15th: Little by Little

Today's the one-year anniversary of moving into this house. Much has changed, much has been changed. But there was one thing that never did until now, and the reason for that was... well, the usual kind of inertia that keeps you from doing a thing that you really ought to.

We never changed the curtains.

Since the beginning, there has been these stale ass green curtains on the main floor, and these tired blue panels in our master bedroom. The green ones didn't trouble me, I never thought about them, but the upstairs ones were a problem, certifiably. See, they weren't really curtains. They didn't really... uh... curt. Not properly anyway. That is to say, they were purely decorative and weren't meant to block the window. Only we wanted the window blocked. So we would pull them over, snagging one side on the little hook in the wall for a venetian blind cord that doesn't exist and clipping them in the middle with a chip clip.

For a year! A whole damn year we did this, and we groused about it the whole time. But who has time to go out curtain shopping? Aren't there more important things to do?

Well, Mel's parents went and got some curtains recently, which put it in our mind. Last weekend we made a trip to Ikea. Frustrating, disastrous. Out of all the window coverings we were hoping for, we got the downstairs ones and a shade for the spare bedroom, never found anything good for the master and no shade big enough for Mel's office. On top of all that, it was a hectic, crowded place that left us both exhausted. We treated ourselves to pizza for our efforts.

The next day, Mel didn't have much work and was raring to go so I skiffed after my morning meeting to go with her to JYSK. We had better luck there although a lot of back and forth between us about what kind of curtains we really wanted. I think in the end we were both happy.  The JYSK trip was a lot more successful than the Ikea one, especially when we learned that the curtains we got from Ikea were actually too big for us to use anyway.

The week proceeded. Work was stressful, as the days ticked toward Black Friday, there were more and more concerns, including a pallet of one thousand Kobos that just flat-out went missing and a book that we simply did not have stock to support but acertainsomeoneunpstairs was hell-bent on making a focal point of their strategy. Well, whatever, I'm zen. Plus there was a whole thing about my development, which.... ehhhh, let's not discuss.

I've got a lot on my mind lately, some of which is how I've got so much on my mind. Trying to live so many different existences is tough. I've withdrawn a bit, although I don't think anyone's noticed. I have been a bit of a raw nerve to Mel lately. You know, when you care about someone it becomes very possible for them to push your buttons. It's not a bad thing, I just need to not let it be bad.

We never found that oat nog last week, had to settle for cocoanut nog. Mama H really appreciated my DJ work though.

Today we spent with Papa H, hanging out outdoor Christmas lights and hanging the curtain rods. When we learned that the downstairs curtains were not the right sized, we did the rods anyway so that they would be ready when our new curtains arrive (soon, from Wayfair.) Getting the upstairs curtains done was a moment of triumph for me, although Mel was already asleep, tuckered out from a long day of cleaning and watching the men of her life doing work. We did treat ourselves to some Chinese.

As we said, little by little this becomes our place, losing all the vestiges of the people who were here before as we rejuvenate and personalize it. Plus all the new furniture and decorations we've acquired... and yet still so much to do, as we eye the bathrooms, the backyard, the basement, the kitchen...

Little by little.

Today, with all the work, I didn't do any writing until now. Even with Mel ready for bed at 7 (!!) I used the time only to do the curtains, watch AEW Dynamite and finish an episode of Doctor Who -- the last Peter Capaldi/Steven Moffatt one, which I never saw. Good stuff. (A few weeks back when Mel had been out I indulged in a bit of the more recent stuff but honestly it was a letdown.) I don't feel bad about not writing. December will be what it will be, and while with the Patreon I don't see myself being far ahead on X-Cerpts again anytime soon, I've given myself the month off aside from one post to finish out the year. Other things... they move along, I do wish I could focus more on them but they'll have to be a bit more impromptu for the time being. No, that's not the right word... playing it by ear, I guess is more accurate to say. As with everything in life, I'll find time when I find time. I did just get some payout today, so that's pretty, shall we say, inspiring. Of course, it also brings to mind how much effort and time it took to make that money. It's a tradeoff. (And hey, since I did that writing for love, and would have made $0 during all that time otherwise for writing, it's really all profit, so I shouldn't worry too much about the exact payout and go back to celebrating that there was one.)

Well, that's all there is for tonight. I've got a third of a beer left so maybe I can parlay the rest of my night into some more writing. That'd be nice.

Keep on rockin'

-Scotto