Finally, finally, we hope

I had finished reformatting my new poetry book on my PCSunday afternoon and sent it to Woody for him to check out on his MAC.  It came out perfect.  Then I printed it out.  It was perfect.  I sent it to Dale on his MAC downstairs onMonday.  It was perfect.  We sent it to my agent, who did not like the way it was formatted.  Dale worked on it talking with her, took it away actually to finish at home – the way she wanted it.  Finally he sent it to her and she accepted it AT LAST! But with a quibble or two.  But she sent it on to my editor at Knopf, finally.

I am just hoping there is no more fuss.  No more insisting I retype the whole thing –it came out to 175 pages with the acknowledgments.  This is my 20th poetry book – if they publish it—and I’ve never had a problem with formatting before. Not ever.I think my agent works on an Ipad – maybe that’s the problem. I have no idea.

Mingus and Schwartzie went to the vet this week to get their annual rabies shots and be examined. Mingus is having eye problems and I just re-upped a prescription that should help. I went to PT two times this week and I was discharged Friday.  My ankle still bothers me but the pain is less and less frequent.  It may always hurt some.  Who knows?

The rabbits have still not come back.  We’re not sure why.  Maybe the last stuff we sprayed, organic but specifically for rodents-- Plantskydd – did the trick.  We’re ignorant but happy.  We’re getting tomatoes again although many of them are flawed; we’re even getting a few beans and pattypans and yesterday 3little eggplants.  The fall crops I planted – 5 kinds of lettuce, escarole, endive, arugula, radishes and transplanted after starting them inside – cabbage, Chinese cabbage, radicchio, cilantro – are all flourishing so far. We have not had lot of slugs this year, unlike 2018 when they swarmed us.

I have been writing poems again now that the poetry book is finally off – we fervently hope.  I am also trying to catch up on everything I neglected during the full time work [8-10 hours a day].  Piles of clothes, piles of papers, mess, chaos everywhere. Melenie came yesterday for the weekend, so I wanted to get things under control.  The poor cats have barely been played with. Wednesday night the poetry group met here, so I at least got the living room tolerable.

It may finally move forward with CBS streaming [woman on the edge of time].  The endless negotiations and the endless fees to the lawyer may be finished.  I’ll believe it when I see it. I have paid out several thousand to the lawyer and received no payment at all fromCBS.  So it goes for writers these days, bottom of the totem pole.

Melenie arrived yesterday evening in time to have dinner together.  She is here now until tomorrow[Sunday] so I’ll finish this now. We’re going to make amber relish today as we did last year.  It’s on a base of green tomatoes –something we have plenty of.

Our couple of acres were part of a farm long before it became a development.  We’re at the far end in the woods, sticking out into a marsh. When we moved here, there was a pear tree that continued giving good fruit for may 15 years before it died. In the woody section between us and the next house, there were always two apple trees.  They never did anything, but we left them there as part of the foliage that shields us.  They have to bhe at least 50 years old, probably more. Well, this fall for some reason both old trees are covered with apples.  They are just beginning to ripen.  They’re small but perfect.