I Can Breathe Again

Yes, my post titles have been passive aggressive hints that it's been lonely in here all by myself. Finally! Wendy posted and cleared a few of the strangling cobwebs away.

The heat pump saga appears to be resolved. We have the vents balanced enough so the front of the house to back of the house temperature difference appears to be two degrees. We'll keep working on that. The drain is clear, but still needs to be moved to it's final location (we haven't been here, and I think the guys are still swamped, so it's not a big deal. If you ask me, it can wait until the attic is no longer 100 degrees -- but maybe before the outside temperature is uncomfortable.

I enjoyed the swap meet. I think Mr. L did, too. We didn't make as much money as last year, but we paid for our spaces and split the remainder between us. We earned enough to pay for next year's spaces, too, so that's not bad. More importantly, stuff we didn't need any more found a new home.  Surprisingly, two old cell phones went for $2, and my 3G MiFi sold for $3. The dog house found a new home for $20. The guy that runs the detail shop behind our shop gave Mr. L a new lawn mower blade and a Holley carb. Both sold, so we'll be able to give him some money.

The dark kitten is available for adoption. When I dropped Rossie off for the weekend, she was huddled in a cardboard box house they'd made for her. I asked them to open the space between her and Rossie's cages. If the two can form a bond, and she doesn't get adopted by the time we get back from Hershey, I'll bring her home.  I'll talk to Dr. Val on Monday. Maybe I'll do it before then, but Dr. Val rightly thinks we have too many cats, so we'll see.

I did not dig sticker burs or mow the lawn last week. I did some watering. I did my pool work at the motel. I rode the bike for 30 minutes at level 2, so that's getting better. I'm experiencing some periodic sharp pains in my new knee. It feels like nerves regenerating. The right knee is giving me problems at night, and I've put a compression sleeve on for the last two nights. That has helped some.

Once I figure out the channels that work on the Roku, it works pretty well. Some channels are easier to work with than others. Getting things set up is time consuming and tedious. Once it's done, I think I'll be able to forget the pain.

Got some feedback on Granite Hill and a good explanation for why it's a character sketch instead of a story as well as why my format won't work for this idea. I am so slow to learn this stuff. It's frustrating. But the feedback should be helpful for helping me plan the series. I'll keep working on it.

Mr. L has to make a trip to San Antonio this week. I don't think I'll have to go with him. I hope to get some stuff done here. 

The Week Ahead:

• Unload trailers
• Pool and bike
• Do some stuff around the house
• Pay bills
• Work on Granite Hill

Where is...

My wise hubby has banished me to my upstairs garret with a piece of cake, a cup of decaf, and orders to write something, so here I am. I can't find anything. I'm tired, work drama keeps flaring up, and I only have half a weekend this week. I'm supremely grateful to have that. Until one of the gals stepped up, I was going to be working every day. It's getting old, but the shop would fold if I left. I'm the only person consistently dependable. There has been progress, though. I got the green light to start interviewing people, and I've hired three newbies since Saturday. Hopefully they'll be at least as good as I think they're going to be and I can get my life back.

It feels like so long ago that we got back from Scotland, which was every bit as beautiful and magical as I thought it would be. It was like being in a postcard for 10 days. The Edinburgh Tattoo exceeded out expectations and made the trip (and dealing with the thousands of people who attended) worthwhile. Apparently, they have different groups every year. This year they had the USAF Drill Team and the Citadel (our Citadel, from South Carolina--remember Shannon Faulkner?) Marching Band. The Citadel had bagpipes in their group and played Rocky Top, which caused me to fan girl all over Eric. He was confused because he doesn't listen to bluegrass and had no idea what the song was! There was a moment our first morning there when I was looking out our B&B window at Loch Leven when all the stress of the previous months disappeared. I felt it leave. Best vacation ever. Scotland is never coming off the bucket list.

I think we're all moved into the Cozy Wee Bungalow. I need to make one more trip through the apartment to make sure Eric didn't miss anything. He's done a large portion of the grunt work on this move. I was working (of course) when the movers got our stuff to the house, so I missed the headboard drama. The 5' solid wood headboard we've had for over 10 years would NOT come up the stairs. That scuttled our room plan. Instead of bedrooms upstairs and offices downstairs, we have one on each floor. Our (now) old bed will become a guest bed. We bought a new bed with a low headboard for our bedroom, and we'll put the mattress set on the bed downstairs. For the first time, I have a slanted ceiling office. It's rather charming if I do say so myself. When I get the boxes unpacked we'll have to Skype so I can show you around. It's going to be a while, though. The furries are settling right in. Ryan is still unsure about the steps going to the second floor because they're hardwood, but everyone is running up and down the carpet-runnered basement stairs. They love the windows and the new smells that come through them.

