I thought it would be nice to have a more lighthearted post today to contrast the last one. After all, life is full of both happy and sad moments, and you can't have one without the other, right?
The Project. We've lived in this house for just over 5 years now, and we finally decided that it needed a bit of an overhaul. So we're painting. Now, the WGH loves to paint about as much as I love to go shopping. Ranks right up there with cleaning up dog barf at midnight, having a root canal or having someone jab you in the eye with a sharp stick. But it needed to be done, and we're working on a room or two at a time. It's the same answer as the one to the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" (One bite at a time.)
So here we are in the paint department at Lowe's, looking at every Valspar Signature series color sample under the sun. I never knew there were so many different shades of green, beige and pink. We bring the little cards home, prop them up on the baseboards and door frames and spend some quality time with them until we find the color we like the best. After several trips, we finally found a combination we really like.
It's a work in progress. And the more I look at the parts that are finished, the more I love them. Sometimes you just need something fresh and new to perk yourself up. And what better way to do that than to spruce up your surroundings a bit? My study, sometime in the near future, is going to brighten up from this very neutral and *yawn* passive shade of beige to a gorgeous color called Oxford Pink. I know what you're thinking - ewwww, PINK???? But believe me, this color is luscious. It's warm and rosy and cozy and I can't wait to see it on my walls. The recliner and my writing desk chair are both of a rather burgundy-esque color (bought at two different places at two different times and they're almost identical - how lucky was that?), and the pink walls will be a perfect complement.
The part that I'm looking forward to the most is being able to sit in here and just soak up the positive energy and turn it into a blast of creativity. It's all about the chi, yes?
Work in Progress. The other thing I'm working on again is the manuscript - slowly but surely. My recent five-month break did not include much writing, so I'm back after it. Unfortunately, the day job takes up most of my days, so I'm relegated once again, as I was so many years ago when the kids were small ... er, young (have you SEEN my kids?), to working on the manuscript in the evenings. Thank God for DVR and a husband who finally caved and ordered the service. ;)
It's finished, for the most part. The story is down. It's just in the tweaking phase once again. I finally figured out what was bugging me so much about the story, that one little plot point that just wouldn't gel quite properly, and once I did that the edits seemed to just start flowing. I have a legal pad on the desk where I've jotted some editorial notes, things I need to fix overall, which I'll get to as soon as I'm through the first pass, taking care of notes from the BMWs (most of which I've discovered have already been done - I told you it's been a while since I've looked at this thing). But the group is about 2 or 3 chapters from the end, and once that's in hand I'll make sure everything's nice and tight, and then ... well, you writers know the drill. The rest of you probably don't care much - you just want to read the book, right?
Soon. I promise.
Music, music, music. As you know, I have a pretty decent collection of CDs full of classical and orchestral and jazz music, which I must, must, must have playing in the study while I'm working, either at the day job or at the writing desk. Right now there is silence in my little room because The Boy is still asleep next door. It's early at our house for a Saturday. The WGH will be up and painting soon, and I have to spend a few hours chained to the day job desk, but this afternoon ... look out manuscript. The music will be blaring and I will be tweaking away.
It's a little on the rainy gray side today. A perfect day to stay indoors and accomplish something.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Action is eloquence."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
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