Catch the Wave (Google Wave, That Is)

Here at work before I head out for PA this evening. Just a heads up to say I don't know how much I'll be posting the rest of this week and next. If I'm intermittent . . . too bad. I'm sure you can get along fine without me for a bit.

As a parting gift to you, I have in my possession eight (count them: eight) invitations to Google Wave. And I'm willing to give them to the first eight (count them: eight) people who ask for one, whether it be by emailing me, commenting on my blog, or signaling to me on Facebook. So if you've been dying to get into this big Google experiment, but you haven't known anyone cool enough to get you an in . . .

Now you do.

(As an aside: my initial views on Google Wave? Not really impressed. It looked a lot cooler when I was on the outside looking in. Anyone else already using it? Thoughts?)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Bryce the Plumber

So, believe it or not, there's actually an area of my house that I haven't yet griped publicly about, but which has been a major irritant since DKC and I moved in. In fact, I'd say it's been one of the major irritants--not because it was so awful, but because it was so constant, like a pebble in your shoe in the middle of a race. What is it, you ask? The hot water pressure in the shower.

It has been low since the day we moved in. We had plumbers come to inspect it--they blamed the heating people. We had heating people come to check--they blamed the plumbers. So we had the plumbers come back, and the cycle repeated itself. Somehow in that great big cloud of blame, DKC and I found ourselves alone. The heating people and the plumbers had ducked out amid the confusion, and we still didn't have good hot water pressure. It was marginally better, but great it wasn't.

Enter This Old House, the magazine. DKC and I used some of our expiring Delta frequent flyer miles to subscribe to this gem a few months ago. I look forward to each issue. In the latest one, there was a detailed diagram of a shower, showing how you take it apart, and giving some suggestions on how to fix common problems.

I decided to give it a whirl.

Naturally, I decided to do this on a Saturday night at about 9. The night before church. Neither DKC nor I had showered yet. In hindsight, we really ought to have gotten that out of the way first. It could have been ugly.

Using my trusty Leatherman Wave, I had the shower dismantled in under a half hour. The problem was, the shower I had didn't really match the shower that was in This Old House. That's when I started to wing it, pulling things out, tweaking things to see what they did--likely doing everything an amateur plumber should not. I was disappointed to see a lack of Things to Clean Out. I had hoped the hot water pressure was caused by build up of debris in the line. I found no such thing. However, I did notice that the hot water came through one valve, and the cold water came through another. We had never had problems with our cold water pressure. After tinkering a while longer, I gave up and put it all back together, resigning myself to further water pressure problems in the future. On a whim, I did swap the hot and cold water valves.

Surprisingly enough, that fixed it.

Well, it fixed the hot water pressure. That's going gangbusters now. The cold water is now the one suffering. Which is just fine by me.

I don't like cold showers.

It just goes to show that sometimes, the elephant in the china shop not only doesn't break anything, but he manages to dust off the china while he's in there.

Amazing Race

I'll admit it: I love the Amazing Race. Which on the surface, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I hate flying with a sun-hot intensity. I'd rather go to the dentist than go flying (although oddly enough, I have flown to get my wife to go to the dentist . . .) But I love being in other countries and seeing the sights, and I love a good competition. So while I love watching the Amazing Race, I do it with the full realization that I could never actually participate.

And that's okay.

For those of you poor souls who don't watch the Amazing Race, allow me to explain the appeal. Take your typical reality show selection of candidates (the gay guy, the soccer mom, the brute, the schemer, etc.) and throw them into a global race around the world. Whoever finishes first, wins $1 million. Along the way, they have to do crazy stunts, like bungee jumping from bridges, searching haystacks for pennants, herding ducks--you name it. Follow these people around with a camera, and watch the magic happen.

What's not to love?

You get to see other countries. You get to see people make idiots out of themselves. You get to laugh at how ignorant some people are. You get to second guess everyone's decisions, proving how smart you are and how dumb they are. You generally get to feel superior for a full hour. That's what I call a good deal.

Anyone watching this season?

DKC and I are currently rooting for the Globetrotters, with Malibu Ken and Barbie are next favorites. The gay brothers are our least favorite, with Miss American and her hubby falling in the middle. Please share your opinions, if you have any.

