Turnover

It's a Clean, New, Year
One of my favorite things about this time of year, although not very traditional, is the great cleaning of the house. This began in conjunction with a big party I throw on the first Saturday of every year - a sort of New Year's party without the pressure and calendar competition of an actual holiday. More than just a thorough cleaning, I am also compelled to cram in as much minor maintenance as possible, since a LOT of people come over, many who don't see the house very often.

The end-of-year cleaning is also a great time to underline the concept of "out with the old, in with the new." In fact, Chinese New Year tradition includes a thorough cleaning of the house to sweep away bad luck of the past, and prepare the house for good luck. I like to think I have adopted this tradition, albeit on the Roman calendar.

Because we hosted Thanksgiving this year, the cleaning and maintenance endeavors started earlier than usual. So far in the past three months or so we have...

• rotated all of the art
• moved the credenza and organized photo stuff in it
• moved a bookcase and organized DVDs in it
• moved the music filing cabinet into the room of requirement
• moved lots of books around
• taken a few carloads to Goodwill
• brought in a new dining room table
• reorganized the basement
• reorganized the shed
• painted the new parts of the linen closet
• painted the new attic access
• filled in a divot and installed a door stopper
• vinegar-soaked the bathtub to get rid of hard water stains - looks like new!
• nailed in the quarter round at the base of the dining room cabinet
• raised the stove to counter height (uncovering a treasure-trove of cat toys in the process)
  bottle caps = kitty-sized hockey pucks

This does not include any of the final work on the mudroom.
No, there is still no doorknob on the bathroom door. Quit asking.

Nano Newbie
In other year-end news, I received an iPod nano for Christmas. I figured I'd eventually get some sort of mp3 player, but didn't know how or when. I was purposefully vague on my Christmas list, hoping some kind family member would decide for me, and they did! It's (product)RED and has my initials on the back - also R.E.D. Clever, no? I haven't played with it too much yet, as I'm in the process of ripping my library into iTunes. I'm about halfway through, and that's just the pop/rock stuff. I did pick up an fm transmitter for the car, though.

2008: Year of the Backyard
I don't remember the last time I made a new year's resolution, but I do have goals, themes, and declarations. There is a difference. In 2001, I declared it the Year of the Kitchen, and thus, the new kitchen came to be. No less daunting a project is the backyard, but we've declared 2008 to be the Year of the Backyard. Do you hear a little hesitation? I do too.

Declarations don't usually come about unless I am fed up with something. Declarations come with some fist-pounding on the table. The kitchen, although complicated, only took up about 225 square feet and was already a defined space. The backyard is many times that space and needs some serious definition.  This summer, I will have been in the house 10 years (!) and enough is enough. No matter how scary it seems, the fist is on the table, I have a fantastic working partner in Charles, and we're going to turn that plot of potential into something special. Hiyah!

Comments

[Nita]

Ok, so bag the hot tub, get a new one, and make a nice little meditation garden or something! a bench? A place where you can serenade the trees with your cello...Dude. I almost spelled cello with a CH. I'm getting older.