The Longest Cleaning Saturday
Jan. 17th, 2026 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickYeah, uh, cleaning my room took a lot longer than anticipated today -- mostly because:
A) I had to finish off the laundry Mom had started before she left to go to the post office and spend the day with Dad at the hospital, including moving it from washer to dryer, then collecting it once it dried and folding it up all up for her -- stuff I'm used to, but it did throw off my schedule a bit (especially since it prompted me to try and start MY portion of the laundry earlier, which meant I was stopping to move clothes around earlier)
B) I got some texts from Mom early on in the dusting, asking if I wanted to try FaceTiming with Dad today instead of going in for an in-person visit, and she could instead take me tomorrow, since she figured the traffic would be better then -- I agreed, and proceeded to wait around for a bit while she tried to get the program to work; eventually everything connected and I was able to share a few words with her and Dad over the phone, but it did throw my schedule off even more
C) I took a lunch break shortly after 1 PM (having not gotten much further in the dusting), only to run into an issue because the leftovers I was planning to eat didn't smell great, meaning I had to get rid of them, and we didn't really have much else in the fridge -- Mom eventually came to my rescue by giving me some instructions on how to make a kielbasa and cheese wrap in the microwave (which I supplemented with some Chex Mix and a banana), and she picked up some lunch stuff on her way home, including rolls, turkey, cheese, and carrots, but that was still a hell of a delay
D) And I chose to listen to some Many A True Nerd videos while I was cleaning (how to make the perfect Fallout game, the persistent problems the game has had with speech checks, and an exploration of his very first Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas saves), which of course led to some more delays as I occasionally backed up the videos, especially the second one, to keep up with what he was saying
Bottom line? After starting at like about 10:15 AM, I wasn't fully done with all my cleaning until 4 PM. I finished my laundry before I finished my DUSTING! That never happens! O.O *shakehead* I understand that nothing is going to be normal schedule because these are far from fucking normal times, but -- would have preferred to get done a LITTLE earlier! Meeeh. Still, I managed to accomplish a few things regardless:
Little Corners: Despite so much of my day being taken up with cleaning, texting, FaceTiming, figuring out what the fuck I could eat for lunch, laundry, and more cleaning, I was determined to get in some video game time today – so, once I finally finished off the cleaning (and the write-up for yesterday’s Baldur’s Gate III session – gotta learn how to get through those faster), I spent maybe 40-45 minutes playing the “virtual sticker book” game I bought myself for Christmas and working on my Adventurer’s Tavern! Today’s updates to the corner included:
A) Fancying up the side booth area further – changing out the metal tankards for metal wine goblets; putting a tiny round picture of someone in a crown on the visible bit of wall above the seat nearest the door; putting a quiver of arrows and a bow next to that seat, moving the backpack that was there over to beside the seat near the fireplace; putting a couple of piled books on the seat near the door (I thought they went well with the treasure map on the table – maybe the occupants were researching the land depicted in the map?); and putting a red bottle (meant to be wine for the wine goblets) and a little pile of coins (meant to be payment/a tip for their food and drink) on the table – the former in the back, the latter in the front, by the pie plate I put there before. So now it REALLY feels like the “fancy” nook in the tavern!
B) Plopping some metal tankards on the bar before moving it (and the barstools) forward a little to try and fit SOMETHING like some bottles or a tapped barrel behind it if I could (necessitating adjusting the placement of the table nearest the fireplace so the space didn’t feel too crowded) – and then getting the idea to swap the bar out for one of those sideways bookcases! You know, the kind that are long instead of tall? One of the virtual sticker sheets available for the corner had a couple, and I realized that if I made one of those the bar instead, I could then fill the shelves with a bunch of the bottle stickers! :D So that’s what I did, putting a bunch of “cheap” booze bottles on one side, and a few bigger, “expensive” booze bottles on the other. Plus one big rectangular bottle on the bar itself to represent a drink about to be poured. :) The new “bar” looks a little thin compared to the proper bar sticker, but I really like having those bottles in the shelves, so it’s staying. Maybe I can layer two of them to thicken it up a little? We’ll see…
C) Cluttering up the two round tables a little more – putting the drippy wax candles on both in proper little holders; putting the metal tankards I took out of the booth on the table closest to the fire, in front of the stools on the left and top of the table; putting a brown bottle of mystery booze and a bowl of mystery green goo in front of the stool at the bottom of that same table (someone must be on a health kick); putting a plate with a giant hunk of meat in front of the left-hand stool on the table near the window (someone is very much NOT on a health kick); dropping a green bottle of mystery booze and a bag of coins in front of the right-most stool on that table (for the party accountant); and dropped a couple more cards next to the card castle that was already in front of the bottom stool at that table. So now those tables look like people might actually be sitting at them, hooray!
