Write for the Trashcan

Phase Two: The Island

2017-08-11T17:09:15Z

The boxes bearing the kitchen island have arrived -- they did so on Tuesday late afternoon. Regrettably, the part of the top was cracked right through and along the length of the board. I reported it immediately, and was told they would contact the manufacturer for next steps. Apparently, each manufacturer has different steps for replacement, return, etc. They would get back to me in an appropriate time, or I should follow-up.

When asked, I was informed that 'an appropriate amount of time' would be three days for them to respond. I have two HUGE boxes taking up the corner of my living room -- it's not a large house, y'all, and it irks me. No response thus far. Grr.

It may end up that despite finding what we wanted in a 'kit', the added expense of purchasing the tools we would have needed to build one ourselves might have been more cost effective in the long run.

I'm not terribly patient. As the pin dickgloucester once gifted me reads "Patience is a waste of time."

End saga part one.

Phase One: Almost Complete

2017-08-05T16:53:02Z

The last bits and pieces are being cut and put in place, and in about an hour, the first phase of the kitchen will be done -- except the cleaning of course. I've spent much of my last week organizing, sorting and cleaning, but the end result will be totally worth it. I'm so looking forward to living with the interim version of the kitchen. We've only really replaced the appliances and added some shelving (there will be pictures when it's done) but it feels like a totally different space.

There's much to be said about mounting a microwave OFF the countertop, and I'll skip the paragraphs waxing lyrical about how much difference the extra two square feet make. Just take my word for it.

As for the new cabinets/shelves, they're freaking fabulous. Initially, we thought they'd simply yank out the double wall oven and slap up some shelves until we redid the cabinets next year. However, the size of the new fridge (being wider and taller than the old) meant removing all of the shelves/cabinetry in that section of the kitchen, and tailoring one to suit our needs and the needs of the space. Despite losing the base cabinet beneath the cooktop, we've actually gained enough additional space for everything we had before, plus storage for several things we used to keep on top of cabinets in the laundry.

The kit for the island should be delivered this next week, and once that's built, I'll have room for my knives to be kept off the counter, which will be so nice. In theory, at least. I may find I miss the knife block in practice, but I won't know until we actually have enough drawers to find out! I realize it's a first-world problem, but still...

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Phase One of the Kitchen Project is in Progress

2017-08-03T15:56:19Z

The fridge is here and in place. Shelves are being built around it today. The rather awesome thing is the quality of David's work is so high we may not replace these cabinets/shelves when we replace the rest of the cabinets and countertops next year. We're rather thrilled by this prospect.

In other newsy news, the components for the kitchen island we're building should arrive sometime this next week. Once that's built, Kitchen Phases One and Two will be complete! Building the island will be a family project. I put my filing cabinet together last month, and I'm ready to drill holes, screw bits and pieces together and glue wood! UberGeek, Son 1 and Son 2 are quite handy so the whole process should be done in a day.

We then have to live with the interim stuff for a time before making the next decisions. When making such big decisions, I've learned through painful experience, to take things in stages and test hypotheses thoroughly.

Otherwise, the weather is miserably hot, humid and sticky. It didn't cool off overnight at all, and I hope the flood warnings go away in the next couple of days. However, I am incredibly grateful that we yanked out the room by room air conditioners a couple of years ago and installed an HVAC system for the entire house. What a difference it makes.

Scope Creep Has Begun

2017-08-01T22:23:10Z

Today, we discovered that the location of the refrigerator was once the original location of the kitchen sink! That means all the main plumbing was behind/beneath the fridge. Thankfully, we don't have to relocate the plumbing for the new fridge, but it will set farther out from the wall than expected. I'm more glad than ever we chose a counter-depth fridge.

However, we will have to countersink the electrical outlet which is sort of hanging from the soffit -- it's a very odd bit of jerry rigging (have to check that bit of slang). None of the pre-existing cabinetry on the oven/fridge end exist any longer. Instead there were some chunks out of the wall (no critters ever found their way in, and that's something of a miracle) which will be patched, and new shelving is being built to meet specifications. That will all be blown out next year when we do the cabinets and counters.

The new dishwasher was the easiest part of the day. It's in and works beautifully.

[Post script: have learned the origin of the phrase jerry-rigged. Shan't be using it in future.]

Scope Creep

2017-07-29T22:29:17Z

It's the term UberGeek uses for every home improvement we embark upon. Each time we do upgrade something (faucet, dishwasher, etc.) the scope of the project creeps upward and outward into something more, bigger, badder, better.

