It may be hard to prove, but the room actually looks smoother and cleaner, after we worked on it. Things are definitely in a better state for primer, after us taking the time to wipe down the ceiling and walls.
What’s striking is what the wood looks like along the side (where she hasn’t gotten to apply the oil yet). Most of this is going to soak in over time, but it’s still a very surprising contrast.
“So long to my ocean home
So long to my dear sea, I’m going home
Wash my face in the salty water
I’ve got a date with the captain’s daughter”
The two of us have a tremendous amount to be thankful for: our health, the health of our loved ones, our continued employment during a pandemic. We have a roof over our heads, and good food on the table.
There will be many cold months ahead. And as we wait for that future day we can see and hug our friends and family again, I’m thankful we have one another.
Also, the games themselves are… fine. I was thinking I’d have a Thanksgiving weekend chock full of games to choose from, and I’ve mostly gone through all of them. And most have only kept my interest/attention for maybe 30 minutes, max.
While not a direct comparison, it does feel a bit like that trip to Nickel City Arcade.
I was getting burned out a bit on some of our staple go-to options, and decided to splurge on something a bit different. I was looking up Chinese restaurants in the area, and happened randomly across Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings.
After a solid, several few weeks of just non-stop work… the last thing I’d personally want to do is house work. But I’m not Liz, who suited up tonight and spent time in the basement… continuing her pocket door cleanup work.
A long while back, I signed up for Google Stadia. It seemed a neat thing (play the latest video games without needing to have a super powerful computer – use one of Google’s, and do it remotly over the Internet).
Tonight thought, we both ended work a little earlier than usual. And so we set up outside, for one last fire that might be the last time we do this, given the colder days ahead.
“Negative emotions are various but they are similar in one dimension, which is it hurts and leads people to react, to amend, to try to counter the negative feelings. One possible way to recover – or to generate positive utility – is to seek nostalgia that reminds people of the good old days.”
I have had and seen coworkers burn out. So far, I’ve been holding pretty steady… but there’s a part of me that wonders how long until I go the same way. Liz and I have talked, briefly, about trying to come up with ways to better separate our work and personal lives. Because so far this year, we’ve not done a great job of that.
I was working on the house recently, and when I was looking for music to play… ended up looking at my Spotify collection by Album (sorting only by album name).
This was a fun thing, as I ended up remembering a ton of albums I haven’t listened to in… well, in ages. A lot of digging into old favorites, songs from a bygone era.
Without hyperbole, Liz has been working nonstop for weeks now. Late nights during the week, long days over the weekend. As an outside observier: it’s been brutal.
Put in time today in the dining room, also trying to get paper and Masonite down to protect our new floor.
Part of what I did was bring up the table saw, and to do some custom cuts of Masonite. I’m overlapping boards in a few places, but ultimately I’d like to just have a single, smooth surface.
A huge point that both Bob and Nick made to us: tape the paper to the paper, not to the floor. The chemicals from the tape will seep into the wood, and when you go to remove the tape… you’ll remove some of the stain as well. And while it can be repaired, you’ll always be able to tell something happened.
Tape the paper to the paper, tape the Masonite to the Masonite. No tape to the floor, ever.