The AikiHomestead
Our Lifestyle Blog as We Create a Homestead in Northern Ontario
2009-09-01
The Yada Yada
I’m back on a decluttering kick lately. Trying to get stuff off my desk and out of the house if we never or sometimes just rarely use it.
But as I do this, it also got me thinking about other aspects of life and environment that could be decluttered, and today, I realized that probably my conversations could do with occasional judicious editing.
Kenny and I spent the morning, and then while he napped, I spent another hour, removing our back doors, painting their edges, and painting the frames they were in. Previous owners had installed the double doors, but left the wood entirely untreated and exposed to the elements. Donna had noticed that mildew was beginning to form inside on the lower parts of the frame, and my in-laws had also noticed that the trim on the bottom of the doors was pretty ill-fitting on the outside, and was allowing rain and dirt to run INTO the trim, rather than over it.
So anyway, yada yada, Kenny and I fixed up the doors, reinstalled them to a fairly awesome degree, and then settled in.
Donna got home early, and when she asked what we had been up to during the day, I wanted to milk our hard work for as much as possible, and asked Kenny to tell her, and her to guess… Kenny beat around the bush a fair bit, and I spent the better part of five minutes trying to manoeuvre her to the dining room doors to see if she could notice what we had accomplished.
I don’t think she was angry, but I got a vibe that she was getting exasperated having to play a guessing game after a long day at work, and she did guess our workmanship in the end. But now that I reconsider the episode, I wonder what gains I really made.
As such, I think I’m going to strive to not play such games in the future, at least, not when everyone isn’t enjoying them, and there are other things to do.
Maybe there’s some merit to being succinct after all!
But as I do this, it also got me thinking about other aspects of life and environment that could be decluttered, and today, I realized that probably my conversations could do with occasional judicious editing.
Kenny and I spent the morning, and then while he napped, I spent another hour, removing our back doors, painting their edges, and painting the frames they were in. Previous owners had installed the double doors, but left the wood entirely untreated and exposed to the elements. Donna had noticed that mildew was beginning to form inside on the lower parts of the frame, and my in-laws had also noticed that the trim on the bottom of the doors was pretty ill-fitting on the outside, and was allowing rain and dirt to run INTO the trim, rather than over it.
So anyway, yada yada, Kenny and I fixed up the doors, reinstalled them to a fairly awesome degree, and then settled in.
Donna got home early, and when she asked what we had been up to during the day, I wanted to milk our hard work for as much as possible, and asked Kenny to tell her, and her to guess… Kenny beat around the bush a fair bit, and I spent the better part of five minutes trying to manoeuvre her to the dining room doors to see if she could notice what we had accomplished.
I don’t think she was angry, but I got a vibe that she was getting exasperated having to play a guessing game after a long day at work, and she did guess our workmanship in the end. But now that I reconsider the episode, I wonder what gains I really made.
As such, I think I’m going to strive to not play such games in the future, at least, not when everyone isn’t enjoying them, and there are other things to do.
Maybe there’s some merit to being succinct after all!
Comments:
yup – just tell us what you did at the end of the day … and then pamper us and feed us dinner. How can you guys declutter anymore? Seriously! You can NEVER come to my house again – you must cringe when you visit LOL!
yup – just tell us what you did at the end of the day … and then pamper us and feed us dinner. How can you guys declutter anymore? Seriously! You can NEVER come to my house again – you must cringe when you visit LOL!
- Anonymous (2009-09-02)