Typing With Wet Paws: Black, White and Orange Edition 2022

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Mama Anna’s excuse for not posting yesterday is that it was Thanksgiving, which was true. We had Neighbor N over. Papa mostly napped, and Mama Anna and Aunt Linda talked with Neighbor N a lot. They did spend a lot of time praising me, so the spirit of the holiday was fulfilled. I had crunchies, which is my favorite food. The humans had to eat people food. Apparently, lasagna is not a traditional Thanksgiving food, but this family seldom has traditional Thanksgiving anything. Whatever.

Anyway, Mama Anna will be hitting her revised Goodreads Challenge goal this weekend, by hitting her fiftieth book of the year. It hasn’t been the best reading year, so the bar is low for next year. We’ll see what happens. Purr-sonally, I am more concerned about when they get the Christmas tree up, because, well, you know cats and Christmas trees. Not that the humans are getting a full-sized tree this year. There’s no challenge with a tabletop tree. Maybe when we live in a bigger apartment. At least there will still be a lot of interesting Christmas preparations that involve things like papers and tissue and other crinkly things. Plus there is the issue of bags. Shopping for holiday stuff means stuff that comes in bags, and bags mean I can sit on those bags. Any way you look at it, I win on that front.

Now that the Christmas season is officially on, it does add a little juice to Mama Anna’s work. She and Aunt Melva are on track with their editing goals for both Drama King and Queen of Hearts. Mama Anna is trying out a type of writing planner that she thinks are working pretty well right now and may carry over into the new year. That new year will also involve both her and Aunt Melva moving their individual solo works to the front burners When those drafts are done, then they will start a new book together. Unless they manage to sell one of the abovementioned books, because then they have things like more edits and proofs and that kind of stuff.

Mam Anna is still working on what she wants for a holiday planner and next year’s planners, but she says she totally will be posting more about that here. I’d say about the time the eggnog and peppermint kick in, which should be any time now.

Headbonks!

Storm

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Typing With Wet Paws: Resting Queen Face Edition

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.

This picture was taken by my awesome cat sitter, Neighbor N. Mama Anna doesn’t know yet how Neighbor N wants to be credited for their photo yet, so we are saying Neighbor N for now. They wanted to capture my “Queen Face” but said it was hard because I am flat out too cute. What do you think? The two can’t be mutually exclusive. I can be both.

Anyway, on about Mama Anna. She was going to write her own post (and still is) but later. A big thing happened this week and that is that she and Aunt Melva finished writing the first draft of Queen of Hearts, the third book in their Love by the Book series. the first one, Chasing Prince Charming, came out and then, well, live happened, A lot of life happened. They wrote another book, too, Drama King, and now they are editing both at the same time. This means Mama Anna is going ot need a lot of help from her Mews, so I am ready.

She is also back to working on Her Last First Kiss, doing some fixing to the second half, because babbling to one of her friends about the events that were keeping her stuck. This is where history can super help out when a historical romance writer isn’t sure what to do next. Because that’s one of the fun things about historical romance. It’s kind of like fantasy or science fiction, I guess, because the rules of the world matter to what the characters can do within the story. That’s how “augh, this thing is far too complicated, but I have to make it work can turn in an instant into, “wait, this other thing was totally legal back then; they could just do that. Boom.”

This is also the time of year when people who like planners and that kind of thing are getting ready to get next year’s planners and journals and stuff in order. That also means that it’s time when their cats get to sit on oh so much paper and play with the pens and sticky notes and clips and pompoms and…as Mama Anna would write, “happy sigh.:

In other updates, I got a new scratchy thing. That’s a thing made out of cardboard that goes on the floor and I can shred it with my claws. The humans tried to hang the new one from a doorknob. Can you believe that? I am, o course, completely ignoring that and still scratching the old one. I think they’ll get the picture soon enough.

What’s up with you guys?

Headbonks!

Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Now It’s November Edition

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Mama Anna found her picture taking thingy, so get ready for new pictures of me. other things as well, but mostly me. I mean, look at this, Calico cat. Sunbeam. Does it get any better? No, it does not.

Things are going pretty well around here. Mama Anna is getting into a super good planning and journaling groove, which does really good things about the whole writing area. Right now, she is doing a lot of it. She did not sign up for NaNo, but she is tracking writing her own way. I will let her talk about that in her own post.

This weekend, Mama Anna will be writing the final scene for Queen of Hearts. After Aunt Melva gets a look at that and adds anything needed, then that book draft is DONE, and they move on to the editing phase. That will actually be two books they are editing at the same time, because Mama Anna will look over the draft of Queen of Hearts, while Aunt Melva will look over Drama King. After that, they will enter the submission phase. After that, they will take some time to focus on their solo projects. Aunt Melva has a nonfiction project, while Mama Anna will be working through the current draft of Her Last First Kiss.

Speaking of which. Mama Anna has stated a special notebook for that, breaking down the changes to the second half of the book into specific scenes. That seems to be working really well, so she will probably stick with that for the time being. She says it’s fun to get back into that mode. Sinc eit involves stationery, she looks forward to get into the book and immerse herself there. I, personally, am all for this because it means I get to sit on a lot more paper, and that is always a good thing.

Headbonks!

Storm

Annual NaNo Rambles

Hullo, all. Another week, another blog entry. Could this be the start of a streak? We will have to see. No real pan for this post, but to have it, lest I need to share with Storm tomorrow. She does like her spotlights. And sunbeams. And her new fuzzy tent.

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

But anyway….

Typing fast, as I have Storm bapping me with her paws. That is the official signal to wrap things up on the glowy box and get to bed because it is bedtime. Wherein I read an e-book (hopefully) or fall asleep listening to a You Tube video (likely) Storm did well with her cat sitter, but she is thrilled to see us, especially me, home.

The wedding itself was gorgeous, and it was my first time in a Greek Orthodox church. Lovely ceremony, happy couple, gorgeous foliage, but we got super lost, events transpired, and we did not end up making the reception. There was a panic attack involved, but not mine this time.

Anyway, we are back home now, (mostly) unpacked, and I am giving my calendar a side-eye because who gave it permission to be the second half of October? I’d planned to give some version of Prep Tober a go, and while I probably still could (it would give me a reason to use a new planner) part of me says there isn’t enough time to wrangle something like that.

Once again, I’m looking at the whole NaNo thing, and not sure how I want to handle it. Maybe I’ll be a rebel, and maybe I’ll do my own thing. We will see. One thing for sure, I will be writing. Melva and I are closing in on The End for our third book together. After that, we get to edit books two and three, and see what’s what on that front.

When I think about NaNo, though, my brain goes straight to historicals. It’s been a while. Two years now in our wonderful apartment, three years with one very sproingy calico cat, and I’m getting an itch to get back to my first writing love, which is historical romance. Big, sweeping, epic, angsty historical romance. Ideas are not the problem. Hoo boy, do I have ideas. Hoo boy, do I have partial manuscripts. That’s the thing. I want to get past the partial thing. A Heart Most Errant is looking at me, but there are things, and there is a part of me that wants to throw caution to the wind and open a new document into which to go wild. Throw a bunch of things in there and see what sticks. That’s got to be either genius or insanity. Maybe both.

I have noticed that the more I delve into my love of pen and paper, the more I end up noticing that it’s all about finding out what works for me. That can be a messy process, but if what comes out of it is a functional routine, then that’s a good thing. I haven’t had much to do with historical romance at all lately, and I am feeling the lack.

I love the idea of a clean slate I love the idea of clear horizons. I love the idea of having that new book feeling once again, of diving into another place and time, and tell a love story worthy of historical record. I also like the 50k goal (wait, did I say that?) because it’s not that huge, really. If I’m looking at a big thick doorstopper, we’re talking somewhere about halfway. If something shorter, then more than that. If a novella, it’s the whole thing. My considering NaNo this year isn’t about productivity, though. It’s about fun. It’s about grabbing for that brass ring and rediscovering the love of the game.

