vacation equals work
I remember when my best friend from college and I went on vacation to Grand Cayman to celebrate her graduating. We tried to cram in as much as we could into those few days. Let's tour everything! Let's snorkel! Let's hang with some creepy Jamaicans! Well, that last one just sort of happened... Meanwhile, there were people there who lounged by the water reading. What the hell are they doing?! You're in this beautiful place with so much to see and do and eat and you're just reading?!
As I've gotten a little older I totally understand those people. There are times I long to vacation in their low-key fashion. These days it seems like vacation means getting all those things done that you don't have time to do while working a 40+ hour week. Add to that the joys of moving (into an 80-ish year old house) and the week is pretty much crammed full of things to accomplish because when the days of vacation are over it's on the road again...
I did get quite a bit done this week. Here's the list...
- Cleaned the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, stairway, master bedroom, office, one bathroom, and sunroom (now the craft/exercise room). I mean really clean. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that several cats surely exploded in here in some unfortunate accident, leaving a not-so-fine layer of cat hair on every horizontal and vertical surface. Add to that the normal wear and tear that it seems these people never addressed. There were lots of cleaning products left under the sink. Of course they were. I'm sure the woman did not need them wherever she was going (as she did not use them here).
- Really set up the above-mentioned rooms so that they are fully functioning.
- Unpacked lots and lots o' boxes. I don't have an accurate count here but it was a ton. Coincidentally this means that you can again see the glory that is the purple room (it's actually a lovely shade of lavender) and see that it has a floor. Oh, crap, must drag boxes to the road. It's trash day.
- Took down 19 (I think) windows of lace curtains. Replaced lace curtains on the French doors with plain sheers. Hung curtains in the kitchen. Hung 2" faux wood blinds in the living room. Praise Buddha, Jesus, etc. that the horrible, malfunctioning roller blinds are gone. At least in that one room...
- Finalized my ideas for almost all paint colors for almost all rooms.
- Bought two replacement light fixtures that, while they totally rock, have not yet been hung.
- Hung a few things on the walls. If there's one thing I can't stand it's empty walls. I have no idea how people live with them even for a short time. A house doesn't feel like a home to me without them.
- Decorated the guest room bath with stuff from my old apartment's bathroom. It's amazing how comforted I feel by seeing my stuff again.
- Turned my old grandma-made dollhouse into a little cabinet to hold my games. The dollhouse furniture moved to it's attic.
- Assembled and installed some of those solar-powered outdoor path lights. Way cool.
- Lined the kitchen cabinets and changed all the hardware on the cabinets (well, other people did most of this but it still happened). Changed out the light fixtures on the ceiling fan. There was/is a lot of tackiness here.
- My brother (who was also on "vacation" and worked his butt off, too) refinished my grandpa's old dining room table and built a replacement leaf. It rocks. Fits perfectly in my dining room. And if you're nice (and a bit limber) you can peek under the table when you're here and see that it still has my grandpa's name and location written on it in pencil along with what I'm presuming to be the delivery charge of $6. He also refinished a dumpster find, what is now a great little dresser for my bedroom.
What I haven't done is check my blog friends' sites as often as I normally like to do. I have not written anything of substance in quite some time. Somehow that's easier to do when working. Often I take time out to write at hotels. I leave tomorrow for my first trip of the year so maybe I'll hash out a year in review or something to do about goals for the new one. At some point I also need to reflect on how all this transition has been for me emotionally, I think. I hope you all had a fun-filled holiday season and enjoyed some time off from the daily grind. I'm glad to have started reading and writing the blogs this past year. Here's to another fun year with all of you!
As I've gotten a little older I totally understand those people. There are times I long to vacation in their low-key fashion. These days it seems like vacation means getting all those things done that you don't have time to do while working a 40+ hour week. Add to that the joys of moving (into an 80-ish year old house) and the week is pretty much crammed full of things to accomplish because when the days of vacation are over it's on the road again...
I did get quite a bit done this week. Here's the list...
- Cleaned the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, stairway, master bedroom, office, one bathroom, and sunroom (now the craft/exercise room). I mean really clean. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that several cats surely exploded in here in some unfortunate accident, leaving a not-so-fine layer of cat hair on every horizontal and vertical surface. Add to that the normal wear and tear that it seems these people never addressed. There were lots of cleaning products left under the sink. Of course they were. I'm sure the woman did not need them wherever she was going (as she did not use them here).
- Really set up the above-mentioned rooms so that they are fully functioning.
- Unpacked lots and lots o' boxes. I don't have an accurate count here but it was a ton. Coincidentally this means that you can again see the glory that is the purple room (it's actually a lovely shade of lavender) and see that it has a floor. Oh, crap, must drag boxes to the road. It's trash day.
- Took down 19 (I think) windows of lace curtains. Replaced lace curtains on the French doors with plain sheers. Hung curtains in the kitchen. Hung 2" faux wood blinds in the living room. Praise Buddha, Jesus, etc. that the horrible, malfunctioning roller blinds are gone. At least in that one room...
- Finalized my ideas for almost all paint colors for almost all rooms.
- Bought two replacement light fixtures that, while they totally rock, have not yet been hung.
- Hung a few things on the walls. If there's one thing I can't stand it's empty walls. I have no idea how people live with them even for a short time. A house doesn't feel like a home to me without them.
- Decorated the guest room bath with stuff from my old apartment's bathroom. It's amazing how comforted I feel by seeing my stuff again.
- Turned my old grandma-made dollhouse into a little cabinet to hold my games. The dollhouse furniture moved to it's attic.
- Assembled and installed some of those solar-powered outdoor path lights. Way cool.
- Lined the kitchen cabinets and changed all the hardware on the cabinets (well, other people did most of this but it still happened). Changed out the light fixtures on the ceiling fan. There was/is a lot of tackiness here.
- My brother (who was also on "vacation" and worked his butt off, too) refinished my grandpa's old dining room table and built a replacement leaf. It rocks. Fits perfectly in my dining room. And if you're nice (and a bit limber) you can peek under the table when you're here and see that it still has my grandpa's name and location written on it in pencil along with what I'm presuming to be the delivery charge of $6. He also refinished a dumpster find, what is now a great little dresser for my bedroom.
What I haven't done is check my blog friends' sites as often as I normally like to do. I have not written anything of substance in quite some time. Somehow that's easier to do when working. Often I take time out to write at hotels. I leave tomorrow for my first trip of the year so maybe I'll hash out a year in review or something to do about goals for the new one. At some point I also need to reflect on how all this transition has been for me emotionally, I think. I hope you all had a fun-filled holiday season and enjoyed some time off from the daily grind. I'm glad to have started reading and writing the blogs this past year. Here's to another fun year with all of you!
Comments
I'm so glad you're settling in. Can't wait to see pics of the finished product! (you will post pictures, won't you? PUH-LEESE???????)