10 Years

I started this blog on July 20, 2005. Things...weren't good. Which is part of why I started this blog.

By July the following year, I was living in Worcester, Nemeria had gotten married, I had met someone worth chatting with, and Crow's ex had died. All of those things were an adjustment, apparently.

July 20, 2007 was a double post day. A scary thought and the return of a friend.

By 2008, I was writing books full-time ~ and coming out of crunch time.

July 20, 2009, Pauline had a guest post. It was very exciting (I obviously didn't erase the link, either {and no, it's no longer live}).

Yet in 2010, living up in Alaska, I totally revamped the 3rd novel.

Come 2011, we had left Alaska and signed a lease in New Orleans.

And oh, in 2012, the noir-ish romance of the city was still with us.

In 2013, I reconnected with Starbuck, my badass Starbuck.

Then it was sad in 2014, as I learned the ugly side of being able to find just about anybody online, and learned my suitor from when we were young had died.

And now... Ten years, people. God, you've seen me through so much. From really not good to better than I ever could have secretly dreamed of, let alone believed possible.

Here's the thing ~ the thought of shutting Pobble Thoughts down completely makes me sad. Just the other day, Lithus and I needed to remember a date, so I looked it up here. It's a record of my world like no other.

But. But I'm not writing nearly as much as I used to and ~ and here's the kicker ~ I don't miss it. Oh, when I'm in the shower, I compose a post every now and then. Or something will happen and I'll think "that will make a great blog!" But I don't get back here to write it, and find that's okay with me.

And I can't bring myself to let it become another one of those blogs that just...stops. Where the person simply doesn't come back.

Yet the thought of shutting it down makes me sad... What's a Pobble to do?

I've decided that, here in a few days, I'm going to turn off my comments; no one leaves them any longer anyway. If you've been lurking, drop me a line to say goodbye. I'd love that.

And I'll turn off my stat counter, too, because in the 9 3/4 years since I first got readers, I have yet to have a day when no one stopped by, and I can't bear to see that day come.

Maybe I'll write again. Maybe this will be the catalyst that brings this blog back full force. Maybe I'll revisit during the holiday. Maybe I'll post occasionally for myself. Or maybe this is the last one. It's been ten years, after all.

I'm home again. I am loved and I love ~ both beyond word and measure. I have a job that pays better than any I've ever held before, and I can do it in my pajamas. Even things with my biofamily are the best they have ever been. I'm healthy, happy, and deliciously well.

Thank you for being here through it all.

I think maybe it's time to go do something else now.




Those, my dear friends, are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee. As always.

NOW I'm Back

I've spent an afternoon with Muppet and his Peaches. Another with Cam and Mrs. Pike. Dinner with the FE is on the calendar, and an evening with the Blackbelts is in the works. We even have a key to Dr. B's place.

I'm home wherever Lithus is. But I can settle back in and believe I live in New England again now that these people are back in my regular life.

And it's good to be back.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Fine Tooth Comb

Want to feel weird? Go over your spending habits with a fine tooth comb. Actually, have someone else do it.

Over the weekend, we had both of our debit cards and one of Lithus' credit cards declined because we triggered security alerts. We had plenty of cash in the bank account, plenty of room on the credit card, but.

So on July 3rd, we sat out in the parking lot of the farmers' market and had the following conversation:

Them: "The account has been accessed at three separate farmers' markets."
Us: "Yes."
Them: "Three, really?"
Us: "Yep. We like our U-pick farms up here in Massachusetts."
Them: "And Alaska Airlines, and Delta Airlines, both yesterday,"
Us: "Yep."
Them: "From different cities."
Us; "Yes, he came from Fairbanks, she came from Medford."
Them: "Yeah...that's what our records show."
Us: "As well they should."
Them: "Okay, thank you very much. We've released your account."

Then July 5th, in a Home Depot parking lot:

Them: "Did you just buy (these appliances) in Rhode Island?"
Us: "We did!"
Them: "Just to confirm (this, and this, and this, and this)?"
Us: "That's correct."
Them: "Okay, thank you very much, We've released your account."

Both customer service reps were professional, respectful, and polite. They didn't make us feel weird for our farmers' market habits or needing three small appliances and one large one, or even traveling on two separate airlines from different states. 

It was, however, weird to look that closely. Kind of like looking in one's pantry or medicine cabinet and wondering what other people would consider "normal" and if having seven bags of 3 different kinds of coffee would make you unusual.

And why did those trigger security alerts when other purchases ~ like a freaking car ~ didn't? Who knows. Not us, and not the nice people on the other end of the phone.

Honestly, I'd rather have them catch something legitimate than let something illicit slide, so I'm even okay with it. But the fine tooth comb was...interesting...to say the least.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

4th of July PSA

This one's easy, folks. Don't set shit on fire. Someone I love, someone you love, is a first responder.

Whatever you need to cook, grill, blow up, sparkle ~ I don't care. Go for it. Enjoy it. We, too, will be cooking, grilling, and sparkling (we leave the blowing up for the city). Just dear lord, people, do it safely. Don't set shit on fire.

It's really not that hard....