We have finally bought a new refrigerator. Our current one isn't energy efficient, has no STAR rating, and has had major repairs a couple of times. It's twenty-four years old, and it's finally done, and done. We've been looking at the new models for several months now, and finally settled on a style (French door) and manufacturer LG. It's counter depth which is nice and it was on sale, which is nicer. It will be delivered on Wednesday.

This is where the scope creep comes into play. In order to get a new fridge, it means yanking out the wall oven (which is even older than the fridge, and doesn't heat properly, and isn't insulated well) because we have to cut into the wall space where the oven sits in order to fit the new fridge. It also means cutting into the cabinets above both fridge and oven. So, we have to cut down those cabinets, and then build some shelves where the oven was, and slap on a temporary door (cabinets and counters are next year's project).

But what about an oven, you ask? Well, that means a new range (which my wonderful brother and SIL gave us from the house they just moved out of, because story) which means cutting out the cooktop and cabinet underneath where all the pots and pans are stored. Which then means, yanking out the overhead fan and installing the range's matching microwave vent.

Whew! I'm already exhausted, and I've only just managed to clear out the pots/pans, and above the vent cabinets. I still have all the others to clean out and we have to move the existing fridge to make room for the contractor's team to rip out tile, wood, doors, cabinets, etc. on Tuesday before the fridge delivery on Wednesday.

See.

Scope creep.

Day After

2017-07-25T19:21:48Z

Migraines are a rather miserable way to start a week, and for the most part, they're not frequent. They used to be, so finding myself curled up in a dark room for a day is no longer a weekly or bi-weekly experience. Still, the day after is always a sluggish one for me.

Youngest had his friends over on Sunday, and they're the sweetest young men -- although they'd be mortified at hearing my assessment of them. They left late, after much fun and gaming, and our new neighbor stopped by to share a new board game. These days, it seems the new 'may I borrow a cup of sugar' has become 'my BIL's here and we want to play 'Heroes of the Storm' but he forgot his mouse for his laptop. Do you have a USB mouse we could borrow.' Of course we did.

Interesting Week

2017-07-21T14:50:10Z

It's been a quiet and eventful week back from camp, and I'm only now returning to my normal-ish routine. And that includes allowing my cell phone battery drain once a week. After running an errand with UberGeek (the search for the right fridge continues), I left my phone in my office while I made dinner, and then didn't check it when I retrieved it later. I thought it was a rather quiet night!

I've oddly been more tired than usual this week, maybe readjusting to my proper time zone. I've fallen asleep on the loveseat several times, and Eldest has nudged me off to bed.

I was sorry to learn about Chester Bennington's death. Whether by design or misadventure his death is a loss to many. His fans are surely the smallest portion of that great number. We saw Linkin Park in concert a short few years ago, and I liked them better live than recorded, which is rare. I found that with Foo Fighters too. Sometimes, an artist just doesn't live up to their recordings, and others, when you discover they're more than the sum of their technology. Rest in Peace, Chester. You will be missed.

It's still morning! So it's pages.

2017-07-20T17:46:30Z

It's fully summer here, and the heat index rises with the sun. In general, our AC is on during the heat of the day because we like fresh air, but the last week or so, it's been so hot the AC has been running late into the night.

We run all our errands early in the morning before being chased inside.

I made the mistake of working out at 11 yesterday, and I was wheezing and drenched before my 45 minutes were half done. Today I ventured out at 9, and even an hour after I'm still rather damp. Ugh. Feeling virtuous for having gritted it out, but still ... down dog while sweat is dripping up your neck isn't all that much fun!

Errand running is in my near future, after a quick shower and a replacement of the steristrips on my wounded forearm -- uneven slate paths are uneven. Eldest is coming with me as one of his assignments is taking pictures of grocery store aisles to he can recreate them in 3-d animation. I love it when he shows me what he's working on.

This afternoon is administrivia before I dive into a 'reading' project, and a some scene blocking for a short story I've got in the works. I'll be serene in the AC of my office while occasionally watching the grass in my back yard wither under the harsh light of sun of southern CA.

Was Morning Pages ... Now Daily?

2017-07-20T04:10:33Z

Morning pages morphed into daily and even further into evening pages. UberGeek updated my PC today with Windows 10. I know, I know. It's about time, and in all honesty, I don't think any of us realized I was still on Windows 7! It's worked perfectly for me until I attempted to download an app and it required Windows 8+.

In any event, it meant his making a ghost image, and my performing a back up for all my files. Although I store them privately in the cloud, I wanted an additional back up. It's not overly cautious if you've lost stuff before -- remember the great collision of woman, dog, laptop and a glass of water? Yeah, it wasn't pretty.

