Read this:

The construction behind us continues to move along at an impressive pace:

Hurricane Elsa seems to have taken it easy on folks in Florida, and hopefully the same in NC. Beach forecasts are for lots of rain; here in Raleigh we expect more than 3″, which is a ton, of course.

Have been reading a Master’s Thesis in prep for a defense tomorrow (zoom). It’s centered on Kendrick Lamar’s Damn, and focusing more on the musical elements, rather than the text/lyrics. This is a good document, albeit in need of some editing, and I’ve quite enjoyed this particular student’s approach which, to be honest, is one of the best thesis documents I’ve read at ECU. This student, Shawn, seems to “get” the idea of such a study; research, absorb, synthesize, and suggest conclusions. And, as a good paper should, his conclusions are both logical and interesting! Lots of years of r...

Hurricane season is upon us, and Elsa is headed our way after ravaging the Caribbean and the west coast of Florida. So I drove down/back to Surf City yesterday to bring the furniture in from the deck, away from any potential wind damage. It’s about 30 minutes further from here than it was from Greenville, but the round trip was uneventful.

Back here in Raleigh, continually amazed at the progress being made on the buildings in this development. The pix below represent four days’ work:

Now about 80% settled into this new place, which feels good. But certainly getting that final 20% settled involves lots of work yet. Most rooms are livable, if not completely as we want them. There’s at least one thing to do in every space though–finishing the spackle/paint around the medicine cabinet in the master bath; unpacking a few boxes in the master bed; dealing with furniture arrangement in living room, etc. The laundry space, the hall bath, the guest bedroom and bath, and just about everything related to Pattie’s mom’s space are set, though. Six ceiling fans installed, lots of handyman work, which I enjoy.

Pattie’s sewing room still isn’t finished–painting, some shelving–and it was part of what we’ve already paid for, to have been done before our move in on June 9...

The pace of the building of this development is really something to observe. I feel like a kid watching the crews work each day, and noting the progress. The builders are aiming to begin/complete a building (4-6 townhomes in each building) every 4 weeks. And they may just meet that aim.

A particularly potent “Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American” this morning:

Greenville home is under contract, appraised, inspected. The buyers will get the inspector’s report soon, and then we’ll negotiate what we’ll do before the closing. As the buyers are, literally, our next-door neighbors, they’re very familiar with the area, and have a pretty good sense of this home. And, thankfully, our other next-door neighbor is a former builder, and is willing to work on any issues within his abilities, which are broad-ranging. So, it’ll mostly be a matter of negotiating an agreement between what the buyers want and what we’re willing to do (not much).

We close the deal on the Raleigh place next Thursday. Last week was the inspection on that place, and two days later a “new home orientation...

A lovely, albeit brief, visit with Jackson, Cristin, and Joe, as they make their way south for a visit to Cristin’s folks in Florida for a few weeks. It’s been a nice 36 hours with them, and have enjoyed the respite from all-consuming moving-related things.