The end of November...

[byslantedlight]

I just have to say...
50176



...*vbg* Sorry, you get all the images, because at 3am last night - this morning - I did not think I was going to pull this off, and I couldn't imagine how in the world I'd ever thought I might move house and write a 50,000 novel in a single month... But I am such a deadline-girl that - I did. *vbg* I wrote 5363 words today, because between 8.30 and 9am, as I was waking up after not-quite-enough-sleep-really, I realised what I'd completely missed as part of the story, and what I needed to fit in where, and I could suddenly totally get on with it again! And now I have an incomplete 50,000 word novel that will hopefully turn out to be an approximately 100,000 word complete novel by the end of 2015. There, I am setting a goal - I have a goal. *g* Also, because I rather like the dragon image, and the curly-font writing they use - finally, they have attractive graphics... *g*

I did it! *vbg*

Okay - the other thing that I did looks like this...
All very much a work in progress, but I have sofas, a mattress to sleep on, my telly is working, my dvd is working - though the remote control isn't, cos my batteries are still in storage, but I managed to watch a bit of a Pros ep anyway *g* - and I have stuff here. I found a kitchen box in my storage yesterday, got it home and began unwrapping newspaper from 1995 and managed enough crockery to eat dinner from...

Mostly - yeay, I can haz a home of my own! And I have written 50,000 of an original m/m novel! *g* And I still have two days off! *vbg*

Tomorrow the Mans with a Van arrive at 10am, and we go to my Glastonbury storage and take everything out of it and bring it here. This I am now slightly worried about, because there's already quite alot of stuff in here, and where's it all going to go? What with writing and moving and all, I've not made up a single flatpack bookcase yet, and have also had a big disaster - they're too tall for the living room wall! Ack! They fit my bedroom, and they might fit the wall by the door (which you can't see, cos I took the photos from near it *g*) but they're too tall for the main wall I planned them for! They wouldn't have been, but Ikea have only re-jigged the Billy bookcases, and it turns out that one of the jiggings was making them taller... which would normally be good, but in my wee barn conversion - less helpful.

I am, on the other hand, rather chuffed to have my own proper desk again, even if it is facing the door as you come in so that I also feel a bit like a receptionist. I could wave people to my sofas when they arrive, and let them know that they will be seen shortly... *g* But I am totally the queen over my barn conversion, which I can absolutely survey from this seat, and I can reach things that I need - bliss!

I am feeling rather chuffed with myself right now, I have to say - if rather more poverty-stricken than I'd like, having just paid my first Big Rent. Eep! But there are also Jobs that have yet to pay me, so hopefully it'll perk up a bit before Christmas, and in any case I have every intention of hunkering down for December and reading Christmas stories, and Pros-Christmas stories, and watching my dvds, and writing and writing and writing without worrying as much about wordcounts! And walking in the winter fields, and getting to know Somerset a bit better. And Dorset and Wiltshire, cos I'm kind of on the corner. And Devon, just cos. *g*

Just - yeay. *vbg*

Comments

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on being a NaNoWriMo Winner, and on moving in!
Your new space already has character and looks very cozy. I like the sofas.

Too bad about the bookcases! I hope they can be used elsewhere, or returned, if not.
It must feel so strange to unpack things from almost 20 years ago. :)

How is the internet connection in the annexe? Better than in your room in the main house?

Good luck with getting everything from the storage to fit in, and have fun settling in!

Thanks for sharing!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I think I can return two of the bookcases and use the others - I'll swap the two for smaller ones. It's a bit of a bugger though, cos these are nice and deep, which would be perfect for all my non-fiction books, but I wanted them in the lounge, and these will only fit in the bedroom where I want my fiction, which would be better on the shallower shelves that I can get for the lounge! Darn it! Though one will fit on a different wall by the front door, which is a bit odd but I think do-able...

The internet connection is sort of better than in my lodging in the main house - I have 3 bars here at my desk, only 2 elsewhere in the lounge (which was what I had in the lodging only at my desk) and then it fades out entirely towards the kitchen and bedroom. But I really don't need the internet there anyway, so hopefully it'll be fine! It's been good enough so far, as long as it holds out for Job 2 next summer, then all will be well!

And thank you - I'm totally surrounded by boxes right now, and tired of making up flat pack shelves, and a little worried that they might fall on me whilst I sleep and crush me (well, they shouldn't really, cos I shimmed them at the front with some cardboard, and I might get some proper shims for them tomorrow, to be on the safe side, but I worry!)

How in the world did I gather so much tat?!

[sunray45.livejournal.com]

YAY! Congratulations. It's quite a miracle considering how busy you've been.