D) And adding a few more details to the walls around the tavern – hanging a little picture of a guy with a sword above the picture of a dragon with an axe in it by the fireplace; putting a colorful banner with a sword on it over the door; adding a long crack (made up of a couple of crack stickers) under the window; and adding to the spider web on the beam at the far left, making it stretch over and attach to the side of the window. Just little things to make the place feel a bit more lived-in and a place where adventures go. :)
So yeah, that was fun! Glad I was able to get the session in. :) As per usual, here is the latest pic of the corner:
I think it’s coming along very nicely! :) Needs a bit more clutter, I think, but it looks better than it did. :)
FreeTube: Had some time to actually watch a video tonight – specifically, “Monstrous: a Greek Myth Retold – Kickstarter” by C. M. Alongi! Given the thumbnail had her in a Greek-inspired costume, I thought that this would be a series of sketches about the book to promote the Kickstarter, but nope – this one was just Chris as herself, covering:
A) What Monstrous is – a retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche, which she kindly summarized for those unfamiliar with it (very short version: mortal princess Psyche is so beautiful she starts getting worshiped as a new goddess of beauty; actual Goddess of Beauty Aphrodite is so pissed off by this she sends minor god Eros (aka Cupid) down to make her fall in love with something horrible; Eros instead is enchanted by Psyche and whisks her away with him; Aphrodite is pissed and makes Psyche pass four trials to stay with Eros; Psyche passes the trials with the help of friendly animals and spirits who see her crying and are moved to assist her) before talking about the non-spoilery changes she’s made (including giving Psyche more intelligence and the ability to figure out the trials on her own, albeit sometimes getting help to complete them; Psyche herself not being on-board with being worshiped as a goddess because she KNOWS it’s gonna screw her over; Psyche and Eros falling in love a lot slower; and – very importantly – Psyche being AGED UP because this is Greek mythology and girls used to get married at FOURTEEN)
B) Why she’s doing a Kickstarter for the book instead of going the traditional publishing route – basically, her agent got contacted by a publisher, who picked Monstrous out of the group of pitches Chris submitted to them – and then, when Chris had already gotten waaaay into writing the book (which she really enjoyed because loves Greek mythology), ghosted her and her agent. And when Chris tried to pitch it to the publishing company that published her other stand-alone, The Witch Who Trades With Death, they rejected it because the market was already over-saturated with Greek mythology retellings. Cue Chris asking her agent if it was okay for her to self-publish, and her agent going “YES.”
C) Her goal for the Kickstarter – about $15,800 – how she came up with it – calculating the costs of hiring editors, getting a book cover done, etc, and coming up with $10,000 as a reasonable goal...then adding $5,800 onto that because Kickstarter takes a cut and she’d need to pay taxes on what she’d raised – and what her stretch goals were – at $50,000, she takes $10,000 and donates it to the charity FamilyWise, situated in her home state of Minnesota and which is working to end child abuse and domestic abuse; at $100,000, she does another national book tour (apologizing to fans in Canada, the UK, and Australia...then pointing out that she might see some of them anyway if she suddenly needs to move because the USA is going down the gutter FAST, and given where she lives, she would know)
D) And the rewards for said Kickstarter – basically, the main three tiers are getting Monstrous as an e-book, a signed softcover, or a signed hardcover, and then there are add-ons to get her other books, including Heart Of Iron and The Official CaFae Latte Cookbook (cue side rant about how her main job when that book was written was to keep her dad from eating all the treats before the pictures could be taken – apparently the man sucked down almost AN ENTIRE PITCHER OF LEMONADE before they could get the pictures, sheesh). She also made it very clear that the books are the only rewards this time around, as while she enjoyed making the yarn creations she offered last time, shipping them was an absolute nightmare. And don’t get her started on posters...oh, and while there will be an audiobook for Monstrous, she’s not offering it as a reward or add-on because of all the legal and technological issues she ran into when she offered it as a reward for Heart Of Iron. She has only so much sanity left, and she is saving it, people!
