Things aren’t always perfect in new-house-land. As they might say on an HGTV show, “this house has issues.” I’ve mentioned before that we’ve had waterproofing problems. The waterproofers have been back to rework that again, and this time, it seems to be effective, as we’ve had some torrential downpours and so far no seepage through the basement walls. But we’re waiting to make sure, so there is still sort of a moat around the house until they decide it’s good and re-grade.

But the issues go beyond that. It’s taken a lot of back-and-forth with the builder (including getting an attorney involved), but he’s apparently decided he cares about his reputation and really, really doesn’t want to go to court (because he’ll lose), so he and his crews have been here this past week to start fixing our house. They are working on reframing the back wall, so the windows are evenly spaced. Given our budget constraints, the builder had used a cut-rate framing crew who didn’t even give him what we paid for. I guess he won’t be using them again. The fixes are being done by the builder’s employees, who do good work (they did the carpentry and the beams we love).

So for the next week or so, we are living in a construction zone.

Not what we’d planned. And yes, inconvenient, but not as much as it would be to move out for a week. All of the work needed is in the great room; the bedrooms, bathrooms, and my office are fine. We love them and the outdoor space, and will love the rest of the house once it’s fixed. For now, we just have to remember that with any home project, it always looks worse before it gets better–but it will get better.

What I’ve Been Reading

I started a novel and a nonfiction book, but haven’t finished either yet.

What I’ve Been Writing

I did write five days this week, but don’t know that I put the whole half-hour in. I’m still going to consider this one a win, because I got through another scene, plus reviewed three others that needed minor cycling back through. I did not get through all of my learning, and only did about half of the week’s videos for the online workshop.

This week, our daughter and her partner are coming to visit, so not much writing will get done, and that’s OK. For the workshop, I want to view the last couple videos, and do the assignment. And for writing, I’d like to do some tonight and on Saturday, after our guests take off.

What about you–had any plans not quite work out lately? How did you work around them? How’s the weather in your area–have you seen any great rainbows? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I love to hear from you! 

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.