We bought a house! First time for everything, and yes, we are late bloomers. For the longest time, two PhD diplomas were the stand-ins for a house. But now we bought a house! I’m super excited to get into it and start making it a home. I feel like we’re putting down roots and becoming real Texans. Until we finalized everything, I hadn’t realized how transient I felt, even though we lived in the same place for almost twenty years in Philadelphia (and I mean the same apartment, not just the same city). The house is very nice and the former owners made a number of small, but thoughtful additions and changes – there are misters in the pergola for example. Hell, there’s a pergola!
It’s actually a very settling feeling, this realization that we’re putting down real roots. The new area/neighborhood is much more laid back and calm than the current area and we’re close to a couple of wilderness areas and big parks. More importantly, to me, we’re close to a couple of large lakes. I need my time on or near the water. I plan on doing more paddleboarding in the future.
In the midst of all the excitement of buying a house, dealing with closing, etc., I’m getting more writing done than I have for a few months. I’m not sure why that is, but I’m not questioning it and I’m going to keep writing. A lot of writing advice starts with “just write” which is good, but I am also quite good at replying “Okay, yeah. In a minute…” which turns into several hours. It’s not that I’m doing nothing… I’m just finding other things to do. I did the same thing while writing my dissertation. My apartment sparkled it was so clean and I became besties with the mailman. Now, the laundry is done, the kitchen cleaned, and a host of other small chores are done with far more frequency than necessary.
The sense of finally getting “home” is very strong. Although we’re not fully moving until mid- to late-September, now that closing is done and the house is officially ours, I’m finding myself more and more anxious to move and get started. I’m not sure what exactly, specifically I want to get started on, but I want to get started. I mean, we’re spending August painting (the whole house is beige with beige trim… it needs color!), and getting the appliances ordered and installed. The current house even has a washer and dryer, which meant we didn’t have to buy anything when we moved down here, and also that we don’t have to move anything. On the other hand, it’s more money out just as we closed on the house. Oh, well. It was planned for.
We’ve also already got a lineup of friends and family members who want to come visit. I can’t wait to welcome them all to our house. I want to start exploring our new area, figuring out where everything is, where are the good restaurants, and the fun places to go. Adventure awaits!
Right now, I need to settle down and get some words on paper before we head out to see the new house once Mike gets off work. There has been significant forward movement on the latest book. The rest of the Academic Magic series (three more books) is outlined, book #4, tentatively titled Professor of Magic, is outlined, and yesterday I finished outlining all the chapters in #4. Today I start writing those chapters. I think this process will let me reach the finish line much faster than the pantsing method I used in the previous books. If all goes as planned, Professor of Magic should be out in the fall, and the next one shortly following. Fingers crossed!
Now that I’ve figured out how to tweak this lovely outlining process, I know I’ll be much more productive. I owe many thanks to Rick Partlow , for sharing his outlining process and posting the entire outline of his latest work-in-progress for the rest of us to use as a pattern and example. It’s been beyond helpful.
In the world of kitten antics, Marshmallow is continuing to be her usual high energy self. We’re using the squirt bottle method to try to train her. It’s working in the sense that she knows when she’s doing something wrong – look over at her, go into a room, and she’s racing away. However, it does not seem to be doing much in the way of actual deterrence. She’s still engaging in such fun activities as drape climbing, jewelry stealing, and kitchen-counter climbing, among many others. Now though she simply accepts she’s going to get wet, runs to another room, cleans off, and comes back for more. Is cat.
It’s still broiling hot here in Texas, but that’s Texas in the summer. Note that “real feel” number!
Summer is almost over so enjoy your weekend!
Congrats!
Thanks! I can’t wait to get in there permanently!