Grey Monday
Feb. 16th, 2026 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asphaltcowgrrlIt's cool and overcast here today, which I kinda love. It always puts me in a creative mood, so cross your fingers.
Tonight, Taylor wants to go to Costco, so that ought to be fun. Hah. I was thinking I needed to make a trip soon anyway since I grabbed the last pack of chicken thighs out of the freezer on Saturday. So, for once, the child had good timing. I can also stock up on some easy meals for Maddie to eat while I'm gone in March. She's working her first ever full-time job and is wiped out.
My friend in New Mexico randomly messaged me a few days ago saying she and her daughter had a three day weekend (must be nice, I wouldn't know 😂) and were coming up because they had nothing else to do. Started out as breakfast on Saturday, then lunch, then how about brunch on Sunday? All good as I have no life. Finally wound up as dinner last night. Had a really good dinner at Yardhouse and sat for a bit after chatting.
She and her daughter are both very into crystals which amuses me. Not because I'm not, just not to the extent that they are. The outdoor shopping mall we had dinner at last night has this fantastic crystal shop in it. I've bought myself wayyyy too many beaded bracelets from there as another friend of mine is also very into them. Hahaha. Anyway, last night the daughter suggested we hit the shop up after dinner, causing me to leave with two more bracelets. Which I did not need, but I found a tree agate that called to me. I love the greens in it. The other is peace jade. Both are very similar in color, but the agate is a much darker green.
On Saturday Maddie went to Trader Joe's to get her boyfriend some flowers. She came home with flowers for him, some for his mom, and also some for me. But I know she loves me best because she also brought me four mini carrot cakes. 😂 Kid knows me way too well.
Amusing side note: I have the bpm channel on SiriusXM playing right now - it's not as distracting to me as the 80's channel or The Highway - and at least once an hour since I got here at 7:30 I have heard one version or the other of "All the Things She Said" and it makes me laugh every time.
Lastly, I was listening to a random playlist I'd made on Spotify when George Strait's "Amarillo By Morning" popped up. It's my favorite George Strait song, and one of the few that never went to #1. Anyway, for some reason, it gave me an idea for a bingo square - the 'pre-cannon' prompt. I don't know why, but it made me think of Zayne before Andrej arrived in the station that fateful day. Not sure if anything will come of it, but I'm hoping that if I write it down, something might. We'll see I suppose.
That is the extent of my excitement for the week.
Tonight, Taylor wants to go to Costco, so that ought to be fun. Hah. I was thinking I needed to make a trip soon anyway since I grabbed the last pack of chicken thighs out of the freezer on Saturday. So, for once, the child had good timing. I can also stock up on some easy meals for Maddie to eat while I'm gone in March. She's working her first ever full-time job and is wiped out.
My friend in New Mexico randomly messaged me a few days ago saying she and her daughter had a three day weekend (must be nice, I wouldn't know 😂) and were coming up because they had nothing else to do. Started out as breakfast on Saturday, then lunch, then how about brunch on Sunday? All good as I have no life. Finally wound up as dinner last night. Had a really good dinner at Yardhouse and sat for a bit after chatting.
She and her daughter are both very into crystals which amuses me. Not because I'm not, just not to the extent that they are. The outdoor shopping mall we had dinner at last night has this fantastic crystal shop in it. I've bought myself wayyyy too many beaded bracelets from there as another friend of mine is also very into them. Hahaha. Anyway, last night the daughter suggested we hit the shop up after dinner, causing me to leave with two more bracelets. Which I did not need, but I found a tree agate that called to me. I love the greens in it. The other is peace jade. Both are very similar in color, but the agate is a much darker green.
On Saturday Maddie went to Trader Joe's to get her boyfriend some flowers. She came home with flowers for him, some for his mom, and also some for me. But I know she loves me best because she also brought me four mini carrot cakes. 😂 Kid knows me way too well.