Love your new home too. It looks very cosy and am so glad you found it. It's a bugger about the bookcases though - why do they have to change stuff when they really don't have to. I'm sure you'll find a place for them.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It actually feels a bit like a miracle from my end too - but I'm very glad I did it!

Now all I have to do is find my way out of the huge mountainous maze of boxes I made in here today. It looked pretty and cosy before they arrived!

[etain-antrim.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! And congratulations!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *g*

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

your new rooms look wonderful and i am sure you will soon get everything the way you want it , and yay for getting to watch some pros and well done on your writing ...good luck in your new barn conversion x

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm slightly more in despair today - my new rooms looked wonderful until I piled a huge-enormous load of boxes into them! I'm currently not at all convinced that my lifetime's-accumulated tat is going to fit in here at all!

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

\o/ !!!! You did it!!!! And NaNoWriMo, to boot.

We'll be over with the Xmas punch very soon. :D

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, lots of Christmas punch, please! *g* I am now surrounded entirely by boxes, and not at all sure how everything's going to fit, so I think punch can only help!

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, you made it!c

Bummer about the bookcases though - wonder if there are any ideas here: http://www.ikeahackers.net/category/billy

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I did make it! *g*

I wondered about Ikeahackers - I like that website! *g* - but to be honest I don't think I'm quite handy enough to do anything really constructive with them... I wondered about turning them on their side and using them that way, but then I'd have to find some way to make long horizontal shelves stable - and the bottom wouldn't be pretty... Thanks for the link - everyone seems to be wanting to make theirs taller, or into floor-to-ceiling "built in" versions, which I would love, but that's kind of the opposite of my problem! I think I'll be able to take two back, swap them for smaller shelves that will fit better, and use the others. It's a shame though - they're deep enough for my non-fiction books, but I don't want those in my bedroom, and the ones I can replace them with are a better shallow size for my fiction - but I do want that in my bedroom where only the deep shelves fit. Rats!

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Not sure which gets the more congratulations, but: congratulations on both!

Curious about those bookcases - what have Ikea been up to? What height are they now?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Ikea has done something that in other circumstances I would have thought was fab - they've made Billy taller (202cm instead if 180cm) and I'm pretty sure they're deeper too (28cm instead of 24cm, perhaps? I've not got my old ones to measure now). They're now perfect for anyone with an ordinary-shaped house, and can be made to look as if they're built in and all, which I would have loved to do. But for those of us with odder shapes, Billy is no longer the perfect bookcase... But there's a new kid on the block - Gersby - and he should fit! I'll let you know...

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

Oh, conga rats ululations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's amazing! Blimey but you've been productive!!!
As for the bookcases, if it's not possible to swap them for some Ikea alternative - if it's not possible or practical to return them at all ... well almost everything we've ever bought from Ikea we've subsequently customised to fit where we wanted it to go. With a saw, mostly! (well, plus a drill plus occasional screwplates :-) (Just check that the bit you need to saw off doesn't remove a structurally essential corner or anything like that). We have Ivar (and other stuff) that fits under a sloping ceiling now, plus a bed which is 1 1/2 times higher than advertised because we adapted the legs meant for a matching occasional/bedside table to be the legs of the bed instead. Stuff like that)
Your place looks wonderful! And I bet that once you've got bookcases up and storage space organised that you'll have room for most things. And oh it does look lovely! Really really lovely.
And hey, the calendar is full, too!

Go you for such a fantastically productive November, I'm blown away!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! So behind with replies, what with moving and writing and being surrounded now by boxes and un-made Ikea shelves of various sizes! They did let me swap two shelves, and the others look good where they are (landlord was very impressed when i showed him what they looked like! *g*) I did wonder about hacking the other two shelves, but with my expertise (i.e. wouldn't fill a thimble, watered down), it didn't seem like a good idea... *g* I think the we in your description there is probably a good idea when doing things like that, too! And I found a better telly-box-thingie whilst I was there, so that worked. Love that you were clever enough to adapt to a sloping ceiling though - how impressive is that?!

Things seem to be slowly fitting in - except in the kitchen, where cleverly disguising a fridge and a washing machine as cupboards mean that I have two fewer cupboards - the ones that would normally be used for big things like pans and casserole dishes! I need an extension for the counter/breakfast bar thingie.

And yeay calendar! And yeay writing and November! Now, if I can just make December work... *g*

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

It's very true, sometimes you need more than one pair of hands at a time (or a set of "smart" clamps that respond to vague voice commands "a bit more to the left - no, the other left" etc. - pity those haven't been invented yet!). The sloping ceiling sounds fancy(ish), but only involved folding a piece of stiff paper to get the angle (roughly!). Left to my own devices, I'd definitely hesitate before chopping up furniture I'd only just bought ... trouble is, our flat is the top one right under the roof - we've got sloping ceilings in every room but one!

