My office, a year and a half later. Or wait... is this thing still on?
So you know how you can avoid something for so long that it pretty much drops off your mental radar, and it ends up getting filed under "procrastinate indefinitely" and finally goes away? That's pretty much what happened to this blog, at least until tonight. I happened upon the "Blog This" feature in Flickr and was then reminded that I actually still possess a blog...and then realized I might actually miss it after I re-read a few old posts. And lo and behold, just 4 posts down are photos of my newly refinished office from a year and a half ago. Obviously this is before it became a refugee camp for houseplants in various stages of distress. Looking back on the old pics now, my office looked so empty and devoid of life. I guess a year and a half makes a pretty big difference.
For the most part, my blogging avoidance can be attributed to the fact that I felt inadequate as a "house blogger". Inadequate for not completing as many projects on the house that I thought I would, and feeling like I wasn't offering anything of value to anyone reading. But one thing I've come to learn over the last 2 years is that not every home improvement effort can be summed up in a post with perfect before and after pics, detailed DIY instructions, and amusing anecdotes on how I bumbled through it and made mistakes but learned from the experience, yadda yadda yadda.
The reality of DIY and home improvement is that it's messy and frustrating. Or at least that's what MY reality feels like most of the time. Reality is making too many trips back and forth to the hardware store because I don't know exactly what tools I need. Reality is getting paint in my hair, scuffing the walls, and removing the threads from screws. It's having to call my dad to have him explain what seem like very simple concepts that I should inerently just *know*, and then having to call him again after emailing him a picture of my failed attempt. Reality is the giant hole in my bathroom ceiling that I need to patch up but of course my first drywall project involves a ceiling.
But I'm still trying and doing and learning and enjoying, and I guess that's all that matters. I just haven't felt much up to writing about it, because I don't want to just gloss over the bad parts, nor do I want to document every failed effort. Just know that I call my dad a lot. And I'm forever amazed that he knows so much and grateful that he's willing to patiently explain how to do things, sometimes over and over again. And I hope he's proud when I finally send him an "after" pic.
Aside from bumbling through a bunch of random projects that I'll sum up in another post.... The photo I took yesterday morning of my office actually sums up what I've been up to in the last year and a half pretty well. I've been enjoying having the space and time for hobbies and creative pursuits. Plants, terrariums, making jewelry... I've been busy living life, as opposed to constantly trying to make everything better. Stay tuned.
For the most part, my blogging avoidance can be attributed to the fact that I felt inadequate as a "house blogger". Inadequate for not completing as many projects on the house that I thought I would, and feeling like I wasn't offering anything of value to anyone reading. But one thing I've come to learn over the last 2 years is that not every home improvement effort can be summed up in a post with perfect before and after pics, detailed DIY instructions, and amusing anecdotes on how I bumbled through it and made mistakes but learned from the experience, yadda yadda yadda.
The reality of DIY and home improvement is that it's messy and frustrating. Or at least that's what MY reality feels like most of the time. Reality is making too many trips back and forth to the hardware store because I don't know exactly what tools I need. Reality is getting paint in my hair, scuffing the walls, and removing the threads from screws. It's having to call my dad to have him explain what seem like very simple concepts that I should inerently just *know*, and then having to call him again after emailing him a picture of my failed attempt. Reality is the giant hole in my bathroom ceiling that I need to patch up but of course my first drywall project involves a ceiling.
But I'm still trying and doing and learning and enjoying, and I guess that's all that matters. I just haven't felt much up to writing about it, because I don't want to just gloss over the bad parts, nor do I want to document every failed effort. Just know that I call my dad a lot. And I'm forever amazed that he knows so much and grateful that he's willing to patiently explain how to do things, sometimes over and over again. And I hope he's proud when I finally send him an "after" pic.
Aside from bumbling through a bunch of random projects that I'll sum up in another post.... The photo I took yesterday morning of my office actually sums up what I've been up to in the last year and a half pretty well. I've been enjoying having the space and time for hobbies and creative pursuits. Plants, terrariums, making jewelry... I've been busy living life, as opposed to constantly trying to make everything better. Stay tuned.
1 shout-outs:
I hear you about the blog...I came to the realization that, I'm not really blogging for anyone but me...and maybe my kids or grandkids, when they grow up, maybe they'll want to read about what their dumb (grand)father did...
DIY is definitely trial and error, though, that's for sure. It's certainly not DIY Network or HGTV easy all the time.
Stick with it, and don't feel bad to admit "failures" as you call them...to be honest, I find it cleansing of my DIY brain to get it off my chest -- sometimes. :)
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