How Things Are Going This Week

I am still reading Dead Towns of Alabama. Now that spare time is practically non-existent, I tend to read really, really slow. This bothers me because I used to easily read 100 pages per hour. But back to the book- it's divided into sections with the first being a list of Indian towns. This was an eye-opener for me because I always think of Indians living in wigwams, teepees, or cabins. Some of the Indian towns had buildings that could hold 1,000 people. The towns were well fortified, they had walls around the perimeter and portholes for shooting. There were towns with adobe buildings. Reading about these places has made me question my education.

I really, really want to move now. My landlord has become an absolute ass. He sent me a text informing me of a rent increase should I renew the lease. He wants to charge rent for my dogs like they are people. His idea is $50 per dog. Let's see, I have three Labs, that's $150 and Queen had ten puppies so that's another $500 bringing my $400 a month rent to $1,050. I doubt he could do that anyway and I'm not renewing the lease (I'll put my things in storage and live with my parents if I have to). It just galls me that he even sent the text.

My work load should increase, thus I will be making more money. That's good. Right now I barely have enough to get by.

I had signed up for a site called Odesk. It's for freelance writing jobs. I missed passing the test by half a point. That annoyed me. I understand the site wants professional people but I feel that they try hard to make things difficult. However, there are other freelance sites available, and I can learn from my mistake with Odesk. All I want is to make a little extra money while I wait for my regular job's work to increase. Odesk may be better suited for people who are already freelancers rather than people just starting out.

I am still coughing. I can't tell if it is getting better. Nothing really seems to help.

I finished my Spring sign. All but the backing. I started on Summer. Right away, I messed up by putting letters too close together. Honest, I know how to sew, I swear.

I've had a few more dreams. Most are vaguely threatening. I feel like people are plotting against me. I've taken to burning a good bit of incense and casting protective spells.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to design cross stitch patterns. I have settled on my first design. I've decided on all the elements and now I am ready to draw. To create inspiration, I started a secret board on Pinterest. My plan is to make a Pagan design without obvious Pagan symbolism. I don't want to reveal too much, but I am very excited by how things are going.

The puppies are one week old today. I think they are now twice as big as when they were born.

I have decided to turn my bookcase altar into a hutch. I think my father can help me with this. The bookcase needs some work. The top of it is pitted and cracked. Some trim is missing. I think it was never added. The whole thing needs a good cleaning and either varnish or paint. I want to add some doors and some kind of decorative top shelving. What I would like to have is something obviously intended for the kitchen with the magick out of sight behind hutch doors. I don't know that Dad will be keen on the idea but damn it, I've been wanting a hutch for ages and the only way I am going to get one is to build it myself.