Not that I don’t love writing the contemporaries with Melva, because I do, but Melva-and-Anna is a different writer than Only Anna, and Only Anna is feeling a bit … itchy? Is itchy the right word? Or waking up from oversleeping and wanting to get back to the normal routine. Maybe ‘routine’ isn’t the right word, but yeah. I did manage to read some vintage historical romance on the ride back from the wedding, and I hit a spot of “oh, I remember this. I love this. I want to do this.”

Soooo….I’m doing it. I don’t know yet if I will do official NaNo. I don’t consider this in any way pushing aside Her Last First Kiss, because I’m not. I need to stretch before a run, that’s the best way I can think of to put it right now. Goal for November: write historical romance. That’s it for now. Nobody ever has to see it. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. Maybe it will be a stinker, and that’s okay. Because maybe I’ll have fun. Maybe I’ll want to do more of that Maybe I will rediscover old passions and find new ways to make it to The End.

Anna

Drive by Post

Photo by Avinash Patel on Pexels.com

Very quick post today, from me and Storm both, as we get ready for a fun weekend. I get to head out on the road to a family wedding, and Storm gets to hang at home with neighbor, N, on Storm Watch. They met yesterday and get along great. Not going to lie, I’m anxious about being away from this li’l nugget, but she is in good hands and Neighbor N in good paws.

Storm here. Not an official Typing With Wet Paws post, since I am collaborating with Mama Anna, but I must register my displeasure at not being able to go on the car ride, but apparently cats are not to be alone in motel rooms for several hours (okay, that one I get.) I did suggest putting me in a Baby Bjorn and a frilly bonnet, but Aunt Linda reminded me that A) we do not own a Baby Bjorn, and B) babies seldom wear frilly bonnets these days. So, I get to stay put and visit with Neighbor N. Mama Anna says she, Papa, and Aunt Linda, will bring me fun stuff when they get back and Mama Anna will spend All Day Monday with me. That sounds like decent parenting.

Photo by Startup Stock Photos on Pexels.com

Anna again. Time for me to get final packing done so we can be on the road on time. I’ve found that putting in the extra time to plan cuts down on anxiety a lot, and I am even bringing a writing notebook so I can get some stuff sketched out in the downtime, aka the ride there and back.

In short, still here, okay, blogging soon.

Headbonks!

Anna and Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Almost October Edition

Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.

Me, on Mama Anna’s lap

Sorry about no blg last week. There were technical difficulties. By that, I mean there was a really good sunbeam and I did not feel like getting out of it.

Me on Aunt Linda’s bed

October is a really big month around here. We already had our second anniversary of moving into this apartment (still awesome) but October brings more celebrations:

• Two years in this apartment means my third adoptiversary of coming to live with these guys. My first human, Mama D, can still see me here on the blog and Instagram, so I want to say hi to her. Seh gave me an awesome kittenhood and made me the cat I am today.
• In the middle of the month, my human cousin is getting married. I wil be getting something called a “cat sitter” while the humans go watch that. I have never had a cat sitter before. Should be interesting.
• Exactly one week before the end of the month, it is Mama Anna’s birthday, which is extremely important. She really likes birthdays, and hers is right up there near the top of the list.
• A week after that is Halloween. There has been talk of getting me a costume. I don’t know exactly what a costume is, but I am okay with Mama Anna putting things on my head where a hat would go, so I’m probably cool with that. She will probably try with a washcloth or something. If I’m not into that, then I don’t have to wear anything. If I’m good with it, though, there will be pictures.

So, anyway, Mama Anna and Aunt Melva are almost at the end of their current manuscript, which is pretty awesome. After that, they get to edit that book and the one before it, and then see if their publisher would like them. The books, I mean. After that, they already know what they will do together next, and they also have individual projects to work on as well.

