Author: Becky

Button Sunday

This is true, but it implies that I mostly wear pajamas all day, every day, and that is not true. I may take one day a week as a “pajama day,” because from the time I get up, I’m cleaning or doing other busy work, then I fix brunch and start working. By the time I take a shower late afternoon/early evening, there’s zero chance I’m going anywhere, so I just put on clean sleepwear (could be pajamas, flannel nightshirts, nightgowns, pajama pants with shirts of one kind or another–it’s always a surprise to me, too).

Most stay-home days, I shower early and dress because I never know who or what might show up at my door: deliveries for any of us; exterminator; a lost soul at the wrong house; water guy; something of Debby’s requiring a signature. It stuns me how often the doorbell rings and creates utter havoc among the BatPack. Most days, I feel more productive and “take-charge” if I’m dressed when I sit down to pay bills, read email, journal, and create (writing or painting).

Today, I decided to take a little drive to be sure about an address where I’m taking Debby tomorrow. It’s close to home, in a place I’m familiar with, but not that particular building. I had long since showered and dressed, and I decided since I wasn’t leaving my car, it would be okay to keep my house-shoes on. See said house-shoes:

Except the location was next to one of the hardware stores we use, and there were a couple of cleaning things I need that aren’t in the grocery store. They are likely at Target and Walmart, but I was right next to this store, so I stared down at my house-shoes. I thought about all the times in the old ‘hood when Tim and I used to take writing breaks to go to 24-hour Walgreens and 24-hour Kroger in the middle of the night where people knew us and didn’t care what either of us might be wearing. We were all buddies there.

I bopped inside this store in my house-shoes, found the cleaning supplies I needed, and noticed they’ve put out patio furniture again (it’s coastal Texas; they’re saying winter is possibly over). Tom bought a chair last year he wanted to try out to see if we liked. We did, but when he next went back, all the outdoor furniture was put away.

At this place, I shot a phone photo of similar chairs the hardware store had in stock and texted him. He opted, when HE did errands, to check out last year’s store. They had chairs identical to the one we own back in stock, so now, we have a set of four. All because I threw my standards to the wind and shopped in my house-shoes.

Here’s what I’ve been listening to while I wrote–fully dressed in real clothes–the last couple of days.


Everlast, Eat at Whitey’s and Whitey Ford Sings the Blues; Michael Feinstein, Isn’t It Romantic, part of a package at a fundraiser; Fischerelle, Steel Innuendoes, CD likely a gift from Tom’s middle sister of a Birmingham, AL-based band; Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis Sing Gershwin, highly recommend; Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac, Rumors, Tusk, and Mirage.


Happy Full Moon! A good time to set your intentions for the month, especially if there are things you want to release. If it doesn’t serve you, let that shit go!

Some Saturday stuff

Friday evening I was catching up my day planner when I did this prompt: “Draw and label an ‘ideal version’ of yourself.” I shot this photo with my iPad, with the phone covering my self-portrait and the things I wrote, to focus on: the fact that I did a prompt and drew something AND those four silly dogs, bottom right of the sketch, who I show watching me in case I decide to eat anything or plan to take them out and then give them treats. All four are highly food motivated.

Items show ways I keep up with what I write in my planner and the stickers I use there, appointments, activities, nutrition and meds, and social media/blog. Can’t say I’ve done a ton of writing the past couple of days, but I’m inching along. Keeping the planner helps hold me accountable. Patti Smith is my 2023 daily muse.

When skimming through a few photos on my laptop, I found this screen cap from October 2020. I don’t remember what I said, but David Crosby liked it, and that was one of the highlights of that dreadful year for me. Oh, how that man’s voice has been part of my life from teen to whatever I am now. I will miss him. I will miss his acerbic tweets, music commentary, memories, wit, and the way he’d respond and rate the joints people rolled when they tagged him in their photos. Carry on, Cros.

I barely scroll Twitter now, maybe two to three times a week, because Musk so thoroughly ruined everything that was fun for me, and boy, if people thought there were haters there before, now they don’t even try to cover their viciousness with a wink and a smirk. They are unapologetically vile, and thanks to the new algorithms, they show up in my feed. So many of the people I enjoy reading have left or are quiet with a wait-and-see attitude. I purged my account of tweets and retweets, which meant I lost a lot of my memories and photos. (Some of those tweets keep reappearing, and I delete them again.) I’m keeping my name ownership on the site, but there’s no reason for me to leave my content and photos on an even worse hellmouth than Facebook became.

Your mileage may vary.

Finally, along with Patti Smith’s A Book of Days, pictured in the top photo, which I continue to read daily, in January, I read these two books.

Writing as T.G. Herren, Greg Herren’s A Streetcar Named Murder, A New Orleans Mystery No. 1. A fun introduction to new characters in this cozy, with the ever-compelling city of New Orleans as the backdrop.
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, which thoroughly absorbed me, particularly as the daughter of a veteran. Whatever sensationalized scandals people might have expected and raged about, that’s not what this is.

Crows on my mind

Had some drama with my website again last night as I was closing down. Seems to happen frequently these days, so I’m glad for their 24/7 customer support, but I’d be even gladder if whatever is causing these problems would be found and become a distant memory.

