Wednesday writing wire - expensive cat teeth edition

What I'm reading

I finished listening to The Guns of August (during Saturday's 12-mile ruck). I enjoyed it but damn, it's really dense too. I will want to listen to it a second time; all that detail can be tough to absorb in audio format. But for now I'm taking a break from WWI and listening to something different: The Iraq War by John Keegan. Not quite "easy listening" but definitely a little less dense.

I've been continuing to read a couple pages per night of Pre Historic Times. I've just gotten into the section on tumuli (constructed mounds of earth, which are sometimes burial sites), dolmens (a tomb made of stones, which would sometimes be covered with earth), and cromlechs (an old word for a stone structure or ruins). I want to visit some of these places someday!

What I'm writing

I got back on track with The Free City, and have been reworking a scene where my female main character #1 finds some men's clothing and decides to put it on &   discard her long skirt and headscarf. In the old version, I wrote it pretty matter-of-fact, like, "Hey, I know what I'll do. I'll pass as a boy. Cool!" But in the new version it's a much bigger deal, not just a disguise but a revealing of part of her identity.

What else I've been doing

The Bataan Memorial Death March is in 4 weeks, so I've been pretty focused on my preparation. This week I'll be doing a 14-mile ruck and then in succeeding weeks I'll be backing off.

Last week, our Siamese, Luba, had dental cleaning & one tooth pulled. This week it's Olga's turn (grey & white fluff-cat). All I can say right now is, Ouch my wallet!

What's inspiring me right now

Uh... the fact that today is February 25? At least it means that the end of winter is in sight!

Gratuitous photo of those darned cats