I'm having an on-going experience with this New Life that feels almost child-like, but not quite. I use the term in that way very young children seem to approach everything they encounter that's new... which is to say with a sense of wonderment and unbridled joy. Therein lies the difference, of course, because none of this is new to me and every bit of it is trivial and mundane. It's just life as we used to know it but it IS different. Some observations:
Sleeping in a bed is good. I worried about that, mainly because I only slept in my last spiffy bedroom when I had company over; the rest of the time I was on the couch. Not this time; the fact the current bed is more comfortable than the futon pictured at right MIGHT have sumthin' to do with that. While we're on the subject: my jury's out on the cost/benefit aspect of the Tempurpedic mattress. I have no complaints but I ain't ready to record a gushing testimonial, either. That's a lot o' money to spend on ambivalence.
Black furniture and dark counter tops require one helluva lot more housecleaning than I like, or am used to. It's the DUST, Gentle Reader. Ditto with walking around on tiled floors in my bare feet: I feel EVERY gotdamned mote o' dust. My new Swiffer mop/dustmop is getting a lot o' use.
I still marvel at (a) the frost-free appearance of my freezer and (b) the (relatively) cavernous space therein... every single time I open it. And never running out o' ice. Same thing with the fridge: I no longer buy 12-packs of Dr. Pepper... it's two-liter bottles now.
While we're in the kitchen: I have cabinet space I'll prolly never use.
More kitchen: I feel guilty running the dishwasher after I exhaust my supply of beer glasses and coffee cups. The entire top rack is full, the bottom rack less so. But I do it anyway.
I no longer fear laundry. Hell, I'm doing it every week... sometimes more... just for the novelty that's in it. The downside? I find myself wearing my favorite tee shirts over and over again. That will wear 'em out right quick.
Muscle memory has finally died. I raised my foot to flush the toilet for the first two weeks I was here. And felt stoopid every single time.
I might have spent too much money on my office. I find myself using the laptop either at the kitchen counter in the morning (close to the coffee pot) or on the couch later in the day. The desktop? Hardly used at all... but that may be premature since I only set it up yesterday. But I did have a temporary desk made out of boxes and such.
Accessible music. We've been goin' on about this for at least a week now, but what was once old is all new again. I recorded a lot o' my vinyl on cassette (like 30 90-minute cassettes, two albums per) before I shipped it off to SN2 these ten or so years ago and I've been playin' that stuff for the past three days. Wonderful!I prolly have more thoughts like these, but this is all that comes to mind right now. I really should write this shit down, yanno?
The verandah at El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington gets a LOT more use than the verandah at ECMdP, mainly coz it's more verandah-like than a slab o' concrete. Speaking of ECMdP... it's wonderful to not be so in touch with the weather, like wind-speed. No more worries about awnings flying away to Texas and it's always shady on the verandah now.
One of your early pictures of the new digs, showed a gap at the bottom of the door.
ReplyDeleteMy patio door was like that (probably because I hung it myself), and it took a big piece of weatherstrip to fix it.
Anyway, gets some weatherstrip, or you will have dust and snow coming in :-)
I'm still laughing about you flushing that damn toilet.
ReplyDeleteWV~a~chet Really no kidding :)Now I'm lmao.
Oh, I'd say you're just rife with wonderment and unbridled joy! And well-deserved! As we learned after Katrina, Comfort and aesthetics are not overrated.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're enjoying your veranda so much! And, who cares whether you overspent on the office? You like it, it's set up, and you can play on 2 different computers at once!
The mattress? A good night's rest is priceless. (says the woman with a new mattress)
I know that which you are feeling. We become acquainted with it when we no longer take common things for granted any longer... like being able to flush the toilet in a normal (or should I say routine) manner. Normal is a word I try to avoid using.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like your new digs, Buck. That wonderment you speak of is a really good thing; I could use some more of it myself.
ReplyDeleteWe've thought about one of those Tempurpedics for our next mattress but the cost has definitely given us pause. Could they be that good? If you get around to it, please give us an update on your view of the mattress in a few weeks after you've had a chance to test it for awhile.
When we put down tile in the old part of the house years ago, I was horrified by the dust. It took a while and a lot of mopping before it went away, but it did.
ReplyDeleteBeing comfortable and "normal" is important. I don't know about the Tempurpedic mattress. Toby and I rolled around at the mattress store until we found one we both agreed on and that was that - still expensive. You can buy all sorts of mattress pads these days that add to your comfort, if needed.
I think you will use the desk more than you think. Since you like your verandah so well, you might want to look for heavy duty patio furniture that won't blow away and is more comfy than fold up chairs.
It's all good Buck, so very happy for you. You are spreading out now - and you deserve to have unbridled joy!
ReplyDeleteThe mattress - we invested in a Sleep Number Bed about 3 years ago. And have never regretted the decision. We sleep better on that thing than on any other mattress we've ever tried. Price is gasp-inducing and after the first week of sleeping on it - totally worth it.
Anon: The property owners fixed that gap.
ReplyDeletestopsign: It's strange how habit works... I don't think I've ever raised my foot in someone else's house, yet I consistently and continually did it HERE. Go figure...
Comfort and aesthetics are not overrated.
I'll second that, Moogie. It's middling-strange we can lose sight of that, though.
Skip: Yeah, "normal" usually ain't.
Dan: I think a Tempurpedic might have much more value to people who sleep in pairs rather than alone, especially if one of the pair is a restless sleeper. It's comfortable enough, don't get me wrong, I'm just not convinced it's "value for money."
Lou: Thanks for the info on the tile. I sure HOPE this will be the case for me, too. As for the verandah... I'm gonna get a potted palm first. A big-ass plastic too-green one. :-)
Kris: I thought about a Sleep-Number bed... did the research and all that before settling on what I bought. Both mattresses were comparable in price.