Chris-Tien Jinn

As she walked back to the town hall, Chris-Tien reviewed what she had learned in recent days. She was beginning to put pieces together, but she had little evidence and certainly no proof against her leading suspect. She needed the Mayor’s help and support to dig deeper …. And they needed to figure out why the dead were suddenly rising. Solaine had said something about it being impossible …. And Chris remembered a tale from religious history lessons in her long-ago youth. She just couldn’t put her finger on what those tapestries reminded her of. At the town hall, the Mayor’s aid ushered her into Tanya Anathram’s office. The Mayor was writing a document with a wooden pen clutched in her massive hand and didn’t even look up as she asked, in lieu of a greeting, “Did you learn anything new?” Chris nodded and summarized as succinctly as she could, “I met Solaine at the Temple, and she directed me to the cemetery with some reluctance. There, I found two undead corpses.” The paladin noted that the Mayor and her aid were both now listening with full attention. “One from long ago, and one very recent …. Maybelline’s in fact. The magic that raised the skeleton had dissipated, but the new zombie attacked me, and I had to take action to stop it.” “That’s not possible!!” blurted the aid. “The temple and its cleric are meant to protect us. Is the magic fading? What of Solaine? What is she doing to stop it?” “It is possible because it happened,” Chris glowered at the man, “but I take your meaning. Solaine is acting …. Strangely. She was late to our meeting at the temple and seemed to have forgotten that you, Mayor, had arranged for me to meet her there. In fact, when I first arrived, she had sent me a request to come visiting, but she has been very forgetful since the night I arrived and first met her.” Chris paused, realizing the potential significance of the cleric’s forgetfulness. “When she did arrive, she had dirt on the bottom of her robe and on her boots …. Black soil like that in the cemetery, around the disturbed grave. And what’s more, the skeleton had a second, recent crack in its head, apparently from one of the flagstones. I think Solaine knew full well what I would find in the graveyard because she had just come from there.” The mayor regarded Chris for a moment, coming to a decision. “Clearly, we have another potential problem, and we need to finish the investigation quickly, before people begin to panic.” She looked at the aid, “Call up the militia and have them patrol the cemetery, especially at night. And … draw up a proclamation announcing the accusation of Maybelline’s murderer tomorrow.” “I only have suspicions and little real evidence …” Chris began. “Either the proclamation will flush out the murderer or cause them to run. If neither happens, you can tell me the rest of what you know and suspect, and we’ll decide where to go from there.” Anathema looked at the paladin closely. “In the meantime, I could use your help patrolling the streets and the graveyard tonight, if you are not too fatigued.” Chris nodded her acceptance of the directive, and with a slight bow of her head, she turned to find the head of the militia.

Good food readily available may be the start of a virtuous cycle that gets you to the place where you can make your own .... or do whatever else you want to do when you are not so tired. I'm curious if they are good .... so post a review if you've got the spoons.

Well, Tuesdays are always a bit of a challenge, and with LTL's cold (poor kid is sick again), we were not able to get outside for a walk. Besides, it rained pretty hard almost all day. Lose Weight No walk, and since LTL didn't take much of a nap, I didn't bike in the basement. I'm set up to watch Critical Role while using the stationary bicycle during the worst of the winter weather. But we did eat some of the meals we'd pre-cooked, which I'm counting as success. Chicken soup for lunch (LTL was not a fan) and Taco Pasta for dinner. Build Muscle I did a little exercise snacking: 10 sit ups and 10 lunges. Lots and lots of squats with a 20 pound weight and crawling around. Socialize Only family, I'm afraid. NaNoWriMo Wrote the next scene (posted above) and pulled in scenes from last challenge to meet the daily word count. I hate to say it, but Solaine is looking like a good suspect ......

