The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[JGittes]

Seadog..... last posted on any forum on May 9. He tended to come and go, so I'm not sure whether he might also be a concern.

I hate to break the news to you, NW, but we're all a concern.

I still can't quite come to grips with how fast Tex left. I've read through my postings in the coffee shop, which started on thread 05, and he was always transparent about the highs and lows of his life. He recently moved house and talked about a lot of work he did on the house and workshop, and started building boats again. Then bam.

He'd posted in SamScribble's farewell thread that he hoped he would be as courageous as Sam when the time came. He certainly was, but it came too damn soon.

 

[dmallord]

Time waits for no man... When your time comes, you get little or no warning. Sadness sets in for those who mourn, and then time resets–marching onward for the next one...

I have seen so many come and go. There is a point in time when you become resigned to it. You can look at it as falling leaves turning to snow, or you can flip the view and look at it from the point of view of winter's melting snow turning to spring's flowers for a brighter perspective. Either way, the outcome for the original man is the same.

Lift a cup... for Tex as the seasons move on.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

can flip the view and look at it from the point of view of winter's melting snow turning to spring's flowers for a brighter perspective

That's exactly why I have the lyric in my signature line.
It helps keep me sane to remember that.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I do hope H_P is doing well and is just taking a break from here. I'll keep the tea kettle on the back burner for him for when he decides to stop in.

 

[MrPixel]

When your time comes, you get little or no warning.

Oh, I got two warning shots a couple of years ago, fortunately recovered well from both. Conversations over dinner are getting serious about dealing with my collections from previous hobbies, clearing out the junk in general, and rejiggering our housing situation in preparation. I will be calling an architect on Monday for consult on designing a home more suited to increasing disabilities. Will is done, just need to edit for... uh... a couple of deletions. Also need to update the medical power of attorney.

Lessons learned from my late father. He was a prince for having nearly everything in order when it came.

 

[Duleigh]

I have a question for the Authors and contesters here -
Back in 2022 I wrote a modern version of A Christmas Carol and I wrote a long backstory of the characters called We're a Wonderful Wife.
When it came time to post A Christmas Carol, so many readers were invested with the characters in the story, I just couldn't kill one (a major point of the story) so I re-wrote it and entered it, it didn't win but it was the Erotic Horror Story of the year

I was thinking, could I post the original version this year? I think it's a superior story to what I posted in 2022

 

[Fatdog25]

I have a question for the Authors and contesters here -
Back in 2022 I wrote a modern version of A Christmas Carol and I wrote a long backstory of the characters called We're a Wonderful Wife.
When it came time to post A Christmas Carol, so many readers were invested with the characters in the story, I just couldn't kill one (a major point of the story) so I re-wrote it and entered it, it didn't win but it was the Erotic Horror Story of the year

I was thinking, could I post the original version this year? I think it's a superior story to what I posted in 2022

With a different title and an "alternate version" intro, I don't see why not.

I suppose you could keep the title but I would change it, personally. Avoids confusing the two.

 

[Duleigh]

With a different title and an "alternate version" intro, I don't see why not.

I suppose you could keep the title but I would change it, personally. Avoids confusing the two.

I'm going to change it slightly, maybe A Krissmas Karole - The True Story

 

[Duleigh]

Your coffee is ready, whenever you are

 

[Rustyoznail]

Keep the kettle warm...

I've received a short note from HP. He's a bit under the weather, but hoping to be restored to working order soon.

 

[Duleigh]

Keep the kettle warm...

I've received a short note from HP. He's a bit under the weather, but hoping to be restored to working order soon.

​

 

[MrPixel]

It's going to be sad, sad weekend for us. After an especially difficult drive home from the cabin last night, we have determined it's time to say goodbye to our loving puppy. It was a "last straw" event. He has been an indescribable joy in our lives for the past year and a half, but at the same time a terror and constant worry, and has turned C into a recluse because he simply cannot be left alone, anywhere, at any time. Number one issue - what happens when one of us has to spend more than a few hours in the hospital? That's a real and demonstrated issue now, we've just had the sheer luck of not experiencing overnight stays in the time we've had him.

He's been banned from the only kennel in town because of his destructiveness when left without people around. Our dog sitter has aged-out, and can't handle him, either. We have no family we can foist him on if we need to be somewhere for any length of time. We tried locking him in his crate (over my objections) on Thursday to go out to dinner - not even an hour - and returned to shredded foam bedding, just like trying the same thing a year ago. He's fine in his box when we're there.

Then there's the issue of an 80 pound dog subject to panic attacks and surprise behaviors. C is covered in bruises from trying to fend him off in a panic attack; I have scars still healing from three weeks ago where he went after another dog, knocking me down and dragging me down a graveled drive. Neither required hospitalization, but when you have to assess how close it was to that, he's part of the problem.

