Tidying Up

I enjoyed Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up when it was published in the US in 2014. It was a bestseller, and when my wife bought it, I skimmed through it also. I liked Kondo's key idea: keep only what brings you joy.

It's a deceptively simple criteria to apply. It's simple because the question is straightforward. It's deceptive because you might expand the definition of joy, lumping possessions under "it used to bring me joy", or "it was a joy to receive it."

I own a lot of things, but not all of them bring me joy. Because I have an unfinished basement, I can afford to keep things simply for nostalgia's sake, or inertia's sake. I can afford to keep all my excess baggage.

My wife and I were inspired by Kondo's ideas though. We began to purge things more frequently since 2014. We know that the joy of possessing something can be short-lived, and nothing is wrong with that.

A fond acquaintance told us "You own possessions, possessions shouldn't own you." As my wife and I perform the magic of tidying up, I remind myself that the most joyful things are things I can't possess: health, relationships, ideas. The rest can be given away.

The Turkeys of Turkey Hill

Our house is on a hill named Turkey Hill. It's a small hill, just 351 feet according to the USGS. At the top of the hill is a blue water tower, and depending on how clear it is, you can see this from as far away as Porter Square in Cambridge, six miles away.

We have lived here since the mid-1990s, but in the last few years we've been seeing wild turkeys. They seem to be coming from the hill that is their namesake. Wild turkeys! Walking, pecking and hop-jumping up and down our low fence and into our yard.

They seem to always travel in groups, and they seem to have a regular schedule of walking past our door. For a few months we saw two large turkeys and a baby turkey, and we named the little one Tetrazinni. After a while the little one stopped showing up and we made up a story that it went off to turkey college.

The best part of watching them is seeing them take flight. I learned that domesticated turkeys are too heavy to fly, but wild turkeys can fly. At the end of our yard is a steep ledge surrounded by trees. Depending on their mood, they will sometimes fly down to the bottom, parachuting with their wings gently waving. Other times they will flap their wings hard, and they will rise slowly to the branches near the tree tops. They seem quite tired when they get to the top.

I like my turkey neighbors!

Me and My AC

Every year around this time I go through the effort of installing two air conditioners. They are identical units (Kenmore Model 580.76100), both purchased in the 1990s, and both very heavy. It's the heaviest thing I lift in the entire year.

Two things improved in how I've handled this yearly chore.

The first thing was to keep the upstairs unit upstairs. I don't remember when I started doing this, but it had to have been very early. When we first moved into our house, I kept both A/C units in the basement, which resulted in me carrying one of them up two flights of stairs! I now store the upstairs unit in a closet right next to the window its installed in. Now I only have to lift it up to the window sill.

The second thing was to use an old toy wagon to roll the A/C on the floor. Before, when I was younger and stronger, I could crab-walk the unit from the corner of the basement, up the stairs, then to our dining room window. This heavy lifting does a number on my back! With the little wagon, the only lift I do is up a single flight of stairs. Once upstairs, I take the wagon and roll the A/C to the window. I started using the wagon in five years ago.

Every year my technique for installing the air conditioners becomes more refined. I take notes. I use work gloves. I have become familiar with the unit's bizarre center of gravity, which helps in the lift. During the Olympics, when I watch weightlifting, I wish one of those competitors could help me when I have to mount and unmount my air conditioners.

I'll be exploring mini-movers to help with this task in the future. Or maybe I'll just find a home with built-in air conditioning.

Wear and Tear

When I empty the dishwasher, whenever possible I make sure to put the newly cleaned dishes under the ones that are already stacked in our cabinet. I feel this evens out the wear and tear on our dishware.

This isn't a hard rule. If we only put two dishes in the dishwasher, because we had to clean a bunch of larger items, I don't take down the ten dishes in the cabinet just to put the two new ones on the bottom. I put them on top. I'm not a crazy man!

I do this because I remember reading how rain water will eventually split a large boulder, or how wind and sand will shape rock formations after a thousand years. With my strategy, my dishes will last longer because they're evenly exposed to the dishwasher water and detergent.

Or maybe I'm overthinking this.

Either way, only someone a few generations from now will be able to verify this!

Becoming An Adult

My wife and I were chatting about money one day. It's a frequent touch point: the everlasting discussion about money. My daughter was with us, and she asked "Is this all adults talk about? Money?"

"Well, we talk about you a lot!"