My Librarianly Task of the Day

Another busy day at work, but I thought I'd share with you what I've been working on for the past hour or so. There's a professor who's planning on teaching a class on the films of the Coen brothers next semester. I'm her assigned librarian, and I've been investigating potential materials to purchase to support that class. What this means is that I've been able to roam the pages of imdb and the rest of the internet in search of any material that might pertain to the Coen brothers.

This is awesome.

Here's what I came up with. It doesn't include the basic films (which I've already ordered), or things that my library already owns (like Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men). But it's fairly exhaustive, otherwise. I don't think we'll be able to get all of these--funding and all that jazz--but it was fun making a list.

Sometimes I love being a librarian so much it hurts. :-)


Films/Fiction/Music
Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett (the book the title for Blood Simple comes from)
The Glass Key, by Dashiell Hammett (the book Miller’s Crossing is based on)
The Glass Key (1942)—Alternate film version
The Glass Key (1935)—Alternate film version
Down from the Mountain, a movie about the music of O Brother Where Art Thou
The Tenant (Le Locataire) (1976)—Roman Polanski film that the Coens say inspired and influenced Barton Fink
The Big Sleep (1946)—Alternate film version of book that inspired Big Lebowski
The Big Sleep (1978)—Alternate film version of book that inspired Big Lebowski
Ulysses (1954)—Adaptation of The Odyssey , which O Brother Where Art Thou is based on
The Odyssey (1997)—Adaptation of The Odyssey, which O Brother Where Art Thou is based on
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)—Arguable adaptation of The Odyssey, which O Brother Where Art Thou is based on
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)—Noir adaptation of a book by James Cain, which influenced The Man Who Wasn’t There
The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James Cain
Mildred Pierce, by James Cain
Mildred Pierce (1945)—Adaptation of a book by James Cain, which influenced The Man Who Wasn’t There
The Stranger (1946)—Adaptation of Camus novel, which some argue The Man Who Wasn’t There is influenced by
Soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou
Gates of Eden, by Ethan Coen
The Drunken Driver has the Right of Way, by Ethan Coen

Critical Analysis
The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers, by Mark Conard
The Brothers Grim: The Films of Joel and Ethan Coen, by Erica Rowell
The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, by Cathleen Falsani
The Coen Brothers: Interviews, by William Rodney Allen
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen: Collected Screenplays 1
The Brothers Coen: Unique Characters of Violence, by Ryan Doom
The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film, by Tricia Cooke
The Coen Brothers, by Ronald Bergan
The Films of Joel and Ethan Coen, by Carolyn Russell
The Coen Brothers’ Fargo, by William Luhr
Joel and Ethan Coen, by Peter Korte and Georg Seesslen

Writing Rejections

Rejection is a part of the publishing business. If you want to become a published author, you're going to have to deal with rejection. Fact. If you can't deal with that, then don't try to become a published author. While I don't write solely to become a published author, I certainly wouldn't say no to it if it ever came around. :-)

I've decided I've been waiting enough. Right now, I have three manuscripts that I consider ready for submission. How many am I going to have to write before I start submitting widely? To date, my submission process has been half-hearted at best. If I had gone about finding a job the same way I've gone about submitting manuscripts for publication, I'd still be unemployed, without a glimmer of a chance of having a job. So I'm now submitting. I've sent out Pawn of the Dead to seven agents so far, and I've already heard a no back from three of them. That's okay. I'm going to continue submitting it until I run out of agents who I think would be interested. I'll do the same with Ichabod and Vodnik. Once I run out of agents, I'll start submitting to publishers. Once I run out of publishers, I'll set the book aside for a while and consider revision later. Meanwhile, I'll continue writing when I'm not submitting.

Why?

Because it's silly of me to not be doing this. Just as it would have been silly of me to sit back and apply to the same job over and over and over, never getting it. If someone was depressed that they were unemployed, but they'd only applied three places, would you really feel bad for them? I wouldn't. I've submitted five of my manuscripts anywhere. The number of times I've submitted things combined is probably less than 20 times. That includes the seven submissions I just sent out this week. In a word: pitiful.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings."

