Marsia's Diary
- Thread starter Marsia
- Start date
Thanks all! It's evening and I still feel in packing mode, but my body has had it. I must make myself rest so I can be really productive tomorrow, too. I got stuff done all day, but in a scattered way. I figured out how to organize the rest of the basement and got the gardening supplies organized, swept and straightened out the garage, met with a really nice handy man about all the miscellaneous stuff that needs doing, and he fixed my garage door for free while he was there. Then I moved a bunch of heavy boxes downstairs which I should not have done for so long because now my arms and legs are not happy, but my brain is still wanting me to do more. They took all the doors and faces off the kitchen cabinets and made a plastic sheeting spray room in the big bedroom where they sprayed all the doors so they'll be glossy and nice. The pressure washing is done outside, and the house looks like its happy self again. It gets green algae all over the base of it and on the windows if you don't pressure wash it every year, and we didn't do it for 2 years, so it was starting to look neglected. It's thundering like it's going to storm out, which will make the evening nice and peaceful. I think I'll make some tea and see if I am awake when it rains.
Oh, and lost another 1/2 pound.
Oh, and lost another 1/2 pound.
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I hope you drift off into a deep sleep soon to the sound of cooling rain xoxoThanks everyone! It's been raining on and off lightly since I last posted. It's been a good couple of days. I got a lot bids compared and the budget figured out and a whole spreadsheet made with everything organized on it. The painters will finish the kitchen cabinets tomorrow and I have most of the first floor packed up as far as stuff that can't be hidden in the cupboards. I was packing big hand drums and weird big things like the floor lamps yesterday, and feel like I am making slow steady progress. The realtor comes over to meet with a potential landscaper tomorrow, so I'll show her our progress and hope she thinks I'm on target. I feel like there is all this stuff that I am underestimating the time to get done, but really I don't want to wear myself out and not be able to do a last slog at the end. I started thinking about the unfairness of the settlement recently, and I have just decided that that is the cost to get rid of 130 pounds of dead weight. That feels much better. The handy man who came over is the sweetest guy who is so happy and exuberant. I am going to like when he comes and works on projects. The big one was that he discovered that our 3 sets of French doors are all rotted out on the bottom and will need him to replace a lot of wood because they will not pass inspection as they are. It's nice seeing the house come together. I am still perpetually tired, so will turn in soon. K's friend is going to come early to help us with lugging heavy boxes downstairs.
What's particularly unfair is that you're once again putting your blood, sweat, and tears into fixing up a house only for someone else to live in it AND not even get the proceeds all for yourself. Put you're right that getting rid of that particular kind of dead weight is worth almost anything.
Thanks Llama. I feel like that, too, but don't want to think about it very hard, because I need to keep my momentum up and not get bogged down in feelings right now. I think when this is over, we make a little ritualistic voodoo doll or something like that and tell it off, flush it, or burn it in effigy - or maybe all 3
!Thanks Cate, I have to stay positive or I won't get all this done, which is a blessing in disguise because I really do not want to stew in negativity. I wrote K a poem about dancing on "someone's" grave, and she modified it and wrote a punk song about pissing on "someone's" grave and just sang it at a big show the band went to. It was professionally recorded, and K said she's never sang better. I like how this band is cathartic for her. I like the idea of turning raw emotions into art. I did sleep well and woke up productive this morning, so that was great.
I got a really good landscaping bid, so low that we can also replace the fogged up windows whose seals are failing. So the house should not be a fixer upper now, just a really nice house with dated bathrooms. So that's a big relief. We got a ton of boxes in the basement and some furniture dismantled today. I am feeling a lot better after resting with K yesterday. She had run herself ragged doing all sorts of stuff with friends including an out of town concert, so it was good to just sort some things that only she knew what to do with and to rest and eat nice soup. I just made a simple chicken dumpling egg drop soup with some nice veggies. That always makes me feel good.
That soup sounds absolutely splendid!
I agree, this is not the time for reflection and feeling the feels. This is the time to keep the energy levels as high as you can to get all this stuff done. Plenty of time to think about it once the house is sorted and you are settling into a new, happier and peaceful life.
I agree, this is not the time for reflection and feeling the feels. This is the time to keep the energy levels as high as you can to get all this stuff done. Plenty of time to think about it once the house is sorted and you are settling into a new, happier and peaceful life.
Cate
Long term member
I love that you wrote that poem, I love how K tweaked it & turned it into a punk song. Go both of you!
It is amazing how much you have done to the house & what you have organised. You will look back on all of this & be shocked at how much you did. That chicken, dumpling soup sounds perfect!
It is amazing how much you have done to the house & what you have organised. You will look back on all of this & be shocked at how much you did. That chicken, dumpling soup sounds perfect!
I think you are doing a wonderful job both with your attitude and all that stuff getting done. I can't wait until you can just sit back and relax, but I do love how you actually sound like you are enjoying getting the work done. Best always to enjoy where we are and what we are doing in the present if we can.
I really love how K turned your poem into a punk song--so awesome!
I really love how K turned your poem into a punk song--so awesome!
Thanks Llama! She is so talented at writing and at improvising melodies in a group. She got some of that from the amazing music school she was part of since age 10 where she was in a rock band. They had music summer camps where they all composed and wrote songs together and performed them for music videos. We have some really funny and very entertaining ones she did over the years.
Thanks Em, that's one of our favorite soups. I really agree about not going into emotions too deeply now. The happier and peaceful life is starting to seem like a reality finally. It's really been helping to picture that as I pack!
Thanks Cate! It's so nice that I can pass the creative gene on to K. My mom and I used to take sketching vacations on an island in a big lake or to Cape Cod in an artist community. I did do some sketching with K, but we also love singing together, and I got to teach her what I love about writing, and I am so happy that stuck and that she is good at writing poetry now! I'm glad you can remind me that I've done a lot with the house. I get tunnel vision about how much I have not done. My pessimistic side takes over to make sure I get everything done. But my pessimistic side doesn't understand how much being motivational helps! The soup is almost gone sadly, so I will make a big egg noodle salad with lots of roasted veggies, Kalamata olives, and shredded chicken, I think, next.
I got a lot done yesterday and made myself quit before I got too sore. Went to bed early and woke up actually refreshed and with my legs feeling really strong from hauling boxes and big pieces of furniture down the stairs yesterday. It's been cloudy and cooler. I am so relieved that the landscaper we are hiring is going to mow the massive lawn and shovel the soil out of my cloth raised beds for me. It was going to be an epic weeklong job. Now I can concentrate on making the house sparkle. I do have to go out and rescue the veggies that are left in the raised beds and put them in the screenhouse though. The kitchen cabinets are all painted and mostly put back together again, and it looks like a new kitchen now. It's bright white cabinets instead of old fashioned off white, and it makes the kitchen look fresh and goes with the style of the house more, surprisingly. I love design. Just a slight change of color makes a space feel totally different, and since the house is so well designed, things like that just make the overall design pop.
That also sounds delightful. Will you be able to make it in your shiny new kitchen or will that remain a display space only for now?
I'm so glad you have your team of workers being able to take the load off a bit!
Having seen the plumber at work here replacing our hot water heater and doing some odd jobs around that needed doing, I find it always such a pleasure to see what skilled tradespeople can get done so quickly!
