Homebody

      I decided I really like my home and being there more than the great beyond. I like a vacation as much as the next person and getting out for dinner or a night with friends on occasion. I'm not turning into a shut in, and I like people visiting me as I get lonely with too much time by myself. I really appreciate though my home once I'm back when I've gone somewhere, vacation, out for dinner, or just the office for the day. It's nothing fancy, a modified late 1980's multi-level. Everything about the house was built with a purpose not design, at least for the time. I'm not sure if separate dining rooms are in or out of design style currently, but I like having both an eat in kitchen and a dining room. I could see a different family using the dining room more as a small family room since it leads to the back yard. Maybe they'd knock down the non load bearing wall between and having a much larger kitchen and island type set up. They'd lose the pantry, but I suppose gain storage in the island. 

     I don't have any remodeling plans, just basic home maintenance, and certainly won't be knocking any walls down. The biggest flaw of the house I guess would be no main floor bathroom, not even a powder room. People have to go up or downstairs. I guess eventually that might make my house ill suited for me,, but neither stairs are steep or that many. 

     I'm of two minds about putting in a backyard fence. I feel exposed living alone, but I also enjoy having a view of the park and openness. For resale value, I'd get most of the cost back at some point. A fenced yard would be nice for the dogs and to create a little outdoor oasis for myself. Minimally, I need to get the rock area redistributed, my planter boxes built and planted, a few shrubs, and loads of grass seed down early. These are the three-month plans.

Fire pit area at the back needs sprucing up and grass seed spread throughout whole yard.

This area of patio needs the rocks to be squared up. Gravel remnants from the cement needs raking, then more black dirt and grass seed or sod. My patio set and rug are stored in garage.

Big Project ahead: Squaring up along the back line and removing and redistributing surplus rocks. Grass seed or sod, pending other spring bills, needs to be put down to get yard back. I will add some shrubs in the rock area too. I'm getting handrails for the steps for safety.

     Inside, once purging is complete (an oxymoron in my case), most rooms need painting, and the bedrooms need carpeting replaced. The fireplace needs retiling.

Here's the new fireplace insert. I need to figure out tile design, but leaning towards something that looks like gray brick. See the repair smudges in corner?  More taping and mudding is needed. Then, the whole room needs a paint job. Color or no color? Decisions needed. 

     These are the plans with no definitive timeline. I'll do little sprucing up projects along the way. I'm keeping my eyes open for a couple nightstands, no need to be matching but need to be wood, as I'd like to tackle an up cycle project to make personal. My head board needs some TLC, replacing some brass and porcelain in the white rout iron, but I like it and don't want to replace. I don't want a matchy bedroom set. My dresser, actually, my husband's from his teen years, is a good piece I painted 20 years ago, but needs a refresh. I also could just repaint the single night stand and just look for one that would compliment the other side of the bed. Alternatively, the current stand might be repurposed as a small side table in the family room.

      After tapping out my vacation fund, I need to get through six months of high irregular expenses. Being a homebody suits me. If I'm home, I'm not spending extra money and I need to fill my sinking fund. I make regular deposits into it each month to have separate when expense comes due. My timing is just off a bit to start this year because of choices on the boat I've made, but will balance out by years end. 

     I'll have my daughter's dog a few upcoming weekends as she has plans. That suits me as well to have the added company and purpose. Playing with and walking the dogs, purging clutter, organizing and planning will fill my nights and weekends in March and April. It's been a year plus in my unplanned for life alone. My guess, this is how the rest of my life will play out. There will be changes and variations, but my home will be there to help cushion the falls and open wide to welcome in any joys that hopefully still come.