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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Wasted Days and Commie Nights... How Capitalism Stymies Productivity In Modern Socities


We had another rainy, socked in day in Lovely Ouray last week.  It reminded me of coastal Oregon, except there was no horizontal sea fading into western fog.  Weather lemons to lemonade, we decided on a hike up into the clouds. If you can't beat Mother Nature, might as well join her. This disturbance is the first to drop into our Crevice from the north. Its salvo left a little white on Mount Abrams summit, reminding me that Goldie is not yet ready for the road south. Oh be still my butterflied stomach. 


I have a pile of lumber in the garage and a sketched "plan" on the breakfast bar. It's where I spread out and do my best work. At first brain-fart, I imagined Goldie's rear lounge being remodeled into something radical... playing with the idea of going Industrial Modern. Imagine, if you can, a wainscoting of corrugated galvanized roofing tin... silver, with mottled shine enough to resemble stainless steel. It would certainly brighten the room, not to mention allow for a contrasting dark laminate wood floor. I like dark floors, how they "anchor" a light bright room. Then I'd add a couple of lightweight Danish Modern recliners with dark leather cushions, a touch of texture and color with fabric blinds and valances, and top it all off with brushed nickel LED lighting fixtures. Voila. Not so fast oh headstrong ass...

Then I got to wondering... how doing that might split Goldie's personality down the middle. Poor girl, half Industrial Modern, half "brown shoe." I kinda felt sorry for her, came to my senses and decided to error on the side of continuity over split personality. Back to the drawing board... pass the eraser.

Home Depot. How much time have I lost wandering around in that understaffed wasteland of a billion alternatives? I always feel like Moses with his band of Israelites... looking for the Promised Land. We could do this, we could do that... what about this... what about that? There is such a thing as too many choices, you know. It's enough to make one eschew Capitalism. "Oh for the good ole days of post Revolutionary Russia... no fretting over choices because the State only makes one tractor, one plow... and they only come in one color. "No Pepsi—Coke!" 

Over the years... after no less than three house remodels and eight or so new construction design/builds... you would think I'd have learned my lessons—that is to never, ever go into a building supply Big Box without a firm plan and an itemized shopping list! It's like going to the grocery store when you're hungry, for crying out loud, you spend a fortune but don't get so much as one decent meal to show for it... just a huge assortment of snacks! I suppose I was counting on the Idea Fairy, to land on my shoulder... maybe whisper directions to The Promised Land in my ear. Dear God, I don't have forty years... I barely have forty days! 

In the end, I'm ashamed and half embarrassed to say, I ended up playing it safe. Yes, I "kissed my sister." Like some spec home builder out of the 80's, I'm going "white walls and beige carpet (gag)." Ok, maybe not that safe... but safer than I'd like, safer than Industrial Modern, for sure, and safer than I live my daily life here in The Crevice. I'm holding out for the disco mirror-ball, though, and a black light to shine on my Janis Joplin poster. I'm not giving over my entire manhood to beige... not yet.

Now let's go for a hike around Lovely Ouray on the Perimeter Trail... into mists of Oregonian clouds.

















The sign tries to explain the Ourale House Brewery's "flexible" business hours policy... :)) Gotta love it.



13 comments:

  1. Love the b&w mist photo - really nice. And yup, sure looks like fall over there!

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  2. Dang it, I was all excited right up until I read the word "beige." Beige?!?!

    This is your home and you gotta make it your own. Don't sell out to "safe." Live on the edge a little. Heck redo the whole thing, not just the back lounge.

    Or at least a colorful throw rug and a few nice paintings :P

    By the way I'm writing this on my porch swing which is sitting in the living room where the average person would put a couch. Safe? Normal? Even matching the rest of the place? Nope, but I love it :D

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  3. Agree with Maria. Make this place your own, with not too much extra weight. Looks like fall has settled and winter will chase you south soon.

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  4. Your photos today have fed my soul and watered my eyes.

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  5. Dang it! You did it again...blew my socks off with the pictures! Making me wish I lived in such a place as lovely Ouray..Have yourself a ball!

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  6. Once again, beautiful pics, but I love the last one best. That sign is excellent.

    Beige...blech. Make it your own. Skip carpet; too hard to keep clean. Make the back room a space you really enjoy!

    We're going to take out our couch/hide-a-bed and put a desk in its place. That will free up our dining room table for eating. Imagine that. (Currently the table is our desk with two laptops--and a cat--on it.)

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  7. Great photos of Ouray from the Perimeter Trail. Brings back memories...of getting lost on it.

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  8. I love those pictures. You can reach up and just touch those clouds. I think you gave yourself too many ideas and then just settled. But you have to live with whatever you do and if you're happy that's all that matters.

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  9. Your pictures are really peaceful with the hanging clouds and colors! Interesting sign but it fits Mr. Grumpy Pants and his establishment.

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  10. Walden Creek RV steveSeptember 20, 2012 at 7:31 PM

    Com-on man!!(ESPN)- Make Goldie PLAIN__??? Say it ain"t so!

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  11. Great photos, love the colors. Wish I could make it to Ouray before I leave Mesa Verde, but my work schedule keeps changing and I'm not getting 2 days off in a row and they are installing a new accounting program that I have to learn even though I am leaving next month. I was offered a free RV site in exchange for volunteering at a National Wildlife Refuge in Texas for Nov and Dec - so I won't be heading to Zion this winter. My daughter lives on South Padre and I'm glad that I will be living close to her for awhile. I hope to meet you and Bobbie down the road sometime.

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  12. Ouray is so beautiful !!! And I Love fall. It is my favorite time of the year. It is like the ending and the beggining. So lovely.

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  13. Spotted Dog,
    Thanks... we actually enjoyed hiking in that weather :))

    Maria M,
    I know, I know... I'm in the middle of the "alternate plan" right now and I think you will like it (stay tuned). I do like the idea of redoing the whole rig... stainless appliances, granite counter tops... a juke box in the booth... but, we are on a tight budget, as usual. I do plan on taking the new flooring all the way through the kitchen to the cab. We pick out the flooring as soon as the real lounge is done. Enjoy your porch swing :)) in the living room.

    Gaelyn ,
    I think it will be my own even tho it's plan B. I'm excited to see what it's like RVing in a MotorHome.

    Donna K,
    Thank you so much, and your comment does the same to me :))

    Anon,
    Well then come see it for yourself... Dang it :))

    Travel Bug,
    The brewery owner is an incorrigible old dude... gone a lot. Testing all that beer probably makes him sleepy.
    I'm going to think about downsizing our booth this winter. I like the desk idea, and some drawers.
    thanks

    Jim and Gayle,
    If it were not for Bobbie, I'd get lost too :))
    Especially when the clouds move in.

    Jim and Sandie,
    Thanks, Our clouds are cool when they drop into Lovely Ouray. I think we'll be happy with what I'm doing... Looks good so far. The right flooring will seal the deal.
    thanks

    Chris and Mindy,
    So you know the Brew King... Grumpy Pants, you say that like you have personal experience. :)) I know where to find you know. Enjoy the off season of Farming... like there is one. Ha.

    Walden Steve,
    She'll be "Plain Purdy." Did you sell your rig???

    Teri,
    Sorry we'll miss meeting up in Zion... But it sounds like a good plan dropped into your lap. There's always next year. I like to get a regular gathering going every November. The weather is great... crowds are gone. Enjoy South Texas... should be warm.

    Sierra Sue,
    Same here... Fall is peaking as I write this. So nice and cool, too. Thanks for chiming in.
    mark

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