Update

lots going on in my life!

Dear readers, as you may have noticed, I haven’t posted any of my typical research articles in quite some time. That’s not for lack of research on my part. I have simply made the executive decision to focus my energy, attention, and other resources elsewhere.

Here’s why:

Home Renovations

Ron and I have committed to getting our home renovated in significant ways, both the interior and exterior. We bought our house new in 2006: That means it is 20 years old. It still looks pretty good despite being appointed with cheap builder-grade materials, mainly because we ourselves did some fancy faux finish painting in our kitchen/dining room and living room, and we have painted every other wall in the house except one! That said, it’s time for an upgrade and a new look.

We have decided to remove the partial non-load-bearing wall that 1) divides the kitchen from the living room and 2) serves as the backing for a small pantry and the peninsula countertop with step-up bar. This change — along with a larger over-the-sink window — will open up the entire main area of our home to make a “great room.” It will also bring a lot more light into the living room from our west-facing kitchen and dining room.

Demolition begins tomorrow at 7:00AM! This was a shock! Up until a few days ago, we thought the crew would start in mid-May.

Here are some photos of my packing-up process:

Bins and boxes in the living room.

Just the coffee and tea here!

Wine . . . oh, and water and a few dishes to get us by!

Couple of basic tools in two drawers and main work/prep area.

Ron also needs to remove the PA speakers and stuff off the living room shelf units, as the electrician will need to install recessed light in that room.

I still need to deal with wall art, three movable storage until (that rolling cart is one), plus the pantry and fridge & freezer.

We really have been hustling with only a few days’ notice, especially because we’ve got another major event on the horizon.

That brings me to my next point of attention:

Our annual cross-country RV trip to visit our families and friends

Neither Ron’s family nor mine visit us. We can’t imagine why, since we live in one of the most beautiful areas of the entire west coast! So if we want to see them, we have to go to them in Michigan and Wisconsin. We used to fly and rent a car, but that started to be a major drag, whether it was increased TSA measures and long waits at the airport; being crammed into the flying tube itself; staying in hotels and rental homes; and then of course, the delayed and canceled flights. Ugh.

In 2020, we bought a truck and little travel trailer so we could have a tiny home on wheels. In most ways, it is a far superior experience to the flying option: No more jet lag, no more groping and radiation poisoning, no more stinky, loud jet cabins. Sure, there are downsides: Hitching and unhitching, dealing with waste water, and some long arduous drives. Still, we prefer that to flying. For now.

This year, I booked our entire 43-day trip during late January and February. We will be driving to the Detroit area of Michigan then up and over the UP to central Wisconsin, then back home.

WAIT! There is more!

Music performance, and Sharine stepping into a new artist role

Our friend Jack is having his birthday party at a fun venue in one of the San Luis Obispo county beach communities. His band will be playing. He asked Ron and I if we would play some duo music, and of course we said YES to that. Then Ron, my loving husband, announced that I will learn and play a few blues song, fronting a band.

Well, then! I cannot say no!

So I have completely re-routed my guitar teacher’s plans for my studies, and we are now getting me ready to play guitar, sing, and front a band comprised of amateur musicians! The good news is that Ron will stabilize that situation by backing me up either on rhythm guitar or bass.

I’m learning chords and riffs in a highly condensed, very intense time-and-musical pressure cooker!

Here is my basic rig:

My USA-made California Series Fender Telecaster with a Tex-Mex Fat Humbucker (I’m thinking of having it painted in a paisley pattern!), and my Tone King Falcon Grande 20-watt amplifier with proprietary built-in attenuator:

Guitar + Amp rig. Don’t worry: I only precariously positioned the guitar temporarily to capture the shot. Normally, it hangs on the wall in a proper guitar hanger or on a floor stand!

UPDATE 04/21/26:

I worked for about six hours today while Ron was fulfilling a gig commitment. When he got home, he helped with the heavy lifting, and then took several boxes and bins to our storage unit.

We are about as “packed up” as seems reasonable before we meet with the construction Project Lead tomorrow morning. (Thankfully, the crew has to pick up a trailer and some materials before they arrive here, so it will be closer to 8:30AM instead of 7:00. Yay for me and my beauty sleep!)

Here are a couple more photos of “progress”:

Our performance backdrop used to hang from ceiling rails on both sides of this corner. Ron took it down tonight and we folded & storedit up for a future living room performance!

There’s a great story about the backdrop.

After we bought our home in 2006, Ron and I wanted to turn our garage into a stage by hanging a fabric curtain on the three inside walls. We took careful measurements, which I brought to JoAnne’s Fabrics and purchased the necessary muslin.

I had a sewing machine that I bought from K-Mart for $49 and I used it to hem the material, complete with a wide top hem for threading along 1-inch PVC pipe.

Then Ron and I bought purple dye, bales of small twine, and two large bins. We did the process in the garage. The tie-dye pattern turned out beautiful! But there was a problem: We incorrectly measured the curtain height!

Noooo😭!

So we recalculated our measurements and I went back to JoAnne’s Fabrics. I bought enough muslin to make what I call “The Footer”: It was a 13-inch long piece of fabric to correct for the measurement mistake so that the back drop not only touched the floor but dragged a bit.

I hemmed the bottoms and sides off “The Footer” pieces, then we processed the two pieces in the last bit of purple dye. After drying the pieces and removing the twine, I stitched “The Footer” onto the main backdrop sections.

WOW! It turned out very BoHo and cool. Check it out:

See how “The Footer” is a darker purple? I love it!

The back drop looks better LIVE so here is a video Ron and me performing “Skull Song.”

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I emptied the pantry today! This was a huge endeavor. My pantry was pretty well organized — or so I thought — until I started unloading it to find small containers and bags of old grains, flours, and nuts. Gross! Thankfully, most of the items were fresh!

The other remaining chore was clearing off my favorite bookshelf that Ron and I call The Fireplace. It held small knick-knacks, some of my favorite hand-curated rocks, candleholders, and music-related memorabilia. That was a two-hour job!

The Fireplace bookshelf is now residing in my very small walk-in closet! Ron populated the area with some items he cleared out of our attic.

Okay, I’m pretty much done writing for tonight, so I’ll sign off. I need to be a fresh daisy tomorrow morning to meet with a bunch of construction guys! Ahhahahahahaha!

🦋 Sharine.