Tag: tiny tuesday

Tiny Tuesday!


Have you met Stardust? He’s the favorite wee pet of Lord Cuttlebone, who was featured here on a recent Photo Friday post.

Do I think Stardust is real? That’s like asking me if I believe in magic. DO YOU KNOW ME?

Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart
How the music can free her whenever it starts?
And it’s magic if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I’ll tell you about the magic that’ll free your soul
But it’s like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll

If you believe in magic, don’t bother to choose
If it’s jug band music or rhythm and blues
Just go and listen, and it’ll start with a smile
That won’t wipe off your face no matter how hard you try
Your feet start tapping, and you can’t seem to find
How you got there, so just blow your mind

If you believe in magic, come along with me
We’ll dance until morning till there’s just you and me
And maybe, if the music is right
I’ll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night
And we’ll go dancing, baby, then you’ll see
How the magic’s in the music and the music’s in me

Yeah
Do you believe in magic?
Yeah
Believe in the magic of the young girl’s soul
Believe in the magic of rock and roll
Believe in the magic that can set you free
Ohh, talking ’bout the magic

The Lovin’ Spoonful

Tiny Tuesday!


Tiny leaf dish, with tiny stone hearts: carnelian for empowerment and amazonite for authenticity, plus a tiny cone of nag champa incense. All of these are from my favorite Houston store, Body Mind and Soul. Crystals and stones, incense, aromatherapy and candles, the right music–these are helping keep me focused on writing and positive things.

I’ve found that I can’t read right now. It’s frustrating, and yesterday for an Instagram post, I counted 31(derful) books in my to-be-read pile. Since I’m not routinely a TV viewer, I do that in only limited doses. As much as I love other people’s creativity, for some reason during this time, reading and viewing has become harder. Music is still fantastic, especially some of the musicians I’ve met via social media.

I’ll talk a bit more about stress at the end of this post.

I’m not much of a shopper. I usually go to stores only with a specific purpose, and I’m in and out quickly. But the stores I love most take more time: record stores, bookstores, antique stores, and especially Body Mind and Soul. We are able now to book in-store shopping appointments there in thirty-minute increments. I’ll be glad to shop that way if it helps keep this Houston treasure open.

So many businesses have closed, especially restaurants. Even franchises of chain restaurants. I think so far our favorite locally-owned eateries are hanging in there, and we do get takeout a couple of times a week to be supportive. We have to budget that wisely since I’ve been laid off.

I try to imagine when I can travel again. I didn’t go many places for so long because of work. This past weekend, we Zoomed with the Tom side of the family for his mother’s birthday. It was my first Zoom meeting and was a lot of fun. We got to see people and kids (shit, they’re all almost grown now) and dogs.

One day when the pandemic is under control, I won’t have the income for travel. I try not to think about the future a lot. It makes the present situation seem bleak. I can say that staying home for seven months during a pandemic while the worst administration I’ve experienced in my lifetime is so dishonest and dangerously inept is not something I ever anticipated or want to repeat.

So… stress. There are topics I.don’t.want.to.talk.about. Ever. Has nothing to do with the current situation we’re in. One time someone who knows me well called me a finely-tuned instrument who strongly reacts to the vibrations put off by the planet, events, and humans. She taught me many ways to protect myself, and I still use those. I caution people that when I say, “Stop,” it’s a good idea to stop. It’s not personal. It’s the topic + me. When I get frustrated or reactive, it’s no longer the topic. It’s personal. This is one of my least favorite ways to be. Why would anyone want to provoke it?

So…crystals and stones. Aromatherapy. Candles. Music. Social media avoidance. Coloring. Writing scenes in my head and then into my manuscript. Everybody has their ways to cope and minimize stress. I hope. If not, there’s an entire Internet filled with ideas. Find what works, and know I wish you peace.

Tiny Tuesday!


This is one of my doll guitars. The right scale for a fashion doll is 1:6. This may be a wee bit smaller, and works well for a female doll more than for a male doll.

It is my wish to one day be able to go back to my favorite antique malls and thrift stores, if they survive the pandemic, and look through their toy sections again. I’ve long wanted a drum set and a saxophone at 1:6 scale. AND FOR SHIT’S SAKE IF YOU ARE READING THIS, DO NOT ORDER SUCH A THING ONLINE. Trust me on this. You will very likely be ripped off and unable to get your money back. Sites are teeming with dissatisfied reviewers who have received nothing or fallen victim to bait-and-switch schemes on miniatures.