Bakugan

So there's this thing that's all the rage at TRC's school: Bakugan. You heard of it? I hadn't, until he started coming home every day raving about how cool they were. Basically, they're small little spheres that have a magnetic latch inside them. When they roll over metal, the latch activates, and they spring open, becoming tiny little creatures. I can see why he likes them. It reminds me of my obsession with Transformers back in the day. Better yet, these are actually a game of some sort. They come with metal cards, and you can have your Bakugan fight other kids' Bakugan. I basically view it as a gateway drug of sorts--if I can get TRC into gaming already, then I'll be that much closer to having a permanent live-in board game opponent for the next 13 years or so. Which is why I had children to begin with. Isn't that why everyone has children? Maybe he'll go from this to Magic the Gathering.

We went to Walmart and got him his first set. He bought them, actually. A starter pack for $8 that came with 6 cards and 3 Bakugan. He's happy as a clam. If anyone wants to feed his growing Bakugan addiction, I'm sure he'd welcome any and all donations. :-)

Anyone else out there have kids transfixed by these things?

Pink Eye, DKC Update and a Nostalgia Fail Movie Review

First things first. TRC has pink eye. This was confirmed by a physician yesterday after I came home from work. No fears--he's got his medicine now, and he should be better soon. (Taking the medicine, on the other hand . . . that was a different story. The kid was absolutely terrified of drops AND the paste stuff. He didn't want anything going anywhere near his eye. It took a half hour of effort--and DKC and I playing Good Cop/Bad Cop (I was the good cop, BTW) for him to relent. At which point he realized it really wasn't that bad, and he's been fine with it since.) He stayed home yesterday and today, but he should be good to go tomorrow, assuming he's feeling better.

Next, I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that DKC also got a new calling. She had been Relief Society secretary. Now she's 1st Counselor to the Young Women's President. She's excited about the change, but I'll let her do the talking--contact her via Facebook if you want to get in touch. She checks that fairly regularly.

And finally, DKC and I watched Clash of the Titans last night. It's a movie I remember very fondly from my childhood. I mean, I thought it was one of the. coolest. movies. ever. It had a metal owl in it. How could a movie get any more awesome? Alas, the film has not weathered the intervening time well for me. Yes, it still had the metal owl, and there were bits and pieces I enjoyed more for the nostalgia than for anything else. Overall, the pacing was slow, the acting was off, the story didn't really make sense . . . It was a disappointment, to say the least. Two stars, and that's being a tad generous, for old time's sake. They're remaking the film--it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

And in other news, I've had my Netflix account on hold for a month or so, and it's beginning to get to me. I was really spoiled when it was active--I could watch whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Last night, being forced to choose from the DVDs I had at home . . . it just wasn't the same. Netflix--I might be coming back sooner than I had thought.

President Bryce

The hinted changes have arrived. It's official now. I'm no longer Ward Mission leader. I'm Elders Quorum President. For those of you who have no clue what that means, join the club. :-) I'm trying to come up with an easy way to give an overview of it, but I'm drawing a blank. That's where Wikipedia steps in, right? See the full definition below my post, if you're curious.

So how do I feel about this? Mixed. On the one hand, I really enjoyed being a Ward Mission Leader. I loved working with the missionaries, and it brought me back to my own mission. Plus, I knew what I was doing. I had been a missionary for two years. I know what that's like, and I have an idea how to help them do their thing. Elders Quorum President? I'm just not as sure. The definition is too nebulous for me just yet. It's still too overwhelming--I'm not sure where to begin.

Of course, the $1,000 question is: will I be busier with this calling? The answer would typically be a resounding yes. But in this case, I'm not 100% sure. I might break even. I was doing a lot with the Ward Mission. Now I'll be doing a lot with the Elders Quorum. However, I have two counselors who are great guys, and they're there to help spread the load. That isn't something I had as WML. Also, I'm more in control of my destiny--as WML, there were sometimes rules that would pop up that came from the mission. I had no say in those rules or their interpretation, so I was sort of at the mercy of whatever came down the pike. I've got a bit more say in what happens to my quorum, though. That might be nice. We'll see.

In any case, I'll be busy. Moving projects, wood projects, coordinating snow removal, teaching Sunday lessons, organizing activities, coordinating home teaching--just a slew of things to be done. My mind's sort of on a permanent whir, processing where I want to begin and how. For now, the first presidency meeting is going to be Friday. I'm coming up with an agenda and looking for ideas.

