The Re-launch is Here!

Isn’t life just the craziest thing?

Here we are, days until  the winter solstice and the official end of Fall.  Christmas is breathing down my neck (and I imagine, some of yours as well).  Back in August it seemed completely reasonable to set a goal of relaunching A Cheerful Spot in the Fall of 2021.  Maybe a bit of a stretch as it had been so terribly long since I’d really done anything at all with the site, but you know… doable.

I was feeling really good.  My mental and physical health were improving.  I was definitely getting my 5-a-day (fruit/veg).  I was meditating in the mornings (only 5 or 10 minutes, but it really felt great).  My stress levels were reasonable.  Generally, outside of the pandemic, continuing racial injustice, and the shitshow that was (still is) anything politically related, life was feeling pretty good.

So, of course, life seemed to immediately get hectic again.  A structure attached to our house (and jointly our neighbor’s as well, twin liiiiiiiving…) started to pull away from the building.  What had been at the bottom of our total house refit list (it was just generally an eyesore) moved swiftly to the top of the must-do as it had become a safety hazard.  On top of that, the window company that we’d hired back, after being so pleased with their work last year, was experiencing issues which pushed our project with them back about six months and involved a whole slew of issues. 

We’ll leave the work-related stress that cropped up simultaneously for another time.

So here we are on December 18th with the… soft… relaunch of the site.  And a quick real-time update:

• All of the original windows have been replaced (except two, 1 is stained-glass and staying and 1 is a basement window now blocked by ductwork which is scheduled to be bricked in).  Hooray!  No more drafty, 100 year old windows!

• Plans to continue and ultimately wrap up the majority of our home refit are underway.  Presently it looks like:
  • J and Pops (J’s dad) will undertake a majority of the basement (re)finishing and ½ bath demo and remodel.  This will entail framing, insulating, running fresh electric, and some plumbing, all before the finish work of drywall and flooring can be tackled.
  • In the meantime I will be working to get very comfortable with all manner of power tools.  I’m a champ with demo, hand tools, and painting but power tools… pretty much terrify me.  I legit curl my fingers and toes in at the thought of using a motor driven blade.  Not super helpful in the refit process.  But our entire house is in need of trim work (around every window, door, and inch of floor) and as we cannot seem to find a carpenter or other contractor willing to take on the job, I am taking it on.

• In addition to all of these construction projects, I’m learning to shoot and edit video.  So of course I’ve decided I’ll need to work up videos of some of these projects.  Stay tuned? 
• I am recovering from a running injury (and really, really hoping it resolves quickly).  It probably wasn’t advisable to try and come to a stop from a sprint like I did, but hey, I was tired and I am human.  I make mistakes.
• Christmas presents are all purchased, wrapped, and shipped (if needed).  Thank fudging goodness.  It’s the most stressful time of the year!  I mean wonderful.  But also, stressful. Now onto planning the foods.
• On these dark, yet strangely moderately temperate, evenings, if J and I are not playing with the cats or catching up with friends or family far from here via call or FaceTime, we’re usually found on our couch watching sailing YouTube channels.

So here we are! I hope you’ll stop by from time to time, drop a comment or a message, and help build a community that can use authentic living to lift each other up. Thank you!