Things I Have Learned Since We Last Spoke

Well, *that* month sure got away from me! I figured I'd better stick my head in and say, "hi!" ... and maybe let you know what's been going on - which is basically, a lot of challenges and lessons learned. So here you go...

This room re-do project that I’ve landed myself in (and which has taken over my life) has necessitated a lot of googling. Of course, you need to take everything you read with a grain of salt, but I figured I was safe using advice from This Old House guy, right? 

Well, he may be the grand old man of home restoration - and indeed, I have learned many useful things from his website -  but not every recommendation is equally useful. In fact, “…switch to a roller for the rest of the paint job—you’ll still be able to coat the grooves of paneled walls just fine.”, while exciting to read, is a downright fib.  

Yep, Bob Vila lies.

On the subject of instructions, I came across this doozy when I unboxed the new sewing machine I finally broke down and bought:

I’m getting too old for the nonsense of the day.

Because, life… this project has been full of minor catastrophes and set-backs. To wit:

Tiles have been broken.

Sixty-year old adhesive does not inevitably disintegrate with age.

Thriftily, I used clear waterproof caulk left over from the worlds longest bathroom renovation to re-glaze a window I’d stripped down to bare wood. BG took one look at the tube and said, “Umm, you realize that’s not paintable caulk, right?” One trip to the hardware store, two tubes of the correct caulk, 6 small and 2 large window panes later, I was back at the point I had thought already achieved.

Frugality does not always save either time OR money.

Do not hold freshly painted metal objects in one hand over a concrete floor.

I don’t think I’m going to explain that one - I’ll just set it down and walk away…

The delays have caused me to really buckle down on the project, spending a good chunk of time every day stretching and contorting and otherwise giving my not-so-young and very out-of-shape body reasons for protest. It has retaliated with (in chronological order) a severe bout of vertigo, some pretty intense lower back pain, and (most recently) the triumphant return of my undiagnosed “-itis”. (I suspect “burs” rather than “arthr”, but cannot be certain.) I know from experience that the only thing that helps this is rest, but I can’t be stopping for every little ache and pain, so I tape it up and forge ahead.

It is possible to paint without the use of opposable thumbs.

(I will not speak to the quality of the work, however…)

Not all my gains in knowledge have come from the room redo, however.

Work has thrown me a good challenge.

(See my upcoming book, “Big Sur, M1 chips, and The Art of Privacy Permissions”)

So has my dominant.

Never say you don’t think you can possibly come one more time.

(“Challenge Accepted! ”)

Finally, I’ve been reminded that it’s never a good idea to go longer than 30 hours without a shower - because you never know when you might meet your new (cute, male) neighbor.

*le sigh*

Anyhow, that’s life by me.

How are YOU guys doing??

Oops! I almost forgot Spock & Friends! This one feels appropriate after so long...