The sunlight, leaf-strewn path back to the Temple was muted as Chris-Tien made her way back to the Radiant Temple to report on the events at the mausoleum and seek the counsel of the Sun Cleric. Surprisingly, Solaine was where the paladin had left her, in the Temple foyer, looking at the tapestries as if she hadn’t seen them every day for years. As Chris approached, Solaine jumped and stifled a shriek. “You’re back? I mean, ‘you’re back so soon’?” the young woman stuttered. “What did you learn?” The paladin filled her in on the events at the cemetery, describing both the perplexing state of the skeleton climbing out of its grave and the unfortunate need to put down the zombie who had late been a member of the cleric’s congregation. “That shouldn’t be possible,” Solaine murmured repeatedly, staring vacantly and clutching the sunburst amulet. She turned back to the tapestries and stared up at one depicting holy warriors destroying an army of skeletons with some sort of holy light. Chris was perplexed by her reaction. She’d expected anger and recriminations for having ignored Solaine’s attempt to prevent the visit to the mausoleum …. Or a desire to see the scene for herself. Instead, the cleric was strangely, silently disengaged. The quiet stretched awkwardly until the paladin strode over to stand in front of the young cleric. “Solaine, I need you to focus on helping solve this murder. Snap out of it!” The cleric looked Chris in the eyes with horror plain on her face, “The dead shouldn’t be rising. They can’t … not while there is a member of the Radiant Order occupying the temple.” Shaking her head, and tempted to shake Solaine by the shoulders, Chris replied in exasperation. “Well, they are. We need to tell the Mayor so that she can decide how to protect Langston.” “Of course …. Yes, she must be told,” Solaine had resumed staring off into the middle distance, hopefully in thought rather than in shock. “If you would please, let the Mayor know. That would be very helpful.” Chris stepped back in surprise, opening her mouth to ask if the cleric was entirely well. From the moment they had met, she seemed a bit drifty. But this behavior was worrisome. Solaine ignored the reaction and continued, “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to return to the library while you speak to the Mayor. Thank you so very much.” She turned sharply and hurried down one of the empty hallways. Blinking in bemusement, Chris-Tien watched for a moment before hurrying off to inform the Mayor of the disturbance in the cemetery.

I'm going with the flow. We're hosting LTL's family on Thursday and asked what they would like for dinner ...... takeout. 🤣 I dream of the day when my grandson comes to me and tells me that his (whatever sport) coach wants him to clean up his diet and asks for my help. Monday was a good and busy day. Lose Weight I cooked eggs on the stove for breakfast. And then for dinner, I made pot roast and gravy. Took a walk in the woods. With the cold rain coming, that's probably the last really lovely day this season. I have not yet put the bike in the basement. I'm hoping for one last nice ride. Build Muscle Joined the local CrossFit box and worked out. As soon as I walked into the space, I was sold. It's clean and has new equipment in at least a dozen stations. There's an individual workout room if you're not doing the class. There's a room for (older) kids to hang out on couches and watch TV. There's a shower and lockers. Seriously, I think that's the nicest place I've seen. 6 classes per week day, plus one on Saturday. Deadlifts ......8 x 55 lb, 6 x 55 lb, 4 x 65 lb, 4 x 75 lb. That's not quite a PR, but I haven't lifted that much in nearly 3 years. 9 min AMRAMP (6 rounds + 13 reps): 5 jumping pull ups, 10 wall balls (6 pound ball). Socialize Great coach at the new box and really supportive, friendly people ... I had a blast. NaNoWriMo I wrote a scene for the D&D story and then imported some of the scenes from last challenge. Still keeping up with the word count. And I started doing some of the prep work for NaNoWriMo, including trying on some different story ideas. I've written a lot of Star Wars collaborative fanfiction over the years. In fact, I've written a lot of short stories (which I threw out when we moved .....). Today, we have LTL and he has a cold. So, it's more of a red/orange day for challenge progress.

