Doorways and jackhammers

Remember the mysterious hole in our basement that I wrote about last year? (No? Read  about it here.)

A few weeks ago, the heavy Chicago storms resulted in flooding in our basement. When we decided to finally get drainage tiles put in, we also decided to cut into the wall and excavate the dirt so we can use the space.

So the morning began with jackhammers and ended with cutting into the wall. Tomorrow they remove the dirt. There is a lot of it.

Tonight I’ll go to sleep dreaming about what could possibly be buried underneath.

Sweet dreams.

😉

Summer rain and cartoonification

I’ve have been turned into a cartoon, and I like it.

My profile picture was done by cartoonist Eric Orchard (@inkybat). You can read his blog and see examples of his art on Eric’s website.

I woke before the kids this morning. That seldom happens in the summer, unless we have someplace to be. Usually I write until 3 or 4am, and then I wait until the kids wake up (usually around 8am) before finally getting out of bed.

I think it was the rain, the gentle summer rain, that did it.

It was in stark contrast to the fierce late-night thunder storms and lightning shows that have sent the kids scurrying to our bed in the middle of the night.

I awoke to a sleeping house, crept downstairs, and made myself a coconut milk late. I had the time and the quiet to begin this entry.

I finally finished Book #2 (S.C.) and received my first round of edits. I’ve also begun the first of two projects with Madeline Carol Matz (@mcmatz). I’ve oscillated between those two projects most nights. The mcmatz project has more urgency, since we have a sort of deadline for the first bit.

In the meantime, we’ve been dealing with flooding in the basement from recent storms. Sorting, purging, and organizing are on the agenda for most days, interspersed with general kid summer frivolity.

But the kids return to school in two weeks, and in a flutter of pre-school doctor appointments, last-minute excursions, and a final round of summer birthday parties and playdates, I find myself getting excited about Fall–my favorite and most productive season.

Glorious October is just around the corner.

 

 

Call for Ukrainian American Writers

Ukrainian American Writers: A New Generation of Literary Voices, will present their annual reading on November 5th, 2011 at The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago.

Three writers will be selected to read their work through a juried reading process.  If you are a Ukrainian American writer and would like to submit your work for consideration, please send 3-5 poems or a 2-3 page excerpt from a short story, novel, or play that you would like to read via e-mail to [email protected].  Please include your name in the subject line, along with the genre of work you are sending.

Past readers will be considered, provided that new work is forwarded for review.

The submission period is June 1st through September 15, 2011, and selected writers will be contacted via e-mail by October 1st, 2011.

For more information please contact organizers Sonya Arko or Anna Golash at [email protected].