RIPs

Adrian Frutiger, type designer.
Warren Murphy, writer, creator of Remo Williams.

Empty RV, Full Shed

This morning I got the last items out of the RV and into the shed. I kept finding things in nooks and crannies, and kept remembering another nook or cranny to check. I left a few things behind for the new owner. And I now have piles of stuff to stash somewhere in the shed.

I had some modifications made on the bookshelf unit and that should be finished up tomorrow (Tue 9/8). Then I'll put all the books on the shelves. And then I'll take a picture of it. Once I get all the piles of stuff put away, I'll take pics of the spiffy neat shed. At the moment, for instance, I can't even see the desktop for all the stuff piled on it, all office-y type things.

So, lot of work ahead but it's coming together. Yay.

My brother is planning to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge no later than 15 Oct. (having just turned 69), planning to join the Baja Hoo-Ha from San Diego. I hope he has great weather and loves it all. Mostly I hope he survives and that I get to see him again.

Shed 2

I see the pic of the couch moved out in the room didn't come through, so I'll try this.

Shed at 95%

Latest set of pictures, very close to final. All in all, I think it's coming along very well. I slept in it last night for the first time, just crashed on the couch. Slept long and hard, didn't wake up till 8:30. I'm almost ready to unplug the RV.

This my latest acquisition, a tansu-style chest with multiple cubbies and drawers. It comes apart (see left end top drawer, booze cubby, and next drawer down) in two pieces, and it makes a room divider with drawers accessible from either side. I love it.

This shows the tansu end next to the door entry, the south window, and the desk/kitchen table.

Here's the other side of the "kitchen" with cabinet and fridge.

This shows the desk on the left side of entry. I've now rotated the desk so the curved corner is in the corner between the two windows. Also, the couch is now moved out into the room (you'll see in next photos).

Shows closet and end of bookcase/stair. We got all the books down from the loft; all I have to do now in put them somewhere.

Shows the couch moved out into the room, angled toward the bookcase. Got my Erte card design print mounted on the picture rail.

Another shot of the bookcase/stair with its stepladder, which becomes my nightstand right behind the couch, when I don't need it to climb up to the loft.

RIP

Oliver Sacks
Eminent neurologist and author, age 82. Wonderful writer about patients and how to treat them and how to be them. Able to inspire others. He'll be missed.

Shed progress

Okay okay, here's some pics of the shed in progress. This first one is the kitchen area. Note the Breville oven on the table, the pegboard on the wall, the 9.2cuft fridge, and the 10-drawer cabinet.

 This next one is the desk. There are two windows to look out of but the west one is covered right now because of the heat. Under the towel on the desk is the TV which will live on the bookcase once it's built.

 This is the closet in progress. I'm going to get some baskets to put folded things in on top of the shelves. And eventually, there will be curtains to soften the look (you can see one at the right end in process).

 And this pile of lumber will be the bookcase. It'll be 8ft long (distance between the lofts), 1 ft deep, and 3ft high. There will be four 2-ft sections for books. I have two really nice 3-step ladders, one will be on the floor to move up to the top of the case and a second one to go from the case to the loft.

When the case is done, there's only minor stuff left to do. I've begun moving backup foodstuffs (soup, boxed mac & cheese, etc) to the big cabinet. 90% of my clothes are hung up. All totes are up from Amy's basement and in one of the lofts. I need to decide where the sleeper sofa will live. Then it's all nitpicky organizing. Fun stuff. It'll be a big day/night the first time I sleep over there, but it's coming pretty soon. Yay.

RIP

Omar Sharif, actor, bridge expert. Had one of the best entrances in cinema, riding up to Lawrence from far away. He hated camels.

Patrick MacNee, actor, esp. in The Avengers with Diana Rigg

Shed Walls Before & After

Below are some pictures of the interior walls of the shed. Some show the studs with insulation in place. Others show the paneling below and red felt above. There will be trim work on the seams -- yet to come. I bought a fridge yesterday, a 9 cu ft Igloo, that will fit next to the big cabinet.