Wish me luck.

DEFINITION OF AN ELDER (from Wikipedia, but still pretty accurate in this case)

"Elder is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek Priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, male members who are at least 18 years old may be ordained to be Elders. In order to be ordained, the member must be determined to be worthy by his local Bishop and Stake President. The consent of the priesthood holders of the stake is also required before the ordination is performed, and this is usually done at a general stake priesthood meeting that is held twice a year.

"According to Latter Day Saint scripture, the duty of an Elder is to "teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church."[1] Elders have the authority to administer to and bless the sick and afflicted, to "confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost",[2] to baptize and give others the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood as directed by priesthood leaders, and to take the lead in all meetings as guided by the Holy Spirit.[3] An Elder may ordain others to the priesthood offices of deacon, teacher, priest, or Elder.

"In practice, Elders are responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of a ward. They are called to serve in a variety of positions throughout the ward, such as Aaronic Priesthood quorum advisors, scout leaders, ward mission leader, and the Sunday School presidency. Elders and High Priests (assisted by Teachers and Priests) are also responsible for home teaching in the ward.

"Elders are organized into quorums that may contain no more than 96 Elders. A quorum president, along with two counselors, is called and set apart under the direction of the stake presidency, and generally serves for one to three years, although there is no official policy on the length of service. A secretary is also called to assist the president and his counselors.

"All adult men in the ward, whether they are faithful or not, are assigned to either the Elders Quorum or the High Priests Group as directed by the Bishop. However, ordained Elders and High Priests are assigned by default to the quorum or group consistent with their ordination.

"The title "Elder" is not normally used as a personal title (e.g., Elder Evans, Elder Johnson), except by the Church's General Authorities, Area Seventies and full-time male missionaries. Often, full-time missionaries serving within a ward are referred to by the members as "the elders.""

Have You Read Ichabod?

If you have, I need your help! I'm trying to rewrite the query again, and for some reason, I just can't seem to effectively sum up the story. All my attempts are falling short. So . . . if you were going to describe the events of Ichabod (the concept of the story as well as what exactly happens) in a paragraph or two, how would you do it? I'd love some ideas, people. Help!

Houses are Like Relationships

I've been thinking about this on and off for the past while--especially in light of all the work I've been doing on my house this summer. In a way, I think houses are like relationships. At least, the one house I've owned so far has been that way for me. You start off pretty infatuated with the house (hopefully). The first impression is darling, you love this detail and that oddity--love at first sight. And for the first bit, everything is hunky dory. You're caught up in the swell of emotion and the bliss of having gotten this thing you really wanted.

Then, it happens.

You notice something's wrong with your house. There's a squeak in the floor over there. The doors aren't quite straight. What happened to the trim over there? The flooring in the kitchen is scratched. The carpet has seen better days. It goes on and on. This slew of little details that you didn't notice when you first looked at the house--all of them start piling up at an alarming rate. At first it's daunting, but you steel yourself and determine to work through these momentary bumps in your relationship. You can replace the carpet, or repaint, or redo the trim. The flooring isn't really that bad. You can live with it.

But despite your best efforts and intentions, you start noticing things. Ads in the newspaper. For Sale signs as you're driving down the street. And you start thinking maybe all this effort isn't worth it. After all, wouldn't it be easier just to go get a new house?

The thing is, I don't think it would be. Take DKC and I, for example. The kind of house we really love and are drawn to is an old house. One with character. Old houses all have flaws. They demand upkeep. It's a fact. And no matter how alluring any house in question might be at first blush, once you get to know that house well, you're going to start finding problems. Sure, they may be different problems than the ones you've been dealing with, but they'll start to bug you just as much if you let them.

I think the trick is to not let them. Acknowledge the flaws, accept them, and move on. Live with them. Fix them over time--but do your best to keep in mind the details about your house that drew you to it in the first place. I really like my house, despite all the bellyaching I do about it. Yes, it has its flaws, but overall, I think it's great. Better yet, it keeps improving the more work I put into it, which is probably why I'm motivated to keep working on it.

Again, just like relationships.

