Life Finds a Way: Part Two

Hi, readers!!!

Thought I’d take a few minutes to update you on my unannounced hiatus.

I have been keeping up with this season’s anime. So far, it’s a solid season. I had plans to write about some more of the shows I picked up with the new season, but life found another way to interfere with that plan. Instead, I hope to wrap up the season with more content. At least, that is the plan.

I still haven’t decided on what kind of YouTube content I want to make, or whether I even want to pick back up where I left off with streaming. So, until I really have a direction, my YouTube and streaming content are on a indefinite hold.

Currently, my personal life is in a state of disarray. I can assure you it is nothing too negative. My husband and I have owned our home for eight years. With any home, there are going to be things you love and/or hate about your living space. For years, I have been wanting to get rid of the carpet downstairs. We have pets, and it is gross. No matter what I do, the floors just feel gross and look gross.

As for my dining area, I had, at one point, turned it into my quilting area. However, all that really did is create a visual mess that I regretted on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, the carpet and the dining room has been causing me a lot of anxiety. I would walk in after a long day’s work and just hate what I was looking at. I felt overwhelmed and out of control. I didn’t even want to be downstairs. I would immediately retreat upstairs where I felt living conditions were okay.

But, like many homeowners, finding the right time to do something can be tricky. In years past, we were heavily involved in my son’s high school extra curriculars, so it left no time to get the floors done. Then, there is always the financial aspect. Home renovations are not cheap. I finally hit a point of critical mass. I just absolutely could not take the carpet anymore. After weeks of hemming and hawing, we had an appointment this weekend where I picked out new flooring for our downstairs area. All of the gross carpet is being pulled up and replaced with luxury vinyl planks. Installation hasn’t been scheduled yet, but it should happen in the next 2-3 weeks.

Our living room furniture was also well past its life expectancy. We had a very large sectional couch that we have had for almost ten years. In fact, we are very pleased that we got ten years out of it. It was a great couch. However, my husband started getting aches in pains after sitting on the couch for too long which made watching movies a bit unbearable for him. We had considered selling the couch on the cheap as we thought it might have another few years, but after inspection, our cats had torn up the bottom and did some other damage. We decided, ultimately, we couldn’t, in good conscience, sell it. So, in addition to purchasing new floors this weekend, we also purchased new furniture.

Currently, our living/dining area looks like total chaos. We had a junk truck pick up our sectional, an old dining table, my old sewing table, and an old computer chair. I also packed up all of my fabric and listed it for sale.

During this whole process, we discovered that I have a tendency to want to hold onto things. I wouldn’t call it hoarding, per se, but definitely a hoarding state of mind. The thought of letting my sewing supplies go created a lot of anxiety. The reality is, I had shoulder surgery last year, and my ability to quilt is no longer an option. I had no more use for my supplies, however, I kept telling myself that I can use it. I had tubs of scraps that were unusable, but I had convinced myself they had use. After really asking myself if they had use, I realized that I was just hoarding it because I couldn’t stand the thought of waste. I grew up fairly poor, so I guess I understand that attachment. You’ll be happy to hear that not only was I able to part with the scraps, I was also able to sell my good fabric to someone who needed it. I got a little cash in the process, so I felt better at the end of the day.

Our new furniture is red. After looking at our dining room, we realized that the current color scheme will not match. So, this weekend, we will paint the dining room to match the furniture. We think that will tie the two rooms together and put that pop of color we need. Then, I found more things I want to change. Currently, we don’t have draperies on our windows, and I think we will change that as well to match the furniture.

So, that’s where I am at. We’re focusing on cleaning up clutter and simplifying our downstairs living arrangement, and hopefully, I can get to a mental place where I feel like I can focus on creativity again.

I hope everyone is doing well. Stay healthy and happy!