Sprung
Spring! I wore shorts yesterday and Sunday, and I so very badly wanted to put on flip-flops, KBO footwear of choice from April to October. Alas, I only made the transition from winter’s ubiquitous hiking boots to my sneakers. This time of year is my favorite, because the realization that the weather will undoubtedly get warmer is a daily treat, a surprise one gets when they don’t have to wear a winter coat or flinch going outside. I can smell the ground thawing and see little hints of emerging life. The perennial herbs in our front beds are peeking out from last year’s dead remnants. I saw tiny purple crocuses in a neighbors yard. Our yard only has last fall’s leaves and five months of dog shit that I must remove in order to dig my new giant garden bed. If only our dog shit had crocuses growing in it. My yard would be magical.
Chris is on spring break next week. Not only is he off work for ten days, but when he returns, his student teacher takes over full-time for five weeks. Naturally, I plan on putting him to work, because I boss my husband around and brow-beat him into submission on a daily basis. Or he just wants to help me make our house nicer. In celebration, we are attempting long overdue home renovations and garden updates. In addition to at least one new double-dug bed and annual soil and compost hauling, we are planning on painting most of our interior, putting in new flooring in the living room, second bedroom, and hallway, and installing a new front door and storm door. I can see this ending in divorce, or at least a significant increase in passive-aggressive unhealthy behavior. We painted our house when we moved in (we weren’t down with the paisley trim in maroon and hunter green that came with the house), which was before we were even engaged, and it was, how do I put this…dysfunctional. I can only hope that if our marriage disintegrates due to a home-renovations domestic violence incident, that my paint-laden mug shot ends up on The Smoking Gun.
When summer comes, we’ll redo the entire bathroom and *fingerscrossed* get a new stove and new cabinets in the kitchen. My kitchen is ridiculous. Not only do we have an in-counter non-working trash compactor from the 90s that doesn’t work (which, incidentally, I think the trash compactor is the most unnecessary appliance ever created) but our cabinets are falling apart, our ceiling fan/light doesn’t work, and our stove is a crapshoot of temperature approximation. This makes baking really fun times. In any event, we need to class the joint up a bit, particularly if we ever plan to sell it, which we do, plus, hello, I need a functional, efficient kitchen to create my magic. Amiright? Perhaps I’ll be able to…wait for it…HAVE PEOPLE OVER FOR DINNER once I have working lights and floors not embedded with cat fur and stale beer.
(On March 9th, 2010 at 12:00 pm)
sooo, are you saying we won’t be able to walk through your screen door anymore?
(On March 9th, 2010 at 12:07 pm)
Home improvements have a nasty way of getting under your skin while they’re going on, but when they’re done, they’re glorious. Maybe put a marriage counseling sesh or two in the renovation budget?
(On March 9th, 2010 at 12:28 pm)
And just what, I ask you, is wrong with fur floors soaked in beer?
Also…take heart, maybe it’ll be better than you think! Greg and I actually GET ALONG all Zen and shit when we do projects. It’s just when other people (ahem, IN-LAWS) and their helpful opinions get involved that we start having issues. har har! I am not particularly ashamed to admit I was sorely tempted to bury the lot of them with the Bobcat during construction of our raised beds.
(On March 9th, 2010 at 1:45 pm)
i’m going to go ahead and apologize in advance for putting my leg through your new storm door–not knowing about the upgrade. you should probably put a sign up once you replace the old one…
(On March 9th, 2010 at 3:19 pm)
“My kitchen is ridiculous. Not only do we have an in-counter non-working trash compactor from the 90s that doesn’t work (which, incidentally, I think the trash compactor is the most unnecessary appliance ever created) but our cabinets are falling apart, our ceiling fan/light doesn’t work, and our stove is a crapshoot of temperature approximation. This makes baking really fun times.”
I think your kitchen and mine are related. Unfortunately, living in an apartment, I have little control over upgrades.
(On March 9th, 2010 at 8:17 pm)
This is very exciting!! can i move back in for a few months after the renovation…. you know just to test out all the new stuff.
To prepare for me you should make those basement windows a little larger.