Spring Wrap Up: No Move
Winter wasn’t the best. My dog died. The house in NC had a deal pending for nearly 6 months. I kept hearing ‘any day now’ the entire time. I set writing aside to focus on getting rid of things, and rehabilitating my old prairie schooner (RV) so I’d be ready to roll when the time came.
The house finally sold. Right when I thought I’d be leaving Sanford, the new owner arrived and inviting me to stay and work on projects. That gesture has sparked one of the best creative phases ever! Since the sale of the house, I’ve been writing, playing music, building things, and dog training.
Writing: The Hill Beautiful
Spring began March 15 with a trip to Folley Beach, SC. to visit a girl there. Met her on a dating site called Plenty Of Fish. She was really nice and we had a great time, but it wasn’t a match. While I was there though, I got back to writing everyday. As part of my book project, I’m working on a short story that incorporates the writing techniques and devices of my book project. A sort of test drive if you will. So…
COMING SOON: The HIll Beautiful. I’ll post this short story in installments. I’ve fussed with this theme before, so if you think you know the story, I promise you that you don’t.
Music: Jus’ Right
Bob Fox, Paula Conley, Alicia Stone, Tim Glasson
After I returned from SC to Sanford, I got seriously involved in a quartet singing 4 part harmonies. I’ve never had such a good time playing music! Rehearsals have been serious business, but always fun— can’t remember laughing so much— and often we take turns cooking and have a nice dinner too.
Recently, we started performing at different venues: open mics mostly, but have also played in churches and a rest home. If you ever want to enjoy an appreciative audience, consider entertaining at a rest home (is that the right thing to call them these days?).
Work: Vinyl Siding
Back of house
Did my first vinyl siding project. Vinyl siding is pretty easy to work with. Most of the effort goes into preparation.
Rebuilding corner
Preparations began with the repair of rot and termite damage. The rot was plainly visible and was on the list of projects the bank wanted repaired right away.
I did the back wall which connects the original house with a large addition. The walls weren’t even and required furring strips to make the surface flush.
Needed furring strips to make wall flush
While prepping the back wall, I decided to fix what looked like a small area of rot. When opened, we found termite damage missed by the inspectors.
Ended up ripping it out and rebuilding the corner of the garage.
Don’t know how long vinyl siding lasts. Never thought of using it before, but it sure looks a lot better than what we started with!
Just needs gutters!
Summary: Life is good!
I’ve enjoyed some creative phases before— Texas comes to mind where I was working on neon and writing and building things. The time I spend up in Traverse City is always good. Spring 2010 in NC was good not only because I was having fun building things, but also enjoyed an intensely creative period of writing and music making!
Pulled the awning out of the scrap pile
