All I ever want to do, either after dinner or on the weekends, is work on my manuscript.  I’ve received the final input from my editor and I’m half way through completing corrections and rewrites.  I’m still targeting the completion of my third, and hopefully final, draft by the end of November, but I’m less confident now that I’ll make that date.  I’ve been handed an urgent, end of year, project at work – IBM never sleeps.  And my tenants moved out of the carriage house, giving me yet another project for the weekends.

The good news is that we already have new tenants lined up.  All we ever do is post a rental sign out front and the place sells itself.  People are drawn to this neighborhood, and the option of living in a single, detached unit rather than some monolithic apartment structure.  More good news is we were able to increase the rental 20%, for an additional $2400 annually.  Nothing better than giving yourself a raise.

But I now have a new weekend priority.  I’m repainting the entire unit, which is something I actually have the skills to do.  I also have some plumbing repairs, which I’m not so good at.  Then there’s cleaning the tile grout in the bathroom.  Tedious.  Fixing the gas fireplace.  Replacing the carpet.  The list goes on.  If you own rental property, then you know how I feel.  Cashing the monthly checks is nice, but it can be work at times.  No running for me this weekend.  No watching college football.  No working on my novel.  Fortunately the girls decorated the front porch for Halloween.  One less thing on my list.