Speaking of which, Mama Anna has been thinking about what would happen if she did NaNoWriMo this year. At least Preptober. She will try Preptober first, and then if she doesn’t want to NaNo, she doesn’t have to, but if she wants to, she can. She really really really wants to work on a historical, so it will probably be that.

After all of that, then the holiday season is upon us. Mama Anna LOVES Christmas. There will be a tree. With lights and shiny things. We are talking with found family to see if there will be other people involved int the holiday observations. I love it when there are more humans in the house, so that would be fine with me. First, though, the adoptiversary. It’s traditional for me to share tuna with Papa, and I am getting a red dot as my present I love red dot. That’s going gtobe fun.

What’s on deck for your October?

Headbonks!

Storm

What a Yellow Light Means

For reference, the yellow light mentioned above refers to this clip from the classic sitcom, Taxi.

Jim, the seated man in the blue jacket, needs to get a valid driver’s license for his job as a (you guessed it) taxi driver. This, along with other things, is hard for him as he’s had a rough life. The people standing nearby at the table are his friends, ready to help him if he needs it. (He will.)

This scene is genius, not only because it has Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Conaway 9but that is a recipe for entertainment all on its own) but because it’s a gorgeous example of friendship in action. Bobby (Conaway’s character) might be irritated that he’s not making himself understood, but he’s going to help Jim even so. Jim in turn, shows patience and consideration in giving Bobby what he (Jim) thinks he (Bobby) actually needs. In short, genius.

Small personal detour for a minute. My dad would have been one hundred years old this year. We had our ups and downs, but this clip brings up one of the top tier memories. Even when my dad’s Alzheimer’s was advanced, he could remember this bit word for word. He still found it hilarious. I’m not sure why I’m thinking about it today, apart from that being one potent piece of art.

Originally, I had meant to write about stationery today (well, Thursday actually but I have come to the conclusion that Thursdays do not work as well as I had expected they would.) and I will (thanks me, for remembering that bright sunlight like right now is perfect for photographing the planner and/or journal spreads; we’ll do that next.) How is the blogging going to sort out going forward? Your guess is as good as mine, but I do no I want to keep doing it. Maybe a monthly newsletter? Twice monthly? I’d love to keep it to a weekly basis. Storm’s blogging schedule remains unchanged. You know cats and routines.

Today was a family day, and my part of it was largely adulting, juggling schedules and moving plans around, etc. This included a pharmacy run, which included checking on a couple of things and updating our address in their records. Normally, this is anxiety-making. This time, though, I got aa pharmacist who was fun. There was banter. We commiserated over the inability to remember a number if not looking at it, and that yes there is such a thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder put in backwards (meh on spring, hate summer, fall and winter equal whee, superpowers, awesomeness.) I rewarded myself with Zero Sugar Twizzlers, and then came straight home so I could knock “blog for crying out loud” off my to do list. (I didn’t put the for crying out loud part on the actual list, but I was thinking it. Not in those exact words.)

Right now, I am sitting at my desk, by an open window. A cool breeze blows on my skin. I am wearing a thin tank top and floaty trousers that I think are verging on the too big to wear when in responsible human mode (on purpose, yay me) but have a sweatshirt at the ready, because I will need it before too long. Probably when running trash after dinner. This will probably be a fend for yourself night, dinner wise, because what I want to do most is…write. Also read, but this feeling of wanting to put writing first, and having the ability to do so…I am holding onto that.

