20230612

[As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.]

Bathroom remodel, week 2. last week, we got the tiles on the floor and the walls painted. Today was tiling the tub. Floor was white 12” square tiles, about a quarter of them painted by hand at that party last summer. Tub is lined with three rows of 3” by 6” wide subway tiles, also about a quarter painted. Same amount of tiles put down, but less work, because we hit a rhythm where I prepped each tile and handed it to her.

You flip it over and do what is apparently called a butterback by using the jagged-edge trowel to smear a lot of mortar on and then groove it so it sticks well. Along the way, I had to commit feng shui by deciding when to insert the painted tiles and then orient them. Results were lovely. I’ll post a lot of pics somewhere in a week. Tomorrow, the tiles dry, and then get grouted on wednesday.

Tomorrow, we assemble the vanity, countertop, and sink, as well as hanging a new medicine cabinet on the wall. At some point, we also have to nail the baseboard molding back onto the wall (thank God for nailguns and compressors).

I can’t remember when I last committed fiction. Have written some newsletters and blog posts, but it might be Friday ten days ago at this point, and I’ve lost a lot of threads. This morning, I had about an hour, so I sat down with what I had written of Marrakesh #4 and tacked a few hundred words onto the back of it. Probably end up writing the rest of that one next, as that gets me almost out a year with completed novels at this moment, without digging out partial series to fill in gaps. I will write a few more Last Stand (Season Two) between now and whenever, but I can’t tell you when they might be written or come out. Marrakesh for the first four months. Air Pirates of Cyrenaica for four after that, presumably with a Corsac Fox or two tucked in there as well.

Had an artist draw five portraits for Corsac One for the kickstarter. Hired her to do a couple more for this one, but they will be stretch goals or bonus prize sorts of things, because delivering BIG art files turned out to be a freaking pain in my ass that I don’t wish to repeat.

Not much past that. Reminder pinged me to write something while I was tiling, so I pushed it out and circled back when I got done. Not going to have a lot of words in June, but major house projects are like that, and I’d rather get it done quicker and circle back to catch up writing.

How’s your Monday going?

—————————-

Thank you so much for being my patron and for funding these essays!

If you’re reading the free version (which is published two weeks after the Patreon version), please consider joining the ones who do pay at https://www.patreon.com/blazeward. It’s only a buck and helps keeps the lights on around here.