Random thoughts, Monday, April 13.

I'm feeling surprisingly (?) relaxed. Partly because I'm being given permission to act the way I always want to act but feel guilty about doing.

But I also think that despite having been semi-retired for a number of years now, I was still at least partly still in the rat race. Now there are no expectations. I've started reading more, and I'm still contemplating my next book.

***

I think that I'm not that much of a country-western fan, unless you include people like Alison Krauss, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris.

But I've liked people like Willie Nelson, Don Williams, Patsy Cline, Kris Kristofferson, and Dwight Yoakam in the past.

And then there are straight-out country, like Charlie Rich and Mark Chesnutt, who I really enjoy. Hauled out an old CD of Chesnutt's, "Almost Goodbye," to listen to on the drive to Bend. The last song, "The Will," is as silly as it gets, but it still sent chills down my spine.

I don't know. I spent the morning listening to Led Zeppelin 4. Good music is good music.

***

The idea of moving everything out of my store, even if I do it half a store at a time, is utterly daunting. I have a sinking feeling.

But when the alternative is duct-taping the rug together, it's probably time.

***

Didn't sell a copy of "Deadfall Ridge" yesterday for the first time since Sept. 8 of last year. So a good solid seven months of sales. Meanwhile, my publisher seems to be keen on promoting "Eden's Return." So that's cool. Due out on July 20th, available for preorder. Ebook, paper, and audio all at the same time. (That hasn't happened before.)

***

Looks like we're going to start the renovation this week because Toby is going to work next week. He'll probably be here to help for the first half of the job.

It freaks me out. I really don't like the stress, but it needs to be done. I'm just trying to imagine how good it will look. We're going with a commercial-grade rustic gray rustic, which should hide the wear and tear.

I'm going to try to keep calm. I have a tendency to get very downbeat about everything while it's happening. Todd said he'd banish me for morale reasons if need be.

***

So far, so good. The flooring is maybe a bit cheaper than I expected, unless the landlord demands the higher grade, in which case I'm hoping he'll chip in the difference. The original color I wanted appears to be gone everywhere, but there is a partly gray, part tan available, which apparently may be better for color blending overall.

***

Landlord was fine with the base grade, it turns out. So that is in stock and ready to go. The old rule of thumb is that renovations take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect, but this is about 1/3rd cheaper than I expected, so that's good.