Renovations in the Wings and a Splendid Autumn

Tammy and I have been methodically going through our upstairs bedrooms and moving their contents to the basement in preparation for some remodeling work we're having done to our upper level beginning later this month (new carpet, trim work, and master bathroom remodel). Rather than finding ourselves scrambling to ready the rooms in the last few days before work begins, we're getting it done ahead of time. The first job will be to remove the popcorn ceiling texture and replace it with a knockdown texture as we've already had done with the other two levels of our nearly 30-year-old home. That work will be done later this month. The main work (master bathroom) won't begin until the 3rd week in January and should take about a month. 

We've been diligent about purchasing and ordering whatever fixtures and things we'll need to complete the job. With supply line issues still a problem due to the pandemic, we don't want to find the project halted for weeks or months while we wait on some necessary part/fixture to arrive. I believe we've done all we can do to this point. 

I had planned to start working on adding to my Etsy shop's inventory but I may have to put that on hold. We have two stained glass windows in our master bathroom that work really well for our privacy but the design of the panels will no longer work with the renovations happening in that space. I wanted to have some new stained glass windows ready to go for when the remodel work is completed. But, I've heard how merchants are having difficulty keeping their shelves stocked for holiday gift buying, so perhaps I should focus on my Etsy site's inventory instead, banking on higher than normal demand this holiday season. 

We've been getting together with neighbors on Saturday nights throughout the summer and fall to spend a few hours chatting on our decks, rotating the location each week. (I should add—in the photo I linked to, we're all searching for the most bizarre gif to post to a group chat—we're not really bored with one another even though it appears we are. 🙂) It's getting a little too cool out so last Saturday night's get-together will be our last until next spring. It's been a lot of fun and we never seem to lack things to talk about. Someone mentioned getting together for a game night indoors occasionally during the winter. I think that would be a lot of fun, especially considering how seldom we get a chance to chat with our neighbors during the winter.

I've been steadily chipping away at our fall cleanup and am mostly done, with the exception of a few small jobs: cleaning out birdhouses; putting away some birdbaths and terracotta pots, and vacuuming up leaves one last time. I even filled our birdfeeders today. In other words, I'm ready for winter (just as soon as I get my fat tire bike back from the shop where it's waiting on parts and should be ready to go next week).

We've had a pretty awesome fall season and I've taken full advantage of it with lots of biking, walking, and golfing (mostly golfing). I had a six-week stretch this summer where I couldn't golf due to a bike crash that left me with bruised ribs so I did my best to make up for those lost rounds on the links by getting in as much golf as I could the past couple of months. I've really enjoyed working on my game.

Of my various bikes, my road bike got the nod from me most this past year of riding after having been sidelined in favor of my gravel bike the last two years of warmer weather riding. It just felt really good to be on it again and riding some old familiar routes. Lately, it's been my mountain bike that's been my go-to bike as I've been enjoying the singletrack trails. I like to say that I'm never more alive than when I'm riding singletrack. It has a way of focusing my mind, almost in a meditative way. Whatever other concerns I may have don't seem to matter or even enter my mind when I'm riding the trails.

Steve and I may have golfed our last round of the season yesterday when we made a trip out to The Jewel in Lake City—about an hour and twenty minutes from home for me. What a beautiful (Hale Erwin-designed) golf course! Steve texted me a couple of days before our outing to see if I'd taken a look at the course layout online. I had not. I found this aerial flyover of the course on their website and was somewhat intimidated by what I saw—lots of tight fairways lined with prairie grass, forest, and water. Steve commented that we'd both be doing well to break 100! I loaded a few extra balls in my bag. 

It was a chilly start to the day and steve ribbed me for wearing shorts in the 42º (5.5ºc) weather but a few holes in I think he was wishing he'd worn shorts, too. It turned out to be a beautiful day for golf! We both did really well at keeping our shots in play and I finished the day carding an 80—not something I was at all expecting. Steve also scored really well. My game has been coming around the last couple of weeks as I continue to fine-tune some things. The fine-tuning never stops and I'm okay with that.

That's all I've got.