Since moving to our most recent home a year and a half ago, we have been extremely busy “nesting”. We took a 22 year old home and decided to embrace it for what it was, which is an older home in need of a little TLC! We refreshed some of its dated features and we embraced others. We hired workers to paint the entire interior and exterior, walls and ceilings and trim. There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make an older home come alive.
We had wood floors laid after removing old and worn carpeting and then installed plantation shutters on all the windows. We put new tile in the laundry room and on the front porch. All floors are now hard surfaces to help facilitate our aging if the day comes where we have to navigate with a walker or wheelchair. It pays to be prepared..
We installed oil brushed bronze knobs and pulls on the kitchen cabinetry to dress up the previously bare old oak cabinets. They look very nice because they actually embrace the vintage look. We replaced all the gold door knobs and hinges on all the doors in the house with the oil rubbed bronze look and it looks amazing as it compliments the cabinetry in the kitchen!
This is our 10th residence in 51 years of marriage so we know the drill of what needs to be done before we settle in, though this time we had a different approach from our last two homes which were both “new builds”. What we learned with those two newly built homes is that “new” is only new for a short period of time. It isn’t long before it is considered “dated” in the eyes of real estate agents, buyers (and designers) because “new” is what we have been brainwashed to believe is better. In all truth, if we are kept in a perpetual cycle of updating, there is a lot of money to be made on a lot of levels by a lot of people. The “latest and greatest” is a term thrown at us on an annual cycle of ads. How else would these retailers survive if we decided to keep what we have because it is still functional? Their mission is to convince all of us that the latest IS the greatest, and that is simply NOT true.
Whatever happened to those of us who enjoyed buying a used home and were up to the challenge of making it our own when we were first starting out? Why did the word “dated” even come into existence? In a word, it is marketing. The marketing and sales departments of home products convinced us that if it isn’t new, it is inferior, whereas the opposite is often the case. In truth, goods and skills are not what they once were, so buying a “dated” home is likely a very wise decision.
So, when we were finished with the refreshing our newly purchased older home, we then went to work creating gardens. The yard was a blank canvas of weed infested lawn around our home with very few plants or trees. Our new plants and gardens are now in place, and look very colorful and inviting.
So, after a long pause, I finally have time to once again write for my website “Thoughts Expressed from our Retirement Nest” site!
We are the B’s…Mr and Mrs B, and we are very much enjoying this last leg of our life’s journey. I think it may be fun to share our thoughts and feelings and adventures! For me, this acts as a journal…and maybe someday, it will hold some amount of significance to our offspring.
Today is Sunday and we attended church as per usual. The closing song chosen by our music Minister was “Jesus loves Me”. What joy it was to sing a song we all learned when we were very young children. The volume of that song almost raised the rafters of the church. 😉. Out of the mouths of babes right? Our younger selves stepped right up and sang this song with gusto. It was lovely and uplifting!
I am going to close for now. I look forward to using my freed up time to once again write for my “Retirement Column”.
Sincerely,
Jjb/4/14/2024