handyman's special
Feb. 4th, 2008 06:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
constanceMy parents came over to my house this weekend; we've been in this crazy Catch-22 situation wherein they can't visit me because the dog wants to kill them, but then the dog only wants to kill them because they don't visit often enough for him to get to know and accept them. And so they're trying to stop by more often, in hopes that one day my dog will stop leaping at my father's throat on sight.
That day was not yesterday. They dropped by and after about two minutes I put Leory in the guest room and we walked through the house talking about some of the things I want to do to it, and eventually an uncomfortable realization dawned on me. Which was this: all my adult life, I've been pretty good about fitting my stuff into a given (rental) space, making it look cozy and lived-in and inviting. But now, faced with this blank slate where I can do absolutely anything my heart desires as long as I have the money to afford it, I'm completely paralyzed.
Well, maybe not completely paralyzed. I'm slowly making decisions about things, colors and styles, trying to keep things affordable, trying to fit everything together, trying to make certain I'm capable of doing the work myself as much as possible. It's like putting together a giant 1750-sq-ft puzzle, for me, but one of those tricky puzzles where the pieces are alike enough that you might get 85% finished only to discover that you did something horribly wrong way back at 15%. So I second-guess myself and backtrack and get all frustrated, and I'm never sure how everything's going to work together, and I walk my parents through my house dithering about every conceivable detail, while they are no doubt thinking, Jesus Christ, kid, just get on with it already.
On the other hand, I'm kind of enjoying the ride, too; so who knows how long it'll actually be before I get started on the laundry room (the next thing on my project list)? Using my awesome powers of divination, I predict that I'll still be working on this at age 60.
I stealed this from Isis ages ago, but never got around to filling it out till tonight.
Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes. Me.
Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?
Hardwood, in need of refinishing and even repair in spots. My floors have clearly not been pampered over the years.
Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?
In a drawer. I keep meaning to get an organizer for them, but for now they're just loose, ready at any moment to slice my fingers off.
House, apartment, duplex or trailer?
I think we all know the answer to this one by now, but just in case you didn't catch it the first 374 times I mentioned it, it's a house.
How many bedrooms?
Two, three, or four, depending on how you use the rooms. (It's a turn-of-the-century cottage, and the plan is configured in such a way that two rooms could conceivably be used for different things.) I am using the two-bedroom method.
Gas stove or electric?
Gas.
Do you have a yard?
Yes. It's tiny in front, cavernous in back, heavily treed, and sloping (and terraced to be usable), all of which makes mowing SUCH AN UNALLOYED PLEASURE YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I am thinking of turning the back yard into a wilderness. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm halfway there.
What size TV is in the living room?
25", I think. Is that an actual TV size?
Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?
No, my plates and cups must occupy different cupboards.
Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?
I don't drink coffee myself, but I keep a coffee maker on hand in case I have coffee-drinking company. It stays hidden away in another cupboard until I need it.
What room is your computer in?
Um. I have three laptops. (Four if you count the one I poured Coke into and keep on hand in case I ever need to scavenge parts from it.) My main laptop mostly stays in my study, my widescreen laptop with the faulty power supply which means that it CANNOT EVER BE MOVED BECAUSE OMG IT TAKES TWENTY MINUTES TO GET THE POWER CORD TO WORK AGAIN is in my bedroom and is used mainly for playing downloaded video, and I have an ancient IBM Thinkpad which I've set up to play Region 2 DVDs (waves at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dahlia_777), and it goes wherever I decide to watch those DVDs.
Are there pictures hanging in your living room?
Yes. Prints of early 20th century artists and illustrators, and one reproduction of a bas-relief of St. Cecilia which wherever I live is hung over or near the stereo, because this amuses me.
Are there any themes found in your home?
Left to my own devices, I tend toward simple and informal (but traditional) furniture and fabrics, haphazard colors, a mixture of styles and objects acquired over long periods of time. But since I've inherited quite a bit of furniture, there's some different stuff thrown in there as well. It eclectic, is what I'm working to get out.
