Monday Thoughts

Me, by August 31

It's been a chaotic month-book release, major remodeling, writing, birthday, kids going back to school, etc. The paint fumes and other fumes from remodeling my kitchen gave me migraines most days. My house is a complete and total disaster, boxes stacked in corners, furniture shoved wherever, stuff torn up and shifted around. But, and it's a big one, the job is almost done. I've wanted to rip out my kitchen for years. I finally did it. And I couldn't be happier about the results. I *love* my new kitchen.

Now to put the rest of the house back together. We're repainting part of the dining area, the part that wasn't affected by the kitchen remodel. Once that's done, we're turning it into an office space for me and a homework space for the kids. With a couple of desks and the printer stand and maybe a cabinet for office supplies, it will be a great space.

The tv viewing area has moved to the family room I repainted last November. We splurged on a flat screen and wifi enabled Blu-ray player so we can watch Netflix together. It's working well so far. That family room has become the media room, with the tv stuff, wii, and computers.

Now on to the last remodeling project for a while: the master bedroom. The carpet needs to go away, along with the popcorn ceiling. Once we're done with that...

No, no more remodeling for several months, at least.

My writing? Ha! I signed up for CampNanowrimo for August. It pushed me to write quite a bit and finish up a novel that is not science fiction and not related to the series I'm publishing. But it's rough, very rough. Lots of editing ahead of me on that one. But it's airships and elves and magic in Fairyland. Even if it never makes it to the light of day, I had fun writing it.

What have you been up to this month?

Kitchen Check-In

Amidst the excitement of a book release, getting kids back to school, finding out I'm temporarily unemployed for a couple of months, and just life in general, I'm still tickled pink over my new kitchen. We now have a working sink, dishwasher, stove, and microwave! Only the tile backsplash, lights, and cupboard doors are left to go in. A few more days of work, and my brand-new shiny kitchen will be finished. I'm so happy with it. I love the new layout, the really big deep sink, the expanse of countertop, the extra tall cupboards, all that open space. They even managed to save the floor and re-install it.

Here's the latest pictures:

Look! Countertops!

My new buffet area. I'm so excited for this.

Not the kitchen, but check out this bad boy we bought. Bigger than any tv we've ever owned.

Appliances installed! And bonus, the stove sings...

My grandson, eating a banana. Silly monkey boy.

Chaos is the New Normal and Book Release Prize Ideas?

Chaos is the new normal at my house. We're not talking usual levels of chaos. We're talking over-the-top, total chaos. But chaos is a good thing, for a while. It means changes are happening, big ones.

One I'm tickled pink over is the release of the next book in my Altairan Empire series - Priestess of the Eggstone. It's happening Friday. You can be part of the fun. Just stop by here Friday afternoon between 3-8 pm MST for a chance to win some fun prizes. If you're in a different time zone and it's the middle of the night, stop by earlier. I'll have a general post up Thursday and if you comment, I'll enter you to win some of the goodies.

I need your help. I need suggestions of party prizes you'd like to win. Keep in mind I'm spending all my extra cash on kitchen remodeling, but I can find a few bucks to sponsor this party. What prizes would you like to win? Free books are a no brainer. I'll be giving away some ebooks of Nexus Point, book 1 in the series, and at least one paperback copy of Priestess of the Eggstone. What else? Gift certificates? Nifty space toys? Other SF books? An old avocado green kitchen sink? Crocheted Cthulhu cat toys with jingle bells inside? Obsidian copies of the Eggstone? Please post comments and let me know. Everyone who does will be entered in the grand prize drawing Friday night. Make sure you leave me a valid email address so I can get hold of you.

Now for fun, here's before pics of my kitchen and its current state:

Nervous Butterflies

Today is the day we start ripping our kitchen apart. WOOT! I'm excited. I hate those stupid cabinets that bash me in the head every time I cook.

And in two weeks, Priestess of the Eggstone will start shipping! To tease you, here's a blurb and excerpt:

Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

But that’s exactly what she’s got.

She didn’t realize she was smuggling when she accepted the courier job. Now Targon wants her for stealing the shipment and the Patrol wants to arrest her. The Sessimoniss want their god back. And Jerimon’s aunt is planning their wedding.

She doesn’t know which scares her most.

