The first floor of our new house is framed. I walked through it last night. It’s a bit surreal. The house is set back a bit more from the road than the houses around us. Which is nice. We have a small front yard with a big porch. Which is nice. I went through and looked out all the windows. Front window is going to be really nice to watch the street. Lucy and Roxie will be able to see out without having to stand on their hind legs which I think they’re going to love (it has a really low sill).

The side window in the living room is a bit of a bust. It looks directly onto the neighbor’s yellowish brown siding. It’ll provide light into what could have been a dark corner of the room. If the fence is far enough forward we’ll be able to plant something out there. Who knows… I see Punky spending a lot of time looking out this window freaking us out. As though someone was hiding in the 4 feet between our house and the fence.

The back window in the great room and side window in the kitchen look out onto the only treeless part of the yard. After looking at it last night I’ve decided to put a fountain in that area surrounded by the cactus I brought with me from the old house.

The sliding doors in the kitchen look out on trees. Glorious trees, and that’s the view that you’ll see when you come in the front door. It’ll be nice. The window over the kitchen sink also looks out on trees. It’s definitely the best view on the first story. Maybe I’ll rotate my island so that I can look out that window while I cook.

The final window is in the laundry room, and unfortunately it also looks out directly on siding. This siding is a dark brown color. Ah well, I suppose it’s better than no window at all.

We’re going by tonight with a camera so tomorrow there will be pictures. And hopefully when we get there they’ll be a second story.

So now that we’re done with the house. I just have to relate that the muse has hit me. A gentleman on the bus has inspired the protagonist and plot for my next play. It’s fantastic. I love when things fall together like that.

He was going off this morning on a libertarian/anti-free trade rant (I realize those are quazi-incompatible, but this guy wasn’t short on contradictions), telling college students (I guess today was the first day of class?) that they were wasting their time. That he – even with his associates degree in computer science from Austin Community College – could not find a job. The system was rigged! And he had been relegated to working construction building a house. The house was financed by a rich man from New York, and was for his son. And not that he’s racist or anything, he has nothing against Hispanics, if you show him your green card and id he’s totally cool with you. But the guys on the site don’t speak English, and they’re taking jobs from people like him. And you know why this has all happened? Because the United States doesn’t have tarrifs anymore. Tarrifs are there to project jobs for American workers. And now that we don’t have them all the jobs are going away.

Fantastic stuff. I now have a main character, conflict, and an actor to write for. I think this is going to be fun.