Lots Of Chaos Over Here
Oh boy. The pre-tile prep work began here yesterday, and it was as awful as I remember. Of all the improvements we've made to our homes over the years, tile work is the absolutely most disruptive process, and this time is proving to be no different. Still, if we can just get through the next 10 days, it should be all downhill from there.
The team is working upstairs, so we are living in the downstairs area during the day, but trying to be gone as much as possible to avoid the noise and disruption and, well, breathing (because, COVID). The downstairs phase, which begins it two more weeks, will be much, much, much less disruptive because both areas being remodeled can be accessed via our downstairs bedroom's sliding glass doors, meaning we can seal off the back downstairs portion of work area, and live relatively normally from then until the completion of the second phase.
I am extremely gratified over the small improvements in place already, primarily cabinetry, because each one is a reminder of how stunning the completed project should be in comparison to what existed previously.
Some 2021 Spend Planning
In other news, my husband and I were discussing how to allocate our Miscellaneous allocation in 2021. This 'bucket,' if you will, is one we fund annually for those things we might like to do over and above our normal allocation accounts (i.e., Dining, Travel, Entertainment, Hobbies, Home Decor Improvements). In years past this fund has primarily funded interior room makeovers such as a home office build for my husband, and some pretty epic travel including a six week river cruise through Europe in 2016, and our cruise around South American this past January and February (which seems like a lifetime ago!). But with far flung travel still off the table until at least 2022, here is the list of items we are thinking of for 2021, as we all continue to hunker down and wait for our turn in the vaccine line:
1) Two Advanced Element inflatable kayaks. These are extremely durable inflatable kayaks which should likely never need replacing, and after three years of living in our new-to-us coastal area, we know definitively that kayaking is something we are committed to doing for the long haul. Our current kayaks are very inexpensive Intex inflatables, and we unfortunately we have already had two of them fail on us for reasons related to the way they were manufactured, not our user error. Thus, new kayaks are in order.
2) Two new carbon fiber bicycles. We actually continue to be happy with our Trek 1000 road bicycles, which ran us $600 each back in 2004, however, and this is a big however, we ride very frequently these days with our oldest daughter and her significant other, and they literally leave us in their dust due to the advanced mechanics of their much lighter carbon fiber bikes vs. ours. Plus, sigh, we really are overdue given how frequently we now cycle, the result of now living near miles and miles and miles of dedicated bicycle paths, many of which go along the ocean.
3) New family room furniture. The furniture in our family room now is not terrible, but it was purchased inexpensively and somewhat in haste when we moved here, as a result of our prior family room furniture being the absolutely wrong configuration for our new family room.
I actually like the look of our current furniture, just not it's relative lack of comfort and durability. So primarily as a result of how happy my oldest daughter is with a sofa they recently ordered and had delivered from Lazy Boy, we have been visiting the Lazy Boy showroom near us, and have landed on a sofa and two swivel chairs that are extremely comfortable, and very well made, construction wise. (Note: Swivel chairs, NOT recliners. At the risk of offending recliner-lovers out there, I have no interest in recliners whatsoever, having never seen any that I perceive as being remotely attractive. ☹️ )
The swivel chairs in particular, are going to be awesome. We'll be able to swivel toward the TV, or swivel toward the fireplace, or even swivel toward the kitchen should the cook (me!) need some company. I haven't selected the final fabrics yet - there are literally hundreds to choose from - but I'm envisioning a textured light gray for the sofa, and a gray print of some sort for the chairs. The current waiting time for orders, though, is absolutely bonkers - between 4 and 6 months.
Fortunately, we are not in a rush!
So while we can't do any long distance trip planning for a while longer, we can instead enjoy upgrading some of our outdoor toys, and a little additional feathering of our nest.