Glad you have found a couple of better fits for the TV and shelving, but it's kind of a shame about the clever disguise thing - that was all the rage not long ago, wasn't it, to have "cupboard" doors for as many appliances as possible :-\
Well I hope you manage to find a place for everything anyway - don't forget to take a break, though, and rest up in between tackling boxes!

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Huge congrats on finishing the NaNo thingy whatsit. I reckon that's no mean acheivement with all you've had going on.

And I have to say, I love the look of your new home. I think you may have landed on your feet. :-)

And 'rats' about the bookcases. Things conspire sometimes but I'm sure you'll sort it. You just wonder why nothing is ever straightforward...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

My new home is currently all boxes and bags and chaos, but I am gradually getting things put away, finding them homes, and assembling them homes! And tonight I sat on a couch and ate my dinner watching tv - it was lush, so much improved over half-lounging on a bed to do it! *g* They took the two bookcases back too, and I got some smaller ones (not yet assembled, and you can't move the shelves around (or add more, *grumble*) but if I can finish work tonight then I can get on and make up at least one more of them (I was a bit flat-packed out yesterday, as it turned out!) But I'm liking my new home too... *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on everything! Writing 50,000 (a challenge you faced and beat, *g*) your new home, and getting in some Pros!

Too bad about the bookcases. It's odd how we tend not to think too much about height. I did that when we rearranged our gym. The pulley system was too high to go where I originally wanted it because the vents from the furnace run right along there, but we managed to find an arrangement that works. I'm sure you will, too.

Are you planning on posting your finished story here and on AO3, or do you have greater plans for it?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Oddly enough, I did think about the height of the bookcases, but I also kept thinking it'll be fine, they can't have made them too tall for the average house... - so it's really my own fault. As you say though, I have indeed sorted something that will work - I returned two of them, and found something that should fit - though I've been flat-packed out a bit, so haven't made them yet!

My story isn't actually a fandom story, so it wouldn't fit on A03. I'm not sure where it might fit at the moment, I shall have to wait and see. I'll eventually be asking around for experimental readers, I suspect, since I've never done a story like this before! Then we'll see... *g* Presuming I get it finished...

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Yay, congratulations on making it successfully through NaNo, and good luck with the rest of your project! I've heard people say that doing NaNo establishes good writing habits, so I hope that's the case for you - me I'm just so thankful it's over and I don't have to do any bloody writing today :D

Lovely to see pics of your new abode. It's already shaping up, and even though stretching the purse it must be fab to have your own proper homey place where you can watch what you want and cook what you want etc. Although hee! to being a receptionist in your own home. Still, sitting at your desk and being mistress of all you survey... perhaps that will be inspiring!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And congratulations again to you too - go us! *g* I haven't got any good writing habits yet, cos of the whole moving house thing - I haven't even put shelves together yet, though I went and swapped them yesterday. Tomorrow...

And it is nice to have my own place - I actually sat on a couch and ate dinner in front of the telly tonight, and halfway through it occurred to me how momentous that was. It's been years since I didn't have to sit on a bed to do that! *g*

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on getting everything done! Your new nest looks fabulous - love the sofas! I hope you can do something with the bookcases - I didn't realise they'd made the blooming things taller *makes note to self*. I'm sure you'll make everything fit and look wonderful!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Well, I may have got stalled yesterday - I was flatpacked out... But they did swap the hugely tall ones (which look great in the bedroom - two metres tall worth of books! Times three! *g* - for smaller ones at Ikea. Actually Ikea has almost rendered itself useless to me now, cos they have no less-than-2m-tall tall bookshelves with adjustable shelves any more, unless you want them in red or black... and my new home is a hundred shades of white... *sighs* Oh well. Fab new nest! Sofas! bookcases! *g*

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

Woo-hoo for the writing, including that last-minute push to actually get it all done. Well done, you!

And especially yay for moving in to your very own place! That's fabulous. It looks very cozy and cheerful, too, which is important. I hope the bookcases will work out where you need to put them, and everything will eventually find its own place to live. Enjoy!

[nypagan.livejournal.com]

YAY! and Congratulations on all fronts!! I like the beams and the cabinets and the floors and sofas! Hope you get it all sorted to your liking soon. (Though I must admit to having stuff still in boxes 10+ years later...ahem) Throwing roses at your feet O-Queen of All You Survey!

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

I am a little late to LJ as too often but I want to express you my heartfelt congratulations for your (wonderful) NaNoWriMo victory and for your beautiful settlement. I wish you all sorts of success!