Returning to the flagstone path, Chris could see into the mausoleum. The large stone structure’s central room was open on one side, displaying a white limestone altar. No windows opened into this room, but it was well illuminated by round orbs set into the ceiling. This was a peaceful place, where those awaiting internment could lie in state, preserved temporarily by a spell , so that grieving friends and relatives could privately pay their last respects, before the deceased finally nestled into their eternal rest. Currently, a young woman’s body lay on the white stone. Even from the path, Chris-Then could see deep gouges in the woman’s face, neck, and forearms …. As if she had fought off someone or something. Her blonde hair rippled over her shoulders, and she held a bouquet of pink flowers, preserved by the same stasis spell, in her slender hands. Oddly, a white sheet, which was presumably used to cover the body, was lying on the ground, at the base of the altar. As Chris cautiously approached, the body slowly turned its mangled face toward her. Although she’d been expecting something of the sort, chills ran up the paladin’s spine, and she recalled her first morning in Langston. She had sensed good and evil in the town … and she now faced the fruits of that conflict. With a snarl, Maybelline’s corpse sat up and descended from the altar, staggering toward Chris-Tien. Her movements were slow and awkward as she dropped the flowers and began working her way down the path. “Mielikki, grant this poor victim quick release,” the paladin prayed as she drew her sword. Divine power answered her prayer, adding power to her arms as she fought. Her sword struck true, and the corpse collapsed as if a puppet’s strings had been cut. Kneeling beside the remains of the once-beautiful young woman, Chris prayed for her soul’s peaceful repose and took a few moments to examine the original wounds. It was obvious why everyone had described Maybelline’s death as being caused by a wild animal. The cuts were deep and broad and confined only to her upper body, as if fending off a beast standing on two legs. There seemed to be no pattern to the attack, with gashes crisscrossing each other in some sort of frenzy. If this had been done by an intelligent being, Chris would have said that it was acting in a rage. But why would something like a bear have attacked this young woman and left the body in the town? Looking around for inspiration, Chris noticed the bouquet of flowers that the zombie had dropped on its way down the path. On closer inspection, the flowers were a mix of white daisies and some sort of pink flower, the only ones of that type that Chris could see amongst all of the flowers left near the mausoleum itself. The note tied to them read simply, “Rest well, Maybelline”, and it was signed by Tomlin. With a sigh, Chris stood. No doubt the cleric, Solaine, would have something to say about disturbing the poor girl’s body, but the undead was certainly a matter for the Sun Cleric to help decipher.

Yeap .... the pumpkin in the chicken and veggies soup, for instance. 😉 So far, LTL seems pretty willing to try things. I visited the CrossFit gym and signed up. It's the nicest gym I've ever been in and coach was great.

It is just great to find a stylist who gets you and your goals!! I had one once who owned the shop and also trained/owned dressage horses. When I told her I had no time to fuss with me hair, I got a good cut instead of a lecture. Heaven!

And .... we are in Week 1!!! Sunday was a good day. I had something resembling normal energy, and so was able to get more done!!!! Lose Weight Cooked breakfast on the stove. Eggs taste better that way. Hubby baked bread (bread machine), and I made chicken and veggie soup. Using chicken thighs and a can of pumpkin (!) made the broth nice and rich. It's a big batch, and I plan to serve that to LTL for lunch on Tuesday Made apple/pomegranate martinis to sip while we watched Sleepy Hollow Walked in the woods Build Muscle Scheduled a visit to the non-affiliated CrossFit box .... for Monday morning. I know more about CrossFit now, and I know that I miss the atmosphere, camaraderie, and the challenge .... but need to watch out for over work and trying to keep up from my deconditioned, masters, fitness-focused body. We'll see how the coach responds to my goals. Gardened, which meant a lot of bending over. Hubby empted the heavy pots for me and moved dirt around. So, not as much of a workout as it could have been, but I also still had some energy to cook dinner!!! Socialize Church. The desire to hang with and and meet other fitness-minded people is a major impetus of my investigations. I'm missing that. Writing/NaNoWriMo Between copying scenes from last challenge and fresh writing, I made my daily goal. So far, this is kinda fun.

