Lamb’s blood on the lintel

Looks like I neglected one of my autumnal chores. To be honest, Home Depot was out of lamb’s blood.

We kind of hoped that by staying home and being hermits all year this virus would pass us by, but that wasn’t to be the case. We both have to work and be around others to a degree.

My wife tested positive for Covid on Monday. As a health care worker, she got a rapid turn around. In fact they told her not to drive off and delivered her results in 20 minutes.

I went for my test on Tuesday. You start off with an online survey to get a case number that you need to write down. They they tell you when and where. It looks something like this.

You aren’t allowed out of your car, you have to be able to follow directions.

After you find a spot, you have to text them with your case number and date of birth. They come out with the kit and you have to swab your own nostrils. The tech bundles everything up and you drive away.

I never got my personal results until about two hours ago. My results were negative. I have no idea how this could happen, because we share a bed, a bathroom, and everything else. Still, there are the results.

I have to quarantine with her, but have to work from home at the same time. Given all the garbage that 2020 threw at us, I’m a veteran of working from home.

Honestly, I’d almost rather have had a positive result at this point. Then I’d have a known date to return to the office. This way, I could be out for two weeks, then earn two weeks of my own at home.

There is no way I’m going to go get the camper after we just winterized it. I’m not moving to another bedroom or any of the garbage people seem to dream up. We live together and we’ll get through this together… or we won’t as the case may be.

Even with a negative test, it messes with your mind. This stuff is on the couch about twelve feet away. It’s more realistic than it was this weekend. I also compulsively checked my email every ten minutes expecting a different answer.

It may not sound like I’m worried, but I am. I know most people don’t have the severe symptoms that make the nightly news, but enough do to be concerned.

This is an author’s blog, so I’ll chock this post up to “slice of life.” I probably won’t update unless there’s something interesting to say. Maybe I can report on word metrics or story gyrations this weekend. That’s why you come here.

Not looking for sympathy or anything. If you take anything away from this, it’s to stay vigilant and even that might not be enough.

Sometimes you just have to update

It’s Wednesday, and there isn’t anything real sexy to talk about. I’ve been working, and trying to read a chapter of Grinders here and there. This phase always convinces me what a hack I am.

I know some other authors who feel the same way, so it isn’t just me. It was all so cool when I was creating this world, and now I’m questioning everything. This isn’t my first book, and I won’t let it stop me.

I got my W-2, so yay for the Internal Revenue Service.

Otto is a mess right now. Nothing too Earth shattering with him, just a lot of little things. The fold on his face is inflamed, and we’re putting cream on it. That usually clears everything up. He’s also had an ear problem. We have drops for that, and it usually clears that issue up.

His feet are driving him crazy, and this time the little wipies aren’t doing anything for him. Today, when Old What’s Her Face came home from work, there was blood all over the place.

The blood is from his tail, and there’s a big welt there. Otto’s never had a tail problem before, but his sister has. We have some stuff we can try. It looks more like a wound than something that got infected. There is a hell of a welt there, though. Something might have bit him while we were at work. (Looks at Frankie.)

I decided it was time for an Epsom Salts soak, at least for his feet. While I kept his feet soaking, my wife used a rag and soaked his little tail.

There really doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him, and he played ball like a madman tonight. When everything dries, we have a steroid powder they gave us when Frankie had a tail infection. We’ll add some of that before bed time.

Still a good boy

In book news, I’m going to miss my first deadline of the year. I really wanted to release Grinders sometime around Chinese New Year. It probably won’t matter to the book buying public, but I’m year of the rat. This year will be year of the rat. Also there is a scene in the book that involves the parade in San Francisco, where it is also year of the rat. Aside from that, there are rats who play a pivotal role in the story.

All sounded good, except the new year doesn’t start in February this time. It’s next weekend. Those darned lunar calendars.

I still have to finish my final pass, get the MS to my formatter, and I don’t have my Lisa Burton posters yet. I did get a cover just the other day. It looks like I can salvage a cover-reveal kind of post for Chinese New Year. I can talk about the story a bit, and some friends offered to host me if I take it that far.

As the work week ends, we’ll be keeping an eye on Otto. He may have to go see the vet this time. I’ll work on my final pass for Grinders, and probably write something for the cover-reveal. There ought to be enough time to add a few words to HMS Lanternfish, too.

At least that’s how I’m approaching the weekend. Sometimes the best laid plans of rats and men oft go astray. Bring on the weekend.