ETA in 2022: I have both a saxophone and a drum kit now at 1:6 scale. Well, the drum kit might be at 1:4, but whatever. It works.

I will wait until I’m holding what I want in my own two hands before I buy anything. I do not want gifts. Thank you very much for the thought, however, if it flitted through your mind. It’s not easy to find 1:6 items, and for me, looking for these things is part of the fun.

Tiny Tuesday!


I’ve had the coloring books for fashions of the 1920s and 1950s for a while, and it occurred to me that I should check for my favorite decades. Voila! The 1960s and 1970s are now mine.

Coloring has become part of my writing process. When I need to think and plot and create dialogue in my head, I can do that while coloring. When I’m thinking of where to go next with a specific character, I’ll color a page that makes me think of him or her. When I need a break from anything to do with writing and want to do something creative but not intense, coloring wins. I can take along a coloring book and my travel kit of pencils when I have to wait in a car or waiting room, go to jury duty, or sit outside. When I want to listen to music; unwind or relax without phones, iPads, laptop; and back before the pandemic, hang out with friends at the table, coloring is friendly to all that.

Back in the days when I was sewing doll clothes, something very hurtful was said to me. It doesn’t matter what or who, but sometimes when I’m coloring, I’ll realize that an equally disparaging remark could be made. It’s okay if everyone doesn’t understand the following, but I can say two things about myself: I am never bored. I rarely if ever waste time. That is measuring by my own yardstick, of course, and not anyone else’s, but when I hear other people talk about their lives, I often hear them say, “I was bored,” “I am bored,” “we were just wasting time,” “I thought I’d waste some time,” and “I don’t have anything to do!” I assume they are measuring with their own yardsticks, too. I’ll stick with my way, thanks.

On the theme of tiny, those two small coloring books have the potential to bring me infinite enjoyment.

That bed tray enables me to eat meals where I’m writing. It’s a small thing, too, but sometimes I remember that I used to write and then sit back and smoke while I read and edited what I’d written. I’ll happily and more healthily take (sample meal) an apple, burger, chips, and peach tea over smoking.

Those little apple slices are a sure sign that a certain character is about to reappear in my WIP. I can’t wait to see him again as I wrap up this second book (only a chapter and a half to go!).

The bedspread missing on this bed is because it’s being washed in our new washing machine. This was NOT a tiny disappointment–I didn’t expect to be buying a new washer–and it’s not a tiny washing machine, either. But soon, I’ll get the small satisfaction of finishing bed-making in the middle bedroom. This week, the sheets make me think of ANOTHER character who’ll also show up soon. Looking forward to him, too.

A life is made up of so many small and large things. Choose your words wisely when you judge another person’s use of time and energy. Or maybe: Keep your judgments to yourself.

Tiny Tuesday!

Tiny Tuesday isn’t so tiny. We have a possible Cat 3 hurricane named Laura heading our way. Things can change for so many reasons, but right now, advisories are saying midnight to 3 AM Thursday for landfall, more wind than water for our area, and probable power outages where we are.

I’ll update as I can. I do appreciate all the emails and texts and calls I’m getting. My anxiety level is high, though. If I don’t respond or respond quickly, it’s because beyond doing what I can do to prepare, I’m writing. It’s my escape. It calms me.

Wishing the best for everyone along the Gulf Coast and inland.

Tiny Tuesday!


That bracelet. Those pages.

I have a beta reader/character collaborator who said one of my characters can’t, absolutely CAN NOT, wear bracelets. Which is painful because I want him to wear this one. (That brown behind the guitar is shadow on paper. The guitar has nothing behind it but air.)

But okay, no bracelets.

Also, those pages used to be a 30-page chapter. I considered comments of three beta readers, revised, and now it’s 41 pages. I’m going in the wrong direction. You know who reads 41-page chapters? We live in a world of people who think a 180-character Tweet is too much. Who think an Instagram photo should not have text below it. Who won’t read blog posts, much less novels. Is it too much for the back of a cereal box? Yes? Then, nope!

They will not read 41-page chapters.

Enh. I wrote what I wrote.

ETA in 2022: And yet, I’m also an editor. That 41 page chapter is probably three chapters now. Heh.