Driven

Painting interior wood trim. Painting marked up walls. Filling cracks in old plaster. Sanding. Cleaning grout. Sealing grout. Emptying shelves and sorting linens. Painting closet. Adding liners. Cleaning paint brushes. Finding old paint. Buying new paint. Details. Details. Trip to hardware store. Need a new sanding tool. And the winner is the Dremel Multi-Max MM45. We'll be ready for all kinds of projects!

Is it the winter season that has pushed me to update some of the spaces in this house? Mom always had a winter project. As soon as the holiday decorations were put away she'd start on a room. Our old house had wallpaper in almost every room, so, usually the project was to strip a room and re-paper. I loved paging through those huge wallpaper books and helping to pick out the new look for a room. 

I remember the year that we got to change my room from pink to a bold blue and white. I felt grown-up at last! I think that was the year that the chifforobe was replaced with a sliding door closet that my dad built. So many memories.

My current projects don't have that feeling of satisfaction that I get from major change. I have to be content with a cleaned-up look. I suppose that is a testament to the major remodeling that we've done in the past. I still like the look and feel of the tiled bathroom. My rule of thumb is that no matter how clean you keep your house, after 10 years it will need a new paint job.

But, I feel something else driving me. I think I want the house to be ready--ready for that major upheaval that could come any time. I've talked about moving somewhere warmer. (Six months of winter is just too much.) I have no plans to do so. In fact, I'm more inclined to move west. One state west to Minnesota.

I have always been proud of the state where I live. I felt that we had a superior public education system, we were leaders in the environmental movement, we had beautiful parks, and I trusted elected officials to uphold those commitments to the people of Wisconsin. That has all changed. Our governor and both houses of the state legislature are ramming through extreme ultra-right-wing agenda items. There is no way to stop the craziness. I do not choose to live in a place where workers and women have no rights and no choice; where the needy and disadvantaged are treated with contempt rather than compassion; where public waters and lands are at risk; where public education is the enemy and corporate schools with no accountability suck the system dry. Is anyone thinking about the future?

I do have the luxury of choice. I have few ties left in Wisconsin. I could leave. It's a big decision. I'll work on getting the house ready for now.