Pictures

Oh yeah--and for those who care, pictures of my home improvement projects are up on my Facebook page.

The Siding is Finished

It's not sanded, caulked or painted, mind you--but it's now all up on the garage, which is much better than it lying on the floor of the garage. DKC, TRC and I got it done this morning before I had to head in for my night shift at work. That means that of my house projects, the following are finished:

• Chimney Retopping
• Getting wood structural supports 2 inches away from chimney
• Wood stove installed
• Electrical outlet for wood stove installed
• 1.5 inch hole in main water drain for house patched
• Siding on garage done
• Trim on garage done
• Antique chimney uncovered.

Remaining to be done:

• Antique chimney cleaned
• Area around antique chimney trimmed
• Sliding garage door trimmed and repaired
• Siding sanded, caulked and painted
• Wood stacked (2 cord or less left to go)
• Garage cleaned out (so we can park in there again)
• Scrap piles taken to dump or burned (wood)
• Leaves raked/blown, bagged and banked by the house

I might be forgetting some things, but that's the major stuff. It's getting done, bit by bit--and some of that will have to wait for spring.

Library Statistics

It's an odd fact about me, but I actually enjoy working with statistics in Excel. Of course, there's always such a thing as too much of a good thing, and that's what I'm in now. Having to prepare 9 different spreadsheets (each with 6 separate sheets of data covering 12 months of time and 270 different categories) . . . it can get a bit old. What are the statistics covering? How many titles and volumes we'll add to the collection, weed from the collection, and withdraw from the collection for the year, plus how many books, DVDs, CDs, etc the library has total. (For you non-librarians out there, allow me to explain:

Title--the entirety of a book, DVD set, etc.
Volume--the individual parts of a series, set, etc.
Thus, a five DVD set on the Wizard of Oz would be one title, but 5 volumes. A single DVD on the Wizard of Oz (just the film, for example), would be one title, and one volume.
Weed--when an item is taken from the collection due to low usage, dated information, etc.
Withdrawn--when an item is taken from the collection due to poor condition (moldy, falling apart)

Why do we keep track of all this stuff? So that we know what we have. Libraries need to know that sort of thing. It helps us compare ourselves to other libraries and know who's winning.

Sure, my library is a bit small and a bit dated, but just wait until we land on Free Parking and get everyone else's good books. Mwa ha ha!

In any case, when I leave this post at that and go no further, please blame the statistics, not me.

Book Review: The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time Book 12)

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
So here we are. Finally, after my long drawn-out re-read of the Wheel of Time series, I was able to read the new book. I have to admit, I was more than a little apprehensive going into the read. I mean, I know Brandon, and I trust his writing and skill, but no one's perfect. Everyone has a dud now and then--even when they're writing their own material. Finishing someone else's material? I could see many ways where that would go wrong. What if I didn't like it? Should I still review it and be brutally honest, even if it would be going against a friend? I certainly wouldn't have lied in a review--that's just wrong. But I probably would have just "forgotten" to do the review.

Thankfully, I didn't need to.

This is a fantastic book. Easily up there with the best in the series. It contains everything it should--memorable battle scenes, great character development, answers upon answers to long-held questions--you name it. Did it feel like a Robert Jordan book? Well, not exactly. It felt like a Wheel of Time book, done by a different author. That's to be expected, though--because that's what it is. I'm very glad Brandon didn't try to make it a Robert Jordan book. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm wholly against giving spoilers in a review, so I don't plan on discussing any of the particulars in detail, but I think I'm safe is giving a broad overview--saying that the book centers on Rand and Egwene shouldn't give too much away. I'll say that one of those two plot lines satisfied me 100%. The main action scene in that thread has some of the most striking images of the series--right up there with Dumai's Wells. Maybe even above it. The other plot made complete sense--I understood why it was happening they way it was, but that didn't make me frustrated with the character in question, sort of like how you can have great friends but be really irritated with what they do. There were times in one plot line that I just wanted to reach into the book and shake the characters some--get them to stop being so stupid. But even that plot came to a good conclusion at the end, and I feel like after reading the final chapter, the series is ready to return to its roots and build to a nice huge climax.

Count me excited.