Priestess of the Eggstone: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2 by Jaleta Clegg
http://journal-store.com/bookstore/priestess-of-the-eggstone/
http://www.jaletac.com

Excerpt:

We rounded the last big moon into clear space. I checked the nav program one last time, to make sure we were headed the right direction before we jumped. The chatter of local pilots was steady as a background noise that dissolved into static as we passed into the moon's shadow. The ship lurched, then slowed, the engines whining.
I flipped switches, trying to find the problem. Jerimon pushed the thrusters all the way to the stops. The engine whine rose in pitch. The ship shuddered. The emergency lights flashed. Warnings hooted through the ship.
"Shut it down!" I yelled over the noise.
Jerimon stubbornly tried to pull more power from the engines. His face was pale and his chin set as he goosed the throttles. I reached across the controls to slam the switches off. Jerimon slumped in his chair, hands over his face. The engines spun down. The alarms shut up, all except one. It was a quiet, insistent beeping with a single, flashing red light.
I checked the screen, then muttered a bad word at the unknown vessel showing on the scans. "Who'd be using a tractor beam out here?"
The ship was bigger, but that didn't mean much. Anything was bigger than my ship. The scanners didn't show any ID traces from the other ship.
"Does it look like pirates to you?" Pirates weren't uncommon in this sector but Rucal had a major Patrol station out beyond the moons. What pirate would be stupid enough to operate under the Patrol's nose?
I knew of at least one, but he was in prison. I scowled at the screen. In a few moments, I wouldn't need the scanner. I could just look outside.
Jerimon dropped his hands to his lap, staring bleakly at the monitor. If he didn't know who was on that ship, I'd eat my socks—the ones I'd been wearing for three days without washing because I hadn't found the time.
"Who are they and why are they dragging us in?"
Jerimon shook his head, eyes locked on the approaching ship. He gripped the chair so hard his knuckles went white.

Gearing Up

August is almost here. Life is going to get very interesting. And very, very busy. The rest of July is booked solid. I'm going on a pioneer trek. Yep, dress up like a pioneer and pull handcarts and learn what those pioneers went through to emigrate to Utah. It's a Mormon thing. I don't have to walk the 36 miles, though. My husband and I are responsible for driving the water truck for them. No, this isn't authentic pioneer re-enactment. We don't want kids dying on the trek. I'll be out of touch for several days. I'll have to post a report when I return.

As soon as I'm back from that, I get to do food for the last camp of the summer season for the space center. Wow, that went by quick. That's eleven summers in the school kitchen, feeding Starfleet officers.

As soon as I'm home from that camp, we pack up our kitchen. Next Monday, we start dismantling cabinets. YES!!! I'm getting a new kitchen. I'm so thrilled about it. Not about losing my kitchen for a month. That will get fun with 8-10 people living here, depending on the day and week. We're cooking in a microwave, toaster, and crockpots when we cook. Dishes get done in the bathtub or on the deck in buckets. We're going to contribute to the landfill with paper dishes as much as possible. But when it's done, I will have a wonderful kitchen that works better for our family. I'll make sure I do before, during, and after photos for you.

I'm not done yet. I'm signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo for August. I've got to get writing longer works again. It's great therapy and with my kitchen torn apart, I'm going to need something besides cooking for therapy.

School starts in August, too. I've got two high-schoolers and two elementary school students to get prepped.

And finally (at least I hope that's the end of my scary list), Priestess of the Eggstone officially releases August 10. WOOT!!! Preorders are open now. 

Things I decided might push me over the edge if I kept them on my list?

SpoCon. I just can't make a trip to Spokane for a convention, not this year. I'm sad. SpoCon is a lot of fun. Anyone want to buy two memberships from me? Just drop me a line and include your email.

Cooking. No kitchen. 'Nuff said.

Sewing. Well, maybe not. Depends on whether my daughter cleans her laundry out of the room so I can get inside. It's nice to do when I get stuck in my book. Keeps my hands busy while my brain figures out how to get out of the corner I just wrote myself into.

I'd love to add cleaning the house, but if I ignore it for a month, I will be even worse. Have to keep some semblance of order.

What are you planning to do in August?

Another NaHoImMo Update

It's almost the end of November. NaNoWriMo is almost over. That's write-a-novel-in-a-month, a goal of 50,000 words written. Hats off to those who attempted it. Big hurrahs to those who finished.

I did write a short story or two, but most of my month has been eaten up by home improvement projects. Here's the latest update on the state of my family room.

See the pretty walls? Only the one above my new countertop is blue. The others are a lovely shade of green. You can see the new cabinet pulls, too. We just have cleanup and the trim above the counter left. I think I'm going to put 3/4 round glass shelves in the corner. What do you think?

Yes, that is sunshine on the cabinet. I've got blinds to replace in the room when I'm done painting and cleaning. Anyone like to wash windows? I might even pay you more than just cookies to do it.


Any takers? No?