All kidding aside, it's an intriguing question. It made me glad our kid was interested in us adults. She'll be one soon enough.

I remember the exact moment in which I truly felt like an adult: at the real estate closing for the house where we now live. I sat at a table with a few lawyers, the current owners, and some real estate agents. My wife was there too, and maybe she felt the same way: "I'm doing an adult thing here!"

We decided on a house in November 1996 and closed in March 1997. Along the way we had to make lots of decisions. We had to hire a lawyer, sell a bunch of stock, figure out the inspection process, buy furniture, and lots of other tasks that I have now forgotten. All of this may sound like run-of-the-mill bureaucracy but the closing felt like momentous occasion.

While it may seem that adults only talk about money, in reality what adults talk about are decisions. That's the essence of adulthood: decision making. Small decisions. Big decisions. Inconsequential decisions. Humongous decisions.

These decisions become your history and experience, and that helps because decision making never ends. Spend a few years making decisions and you'll be talking like an adult before you know it!

Mowing and Weeding

For the past few years, I've been mowing and pulling the weeds in my lawn and shrubbery more regularly.

Before this, our lawn and small garden would become overrun with weeds by mid-June. I'd spend a hot weekend pulling the weeds, filling up waste bags with these invasive plants. These would always be exasperating affairs, with me cursing at the gardening gods.

Of late, I've learned to treat some areas with basic weedkiller sprays, but the best antidote to keeping back the weeds is regularly pulling them. So every weekend, usually early in the morning, I'm outside pulling weeds, for about 30 to 45 minutes. I don't pull weeds everywhere: I pick my spots. One day I'll focus on the area next to the street, and another day I'll pull the weeds in our shrubbery bed.

I do make sure to pull as much as I can (I fill a waste bag about half-way before I call it a day). I use a heavy duty set of gloves, and sometimes I'll use a small trowel. When I'm pulling these weeds, I notice how they can take root in the trickiest of places. I start to think that pulling weeds is my own stand against nature's inevitability.

I have also been mowing the lawn more frequently too. I remember that I used to skip weeks of mowing, to the point where the grass came as high as half-way up my knee. Nowadays, I mow every week. The result: a neater appearance. Combined with the weed pulling, the lawn area is presentable, and it's very satisfying.

Tweet

Kudos to my newspaper delivery man. He didn't deliver anything over the long snow storm this weekend, but this morning, there was a fresh copy of the Sunday Boston Globe, and the Sunday New York Times. His "tip envelope" is on our side table at home. This deserves a nice tip!

Planting Grass

The grass has been growing in our lawn! I wish I had done a time-lapse video, or at least taken some decent before and after shots.

Woodpecker

While on my walk, I heard the distinctive sound of a wood pecker, pecking away. I was under him, by the proximity of the sound. I looked up at the four or five trees. The bird pecked-pecked, stopped, then resumed, then stopped. I had to wait for him to hammer before I could hone in on him. It took a few minutes before I could finally spot spot him. There he was! His head jack-hammering into the tree. Mia was blissfully pushing her hand through some dirt. My head was looking towards the sky.

Planting Grass

I'm happy to report that the slightest of grass blades have begun to appear. Jenn spotted them, while I was on my way out with Mia for a walk. "You have to look at the ground at an angle." Sure enough, there they were, so small and delicate. With the warmer weather coming, we should be seeing the green fuzz of new grass over the next few days. I'm excited by this possibility.

Planting Grass

Two Sundays ago, Jenn's Dad came over and we planted some grass. We raked and prepared the ground, then spread fertilizer, then spread seed. So far, no grass. But today, somewhat at work suggested that it's still a little too cold for the grass seeds to grow. He said to wait until a few weeks of solid evenings in the 50 degree range. I'm guessing that's mid-May.

New TV

Jenn and I recently bought a new television. I'm in the new millennium now!

A Swing Set

Tonight, I put together the biggest toy yet for Mia: a swing set. What an ordeal.

The "My First Swing Set" (from Hedstrom) was a mish-mash of pipes and screws and molded plastic parts. I started this endeavor on Monday.

I'm the kind of person that reads the manual a few times, and then strategizes over the appropriate order to put things together. Unfortunately, when it came time to connect the metal pipes together, I couldn't drive the driving screw (R84 in the swing set manual, if you must know). My humble Philips head screwdriver kept jumping off the head. I stopped, convinced that the screws were "not right". I called Hedstrom customer service, and the woman did acknowledge that the screws would be difficult to drive, and that in fact, I most likely have the right ones.