Amusing side note: I have the bpm channel on SiriusXM playing right now - it's not as distracting to me as the 80's channel or The Highway - and at least once an hour since I got here at 7:30 I have heard one version or the other of "All the Things She Said" and it makes me laugh every time.
Lastly, I was listening to a random playlist I'd made on Spotify when George Strait's "Amarillo By Morning" popped up. It's my favorite George Strait song, and one of the few that never went to #1. Anyway, for some reason, it gave me an idea for a bingo square - the 'pre-cannon' prompt. I don't know why, but it made me think of Zayne before Andrej arrived in the station that fateful day. Not sure if anything will come of it, but I'm hoping that if I write it down, something might. We'll see I suppose.
That is the extent of my excitement for the week.
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no subject
Date: 2026-02-17 01:02 am (UTC)All of that sounds like it was a good day. I'd definately love to read the Zayne fic!
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Date: 2026-02-17 06:29 pm (UTC)It was in the end! Thank you — helps my motivation to know someone would find it interesting. :)
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Date: 2026-02-17 08:46 pm (UTC)Oooh, crystals. I'd love to visit a crystals shop, if only to browse.
Good luck with the writing mojo. I'm gonna try to make the time for some words tonight and tomorrow night. We shall see.
No excitement here. I am caught somewhere between babysitting and elder care, as my 9-year-old great nephew is on school break this week. His parents are used to my mom taking him, but she is 87 YeArS oLd for cripes sake. She's using a walker now and can barely take care of herself. I'm bringing them lunch each day this week so there is less she has to fuss with — but she needs to be the one to talk with his parents. She may still want to care for him, but.... she can't. It's really not even safe.
Sigh. I'm still waiting for something related to her health to joss the trip for me.
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Date: 2026-02-17 10:14 pm (UTC)It's a really neat shop. She has some crazy large geodes and all kinds of jewelry.
Thanks! I have an idea for something, but getting it down on paper might be harder than I want.
Ugh, your mom sounds like mine. Forgets that they're not 35 any longer. Mine will be 79 in a month and is showing no signs of slowing down. Your great nephew's parents have eyeballs, right? How do they not see that this isn't an ideal situation? No matter how much they both might like to spend time together, it is not good for either your mom or the kid.
DO NOT PUT THAT OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE. Sorry for yelling, but yanno.
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Date: 2026-02-21 04:26 am (UTC)So, even with my help this week (bringing and serving lunch, picking up, staying a couple of hours) my mom had to admit she can no longer deal with a solid week of child care. Then, once she talked with my niece, she cried her eyes out- alone, then at my sister, and then again to me.You would think she was never going to see him again.
I was less supportive than I should have been, and I feel a bit crappy about that. I actually told her she was crying for herself more than him. Harsh of me, right?
With any luck, it will be a positive change for him. All I saw him do all week (when he wasn't chatting with us and having lunch) was play video games and watch Youtube. I mean... sounds like fun, actually, but not what a nine year old needs all day every day.
Thanks for a space to write that out. When I read it, I don't feel like I'm being so unreasonable/bad daughter.
PS — she will also cry when I go on vacation, too, because it's so far away. *Sigh*
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Date: 2026-02-23 10:29 pm (UTC)I am glad your mom finally realized it.
No, I don't think that you were too harsh. I get why she was upset but I also can understand why you don't have a lot of sympathy either, especially with all the assistance you've had to give her with the kid.
Hopefully it is a good change for him. Yeah, kids are different now than they used to be. I can't really say much though because I'd get told to go outside and I'd sneak a book and go find somewhere to sit and read. LOL
Hey, it's why I'm here.
If it's any consolation, I haven't even told my mom I'm leaving the country. She means well, but I get sooooo tired of the 'oh, it must be nice to be able to do x, y, or z'. Sure is mom, only took me 2 years to save enough to do it though. Which is the thing she misses — she assumes that I just had $2k lounging in my account waiting for me to buy a plane ticket. Not that I had to cut out coffee runs or other fun stuff.
*sigh* Sorry about that. All these years I thought I had daddy issues when apparently I just have parental issues. Hah!