Another winter in Maine is finally taking it’s last freaking gasp and will soon be gone. I have only one thing to say to that, "Good-bye, Good Riddance, and Go Away".  In my opinion it’s overstayed it’s welcome by at least two weeks already.  It’s much like a house guest who stays too long causing you to start out liking them, then disliking them, and finally detesting them.

I’m sitting in bed refusing to get up and start another day with the same mind crunching routine which I’ve fallen into of late.  I first wake up slowly out of odd and strange dreams which usually amuse me, but not today. I make a bathroom pit stop, feed the cat, get my coffee, and return to the bed with my IPad.  As I begin writing I’m also thinking about my work list for the day and cringe a little.  After ten minutes I return to the kitchen for another cup of coffee and more visualization of the tasks ahead of me.

The room remodel has taken over my days but is much c.loser to completion than this time last week.  Ninety percent of the drywall has been installed with the final sheets in place by this coming Friday.  Then it’s a few days of sanding, priming,  painting, putting up the new fixtures, wall plugs, light switches and baseboards and then DONE.

In order to complete these kinds of projects you really must have the proper motivation or it could stall and never be completed.  That’s the job of my better-half. I’ve called her many things over the years but for right now she’s my motivator.  Part of her skill set is knowing just when to tweak my nose about things to restart my engines and then haughtily walk away pretending she doesn’t care in the least.  Some people might call that passive-aggressive, but not me. I call that motivation with a twist. For example I hear things like this, "Oh honey the room is really shaping up and the drywall looks amazing.  It always surprises me that you are able to do this work as well as you do. It looks like there’s a bit of a gap between those two sheets.  Is it supposed to be that wide? Will it make the drapes I just bought look like their hanging crooked? Don’t forget to fix that before we start painting."  And so it goes!

She has no subtlety at all.  She started a week ago arriving home from her shopping trips with questions about what furnishings would look best in the new room.  What kind of older, cool looking vanity she would purchase for her huge collection of makeup and lotions.  She dragged me out one day to just visit a few stores for an hour or so.   I ended up looking at throw rugs and other assorted furnishings for the new room.  She’s about as subtle as a hand grenade.

Regardless of all the gamesmanship the room will be completed at least two weeks ahead of schedule.  Hooray for me because I’ve been assured and promised there would be no more major projects until next Fall.  The translation of that promise is actually this, "Honey, I think the living room is looking too peachy. I’m really sick of that color and maybe we should change it out before any of the summer guests arrive.  What do you think?

Like I said, subtle!