My progress report for last week was a bit long for a social media post, so I decided to do it here. As you can see, construction on the utility shed is complete. We mostly finished it last weekend, but decided to put up some lattice on the side and back to neaten it up a bit. We're thinking about pouring concrete out there, but that will be a project for another day. While on lumber, we decided to stick with lumber, and finish the deck project before moving on that.
The deck is still progressing. We did a good bit of work last week after work on days when weather permitted and made good progress. Unfortunately, there were a couple of setbacks. The biggest was that we couldn't find the banister clips we needed. We got the ones for the first phase at Home Depot, but remembered why we swore to never Never NEVER shop there again when we went back to get more. Not only did they not have them (they obviously haven't restocked since we bought the clips for that first part of the project, back in late April) but they claimed they didn't know what we were talking about and had never heard of such a thing. We tried to use the clips sold at Lowes, but they didn't match up and, as a result, wouldn't line up with the work we've already done. There's no way we're taking down nearly 2 months worth of work over banister clips, so we just removed the clips and had to nail the banister and stair rails directly into the deck posts. Not an ideal solution, but those clips were becoming a time consuming problem, so instead of continuing to fight it, we bypassed it. But there were a few other little things: neither store had banister rails like we used, and we were short on a few things to complete some detail work on the deck. So the good news is that the major construction work is done, so hopefully the Friday night lumber runs and weekend marathon workdays are in the past (I fervently pray they are!). But we do have a few more things to attend to before it's really and truly done. Soon, I hope, and we'll share pictures of the deck when it is. We do need to wrap it up. It's already hot out there, and it's just getting worse, especially with the humidity. I wouldn't be surprised if we started breaking 100 degrees here again soon, and there's no way you can go out and work in that.
So that's good, and as a reminder, don't waste your time at Home Depot. They need to change their slogan from "you can do it, we can help," to "you can do it, despite our poor stock and incompetence (especially if you keep going up the road to Lowes to get your stuff there instead)."
I'm glad the DIY work is winding down , because "crunch time" has come at work. The first of two June deadlines is this week, so we'll no doubt have some adventures ahead. But I do feel good about these projects winding down, and wise planning is key. I'm putting my book reviewing on hold until I get past our annual spike in the workload. I'm sorry because it's award season over at Reader's Favorite where I review, but I do have a day job, and while I refuse to let these deadlines rule my life, balance and reasonable accommodations do need to be made. I know I won't be able to meet the deadlines on reviews, and simply avoiding it by not signing up for reviews is best. They understand and would prefer that I take a break over pushing those deadlines anyway. I'll pick the reviewing back up in a few weeks, perhaps after the 4th of July when things are settling down again.
The cross stitching and crafting is also on hold, as you may have seen at SherritheStitcher last week. I'm planning to take that back up in mid to late summer, after this heavy work season is done and I get through this round of writing that I'm working on.
On writing, I've written 10 chapters of the rough draft of The Tenth Dimension. I'm enjoying this project and am happy with my progress. My goal during the rough draft stage of a novel is to write 3-5 chapters a week, and so far I've done that. I know work will be busy, but that tends to fuel my creativity, so we'll see if it helps or if I slow down. Either way, it's not like I'm on a deadline. The only thing that makes me nervous is that the last time I wrote a novel during license renewals, I tore two tendons in my right wrist. But I have a wrist brace, wrists rests, and try to take sensible precautions now. I'll try to pace myself between my writing and "day job" workload. I think this can work and better yet, I think that the writing may help me relax and handle they day job better. At least I'm happy when I write, which I think bodes well for everything else in my life. We'll see how it goes.
It's been pretty busy lately, but it looks like things are leveling out on the home front just in time for the busy season at work, which actually is pretty good timing. We'll see how this week goes. I'm trying to keep my personal goals flexible these days, and to be satisfied with any progress. So far, I'm happy with that, and things are going good so I say I'm blessed and thanks be to God.
That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
The deck is still progressing. We did a good bit of work last week after work on days when weather permitted and made good progress. Unfortunately, there were a couple of setbacks. The biggest was that we couldn't find the banister clips we needed. We got the ones for the first phase at Home Depot, but remembered why we swore to never Never NEVER shop there again when we went back to get more. Not only did they not have them (they obviously haven't restocked since we bought the clips for that first part of the project, back in late April) but they claimed they didn't know what we were talking about and had never heard of such a thing. We tried to use the clips sold at Lowes, but they didn't match up and, as a result, wouldn't line up with the work we've already done. There's no way we're taking down nearly 2 months worth of work over banister clips, so we just removed the clips and had to nail the banister and stair rails directly into the deck posts. Not an ideal solution, but those clips were becoming a time consuming problem, so instead of continuing to fight it, we bypassed it. But there were a few other little things: neither store had banister rails like we used, and we were short on a few things to complete some detail work on the deck. So the good news is that the major construction work is done, so hopefully the Friday night lumber runs and weekend marathon workdays are in the past (I fervently pray they are!). But we do have a few more things to attend to before it's really and truly done. Soon, I hope, and we'll share pictures of the deck when it is. We do need to wrap it up. It's already hot out there, and it's just getting worse, especially with the humidity. I wouldn't be surprised if we started breaking 100 degrees here again soon, and there's no way you can go out and work in that.
So that's good, and as a reminder, don't waste your time at Home Depot. They need to change their slogan from "you can do it, we can help," to "you can do it, despite our poor stock and incompetence (especially if you keep going up the road to Lowes to get your stuff there instead)."
I'm glad the DIY work is winding down , because "crunch time" has come at work. The first of two June deadlines is this week, so we'll no doubt have some adventures ahead. But I do feel good about these projects winding down, and wise planning is key. I'm putting my book reviewing on hold until I get past our annual spike in the workload. I'm sorry because it's award season over at Reader's Favorite where I review, but I do have a day job, and while I refuse to let these deadlines rule my life, balance and reasonable accommodations do need to be made. I know I won't be able to meet the deadlines on reviews, and simply avoiding it by not signing up for reviews is best. They understand and would prefer that I take a break over pushing those deadlines anyway. I'll pick the reviewing back up in a few weeks, perhaps after the 4th of July when things are settling down again.
The cross stitching and crafting is also on hold, as you may have seen at SherritheStitcher last week. I'm planning to take that back up in mid to late summer, after this heavy work season is done and I get through this round of writing that I'm working on.
On writing, I've written 10 chapters of the rough draft of The Tenth Dimension. I'm enjoying this project and am happy with my progress. My goal during the rough draft stage of a novel is to write 3-5 chapters a week, and so far I've done that. I know work will be busy, but that tends to fuel my creativity, so we'll see if it helps or if I slow down. Either way, it's not like I'm on a deadline. The only thing that makes me nervous is that the last time I wrote a novel during license renewals, I tore two tendons in my right wrist. But I have a wrist brace, wrists rests, and try to take sensible precautions now. I'll try to pace myself between my writing and "day job" workload. I think this can work and better yet, I think that the writing may help me relax and handle they day job better. At least I'm happy when I write, which I think bodes well for everything else in my life. We'll see how it goes.
It's been pretty busy lately, but it looks like things are leveling out on the home front just in time for the busy season at work, which actually is pretty good timing. We'll see how this week goes. I'm trying to keep my personal goals flexible these days, and to be satisfied with any progress. So far, I'm happy with that, and things are going good so I say I'm blessed and thanks be to God.
That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
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