Big Apple Dreaming

We're down to painting and finish work. I need to schedule the carpet installation. That will take at least another two weeks. We should be in pretty good shape by the end of June.

I hope so because I've offered to host the monthly writers' group meeting in July.

Pictures to follow when everything gets back in order.

There is an AMAZING amount of space in the kitchen cabinets. As soon as they finish painting and installing the tile backsplash, I'll start bringing kitchen stuff in from the PODs. I'm glad I didn't have them take it away. It's fine sitting out there in the parking space.

Again under a cut. ( more photos )

Score! I got all the tile I needed for around $200. Since I compromised with Corpsman and we'll have roughly the same amount of carpet as we currently do, the amount of tile needed was reduced. Lowes didn't have any of what I wanted in stock. That would have cost about $600. Another local flooring place had similar quality for much less. They're 18" by 18" tiles. Pictures will be forthcoming when installation is completed.

All the books and most of the other media has been packed. When I get back from New York, we're starting the work on the kitchen and rest of the downstairs. We're getting one of those storage dealies they deliver, you pack, they pickup then redeliver when you're done. I've got a load of stuff to donate on the love seat. I need to finish packing the odds and ends. My estimate of thirty boxes was too low. I'll have to get more next time I'm out.

At some point today, I need to drop the donations and stop by the kitchen place to give them another check. I also need to go to Lowe's and buy a respirator to use while I'm tearing out the carpet and scraping the popcorn texture off the ceiling. This is going to be as much of an ordeal as the bathroom. I'll take some photos for the before and after.

A little over a year after we had to toss the other person out, a similar scenario played out again. This guy had come from the group that formed at the library, which also featured the other person we had ejected who migrated there. While he had a good understanding of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, he lacked story structure and character development. He also had a complete inability to understand that he'd need to write more than a single draft to get it right. He was essentially telling the story of his meeting his wife, which was pretty boring and juvenile. Predictably, any criticism of the story was taken personally as he was basically the protagonist. What he wanted was for us to stroke his ego; what he got was direction to choose a genre, find a point of view, achieve logical consistency in his characters, and keep revising his writing until it got better.

This time we didn't have to throw him out. He got pissed off and flounced of his own accord. On reflection, he had that classic "nice guy" vibe. You know the one: all smiles and pleasant until he determines he won't get what he wants. Your average Republican type of jerk. When every woman in your writers' group calls your character "dickish" and "rapey," you should rewrite that character unless you intend him to be a rapist and not the hero. I hope he gets a clue, but I doubt if he will. His type rarely does.

There was another newbie who also quit the week before. She was writing something similar to her life story too. She didn't like the idea of having to rewrite or revise either. Those people are not writers. They don't understand that it's not mere typing, that there is craft involved. A couple of us have devised a way to weed these sorts out. I hope it works in the future.

My current novel is just past the halfway mark. I'm slogging through it as much as I can. I'm hoping I'll get a lot more writing done at the end of the month when I have to go back to Richmond for training. Airports and hotels seem to be conducive to scribbling sentences, plus the hotel where I stay is close to a great restaurant with a massive beer list. I can drink and stagger back to my room without worry.

Work had a problem this evening, so I'll take photos tomorrow to post. It looks great. I'm very happy with it.

The plumber came day before yesterday. The electrician came yesterday. The tub and surround are installed. They need to be caulked, which will happen today. There's drywall on 80% of the walls. The ceiling still needs to be put up. Once the drywall is done, it needs to be floated, then painted. The floor needs to be done. The lighting fixture needs to go back up. The toilet and vanity need to be installed. After that, it will be little things like the towel racks and toilet roll holder.

I can see it all being done by next Sunday. Hubby's nephew is doing all the work with a helper after he finishes his regular job. He arrives around 4:00 pm and works until 8:00 pm, which is a lot of effort for someone who already worked that day. We're grateful that it's not taking even longer.

The contract for my book arrived. I reviewed it and signed it last night. I'll mail it today. Within a year, there should be something in print for sale. I heard from an agent who was looking for historical fiction and wanted to read "Ruxandra." I sent it to him. We'll see how he responds. It's better than being turned down categorically. Progress, however slowly, is being made.

All of the items for the work have been removed from the truck and staged in the house. Demolition begins tomorrow.

After a bunch of additional back-and-forth, a Customer Service Representative offered to give me a 10% refund on the order for all the crap they put me through. Very nice. On to the chaos of the work.

Lowes told me that my last item would be in on Monday. I called them yesterday, and it hadn't been received. It's supposed to be in again tomorrow. I'll believe it when it happens. It's been a month since I ordered everything. I'm composing a long list of suggestions for my response to the feedback request. Their website needs to show which items are or are not in stock. If the items are special order, a reasonable lead time for delivery should be shown. The online order shouldn't break into several orders without an overarching reference number for the customer to ask about when calling. So many things wrong with the way they do it from the customer's perspective.

It feels like the bathroom is going to drag into the middle of January. I hope to hell not. I'm hoping to get the downstairs done in March, providing my bonus and tax refund are robust. The sooner all this chaos is over, the better.

( Read more... )

I submitted my manuscript for the Wiccan ethics book to local publisher Left Hand Press several weeks ago. I received an email Thursday saying that they accepted it for publication and to review the sample book contract they sent for it. Needless to say, I'm thrilled. A lawyer friend is looking the contract over to see if it's reasonable. It will probably take a while before it gets into print, since galleys need to be reviewed and such, but I think there's a possibility it will be in print and available by this time next year.

The bathroom fixtures and such have been ordered. Demolition to commence Thursday evening and construction Friday. I've got to make a few phone calls to ensure I have plumbing and electrical for sure on Friday. Since everything else will be white, I'm thinking about some paint color for the walls.

There's a little more cleaning to do. I'll take before photos tomorrow and post them.