Is there any way to start arranging life so that you require less discipline to get there?

Wow .... congrats on the hunt. That is one big elk.

Saturday was lovely. We have the stereotypically perfect fall days right now, and I really enjoyed the walk in the woods, as you can see in the story episode above. I'd intended to make soup during the day, but I got busy with chores and workouts. And we went to hear a college acapella group in the afternoon, which goofed up the rhythm of the weekend. Still, it counts as socialization. I did the Grandma Diane workout for time: 21, 15, 9 deadlifts (50 pounds) 21, 15, 9 seated shoulder presses (10 pound dumbbells) 6 minutes tied my July result, although I'm not terribly concerned with time. Its good pressure to workout steadily without taking unnecessary breaks. But the two stations are far apart, and there's a fair amount of walking involved, which would not be the case in a CrossFit box. I love the idea of CrossFit in moderation. There were times when it worked for me, and I really like hanging out with fitness-minded people. Writing didn't happen on Saturday. After working out, I was strangely tired. We were invited to go out for dinner (some friends of hubby), but I felt like I was coming down with a cold. Had dinner out of the freezer (chili and homemade bread), watched Inkheart, and I want to bed early. But I am almost done with LTL's new sweater!!!!

The path to the cemetery was a tapestry of various shades of red, gold, orange, and brown, and a mix of leaves continued to rain down in the gentle breeze. The crunching of the nuts beneath boots added to the symphony of bird song and the chitter of small creatures in the woods on either side of the trail. If not for the unpleasant duty lying at the end of the journey, this would have been a lovely day to explore the Temple grounds. The trees opened up as the path ended in the northern quadrant of the cemetery. The gentle light of the morning sun softened the hard edges of the headstones as Chris-Tien walked the flagstone path that wound between sections of graves and still-green grass. Flowers dotted the grounds in various stages of freshness. Townsfolk apparently came periodically to remember their friends and relatives. Near the center of the graveyard, the mausoleum stood vigil over the grounds. Cut of the same light-colored stone as the Temple itself, it almost seemed to glow in the golden light, although, Chris mused, that could also be an effect of the stasis spell on the altar. Relatively fresh flowers graced the steps of the central building in profusion. Maybelline had obviously been popular. Off to the left, a plot of disturbed earth caught Chris-Tien’s attention. It did not quite look like a burial site awaiting its newest resident. On closer inspection, the paladin confirmed that the black earth had been thrown about rather haphazardly as the grave was dug up. From underneath. Poking through the earth and the remains of the rotting casket, a skeleton appeared to be frozen in the act of climbing out of its grave. Chris approached carefully and knelt near the disturbed ground, but the bones remained immobile, the skull newly cracked and sitting lopsided on a mound of the dark soil. A broken flagstone was buried partway beside it, resting next to skeletal fingers to which bits of dirt and wood clung. Based on the decomposition, this poor soul had been dead for decades, with a brief respite from that usually terminal condition. Murmuring a brief prayer, Chris-Then determined that the magic that had animated these bones had faded, but an undead was lurking nearby …. In the mausoleum itself. She stood slowly, loosening her sword in its scabbard, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach.

Lose Fat Got a nice walk in the woods and even ventured into the section on the other side of the railroad tracks. The fall weather is spectacular right now. Highs in the 60s (F), clear blue sky, leaves in various shades of red, gold, orange, purple, brown, and green. Perfect. I didn't cook anything. In fact, we ate out for lunch and had take-out pizza (with the pumpkin ale) for dinner. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I have moved my working desk out into the dining room area, right by the kitchen. Using the reducing the distance strategy ..... so far, I've hauled cookbooks to my desk and started looking at what we might cook and serve next week. It will take time to re-establish menu-making and cooking habits.* * Build Muscle Various factors finally aligned, and I started working on the gardens again. There are a couple of tomatoes and banana peppers still on the frost-nipped plants, but we're pretty much done with the kitchen garden for the season. So, I began the process of reorganizing the pots and furniture on the patio. Some of those pots are big and heavy!! So, I didn't get to the gym, but I definitely was working my muscles. Socialize I bumped (figuratively speaking) into a neighbor while out walking the trails. NaNoWriMo I skimmed through the instructions for my manuscript-writing software (Scrivener). I haven't used it much since I finished my dissertation in 2012, and there are some neat features that they include in support of NaNoWriMo in addition to a template for writing novels. AND, I started writing the murder mystery again. Pulling in scenes from last challenge's episodes, I'm making huge progress on the word count.