So yeah – everything you need to know about the upcoming Monstrous Kickstarter! It kicks off February 1st, so if you have the means and are interested in the story, maybe go throw a few dollars her way.
Tumblr: Didn’t do anything but catch up on my dash over on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) tonight, but I made a point of answering the two questions that I found over in my Valice Multiverse yesterday –
A) One anon asking “If someone with Heterochromia loses an eye, are they still considered Heterochromia?” (“heterochromia” means you have two different eye colors, if you’re unaware) – I had Cuddlepile!Alice answer that she imagined they would be, given that they were born with the condition, even if it’s no longer visible on their face – after all, triplets don’t suddenly become twins when one of the members dies. And then Smiler put in that, if the person got a fake eye, they should be able to get it in whatever color they want, so they could still have heterochromia if they want! Simple as that! :p
B) And another anon insulting Alice by demanding “Get back in the kitchen, bitch!” before turning around and telling Victor to “Go die in a war, cuck!” before being declared the “Bisexist” (complete with bi-flag-colored text” – the Cuddlepile Smiler took this one, stepping up in front of the startled Victor and Alice in their nonbinary flag shirt and a deeply-insincere smile to ask where their insult was. Mostly because they were darkly curious to see how this asshole would react to a nonbinary person. I guess we’ll see if there’s a follow-up, and if Alice will then be unleashed on the jackass to tear them a new one!
So yeah, there was that. And now I need to head to bed -- need to get up a little earlier than usual because I'll be going to visit Dad in the hospital in the morning (and possibly helping Mom clean up the living room a bit). Hoping it's a good visit...keep your fingers crossed! Night all!
A) I had to finish off the laundry Mom had started before she left to go to the post office and spend the day with Dad at the hospital, including moving it from washer to dryer, then collecting it once it dried and folding it up all up for her -- stuff I'm used to, but it did throw off my schedule a bit (especially since it prompted me to try and start MY portion of the laundry earlier, which meant I was stopping to move clothes around earlier)
B) I got some texts from Mom early on in the dusting, asking if I wanted to try FaceTiming with Dad today instead of going in for an in-person visit, and she could instead take me tomorrow, since she figured the traffic would be better then -- I agreed, and proceeded to wait around for a bit while she tried to get the program to work; eventually everything connected and I was able to share a few words with her and Dad over the phone, but it did throw my schedule off even more
C) I took a lunch break shortly after 1 PM (having not gotten much further in the dusting), only to run into an issue because the leftovers I was planning to eat didn't smell great, meaning I had to get rid of them, and we didn't really have much else in the fridge -- Mom eventually came to my rescue by giving me some instructions on how to make a kielbasa and cheese wrap in the microwave (which I supplemented with some Chex Mix and a banana), and she picked up some lunch stuff on her way home, including rolls, turkey, cheese, and carrots, but that was still a hell of a delay
D) And I chose to listen to some Many A True Nerd videos while I was cleaning (how to make the perfect Fallout game, the persistent problems the game has had with speech checks, and an exploration of his very first Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas saves), which of course led to some more delays as I occasionally backed up the videos, especially the second one, to keep up with what he was saying
Bottom line? After starting at like about 10:15 AM, I wasn't fully done with all my cleaning until 4 PM. I finished my laundry before I finished my DUSTING! That never happens! O.O *shakehead* I understand that nothing is going to be normal schedule because these are far from fucking normal times, but -- would have preferred to get done a LITTLE earlier! Meeeh. Still, I managed to accomplish a few things regardless:
Little Corners: Despite so much of my day being taken up with cleaning, texting, FaceTiming, figuring out what the fuck I could eat for lunch, laundry, and more cleaning, I was determined to get in some video game time today – so, once I finally finished off the cleaning (and the write-up for yesterday’s Baldur’s Gate III session – gotta learn how to get through those faster), I spent maybe 40-45 minutes playing the “virtual sticker book” game I bought myself for Christmas and working on my Adventurer’s Tavern! Today’s updates to the corner included:
A) Fancying up the side booth area further – changing out the metal tankards for metal wine goblets; putting a tiny round picture of someone in a crown on the visible bit of wall above the seat nearest the door; putting a quiver of arrows and a bow next to that seat, moving the backpack that was there over to beside the seat near the fireplace; putting a couple of piled books on the seat near the door (I thought they went well with the treasure map on the table – maybe the occupants were researching the land depicted in the map?); and putting a red bottle (meant to be wine for the wine goblets) and a little pile of coins (meant to be payment/a tip for their food and drink) on the table – the former in the back, the latter in the front, by the pie plate I put there before. So now it REALLY feels like the “fancy” nook in the tavern!