I had a bunch of home business stuff to take care of this morning, so I’m not getting started writing until after noon. My problem with this character is I KNOW the ultimate resolution of his story arc, but I’m not altogether sure how to get there. Since he likes to think of himself as having characteristics of a crow, I took out MJ Cullinane’s Urban Crow Oracle deck for fun.

I pulled Distance, Risk, and Balance. These happen to all be important elements of the character’s life, so I figure the message is that as long as I write him true to who he is and was created to be, we’re all good regardless of where my thoughts may be straying.

CDs are in the changer because I’m in the library, with dogs (like Eva) taking turns hogging the fire. Tonight before I stop, I’ll post my day’s playlist (assuming the site cooperates).

I hope good actions, good feelings, and tech cooperation are part of your day.

ETA: Today’s playlist. A lot of CDs. Maybe some were not as long as others, because it doesn’t seem like I got an abundance of writing done while all these played. (Of course, I also left them playing while I ordered a few household items and prepared and ate dinner.) I think I can bring the chapter to an end by the time I go to bed. The next chapter should be more fun and faster.


Lana Del Rey, Lust for Life and Norman Fucking Rockwell; The Doors, Waiting For The Sun; Eagles, Their Greatest Hits and Hotel California (my other Eagles albums were drowned and some have been replaced with albums); Steve Earle, Guitar Town (Steve Earle is so talented; this one is Tom’s, but I really like it); The Escape Club, Dollars and Sex; Melissa Etheridge, Yes I Am; Your Little Secret, Breakdown; Lucky, and Skin. Tom’s the bigger Melissa Etheridge fan, but I like her, too.

Wicked Cold Wednesday*

*As Timothy might say.


Delta, Eva Ruby, Anime

Moved work into the library so we could have a fire. (Jack is buried under covers on the office couch. It’s apparently one of his non-social days.) Since Tom is in the office and not working from home today, I’ve got the tunes (still in the “D”s) on the big sound system while I write. I’ll post the playlist when I stop for the night. One of today’s CDs I’d sing along to FULL VOICE (alone) in the car in 1992, going to and from the hospital to be Steve’s healthcare advocate. I needed a total escape, and it provided. Still love it, despite its connection to a tough time.

Have a good day, and stay warm or chill, wherever this finds you.

ETA: I’m about to save this chapter and shut down for the night. I always appreciate when I’ve made progress, and here are the “D” CDs that helped.


Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool. Pretty great to write to. Def Leppard, Retroactive. One of my favorite of the “hair” bands, and so much more to them than the hair. Loved their videos. Loved seeing them live. They’re still touring. Celine Dion, Falling Into You. I got this one because I needed the words to one of the songs used at John’s memorial service in 1996. One of his closest friends said “Fly” was the song he most thought of for John, and it is beautiful and sad and uplifting all at once. Dire Straits, On Every Street. This band’s sound always relaxes me. Clay DuBose, Rewriting History. Since members of Tom’s family are thanked in the liner notes of this, I’m certain it was a gift. It’s contemporary country, and another one that’s good to write to. Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits. I never get tired of Dylan and his influence over one of my characters is powerful. Bob Dylan, Love And Theft. I suspect this may have been a Tom purchase because I don’t know it well. I HAVE to replace more of my drowned Dylan albums with CD or vinyl, I don’t care. I just need to listen to them again. Various artists, Tangled Up in Blues: Songs of Bob Dylan. Released by the House of Blues label in 2002, as part of a series featuring 12 separate artists (e.g., Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin), and further subtitled “This Ain’t No Tribute.” Covers on this one are by Taj Mahal, Mavis Staples, Isaac Hayes, R.L. Burnside, Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, John Hammond, James Solberg, Alvin “Youngblood” Hart, Leon Russell, The Holmes Brothers, Larry McCray, and The Band.

It was a long writing day in the Hall library.

Button Sunday


When a button makes me crack up immediately, that’s when I know Sunday’s taken care of. Music related, too.


As promised, yesterday’s writing session was all DMB all the time. Dave Matthews Band, Under The Table and Dreaming; Dave Matthews Band, Crash: Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Live At Luther College 2-CD set; Dave Matthews Band, Everyday.

The kitchen and pantry ceilings are repaired and look great! Now we’ll see about getting some of those pipes better insulated…

Saturday, Saturday…

I can’t wait to be writing again today. Workers didn’t come yesterday, will come today, but I’ll be closed up in the writing sanctuary so probably won’t be affected much. I have finally, FINALLY, written this tiny bottle of CHANEL N°5 into a scene, which I’ve wanted to do since a writing exercise a million years ago at Saints and Sinners.

While I wrote and planned and thought on Friday, I finished the “C” CDs and began the “D” CDs.

The playlist:


Counting Crows, Recovering the Satellites and August and Everything After; Shannon Curfman, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions; Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Live at Radio City 2-CD set; Dave Matthews Band, Busted Stuff and Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

A few more “D” CDs to come. Thank you to every musical artist who is helping me these days.

ETA: Waiting on the workers to get here. Dogs are at Aunt Debby’s. I’ve got the first CD in, and I’m ready to write. =) Hoping for a great day for me and for you, too!