With that all being said, my day was busy, and we had to go look at a refrigerator, too. We really don't want to spend enormous amounts for appliances, even as we know this one is a big one. Luckily, my brother and SIL gave us their range! It's a bit of a story, but I've been looking for a range for a few months now -- our in-wall oven hasn't worked properly in years, and we know we've got to do the remodel, but it's bloody expensive, so it's a phase at a time. This year was the year for appliances, and I wanted the most value for our $$.

Concurrently, a builder approached my little brother with an offer for his house -- the builder wanted to tear it down to build a mini-mansion. The deal was excellent and brother accepted. The new house had a kitchen remodel just two years ago, and they're keeping all of it. Which meant their range was unnecessary. The builder was going to scrap it because it's 5 years old, even if it's in perfect condition. ::eyes pop:: Thus, I'm now the proud owner of a very nice GE range with a venting microwave too. We just need the last appliance so we can fit them into position in our kitchen, and live with it another year before we do the cabinets.

Well, we're blowing out part of a wall before then, but that shouldn't be a huge hassle. ::dies laughing:: You might not remember the scope creep from our hidden living room wall. What was a $2K project ended up a 10K project, and we gained an extra foot of living room space, found two hidden windows and a very pretty brick hearth we hadn't known existed. It was rather exciting at the time.

All the small steps will add up over time. Process, it's all process.

::waves::

Morning Pages

2017-07-18T15:42:00Z

With the upswing of 'soundbyte' stream-of-consciousness social media, I've recently realized just how much I have missed the more personal aspect of LJ. In something of an ivory tower fashion, it was here that I met and became friends with others sharing similar interests. This niche is both more intimate and less personal, and I have missed it.

With that being said, this past year has been the least productive of my life in terms of writing. In order to alter that, I've re-embraced my 'morning pages'. For those who don't know, they're a tool Julia Cameron espouses in 'The Artist's Way' and one I used to embrace daily, and by hand.

After chatting with mundungus42 this last week, I've decided to use my live journal for that as well as spending a little more time in this comfy niche.

It's a little like returning to my Hogwarts House's common room. It's a little bit like home away from home.

Missing a Member of our Community

2016-12-06T02:20:35Z

Like many of you, I was shocked speechless by the news of scatteredlogic's too early passing. I remember meeting her at Portus, and thinking it was one of the highlights of the trip. She was witty and brilliant and welcoming, and quite simply, a wonderful human being. She gave her time, diligent efforts, and unceasing compassion to the community, and offered her friendship to many of us. I will miss her, and she will be remembered with great affection ... for a long time.

Leviosa!

2016-07-11T16:59:27Z

Was awesome!

I got to meet some wonderful people, talk about HP, talk about books, buy books, sell books, sign books, and drink from a cup with my book's cover art! I spent a little time fangirling, and a lot of time sitting at the Story Spring Publishing table attempting to be a charming and helpful sales-type person. Special kudos to drinkingcocoa!

There was substantive talk, philosophical talk, and some paradigm shifting bits and pieces of canon lore and extra-curricular lore that have left me with no voice and a lot to think about.

Without further ado, thank you annietalbot, christev, keladry_lupin, arynwy, pir8fancierteddyradiator, and a host of others (including Teshara, Betz, Sarai) for making the weekend a memorable one.

Leviosa Las Vegas!

2016-04-23T01:08:17Z

The lovely annietalbot has agreed to room with me at Leviosa! I registered yesterday, and I'm so excited to be attending. The conference looks amazing. The programming tracks are so impressive. Besides, I'll get to meet teddyradiator and see keladry_lupin. ::bounce bounce::

Seasons and Thanksgiving

2015-11-25T18:20:26Z

I love watching the maple leaves change color in the autumn, even in Southern California. It's that true indication the weather is turning cooler (although not always by much). It was hot and dry last weekend, but this morning was quite cool. It's these transitional weeks where the temperatures vary by as much as forty degrees that I always seem to catch a cold. At least, I think I'll stave this one off until after the holiday, but not by much.

For everyone in the U.S., I hope you have a healthy and happy Thanksgiving, and for everyone else in the rest of the world, I hope it's a relatively uneventful and happy Thursday.

Saving a Death Eater

2015-07-25T17:14:39Z

This year's Writers' Camp was the most wonderful yet. The setting was gorgeous, the company exceptional, and our universal productivity unprecedented.