Yeap. Those were a hard "no" for me too. I like just about any of the others, especially when grilled. 🔥 I went on strike in 2007 .... and then moved to a different state for grad school ....

“What do you know of Maybelline’s fiancé?” Chris began. She didn’t want to bring up sad memories for the cleric, but she had to see if Tomlin’s story about their previous relationship held up. Right now, either the herbalist or his scorned lover seemed to be the best suspects. Unless, of course, the druid or the mayor were lying. “Ah, yes, Tomlin …..” Solaine’s polite smile turned sad. “We were lovers at one point, although that’s hardly a unique honor, I’m afraid.” The young woman’s laugh was bright but brittle as she glanced at the paladin to gauge her reaction. If she had expected Chris to be surprised, she recovered quickly. “He said he would wait for me while I was on pilgrimage. He said I was his only love.” She shook her head at her own naivety. “Well, while I was gone, he found his second ‘only love’, I guess. I came back after a hard journey to find him betrothed to another, but I put that aside. My duty is to all of Langston, and I will do it,” she finished with a despairing survey of the empty Temple. “You realize that this could make you a suspect? So why are you telling me this?” Chris asked gently. “Because you will hear of it from anyone in Langston,” Solaine replied bitterly. “Everyone knows the gossip. So, what else can I help you with?” Chris had many questions that she wanted to ask, but viewing the victim seemed to be the most pressing business at hand. Strangely, the cleric adamantly refused. “Definitely not. It is an affront to the family …. And it is not necessary.” Confused, the paladin studied Solaine, picking up an undercurrent of fear to her refusal. “There’s nothing to be afraid of …,” she began gently. “… the mayor herself tasked me with this investigation, and Roi suggested that I should see the body for myself ….” “Afraid? Goodness, no. I was just thinking of the poor family … and Maybelline was so badly hurt …. But I suppose I cannot stop you. She’s in the mausoleum of the cemetery. The altar is enchanted to prevent decay before the burial.” Chris managed to get directions to the cemetery out of Solaine with a little more coaxing. After thanking the cleric, the paladin headed for the door, leaving the young woman gazing at the tapestries, shuffling around the foyer and muttering to herself.

I will get back to writing the murder mystery .... probably today. Lose Fat We had LTL over on Thursday. Couldn't get a walk in the morning because of an unexpected rainshower, but we bundled LTL up for an afternoon walk: Hubby thought the hat would be too big ..... Ha ha!!!! I didn't cook anything, although we ate the overnight oats and decided that they are a winner. Basically, your standard overnight oats with some pumpkin puree substituted for liquid. Plus pumpkin pie spice. Our daughter was late in picking him up .... so we went out for dinner. Fish tacos and a glass of wine. Build Muscle Exercise snacks worked when he was napping (too little) or crawling around. Situps: 22 Shoulder taps: 20 Standing toe touches: 20 Cherry pickers: 20 Deadlifts (19 pounds): lots Socialize Well, I talked to daughter and son-in-law when they came to get LTL. Does talking to the wait staff at a restaurant count?? NaNoWriMo/Writing I added the Wolves of Langston fanfic to my NaNoWriMo projects and set the beginning date to today. I have editing of a science lab report to do for one of my tutees, but I'm going to set a time limit for that and also start getting disciplined and set time each non-baby day for writing.