In Memoriam John J. Robinson

This wonderful man, my surrogate father, died today. I cannot begin to tell you what a hole he will leave in my life. I've known him for fifty years and he was always a great support to me. I loved him and will miss him forever.

He and his wife Hazel had a great love story.  They'd been married for over 50 years. Except when he was in the hospital once, they'd never slept apart. They spoke to each other of their love often. The last thing she said to him was "I love you."

With John's  support, Hazel founded the Montford Park Players in Asheville, now the longest running Shakespeare in the Park series in the country.

John didn't talk much about his past, though he would tell a little if you seemed really interested. He was in the Merchant Marine during WW II and served along the Alaska coast. Later, he became senior account at Beacon Blanket in Swannanoa, from which he retired several years ago. He was 92 at death.

He was a master card-player. Years ago, the group of us who hung out at their house played Hearts (cutthroat), but more recently (i.e. the last 20 years) the house game was Crazy Rummy. Saturday nights found a floating group of us gathering to play for a few hours. Last Saturday (7/4), Joe Young and I were there and played a game with John -- and he won.

We're considering keeping the weekly ritual going in his honor.

I asked how he was going and he said "slow." His son Ken had just been home for two weeks, which he told me he'd really enjoyed. Much family business was discussed and settled, and I think he was ready to let go.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Bon voyage, beloved person.

New flooring in Shed

Just got finished today. There's still some trim work to do, and we'll be putting in insulation and beadboard paneling with 1/4 round at the base. Then I'm having a contractor come in and do closed-cell foam on the ceiling and loft ends. Here's two pics of the new flooring -- stick-down vinyl plank. I think it looks pretty good.

Pretty nice looking armoire, too. I think it's actually an entertainment center as it doesn't having a rod for hanging clothes, but I'll make it work.

RIP

Sir Christopher Lee, actor in more movies than I can recount (or remember), but most especially in Dracula

Ron Moody, actor, most especially as Fagin in "Oliver"

Power in Shed

I have power! That is, the shed has acquired its meter and receptacles and it has power. And the City has done its last inspection. Yay!

Now all I need to do is get some kind of flooring in the shed and I'll be ready to move all my stuff in. So sometime around my birthday in late July, I should be able to sit down, look around, and feel at home.

Then I'll start advertising the RV, even though it's late in the season. Would have been nice for this process to go faster so I could have sold it in March or April. Ah well. I'm willing to negotiate on its price but I do have a bottom line, so it may be next spring before it gets sold.

At the moment, the mobile home is getting new flooring in both bedrooms and the living room, using stick-down vinyl. Much nicer than the nasty carpet which was stained here and there and which the former tenant's dog had scratched up in the small bedrom, down to the OSB subfloor. My new tenants move in next Thursday.

And I've acquired an all-around maintenance guy. His next job is to wash the outside of the mobile home, which is going green what with all the rain and humidity and explosive growth everywhere.

All this stuff going on at once is exhausting but there is an end in sight.

RIP etc

Tanith Lee, writer
---so sad. She was such a good writer, mostly fantasy but some dark fantasy, too. She was a unique voice. Check out her stuff; you'll find something to like. My favorite is "Sabella."

Another sad note is that Omar Sharif has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

RIP

Suzette Haden Elgin, writer. I was very fond of her sf Native Tongue trilogy (until book three, when she threw the entire premise of the first two books overboard). Apparently, I'm still pissed about that. She was a linguist who wrote several books on man/woman talking but also The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense and several sequels. An interesting woman.

B.B. King, musician. What can one say? He was a great bluesman and leaves a monumental legacy behind. He will surely be missed.

