Tag: Errands

Weekend Options

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life

The weekend looms in front of me with a large list of things to do.  It is pay week so that means all the normal errands.  In addition, I want to go to Michaels for their sale.  They are having a sale on crochet cotton which I use a great deal of.  It’s on sale for 97 cents.  I downloaded their app for my smart phone and got a 20% off my entire order coupon.  This means the crochet cotton will be about 78 cents a skein.  Normal price – anywhere from 1.97 to 2.50 or so.  It is a deal I can’t pass up.

I also have to go to the DMV to renew my license.  This promises to be an interesting event.  Ken is going to go with me.  Hopefully we can accomplish both this afternoon.  If we do, it will leave tomorrow for errands.

Sunday I’m going to my niece’s bridal shower.  I’m so happy for her.  I can’t wait for her to see the gift I made her.  I hope she likes it. 

It will be a busy weekend and yet in my head I’m planning out what else I might get done.  I am nearly done with my student worker’s wristers.  I hope to finish them tonight.  After they are done I’ll turn my attention back to my daughter’s afghan.  My hands aren’t as bent with arthritis.  I can actually make a fist and tighten it with only a small amount of pain.  Her project is not portable.  It will not travel well.  The yarn is delicate and fussy, though exceedingly beautiful. 

If I end up going around while Ken does errands, I’ll probably through a crochet project in a small bag and take it with me.  I have four going on right now and only two of them are overly portable.  Ironically I wouldn’t take any of the current ones with me.  I’d probably take the left over crochet cotton so I could work on trivets or dish towels. 

It promises to be a busy weekend and I’m hoping it will also be a productive one. 

The Quiet Life

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Ken and I lead a quiet life.  We go to work.  We come home and are home bodies.  He does stuff around the house.  I write and crochet.  Rarely do we go out to socialize.

Yesterday my boss had a holiday party at his house.  It was fun to get together with the people in our department, see their spouses, and be outside the work setting.

Normally when it comes to large gatherings I get anxious.  I am almost always nervous and cranky because of the nerves.  Even though there were a lot of people, I didn’t feel that way ahead of time.  It was just nice.  I sat and spoke with people as they rotated around me.  I got snippets of conversations from all sorts of people.  I stepped outside my comfort zone and had a good time.

While I enjoyed myself, I still prefer our quiet life.  Yesterday morning we spent running errands, helping my mom with legal documents, and getting ready for the party.  This morning we ran more errands and got gas in my car.  My plan for the day is to take it easy.  I may crochet or read or edit or write.  I haven’t quite decided yet.

It was a rough night last night for me with lots of pain and restlessness because of it so I’m feeling a little lethargic today.  Ken will watch football.  I will be a bit putzy.  We are back to our quiet life.

On Track – ish

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Back on schedule – sort of – last night I worked on seven small projects and got them done.  I didn’t finish the one project because I want to take the time to lay it out and experiment with the next step.  I want to lay it flat and look it over. 

I also listened to six chapters of my book – Ceremony in Death.  I am enjoying it and actually remember more of this one, including bits of the ending so it is a comfortable read. 

On Goodreads, I’m noticing I have two books I’ve had there a while.  One is Cast in Peril which I’m trying to listen to (Damn Vicki for telling me the next book in the in Death series) and the other is the paranormal romance I have a hard time getting through.  I need to just barrell my way through it and finish it.  I’m disappointed in the author because I feel I can’t finish the over arching story because of the extreme violence she has in the beginning of the story.  I’ll get there eventually.

Tonight will be bill paying, crocheting and then I will either watch some stuff on the PBS station or I will listen to more of my book.  This weekend I want to work on projects but I’ve got a story banging around in my head.  I also have two manuscripts ready for production.  I have a short story I want to finish the edits on so I can submit it to the contest. 

It is also a pay week which means we have to get grocery shopping and other errands done.  One of the things I want to do is get gift bags so I can start packaging up the gifts I’ve been making.  I have to pick up a button to finish one project.  This means a trip to the craft store which I have a number of coupons for and I’d love to spend some time in. 

All these other things means I’m not writing or working on crocheting but they are probably necessary things to get done.  At the very least this weekend will be busy. 

