Yes, it's true that my hiatus started with a very nice trip to visit a brother who lives in Ecuador. That was a fun trip full of spectacular vistas and great times. It was so wonderful to see him and the absolutely beautiful country he and his wife call home.
But that vacation was immediately followed by a family member’s major surgery and unexpectedly prolonged recovery time that called for my time and energy tending to her needs and those of her farm animals and garden.
Not for the first time, I was exceedingly grateful that my work allows me the time off I needed to be available to her. I was so glad to be able to help.
Then, after her recovery, I returned home and right away plunged into some long-planned renovations that we decided to finally tackle this summer.
This particular project was fairly straightforward and involved knocking out a wall between two tiny rooms to make a larger, more functional bedroom. A good deal of work, to be sure, but a DIY project that can usually be done within a reasonable time frame and budget.
As it was.
The Problem with Renovations
But here’s something that is seldom, if ever, discussed about renovations carried out on one part of your house.
And it's this: that newly pristine living space you just worked so hard to create always makes the other, non-renovated sections of the house look dingy, dirty, and dated by contrast.
Which is exactly what happened in this case.