Friday Five catching up

1. I picked up my laptop with the new hard drive yesterday. Since the failure of the hard drive was so spectacular and they couldn’t pull any data from it, I set it up to absorb all in the info on the desk computer while I was sleeping. Now I have to configure it to be a lean, mean, travelin’ machine.

I’m also going to try and perform the MobileMe syncing between the two computers and the iPhone. I haven’t tried this since the updates to the MobileMe system. (I couldn’t get it to work last summer, even after OfficeMouse, who is a tech geek, spent hours on the phone with Apple). Is anyone out there successfully using MobileMe to sync their Apple technology? Any tips?

2. Thank you for all of the suggestions about the roof for the cottage. A friend emailed me about a roof/roofing materials on a nearby farm we could reuse. (We’ve been knocking on doors of all the farms near our house in search of old lumber and anything else useful.) Cedar shakes are more expensive than asphalt shingles, but cost less than slate and have a lower installation cost. That might be the right compromise. Someone mention a thatched roof; that would be the ultimate fantasy! But there are only a dozen or so people in the US who can do the work. The closest guesstimate to the cost for a thatched roof? $24,000!!! That is not a possibility.

3. Thank you, Oklahoma! TWISTED has been named to the 2010 High School Sequoyah Book Award Masterlist by the Oklahoma Library Association. Lots of my friends’ books are on the list, too, which is always fun. Thank you, Mitali Perkins, for the heads-up.

4.Thank you, Warsaw, Poland! The school I visited there a few years ago had it teachers’ book club read CHAINS. Yesterday we had a Skype visit to talk about it.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Happy teachers, half a world away.

5. I figured out how to run the contest. It will be as simple as possible and fast. Watch for details on Monday.

13 days til WINTERGIRLS comes out…

8 Replies to “Friday Five catching up”

  1. I would suggest a fireproof roof. A few years ago out west the wonderful cedar shake roofs turned out to be torches in one of the dry seasons. Unless you are planning to clear a fire space around the cabin, it is a concern…
    BTW, someone invented a spray you can use on your house if a forest fire is heading toward you. It is made out of the same stuff as the part of disposable diapers which is impossible to burn…
    I want some since both my places are in the woods.

  2. No help with the technology here. Sorry.

    There are tin roofs. Not that I’m certain they are tin, but they are metal. And can be made to be very pretty colors.

  3. I pre-ordered Wintergirls yesterday! And Chains, I can’t believe I missed it! I always check the LHA section at B&H every time I go, but the CU bookstore must be too small to have them… :((

    OK, Clarkson OIT officially fails, I gave them lappy Monday and the hd came in Wednesday…and they haven’t put it in yet. That’s ALL they had to do. Sigh.

    Cedar roofs are beautiful; so are metal roofs if painted right, but remember if it’s raining they’re rather loud, which might be a little distracting while writing.

  4. Roof

    Have you looked into eco roofs with some kind of vegetation?(probably expensive). Since you live in a place with cold winters, have you considered an aluminum roof?

    By the way, I heard you speak at the New England SCBWI conference a couple of years ago & you were very inspiring.

    I’m looking forward to reading Chains & Wintergirls, and trying to make the pre-into-published transition!

    Thanks!

  5. haha!
    On behalf of Oklahoma: You’re welcome!
    I worked in an Oklahoma library until I went off to college last year, so I can assure you that what our readers lack in quantity, we make up for in quality 😉

  6. Hello–
    Your husband may already know this, but I wanted to let you know in case it wasn’t on his radar… When you replace the glass in the magic window, any glass that will be within 18″ of the floor will need to be tempered to meet the building code. If you aren’t pulling a building permit, it doesn’t matter, but if you are, they won’t approve it otherwise.
    Also…there is a company who makes ‘slate’ tiles out of recycled plastic. They look just like real slate tiles but weigh a lot less and are less expensive. Plus you can walk on the roof and they’re easier to replace. They also last forever.

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