Flake-out Friday–February First

That’s one heck of an alliteration in the title there, eh? I couldn’t resist.

Anyway, I’m commenting on it being February solely because I can’t believe how fast January has gone by. I mean, seriously, wasn’t it just Christmas, like, five minutes ago? (Yes, I said that in a Valley Girl voice.)

At the beginning of the month, all the insulation in the attic had been removed (it was vermiculite–a substance often contaminated with asbestos) and I was freezing. Let me say that again. FREEZING.

Four weeks later, the entire house is fully insulated (walls and attic), and now I’m sweltering. YES. SWELTERING.

LOL!

Construction continues as a crew works to re-side the house. It’s hard to see maybe in these pics, but here’s the work in progress:

The circular holes are where the insulation was blown in.

This area has been fully sided.

I had the choice of like 30 siding colors. Because the house is Greek Revival, I fully intended on keeping the white. When I informed the fella directing the project of my plan, he was like, “Well, keep the samples, think about it for a few days. You could have different colors for the soffets, corners, molding…it’s all up to you. There’s lots to choose from.”

I chose white. For everything. (The shutters, when fixed, will still be black.)

What I like most is how the siding really keeps to the style of the house.

Although, I’ll prolly have to replace all the windows next. They look kind of…old, LOL!

* * * * * * * * * *

As for writing, I’m editing my short story, TSAVO PRIDE. I have a trailer and a cover–WOOT!–so hopefully things will be in line for an early spring release. I hope you guys like it. It’s horror, which is different from NEW PRIDE and SHIFTING PRIDE, but it’s based on some folklore in SHIFTING PRIDE. 😉

I’m also slowly drafting the sequel, FRACTURED PRIDE. It’s gonna be good, folks, I pwommiss.

How was January for youse guys? What’re your plans for February? Whose gonna see WARM BODIES? And what about BEAUTIFUL CREATURES??? 😉

WIP Wednesday…The Demo Is Taking Longer Than Anticipated

Mar9

After nearly four weeks of renovating, the plumbing is finally coming together. We discovered that the previous owner ignored existing problems, so we had to fix “OLD/cob-jobbed” problems on top of “Gee, the house has been empty for over three years” problems.

The bathroom above the dining room leaked…and leaked…and leaked…until the ceiling started dripping…and dripping…and collapsing.

The ceiling had layers–sheet rock over plaster, over metal to hold the plaster, over concrete (yes, concrete), over wood planks…oh, and the pipes were EMBEDDED in the concrete. Yeah. *flails*

On the flip side, I’m happy to be resolving the issues NOW rather than after I’ve moved in…If I had waited, well, the picture above would have been much worse and would have likely included furniture damage.

Other good news includes:

I have 3-prong outlets now!
Lighting will be improved
I have learned how to fix minor plaster issues (…but not the big ones)
I have a refrigerator and washer/dryer!
I now have “friends” at Lowe’s and The Home Depot (seriously, most of the staff recognize me know because I’ve gone to one store or the other, like, daily)
I will be moving in two weeks (no matter what the place looks like, LOL!)
I ❤ my house!

Guess you gotta tear things apart to make them better, huh? Kinda like writing. 😉

Be sure to check out Lydia’s response to her writerly question for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog, ‘kay?

WIP Wednesday…

Feb23

Wow, I can’t believe the month is drawing to a close. So much has happened on the house since closing day…and so much is left to be done!

Anyway, I thought I’d share a glimpse with y’all.

Here’s a couple pics of my library. Yes, my LIBRARY. It still needs to be decorated with my things (namely books, LOL!) and sadly, these photos don’t really do it justice, but I still *love* it!

It has a fireplace! Can’t you just see the leather wingback chair near the window? *grin*

It’s hard to tell, but these are built in book shelves and sitting nooks. (The mirror in the center gives you another glimpse of the fireplace.) A lovely desk in front of this and wowee, I’m ready to write!

Be sure to check out Deb’s response on CRITIQUING for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog. Next week, we’ll start of a new tour!