See? No ugly holes or markings or stains or other things on my lovely walls. The baseboards are back in place and the wood floor has been scrubbed and refinished, but I haven't taken pictures of it yet.

This wall is mostly prepped for painting but we need to move more furniture and stuff and get the carpet taped off and covered. The family room is an L-shape. So far, I've just been working on the hard wood and cabinet end of the room.

We have to move a tv and some sitting furniture. The wii has already been banished to the living room for now. The desk and computer will move into the finished half. My office, what's left of it, will move there, too. It's mostly files of paperwork and my shredder. Most of my office is on my computer and virtual. Yay for progress.

This is a corner I haven't touched yet. See what I've been dealing with? Country wallpaper, partially shredded by one of our cats; holes caused by children; clutter caused by lots of things. The cabinet was made by my husband from scrap lumber, mostly old waterbed frames. It houses all sorts of weird knickknacks that mostly need to get used for target practice but I don't have the emotional energy to make those decisions right now. Later...

This is Sasha, enjoying the sunshine and the view. I love this corner of the room - floor to ceiling windows facing south and west. I'll have to post pictures once we get the walls done.

We still need to have a stripper party and finish stripping the wallpaper off.









Other things I've finished - I now have a chocolate colored front door with a nice clean coat of peach on the inside. It even includes new hardware. My kitchen cabinets are getting new handles, a few at a time. I still need to scrub them down and see what we can do to make them look great without having to repaint or refinish them. I made a whole pile of burp towels for a new great-niece and my grandson who isn't quite here yet. I cut out valance curtains for my living room. I'm almost out of projects that I have materials for. Must be time for another home improvement shopping spree. What next? Flooring for the entryway, downstairs mud room, and laundry room? Sounds good to me.

NaHoImMo UpDate

Now I'm stuck doing the weird Capitalization in the MiDdle of WorDs. Looks BiZarRe.

Enough of that. Update on my projects, for those who care.

Countertop is mostly finished, just needs scrubbed one last time. Right now it's covered with paper because I'm painting walls. I've got the blue up, working on the pale green around it. We spent Saturday moving furniture and dejunking and sorting and removing. My living room is so empty. One big chair, one smaller chair, a table, several bookcases, and the piano. Desk and office are gone. Half the books are boxed and stored. It looks very big now.

See the ugly chandelier? It's gone now.

See the pretty replacement? Just turn your head sideways or your monitor. I'm being lazy about pictures today.

Is your head still sideways? Good. This is the tree by my driveway.

Leaves in the driveway. I may have to print and frame this.

The last rose of summer, wait, autumn. It's almost winter. *sigh*

DYI NaHoImMo Update

I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year. It just wasn't in the cards, not with everything else I have going on. So, I'm doing NationHomeImprovementMonth (I made it up but feel free to join in).

Here's my update on the tile countertop. More pics next week with the next stage.

Naked particle board sporting a new coat of paint

This was the easy part to install - mosaic sheets of little tiny tiles.

This is the border. If only I'd known before I started...

All installed and grouted, just waiting for paint on the trim.

The tile has iridescence and/or glitter. Love it!

Instead of writing...

This blog was supposed to be about writing - the struggles and craft and excitement. But how can I write about that when my writing has stalled? My second book is in the hands of the editor and publisher; on hold for almost a year now. My stories are coming out in anthologies, but I don't have a lot of new ones in the pipeline. I'm having health issues and family stress which both cut out writing time. And the last straw - all the home improvement projects that have gone from "someday" to "the next three months".

Saturday, I finally had all the materials to tackle a project that has been begging to be done since we moved in over 17 years ago. Our family room has a counter and cabinets but no countertop, just a slab of particle board. I found some beautiful glass tiles online and decided I could tackle it myself. Tiny tiles need no cutting, or so I decided. I'm not sure what I was thinking.

It was supposed to take three, maybe four, hours. Ten hours later, I had the tile down. A couple rows are a bit crooked. I'm hoping grout will hide some flaws. Yep, still needs grout and trim painted and installed. Another couple hours, I'm guessing.

But, I HAVE A COUNTERTOP IN THE FAMILY ROOM THAT IS NOT PARTICLE BOARD! And I love it. The colors are beautiful.

I've also learned that 3/4" tile should be left on the mosaic tile backing. Much easier to put in and keep straight. But then I couldn't have done the random color border, which ate up my entire afternoon.

Instead of writing, I've been learning how to install tile. As long as no cutting is involved, it is pretty easy. With the cool installer mats I found, it's also pretty clean and messless.

Pictures to come after I finish the project.