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Marriage Equality

You know I'm thrilled. I am. The tax benefits. The protections. The rights. They belong to ALL people and SOCTUS has confirmed that now.

But...

But religious freedom restoration acts still exist. Which means that LGBTQ peoples can still be discriminated against "for religious reasons." These laws aren't just not-make-a-wedding-cake laws. Don't want to make a wedding cake for a queer couple? Whatever. Fuck you, but whatever. These laws are don't-get-to-make-decisions-for-your-dying-partner level laws. These are employers-don't-have-to-offer-your-family-insurance level laws. They are the work-around. And they are being written and passed in state after state after state.

But employment protection laws are still not universal.
But housing protection laws are still not universal.
But LGBTQ peoples are still threatened, bullied, attacked, and killed because we live in a society that doesn't see equality, and has to have it legislated.

ETA this brilliant infographic from The Center for American Progress: 

Marriage equality is an exciting first step ~ so long as it is one. So long as it is the first step of many. I'll get truly excited when we start throwing this same kind of commitment, passion, and devotion around when it comes to achieving true equality, not just marriage equality.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Well, Hi.

Whew.

On the one hand, I feel like I should offer a very long explanation of where I've been and everything that's happened and what the hell's been going on. On the other hand, I think if I do that, I will 
a) forget something important so the other things that follow won't make sense
b) bore you
c) be far too overwhelmed and stop writing about 2/3 of the way through.

So, we'll see where this post goes.

We made the move! We made the move and it went well! Lithus and I are officially residents of Massachusetts, now.

On the road:

Goodbye, Lake Pontchartrain

Hello, Mississippi!

A surreal moment

Travelin' Ducks

The Truck

We found a Muppets-themed diner

As close as we expected to get to Manhattan 

But there was a detour...

 Still, we made to Worcester. Bought a car. Got moved in. Ran around like mad doing all the things one must do to move in before heading back out to Oregon again a week later.

When this thing happened...

I got a text from my friend here in Worcester, Bolger, saying "I need you on the next plane home. (His partner, The Lion) has passed away."

Now, The Lion was 43. In good health. The Lion should not have been passing away. So I called Bolger and the first words out of my mouth were "is this a fucking joke???" But it wasn't.

So, I headed back to Woo. There were family gatherings and services and I spent a couple nights on the other side of Bolger's bed, so he didn't have to sleep alone yet.

And in the middle of that, there was more moving, as we got the stuff that has been in storage for the last eight years out and up three flights of stairs and unpacked. While still trying to be there for my grieving friend and trying to grieve as needed myself. And buy a mattress because my mother was coming to visit the very day we returned home from our next tour to Oregon.

Which happened rightnow.

Then home, to Worcester, in time for my mother to arrive later that day to sleep on the mattress we'd bought two weeks previously and hadn't even had time to unwrap out of the plastic it was delivered in. And why was my mother coming to visit right then?

Because Lithus was finally becoming a citizen. Which deserves SO MUCH MORE of a post than I'm about to give it ~ and maybe there will be another. For now, here are some images from that day. That amazing, perfect, wonderful Citizenship Day.

If he ever runs for office, this will be on his campaign materials

If you look closely, you can see him waving

Registering to vote as an American

We decided the best place to spend the afternoon was in Concord, where the shot heard 'round the world was fired and the whole kit and kaboodle started.

Plus? There's cheese in Concord!

 Finally, we went home, napped, changed, and were ready to enjoy the evening.

Straightening bunting

"Enjoying the evening" included STEAK

But citizenship is a big deal, and deserved more than a day. So we also headed to Plymouth, to see where they first landed.

And Lithus stuck his toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time

Mama, taking a break in the red rocking chair her mother used to sit in

Signing the citizenship document.

For as excited as we were to be back near the Muppet and his Peaches, Mr. and Mrs. Pike, the Blackbelts, the FE, Nemeria...the list goes on...we've seen no one yet (except Bolger, obviously, but we didn't even see The Lion before he died). It's been too busy, too fast. But as of this week, I think we're done. I think we get to slow down and just figure out what it means to live life here, in Massachusetts.

Today, there's travel back to Oregon. And another fire fighting tour. And so much more to write about. But that can wait for another day, another post. I don't think I'm done here, in spite of the really long hiatus. So, thanks for sticking in with me, and coming back.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee,

Evensong

This morning, we were going to go to the breakfast place where we'd had our first meal in town ~ but it's really just a diner, and had a 45 minute wait. Ummm...no.

So we went to the Ritz. I do love brunch at the Ritz.

Other people take pictures of food. I take pictures of bathrooms.

The rest of the day has been last minute packing. The curtains are even down. We're drinking wine from coffee cups. The mattress is on the floor. But we're ready to pick up the truck at 7:30 and for the movers to show up at 9:00.

Tonight we went to Cleo's for dinner. Our favorite little hole in the wall Middle Eastern place. We were some of their first customers when they opened. It was fitting to have our last meal in NOLA there.

And we were home in time for evensong. The first evensong we heard here was Ave Maria. This was the last:

Those are ... melancholy, excited, omg moving day is HERE ... Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.