Puttering Around

For those of you who think all I do is go on vacation, I would like it to be known that I did manage to accomplish a couple of things.

First, I painted the outdoor shower at the lake. I took it from a dark brown to a bright white. Phil says it looks like a padded cell now.  Better than a dungeon. My brother Matt doesn’t like the light bulb I put in there. It’s too bright for him and “doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.” I tend to imagine the worst, so I’m good with the flood light.

In Wisconsin, while the kids were traipsing around the property with no adult supervision, I installed a couple of door handles. My brother recently told me he knows I like to feel useful. He’s right. If my former employer had only known that I just need to replace some door handles, I’d still be there.

In between Wisconsin and the Cape, I helped Heather move into a new rental in Beverly. I am frequently amazed at other people’s standards for home maintenance. Here’s a before and after shot where I am absolutely sure that the after is better than the before.

Before	After

There wasn’t too much to do at the Cape this year. The only thing I did was swap out a couple of twin bed frames for a king-sized bed frame. I only ran into one, tiny problem. I did not realize how heavy the king headboard was. When I disconnected it from the twin frames, it came crashing down on my shoulder. I now have a big bruise, but bruises obtained during manual labor are a source of pride for me.

Today, it was up to Peabody. My mother-in-law recently had surgery, and I’ve been feeling a little guilty that I haven’t done anything for her. I’m not a card/flower/chocolate/fruit basket-sending type of person, and I do not talk on the phone. I communicate through a keyboard, and she doesn’t have one. So, I decided to go see her. But, if I’m being perfectly honest with myself? The real motivation for getting up there? To get at her garage.

I promised her I would not throw anything away without her approval. My main focus today was organizing. And I organized like mad from 11 to 3 with a brief break for lunch. I get such ridiculous enjoyment out of putting similar things together into the smallest spot that they will comfortably fit.  I came home dirty and sweaty, but the space that I freed up in that garage is yet another source of pride for me.

The puttering around I’ve been doing at home since I’ve been back from the Cape has been a little less fun. While at the Cape, I got a phone call from my cleaning lady telling me my house smelled awful. Isn’t that nice to hear? Turns out we had left the door open to the freezer in the basement. She very kindly cleaned out the freezer and put the defrosted salmon, crab cakes, chicken, and Alfredo sauce in the garage. I’ve been airing things out since then. That episode has managed to tip the scales with my thinking in regards to the basement freezer and fridge. I’ve shut down both.