B) Plopping some metal tankards on the bar before moving it (and the barstools) forward a little to try and fit SOMETHING like some bottles or a tapped barrel behind it if I could (necessitating adjusting the placement of the table nearest the fireplace so the space didn’t feel too crowded) – and then getting the idea to swap the bar out for one of those sideways bookcases! You know, the kind that are long instead of tall? One of the virtual sticker sheets available for the corner had a couple, and I realized that if I made one of those the bar instead, I could then fill the shelves with a bunch of the bottle stickers! :D So that’s what I did, putting a bunch of “cheap” booze bottles on one side, and a few bigger, “expensive” booze bottles on the other. Plus one big rectangular bottle on the bar itself to represent a drink about to be poured. :) The new “bar” looks a little thin compared to the proper bar sticker, but I really like having those bottles in the shelves, so it’s staying. Maybe I can layer two of them to thicken it up a little? We’ll see…
C) Cluttering up the two round tables a little more – putting the drippy wax candles on both in proper little holders; putting the metal tankards I took out of the booth on the table closest to the fire, in front of the stools on the left and top of the table; putting a brown bottle of mystery booze and a bowl of mystery green goo in front of the stool at the bottom of that same table (someone must be on a health kick); putting a plate with a giant hunk of meat in front of the left-hand stool on the table near the window (someone is very much NOT on a health kick); dropping a green bottle of mystery booze and a bag of coins in front of the right-most stool on that table (for the party accountant); and dropped a couple more cards next to the card castle that was already in front of the bottom stool at that table. So now those tables look like people might actually be sitting at them, hooray!
D) And adding a few more details to the walls around the tavern – hanging a little picture of a guy with a sword above the picture of a dragon with an axe in it by the fireplace; putting a colorful banner with a sword on it over the door; adding a long crack (made up of a couple of crack stickers) under the window; and adding to the spider web on the beam at the far left, making it stretch over and attach to the side of the window. Just little things to make the place feel a bit more lived-in and a place where adventures go. :)
So yeah, that was fun! Glad I was able to get the session in. :) As per usual, here is the latest pic of the corner:
I think it’s coming along very nicely! :) Needs a bit more clutter, I think, but it looks better than it did. :)
FreeTube: Had some time to actually watch a video tonight – specifically, “Monstrous: a Greek Myth Retold – Kickstarter” by C. M. Alongi! Given the thumbnail had her in a Greek-inspired costume, I thought that this would be a series of sketches about the book to promote the Kickstarter, but nope – this one was just Chris as herself, covering:
A) What Monstrous is – a retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche, which she kindly summarized for those unfamiliar with it (very short version: mortal princess Psyche is so beautiful she starts getting worshiped as a new goddess of beauty; actual Goddess of Beauty Aphrodite is so pissed off by this she sends minor god Eros (aka Cupid) down to make her fall in love with something horrible; Eros instead is enchanted by Psyche and whisks her away with him; Aphrodite is pissed and makes Psyche pass four trials to stay with Eros; Psyche passes the trials with the help of friendly animals and spirits who see her crying and are moved to assist her) before talking about the non-spoilery changes she’s made (including giving Psyche more intelligence and the ability to figure out the trials on her own, albeit sometimes getting help to complete them; Psyche herself not being on-board with being worshiped as a goddess because she KNOWS it’s gonna screw her over; Psyche and Eros falling in love a lot slower; and – very importantly – Psyche being AGED UP because this is Greek mythology and girls used to get married at FOURTEEN)
B) Why she’s doing a Kickstarter for the book instead of going the traditional publishing route – basically, her agent got contacted by a publisher, who picked Monstrous out of the group of pitches Chris submitted to them – and then, when Chris had already gotten waaaay into writing the book (which she really enjoyed because loves Greek mythology), ghosted her and her agent. And when Chris tried to pitch it to the publishing company that published her other stand-alone, The Witch Who Trades With Death, they rejected it because the market was already over-saturated with Greek mythology retellings. Cue Chris asking her agent if it was okay for her to self-publish, and her agent going “YES.”