Anna

Typing With Wet Paws: Look What Our Calico Girl Can Do Edition

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome and this is Typing With Wet Paws. It is feeling a lot more like fall here in New York’s Capitol Region. That is good news for Mama Anna. She says she’s feeling a lot more like herself, and I can attest to that. She is wearing a sweatshirt right now, which is a big autumn thing. She’s stepped up her planner game, and on the actual writing of fiction front, she’s doing pretty well there as well. More on that later The whole Thursday blogging thing does not seem to be working for her, so she is going to look at something that may work better.

photo by Mama Anna

As you might imagine, I am a big help to Mama Anna in all that she does. It’s part of my job as her mews. I do a lot of stuff. Blogging is but one of my accomplishments. Mama Anna and Papa and Aunt Linda have a bunch of songs about me. Mama Anna has written about all of them. They aren’t very long, but they are catchy. When I was on my cat rumspringa a while back, it was Mama Anna singing those songs that helped us find each other. Anyway, the one that leads into today’s topic goes:

Black and white and orange too
Look what our calico girl can do

Like I said, I do a lot, but here are a few of my finer accomplishments, not all of them ones the humans fully appreciate. Last week, we covered my command of touchscreens. I can also unplug earbuds and charger cords, and there may or may not have been a few pairs of earbuds where I chewed through the cords. Papa says my Viking name would be Storm Cordcruncher.

Doors: I can open doors, but I never close them. Closed doors are evil. Especially if Mama Anna is on th other side of it. She is not allowed to use the bathroom without me. I can’t open the door to the hallway, though, but if Mama Anna is gone too long, I will try. Shoving my paws under the door and throwing my whole body weight at it have not worked yet, but it doesn’t mean that it never will. If I ever do, then I wil have to figure out what to do about stairs. I don’t know anything about stairs.

Dresser Stuff: I am great at climbing. Mama Anna has caught me with all four feet off the ground/my big “house” box in front of the dresser. I do scratch at the catnip drawer (Mama Anna keeps other stuff there, too, but I only care about the catnip) and I can get my fingers over the edge of the drawer and pull. I can’t get it open-open (yet) but I’m working on it. I also am working on my climbing, because I want to be on the top of the dresser. Mama Anna says no, because there is stuff up there. That includes a little jewelry and a couple perfume bottles, plus the medicine that helps Papa smoke less. They say it is Not For Kitties. I get that, but the top of the dresser would be a super cool vantage point. That has to count for something.

Zoom: I am fast. I am very, very fast. The humans call me The Calico Comet, because when I get on a rip, I am extremely zoomy. When we were on that awesome year-long camping trip to celebrate my adoption, we sometimes stayed in motels. Those rooms had two beds in them and I loved running super fast, sproinging up on one bed, then sproinging across the space between them and back again. That was Super Fun. There are two beds in our apartment, but they are in different rooms, so when I sproing, I do it on Papa and Mama Anna’s bed, then zoom around the kitchen or in Aunt Linda’s room, then I come back and sproing onto the bed again then run off again.

Presents: I love to bring presents to my parents and aunt. Usually, it’s my toys. Sometimes I chirp while bringing the present, so the humans know something awesome is coming. Sometimes I take presents for myself, from the humans’ stuff. It is 100% true what they say about cats and hair ties. I also like Papa’s socks. Also Mama Anna’s pens. I can pick them up in my paws by curling my toes around them, as well as picking them up with my mouth. Papa and Mama Anna have been talking about how it’s about time to look for my stash again. :sigh: That’s okay. I have backups.

Headbonks!

Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Touchscreen Edition

Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This is a pretty good week around here, because A) we are on the second day in a row of Papa being home (he has to go back to work tomorrow) and B) it is also the start of Aunt Linda having some time off. I love having my people around me! Also, I videobombed Mama Anna while she chatted with Aunt Melva this week. I regret nothing.

photo by Mama Anna

This week, Papa ordered our groceries from the interwebs. They came in paper bags, which he gave me, so that was super fun. I am also very busy helping Mama Anna with her planning. Not only her personal planning stuff, but her writing planning. This week, she is working on a very important scene for Queen of Hearts, and that involves a big black posterboard and a lot of sticky notes. When she is done with them, she crumples them and throws them on the floor for me. That’s very considerate of her, especially because of what I have learned to do lately.