On a Roll

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

Even though I wrote till almost five in the morning, I got a lot done yesterday.  I got all the errands organized so Ken could take care of them.  I got coupons organized and grocery lists made.  He went to the post office.  I got bills paid.  I cleared off a card table that has been in my office for years.  I cleared off some of my desk (it is still a mess).  I got a book published.

Then I crashed and burned.  I was going to take a nap but was too wired to nap.  I was going to write but I was too tired to write.  My evening was just blah.  Ken and I watched a couple episodes of West Wing.  I opened up my current story and knew where I wanted to end but not how I was going to get there.  As I normally do, I just moved to something different.  I putzed a bit with a couple of stories but nothing really clicked.  I ended up doing more reading / editing than anything else.

At eleven I gave up and tried to go to sleep.  Laying in the dark, I can’t say I thought about anything in particular.  My mind wasn’t overfull of things as is normally the case when I can’t sleep but I couldn’t sleep.  At midnight I called it quits and opened my computer to work on writing.  I wrote a scene and a half before my brain said enough.  It was two in the morning and I slept pretty good until six and dozed until nine.

I’ve been working on writing.  I got descriptions written for Defenders of the People.  I got a cover created and worked on production.  I have a couple of steps left but I’m in wait mode on them.  In my head, I think I know the next few scenes for story that I’m working on.  As my legs are getting sore and tired, I’ll probably hit the recliner shortly and work on it.  I have over 21,000 words in this story which is nearly half written as they are smaller novels.

I’ve heard nothing but grumbling from Vicki over when I’m going to get this one done.  I’m enjoying working on it but I also have ten other projects to work on as well.  It’s been a productive weekend and I’m hoping I can keep the ball rolling and work on writing .

To Do … What Should I Do?

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

It is errand weekend.  This means I have a list of things to get done that is somewhat extensive.  It also means I should not be staying up until 5:00 am writing.

Yesterday I was on track.  I came home, paid bills, took care of all the payroll stuff I needed to.  I was tired and cranky so I tried taking a nap.  It didn’t work.  Ken and I watched a movie – Erased – it was pretty good.  He went to bed and I started writing.

I wrote until 10:30, coming to the end of a scene.  I figured okay good place to stop.  I turned out the light and couldn’t sleep.  The next scene I wanted to write kept playing in my head to the point where after 45 minutes I gave up trying to sleep.

Of course the next scene needed prep, this meant of course additional scenes.  I worked on it until almost 5:00 am this morning.  I came to the end of the scene and knew EXACTLY what the next couple of scenes were going to be.  I did not write them, they are still bouncing around in my head.  The problem is I couldn’t sleep.  I’d been up almost 24 hours and still my brain would not shut down.

I forced myself to sleep through sheer willpower I think.  It took a while but I eventually got to sleep.  I slept for an hour or two and woke up.  I took one look at the clock and made myself go back to sleep.  I dozed for an hour before I fell asleep again.

I’m freaking ridiculous.  I got up a little after 10 this morning and I’m trying to get a pile of tasks done including getting the coupons organized.  I have a novel ready for production including cover.  I still have to settle on a title which is driving me crazy.  I have ideas but none of them click really for me.  It is going to be a series and ironically I already know the title for the second book (it’s the one I worked on all night).

I’m setting aside my urge to write in order to get a few of the business type things done.  Coupons, grocery list, and errand list all need to be made up.  Ken is being amazing and running the errands this weekend so I can work on production.  When I get all of those practical things done I’ll see what I work on.  Being tired, my brain will have to dictate what I’m capable of doing.  There are three strong contenders with a fourth possibility.  I could clear the table (it is clearer than it has been in months) in my office and finish organizing.  I could work on production of two novels I have ready for production.  I could write.

As tired as I am all three sound appealing because they all accomplish different things I’ve been working on.  I have the feeling it is going to be a weekend of little sleep and lots of stuff done.  At least I hope so.

