For the first time since Halloween, I left the city for non-work reasons. Rob and I took a ride on his motorcycle up to a little town on the Hudson. So cute and so many antique stores. We didn’t buy anything, but it was so nice to have the leisure to just poke into shops and look at things.

Having the hour on the back of the motorcycle to just think and look at trees — and three deer, geese, a wild turkey and her chicks — was incredibly relaxing. I sorted out a story problem that had been stopping me from moving forward in a scene. I knew what the character needed to do, but her motivation for doing it made no sense. Now I’ve got one that does.

When we got back, I did some work on various not-interesting-to-talk-about projects and moved on to outing two. Alaya and I had a writing date. Now, I think we spent half the time writing and half the time chatting. When we’ve had writing dates before, our ratio has been better, but I haven’t seen her in months and we had much catching up to do. It’s bad when the only time you see a local friend is at conventions.

Now, I’m doing layout and feeling cranky about it.

How was your day?

By request, this time, it’s a quiz. What do you think I really meant when I said each of these things?

1. I have to go repair the moose, sew some curtains and carve a donut. Not in that order.
2. Are we inside him?
3. When he comes, I’ll grab his britches.
4. Do you want the tumor to talk?
5. I can’t keep his head up. He’s limp.