Sleeping in a Barn - Almost

Well, it's not as big as barn, but it is pretty airy. My in-the-process-of-being-remodeled house, that is. I've got holes in the wall, remember. Big holes. And a new basement garage door that isn't hooked up to the electricity and won't stay down without a plank holding it there. And a new heat pump that is saving me big bucks on electricity because the duct work is in various stages of completion so it's not hooked up. My new front door lacks a window glass and my old front door has a three inch crack at the bottom. Like I said, airy. Like a barn.


Up till last night, the Kentucky weather had been cooperating with nice warm days and nights that didn't get all that cool. Things were fine. I could put up with the occasional gallinipper or big old fly that made it into the house. The dust from sawing out the plaster wall openings was thick enough to write a sonnet in, but at least it covered the dust already there. I did finally find my tea this morning in the boxes of stuff that I had to empty out of the cabinets, so I was good.


Good but chilly. And tonight is supposed to get even cooler. The weathermen are saying a possibility of scattered frost in places. Now frost outside is bad enough this time of the year, but frost on my hair sticking out of the covers is a whole different matter. Guess I'd better pull out the extra blankets.


Actually when I was a kid, I slept in a bedroom that received only a whiff of heat from time to time from the woodstove downstairs. I burrowed down in the featherbed and slept like a log. Woke up quick in the morning too when I had to put my feet out on that cold floor to get ready for school. You notice I didn't say bare feet. I had enough sense to wear socks to bed! But I guess I've gotten spoiled since then. Now my feet hit the nice warm carpet and the house is warm. At least it used to be before we decided to knock holes in our walls.


The new room is going to be great though. I'm enjoying it already and it's just walls and windows and roof. With lots of fresh air holes.


It was quiet here this weekend. Darrell was off singing up in Ohio somewhere. Nobody here but me and my computer. I'd hoped to really make a run on the new book, but naturally I hit a stubborn spot and the words came slowly. I did get past that spot, but there'll be more. I've got to get a year to pass in a couple of chapters. How about I say, And then it was fall. It snowed in the winter and warmed up in the spring and the Shakers enjoyed every season. Somehow I don't think that's going to work. But I've got to get something to work and soon.


I can see the end. I just haven't figured out how I'm going to get there without writing too many words. Sometimes I get too wordy. I'm sure none of you are surprised by that after you've read these blog entries. Hope you'll stick with me.


Oh yeah, and don't forget to post a comment or send an e-mail if you want to be in my book giveaway contest. I'll be drawing for a winner in a couple of weeks. I'm giving away an autographed copy of Virginia Smith's newest Sister to Sister book, Age before Beauty and a copy of my book, Summer of Joy. Then in June I'll start some giveaways for my new Shaker book, The Believer, due out in August. I had great news about it last week. It's going to get a spot in Wal-Mart's New Releases section. Who knows? My Wal-Mart here in town might even carry a copy. I've been told they've had it at times, but I've never seen it there. Maybe I don't shop at Wal-Mart enough. Truth is, I'd rather shop for books at a bookstore. Corinth Christian Bookstore in Frankfort has been kind to carry my books and let me do book launches in their store. We're hoping to do something special for the new book, The Believer. If we get it organized, I'll let you know what and when so that if you live close enough you can come be part of the fun.


Can you believe it? My mouse just quit working on this computer. Somedays are just like this, I guess. I'm hoping it'll wake up so I can get this posted. How do you wake up a mouse? Maybe you wave cheese under his nose. I'll bet you can come up with better lines than that, but I don't think cheese or anything else is going to work with this mouse.

P.S. I pounded on it and pleaded with it, but it wouldn't wake up. Just had to go find a new mouse.

Writing in the Midst of Chaos

How many of you have done remodeling in your houses while you're trying to live there? And work there? Believe me it's not the easiest thing to do. We're building on a room to accomodate our growing family. We tell people we're building a big room for one day a year when we celebrate Christmas with the kids. With nine grandkids and a grand dog and the mommies and daddies, things were beginning to get over full in our little house. You see we moved into this house when our kids were young. It was a starter house, but we built it on our farm and we've never wanted to move anywhere else. I think I've told you before that my roots go all the way to China and I'm attached to the place. The girl in my current book has something of the same problem. She's attached to her place, too, but things are making it hard for her. Me, I'm doing fine here and not anticipating any reasons to need to loosen my roots.

So the house was small but big enough for us when we moved in over thirty years ago. It had conveniences I'd never had and so we were very happy with the house. Then about twenty years ago, we added a second bathroom (a definite improvement) and an office for me. Before that I wrote at a desk in the kitchen. But having my own office with doors that closed was a fantastic blessing. Still is. My room has four big windows where I can look out on the fields and yard. But you know, when I get into my story, I don't see the trees and grass outside. I'm looking inward and it's only when I get stalled that I see the outdoors that's actually in front of my eyes.

So I love my office and it's a great place to work. But it has been wild around here this week with all the home improvements going on. Monday we had a convention of pickup trucks. I think there must have been ten in the driveway as plumbers, carpenters, electricians, heat & air workers all showed up to work. The contractor was knocking brick off the wall to get ready to cut holes in the side of the house. Trust me, that's not quiet work. Right outside my office window in the place of my usually peaceful view of trees and birds at feeders three men were putting in a new heat pump. I closed the blinds. That helped a little. Then they were moving around in the crawl space under my feet and talking about cutting new vent holes in my floor. Not exactly the most ideal atmosphere for writing on my book. But the deadline looms so I can't stop. I considered taking my laptop and going out to try writing in the car. I talked to a writer who says that's how she likes to write. But I think she was on the way places when she was doing that. With a driver, of course.

But I kept on keeping on and actually got some words out of my head and onto the page. I read a "how I do it" article once by a sci-fi writer. I can't remember which writer for sure, but he's written many, many books. Anyway, he said he could write with a crying child on his lap and that he had done that. I can't write with a crying child on my lap. I know that. I wouldn't even try. I'd be trying to get the baby to stop crying. But I have found out this week that I can write with some heat and air guys yelling back and forth at one another while they crawl around under my floor while saws are cutting through concrete and bricks are falling off the walls and hammers are hammering. That's something. And I'm going to do it again tomorrow. At least I'm going to give it my best shot.

If any of you have done remodeling, hope all the hammering is done now and you're enjoying your new and improved spaces. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy mine. Someday.