So last night, affirming my man-hood, I made a trip to Home Depot, to buy a tool to help me drive those screws. That's right: I bought a cordless power drill.

My Ryobi 12-volt cordless powerdrill (HP1202M) is the essence of a good tool. It feels good in my hand. It's sensitive to the pressure I put on the trigger. And it had the right "bit" to securely hold then drive the screw. I can't think of a recent purchase that has given me such satisfaction.

There were fourteen of these screws, and I used the drill for each one. It felt great. It felt "right". This drill is now my favorite tool, and I'm not a do-it-yourself type. I almost wish I had something else to put together.

Mia should be happy playing with this swing set. I know Daddy had a happy time putting it together.

Sorry-Looking Lawn

I mowed my sorry-looking lawn this morning. I also threw down some lawn seed, in the hopes that nature will take her course. Someday, I'll probably feel compelled to "buy" a new lawn (i.e. new sod). Today wasn't that day.

My Neighbor Died

One of my neighbors died over the weekend. Jenn and I heard the news this morning. His obituary was in the newspaper today.

I spent a bit of time trying to recall the last time I saw Steve, the last time I spoke with him. He and his wife have lived on our street for a long time. They were here when we moved to Arlington in March 1997. I always found him, his wife Diane, and their young son Kobi to be very nice.

I last saw him walking his dog in the early morning. A few weeks ago? I was on my way to work; I waved from inside the car. Did he wave back? Maybe. In the warmer weather, we would stop to chat, him from the street, me from the car.

There's a common lament that we don't get to know our neighbors. I feel that now.

Local Demolition

In my town, they're demolishing a nearby elementary school. I get a view of their progress every morning on my way to work. It's amazing what a "new view" does to a landscape. The houses behind the school are well exposed to my view now. The construction has uprooted some of the trees, so the street seems more "open". I like it, even though I look forward to the new school they're planning to build.

Air Conditioners

Today, Jenn and I put up our air conditioner. Whew! This week will likely feature five straight days in the 90s. Our house doesn't have central air conditioning. Every once in a while, I entertain thoughts of living in Florida (golf all year round), but the constant heat and humidity would be a big adjustment.

Nicola's

I spent $6 on a tee-shirt from place where Jenn and I get take-out pizza practically every Friday, Nicola Pizza House (1215 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, 781-646-6090). We've been eating pizza from here since we moved to Arlington, over four years ago.

The owners know me by now. Nicky always gives a big hello whenever I place my usual order. I once didn't have money, and they let me get on their tab.

At Nicola's, they also make pastries: cannoli, tiramisu, cheese cake. Sometimes, I'll splurge and grab one of these, much to the delight of Mary, the sharp-tongued matriarch who occasionally slings pizza boxes with her boys. Nicola's has also brought us great sandwiches, pasta dinners, salads, and fish and chips. Lately, we've been getting mozzarella sticks with our pizza.

There was much kidding when I announced Jenn and I were having a baby. They thought I'd be ordering a few more pizzas every week. As it is, I can't wait to share Nicola's with Mia when she gets old enough to appreciate pizza. Anyway, I have the tee-shirt.

Lawn Patch

I laid down some lawn patch this morning. I felt like a landscaper, raking, digging, and watering. The product should produce grass in a matter of ten days, provided a water it twice a day. I should pull out the digital camera and take pictures of this progress.

Plumbing

Today, I spent almost $200 on a visit by a plumber. We had a leaky toilet, and while I was able to diagnose the problem, I just didn't know when I could actually do the repair work. Now this is our bathroom in the main bedroom, and with my pregnant wife needing these facilities, I was hard-pressed to fix this leak. (We have other bathrooms, so it wasn't 'an emergency'.)

Enter the time value of money. Sure, the plumber took less than an hour to make the assessment and repair. But he was able to do this while I was at work, and well before I could devote the time to fix it. (Wouldn't you know that the leak started on Sunday night.) The plumber saved me a trip to Home Depot. The plumber saved me from the labor of this repair. The plumber saved me from pulling my hair out if I would have screwed up. In other words, $200 is not that bad to spend for the peace of mind.

Of course, I had $200 to spend. And I'm grateful for it. I suppose if I weren't financially capable, I would have tackled this on my own, but please. I saved myself the time and effort, and that costs money.