New Priorities

I’ve been devoting most of my time in the last two or three weeks to cleaning up the yard and house. That’s involved bringing in and spreading three pickup loads of barkdust. I’ve also hauled a pickup truck full of stuff that I haven’t used in three years to the dump or to new homes with people who might hopefully find a use for them.

My first priority this Spring and Summer is completing work in the yard. We paid to have workers build up retaining walls, and I’ve finally rebuilt the sprinkler system, gotten new plants planted, and covered the beds in both the front and backyard with new barkdust. The yard is no masterpiece, but it’s something I can live with and maintain with a minimum of effort.

My second priority this summer was to get rid of enough stuff in the garage that I can actually use it as a shop. More and more I’ve come to realize that “Less is More,” that I’m not going to live long enough to do all the things I’d love to do. So I’ve been getting rid of things I’ve purchaded in the past hoping I’d get to them in the future. Insteady, I’ve been refocusing on the things I love most, like woodworking. I’ve had to haul away a pickup truck full of goodies I bought in the past and build new shelves from scraps so that I can put everything away and clear my workbench, but the shop is nearly to the point where I can simply walk out and start a new project without having to spend two or three days trying to clear a space.

My third priority, to be finished by Fall, is to clear out enough space in my den/study room that I can get back to some art projects I’ve wanted to work on. That’s been impossible when the drawing table is covered in books to be read and there’s barely enough room to slide up to the keyboard. I’ve managed to shift some of the books sitting around downstairs by finally throwing away the sound system that no longer gets used because everything is now played through the Bluray player and my iPhone. It took considerable time, though, before I was ready to give up on my expensive Onkyo components and dispose of them.

More and more I want some tangible, concrete results rather than just digital output. I’m not about to abandon my blog, but it doesn’t seem like enough right now. Hopefully making some picture frames and hanging some of my photos around the house might be a start, but furniture making and carving fulfill that need better than anything else so I’m trying to get started again.

2 thoughts on “New Priorities”

  1. “…More and more I want some tangible, concrete results rather than just digital output…”

    Good to hear that you’re not going to stop blogging and that you are finding the time and space for art projects, furniture making and carving.

    That’s just what I needed to hear today. Very inspiring. Knowing one’s priorities. That which we love most. Thanks so much!

    1. Unfortunately, cleaning up and straightening up doesn’t make for nearly as entertaining entries as birding or reading, but trying to blog 5 or 6 times a week also tends to throw my life out of kilter.

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