Tag: Home Ownership

Little Blue House Projects

WolseyLeave a comment

With my craft/sewing area almost done, I have a bunch of projects for Little Blue House.

  1. Build a cabinet box. This was what the shit contractor was suppose do. That got paid $275 to do. That they did not do. I need to build and install a cabinet box on the other side fo the dishwasher. I plan to leave it open, paint it, and use it to store large cookie sheets. My stumbling block is that I am trying to straighten out my cupped plywood. I am also partially terrified of my circular saw. It’s a big spoon project because I have anxiety about it. When I get my plywood straightened, I just have to do it and get it over with to not worry about it anymore.
  2. Curtains for the wardrobe craft overflow bedroom. I have the curtain. I sewed it all up. I just need to put up the curtain rod.
  3. Buy a rug for the craft area. I can paint without it, but it would be nice to have a “disposable” flooring for my painting. I am messy.
  4. Put together two more garden beds. I put one together, which took me like an hour and a half and 144 bolts. I bought dirt that will arrive tomorrow. Dirt costs way too FUCKING much money.
  5. Arrange the first three garden beds. I need enough space to build a chicken wire cage around them to prevent the squirrels from eating my food. The great squirrel interdiction shall begin eventually. Shoveling dirt into the beds will be a lot of work for my broken body. Gardening is pushing my physical abilities by a lot.
  6. Curtains. I have to get fabric and make curtains. I’d buy them, but I just don’t like what is on sale. I want white fabric backed curtains so little blue house has white curtains from the outside to match the trim but cool curtains on the inside. I have to sew those. It’s not a huge project, but it tires me out so much.
  7. Screens! All of them are garbage. Like dry rotted and old, and we have cats. So I have to replace every screen in the house. I literally can’t remember that when I go to the hardware store. I forget the minute I walk in and never buy screening, spline, or a spline roller. My wife worries about how hard it will be, but it’s like a 15 minute job per screen if I had the materials.

I like having a new house, but I am a very picky everything-in-its-place kind of person, and it’s a lot. I am over 50 with a degenerative condition, and I am so tired. Sometimes I just can’t do things. 30 years ago I’d be done with everything right now. It’s hard to be kind to yourself when you can’t keep up with your physical capabilities.

Art/Crafts Area almost complete

WolseyLeave a comment

-This was first posted on Tumblr on 2/15/23.

This is an in-progress picture of my art/crafts area. My previous apartment was only 564 square feet, which I shared with my wife and cat, and required two desk set ups because we worked from home. We did not have room for anything.

That meant to do any sort of sewing, painting, cricuting, etc. I had to pull everything out from under the bed, the couch, in the closet, etc, and set it up, and then put it all back away.

If I painted, then my easel was literally in the middle of a walking space, so I never felt comfortable leaving anything out.

In our new home, the “living room” area is now the creation area. I have room to grow. For the first time in my life, I have all my paints out so I can see what I have. Before, it was all in a toolbag that lived in a closet, and I had to dig for everything I wanted.

The baskets on the top shelf are all filled with my fabric stash, and sewing projects. The white box with stickers is literally cat stuff.

The table pulls out for an additional 2 feet. I can lay out full patterns on it! No more floor patterns, where my dislocating shoulder becomes an agonizing disaster, and I race against time to get it done due to pain.

I hung a lamp right where I needed it for maximum lighting!

I have two drawers that are empty, and one that is only half full of patterns. I have so much room to grow!

Even better, my wife now feels like she can do things here too. I am so happy we made the “living room” out of one bedroom so that we could have this space.

This will surely be tweaked and adapted as I go on, but I just can’t describe how good it was for my soul to have a space for creative hands-on work.

I have the sewing machine set up in the closet room right now, but it will come out to the table. I will put a serger in there when I get one, eventually. I want to paint the shelf boards so they don’t look weird, and replace the dollar store blue baskets with better fitting versions, maybe little drawers in the shelves.

This really makes this house feel like a home.