What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
Gain, with original scent. Using anything else tends to make me break out, so I stick with this one.
Do you use dryer sheets?
No. (See the breaking-out issue mentioned above.)
Do you have any curtains in your home?
Yes. Lace curtains in the living room, mattress-ticking-striped tab-top panels in the study, red muslin tab-top panels in the dining room, and (different) white embroidered panels in each of the bedrooms.
What color is your fridge?
White.
Is your house clean?
It could use a good dusting, also mopping, but it's not filthy or anything.
What room is the most neglected?
The guest room, which even aside from the fact that it's rarely used, I tend to use it as a temporary storage room.
Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
In the sink they're dirty, but right now it's just my cereal bowl, a tea mug, and a spoon. Last night's dishes are in the drainer.
How long have you lived in your home?
Two years. Two years last week, actually.
Where did you live before?
In a decrepit yet formerly grand shotgun apartment with way too little space; I was saving money to buy a house, see.
Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
No, but maybe I should get one, on account of I kind of melted part of the toilet seat cover last month. Or maybe I should just break down and buy a new seat; I never really liked this one, anyway.
Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?
To weigh myself? Yes. It's in the bathroom. I weigh myself on it about twenty-seven times a day, because it fascinates me to see how my weight fluctuates over time. Because I do this, though, I have no idea how much I actually weigh, and so weigh-ins at my Weight Watchers meetings are always a surprise.
How many mirrors are in your house?
Hanging mirrors? Five. One in each of the bathrooms, one in each of the bedrooms, and one by the front door. I have a couple of handheld decorative mirrors as well.
Look up. What do you see?
My front door, two windows, two cabinets with drawers, three candlesticks, a cloisonne mouse, an "art-glass" lamp, a heart-shaped bowl of paperclips, a wind-up bouncy picture holder with a photo of Past Dogs in it, a couple of boxes of stationery. (This weekend was letter-writin' weekend at my house.)
Do you have a garage?
Yep. It's oddly-sized and brick-walled and tucked up under the house and has no interior access. Counterintuitively, I don't like to park there when it rains, because you have to drive through a little space of mud to get to it, and I don't want the mud to get too rutted. One day I hope to take care of that problem. If, you know, I can decide how exactly I want to do it.
That day was not yesterday. They dropped by and after about two minutes I put Leory in the guest room and we walked through the house talking about some of the things I want to do to it, and eventually an uncomfortable realization dawned on me. Which was this: all my adult life, I've been pretty good about fitting my stuff into a given (rental) space, making it look cozy and lived-in and inviting. But now, faced with this blank slate where I can do absolutely anything my heart desires as long as I have the money to afford it, I'm completely paralyzed.
Well, maybe not completely paralyzed. I'm slowly making decisions about things, colors and styles, trying to keep things affordable, trying to fit everything together, trying to make certain I'm capable of doing the work myself as much as possible. It's like putting together a giant 1750-sq-ft puzzle, for me, but one of those tricky puzzles where the pieces are alike enough that you might get 85% finished only to discover that you did something horribly wrong way back at 15%. So I second-guess myself and backtrack and get all frustrated, and I'm never sure how everything's going to work together, and I walk my parents through my house dithering about every conceivable detail, while they are no doubt thinking, Jesus Christ, kid, just get on with it already.
On the other hand, I'm kind of enjoying the ride, too; so who knows how long it'll actually be before I get started on the laundry room (the next thing on my project list)? Using my awesome powers of divination, I predict that I'll still be working on this at age 60.
I stealed this from Isis ages ago, but never got around to filling it out till tonight.
Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes. Me.
Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?
Hardwood, in need of refinishing and even repair in spots. My floors have clearly not been pampered over the years.
Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?
In a drawer. I keep meaning to get an organizer for them, but for now they're just loose, ready at any moment to slice my fingers off.
House, apartment, duplex or trailer?
I think we all know the answer to this one by now, but just in case you didn't catch it the first 374 times I mentioned it, it's a house.
How many bedrooms?
