I long for the simple days of medical care, when the doctor smiled and said “don’t worry, you’ll be fine in a few days”. Or, at the other end of the spectrum “put your affairs in order”. While this second option would be unwelcome, it is a definitive message. I’d prefer no dithering about, ordering endless tests and unpleasant invasions… Read More »Medical Progress
My mother’s voice rings in my head, explaining why it’s time to go to bed, turn off the TV, or stop eating Hallowe’en candy. As a child, I took this as adultly wisdom, an incontestable law of life. My catholic upbringing, tinging everything with guilt, suggested to me that expecting good things to continue indefinitely was greedy, or one of… Read More »“All Good Things Must Come to an End”
Time for another drunk-on-summer rant about how much I enjoy the season. No cocktails are involved in achieving this state. I’m so fond of the heat and sun and going barefoot and fresh vegetables that I naturally trend to euphoria in July and August. Admittedly, an icy cold beer is extra delicious at this time of year. In 2024, I’m… Read More »The Joy of Cycling
Part 4, the final step, in the reno-storation of the front hall of my 1927 Arts & Craft bungalow is to add trim, including: The Baseboards. This likely looks like amateur hour but then, I’ve never pretended to be a pro. There are three slightly different floor heights in the hall, which makes baseboards tricky. It seems to me the pro… Read More »Part 4: Front hall reno.
Part 3 of reno-storing the front hallway of my 1927 Arts&Craft bungalow is about refinishing the floor. Part 1 covered the walls and ceiling, and part 2 was planning what to do with the floor. The relatively large entry hall, for a 1400 sq ft house, is 23 ft long and mostly 8 ft wide except where it’s 3ft wide.… Read More »Part 3: Front Hall Reno.
The saga continues of renovating the front entryway of my 1927 Arts & Craft bungalow, aiming for the best reproduction of the original era possible. Following Part 1 – walls and ceiling, Part 2 is the floor plan, err, the plan for the floor. The existing floor (layers visible at the top of the stairs from the basement) consisted of, from… Read More »Entry Hall Reno. Part 2
I got tired of looking at the hole in the closet ceiling. The next reno/restoration project is the entry hall on the main floor. The winter blahs also played a role, as there’s a good sized, south-facing window in this area that gets fabulous morning sun. This lead to wanting to arrange the furniture to make a sitting area, which… Read More »Entry Hall Reno. Part 1
There’s many a metaphor about life waiting in the backyard, as I ponder the flux of good years for roses, raccoons and tomatoes, bad years for June bugs, lilies and maples, and those things that seem to be fine every year, rain or shine, heat or cold, like ants, violets and squirrels. The ebbs and flows of nature hang in… Read More »Learning Life Balance from Weeds and Bugs
Touring bands, gigging musicians, and mega-stars have rock and roll lifestyles. Can a mere fan, someone who enjoys the culture, style and attitude of everything that is rock music, claim such a thing? Today felt like a rock and roll lifestyle day, as I was out at a show last night, staying up late, getting drunk on the enveloping sound… Read More »A Rock and Roll Lifestyle
Now that the pandemic is far enough away, I’m ready to proclaim that some good came of it. No question, there was much hurt and hardship, which impacted some people severely. But, pulling the silver lining from three solid years of storm clouds reaps some value from the nightmare that was. Even nightmares usually have a purpose or message. Things… Read More »The Good of Three Years House Arrest