Happy Halloween

Peeps wishes everybody a Happy Halloween. Having been fortunate enough to miss the worst of the storm, she dressed up in style.

I think she's the sweetest little thing I've ever seen.

Storm Day

With no mass transit and a supposedly record "Frankenstorm" on its way, we've been confined to the apartment today. Not knowing what would happen when (just like the media), I printed up lecture notes for later in the week and graded tests mindful that the power could go out at any minute. Preserving some battery power was essential so I've alternated between my laptop, iPad and phone to communicate with all those worried friends and family, keeping at least two charging at any time. If the power went out, I planned to use a laptop to watch movies and an iPad to read magazines or books (no light needed that way) and my phone to check news and important emails from work. It took Evan to remind me that I couldn't stream a movie from netflix or check email if the power went out as we'd lose internet as well.

For much of the day, I felt like a bit of a fraud--class was cancelled but it wasn't even raining and we didn't see much wind here either. Between work and instagramming the cats, I started feeling moderate levels of cabin fever but was grateful I wasn't experiencing anything worse.

As we're running out of boxes, I couldn't even pack for the imminent move, but at least some of the grading and course prep is complete for the end of the week. Hopefully, nothing major will happen and nobody will be hurt, but I'm very aware that this isn't over yet and a lot could change in the next few hours.

Coveting

We're selecting light fittings right now for the new place. Much as we have tried to balance style/cost/value (which has ended up in us making some expensive purchases), the lighting we like is really out of budget. We both agree that this pair from Restoration Hardware would be perfect but with their four figure price tags, we're just going to look elsewhere. To make matters worse, they are even more beautiful and substantial in real life.

Cover

I just received an exciting email--my book has a cover and it is lovely. After all the work, this is the detail that finally makes everything seem real. It reminds me that I have to get the acknowledgments into the press this week--too many people need to be thanked and I don't want to overlook anybody. I am so glad the press did such a good job--their cover designer really came through for me and I appreciate all her work. I'd show a screen grab here but I'm not sure if I have the right to show it as yet.

Renovations

We're moving in a month and renovating our new place at the same time which is one of many reasons why I've been slow in blogging recently. Finding an apartment to buy wasn't that easy--the parameters were limited due to respective commutes, size needs, costs and preference for a prewar building. With little on the market, others were looking for the same thing as us. Fortunately, we got a big place in a well maintained building we liked, but it looked like it hadn't been decorated since 1972. So, we went for pretty much a gut rehab and the demolition is now pretty much completed (bathroom down to the studs, kitchen cabinets entirely removed, no baseboards left and the lighting/electrics almost entirely redone.

I'm amazed at how much work is involved. I knew we needed a new kitchen and bathroom (from floor to ceiling), that the place needed to be entirely repainted white (every room was a different colour, none of them nice), the floors refinished and the baseboards replaced. That's not minor work. Thankfully the contractor is great and our architect is really helpful. Even the little details--replacing all the light fixtures, deciding on medicine cabinets, storage, etc--can take a long while, but we want this all done in a month. Today was kitchen day--we worked on the drawings and selected cabinets--and hopefully all will be ordered next week. Meanwhile I have revisions due on a paper, the book files will soon arrive so I'll have to look over the copyediting, and there is teaching.

With all the distractions, clothes have not been on my mind of late. I've shopped my closet. I can't fit into much of what I have but I'm making do for the time being. When it gets cold, I'm going to have to do some tactical shopping. Just two more months to go.