Greetings from my newly inhabited office, located in my spacious basement. I've just started setting things up in here the past couple of days, and already, I'm feeling more productive. I even have a guest chair, should someone want to visit my office. It's a cooler. But it's functional, so that's really all that matters. Maybe one day, I'll get something that actually resembles, you know, a chair. But things are really shaping up. Most importantly, we took down the saloon doors that used to be in the doorway. It's now blank, and I like it a lot better.
So anyway, what a whirlwind of a couple of weeks it has been! I am *still* getting settled into my house. This is taking a lot longer than I had imagined. And there are *still* boxes to go through. But I'm being thorough, and a huge pile has been created of stuff to give away. Clothes, games, old stuffed animals from my kid-dom. I'm cleaning house. But I'm getting closer. I think.
If you follow my antics on Facebook, you'll have seen the picture of Cedric's room, which is finally, pretty much set up. So really, only one more bedroom to go. And currently, it has all of my books in it. And I have no bookshelves. So, at the moment, they remain in their boxes. Hopefully, this situation shall be remedied soon. But in all of the moving I have done, I have realized the challenge with having a hobby, such as reading. You have to move all of your books. And I know, I know...everyone and their mama has told me I need to get a Kindle. Well...not gonna happen. Not gonna do it. Nuh uh, no way, no sir.
There have definitely been more joys of house dwelling. Yesterday, my brand new washer and dryer and dishwasher were delivered. The first two, because I didn't have one before, and my parents and I quickly realized that doing all of my laundry over there just was not going to be feasible for long. And the last, well, because the old one broke. But they're in, and they're awesome. I'm 7 loads of laundry in, and it's amazing. Again, I feel productive. But not to say that there were no hitches along the way, because, let's face it, this is me we're talking about. So, as the dad and I were taking out the old dishwasher, there was a wee, teeny flood in my kitchen. That just happened to spread to one of my heating ducts. Which happened to drip in my basement. That basement floor needed to be cleaned anyway.
Oh, and we should definitely talk about the outside of the house. Holy moley! It doesn't look the same outside. It actually looks like someone, you know, lives here! I've mowed the lawn twice. Ok, let me pause for a moment. Because, for the moment, one thing that my parents and I can share is the lawn mower. And yipee, yeehaw. That thing can boogie! Low speed goes around 11mph. Yes, a lawn mower. Goes 11 MILES AN HOUR. In low gear. My dad had given me a few basics of the mower, and let me take off. With a bit of a warning, and also said that he'd be around if I needed help. God bless that man. Not 60 seconds after he sent me on my way, I got stuck. In the mud. So, he pulled a tractor around, and pulled me out. Gave me a stern look of "please don't do that again," and once again, sent me off. With a few more instructions. So anyway, I continue, mowing. And my main concern was that I was going to NOT get the lawn mowed in straight lines. See, my Paw-Paw was a stickler for straight lines. One of his friends told a story of when he offered to help my Paw farm, and quickly, Paw made him get off the tractor because the lines weren't straight. And I feared that if I messed up mowing, Paw would rise from the grave, and make me mow the lawn again. I noticed not long into the mow that I was getting a little more comfortable. And really let the mower fly through the yard. I felt so much power coursing through my veins that a Tim Taylor-esque grunt was even warranted.
The next day, I was talking to my mom. And she said that my dad had made the comment that he thought I might be a little more tentative, and take things a little slow at first.
Funny thing - I thought I did :)
And apparently I'm not allowed to learn how to switch it to high gear. :(
But apparently my dad hasn't paid much attention over the past 30 years. I am still the same person, who, at a young age (probably 4 or 5) jumped off the deep end of a pool, sans water wings. And dad had to jump in after to save me. Not much has changed about my sense of adventure since then.
But beyond just the lawn mowing, I've been doing a lot more stuff outside. I rebuilt a flower bed. And I've done a ton of weeding. I've bought flowers, and those are waiting to get planted. Oh, and I'm thinking up ideas for the Centennial Farm sign. It needs a bit of work. Especially since I stole the pavers that were around that to use for my flower bed.
And then today, dad and I are planning to have a "discussion" with a couple of the hideous bushes that my Paw was apparently so fond of. And by "discussion" I really mean, they're going bye-bye. And I will, hopefully, once again have use of one of my sidewalks. Because right now, it's not very functional.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've been doing a lot of work outside. But what has surprised me is how much I've enjoyed it. I was never the primary lawn mower growing up. That duty fell to my brother. And except for one summer where my Grandma thought it was an awesome idea for me to mow the lawn here, mainly so she would have an excuse to give me money, I've never done it regularly. In fact, when I was apartment dwelling, one of the main things I liked about not having a lawn of my own, was not having to mow a lawn of my own. Oh, and by the way. The summer I mowed the lawn here, I did it on a lawn tractor. And it took me 3+ hours to do. With the beast that my dad has, it only takes a little over an hour. Yeah, it's awesome.
So, beyond the work outside, the dad and I have been working on a few things inside too. Well, installing the new dishwasher. And changing a few outlets. And talking about the horrible lighting in the house, and how we can fix the situation. And I have to tell you, working with electricity really makes me nervous. Even if I'm not the one doing it. The dad is totally capable at working on electrical outlets. Literally, he wired their entire house as they were building it. But it still makes me nervous. Like the wiring might be so poor, or just plain old, in this house, that even if the outlet is turned off, something might still happen. And my big fear is that the dad is going to get zapped. I mean, better him than me. Kidding. Kind of. I mean, really, I would prefer if NO ONE got zapped. But it still needs to be done. Because whoever wired this house back in the day, well, I would like to flog them. Because as my dad tried to turn off the power to the dishwasher, the same switch turned off the dishwasher (and nothing else in the kitchen) my printer (in my office, in the basement) and my entire laundry room. And the breaker that turned off the outlet in the bathroom we replaced also turned off outlets in my bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. It makes NO SENSE. Whatsoever.
Ok. Enough procrastination. Unfortunately. More later!
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