In rough draft I have completed 'Saving a Death Eater'! Twenty-three thousand words! That last chapter I envisioned ended up two chapters and an epilogue. There will be deletions, emendations, and additions as I tackle the revisions and polish in a couple of weeks. I need some distance from the furor of inspiration to look at it as objectively as possible.

As usual, there are a couple of things I chose not to incorporate, and there will possibly be an additional scene, but that will happen on the rewrite.

I drank a lovely, bubbly Prosecco with my sisters-of-the-heart to celebrate. I was practically euphoric.

Next up ... 'The Summoning'

I've decided to complete it. The thirty pages of outline are spread across my dining room table waiting for me to incorporate all the scribbles, notes, and snatches of dialogue I had been considering. Aaaand, there's five thousand words of the next chapter languishing in the clouds for me to read.

I shall be a busy Bambu in the near future.

Trees

2015-03-18T19:43:37Z

Living in the valley as we do, our summers are brutal, and we've been looking for a shade tree for our front yard for a few years. The majority of trees in our neighborhood are deciduous, and I wanted greenery year round. A few months ago, we decided on a California Pepper tree. They're green year-round, they have pretty pink peppercorns, and delicate yellow blossoms. Their trunks have character, growing in interesting shapes with almost willow like foliage.

We found a tree we liked at a nursery a hundred miles south of us, but it was almost $1K to buy and have delivered. It was definitely WAY over budget, so we've continued to look since then.

Last weekend, in a moment of serendipity, we found our tree. Disappointed by our morning's jaunt to a nursery at the far end of the valley, we were driving home when we passed a nursery we'd never seen before. It was open, and I made UberGeek turn the car around. I'm so glad we did because we found our tree. It has character for a young tree, and a sweet spiral in the trunk. It was delivered this morning.

See:

Happy Anniversary to The Petulant Poetess

2015-03-12T15:20:28Z

It's ten years old! Amazing, and wonderful, and I'm unbelievably tickled to have been given this honor!

Writing and Editing

2015-02-21T23:26:11Z

The last three years have been so stressful my writing has been forced lower on my list of priorities. With that being said, it doesn't much look as if things will change terribly in the next few years which means I must figure out how to incorporate writing time amidst chaos.

The good news is that I'm working on a developmental read of a fantasy MS which is very intriguing, and I'm looking forward to working with the writer.

I've got an original short out to my betas and another one in the works. On that note, I owe mundungus42 an email (when I can physically get into my office, cause that's where most of my notes are).

I've scrapped about 25K of my suspense novel, realizing that it's mostly unusable backstory. It reminds me so much of my novel icon ::points:: where every one of those 25K words is the below surface part of the iceberg.

Otherwise, I've got MIL issues with her health which is increasingly delicate. Fortunately, my mom's in a much better place this year than last (which was six months of daily, then bi-daily, then bi-weekly assistance). I don't even want to discuss my knee injury -- there's nothing to say other than I still don't know if surgery is in my near future.

On the great news front, Son #1 and Son #2 are at the top of their classes and doing extremely well in their academic pursuits. Son #2s GF is very supportive and realizes he's looking at a doctorate in astrophysics. Son #1 has won another best-in-term accolade, and he's decided to take a public speaking class next term to handle having to make short acceptance speeches! Oh, to have such a need.

After six months worrying about UberGeek's company and its potential merger, the shoe has finally dropped. It's good news for now. There will be significant changes over the next year, but it looks very much as if he will continue to have his position. That's an enormous relief, especially as we reach that early retirement age when it's challenging to find a new job in the current marketplace, and we're far from ready financially to retire.

Whew.

I'm beginning to use my laptop over my lovely two-monitor, flat-screen set up in my beautiful office, but I need to keep my right leg elevated a lot (ick) so I'm settling into the couch and on the bed for more hours of the day than I'd like. But I feel 'connected' again, and that's a huge improvement!

Spring Has Sprung

2015-02-10T20:59:39Z

I realize it's still technically winter, but it's been eighty the last couple of days, and it feels more like full on spring. In fact, my Mexican Lime tree has both fruit and fresh buds concurrently, and this morning, I watched a Red-tailed Hawk lazily spiral above my garden for several minutes (long enough for me to settle into a chair and sip my hot ground chocolate.)

The holidays and beginning of this year have been so hectic, I did not realize how long it's been since I've posted to LJ. In fact, I've been doing a little pruning in terms of social media. I'm not at all a Twitter fan, yet I've succumbed to Facebook, both on a personal level and as an author. I've kept my author website, so far, but I'm even worse about posting there than I am to LJ. In an effort to streamline, I've actually decided to, and have, deleted my Lin Thornhill LJ account. While I don't post here as often as in the past, this LJ has long been my virtual home-from-home, and I can't really see myself giving it up even in the face of the perpetual trend toward sound-byte, stream-of-conscious social media.