RIP

Ben E. King, singer
Maya Plisetskaya, ballerina
Ruth Rendell, writer

Shed Arrived

It's here, it's here! All set up on its slab. Very interesting watching the guys get ready to get it off the flatbed and bring it down the road. Good thing we had that tree taken down. The road was juuuust wide enough to make it. They got here at 2:30 and it was all done by 3:30. Another nice thing about this company (Graceland) is that there's no delivery fee within 50 miles of the dealer, not the factory (and my dealer is about 3 miles away).

Here's two pics I took, just the outside. It's 14x20 outside measurements, eave to eave, so putting the outside on the back edge of the slab afforded me a one-foot step on the front side.

The first is the view from Amy's backporch (well, almost). And the 2nd shows the two windows, one facing the yard and the other facing the street, and you can see through to the third window, facing the neighbor's backyard. On the left is another neighbor's garage.

Now all I have to do is get electricity, floor covering, and insulation, and then I can move all my stuff in.

My Lord

and Savior was a common refrain on the Country Music Awards last night. After the 3rd or 4th one thanking L&S, I turned it off. Too bad there wasn't anything else on.

Tonight will be better: Antiques Roadshow and Dancing with the Stars.

AND the shed will be delivered Wednesday afternoon!!!!!

Delivery soon

So on Monday I called -- that is, I tried to call -- the Dispatcher guy to schedule delivery of the shed. Totally messed up phone system. Then I called the dealer here. He called down there (in SC somewhere) and found out the dispatcher guy had moved his office and his phones hadn't been hooked up properly yet.

Anyhow, the upshot is that the shed is ready but because of the bad weather we're having (lots and lots of rain, possible flash floods, etc), they won't come until next week. Looks like next Wed. is the first dry day.

They'll call me soon and we'll discuss the actual mechanics of getting it in here.

I did get the RV out last Fri. while the guys were taking down the tree. It got inspected (passed), aired up the tires and the airbags. When they went to take it out of the bay, it wouldn't start (does everybody remember that intermittent starting problem from before?). They said they "thought" they'd fixed it sort of.

So I went off to do a dump/flush and when I wanted to leave, it wouldn't start. I called them and they came and banged on the started, which made the contacts connect, and it started. Back to the garage for a new starter. Fortunately, the bad one was still under warranty so I only got charged for labor ( which I think the starter mfg should have to pay). We'll see how long this lasts.

I am, however, planning on selling the rig as soon as the shed is electrified (heh). I mentioned it casually on a Calif. friend's FB page and some person out there bid for it. My friend said maybe she'd fly back here (she used to work for me at DBN) and drive it back to CA. Lots of other people have expressed interest, too, so I shouldn't have too much trouble selling it. Let's hope.

I'm now researching ways to get up to lofts.

RIP

Percy Sledge -- I did some of my dirtiest dancing to his iconic song, When a Man Loves a Woman . . .

RIP

Geoffrey Lewis, actor
Stan Freberg, voice

Getting Ready

I scored a very nice couch for $100 -- blue corduroy 6ft sleeper sofa, double, Serta mattress, Rowe brand (solid wood). This will be my main sitting area in the "studio" and can be my bed if I don't feel like going up to the loft (ie. in the summer). Also got two oil room heaters -- one will go to my rental property.

Speaking of the rental property: I have sent a letter to my tenant saying I'm not renewing his lease and he has to be out by the end of this month. He's way behind on his rent, always says if I'll just work with him he'll get caught up but he hasn't. His dog destroyed two window blinds the first day he moved in a year ago and, even though he promised, he hasn't replaced them yet. I don't expect to get my back rent paid but I can get someone in who'll pay on time and in full.

Speaking of whom, an old friend of Amy's has been living in her basement for the winter and we've persuaded him he needs to live in town instead of out on his land in the boonies in a chicken coop. So he's thinking of renting from me. He's disabled and get enough money to afford it.