For me, the gauntlet starts at Halloween. Good luck with the challenge!!!

Being a local Master Naturalist is one my my retiree ideas too.

Yum!!! Keep looking for veggie burgers that you like. We found a US brand that is mostly beets and found that we prefer those over regular beef.

Lose Fat I hauled myself to the gym and ran. 2.5 miles in 40 minutes, which is not particularly fast (4 mph average speed). But I did it. Point of interest .... about 1/2 of the treadmills were out of order or very squeaky (loud enough to hear over the ear buds). I'm looking at another gym because I really don't like feeling like equipment is falling apart on me. For Week 0 and Week 1, my nutrition goal is to cook something daily. Today, I pulled together Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats. Hubby decided it sounded good and asked me to make enough for both of us. Build Muscle I went back to an article for CrossFit beginners and started to work on some basic "ladder" workouts. 9 supersets of 3 air squats, 2 kneeling push ups, and one assisted pullup (I started with 60 pounds of assist and worked down to 40. Couldn't quite get all the way up with 30 pounds of assistance). Socialize Hubby and I went to 50 North (the "senior center" for very active seniors). So, we chatted with a few volunteers and members as well as their membership manager. I think we're going to join. I would like to use their pool and rowing machines. The weight room doesn't have barbells ..... NaNoWriMo I signed up and now am wondering what I got myself into!!! So long as I treat this first one as a lark to enjoy, I'll be ok.

The last challenge was derailed by a train of illnesses that my grandson brought home from day care. I managed to power through most of them, but COVID really knocked me on my butt for three weeks. Not surprisingly, my cardio fitness took a hit. Strength gains pretty much stayed even. Coming into the next challenge, I have loose goals, but I want to stay flexible .... really a big part of the rest of the calendar year (2 challenges?) will be in looking for some new tools and strategies .... and recommitting some that have worked well in the past. I am not going to score these challenges. Daily narration is enough accountability. The murder mystery gets to continue and ties in with this theme. 😉 Goals: Lose fat and build muscle. I'm going to ease back into WW. The investigation focus here is on figuring out how to track without burning out on tracking. Success measures: weigh 150 by the end of the calendar year (151.5 by Thanksgiving) and be able to do a pullup with only 20 pounds of assistance (30 pounds by Thanksgiving). I also will probably be changing gyms again. Write a draft of a novel. Yes, I decided to try NaNoWriMo. I want to write a cozy mystery novel with an older female protagonist. I may warm up with the continuation of the Wolves of Langston .... fanfiction. Investigations: Exercise snacks. On the days that LTL is here, it's difficult to get much of a workout in. We can usually get a walk, but strength training ..... those end up being rest days. But, if I have a plan, I could fit in some bodyweight strength training and stretching. Functional fitness (aka CrossFit) without the box. CrossFit.com, WodWell.com, 50 North fitness classes? The social aspect is almost as important as the fitness, but getting hooked and sticking with it without getting injured ..... Join the "senior center" .... which really has much to offer. It has a gym and a pool (and sauna and hot tub ....) and fitness classes and volunteer and social opportunities. As Rebel One has written, it is really tough to make friends as an adult. This is a possible vector. How to inject some fun into logging food intake?? How to create changes that will become habits?

Following! I also want to do NaNoWriMo this year. I finally created an account and looked over the prep for beginners .... Good luck on all of your goals and discerning between options.

Yea, right after COVID, we got our flu shots. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It's been a rough month and more .... but it seems like the viral load that LTL brings home from day care may be easing???? But we do need to get the updated COVID booster. Thankfully, our physician didn't think we needed RSV vaccinations yet. Yeap!! I will certainly keep writing and get to the bottom of the murder mystery. This challenge was OK. I lost a little weight, and my pants are baggy. But I definitely lost momentum in the middle while we all were sick, and I am currently feeling uninspired going into the next challenge. I pulled together some thoughts about goals, but a theme is eluding me.

Very descriptive word!! (Here to cheer ....)