Monday, Monday

2014-10-06T17:36:18Z

And I've been productive already.

It's going to be another scorcher today, so I was up at the crack of dawn (earlier really as it was still dark out). I made a double batch of my nut granola, cleaned the house, kissed the menfolk as they headed off to respective schools and professions. It's the first day of term for Eldest (who's made the honor roll for his last term's projects and grades -- as well as being named Best in Term for his Observational Art class,) and midterms for Younger (agonizing over tidal and synchronous orbits of the moon and earth for Astronomy.)

While Eldest was lugging his portfolio and art supplies to his Anatomy class, I headed out to the garden for some end of season cutting back and harvesting. We missed one of our cucumbers, and it's now easily a foot in length! I'll cut/slice it for a refreshing side for dinner tonight. Then I harvested a squash we've let harden to a gourd (we'll use the seeds next year).

UberGeek germinated so many peppers this year, we're having a bumper crop. I don't even eat them, so he gives them away to his colleagues!

And now it's 10:30 and I'm going to pay bills. Whew! After all this, I'll need a siesta!

So Sad

2014-08-12T03:25:28Z

For a couple of years, Robin Williams' office was directly below mine, and I saw him fairly often. He sent wine for Christmas and flowers on my birthday, and I remember once having a wonderful, long chat with his mom -- such an amazing woman. I am deeply saddened by his death. Our world has lost one of its best and brightest.

The Homeschool Journey

2014-07-17T15:57:45Z

For a variety of reasons including health issues, both our sons have been homeschooled from their middle school years onward. It has been a decision with both positive and negative consequences. I've grown to think children who start being homeschooled from kindergarten age have an advantage over children who must re-adjust to the non-school, do it yourself with guidance, sort of education. In the long run, however, we have sons who are later to bloom, a little less well-adjusted with their chronological peers than others but are excellently placed with cross-generational interaction, and who have followed their dreams while learning not to be swayed by peer pressure (it rolls off their backs for the most part.)

With that being said, as of yesterday afternoon, they are now both enrolled in four-year bachelor's programs in fields of their choice: Eldest in Game Art and Design, and Youngest in Science with a Physics minor. We are delighted to see them each pursue their own interests in ways that will lead to fulfilling careers in arenas which are driven by their passions.

Of course, we're suddenly quite a bit poorer on a monthly basis (regardless of grants and student loans, it's expensive!) We had thought Eldest would take another several months, but he targeted the Art School of his choice, and one which does the four-year academic route as well. Ultimately, we're very pleased, and I'm very glad that we stuck to our beliefs even in the face of many people who thought we were insane!

A Week of Writing

2014-07-13T01:28:33Z

It's been a remarkable week, and tonight subversa and juniperus coaxed me into drabbling. It's something I haven't done in AGES, but it was so much fun. I had forgotten how very much I enjoy focusing my thoughts into these hundred-word amuse bouches.

Michigan mosquitoes are pernicious; it's not that they're huge, rather there are so damned many of them. They've certainly made inroads into making me feel welcome; indeed, I have suckling little kisses all over my body! You know, the gift that keeps on giving (or should I say itching). At least, it's something to remember them by when it's time to leave.

In other news, I've been able to splash a new short story onto the page; it's rather wet and sloppy, but some judicious polishing and it will be ready for submission.

Happy Valentine's Day...

2014-02-15T00:56:06Z

...one and all!

You're most loved.

Northward Bound

2014-02-12T19:47:16Z

Packing today for a ten-day roadtrip tomorrow. The sons are driving with me and we'll meet up with UberGeek on Saturday. Then it's several days of house/property hunting. Our long-term plans have recently shifted to include Lady Voldemort who is increasingly frail. It's most probable she will be living with us in the nearish future. When next I see you Juni, I shall give you the biggest hug ever!

Bette Davis was right: 'old age ain't for sissies!'

In other news, we're still wrapping up the great aunts' estate. Those 18 days I had planned on last summer have rolled over into this new year, much to my dismay. Despite the heiress thinking we could dispense with sorting through ALL the books, we've done that very thing. Last week, Son #1 discovered a handgun in a hollowed out book.

Even though my estimates have proved wrong time and time again, I really think we're down to three or four more days of work after we return from our trip.

::crosses fingers::