This was a great weekend for almost getting done with stuff. We worked on the yard and got some trees cut down and the weeds removed, but the pile of wood for the fire wood stack still sits in the yard. And I painted the window frame in the guest room (around the new window). But as I peeled off the masking tape (yes that blue painter's tape) a bunch of wall paint came with it. So now I have to "touch up" before I put stuff back into the room.
We have a phrase, we borrowed from another person, who borrowed it from another person-
"It is done, but not finished." So the painting is done, but the job is not finished. Touch up, clean up, re-arranged. There are many details left to finish. The project will go on for years. Even the living room which is 99% done is not finished. Project started 2008. There are two cabinet doors looking for me and I have the hardware sitting in a box. The dinning room has wall holes to patch and paint. Project started in 2003.
Things seem to get to a "functional" place and rest there for an indefinite period of time while they ripen. The bookcase (2010) is still not filled and organized. The garage boxes (2001), let's just don't go there.
Stuff keeps leaving but the pile doesn't get smaller. Things are checked off the list, but the list doesn't get shorter. Things seem to get done, but there are always some little details left to finish that linger.
Socks on the other hand- get done, get worn, get mended, get washed. I think that is why I love knitting. Something actually gets done.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 26, and alls well
Today, another step in the never ending battle against natural forces has moved us forward. The "fix" of the new windows is done. My last post was 2 months back and I was ready to do a happy dance about getting the windows done. Hmmm. A bit premature, I think. I have finished the wall in the guest room, repaired and painted the baseboards, and moved in all the furniture. BUT, and its a cute butt, I have yet to paint the window frame. I need some warm weather so that I can open all the windows and have "adequate ventilation" so that I don't get stoned from the fumes. It looks like this is the weekend for such weather and activity.
I am still trying to organize the "wooly room". Most of the stuff is in it, but in boxes. I have inventoried my Wool collection and still have 8 pounds to put away. I was thinking today about my wool collection and realized that there is no wool shortage here. Maybe there is for other people, but in my house, I have enough wool to spin for the rest of my life. And that would make enough yarn to knit, weave, crochet and felt for the rest of my life also.
I like to knit socks. There is about 4 ounces of fiber in each pair of socks. My wooly room contains the raw ingredients for 1000 pairs of socks. Well, that is an exaggeration. It is more like 500 pairs. But that is just the processed wool. That doesn't include the silk, the fleeces, the alpaca, and the cotton. Or the commercial yarns. As much as I hate to say it, I may have reached the limit.
I am going to buy another fleece at Black Sheep Gathering this year. I can't help myself. The fumes overwhelm my judgment. But I have limited myself to one- one lovely, gray, fine wool, fleece. And of course, the one that is for my students. So that is actually two fleeces, but one doesn't count. And I did sell some stuff this year so I do in fact let some of it go. There may be a little bit of room left in the corner of the closet by the end of the summer.
So back to the remodel issue. The chair for the guest room is too big and will go into Eduard's room (when Sara moves into her apartment). And I will find a nice, rustic chair for the guest room that is a more appropriate size. Then I will finish painting the laundry room which is still 80% painted, but fully functional.
Then I will replace the dishwasher and drinking water system (again). There is the yard- which is a mess and not getting better at any speed. And the new shed. In truth, I think that the "fix it" obsession is a life style rather than a need driven experience. It doesn't seem to matter how much gets done, the list is never shorter. I can think of new things to do faster than I can get them done. Faster than I can save money to do them. Faster than I can organize the last one or clean up its mess. Like buying more fruit trees for the fruit we don't eat, I am acquiring more and more stuff to take care of and have less energy to take care of it.
But the rest that comes with age will at some point end all this. I will sell off everything and move to the senior home. I will play cards all day and let someone else cook and repair stuff. Frankly, I am not looking forward to that. I think I like the constant activity, work, planning and mess. I will post pictures in June of the Guest room when the window is painted and the last picture frame is hung. It is so close, I can feel it.
I am still trying to organize the "wooly room". Most of the stuff is in it, but in boxes. I have inventoried my Wool collection and still have 8 pounds to put away. I was thinking today about my wool collection and realized that there is no wool shortage here. Maybe there is for other people, but in my house, I have enough wool to spin for the rest of my life. And that would make enough yarn to knit, weave, crochet and felt for the rest of my life also.
I like to knit socks. There is about 4 ounces of fiber in each pair of socks. My wooly room contains the raw ingredients for 1000 pairs of socks. Well, that is an exaggeration. It is more like 500 pairs. But that is just the processed wool. That doesn't include the silk, the fleeces, the alpaca, and the cotton. Or the commercial yarns. As much as I hate to say it, I may have reached the limit.
I am going to buy another fleece at Black Sheep Gathering this year. I can't help myself. The fumes overwhelm my judgment. But I have limited myself to one- one lovely, gray, fine wool, fleece. And of course, the one that is for my students. So that is actually two fleeces, but one doesn't count. And I did sell some stuff this year so I do in fact let some of it go. There may be a little bit of room left in the corner of the closet by the end of the summer.
So back to the remodel issue. The chair for the guest room is too big and will go into Eduard's room (when Sara moves into her apartment). And I will find a nice, rustic chair for the guest room that is a more appropriate size. Then I will finish painting the laundry room which is still 80% painted, but fully functional.
Then I will replace the dishwasher and drinking water system (again). There is the yard- which is a mess and not getting better at any speed. And the new shed. In truth, I think that the "fix it" obsession is a life style rather than a need driven experience. It doesn't seem to matter how much gets done, the list is never shorter. I can think of new things to do faster than I can get them done. Faster than I can save money to do them. Faster than I can organize the last one or clean up its mess. Like buying more fruit trees for the fruit we don't eat, I am acquiring more and more stuff to take care of and have less energy to take care of it.
But the rest that comes with age will at some point end all this. I will sell off everything and move to the senior home. I will play cards all day and let someone else cook and repair stuff. Frankly, I am not looking forward to that. I think I like the constant activity, work, planning and mess. I will post pictures in June of the Guest room when the window is painted and the last picture frame is hung. It is so close, I can feel it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)