A most inauspicious meeting

Dairine has been on the run for a while now. She's still looking for a place to stay after her father's death. Her stepmother's evil magic has so far not found her yet.

Dairine pulled her cloak tight about her as the rain poured down on her. It had been a month since she'd fled the lands of her birth, seeking but never finding a permanent shelter. She constantly looked over her shoulder, fearful even now that her stepmother would find a way of hunting her down.

The last village she'd been in had driven her out at the point of pitchforks because they didn't know her. She'd stumbled into the forest. She tried to keep near the edge but having to avoid fallen trees and dense brush, she'd been forced deeper in.

Dairine glanced up, trying to reckon her position. But without the sun or stars, she couldn't do it. She stumbled and slammed her shoulder into a tree. She cried out as the pain radiated down her arm. She leaned against the trunk. Sobs stole her breath and hot tears mingled with the cold rain on her cheeks.

She allowed herself a few minutes to grieve before standing up and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She shifted the pack she'd purchased at her first stop to a more comfortable position before moving forward. Peering through the gloom she was at first unaware of the thin tendril of smoke. It wasn't until she smelled it that she noticed it.

Dairine looked around and saw, in the distance, what looked to be a cottage. She knew that there were woodcutters who lived in the forest. Perhaps they'd be willing to let her spend the night. She couldn't offer much in payment since her pouch of coins had been reduced to only a few coppers. She'd learned a few things along her journey. Perhaps they'd be willing to trade work for a patch by the fire.

It took longer than she expected, but she reached the cottage. She looked around. It was more worn down than she'd thought. The door was leaning inwards and one of the windows was broken and had been repaired with a piece of wood propped against it.

Dairine knocked, but there was no answer. Hesitantly she pushed the door open. It stuck a little but finally allowed her inside. Water continued to drip down on her head. She moved to the side and saw that the roof leaked in a few places. As she looked around she noticed that the only piece of furniture was a battered table. There was a sink with a hand pump to fill it. Off to one side were what looked to be half a dozen piles of blankets.

Dairine found a corner and tucked herself into it. She leaned against the wall and allowed herself to start crying again. Exhausted, she didn't even realize she'd fallen asleep.

Rough hands seized her, startling her awake. “Well, lookie here. We got us a thief.” A man had yanked her to her feet, and one arm went across her throat. “What should we do with him?”

“Your eyes are as bad as ever,” another man said. “That's a woman.”

“Don't matter,” the first man said. “She's a thief either way.”

“How do you know she's a thief, Eamon?” a third voice said. “Did you see her steal anything? Everything that was here before is still in their normal spots.”

“Then why was she hiding in here?” the man named Eamon asked.

“Let her go and let's ask her,” the third man said. Eamon released her and gave her a little push forward. “Now, young lady, why are you in our house?”

“I was just trying to get out of the rain,” Dairine said. “That's all. I didn't touch anything.”

Weekend fun...YouTube learning style

So, first thing's first. I think, for as long as I've had my blog, I've referred to my husband as Himself. This isn't in any way a slight against him. This is to respect his privacy, as he once asked me to do. However, he has told me that I don't have to do that anymore. I've stopped doing it on Facebook. So I figure if I use it there, where I have a much greater reach, I can use it here. So, my husband's name is Tims.

Yes that's spelled right.

Yes, it's deliberate. It's a family name.

Anyway, now that that's out of the way..............

(Can you tell I'm in love with the period today? I promise, I'll quit now.)

(Maybe.)

Tims has been watching a lot of vidoes this weekend. Many of them are from the YouTube channel for Jamie & Adam Tested (channel found here.) If you watch Mythbusters, or have at least heard of the show, the Jamie and Adam from Tested are the same Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. They do some neat stuff, talk about really cool things, and in general are just awesome.

I was minding my own business and listening to music when I looked up and saw something that caught my attention. My earbuds didn't go back in all weekend because not only was he watching the Tested videos. He was watching stuff about games, robotics, and engineering. It fascinates him and though I may not understand much of what's being said I find it interesting as well. He's also very good about explaining things for me.

Including what a CPU is and GPU is. That was a fun example. This video shows it Mythbusters style. (It took me three watchings and a little prompting from Tims to figure it out.)

I spent my weekend trying to write and managing a little bit. I also was doing a lot of research about random things like house buying and alarm systems for houses. Also what age are you allowed to purchase a handgun versus a rifle or a shotgun. And if stun guns are illegal in certain states or what regulations and laws there are around them.

It turns out there are a lot of different opinions on stun guns. Who knew?

Basically, most of my weekend was spent learning new things and coming up with more questions that needed to be answered. It was fun. I hope to be able to keep learning things as the week goes on. Writing will happen, but maybe in a new and different way.