Still Working On My Little House

Oh me, oh my!!

It's a darn good thing the Lord put a healing on my knees, because I have been so darn busy!

As you can see in the picture, I've been very, very busy working on my white picket fence. It's ALMOST done, I have to paint another half dozen or so pickets, and add 2x4 rails behind a couple of sections, and then I'm done with that part of the project. Then dig the flowerbed behind the right side of the fence and next to the driveway and get that all planted. You can see the tomotoes and morning glories growing through the fence on the left side. I also have an inexpensive arbor to put together to go over my little brick walk in the front.

I would have done more yesterday, but it was 105+ at my house. After I mowed the worst of my weed filled, dried up backyard and wet that down, I was THROUGH. And it was only 9am!!

Anyway, once I'm done with the front, oh my, then I'm going to go into the backyard and start working on my back patio. It has a cover, so I've decided I need to add 1/2 walls and screening to make it into a nice screened room. So I'll be scrounging for building materials.

Ah, the thrill of the hunt!!

I really have done a lot to my little house over the last six years. It's been a struggle, like many people, I basically live paycheck to paycheck, sometimes I get behind, then I catch up.

But I work on my house because:

1) It's something I can do, little by little, to improve the value of the property.

2) I won't live here forever, when I retire, I'll sell and move to be closer to my family.

So, I keep working away at it.

Oh, you probably need a point of reference, don't you? Well, here's the original realtor picture of my house. (The tree had to go, it was rotting and had termites. Believe me, I miss the shade!)

I have been busy...

I Am So Not Happy With The New Andre Norton Books!!

No, I'm really, really unhappy with some of the newest Norton books.

Since she passed, the quality of her books has dropped dramatically. I believe that the editor and/or publisher did her wrong -- especially with the new Beastmaster books.

Now, I don't have a problem with the idea of the books. It's a pleasure to see the old characters and the introduction of new characters. The problem is that the characters are not Norton characters.

She had such a deft way of suspending all disbelief, her words came alive on the page. But the new writer has written himself into the books. The characters react in a way that a Norton character would NEVER act. To put it bluntly, they whine.

"It's not FAIR!"

No, no, no, a Norton character would NEVER say that. Never. They fought against all odds. They never gave up. They never whined.

I can only hope that her family steps up and says "NO, either write in her style, or don't write at all."

I am so not happy with the new Andre Norton books! I am such a long time fan, it is such a disappointment to read books set in her worlds of the future, and know that they fall short of the Norton standard.