A few weeks ago, Ryan's sister and brother-in-law moved to Colorado, (they were living above us,) and they took the Internet with them. We were splitting the cost with them, but since it was under their name, when they went, the Internet went.
The first few days were pathetically rough. Especially for Ryan. I realized that I really don't use the Internet all that much. I use it to check email, blog, pay bills, and that's about it. Ryan, on the other hand, uses it for everything. He is constantly in the quest for knowledge - a good trait I might add. Whatever project he is working on, he throws himself in with everything he has got - and that includes researching and learning all he can. Whereas I don't really follow the news, sometimes to a fault, Ryan reads KSL daily and fills me in on whats going on. The lack of KSL was the first immediate challenge. The in-laws moved on a Saturday. On our drive to my parent's Sunday afternoon, we were listening to KSL on the radio. At every headline Ryan would dramatically shout, "What?!" He turned to me, his eyes wide and frantic. "I can't live without KSL!" Of course, he didn't really mean it... at least not that dramatically. I hope. I kind of wonder... But it was certainly rough.
It took a few days to adjust, but eventually the habit of heading to the computer ceased. I saw this as a golden opportunity. A blessing in disguise. For me, there were only two real downers. 1. I couldn't blog. 2. Ryan couldn't look for jobs. (Not necessarily in that order. But probably.) Honestly, I was kind of excited it was gone. Ryan is the kind of person that needs to be doing something all the time. He doesn't "do" idle. He constantly has a project, or some hobby he is working on. These hobbies tend to rotate throughout the year, but regardless of what it is, he is always doing something. And now without the Internet he had all the time in the world... He jumped into action. With the in-laws moving, that meant we were able to pull some things that belonged to them out of our back room. (That room has been used as storage for other family members as long as we have lived here.) Once that was cleared, Ryan was able to more fully organize his man cave. (I wish I had thought to take before and after pictures of all these things as proof.) I have to admit, that back room looks really nice - even if it is lacking the feminine touch.
Next, I pointed out that in our storage room we have a shelf that is completely loaded, but we only know what 50% of it is. The other half was filled with boxes when we moved in. We had a pretty good idea of what was in the boxes, mainly being dishes and other kitchenware, along with a mailbox that was never installed, the metal and wiring for florescent lighting, and other such household items that belonged to the previous owners, but were not necessarily things they wanted to take. Still useful, but since we already had most of the stuff, there wasn't a need to use it. (The shelf has been like this for almost 5 years now.) That became Ryan's next target area. He pulled everything out and reorganized it, sent things we didn't want or weren't ours to the garage for a yard sale, bought another shelf, and completely reorganized the storage room. The only thing remaining is that our plumber has not returned to put up the sheet rock where he fixed the pipe. If that was done, we would be able to finally put everything back where it belongs and find our kitchen again. But even without that being done, the storage room looks amazing. There is so much more space back there!
Next came the yard/garden. We have an incredible yard. However, in the last year or two it hasn't gotten much attention because of the big lab that was living back there. Though the animal was the sweetest thing in the world, he was a bit unruly. (With us anyway.) He was just so happy-go-lucky that whenever you tried to go in the backyard he would jump and bounce on you endlessly. He torn open one of my shirts, ripped the skin on my elbow, and nearly knocked me over a time or two. It's not really his fault, but it was enough to deter me from going back there much. That, and the poop field. Yuck. But he moved with the in-laws.
With the dog gone, Ryan and I went to work. Ryan scooped poop, mowed the lawn, and cleaned the patio. I tilled and weeded, tilled and weeded (that grass never ends!!) a few sections of the garden at a time. We made an official grow box with tempered 2x6x8 wood where before was a wilting mound of dirt surrounded by rocks. It was a good idea, but the rocks didn't really hold back the dirt and so the mound became a small bump. We added more soil and conditioner, and worked the land until it was ready to plant. We planted peas, beets, and a wide lettuce variety. A little later we plan to plant tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, carrots, and maybe some bell peppers. On Thursday we tackled the strawberry patch. It wasn't awful to begin with, but the wood used for the tiered grow boxes was rotten and the grass patches were horrible. To make it worse, the root system of the grass had worked it's way into the wood. So we pulled it all out, bought new wood, cleared the area of grass and snails, and put it all back together. It looks really nice. Unfortunately, because our little dog likes to run along the fence line with the neighbor dogs, we have had to surround everything with chicken wire. It's not as esthetically pleasing, but it's still way better than it was.