We were told of his separation anxiety when we adopted him, expecting that the problem was brought on by his previous people. It wasn't. He has demons lurking in that fantastic dog brain (he's surprisingly intelligent). We've worked with him on fixing a lot of troublesome behaviors, but the separation thing is overwhelming and apparently built-in to his psyche.

I have already completed the surrender paperwork and am standing by for the phone call confirming transport back to the rescue shelter.

We are surely going to miss him, especially knowing that he's the last dog we will ever have after nearly 40 years of always having one in the house. We've aged-out, too.

 

[Duleigh]

It's going to be sad, sad weekend for us. After an especially difficult drive home from the cabin last night, we have determined it's time to say goodbye to our loving puppy. It was a "last straw" event. He has been an indescribable joy in our lives for the past year and a half, but at the same time a terror and constant worry, and has turned C into a recluse because he simply cannot be left alone, anywhere, at any time. Number one issue - what happens when one of us has to spend more than a few hours in the hospital? That's a real and demonstrated issue now, we've just had the sheer luck of not experiencing overnight stays in the time we've had him.

He's been banned from the only kennel in town because of his destructiveness when left without people around. Our dog sitter has aged-out, and can't handle him, either. We have no family we can foist him on if we need to be somewhere for any length of time. We tried locking him in his crate (over my objections) on Thursday to go out to dinner - not even an hour - and returned to shredded foam bedding, just like trying the same thing a year ago. He's fine in his box when we're there.

Then there's the issue of an 80 pound dog subject to panic attacks and surprise behaviors. C is covered in bruises from trying to fend him off in a panic attack; I have scars still healing from three weeks ago where he went after another dog, knocking me down and dragging me down a graveled drive. Neither required hospitalization, but when you have to assess how close it was to that, he's part of the problem.

We were told of his separation anxiety when we adopted him, expecting that the problem was brought on by his previous people. It wasn't. He has demons lurking in that fantastic dog brain (he's surprisingly intelligent). We've worked with him on fixing a lot of troublesome behaviors, but the separation thing is overwhelming and apparent built-in to his psyche.

I have already completed the surrender paperwork and am standing by for the phone call confirming transport back to the rescue shelter.

We are surely going to miss him, especially knowing that he's the last dog we will ever have after nearly 40 years of always having one in the house. We've aged-out, too.

I'm sorry for you. I know the pain that a dog with mental issues causes, but how you can become attached. I too am getting to the point where as we loose our older dogs I feel that we would be better if we replaced them with goldfish. Dogs are wonderful companions, but at my age and condition they take more energy than I can give them and it's not fair to them. I wish you well as you say goodbye.

 

[MrPixel]

It's moments like this that make it all the more difficult. He's softly snoring and is oblivious to my taking the picture. A dog sleeping that deeply next to you is a huge amount of trust:

 

[NotWise]

I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Pixel. Sometimes dogs (and people) just don't respond to therapy.

We all eventually age-out on our pets. I knew when we got the cats we have now that they would be our last. Even goldfish can be too demanding, particularly with a large aquarium. My big aquarium (nominally, 150 gallons) will be my last. It's been up for twenty+ years, but the need for regular attention, the weight of the equipment and contents, and the difficulty of reaching the back of the tank limit how long I can continue.

 

[Rustyoznail]

@MrPixel, that's sad but you've tried your hardest to give him a loving home. You and C can take some comfort in that, and hope his next carer is just as committed.

 

[NotWise]

The gladiolas are starting to flower, so we'll have cut flowers for the next six weeks or so. They're a little early this year, but everything seems a little early this year. Plants in the gardens all look great, but I'm going to install water lines to each bed, because moving a hose around is a time-consuming pain in the butt.

In the mean time, I'm trying to get my head around the USGS' newest version of their venerable MODFLOW groundwater model so I can customize it for a client. The main female character in my current WIP says (in an upcoming scene), "Soto-sama, in terrifying world you live," and I'm starting to think she's right, even outside her mid-19th century Japanese context. Progress marches on.

 

[MrPixel]

...hope his next carer is just as committed.

We do to. C and I were just talking about just how much of our lives he dominated the entire time we had him. No exaggeration here - he requires a full-time support person. We had many irons in the fire when we took him on, and from then on about the only task I could tend to was mowing lawns at our three properties. No time for anything else, and any project that needed four hands - such as our guesthouse renovation - was on indefinite hold because both of us couldn't be absent from the house at the same time.

C would get angry with my "always" sitting here at the computer, but I never felt comfortable leaving the house to tend to anything else because of his demands on us. She felt isolated because she was. We did so many things together before Sky - even grocery shopping was a joint effort we enjoyed as a couple - and we missed that key part of our lives. We were getting very snarky with each other; our relationship had deteriorated badly and shouting matches became the norm. Deep thought during the awful drive coming back from the cabin had me "going there" in my mind with a me-or-him ultimatum until realizing that either outcome concluded with the dog being returned to the shelter. Another realization was that the vast majority of our arguments were over something either about the dog or about a life restriction imposed by caring for him. It was time.