Anniversary and Other Things This Weekend

by eileentroemel, posted in Life
Friday was Ken and my thirty third anniversary.  We don’t have a great track record when it comes to anniversaries.  Generally a lot of them have been bad – from our first where we fought to our eleventh where I broke my ankle and spent a lot of time in the hospital. 
Fortunately this one was much better than normal.  Ken had the day off and worked around the house.  I worked for part of the day.  The day started with a nice conversation.  I know that sounds little but it was pleasant to have that connection in the morning and the time to just say good morning and get ready for the day. 
We hung out together in the afternoon and then went out to supper.  We were going to try a new place.  This always makes me anxious because I don’t know how easy it will be for me to get into the place and so on.  However, I was determined not to let that stop up.  We thought we knew how to get there but when we went out the way I thought we should, we couldn’t find the place.  We turned around and came back to go to Olive Garden instead where we had a pleasant meal.
Yesterday we did all the errands – grocery store, pharmacy, post office, Hobby Lobby.  I have nine rows of Vicki’s afghan left and ran out of her yarn so I had to get more yarn.  I’m hoping to finish her afghan today or this week.  It depends.  Nine rows doesn’t sound like a lot but this is a round afghan so the rows get bigger each time.  I worked on it yesterday and only managed to get four rows done. 
Today is father’s day.  The girls took care of Ken’s gifts.  I find myself missing my father and wishing I could call him.  I know he is with me every day but there are times that I want him physically here not just spiritually. 
In our shopping yesterday we bought things that we need to process today.  We have to make fruit salad, turkey burgers, cut up onions, and repackage some chicken.  I’m hoping that won’t eat up too much of the day so I can work on Vicki’s afghan.  I’d like to be done with it. 
It has been a busy weekend which was not unexpected.  I was hoping to get some writing projects in but it doesn’t look like I will.  I’m still working on one more edit for my fantasy novel and the second of my poetry books.  

Technical Difficulties

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
Every day this week I’ve worked on cleaning up images and getting the document ready for print format.  Unfortunately I’ve had technical difficulties. 
First I had to learn how to change the dpi (dots per inch) of each image.  Fortunately it was fairly simple once I had the right program. 
Second I had to take the new images and clean it up.  Because my images are drawings that have been scanned there was a lot of gray surrounding the lines.  For a digital image that has to be cleaned up as well which I did but when you increase the dpi then more imperfections appear.  In print , the gray surrounding the lines makes the image blurry or fuzzy.  With 45 images for the entire manuscript it is time consuming to pull each one up in Paint and use the eraser to go along each line.  However, every spare moment I’ve had this week I’ve been working on them.
Unfortunately, I’ve had additional technical problems.  I sat in my office chair early in the week and one of the wheels broke off.  Now if it had just fallen off, duct tape would have fixed it but it actually broke.  This meant I didn’t have my comfortable chair.  At first I was using a dining room chair which is okay for short periods of time.  When I spent any amount of time in it though, my back and legs hurt worse than normal.  Ken brought up an old office chair from the basement last night and it is okay but still not as comfortable as my chair. 
This mean after I worked on fourteen pictures last night I couldn’t stand to be in the chair any longer and had to give it up for the recliner.  With the precision work I have to do, I need a desk and solid surface for my mouse to be on.  I’m down to eight pictures with each one taking about an hour or so depending on how complex the picture is. 
Since I had to redo all the images, I made a point of double checking that they were working.  I uploaded a partially finished manuscript to CreateSpace to see if their system liked the new photos.  This gave me a double check that all was well and I just needed to finish the images.  I was thrilled to find that the document had no errors and the images looked amazing.  Plus by doing that I was able to rearrange images so they worked better. 
Images in a digital format have to be in line with the text.  There is no creative placement.  With print I’m able to move them around and place them where I think they look the best rather than where they work digitally.  While it has been a lot of work to change up the images, I feel like it has been a good lesson learned as it has allowed me to produce a better product.
At this stage, all I want to do is work on finishing the images.  Unfortunately, I have a lot to do this weekend.  My todo list is filled with grocery shopping, errands, gift wrapping, food prep and so on.  I’ll still carve out time though.  Barring any more technical difficulties, I’m hoping to have a paper version ready by the end of the weekend.  Fingers crossed and chair situation resolved, I hope to accomplish this.  Then I can look at poetry books next.   
Smashwords:
Amazon:
While you are out shopping, take a look at Secret Past too.  It is available here:
Available on Barnes and Nobles:
Available for sale at:https:
Available on Amazon:

