Bitching and Moaning - The Home Repair Edition

For those readers who haven't figured things out between the lines, I haven't gotten much writing done lately because we're trying to get the Houston house ready to put on the market. There were cosmetic things that needed to be done, of course. Tree trimming. Flower planting. Room painting. Tiling the baths and kitchen

Our original target was February 1. That came and went, so we picked another deadline. And another. And another. Why? Starting with the week after the moving truck pulled out of the driveway last August, more and more shit hit the fan as each month passed.

- Master bedroom light/fan died
- Bottom dropped out of the hot water heater
- Garbage disposal developed a leak
- Toilet in master bathroom developed a leak, subfloor needed to be replaced
- Kitchen faucet broke
- Hot water faucet in master bathroom tub leaked
- Honey bee invasion
- Electric ignition on gas range stopped working, cheaper to replace unit than to fix
- Downstairs A/C unit died
- Cold water faucet for washing machine leaked

None of these have been cheap, easy, DIY fixes. I can paint and tile and lay hardwood and plant petunias in large pots, but I know when to bring in the experts. And every month I managed to save money for the painting and tiling and flowers, whichever disaster happened that month chewed up the cash, sometimes putting us back more than that particular month.

These are the reasons I'm still dealing with this stupid-ass house. These are the reasons my blood pressure has skyrocketed despite my seven years of keeping it under control. These are the reasons I haven't had time to write, other than working on Book 7 of Bloodlines on my iPhone while standing in line at stores. These are the reasons why I understand home owners walking away from their property and letting the bank foreclose.

When I mentioned the last one, DH pointed out we'd done too much and come too far. Then I started crying, but he's right.

My perspective would be a little better if I could get more than four hours of sleep a night.

And if the blister on my thumb from scrapping linoleum glue off the bathroom floor didn't hurt so damn bad.

NaNo - Day 11 - Why Am I Doing This Again?

Word Count as of this post - 13,102

I'm behind. I'm way f***ing behind. *sigh* I should be hitting 20K about now.

I think the difference is 1) my total commute is now 40 minutes instead of the 10 it was last year at this time thanks to a transfer and 2) I'm homeschooling GK. Both put a huge crimp in my day. Last year, I'd put GK on the bus, write for four hours straight, do some errands and meet the bus before heading for work.

I'm trying to count my blessings. I have a job. GK can name every rocket used in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. I have fulls sitting on the desks of agents, dammit!

But this story just begs to be told and the words are not getting their chance to appear on paper! (Well, actually a screen.)