we're heading for another dust storm today. It should start early and run late.

Our flight back from Chicago last week used an unusual landing approach from the southwest and that let me see stretches of the mesa that I don't usually see. There are miles of apparently bare dust directly upwind from the city. The area usually has scrub and tufts of bunch grass to break the ground-level winds, but those must all be buried under the windblown sand. It won't be terribly windy today, but it doesn't take much wind these days to pick that up and move it around.

 

[MrPixel]

The weather service thinks we're heading for another dust storm today.

NWS says we're to expect record rainfall the next five days. Trade ya'.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Completely unrelated to anything else..... it's the kidney-buster that concerns me.....

 

[NotWise]

NWS says we're to expect record rainfall the next five days. Trade ya'.

Right now, I'd love five days of rain.

 

[Duleigh]

Completely unrelated to anything else..... it's the kidney-buster that concerns me.....

View attachment 2521175

I could probably work all of these into a story except for Corned Beef Torpedo. I don't think I was ever drunk enough to use that expression

 

[yowser]

Completely unrelated to anything else..... it's the kidney-buster that concerns me.....

View attachment 2521175

I understand the unease.

On a related note, the slang synonyms for 'aardvarking' (up to the letter D only, it's an extensive list). Some of these would make intriguing story titles:

Aardvarking
Adam and Eve'ing It
Baking cookies
Baking the bean
Balling
Banging
Bashing the Beaver
Being up to one's Balls
Beast with two Backs
Beating cheeks
Boffing your Brains out
Boinking
Boom-booming
Bone Dancing
Boning
Bonking
Boofing
Bopping
Bouncing the bearded clam
Breeding
Buffing the beaver
Bumping and grinding
Bumping Bellies
Bumpin' fuzzies
Burying the Bone
Burying the Weasel
Burying the weenie
Bush patrolling
Buttering the muffin
Buzzing the Brillo
Coming together
Cooping the chicken
Crackin'
Crashing the custard truck
Crawling across the floor like a water spider
Creaking bed syndrome
Creamin'
Cutting the mustard
Dancing the Buttock jig
Dancing the matrimonial polka
Dancing the mattress jig
Diddling
Dipping the gravy boat
Dipping your wick
Diving in the Dark
Diving for pearls
Doing a lewd infusion
Doing a load of laundry
Doing Dirty working at the crossroads
Doing it
Doing some Bed-pressing
Doing some ladies' tailoring
Doing some Muff Diving
Doing some Nose painting
Doing some One Armed Banditry
Doing some Rump work
Doing som Up Hill Gardening
Doing the Act of Darkness
Doing the Backseat mambo
Doing the Backstroke
Doing the Bad thing
Doing the Bed Boogie
Doing the Four-Legged Fox Trot
Doing the chores
Doing the deed
Doing the Featherbed jig
Doing the Four-legged frolic
Doing the Hokey-pokey
Doing the Horizontal bop
Doing the Horizontal exercises
Doing the Horizontal hula
Doing the Horizontal Jog
Doing the Horizontal mambo
Doing the Horizontal polka
Doing the Horizontal tango
Doing the Humpity Dumpity
Doing the Humpty Dance
Doing the Humpty Dumpty
Doing the Mattress Dance
Doing the Mattress mambo
Doing the Mommy-daddy Dance
Doing the Nasty
Doing the Naughty
Doing the tube snake boogie
Doing the Tubesteak fandango
Doing the Ugly
Doing the Wild thing
Doona Dance
Drilling for oil
Drilling for Cervix
Drilling the Ditch
Driving home

 

[Duleigh]

Not sure how aardvarking made the list. This is aardvarking:

https://www.19fortyfive.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/F-111.jpg
F-111 Aardvark