Here we are in January again, turning the page of the calendar. January symbolizes fresh starts to many of us, and is even named for Janus, the Roman god of gates, passages, and doors; of beginnings, transitions, and endings. Janus is traditionally pictured with a double-faced head, the faces looking in opposite directions – to the future and to the past.
I have been “offline” for more than a quarter now, and I need to reboot my blogging – to make a fresh start. Looking back over the last calendar quarter or so, I’ve spent quite a bit of time without secure internet access. That took a lot of the wind out of my sails. I know I can post from my phone, but tagging, formatting, and attaching the photos I’d use are more cumbersome that way. I could go to a WiFi hotspot, but then my internet access isn’t secure, which isn’t great.
Why have I been without internet?
My beloved and I have been embarking on a new adventure. As you may remember, we were house-hunting over the summer, for a retirement home. There will be other posts about our various weekend treks around the US Northeast as we searched, and about our impossible wish lists…
But the short story today is that although he is still working, and will be for a while yet, we found and bought a fixer-upper about 3 hours away from our current home. There were some plumbing, heating, and electrical updates needed, and we’re attacking those in order of necessity (those will make for a fun post as well). But the house is structurally in pretty good shape (the outside is in great shape), and it’s near a good medical center, walking paths, and our little downtown.
As with any house, part of the process is envisioning the possibilities. Our new place required a little imagination.
Since we won’t be living there full-time for a while, we haven’t moved in much furniture, and we haven’t hooked up cable or internet. We’re taking advantage of the empty space to do some redecorating while we’re improving. So, I’ve spent much of the last few months there Monday-Friday in the company of contractors, having new outlets and lights put in, repairing some plumbing, and cutting through and redoing walls.
Most of the interior was covered in aging, yellowing knotty pine. We left the pine beams in the ceiling, and left some other accents up (some of which may get painted later after we’ve lived with it while.) However, we pulled the wood off of the living room, dining room and kitchen walls, improved the insulation, then added and painted drywall in a light neutral color until we decide if we need more color.
Old & new kitchen walls (prior to painting)
But wait, there’s more! In the halls, two of the bedrooms, and one of the bathrooms, the pine was covered with wood paneling, then wallpapered or painted. I’ve left the halls alone for now, as the wallpaper there is fairly neutral. However, we primed and painted the bathroom and bedrooms (again in a neutral beige for now) to update them. Here’s why:
Plaid red and teal wallpaper and Pepto-Bismol pink walls in the bedrooms. They were a little overwhelming.
Busy wallpaper and dark mirror in the powder room…
brightened up a bit… now to hang some pictures!
Anyway, we’re beginning a New Year, and although I have now committed to accomplishing a fairly daunting number of tasks at both houses, I am also committed to resuming my blog.
It’s time to look at goals and possibilities for the future – And I’m looking forward to getting back to work.
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This post was written in response to two weekly blog challenges:
- The WordPress Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge on the topic of Beginning.
- The weekly Travel Theme challenge by Ailsa of WheresMyBackpack, on the subject of Possibility.
To see other bloggers’ responses and get more info on these challenges, just click on the links above.
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Photo credit, Janus image: from “Janus,” Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. [Accessed January 06, 2014]. © MCMXCV – MMVI Encyclopedia Mythica™. All rights reserved.
The Retiring Sort 
Nice post… 🙂
– Happy New Year. Best wishes to you. –
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Thank you – and to you as well! 😉
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What an exciting project. All the best to you. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Imelda! 😉
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Sounds exciting! Happy New Year and welcome back to blogging again! 🙂
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Thanks! Nice to hear from you! 😉
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Good luck with the new digs! What fun! Decorating. Breaking down and building up! New beginnings for sure. Good to see you again. Enjoy the ride!
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Thanks, Gemma – happy to see you, too!! 😉
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What a great post! All the best….
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Thank you – the best to you as well! 🙂
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Wow, that looks like a huge undertaking, but it is looking good 🙂
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Thankfully, we have a little time to work on it… and we’ll have some resources once we sell the first house! Thanks for stopping by!
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What a great beginning, and all the possibilities with your new home. Wishing you all the best.
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Thanks – and all the best to you for the New Year!
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Indeed possibilities do hold the promise of new beginnings don’t they? And I can sense the passion you hold as you do up this new place. A creation of your own, something to look forward to.
Shakti
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Thanks – we are looking forward to the evolution of the new house as we decorate and bring our own treasures into it! 😉
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So great to catch up with you again. I lost you when I restarted my blog at the end of last year. Congrats on the house. It looks like there’s a lot of work, but I’m sure it will be very rewarding. Happy New Year to you. 🙂
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And to you! Glad to see you, too!
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I’ve missed you! Congratulations on your new house. You have been very busy! I’ll bet it’s nice to see the Pepto- Bismol walls disappear. I like your style. 🙂
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Thanks so much! And it is easier to relax in both those rooms now! 😉
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You’re where my husband and I were about 6 years ago–one “real” home and another house that was to become a retirement home. The latter had a LOT of work that needed to be done and was about a 7-hour drive from our full-time house. In our case, my husband was retired and I was still working–he got a lot done that I never had to face! The story has a happy ending–we love our house in upstate New York and are both retired here now. I’ll look forward to hearing about your progress!
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Thanks for the encouragement – I’m so glad you are enjoying your new home! We have some work ahead of us that has to wait until Spring, and we will update the appliances and decor as we go along, but now I need to get the “old” house ready to sell – Keep your fingers crossed!! 😉
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Good to see you again – congrats on your new home. Sounds like you are having fun renovating it.
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Thanks – it is fun, but will be a wonderful process to have behind us – Happy New Year! 😉
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Good to see you again! You certainly have been busy, I hope it is all good fun as well as hard work … All the best for 2014 🙂
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Thank you! It has been fun, but I look forward to more routine down the road! A happy 2014 to you too! 😉
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Great job and an interesting story. I’ll be interested in reading your updates.
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Thanks! I promise to be more faithful in providing them! 🙂
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