That number is, according to Microsoft Word, how many words appear in my manuscript [OK, typescript] that I sent off today! Woo hoo! Those of you who have been following previous posts (such as this one) will know that I've been working on revisions and such. Today I did the final print out, which came to 317 pages. That's 568,287 characters including spaces, for those of you who like to have the full data set on this behemoth.
So now it goes off to be typeset and then sometime (I'm not sure when) I will get proofs to review. This is very exciting.
I also sent in my awesome cover image, but I'm not going to share it here because it's so very cool that I want to save the exciting unveiling until I actually have a book to show for it. I don't know just when that will be yet, but hopefully by a year from now.
Party. On.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Plumbing
Regular readers will know that among my (many) worries, plumbing is really pretty high on my list of concerns. There's nothing that gets me worried like a scary story of plumbing gone wrong, and I've lost some sleep over some of our own various plumbing concerns. So last month, when I started hearing a slightly distressing "glug glug glug" coming from the un-used washing machine drain in the bathroom, I was on alert. I convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal, and tried to ignore it. But every time the upstairs bathroom toilet was flushed, there it was: the big "glug glug glug," which in the past meant clogged main drain, which means a call to the plumber and so on.
This morning, in addition to the usual "glug glug glug," there was a smell. A smell wafting from the washing machine drain. This made me think that it was possible that our studor vent in the attic was somehow malfunctioning, sending the nasty toxic sewer gases back into the system and into the drain pipe. But Jake came up with a simpler possibility to check first. You see, the drain in question is one that's in the wall where a washing machine was once hooked up (not since we've lived here). This drain, presumably, has a "P-trap" which holds water and makes a seal so that the gases don't come up through the pipe. But since the drain is NEVER used, no water goes down, and thus, eventually, the water sitting there eventually evaporates. Thus, nasty noxious gases can escape. So the simple test was to pour some water down into the drain to see if we could fill the "P-trap" and stop the gas.
Guess what.
It worked!!!!!
Not only did it stop the smell, the "glug glug glug" has also stopped! I'm so pleased! Plumbing stories rarely end so happily.
This morning, in addition to the usual "glug glug glug," there was a smell. A smell wafting from the washing machine drain. This made me think that it was possible that our studor vent in the attic was somehow malfunctioning, sending the nasty toxic sewer gases back into the system and into the drain pipe. But Jake came up with a simpler possibility to check first. You see, the drain in question is one that's in the wall where a washing machine was once hooked up (not since we've lived here). This drain, presumably, has a "P-trap" which holds water and makes a seal so that the gases don't come up through the pipe. But since the drain is NEVER used, no water goes down, and thus, eventually, the water sitting there eventually evaporates. Thus, nasty noxious gases can escape. So the simple test was to pour some water down into the drain to see if we could fill the "P-trap" and stop the gas.
Guess what.
It worked!!!!!
Not only did it stop the smell, the "glug glug glug" has also stopped! I'm so pleased! Plumbing stories rarely end so happily.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
New Couch Alert: Our First Stain
I don't know exactly when it happened or what (or who) caused it, but we have our first stain on our brand-new couch. It's a black mark (magic marker? grease? paint from one of Lucy's projects?) EXACTLY in the middle of the back. It's not huge (maybe 2 inches long) but it's noticeable -- actually, I thought it was a piece of fluff stuck on it. Sigh. I need to look into stain removal. Suggestions? I have been warned NOT to use water, as it will only spread the stain around.
Time to first stain: less than one week. Eek!
Time to first stain: less than one week. Eek!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Bring on the Chili and Red Wine!
It's Super Bowl Sunday, and we get to watch the game on our brand new couch. Like our nation, we have relied upon the electoral college system and ignored the voting public (see the comments) and made our decision:
I like how it works with the other pieces here:
And it makes our old couch look really shabby:
P.S. We're trying to get rid of it! Please? Would you like to have it? A genuine, certified relic of 83 Durant Street!
It's ready for nappers:
Look how far we've come:
This is the pink room in October 2006. Wow.
While writing this post, I shoo'ed Carter off the new couch for the first time (it has been in the house for less than 45 minutes). Hrm.
I like how it works with the other pieces here:
And it makes our old couch look really shabby:
P.S. We're trying to get rid of it! Please? Would you like to have it? A genuine, certified relic of 83 Durant Street!
It's ready for nappers:
Look how far we've come:
This is the pink room in October 2006. Wow.While writing this post, I shoo'ed Carter off the new couch for the first time (it has been in the house for less than 45 minutes). Hrm.
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