Missing Link

It seems like no matter how much I cram into each day of the weekend, I still don’t get very far into the “list of crap John has to do”.  I remember when weekends used to be full of rest and relaxation,  but for the past few weeks (ever since I bought my house, actually), my weekends have been full of work and projects – with a little rest thrown in here and there.

Now, I don’t want to give you all the wrong impression – I’m NOT complaining.  There was once a time when doing this kind of stuff would have had me complaining, but not anymore.   I’ve found I actually ENJOY doing a lot of the things that I’ve found myself doing – and I get a sense of accomplishment when I can cross a project off my list of things to do.  So, I’m not complaining that I have things to do,  I’m just wishing weekends were longer so I could do even more.

This weekend I spent Saturday relaxing for a little bit when I first woke up,   and played with a proof of concept for a home automation project (and got that working, am waiting on some hardware to arrive before fully implementing that – once I do you can read about it at YWGAV, if you’re interested),  drove over to my parents place to pick some more stuff up (it’s a gradual process ),  then came back home.   I was feeling particularly sluggish at this point, and realized I hadn’t had any coffee all day – so I made a small pot (two mugs worth) and puttered around (yes, I said puttered) for about 15 minutes while I drank it.    I then had a burst of energy and focus and realized how much I really was getting fed up with how dirty my master bathroom is.   So, with a rush of inspiration, I grabbed my cleaning supplies (yes, while it will come as a surprise to many – I do have cleaning supplies) and did some massive cleaning of my bathroom.   I had just brought over my Klipsch IFI system (one of the things I picked up from my parents house, and a key component to that home automation project I mentioned), so I had some tunes to provide background noise.

When I say “cleaned my bathroom” I mean really cleaned.  Using soft scrub and some other cleansers with bleach I cleaned my bathtub, shower stall and sinks/counter.    Using a 409 style cleaner I cleaned my mirror and the plumbing fixtures (chrome),  I vacuumed the floor, then swiffer wet-jetted it.    I even used the vacuum brush attachment to get in all the hard to reach places.  I used a Clorox wand to clean my toilet,  and Clorox wipes to get anywhere I hadn’t cleaned with other stuff.  And I should note – before doing any of the “wet” cleaning, I dusted with a Swiffer duster.

My shower floor now doesn’t look quite so dirty,     my bathtub isn’t covered in dust (I’m a guy – I don’t take baths often),   my floor isn’t dirty – my sinks aren’t nasty looking and my mirror doesn’t have spots all over it.    There’s not dust covering anything and everything and my toilet…. well, lets just say it’s clean now.

I learned one thing about Coffee throughout this whole thing.  It’s a gateway drug.

It leads to cleaning.

After cleaning Ann came over and we made Trip 1 to Home Depot, picking up some preliminary supplies to install my thermostat and a decora style 1 gang wall plate for a light switch that needed one.  We then went to the grocery store after which I made dinner (spaghetti with meat sauce + garlic bread),   then I finished cleaning while she made some cookies.    She had to leave somewhat early though as she had work on Sunday.

Sunday I played golf in the morning with my friend Jason (who kicked my ass up and down that golf course…),   installed my thermostat, took a nap,   went to Home Depot again with Ann (to get supplies to paint my coffee table),  picked up said coffee table,  lightly sanded it and started the painting process.   I’m not sure how well that’s going to turn out, so I may end up stripping it and re-doing it – we’ll see.   Ann made some more cookies in there too.

Ann went home early and I went to bed early as I wasn’t feeling very well (still am not),  and that my friends, was my weekend.

Things left undone:  yard work.   I really need to do some yard work.

There’s always next weekend though