Stones are Heavy
After writing day-in and day-out at my last job, I had very little energy or motivation left to continue doing the same once I got home. Which is why, for a few years at least, very little writing was completed and whole projects were put on hold.
That all worked out for the best, of course, as it allowed me time to gain a new perspective and adjust both Sanity’s Flaw and The Nobodies to reflect this new me, as well as cultivate the ideas that would eventually form Trezka and the other upcoming titles I’ve yet to even outline.
With my current position, the tides have turned, as I’m doing far more editing than writing, allowing me to utilize my creative faculties for more personal interests.
That is, at least, what I thought.
See, recently my wife and I have been working to redo our driveway. It existed previously as a dirt and gravel path just wide enough for two cars that also happened to provide a lovely patch of well-fed dirt where grass could grow in patchy tufts of gnome hair. As lovely as that was, it was rather a pain to shovel in the winter and terribly dirtied both our cars.
So we opted to throw down the cash and replace it with stone pavers, all by ourselves. We dug, we leveled, we tamped, we sifted, and we’re still not done. Close, but not quite. Night after seemingly night, weekend after weekend now for a month (I think… I’ve lost count), we’ve been out there or making trips to and from Home Depots across the state, as each continues to sell-out (to us) of the brick we’ve chosen.
We shifted into high gear this past week, as we were nearing our end-goal of Thanksgiving with much work left, the temperature was quickly dropping and snow was in the forecast. This weekend in particular was absolutely grueling:
All of this is to say that I know the writing’s been a little later than usual, but I am getting to it. It’s just life tends to get in the way sometimes, so something’s got to give.
Coffee helps.
That all worked out for the best, of course, as it allowed me time to gain a new perspective and adjust both Sanity’s Flaw and The Nobodies to reflect this new me, as well as cultivate the ideas that would eventually form Trezka and the other upcoming titles I’ve yet to even outline.
With my current position, the tides have turned, as I’m doing far more editing than writing, allowing me to utilize my creative faculties for more personal interests.
That is, at least, what I thought.
See, recently my wife and I have been working to redo our driveway. It existed previously as a dirt and gravel path just wide enough for two cars that also happened to provide a lovely patch of well-fed dirt where grass could grow in patchy tufts of gnome hair. As lovely as that was, it was rather a pain to shovel in the winter and terribly dirtied both our cars.
So we opted to throw down the cash and replace it with stone pavers, all by ourselves. We dug, we leveled, we tamped, we sifted, and we’re still not done. Close, but not quite. Night after seemingly night, weekend after weekend now for a month (I think… I’ve lost count), we’ve been out there or making trips to and from Home Depots across the state, as each continues to sell-out (to us) of the brick we’ve chosen.
We shifted into high gear this past week, as we were nearing our end-goal of Thanksgiving with much work left, the temperature was quickly dropping and snow was in the forecast. This weekend in particular was absolutely grueling:
- Friday night, we picked up two carloads of bricks after dinner, unloading them into the garage.
- Saturday, we picked up an additional two carloads first thing in the morning, then redid the pattern up to the point we had completed (it was a few degrees off of straight) and laid down the approximately 120 stones we had after another round of tamping and leveling. Afterward, we drove to two more Home Depots for more bricks, one of which was supposed to have over 200 but had none in truth. We laid these additional bricks down and called it a day.
- Sunday, and back to Home Depot for three more carloads, returning to level, tamp and sift when we realized there wasn’t enough substrate where the stones meet the pre-built ramp. Thinking there’s now enough, we opt not to make a return trip, only to discover as the sun’s going down we’re short nearly 40 bricks.
All of this is to say that I know the writing’s been a little later than usual, but I am getting to it. It’s just life tends to get in the way sometimes, so something’s got to give.
Coffee helps.
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