Some have noted that Mat's scenes in the book feel off, and I have to say that I agree with them. But I think this is more a symptom of Brandon writing as Brandon, not as Robert Jordan. Humor is really tricky to pull off. Mat's a humorous character. Trying to ape Jordan's style of Mat-humor would have been very unlikely to come off as humorous. Make sense? Instead, Brandon keeps Mat humorous, but the humor is a tad different. It's more Brandon-style. Which I was completely fine with--I really enjoyed Mat's behavior and chapters. But at the same time, it felt like a bit of a different Mat, just as the various James Bonds all feel different, as well. There's Connery-Bond and Brosnan-Bond and Craig-Bond and Moore-Bond. This was more a Connery vs. Craig difference than a Connery vs. Moore difference. For those of you who aren't Bond afficiandos, that means it was a good vs good as opposed to good vs bad.

I'll say this--reading the book was a surreal experience for me. Revisiting this world, knowing that it was a good friend who was now writing it . . . bizarre. Case in point: I was about halfway through the book Saturday, and I'd just come to a scene that I had some questions about. I was picturing Brandon writing it, and in a way, it almost felt like I was back in his writing group. In those days, I would have circled the passage, written a question, and talked to him about it later that week. By coincidence, however, Brandon happened to call me up right after I finished the passage, and I got to ask him about it over the telephone. (Brandon--great answer, by the way. Makes total sense now--even more sense the more I think about it.) I never would have had a phone chat with Robert Jordan period, let alone a quick chat about something like that. It was all I could do to not completely start geeking out on the phone.

Anyway. To sum things up, go out and buy the book today. It's completely worth your while, and a superb read. I can't wait for the next one.

View all my reviews >>

Why I Like the Yankees

I'm a Yankees fan.

Get over it.

That said, I always feel the need to explain why I'm a Yankees fan--the need to distinguish myself from those front-runner-loving, money grubbing lemmings out there who are Yankees fans just because Yankees win a lot and have a lot of money. (Although better to be a Yankees fan for that reason than a Red Sox fan for that reason, I suppose.) In any case, I'm not one of Those Fans.

I lived in New York from the time I was two until I was ten or so. At that time, the Mets were doing really well. My brother became a big Mets fan. I decided I wanted to be different, and so I became a Yankees fan. And for years, I was made fun of, because the Yankees were just has beens. They didn't do anything to speak of, postseason-wise. But I hung in there. I rooted for them year in and year out.

Then the mid-90s happened, and suddenly it was really fashionable to hate the Yankees. And so I got made fun of again--now because the Yankees were too good. They were the Evil Empire, blah blah blah.

Doesn't matter to me. I'm still a Yankees fan, and I will remain a Yankees fan--even if I'm living in the middle of Red Sox nation these days.

Although speaking from experience, I'd much rather be made fun of because my team is too good than to be ridiculed because my team never does anything. It's called envy, folks.

Get used to it.

Go Yankees!

How to Tell You're Really Busy

For the second time in a week, you look at the time, realize it's almost evening, and you still haven't blogged. Sorry folks--life is still busy. Change is in the air, though. Fairly big change. Nothing life-altering (or writing-related), but still . . . Stay tuned.

Busy as All Get Out

Sorry, folks. It's been crazy around here. The good news is that projects are getting completed like crazy, both at work and in life. The bad news is that it affects my blogging a tad. :-) Still, without further ado, I'd like to announce:

We used our new wood stove for the first time last night, and it was a resounding success!

The blower works great, the fire burns slow and long, the heat is great--we put in two sticks today at 6:30, and they actually kept going until this evening at 5:30, when I threw another two sticks on, and they burst right to life. Difference of night and day. I think we'll go through a lot less wood this year, based on that--and we'll certainly be a lot cozier. Love the look of the fire behind the glass. Words fail to describe how happy this makes me. Between the old stove, the chimney, the electrical outlet (we have like 3 inches of floor levels, BTW), the debating about the new stove--to have it all come together like this is just fantastic.

Of course, since this is my house, nothing good comes without the discovery of something bad. In this case, it was the discovery last night of a half dollar-sized gaping hole in my main drainage pipe for the house. I've been assured that's a relatively easy fix, however, so I'm not letting it get me down.

Take the victories where you can get them.