My brain has been ping-ponging all over the place. I wish I could say that I have seized summer, that I have put together a new book length volume of poetry--or even that I've written lots of new poems. I wish I could say that I've written some short memoir-ish/short story pieces. I have not done any of these things.
In the next month, I will need to write a paper for my Paul class, and finish a huge writing project for the next phase of candidacy in the process to becoming ordained. My hope has shifted to having time for Creative Writing in the fall.
In the meantime . . .
We are trying to get ready for guests next week for Music Week at Lutheridge, while at the same time, doing some stuff that the fixer-upper house in Spartanburg requires. My spouse is on his way there so that the inspection of the electrical rough-in can happen (I have to stay here because I have a dermatologist appointment in my every 3 months after a melanoma schedule). We went down there yesterday and came back with a shopping list.
We stopped at our local Lowe's in Arden, which is always fairly deserted, compared to similar stores in South Florida. We chose ceiling fans, a light for the kitchen with a track with 4 lights, lights for over 2 bathroom vanities, and a small light for the fall. We also chose a hood for over the range, which costs far more than I wanted it to cost.
When we bought the house, I was not thinking we would replace the ceiling fans. On the contrary, I was happy that the house had so many ceiling fans. But they're very old, working to varying degrees. The electricians will install them if we bought new ones, so we went ahead and replaced most of them.
When we looked at the house, back before we bought it, I thought that we could paint the walls, refinish the hardwood floors, and move in. And we could have done that. But even though the house has solar panels, the wiring inside the house hasn't been updated: most of the wall plugs are 2 prong. We could have used adjuster plugs in every spot, but it would mean that the house wasn't grounded--not the safest for humans or for fire risk.
When it's time to sell the house, these improvements may pay off. We're not living in a part of the country where old houses are bulldozed for new building to happen, so future buyers are likely to be happy about the house having been rewired with a new HVAC system put in.
And in the meantime, these improvements will make the house better for us to live in too, during the 4-5 days a week that we're there during the school year.
