So 2012 was somewhat hectic in terms of stuff to do around the house, and both our calendars and savings accounts are crying for mercy. Here are our goals for 2013:
1. Grimly unsexy-but-necessary infrastructure work, part the first: Replace all the remaining original galvanized piping in the house with copper pipes; move our water shut-off valve from under the porch stairs to someplace more accessible in the event of an earthquake.
2. Grimly unsexy-but-necssary infrastructure work, part the second: Replace our electrical panels -- which were crafted by a company that went out of business owing to these panels' tendency to spontaneously combust -- and move them from outside (what?) to a more sheltered location. Then do a circuit map so we know which switches do what.
3. Grimly unsexy-but-necssary infrastructure work, part the third: Finish ripping up/pruning the wild tangle around the house, then plan our landscaping and begin working on the hardscape.
4. Hunt down and euthanize the people who "refreshed" our bathroom, as those people's crimes did not stop at venting the bathroom fan straight into the attic, laying down two layers of tile before putting in a shower pan and sink, installing an ungrounded outlet at elbow height right next to the shower, sawing halfway through a supporting joist in the floor, and neglecting to actually seal the toilet. No, those f****rs also bollixed the pipes leading into the shower, so now we are dealing with that plumbing fallout.
Clearly, their substandard work is a cry for help.
Okay, fantasies aside, if we can get the unsexy-but-necessary stuff done, I can treat myself with ...
5. Paint the walls, trim and door in the house. We've wanted to wait and see what the natural light is like at all times of the day and night before committing to any colors.
6. Unleash my organizational fury on our three closets. This includes painting them and installing lights and shelving to let us optimize the space.
This is what it means to have a fixer-upper: Spending hours taping a room for painting and stripping away the top two layers of your epidermis when you're washing the brushes with acetone (curse you, oil-based stain-blocking primer!) count as a vacation from the real nitty-gritty.