Coupons, Crocheting, and Book Sales

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
Ken did the grocery shopping this morning and saved over $9.  We went through yesterday and made the list partially based on the coupons I had.  Every little bit helps when it comes to the budget.  Today I have to get envelopes ready for the people I’ve clipped coupons for and get them out in the mail tomorrow. 
I got a start on Moon Affirmations yesterday.  I’m now working with the images and trying to figure out the best way to get them into the document.  It is a challenge.  I am also looking at how they look in the manuscript and if that is what I want.  It is time consuming and complicated.
When I had to give up working on the computer, I worked on graduation gifts.  I have one nearly done.  I have one more small thing to make and then I’ll move on to the next person’s gift.  I also have to go through my lovely stash and find material to create a baby gift.  These are always fun to make and give as it helps the new parents celebrate the coming of new life! 
Today I’m planning to watch tv and crochet.  I woke up tired so I’m going to take it easy and now do very much other than crochet.  It will be a very peaceful day I hope.

Book sales are steady.  I’ve sold 17 books since I published.  I’m ridiculously happy about it.  It seems sort of silly after all it is most likely just people who I know.  However, it is the accomplishment of a lifelong dream to have a book out there.  I’m proud of finally getting it done and grateful for all the support I’ve had from friends and family. 

Secret Past
Available for sale at:
*  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548
*  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00JL38Z7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397101326&sr=8-1&keywords=secret+past+by+eileen+troemel
*  Paperback version both large print and regular print:  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel/dp/1499123965/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1397535584&sr=8-1 

Piles, Packing, and Organizing

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
I’m not really sure where January and February went.  March is already half done and I don’t know where that went either.  I know I’ve been busy with helping one daughter with health issues and the other daughters with different things.  However, I don’t feel like I’ve been able to catch my breath.  Stuff I intended to have done in January I’m just getting to and it is March.
This morning first thing – before my five day headache had faded to manageable – Ken and I were up and out of the house to run errands for gathering things to take to Vicki.  She sends me a list and gives me money – we go get.  One check mark off my todo list.
We come home and I play on the computer – answer emails, play Bookwork, write in my journal, and tackle piles.  Most of my writing is now organized the way I want it.  I still have some piles that I’m not sure how I want to handle but I’ve gone through several pile and have them labeled and put away.  Things are easily identifiable and accessible. Items I will use often are at hand and others are placed further away. 
Next on my list is some computer work which will take a bit and then I’m off to pack my crafting suitcase for my trip.  I’ve got many of those items ready to go in the suitcase it is just a matter of getting the suitcase out and putting them in.  Although there are a couple of things I want to pull from the craft room. 
When I’m done with these things – providing my headache hasn’t screamed back full force – crocheting will round out my day.  Ken is working in the basement.  The basement guys were here and fixed it last weekend so he can work on getting his workroom set up and the guest room set up.
Tomorrow is a whole different day and I’ll have to figure out what I will be doing then.  Probably more organizing and packing but you never know.  If the headache I’ve had for five days continues I may just spend the day in a dark room doing nothing.  I’ve decided the worst thing about a headache is I can’t crochet while I’m home sick.  It hurts too much.

Writing Projects

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing
With the health issues going on in the family, I’ve not paid any attention to my writing.  I can tell I’ve not been writing again, my dreams are more vivid and my focus is a bit scattered because my mind is always wandering to the stories in my head.
I just came across a grant I want to write.  I probably won’t get it but it is worth trying for.  I also came across a contest that I want to submit.  I’ve entered it before and done okay. 
In order to get these two projects done by the submission deadlines, I have to sort through my piles on my shelves and get them organized so I can pull the manuscript for the contest.  I need to get through all the edits on the paper copy.  Then read it again to see if it needs editing again.  Aside from the tweaking of the manuscript I need to write a 500 word description of the story, take a 5000 excerpt, and follow all the other directions. 
For the grant, I will have to pull together a lot of information of what I’ve had published and what my project would look like.  There are so many steps there I don’t even know if I can list them all. 
The contest has a deadline of March 3 and the grant has a deadline of March 12.  This means I am going to have to get my act together over the next two weeks and get a lot of stuff done.  It will be insane.   I also think I will thoroughly enjoy it.
This weekend after all the errands, I hope to sort through yet another pile in my office and figure out where I’m at with my manuscript so I can work on it for the contest submission – little time and lots to do.