So now it's past 9 on my Friday/Saturday night, but I still have to be up early. No rest for the weary. I'm heading for bed. Hopefully a day off and some retail therapy will do the trick.

Strangled by the Cobwebs

The heat pump install went well, except when they hooked up our thermostat, it quit working right, so I'm going to have to have them come back and check it, then we may need to have them use their non-programmable thermostat, which would be quite the bummer.

We're getting ready to head to Giddings to set up at the swap meet next weekend. If all we took was what we loaded onto the trailer today (plus the tables we forgot to load first, which we'll fix later in the week), we'd be fine, but we want to load bulky stuff on the 16' trailer as well. Rossie will be boarding with Dr. Valeri and the rest of the cats will be partying at the house.

The dark gray kitten is at the clinic recovering from an illness, then she'll be available for adoption. Walter has had his annual exam and shots and is back outside. Junior is too jumpy to get near after all the trapping and stuffing into carriers, but we'll continue to work with him.

I have the Roku3 installed and am learning it's quirks. It's a royal pain to add a channel. Once the channel is added (enter a code on a website or enter an email address and maybe a password, and finally, if it's a channel we access via DirecTV, I have to log in there and get validated). I haven't mentioned this to Mr. L yet, because I want to see if it's useful (maybe he could use it on a garage TV, for instance, because I think the WiFi reaches out there). At this point, he'd have thrown it across the room. With force. There are a lot of things to choose from. The Amazon Prime stuff works well. I've started watching 18 To Life on TubiTV. I guess it's a sitcom about two 18 year-olds who decided to get married as a result of a truth or dare game. (on the Best of British channel) I guess the lesson is, if you want to have TV a la carte, there's some hassle that goes with it.

I continue to work on Granite Hill. I like the possibilities this series holds.

The Week Ahead:

• Get thermostat problem resolved
• Pool and bike
• Granite Hill
• Dig sticker burs
• Mow Lawn
• Swap meet preparation and set up

Whistling Into the Wind

And I can't whistle.

Been an interesting week. I may have backslid a little, because I only went to the pool once (electing to take care of the air conditioning problem on Monday instead of going to the pool) and rode the bike once. Mostly, I'm feeling okay. The front AC unit for upstairs is dead (compressor locked up), moving our priority for the new system up to Tuesday - Friday for the install. Mr. L found a working window air unit at the shop (one of three units he found there -- not bad) and installed it in the front bedroom window on Friday morning. It works.

I did a little watering for the yard and no mowing. The yard looks a little ragged, but it's too dry and crispy to really mow it. We're keeping the St. Augustine, the baby pecan tree, the peach tree, and the fig tree watered. Everything else fends for itself. Earlier in the week, the pears were not ripe enough to pick. I'll have to check them again.

Rossie is moving about the parlor more while I'm working. Unless I turn to look at her in a way that causes my chair to creak, then she scampers back to behind the cage.  She runs out to greet Ajax when we let him in the room -- and has tried to play with him. She and Lady have coexisted for several hours in the room together. She seems ready for interaction with other cats, so my goal now is to have other cats in the room to give them time to interact peacefully. Rossie is not running from Lady like she was before, which means Lady has no interest in chasing.

We had a set back with the outside cats when Mr. L tried to stuff Junior in a carrier, but they're still coming around. I picked Walter up today, and he didn't like that much either. We'll keep working with them. The dark gray kitten scoffs at my trap. I put an entire can of Fancy Feast on newspaper in it yesterday afternoon and by the time I shut the trap down before bed last night, someone had eaten it all without tripping the trap. I put more in today. Tomorrow night I put my shingle in again, so when the perpetrator steps in to eat the food, he or she will trip the trap. I anticipate a kitty in the trap tomorrow night, but we'll see. I could be foiled again.

Doc is happy with my hand. He confirmed I'm not doing my knee until April and offered an injection to tide me over if necessary. The new knee is getting tired of doing all the work.

After doing some research and discussing it with Stephen, I sprang for a Roku3 box, which should arrive on Tuesday.

