Last blog I wrote about some weirdness going on in my life. Part of the weirdness was that I would be speaking in Lake Placid, NY about being an author. That engagement has come and gone and I’m pleased with how it went. I spoke with another author, E. S. Curry, and we touched on our writing processes, thoughts and concerns about writing, and just what it’s like to be indie authors in general.
I don’t really have fears about speaking in public. I taught in a public school for 24 years, so that’s a lot of speaking in front of a lot of public. Also, over the years I have enjoyed performing in school, community, and, on occasion, even some professional theater. So being in front of people is no big deal. However, when teaching I always knew exactly what I was going to say and what lesson I wanted to get across. In a play, you have your lines and stage directions memorized. In the author talk last week it was more free form. I knew the topics, but it was a bit more loosey goosey for me to feel 100% at ease. That said, I think we both did well and were able to address audience questions in a relatively coherent manner.
I now have more weirdness on my plate. Actually, it was there prior to my last blog post but I didn’t mention it. We are having some renovations done at home. My wife and I decided after way too many years that the time had come to renovate our bathroom and have another one put in our basement. The plan was the basement bathroom gets built and while the original bathroom is being torn apart and renovated, we use the new one. That’s how it’s been working out. But, as many of you know who have had similar work done, the estimated timeline gets streeeeetched. It’s hardly the end of the world, but it’s inconvenient as hell. Our basement, like many basements, has been a catchall for all sorts of crap that we probably should have gotten rid of years ago. And now some of the crap-occupying space down there is being taken up with the new bathroom. Consequently, our stuff is piled everywhere under a layer of dust that is also a byproduct of renovations. I am hopeful this experience will nudge us into jettisoning much of what we really don’t need. Like I said, I’m hopeful, but I’m not confident.
And the original upstairs bathroom that is being renovated? Oh, boy. The impetus behind all the work was that my wife wanted a deep tub she could soak in. I won’t lie; I plan on making use of it, too. Our current tub–actually I can’t call it current because currently it, and the shower around it, sit in pieces in a dumpster parked in my driveway. Our previous tub was rather short and narrow. Not very comfortable at all. So, a nice, new, soaker tub is in the offing. Also, we, and by we I mean of course my wife, wanted a new vanity, tiling, ceiling, etc. We originally planned for a separate shower, as well, but there’s just not enough space. We’re in no position to start knocking down walls for extra square footage, not if we want to keep the marriage intact. The original vanity is in the basement bathroom, the tub and shower are in the dumpster, the linen closet has been demolished and…we have a toilet. Period. We don’t have walls or a ceiling, or even much in the way of a floor, but for the moment, we have a toilet. Soon it too will find its way to the dumpster and we’ll replace it with a super-duper, state-of-the-art one. I mean, isn’t that everyone’s dream? A toilet that looks like it belongs on the Starship Enterprise?
So excuse me if I’m a bit brief this week. Hopefully by next blog…
I texted the above photo to my brother in New Mexico and he replied, ‘Very rustic. How Adirondack.’ Nailed it.
