Sunday, June 24, 2007

Whew. That was a close call.

Home improvements do not become me. The dark side of my impatience emerges at first sight of power tools directed toward my home. Buck and I have been married eighteen years, and it's still not easy for us to survive building projects.

I think Buck and I will stay married after all, though he hasn't completed the floors yet. We've made the daunting discovery that trim and doorway transitions are tedious and persnickity business, and Buck has nine doorways with which to contend.
Since he has to finally head back to work after a vacation to put in floors for me, it make take weeks to come by as much time as he needs to complete the task. I may have be forced to seek Yoda to help train me in the Jedi ways of patience in the mean time.

Tomorrow three children go to music camp in the mornings creating time for me to do some things I keep putting off for better days. My homeschool room needs some major attention in the areas of decluttering, organization, and carpet cleaning. However, I keep thinking of fun things I want to do instead like getting my nails done and having hot chocolate at Starbucks instead.

Last week when Miriam and I met to discuss a book at Starbucks, the young man behind the counter insisted I try the black and white chocolate with a squirt of cinnamon dolche after addressing me as "dude". "Dude, you don't just want hot chocolate. You want..." I was shocked into simply nodding my head "yes", because I have never been called a dude before. The irreverant cashier was right- his combination hot chocolate rocked.

About the book we're discussing, Blue Like Jazz. I'm four chapters in, and though I won't stop reading, I'm not digging the writing so far. It's jumpy and a tinge too negative for my pick of inspirational books. I'll blog more about it as I progress, since so many bloggers seem to love it.

7 comments:

~pen~ said...

Vyne girl, loved Blue Like Jazz. Loved it.

Also just finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Loved it as much, maybe more. And Rob is jumpy because I can't read his new one Sex God. Too much white space in the in-betweens. Weird style.

Am now reading Annie Lamott's newest one and was pretty upset with two chapters in a row, but she redeemed herself with the next one. I declared after the two chapters I pretty much hated that I wasn't going to finish the book, but it is kinda compelling.

(was that too much info?)

~pen~ said...

ps - loved your interaction with the coffee guy. way cute.

and i will never put a grill together with my dear husband. never again. it stretches your capacity to the limits in such a way as you never thought it would, so it's best just to not "go there."

Kat said...

You brought back memories of our kitchen remodel. Favorite moments that seem funny now but at the time, not so much:
1. "As long as we're replacing the flooring, why don't we..." (Fill in the blank, it ended up a much bigger project than we planned. See item #2)
2. "We need a new bathtub, but it won't fit throught he bathroom door...as long as we've got the kitchen wall torn out, why don't we tear out the bathroom wall and bring the new tub in through the wall?" Did I mention this was a KITCHEN remodel?
3. The day my brother in law started up a chainsaw in the living room. I think I set a land speed record getting out of the house.
4. The night we had a surprise overnight visitor...all the way from Denmark...in the middle of all the chaos. My favorite pic of the remodel is of him sitting on the bare plywood floor in his PJs hovering over the only item in the room...the coffee maker. He wins the "good sport" award.
5. The fridge in the living room, the (unhooked) stove next to my child's bed. I never thought I'd get tired of eating out, but believe me, it can happen.

So, you're right, if your marriage can survive this, you can handle anything! Enjoy your new floors, and to put it in perspective, our project went on for about three months! :)

unquenchableworshipper said...

hey..I got another doorway done last night..only 5 more to go!!

truevyne said...

m2, thanks for the opinion on Blue. I like Anne L. too, but didn't like her book The Blue Shoe or something like that. I'll get around to her new one too,and let you know what I think.
Kat, too funny about the "kitchen" remodel become extreme home makeover.
Buck, but it's not really done with it not meeting the laundry room floor. sigh...

FancyPants said...

I actually enjoyed Don's writing style in Blue Like Jazz. A sort of fast and familiar approach.

I think what I liked most about the book was its honesty. The honesty and transparency.

But I see what you mean about the negative, and I think that gets better as you read further, if I remember correctly. Yes, I'm almost positive it does.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dude,

Whenever we do home projects, I think of those movies -- what's the one with Shelly Long and Tom Hanks? Home Improvement? -- It's NEVER even as complicated as you think it might be in your wildest and worst imagination, but more so.

@ ~m2~: I didn't care for the new Anne Lamott book, though I love ANNE LAMOTT extremely much. Those "2 chapters" (and I'm pretty sure we're speaking of the same ones) pretty much made me want to throw up. Our family has been where that family was 3 times now, and we never resorted to Seconal. Nuff SAID!!!