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| Those ceilings didn't seem so high thirty years ago. |
Actually I have been sitting around a lot. I've shared the results of some of my internet searches last week. What I haven't been doing is any work on my cars. I had to move the XJS and XJ6 out of the garage into the street to make room in the garage for all the boxes and items that are being displaced from the house. There are rows and rows of U Haul boxes that were patiently filled by my Wife and myself.
The big project was putting in new plank flooring. At one time it would have been real wood, then wood laminate. Now it's what is called "luxury vinyl flooring". It looks like a real hard wood floor but it's water proof and there's a lifetime guarantee. This meant that all the furniture has to be moved from room to room or placed outside. The installers are tearing out all the existing carpet, hardwood parquet, and tile flooring. Which means that all the various cabinets, display cases, book cases, dressers, curio cabinets, shelves, trunks, hope chests, boxes and what-nots have to be emptied and have everything that is piled on top has to be removed so that the items can be moved.
My Wife is a crafter/artist. She started out as a scrapbooker, then progressed into what I would call a decorative and assemblage artist. She also alters and makes display books and other decorative items. Thank God our shabby chic furniture days have passed. We spent a lot of time crossing the state looking for finds and transporting them back home to the "studio." It was fun as I learned to really enjoy going to Antique Faires. My back is finally recovering from that time period.
The big project was putting in new plank flooring. At one time it would have been real wood, then wood laminate. Now it's what is called "luxury vinyl flooring". It looks like a real hard wood floor but it's water proof and there's a lifetime guarantee. This meant that all the furniture has to be moved from room to room or placed outside. The installers are tearing out all the existing carpet, hardwood parquet, and tile flooring. Which means that all the various cabinets, display cases, book cases, dressers, curio cabinets, shelves, trunks, hope chests, boxes and what-nots have to be emptied and have everything that is piled on top has to be removed so that the items can be moved.
My Wife is a crafter/artist. She started out as a scrapbooker, then progressed into what I would call a decorative and assemblage artist. She also alters and makes display books and other decorative items. Thank God our shabby chic furniture days have passed. We spent a lot of time crossing the state looking for finds and transporting them back home to the "studio." It was fun as I learned to really enjoy going to Antique Faires. My back is finally recovering from that time period.
While car guys often end up with a bunch of cars and parts, crafters and artists need to accumulate an inventory or supply of raw stock to work with. They need to have a workspace, and then they need a place to display their finished pieces.
My Wife was initially limited to a scrapbooking room that I converted from an unused bed room. I had been wanting a den, that I could decorate to my tastes. On my suggestion a bargain was struck. We would convert the living room and dining room into a studio for her use. I would turn the former scrapbook room into my den. Later I would gain the sole use of my garage as all storage would move to the two new storage sheds in the backyard.
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| Masking and covering. Standing on a fifteen foot extension ladder is quite stressful. |
This turned out to be a very satisfactory arrangement. She had the use of the biggest rooms and I had a private retreat. She could get together with her friends to craft and create, and I had a comfortable place to be out of the way. Let's face it, a group of ladies doesn't want to get together and have someone's husband hanging around.
She has decorated to her taste, which of course is kind of frou-frou, but that's okay. There are many chandeliers and her creations are on display. We both share an appreciation of vintage wooden furniture and she has a collection of beautiful pieces; some shabby chic, some natural wood; an antique printer's cabinet, library file cabinets, a set of huge cabinets that were once a custom built media center, and armoirs and many more than I can name. I think the overall effect is very nice. It doesn't look like the inside of a typical tract house, and I love that.
What does all this have to do with Better Beaters?
Nothing really, but like many that are looking to retire the decision of where to live becomes a discussion. I have dreamed of having a place in the country where I could have a big shop to store and work on my cars. Two acres that I could fill up with stuff.
Nothing really, but like many that are looking to retire the decision of where to live becomes a discussion. I have dreamed of having a place in the country where I could have a big shop to store and work on my cars. Two acres that I could fill up with stuff.
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| I'm getting a bit too old for this stuff! |
When I was working, I always kept that thought as a kind of escapist valve. I could retreat into that little fantasy of what "might" take place in the future. Whether or not it did, wasn't as important as thinking that it could. It's the same way in thinking about cars!
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| My bookcases are starting to look like the toilet paper aisle at the supermarket. It's mosty all coming back in. |
Well, as retirement looms the discussion about where to live in retirement has to be addressed. My brother moved out of the state and is living in one of the least inhabited states of the lower forty eight. His experience has been satisfying to him, but it doesn't seem to fulfill that escapist fantasy that I nurtured for so long. In reality I'm happy here and so is my Wife. She may be a bit happier than I, but I trust her judgement! Long story short, I'm not moving out to the country, and I'm not moving out of this house. Did I really need all that extra room for more cars? I can't deal with my current stable.
So we decided to start fixing up the house. We've lived here for 37 years. The house started out as just the right size, got a little tight for a while, but now it's back to the right size. We both prefer a single story house. I had to recover from a back injury and I couldn't imagine climbing stairs, it was hard enough getting around on the level. The basic truth is that we're not getting any younger.
So we decided to start fixing up the house. We've lived here for 37 years. The house started out as just the right size, got a little tight for a while, but now it's back to the right size. We both prefer a single story house. I had to recover from a back injury and I couldn't imagine climbing stairs, it was hard enough getting around on the level. The basic truth is that we're not getting any younger.
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| It's much easier to pack things in uniform boxes. I did some purging as I packed. |
The biggest part of the project was scheduled before the shelter in place order started. We postponed work on a bathroom until a couple or weeks ago, and the floors have been put off for a month and a half. The floors were just finished last night. I was doing a lot of painting, including most of the ceilings before then. We still have a lot of work ahead just to decide what is coming back in. I've been busy in the yard and I've still got to paint the outside of the house. Lot's to do, but hopefully I'll have my garage back and will be able to do some work on my cars.
This pandemic is a life changing event. Luckily my family and I have escaped getting sick, (so far) but we still have to deal with the financial consequences. I think that we'll be okay, but we are going to have to cut back on some luxuries and hobbies. I think that I'll probably be cutting back on the number of cars, but I haven't made any final decisions yet. Health is more important than anything, stay as safe as you can, where ever you are.
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