Two, three, or four, depending on how you use the rooms. (It's a turn-of-the-century cottage, and the plan is configured in such a way that two rooms could conceivably be used for different things.) I am using the two-bedroom method.
Gas stove or electric?
Gas.
Do you have a yard?
Yes. It's tiny in front, cavernous in back, heavily treed, and sloping (and terraced to be usable), all of which makes mowing SUCH AN UNALLOYED PLEASURE YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I am thinking of turning the back yard into a wilderness. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm halfway there.
What size TV is in the living room?
25", I think. Is that an actual TV size?
Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?
No, my plates and cups must occupy different cupboards.
Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?
I don't drink coffee myself, but I keep a coffee maker on hand in case I have coffee-drinking company. It stays hidden away in another cupboard until I need it.
What room is your computer in?
Um. I have three laptops. (Four if you count the one I poured Coke into and keep on hand in case I ever need to scavenge parts from it.) My main laptop mostly stays in my study, my widescreen laptop with the faulty power supply which means that it CANNOT EVER BE MOVED BECAUSE OMG IT TAKES TWENTY MINUTES TO GET THE POWER CORD TO WORK AGAIN is in my bedroom and is used mainly for playing downloaded video, and I have an ancient IBM Thinkpad which I've set up to play Region 2 DVDs (waves at
dahlia_777), and it goes wherever I decide to watch those DVDs.Are there pictures hanging in your living room?
Yes. Prints of early 20th century artists and illustrators, and one reproduction of a bas-relief of St. Cecilia which wherever I live is hung over or near the stereo, because this amuses me.
Are there any themes found in your home?
Left to my own devices, I tend toward simple and informal (but traditional) furniture and fabrics, haphazard colors, a mixture of styles and objects acquired over long periods of time. But since I've inherited quite a bit of furniture, there's some different stuff thrown in there as well. It eclectic, is what I'm working to get out.
What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
Gain, with original scent. Using anything else tends to make me break out, so I stick with this one.
Do you use dryer sheets?
No. (See the breaking-out issue mentioned above.)
Do you have any curtains in your home?
Yes. Lace curtains in the living room, mattress-ticking-striped tab-top panels in the study, red muslin tab-top panels in the dining room, and (different) white embroidered panels in each of the bedrooms.
What color is your fridge?
White.
Is your house clean?
It could use a good dusting, also mopping, but it's not filthy or anything.
What room is the most neglected?
The guest room, which even aside from the fact that it's rarely used, I tend to use it as a temporary storage room.
Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
In the sink they're dirty, but right now it's just my cereal bowl, a tea mug, and a spoon. Last night's dishes are in the drainer.
How long have you lived in your home?
Two years. Two years last week, actually.
Where did you live before?
In a decrepit yet formerly grand shotgun apartment with way too little space; I was saving money to buy a house, see.
Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
No, but maybe I should get one, on account of I kind of melted part of the toilet seat cover last month. Or maybe I should just break down and buy a new seat; I never really liked this one, anyway.
Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?
To weigh myself? Yes. It's in the bathroom. I weigh myself on it about twenty-seven times a day, because it fascinates me to see how my weight fluctuates over time. Because I do this, though, I have no idea how much I actually weigh, and so weigh-ins at my Weight Watchers meetings are always a surprise.
How many mirrors are in your house?
Hanging mirrors? Five. One in each of the bathrooms, one in each of the bedrooms, and one by the front door. I have a couple of handheld decorative mirrors as well.
Look up. What do you see?
My front door, two windows, two cabinets with drawers, three candlesticks, a cloisonne mouse, an "art-glass" lamp, a heart-shaped bowl of paperclips, a wind-up bouncy picture holder with a photo of Past Dogs in it, a couple of boxes of stationery. (This weekend was letter-writin' weekend at my house.)
Do you have a garage?
Yep. It's oddly-sized and brick-walled and tucked up under the house and has no interior access. Counterintuitively, I don't like to park there when it rains, because you have to drive through a little space of mud to get to it, and I don't want the mud to get too rutted. One day I hope to take care of that problem. If, you know, I can decide how exactly I want to do it.
