Writing Sanctuary vs. Reality...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat found—and ate—a moth. Now, the cat is relentlessly searching the sky—a.k.a. ceiling—for more "sky crunchies"

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is reminding me of the laptop's true purpose: cheek scratcher.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat has joined me in my writing recliner and is now windshieldwipering my face with his tail...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the 14lb cat is crawling onto my lap and... the 55lb dog is joining the cat. Guess I'll be "conceptualizing" rather than writing.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is attacking my robe sash like it is a punching bag. Just gonna have to wait this out...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is using its "bring the catnip toy" meow in combination with its "or else!" look. brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, all I did was type "vet"—didn't even say it—now the dog is pancaked under the recesses of the bed. brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog just walked past all the grass in the yard to one patch of dirt and is rolling like a pig in mud, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is crawling inside my robe to "help" while I write and... and... it tickles...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog is stretching in that particular way that means "breakfast time." brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cats have decided a gardening glove is the most interesting thing ever and they're using it for tug-of-war. brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat bathed the dog, then the dog bathed the cat, now both are bathing me and now I need a bath, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat bathed the dog, then the dog slobbered the cat, now the cat needs a bath, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on the cat is rubbing against me, and rubbing, and rubbing, creating a static storm cloud. I need a dryer sheet and a lint roller, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold, the cats just got new box beds but are trying—unsuccessfully—to squish together in one box, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog walked face-first through cobwebs and looks dressed like a ghost for Halloween—a ghost with leaves and pollen in its hair. Brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog is so wrapped up in her blanket that she's stuck on her bed, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold one cat hopped in an empty cardboard box, then the other hopped on top, shutting the flaps, entombing his brother, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, left the toy bin out and the dog is trying to get all her toys in her mouth at once, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog is licking the glass in the patio door. I give her one chore and she totally ignores the cleaning solution and uses her tongue! brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog and cats are engaging in synchronized snoring. Need earplugs, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog and vacuum decided they are mortal enemies and are engaged in a death stare, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, one cat is slapping the other in slow-mo (like I won't notice) and the other is flinching away in slow-mo and is about to roll off the couch, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, hostage standoff: the dog is running with the catnip toy and the cat has all four legs around the dog's teddy bear threatening disembowelment, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat decided to free climb the window like it was El Capitan, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat swatted my black pen off the desk, let me ge- there goes blue and red. Green swatted too. Guess I'm writing in mauve...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat found its doppelgänger in the mirror and decided only one will survive, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog has had it with slights and slanders from the oversized pillow on the deck chair. She's exacting revenging, one chomp at a time, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog thinks the image of a Husky on her kibble bag is real and she's—unsuccessfully—trying to bark the Husky into submission, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, one cat got fed 5 seconds before the other. Now the 2nd cat is shrieking its head off at the blatant violation of its rights, brb

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog circled her bedding so many times, she got dizzy and headbutted the closet door, brb

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat needs a grooming station and only my lap is adequate.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat decided the seam between carpet and wall contains the secret of life and he's digging furiously, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is practicing biscuit making techniques by kneading my thigh...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat wants to rub the right side of its chin against the laptop, and the left, right, left, right...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat just made a kill (a piece of bread) and is dragging the carcass to its lair (under the guest bed), brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog has a leg caught in her sweater sleeve and is bounding around like a wobbly kangaroo, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is trying to communicate with a bird that's out in the front yard by banging his head against the window in Morse code, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is climbing the blinds like they're a rope ladder, brb.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog has a pine needle lodged in her nostril and is whirling like a fuzzy centrifuge... brb

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog just put its snout on my leg like it invented "puppy dog eyes" and can guilt me... geez, we're going for a walk, brb

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the fire alarm just started the beeping that indicates it has become a sonic torture device until I feed it new batteries, brb

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog just whined in the pitch that means she wants to play "fetch," i.e. I throw a treat, she saunters after it like a hippo into a mud bath, then fetches it into her belly.

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat is exercising its Constitutional right to walk on the keyboard: kjasdhl...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the deliveryman just catapulted a package into the courtyard, brb...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the dog is whining b/c it's not 100% covered by its blanket (one toenail is sticking out), brb...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, my cat just decided all our hand towels need to be eviscerated, brb...