My Husband, the Realist, is not ready to talk about buying a house. There are a number of reasons, but mostly he has these scars on the tips of his fingers from when we last touched this flame and they are a constant reminder that you should not ignore the voice of caution. I, on the other hand, sometimes can't get to sleep at night because I am knocking out walls and raising the roof line in my mind for the remodel I am doing to our rental house. I would buy a house tomorrow. I figure the fingertips aren't blistered and pussy anymore, so really we've just toughened them up and they are all the more capable of handling the heat. Needless to say, we are not on the same page right now on this issue, and it's difficult. Marriage is all about compromise and understanding. Frankly, I'm not good at those other things. I spent the first 10 years of our marriage trying to brow beat him into being more like me, and have only in the last couple of years started to realize that perhaps he was sent here to rescue me from myself instead of to try my perseverance.
Anyway, In the meantime, I figure that some things are worth doing even if our home is not really mine, and they are a good compromise. Like paint. Paint is cheap and it only takes a day or so. Tying to avoid load-bearing walls while you open up the floor plan and put in a new dishwasher aren't realistic changes to make to someone else's house. I mean really, the return on investment is not that great. But paint? Now that will do wonders for making the place feel more like mine and the cost to me is minimal. $50 and a weekend. In exchange for a year or so of improved quality of life. I have to be here all of the time and I like to love it. Also, I can do things to the stuff. The stuff I take with me, so spending my creative energy there is not related to the house we're in. I have spent years painting and recovering and stripping and staining. And though its a lot of work, I almost always think it's worth it.
When we moved into this place (this rental) the entire house was painted pink. I'm not joking. I wish I had taken a "before" picture so I could show you. I would say Pepto-Bismol pink, except that it wasn't that pretty. So I painted the entire first floor. Totally worth it. Especially when you consider that, as often as we can swing it, my sisters and I have an unofficial agreement to always paint together, deep into the night while getting a little toasted. And then we like to get the runs from a midnight Taco Bell excursion. Actually, it doesn't sound as fun now that I've written it down, but I promise it's super good times. Well now, 2 years later, I am ready to start thinking about what's next. So, in the interest of compromise (see how I'm learning?) I have decided that I need some new projects that do not require a scary and intense investment. I guess I could say that ideally, I'd like to buy a house and start investing in something of my own, but realistically the timing is not right, so I need to invest in what I've been given. See how I did that? Cohesive thinking. It makes me feel awesome. Anyhoo, I stole this dining set off of Craigslist for pennies, and I'm starting here.
Already sold my other one.
Side note: I have been known to go craislist crazy. My daughter once asked me if, when I sold her slippers on craiglist, I would buy her new ones from the GAP. Craigslist can be like a drug. Be careful.
So, I'm starting this week because, as you may have noticed, there is nowhere to eat in our house right now. The kids are not likely to continue thinking that eating on the floor is an exciting adventure. So Lowes and JoAnne's, here I come! Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted.
Looks like a good time for an indoor picnic! Pretend it's spring...
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