The Week Ahead:

• Pool and bike work
• Yard work
• Keep up with blog posts
• More work on Granite Hill
• AC installation

Talking to Myself

Wendy is prowling the hills and dales of Scotland, Tammy is basking in hubby smooches and other such hardships of life, and Stephen is chasing mosquitoes, so I imagine I'm blabbering to myself. That's okay. I do that anyway.

I got two pool visits in, and it really helps. I got two bike rides in, and I had to go to level 2 to get the proper resistance for both knees. Prior to surgery, I'd only been able to use level 1.

I didn't mow this week. Everything's so dry, I don't want to bother the grass. We have watered the St Augustine to keep it healthy. Same for a baby pecan tree we're encouraging, Ms. Peach, and Mr. Fig.

We ordered, received, and installed the missing parts for our "new" lawn tractor. They were all cosmetic, but it's nice to have it complete.

I've been working on Granite Hill series preparation. One huge "success" for the week was nailing done the scope of Book 1 and working on identifying series themes.

Rossie is making incremental progress. That time she spent so much time in my arms was a fluke -- I think she was more afraid to get down with Sneaky in the room than she was to stay with me. The real successes we've seen is she sits up to be petted by us when we approach her, and she's eagerly wanting to come out of the cage when we open it for her to have time in the parlor. Today, I insisted upon petting her before letting her out, and she agreed.

I'm trying to let her out when I'm working on the computer. I've noticed her moving around the room more when she doesn't think I'm watching. If we have Tarzan or Ajax in the room, she will eagerly approach them and ask for attention. Unfortunately, after cursory sniffs, they generally ignore her. It's so sad to see this poor cat begging for attention. I know it can't compare to the pain a parent must feel when their child has social troubles, but it seems like a similar situation on a smaller scale. Rossie does appear to be learning to be a cat again, and that is encouraging.

The three primary outside cats are a hoot. Junior is very vocal in the morning about wanting his Fancy Feast. Sneaky makes sure she's on the porch waiting for her share, and Walter is always on the ductwork peeking around the brick porch supports when we appear at the side porch steps in the morning with three cans of Fancy Feast. I've managed to coax Walter off the ductwork and to eat from the dish between my feet as I sit on the edge of the side porch steps. He seems to welcome petting as much as the Fancy Feast. He still needs to learn to keep his claws in when trying to interact with us, though. Mr. L has been able to pet Junior with both hands but only while he's chowing down on Fancy Feast. Walter will come to be petted even after the food is gone. Sneaky will attack them both, given the chance, so it's fair to say she's the Alpha Cat out there.

We attended the foreclosure auction for the property we're interested in. We were relieved that only us and the guy who was foreclosing on the property showed up. He bid the exact amount on the loan to regain control and title of the property. Since he was the lender, he didn't have to have cash. The trustee is going to take care of ensuring the paperwork is done to return legal ownership to him and she's going to ensure there's a clear title on the property. Once that is done, she's going to draw up papers to sell the property to us. It's a cash sale, so the owner will know he's done with the property, and we'll become landlords and have a fenced place to store the motor home and several trailers (currently stored at the ranch). We know and like the man who owns the detail shop and vehicle inspection station operating from the building on the property, and we want his business there.  He's relieved, because once he found out about the foreclosure, he didn't know if someone was going to come in and tell him to get out. 

Friday, two of three A/C units popped breakers. The upstairs unit appeared to be working when the breakers were reset, but it wasn't doing any heat exchange, so we've shut it down. Unfortunately, it's the unit that services the front bedrooms, so we've been sleeping in rooms that are in the high 80s temperature wise, cooling overnight to 80 degrees by morning. The new heat pump is supposed to be installed beginning on Monday, but they've delayed installation twice before due to their backlog of work. I'll be heading over bright and early Monday morning to make sure we're on their schedule this week -- either for the install or to take a look at the old unit to see if it can be revived (they've jury-rigged an over-temp switch on the unit that I suspect tripped when the breakers blew, and it may need to be reset). Thankfully, the downstairs unit resumed proper function when I reset the breakers. I took that opportunity to change all the filters as well (they were due).

I bought train tickets and made rental car reservations to visit my folks in Wisconsin for the last week of October. I want to begin spending a couple of weeks a year with them, maybe helping out with stuff around the house, and definitely just hanging out and doing stuff with them.

The Week Ahead:

• Pick pears (not ripe yet as of Sunday night)
• Yard work
• Keep up with blog posts
• Work on Granite Hill
• Follow up for hand surgery
• Eye appointment at VA
• Pool and bike work
• Hope the A/C install begins this week. If not, they need to come fix the old unit.

