November 1, 2002

• Friday Fragments

  
  

  We had to make a quick trip to the store yesterday afternoon for last minute costume adjustment needs.  The kids were excited with all the Halloween hoopla, and not much inclined to be calm, cool or collected.  I was pleased that they had a shopping cart available with "big kid" seats so I could strap 'em in. 

  
  

  Tucker's hands and feet seemed to be everywhere as I pushed the boys through Walmart.  His middle was buckled in and his seat was seated, but he was a wild man.  I warned him a dozen times to settle down, that he was going to cause an accident.

  
  

  And as I said it came to pass.  An elderly woman was pushing her cart toward us, and just as she came even with us, Tucker chose that moment to swing his head out to the side.  Of course, he hit the woman. 

  
  

  I apologized and then turned to my offspring.  "Tucker, what do you say?"

  
  

  "Don't try this at home?"

  
  

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  The rules of the NaNoWriMo are simple.  You just write.  They ask that you try to write at least 2,000 words a day.  In this way, by the end of the month you've completed 50,000-60,000 words which is a book.  There isn't any big prize for completing - you just get the encouragement and motivation to keep at it.  I sat down last night (after I wrote the poem below) and wrote my first paragraphs.  It was a heady experience.  I'm flushed with the excitement of "actually DOING it." 

  
  

  The short paragraphs I wrote last night totaled up to 500 words.  Whooo, Hoooo!  Today I've added more and more.  I'm up to 3172 words now.  I'm sure that as I get further into the story it will go slower as I have to make decisions about plot points that I haven't worked out yet.  But so far, so happy!

  
  

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  Tim entered the annual Chili contest at work yesterday.  He decided this year to go for the "hottest" category.  He pureed tobasco peppers, cayenne, onions, and some secret ingredients.  I didn't taste it, but the fumes made my eyes water from the next room.  He didn't win.  I say he was robbed. 

  
  

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  I am suffering a disappointment today.  We had hoped to refinance our home at a lower interest rate.  In fact, my November trip to Arkansas has been delayed so we can do this.  The loan is approved, the interest rate is appealing, but the terms are unacceptable to me.  We have less than 20% equity in our house, probably due to some inflation of the actual value of the lot we purchased to build our house on four years ago.  We paid what the guy asked because we really like the place.  We are on the very back end of a gravel road.  We have 6.5 acres with stands of trees on a rolling hillside.  It's quiet, it's isolated from traffic, and it's beautiful.  But, apparently it isn't worth the price we paid for it according to the people who did the appraisal a couple weeks ago.

  
  

  Ok, my bad.  I overpaid for the property.

  
  

  The bottom line is that the refinancing company would only do the loan if we added mortgage insurance to it.  Nope, I won't do it.  I have a loan now that has no mortgage insurance requirement.  Even a lower interest rate doesn't offset $100 a month for something that is of no benefit to me.  My perspective is that if the company doesn't want to loan me the money, don't do the loan - but the whole mortgage insurance thing (in my opinion) is an unethical way of charging interest (anytime I have to pay someone for the privilege of borrowing their money, it's interest) and calling it by another name.  And so they lost my business.  But, I am disappointed.

  
  

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  On the good things front.  I am now free to leave town.  I'm headed to Arkansas for the next month.  I'll be visiting with my parents, and pitching in a helping hand.  I try to go to Arkansas several times a year to assist my Mom with seasonal cleaning and the time has come for the next trip.  Fugitive lives next door, so our kids play together while she and I ... play together.

  
  

  My schedule there will not be essentially different from my schedule here.  I'll still be able to blog from my Dad's computer, and I'm taking my laptop to continue my novel writing.

  
  

  Have a Great Weekend!

  • 4:19 pm
  • 23 Comments