For the past week I’ve been writing again like a fiend, working on my seventh novel of my Other Worldly series, Aliens Watch. And fiend is the attempted first word I used for Wordle today, just for kicks, which wasn’t the puzzle-solving word, so don’t anyone get their panties in a spoiler-alert wad because I’ve had a stressful morning already, and it’s not yet 7 a.m.
I almost didn’t get yesterday’s Wordle. Anyone else think evolve was kind of a sadistic choice for a holiday when people are often otherwise frazzled, preoccupied, and maniacally multitasking?
Turns out that was me this morning, post-yule. Because I’ve been prodigiously writing, I often awaken with plotlines, conversations, and other titillating timeline tidbits floating through my mind, sometimes at three in the morning.
Hence, I didn’t realize how out of it I was today, fumbling around in the pre-dawn darkness just after 5 a.m., because my cat decided not to let me sleep until six as I’d been doing for a wonderful week or so now, especially since I’ve spent more than a few wee hours of the morning writing in my head when I should be sleeping.
Anyway, this morning I turned on the Keuring and let the dog out after feeding and watering both critters, then slipped in a pod and pulled down the level for my much-needed first cup of java on this day after Christmas. I listened to the coffee machine hiss and moan, and then came the welcome sound and scent of coffee descending.
Problem was, I’d neglected to get out a coffee mug—any coffee mug, though I’ve been using a few Christmas-themed ones this past week. I didn’t realize this until after the Keurig was completely finished doing its duty—and now its mess of my making.
Hence, I learned that the drain tray at the base of my coffee maker, with its cheerful pattern of punched-out stars, actually holds an entire cup of coffee—albeit all the way to its brim—but only if you press the medium-sized cup button, which thankfully I had done.
As I tried to figure out how to pry out the drain tray or remove the lid to see how to pry out the tray—turning on a nearby lamp helped—I was gingerly moving it from the counter to the sink, spilling drops on the floor along the way, when Morris the kitty puked up his breakfast on the kitchen tile.
Luckily Bodie dog was still outside as I hastily cleaned up the spilt coffee—not good for the health of my critters—and then wiped up the puke from the floor, feeling lightheaded and especially in need of coffee.
Morris likely was merely working on hacking up a hairball and hopefully is not sick. Bodie is now outside for the second time, pawing at the sliding glass door to come back in. Repeatedly interrupting me so that I may never get this blog post written, and I’m on my second cup of coffee (third if you count the one that went down the sink) in my mug with green aliens in a flying saucer on it—definitely not Christmas themed.
My Other Worldly heroine Rowan Layne, whom I’ve decided to call heroine instead of protagonist for this post because Rowan is currently going through some heavy stuff in Aliens Watch that’s much worse than wasting one’s first cup of morning coffee. But perhaps that’s why I spaced out about a coffee mug needing to be in place to catch the dripping coffee. At least Rowan might be okay with the lost first batch of coffee because it wasn’t flavored—the second and now third cups were cinnamon and vanilla macadamia nut Kona-yummy coffee.
Meanwhile, Morris just took a short cut to the couch from an end table by sauntering across my arms and laptop keyboard. I have deleted the trail of random letters and symbols that appeared where this sentence now does and am contemplating an unprecedented fourth cup of coffee (which would really be only three because, you know).
As for potential New Year’s resolutions, I am now including always remember to put a mug on the drain tray to await the fall of coffee. What’s truly amazing is the realization that today’s mishap had never happened before. Also, I promise in the new year to continue my practice of never sharing my Wordle results on social media. And, I will keep writing this blog post weekly, no matter how many cups of coffee is required for successful completion.
But, I might just have Rowan forget to put a mug under her Keurig while under duress in Aliens Watch, hopefully finished and ready to publish sometime in the new year. And may we all have lots of yummy flavored coffees in 2024, which I will, thanks to my sister’s Christmas gift. As long as I remember to get out that mug.