C) Her goal for the Kickstarter – about $15,800 – how she came up with it – calculating the costs of hiring editors, getting a book cover done, etc, and coming up with $10,000 as a reasonable goal...then adding $5,800 onto that because Kickstarter takes a cut and she’d need to pay taxes on what she’d raised – and what her stretch goals were – at $50,000, she takes $10,000 and donates it to the charity FamilyWise, situated in her home state of Minnesota and which is working to end child abuse and domestic abuse; at $100,000, she does another national book tour (apologizing to fans in Canada, the UK, and Australia...then pointing out that she might see some of them anyway if she suddenly needs to move because the USA is going down the gutter FAST, and given where she lives, she would know)
D) And the rewards for said Kickstarter – basically, the main three tiers are getting Monstrous as an e-book, a signed softcover, or a signed hardcover, and then there are add-ons to get her other books, including Heart Of Iron and The Official CaFae Latte Cookbook (cue side rant about how her main job when that book was written was to keep her dad from eating all the treats before the pictures could be taken – apparently the man sucked down almost AN ENTIRE PITCHER OF LEMONADE before they could get the pictures, sheesh). She also made it very clear that the books are the only rewards this time around, as while she enjoyed making the yarn creations she offered last time, shipping them was an absolute nightmare. And don’t get her started on posters...oh, and while there will be an audiobook for Monstrous, she’s not offering it as a reward or add-on because of all the legal and technological issues she ran into when she offered it as a reward for Heart Of Iron. She has only so much sanity left, and she is saving it, people!
So yeah – everything you need to know about the upcoming Monstrous Kickstarter! It kicks off February 1st, so if you have the means and are interested in the story, maybe go throw a few dollars her way.
Tumblr: Didn’t do anything but catch up on my dash over on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) tonight, but I made a point of answering the two questions that I found over in my Valice Multiverse yesterday –
A) One anon asking “If someone with Heterochromia loses an eye, are they still considered Heterochromia?” (“heterochromia” means you have two different eye colors, if you’re unaware) – I had Cuddlepile!Alice answer that she imagined they would be, given that they were born with the condition, even if it’s no longer visible on their face – after all, triplets don’t suddenly become twins when one of the members dies. And then Smiler put in that, if the person got a fake eye, they should be able to get it in whatever color they want, so they could still have heterochromia if they want! Simple as that! :p
B) And another anon insulting Alice by demanding “Get back in the kitchen, bitch!” before turning around and telling Victor to “Go die in a war, cuck!” before being declared the “Bisexist” (complete with bi-flag-colored text” – the Cuddlepile Smiler took this one, stepping up in front of the startled Victor and Alice in their nonbinary flag shirt and a deeply-insincere smile to ask where their insult was. Mostly because they were darkly curious to see how this asshole would react to a nonbinary person. I guess we’ll see if there’s a follow-up, and if Alice will then be unleashed on the jackass to tear them a new one!
So yeah, there was that. And now I need to head to bed -- need to get up a little earlier than usual because I'll be going to visit Dad in the hospital in the morning (and possibly helping Mom clean up the living room a bit). Hoping it's a good visit...keep your fingers crossed! Night all!