Wendy, I know your trip has been incredible. Looking for a safe trip home and getting the move completed. Tambo, you are wracking up the miles with SPORE promotion. Awesome job. Stephen thanks for your thoughts on that story I was looking at for someone else.  Have a wonderful week.

Country Song Played Backwards

You know the old saying about a country song played backwards? You get the girl, the dog, and your truck back? That's kind of how this week went. You may recall my brand new iMac wouldn't wake from sleep. I reinstalled the original memory in preparation for taking it to San Antonio for the Apple Store to work on it, but once I did that, I couldn't replicate the wake from sleep problem. I left the iMac in Central Texas. When we returned from San Antonio, I reinstalled the memory upgrade I bought, and the iMac is working fine.

Last week, my Logitech Bluetooth keyboard quit pairing with my iPad and iPhone. It wouldn't pair with my iMac either, but it was acting like a key was stuck, but I couldn't find any stuck keys. I let it sit for a few days, and it worked today. The keyboard case doubles as a stand for the iPad or iPhone. The support folds inside the case. I think I put the keyboard in backwards, so the support was resting against the keys. That pressure may have resulted in several keys sticking. Since I hadn't used the keyboard for several months, it took awhile for the keys to let loose once the pressure had been removed. At least, that's my theory. The good news is, the keyboard is fine.

We finished front yard work and watering in San Antonio. We're watering and preparing to mow here in Central Texas.

We're continuing to work with Sneaky, Junior, Rossie, and Walter. We've seen improvements with all of them. Incremental things, but noticeable. Sneaky is playing less hard to get. Junior is approaching us more readily. Rossie allows us to approach her outside the cage, she's attempting to interact with a Ajax and Tarzan, she sat in the middle of the room and groomed herself for a couple minutes today before returning to her favorite place behind the cage, and she leans toward us when we reach to pet her. Walter made an appearance on the ductwork this morning and wanted his Fancy Feast. After he finished eating, he hung around, probably wanting more, but during that time I was able to brush the top of his head. I don't know how to say this, but if Walter were a human, he'd be a studly movie star, and I'd be swooning at his feet. He's that gorgeous of a cat.

In writing news, I regretfully have decided to place Polar Bear on the Loose on the back burner for now. I've been completely unproductive on it for four months, and I think I've identified part of the problem. It's become too much like an extreme animal rights person is writing the story, and that's not me, and I don't want anyone to think it is. It's an ethical matter for now, and until I wrap my mind around it, I'm not going to make any progress. What I am going to do is begin planning the Granite Hill series.

The Week Ahead:

• Begin gathering items for the Giddings Swap Meet at the end of the month. Ensure everything is priced.
• Get two pool sessions in for knee therapy
• Attend the auction for the property we're interested in.
• Mow and water
• Keep up with blog posts
• Spend at least an hour per day on Granite Hill planning (track with TimeSheeter)
• Plan up to eight more short stories
• Continue working with the cats.
• Begin riding recumbent bike at least two days a week

Out

We are all packed. It only took me 5 tries and one suitcase more than I wanted to get it the way I wanted. All the details are ironed out. I have a few more chores to do to get the apartment ready for the cat nanny. It both simplifies and complicates things to have a live-in house sitter, but I'm grateful to have found her.

The house closing was almost anti-climatic after all the drama of the last month. It's the first time the sellers were in the room with us and physically handed the keys over. The guy who did the work is a contractor, so we'll contact him later when we're ready to build a deck. We're also trying to figure out how and where to build an outdoor cat enclosure. The furries have gotten used to being able to go out on the balcony, so I'd like to get them some outside time without losing them. The chain link fence isn't going to keep them contained, and I'm not sure the city allows privacy fences.

We moved 3 loads of stuff to the house. I did 2 by myself. It goes way faster with 2 people. We met the next-door neighbors on one side of us last night. They have 3 little kids (grade school/pre-school age). I'm pretty sure the family on the other side has kids about the same age, so I might get a little grandma training. :-) The movers come for the furniture and a few boxes on the 15th. (We get back around noon the 11th.) I think they will make things way easier and will be worth the extra expense. The good part about having moved some stuff on my own already is I have the route more or less down. We took 2 cars out there Thursday night so we could leave the van in the garage, and Eric took a wrong turn, which almost never happens, so I got to the house a few minutes before he did. It kinda made my day.

Things are finally coming together. Right now, today, the drama has all be worth it. Thanks for putting up with my anxiety.