Yesterday, I had a tree guy come to cut off limbs on the weeping cherry tree that were hanging over the phone/cable lines on the little side street, and that would also impede the shed delivery guy (they need 14'6" vertical height to bring the shed in on a forklift). The tree guy also noted a tree that has fire blight that needs to come down, and it's right next to my car park area. He's going to take it down this coming Friday, which will also open up the area the shed/forklift can use.

Next Monday I get to call the shed Dispatcher guy to schedule the actual delivery. And I need to talk to him and the driver about where to park the semi/flatbed and how to get the shed in here. They certainly can't bring the flatbed down the little side street (which is basically a one-lane street that used to be an alley). So he's going to have to park on Virginia near the Y intersection, take the shed off with the forklift, and bring it down the side street that way.

I think I'm as ready as I can be. Of course, I have to move the RV and my car but that's no big deal. Let's hope it all goes smoothly.

The Actual Slab

So here are some pix of the poured slab. First is property line to street, showing car parking (see RV to left).

Next is from the street (see car nose at bottom left).

Last is looking toward the house. See nose of RV at center right. Also see Sprout, the cat, by the firepit with  unburned xmas tree.

The Slab

Prep for the slab is done (as is the slab but no pic yet). My concrete guy, Lance Graves (is that a cool name or what), brought in a backhoe and scraped the space clean of dirt to a depth of 8 inches, then poured gravel 4 inches deep, and put up the forms for pouring the slab itself. Here's a pic:

This is looking across the one-lane street; the narrow portion is where I park my car. Oops, I see the forms aren't up yet. Well, you get the idea. I'll try to get a pic of the slab itself and put it up -- Lance did a broom finish for traction (one foot will be open as a step) and a 3/4 inch slope from front to back for runoff (left to right in pic); he also put a bullnose edge on the end near parking for smoothness.

I ordered the shed/studio Monday. It's made of pressure-treated wood and will have a red metal gambrel roof with a double barn door on one side (the left in the pic above). I'll only use one side (3ft wide) which will gain me some wall space on the inside. It's under construction right now and will be delivered in about four weeks. Then comes electrical work, which will have to be inspected, and that should be the last I have to deal with the City (yay!).

RIP so sad

Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock: a great man who was, yes, the heart of Star Trek but was also a humanitarian with a great sense of humor. The ST movie he directed (with whales) is the one that best stands the test of time. So sad that he's left us.

Also:
Clark Terry, trumpeter
Louis Jourdan, actor
Lesley Gore, singer

General update

I've contracted with a guy to pour a slab for my building to rest on. Now I have to file an amended permit. And, of course, he has to wait for the snow etc to quit and the ground to dry out and the low temps to come up some before he can pour. Then there'll be the electric and the insulating. So it looks like it may be May or so before I can start using the shed.

That means I can't sell the RV at the proper time (March-April) to catch buyers who want to start out in Spring. Ah well.

I'm so looking forward to being able to stretch my arms above my head.

I'm getting a 14x20 side-loft barn style building. Now, that 14ft is eave to eave (6" ea) so it's really 13x20 with 2x4s, so now it's really really 12'4" x 19'4" inside, which is still considerably bigger than the 8x12 I've been living in for seven years.

The peaked-roof shed has a loft on each end, about 6'2" from the floor, so easy to walk under, and about 6ft long, so about 7ft of open space in the middle. I plan to sleep in one loft and use the other for storage. Under one loft will be my office / working area, and under the other will be a cook/eat area. I'm not having a "kitchen," just a Breville Smart Oven, a hotplate, and an elec. kettle. There'll be a sink with a drain to outside (it's just gray water and not much of it). Across the long wall from the door will be shelving/closet/etc, probably closed off with a curtain run on a cable w/turnbuckle. Am thinking about closing the walls off with beadboard paneling

These are the plans so far. We'll see how long they stand up to reality.

New Year

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year.

I came down to Davidson to visit an old friend, Diana B, whom I haven't seen face to face in over three years. It's been fun just to sit and chat and catch up.

Going to head home later today.

New Year's resolution: stop procrastinating and get the studio project done!