Renovating and Reality TV.

I know I am not alone in that I really, REALLY, dislike reality television. However if I did like it it would certainly not be the cooking shows I would watch. Nor the dating shows, or apprentices or rugged outdoorsy adventure stuff. No it would be the renovation and gardening shows that would get me in. I do have a great affection for 'Better Homes and Gardens' and was really disappointed when I realised that 'Grand Designs' had finished. I love renovating and painting and building and all that kind of thing. There was a period when the boys were little and we lived in South Melbourne that I was madly into buying old furniture and completely refurbishing it. Usually for uses far from the original makers plan. I was told some years later by a friend that they were afraid to put their handbags down when they visited incase they got painted too.. The handbags that is...

I have found it odd for a long while that people will see no problem with spending money of freshening up or renovating a house, or indeed spending many dollars on panel beating and refreshing a car, yet find the idea of spending any time or money on refreshing and renovating a person to be indulgent and somehow wrong.

So this is what I am going to be talking about for the next little while. I am in the process of renovating. It is a major reno. from the foundations up and out. It started last year when I decided to take some time from working to sort out some medical issues that needed fixed. The end of January saw the process stepped up as I stopped a very, very longterm smoking habit, joined a gym with a friend and started a detox programme all on the same day. So far the renovations are on schedule. Progress is slow but it is steady and the incremental cosmetic changes are helping to keep the spirits up while the deeper and more structural renovations are taking place.

As anyone who has undertaken a renovation, while still living in the space, knows, it can be frustrating. There is often the feeling that you are not making progress and everything just seems like a jumbled mess. However, I do believe that it is going to be well worth it in the end and that the value that will be added to the property will be substantial. In a metaphoric kind of way.

There are a number of very good friends who I am going to call on during this process. They all have different specialties which will be valuable and enriching to the rebuilding and shaping process and I am grateful to have those resources. I do need to acknowledge Parker Palmer and Richard Rohr, people whose advice and wisdom have encouraged me to undertake the project. I am sure I am going to be calling on them repeatedly over the next months. I am of course hoping that the job will be finished and the end product will be ready for me to inhabit in the not too distant future. However, both Robbie Burns and John Lennon had very insightful things to say about what can happen with plans so we will just have to wait and see.

Onward and upward.