As you may have guessed from the title of this week’s post, there is a touchscreen involved. Specifically Mama Anna’s, on her tablet. Sometimes it is very hard for her to get to sleep. She is obviously not a cat. The people vet gave her some medicine to help, and it usually does, but another thing that helps her is to have her earbuds in so she can listen to music or talking to help her sleep. This can be a problem when I need her attention. It’s no secret that I watch her a lot (she is super interesting) and I have learned there are two ways to get her attention when she has her earbuds in:

1. Get the earbud cord in my mouth and pull. This will either get the earbuds out of her ear or the earbud plug out of the tablet. Either way, I get her attention. It has also caused Papa to dub me “Cordcruncher.” Also, I may or may not be an earbud thief. There’s that.
2. The other way, and this is new, is to plop my paw onto the touchscreen. that will stop the music or video Mama Anna is listening to, and, either way, I will have her attention. Papa is very proud of me for being a Very Smart Girl. Mama Anna is not as pleased but she does agree I am smart.

We are still figuring out what I am doing by perching on her nightstand. I do not do this to Papa, although I do like to sit on his desk, which is also his nightstand. He has a window above it, so I can see what is going on outside. I do not want to go outside. I just want to know what is happening.

Oh, and Mama Anna recorded another Anna Log video (I am not in it, unfortunately) so that will b eup later.

That’s about it for this week. Mama Anna and Aunt Linda are going to go do some hunting (including crunchies for me!) and I am going to hang with Papa. He is doing some tidying things, so he is going to need help. I’m on it.

Headbonks!

Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Welcome September Edition

Tails up Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Today was awesome, because Papa and Mama Anna were both home. Papa let Mama Anna get a nap that she really needed, and I supervised. He also did some of the tidying, which was very interesting. The most interesting thing, though, is that we are now in September, which means that Labor Day is Monday, and that is the start of fall in this family. It is also when Mama Anna’s superpowers come back, so we are all excited about that.

photo by Mama Anna

Mama and Aunt Linda went hunting yesterday and they bought some headphones. I am not sure how I feel about Mama Anna getting cat ear headphones. I appreciate the effort, but please the ears should be half orange and half black. They are pink and glittery, though, so they are on brand. Mama Anna has two settings: blush pink and black. There is no in between. Sometimes she is both at once. As a calico, I fully support this. I also fully support Mama Anna and Papa and Aunt Linda using headphones, because as a kitty, my hearing is better than theirs, and can you imagine the noise? Yeah.

Anyway, it’s easy to tell around here that autumn is right around the corner. For one thing, mama Anna is wearing flannel pajama pants today, with the black zippered sweatshirt where the zipper doesn’t work, but she refuses to get rid of even so. The big fan is off and Aunt Linda is right now on her way back from laundry, where she washed a big bunch of flannel sheets. As you can guess, Mama Anna likes flannel.

Mama Anna is also back in the planner groove. She was right; all she needed was a break. She’s narrowed planners for now down to two Happy Planners: one big (letter size) planner, and one mini planner, both with the same information. The big one lives on her desk, and the mini in her purse. She also has her B6 size traveler’s notebook, Christine, but Christine is not a planner. She’s a notebook. I will let her post about that kind of stuff but please know that I am sitting on all of them. Not at the same time, but in my dreams, you know I do.

photo by Mama Anna

Around this time last year, some of Mama Anna’s cousins came to visit. One of them wanted to see that both sides of the fur around my eyes are different colors. As you can see, they very much are. One of the perks of being a calico.

photo by Mama Anna

I only saw Mama Anna’s cousins from the window, but they seemed nice. I hope they come back soon. I love meeting new friends. Aunt Mary and Uncle Brian visited this past weekend, but my humans went to their hotel room instead of them coming here. That was okay by Mama Anna because the humans are still digging out of August, which was pretty much divided between heatwaves and being sick. Everything is much better now.

I think that’s about it for this week. Aunt Linda will be home soon with laundry and dinner, and that means I have a lot of stuff to put my stink on. It’s very important that all of our stuff smells like all of us. What’s an important rule in your house?

Headbonks!

Storm