Kris and I have decided that purchasing the new house is something akin to raising a child. It demands constant attention, in lots of little ways.

Since moving in, we feel perpetually behind. We feel that all of our attention — and all of our money — ought to be directed at the house, and we feel guilty when this isn't the case.

For example, we took a bit of break this past weekend, in between hectic days of home improvement. On Saturday, I got together with the Geek Squad for another rousing session of D&D (sorry, no transcript this time). In the evening, we went out to dinner with Dave and Karen, Joel and Aimee. Following dinner, we caught a showing of Spider-Man 2.

(Tangent: I loved the film. I was a bit worried during the talky opening act, but by the time the story started to move, I was caught up in it. We recently re-watched the first movie, and I found myself less impressed than when we saw it on the big screen two years ago. However, the sequel does such a marvelous job of building on the first movie, that I'm glad we made the time to rewatch it. Doctor Octopus is a much better villain than the Green Goblin ("the Aquaman of supervillains"), and Alfred Molina does an outstanding job as the mad scientist. I found myself shocked — in a good way — over and over at the end of the movie as little things happened that I though oughtn't be possible in a comic book film. Spider-Man has never been one of my favorite heroes, but now I'm thinking he could be.)

On Independence Day, we joined Jeremy and Jennifer, Mike and Wendy, Joel and Aimee, and Mac and Pam for our annual trip to the St. Paul Rodeo. (Kris and I actually quite like rodeos. Once a year.) In the afternoon, we had water fights with the kids (both in the hot tub and out), and enjoyed a tasty barbecue. We lit fireworks at dusk.

Two days of play.

Two days of guilt.

Yesterday I had intended to spend my time reading the One Hundred Years of Solitude for this weekend's book group meeting. It never happened.

I met with a woman from the Energy Trust. (At this free meeting, a consultant evaluates your home and makes recommendations for improving energy effiency, most of which carry rebates and tax credits. The consultant also supplies ten free compact fluorescent bulbs.)

I made a l-o-n-g grocery trip, and stopped by the local hardware store. (And determined that it's suitable in most cases so that I don't have to make a trip to Home Depot.) I stopped by the house in Canby to pick up more stuff.

Then the main event began: Jeremy had volunteered to help me rewire the parlor and the den. I picked him up, and we headed to Home Depot where we purchased all the necessary supplies. (Well, not all — I still had to make several trips to the local hardware store throughout the day.) We came home and got to work.

Jeremy's approach to projects scares me. He just charges in without much of a plan. This is fine for, say, tearing down sheetrock, but it's a bit scary when it involves electricity. Nevertheless, I am thankful for his help. His experience and energy helped us plow through the wiring project so that by the end of the night, the outlets in the den were operational. (And the work remaining in the parlor is minimal, at best.) Jeremy did most of the work; I simply fetched whatever tool he needed, brought him water, kept the kids at bay. Thank you, Jeremy!

Kris and I did a lot of home improvement stuff on Friday, too, and we have more planned for later this week. (Including, we hope, the installation of insulation throughout the house.) Next week, the drywall contractor begins his work.

Meanwhile, there are many small things falling through the cracks because we haven't enough hours in the day.

For example, my workshop is a disorganized disaster. Jeremy helped me move the table saw from the garage to the workshop last night, which is good, but all of the other tools are scattered in a half dozen bags and boxes. When it comes time to use a particular tool, I'm hard-pressed to find it. For example, I needed the receptacle tester to check power to the newly-installed outlets last night. I couldn't find it. I had to spend $10 to buy another one. That's frustrating, but there's nothing that can be done about it at this point.

I stayed home today to do some of these tasks that are slipping through our grasp. I've begun tidying areas that have become cluttered out of control. It feels good to be working on this stuff, but now I'm feeling guilty again: I really should be reading the book group book!

I feel like Tammy, complaining that there aren't enough hours in the day!

On this day at foldedspace.org

2001 — No Time To Write   I'm too busy to write in this thing...