As I said up-thread we love this creature, and it's painfully clear he loves us, and worse, trusts us. It's been a tearful morning and it will be that way until we take him in, and well after, too. C said, "It would be whole bunches easier if he was sick and we had to put him down," like we did with our previous three. He is sick, but in a different way.

Our big concern is we don't know if this might be a third strike for him. He came from a "99%" no-kill shelter, but at nearly nine years old they may be justified in deciding "unplaceable" and put him down anyway. We certainly hope not, but we won't or can't know, and it's not our decision to make. We just know we want to save our marriage and return to a normal, albeit sadder life together.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

A question for other Authors. Have you ever written a story that caused your Favorites and Follows to blow up?

Back on May 8, I published "Cuckquean Cruise" in the Fetish Category. It was my first for that category and my first cuckquean story. I wrote it because I saw on another Forum that readers were lamenting the lack of the subject matter. It was the last story I've published and since then I've seen a huge uptick in the number of readers favoriting my entire catalog. As of this morning, I'm up by 158 Favorites. A lot of them were for Cuckquean Cruise, but my entire catalog has benefited, going back to my first story. I'm used to a small uptick after a new story is published, but nothing like this. I haven't counted the new Followers, but there have been a lot. I don't know if the subject matter or the category drew the readers to me, maybe those beautiful little fetish fiends like my other stories as well.
Have any of you experienced something similar?

 

[MrPixel]

Have you ever written a story that caused your Favorites and Follows to blow up?

I just did - a Nude Day-themed LW tale about a nudist resort. I can't tell you if it was the story or that LW has a more active audience, as I rarely publish in LW.

 

[NotWise]

A question for other Authors. Have you ever written a story that caused your Favorites and Follows to blow up?

Watch Me!, my 35th story, drew a huge amount of attention, and within a week it accounted for a fifth of all my followers, with spin-off across my catalog. It hit new highs for me in the number of votes and views

I've never really understood why. It's a sentimental story with endearing characters and dream-like elements, but I don't think it's all that much different from some of my other stories.

When I first read your line above, I thought you were talking about "blow up" in a bad way. I guess that happens too, when authors stray into topics that their established followers don't like.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

Watch Me!, my 35th story, drew a huge amount of attention, and within a week it accounted for a fifth of all my followers, with spin-off across my catalog. It hit new highs for me in the number of votes and views

I've never really understood why. It's a sentimental story with endearing characters and dream-like elements, but I don't think it's all that much different from some of my other stories.

When I first read your line above, I thought you were talking about "blow up" in a bad way. I guess that happens too, when authors stray into topics that their established followers don't like.

This was definitely a blow up in a good way, and it propagated across my entire catalog. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

 

[NotWise]

How long it lasts depends on a lot of factors. My story was a contest entry, and that gave it extended playing time. It can also have a permanent effect. That story was also in a well-read category. It gets more views/day than all but one of my other stories, and it still pulls in comments and favorites.

 

[AloneTooLong]

The gladiolas are starting to flower, so we'll have cut flowers for the next six weeks or so. They're a little early this year, but everything seems a little early this year. Plants in the gardens all look great, but I'm going to install water lines to each bed, because moving a hose around is a time-consuming pain in the butt.

The gladiolas are starting to flower, so we'll have cut flowers for the next six weeks or so. They're a little early this year, but everything seems a little early this year. Plants in the gardens all look great, but I'm going to install water lines to each bed, because moving a hose around is a time-consuming pain in the butt.

In the mean time, I'm trying to get my head around the USGS' newest version of their venerable MODFLOW groundwater model so I can customize it for a client. The main female character in my current WIP says (in an upcoming scene), "Soto-sama, in terrifying world you live," and I'm starting to think she's right, even outside her mid-19th century Japanese context. Progress marches on.

Kiddo installed 'permanent' (at least long term) drip irrigation hose/tubing in three garden beds this Spring. Turn on the faucet; come back later and turn it off; I suppose he could have added a timer.

He later added a few small 'sprayer' inserts where he wanted a bit more water. It certainly is nice to just turn on and off the faucet now. I previously used 'drip hose' but they are not a long term solution.

Our tomatoes are 'done', the basil is blooming and gonna go to seed; the cilantro already went to seed and keeled over; the dill is next in-line to get pulled up. The onions got pulled up. Potatoes were pulled up (and mostly eaten).

Watermelon plants are taking over, second batch of cucumbers climbing the trellis; okra is busy putting out picking size 'fruit', and the Meyer lemon and Persian lime babies are growing nicely. Hot, hot here--almost 100 today; no chance of rain the next seven days either.

 

[dmallord]

About forty years ago, I loved gardening. Today, I'm lucky I have the energy to pick up veggies and fruit at the grocery store and make it back home. Reading details about plants, harvests, and such brings a smile out.

Maybe next year, I'll try a bucket or two and see if I can make that work out!