June 6, 2008
Lately, Harlequin has been paying me.
Not hunks and hunks of showbiz cash. I can’t say often enough, that midlist and category romance writers are not automatically rich. But it is enough so that I am reasonably sure I will not be getting a Christmas job as a greeter at Wal-mart.
And I have been offering up my checks to the God of home improvement. The goal is to put some away for next year, since #1 son will be headed to college.
His choice du jour is MIT. Because he got a 750 on his Math SAT test.
And because a video game character he really likes, went to MIT.
I am willing to support his dreams, even if I think that going to college where your favorite imaginary person goes is kind of wack. I mean, I went to my alma mater because my best friend was going there. That’s not the best reason in the world. but at least SHE WAS REAL.
Still, there are worse ideas than an MIT education. It’s just likely to cost money.
And my initial plans to save for this, appear to have taken another hit. As I was going out to get the mail today, a piece of the house blew off. I am not even sure what it’s called. Not siding, because it is not on a side. Probably fascia. The metal bit that is on the underhang of the roof. Just blew right off the attic, and into the yard.
We lost a piece off the back in the last winter storm. And I made a mental note to ‘get someone to take a look at that’. Then, we lost a bit off the side of the house, a couple of weeks ago. And I told myself, ‘as soon as I get another check’.
And today, I was standing out in the yard, in a wind that was brisk, but nowhere near gale force. And a chunk peeled off the front, and flew like a kite across the yard.
This cannot be good.
With the last two checks, we cut down a hollow elm tree in the back, and a hollow maple in the front. And displaced what was probably the same raccoon, both times. I think he is now living in the garage, and causing what will probably be the next home improvement project
Buy raccoon trap.
If I can just get him to move up into the attic fascia, come the next high wind, he will be the neighbor’s problem, and I will have killed two birds with one stone.
You haven’t seen any yellow brick pathways anywhere, have you? Or very short people? Or fields of poppies?
Not so far.
But if the raccoon answers to Toto, I’m going to writer my next book in the root cellar.
You haven’t seen any yellow brick pathways anywhere, have you? Or very short people? Or fields of poppies?
Not so far.
But if the raccoon answers to Toto, I’m going to writer my next book in the root cellar.