I didn’t realize how much I missed having a place of my own where I could retreat for days off, staycations, or short breaks. I sold my condo in Michigan City at the beginning of January 2019. Since then, whenever my day off came about, I had to stay at the rectory. Inevitably, the phones would ring, I would end up back at the office, or other distractions would keep me from enjoying the day as it was never truly “off”.
I just came back from my place in Munster. I closed on it this past Friday afternoon and this week a few people will be meeting me to give me quotes so that I could get it all in order. It desperately needs to have its wallpaper taken down in the hall foyer, dining room, and guest bedroom as well as having all the walls touched up and repainted. The carpeting, well, let’s just say that the carpeting has to go. The tile also needs to be deep cleaned so that it’s back to spec.
The furnace, air conditioner, and hot water heater are all past end of life so they need to be replaced. I took a good, hard look at the refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen this afternoon and think that might need to be replaced as well. The rust around the water spigot inside the fridge tells me it might be more than a bit worn inside.
Lots of work. Most of it cosmetic. All of it important. And all of it worth it in the end. I won’t have to worry about when my utilities might go as they will all be new and I will know that the paint and window treatments (oh, yes, I need curtains or blinds for the windows) will all have been new.
I’m excited and happy to think that I will have a place to withdraw to soon on my days off. Give it a couple of months and I will be “at home” there.