All Kinds of Miscellany

First, on the writing front, I have finished the first round of revisions on Salvation Falls and have started the read through. I’m hoping to have the manuscript ready to send out by the end of the month. I’m considering a couple of contests as well but we’ll wait and see. Money is a bit tight for the next few months so I have to pinch some pennies and watch where I do my spending.

The historical novel, The Tangled Garden, is not progressing as quickly. I thought I could research while revising the other one, but I seem to keep forgetting how many hours are in a day and that no matter how much I want to get done, I still need to go to work and sleep. So for now, rather than overload my plate and feel frustrated, I’ve decided to get Salvation Falls and Invitation to Scandal out the door first, then settle in to work on The Tangled Garden. My mother reminded me the other day that I’m always trying to jam my entire life into five minutes and maybe I should just try tackling one thing at a time. Sometimes mother does know best…

Meanwhile, the sickness that invaded the other week is being beaten back with a vengeance and so we are all very, very thrilled about that, not to mention breathing a collective sigh of relief that things are going so well.

The puppy is also doing well. I get regular reports from my boss who said the pup, now named Bailey, has this annoying quirk where when Boss tells her no, she sits down and argues with him. He is convinced I trained her to do this. I did not bother to disabuse him of that notion.

The snow that hit us the other day is pretty much gone. I can’t wait for the weather to improve so I can finally get into my gardens. The past couple of years I’ve been horribly lax in tending to them (I have quite a few despite a relatively small yard). And now the lack of attention is beginning to show. Which is a shame because they used to be quite spectacular.

The garden at the bottom of the deck steps is going to be completely revamped. The tree I hate. It’s ugly and overgrown. It’s coming out. The grass in front of the garden is a nest of stupid ants every year. Something must be done about that. And the walkway and the weeds…sigh…so much work to be done.

And don’t even get me started on the stupid basketball court. JG wants to take a jackhammer to it and I’m not going to stop him. Have at it, I say. I never wanted the stupid thing and ever since the hurricane in 2005 the net has had a rather threatening lean to it.

The front garden I want to add some color to and maybe put out some baskets or flower boxes that hang off the step railing.

In a year or so, depending on the markets, JG and I are hoping to list my house and buy one of our own, so I want to get as many improvements done now to up the value and add curb appeal. Now if the weather will just cooperate, I can get to work…