In short, the last two weeks have been awesome. Since I work full time and teach piano, I am not home much to work on the house. But since Ryan is not in school and only works part time, he has been the best housewife anyone could ask for. I tease him about it and tell him how awesome it has been to have some extra help around the house. All teasing aside, he has been an absolute trooper. He is amazing. I love how handy he is. If he doesn't know how to do something, he will figure it out. He has great initiative and drive. As enjoyable as it has been, getting the Internet really was inevitable. If Ryan wants to find a job, he has to have it. And I'll admit, I have missed blogging and being able to check my email and such as well. We got the Internet set up this week and things are starting to move back into a more normal pattern. Ryan checks KSL a couple times a day, but he also spends a lot of time looking for jobs. This is the first time I have really sat down to do much of anything online since we got it set up, but it's nice to be able to do so. Thankfully with the weather getting warmer, Ryan's drive to work on the yard and garden hasn't been tempered at all. We accomplished a lot during the last two weeks. It has been fantastic. In fact, I think everyone should take a break from the Internet and TV for a week or two and just see what a difference it makes. Moderation in everything really is the way to go. We still have several projects we are working on, and things are getting better all the time. And even with the breaks to check email and such, we are still getting a lot done. So while it's good to back, I am going to miss my little housewife. Thankfully I still have my manly husband, who is the best husband in the world. :)
It took a few days to adjust, but eventually the habit of heading to the computer ceased. I saw this as a golden opportunity. A blessing in disguise. For me, there were only two real downers. 1. I couldn't blog. 2. Ryan couldn't look for jobs. (Not necessarily in that order. But probably.) Honestly, I was kind of excited it was gone. Ryan is the kind of person that needs to be doing something all the time. He doesn't "do" idle. He constantly has a project, or some hobby he is working on. These hobbies tend to rotate throughout the year, but regardless of what it is, he is always doing something. And now without the Internet he had all the time in the world... He jumped into action. With the in-laws moving, that meant we were able to pull some things that belonged to them out of our back room. (That room has been used as storage for other family members as long as we have lived here.) Once that was cleared, Ryan was able to more fully organize his man cave. (I wish I had thought to take before and after pictures of all these things as proof.) I have to admit, that back room looks really nice - even if it is lacking the feminine touch.
Next, I pointed out that in our storage room we have a shelf that is completely loaded, but we only know what 50% of it is. The other half was filled with boxes when we moved in. We had a pretty good idea of what was in the boxes, mainly being dishes and other kitchenware, along with a mailbox that was never installed, the metal and wiring for florescent lighting, and other such household items that belonged to the previous owners, but were not necessarily things they wanted to take. Still useful, but since we already had most of the stuff, there wasn't a need to use it. (The shelf has been like this for almost 5 years now.) That became Ryan's next target area. He pulled everything out and reorganized it, sent things we didn't want or weren't ours to the garage for a yard sale, bought another shelf, and completely reorganized the storage room. The only thing remaining is that our plumber has not returned to put up the sheet rock where he fixed the pipe. If that was done, we would be able to finally put everything back where it belongs and find our kitchen again. But even without that being done, the storage room looks amazing. There is so much more space back there!
Next came the yard/garden. We have an incredible yard. However, in the last year or two it hasn't gotten much attention because of the big lab that was living back there. Though the animal was the sweetest thing in the world, he was a bit unruly. (With us anyway.) He was just so happy-go-lucky that whenever you tried to go in the backyard he would jump and bounce on you endlessly. He torn open one of my shirts, ripped the skin on my elbow, and nearly knocked me over a time or two. It's not really his fault, but it was enough to deter me from going back there much. That, and the poop field. Yuck. But he moved with the in-laws.
With the dog gone, Ryan and I went to work. Ryan scooped poop, mowed the lawn, and cleaned the patio. I tilled and weeded, tilled and weeded (that grass never ends!!) a few sections of the garden at a time. We made an official grow box with tempered 2x6x8 wood where before was a wilting mound of dirt surrounded by rocks. It was a good idea, but the rocks didn't really hold back the dirt and so the mound became a small bump. We added more soil and conditioner, and worked the land until it was ready to plant. We planted peas, beets, and a wide lettuce variety. A little later we plan to plant tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, carrots, and maybe some bell peppers. On Thursday we tackled the strawberry patch. It wasn't awful to begin with, but the wood used for the tiered grow boxes was rotten and the grass patches were horrible. To make it worse, the root system of the grass had worked it's way into the wood. So we pulled it all out, bought new wood, cleared the area of grass and snails, and put it all back together. It looks really nice. Unfortunately, because our little dog likes to run along the fence line with the neighbor dogs, we have had to surround everything with chicken wire. It's not as esthetically pleasing, but it's still way better than it was.
In short, the last two weeks have been awesome. Since I work full time and teach piano, I am not home much to work on the house. But since Ryan is not in school and only works part time, he has been the best housewife anyone could ask for. I tease him about it and tell him how awesome it has been to have some extra help around the house. All teasing aside, he has been an absolute trooper. He is amazing. I love how handy he is. If he doesn't know how to do something, he will figure it out. He has great initiative and drive. As enjoyable as it has been, getting the Internet really was inevitable. If Ryan wants to find a job, he has to have it. And I'll admit, I have missed blogging and being able to check my email and such as well. We got the Internet set up this week and things are starting to move back into a more normal pattern. Ryan checks KSL a couple times a day, but he also spends a lot of time looking for jobs. This is the first time I have really sat down to do much of anything online since we got it set up, but it's nice to be able to do so. Thankfully with the weather getting warmer, Ryan's drive to work on the yard and garden hasn't been tempered at all. We accomplished a lot during the last two weeks. It has been fantastic. In fact, I think everyone should take a break from the Internet and TV for a week or two and just see what a difference it makes. Moderation in everything really is the way to go. We still have several projects we are working on, and things are getting better all the time. And even with the breaks to check email and such, we are still getting a lot done. So while it's good to back, I am going to miss my little housewife. Thankfully I still have my manly husband, who is the best husband in the world. :)
Yay! I'm glad you have internet again. :) Ryan sounds like an excellent housewife (even if he doesn't really being called one).
ReplyDelete