The Ultimate (Temporary) Bachelor

Arrived home about a week ago. It’s been a good, productive week. Relegated to the basement while the entire upstairs is torn
apart and reassembled, I feel a bit like a hermit bachelor extraordinaire.

A few notes from this week (I apologize for the random, unedited nature of this...not a lot of time for "blogging"):
 
After one day of living like one of those crazies on “Hoarders” (I’m sharing the basement with the cat and a majority of our possessions) – I arranged a little living area in the basement. Now I can at least sit somewhere. Which is nice.
 
Fixed my grill on Wednesday. Pulled it into the garage and found out the distributor and burner were a little mis-aligned. Thank goodness it was an easy fix. It’s very important that my daily caloric intake include at least two servings of fire-cooked meats.
        
Finally found utensils and silverware last night. Pretty pumped. Prior to this I only had a spoon and one of those cheap, plastic pizza cutters that you get as a gift from a furniture store. I had been using a multi-channel pliers as my grill tongs.
       
Before finding all of those things, I was living like the ultimate bachelor. Not a lot you can eat with only a spoon and paper bowls. Lots of cold cereal. An occasional pizza. And cheap chocolate-covered granola bars. Finding these utensils opens a whole
new world of possibilities: canned beans (can opener), steak (fork and knife), toast (butter knife and the toaster) and even the fancy hot dog buns you have to cut open with a knife. Last night for supper, I grilled brats and corn on the cob. Editor's Note: As I type this, I'm eating two chocolate covered donuts and a string cheese for lunch.
      
Laundry has been a bit of an issue. It’s been two weeks since adding any clean clothes to my wardrobe. The washer and dryer work just fine – but haven’t taken the time to do any laundry (other than to wash some sheets when I got back) and it’s kind of dirty upstairs where the appliances are located. This isn’t a big deal other than I’m running out of clean clothes. Primarily underwear and shirts to wear to work. 
      
Luckily, due to some excellent foresight and good timing of it being “America” week, I’ve been able to manage. 
       
You see, despite the desperate pleas of the lady in his life, every man keeps a secret stash of old underwear. They are undoubtedly full of holes and are completely stretched out. I just don’t have it in my heart to throw out a pair of old underwear. They’ve been so loyal. Like a close friend, old underwear have been through a lot with you. Kind of like an old dog I guess. And, they are always handy in an emergency. In case you are a little slow on laundry, need a grease rag or can’t find your hanky.
    
Anyway, I’ve simply tapped into my old underwear supply to last me through this week. From a shirt standpoint, fortune has shined down upon me. With the 4th of July in the middle of the week, I had the day off. Which means…it’s ok to wear a dirty shirt! Whew, that means only four days to be creative. Unfortunately, it’s way, way too hot to wear longsleeves. Which cuts out about ¾ of my closet. Luckily, I have a bunch of Case IH polo shirts from my previous job. Totally knocked one of those out of the park on Monday. And, speaking of knocking one out of the park, baseball is pretty Ah-Merr-Ihcun. Like Apple Pie. And BBQ. So, for the other three day this week, I sported baseball jerseys: Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, and my game-worn Brewers BATBOY. Glad John Hancock and the boys didn’t wait another week to sign the Declaration of Independence back in 1776. Totally would have thrown off my patriotism motif and thereby required me to do laundry.
       
Sitting here in the what-is-supposed-to-be-the-living-room, I can't help but think: on one hand, there is a ton of work left to do on the house. On the other, things are progressing. Especially when you consider that I’ve only been home for 14 days since getting the keys to the house. But, it’s not my efforts that have advanced the project. It’s been the help of others. If you kept track of the hours I have spent and the cumulative hours of “not me” –the "not me's" would easily surpass…probably even dwarf my total time spent renovating. So, a big, grateful thank you to everyone who has helped.
       
Like I told Jen, when she gets back and the three of us get settled, we’ll keep plenty busy returning the labor favor to others. Labor favor? Great phrase. Going to trademark it.
       
Also, just thought of a cool title. Renovator. One who renovates. I’m totally having business cards made for me and everyone who helped. Even though I’m not sure what I’m doing is actually renovating. It’s more updating. But Updater doesn’t sound as excellent or amaizing.
        
Lastly, I’m not a cat fanatic. I don't mind them. I do hate the easily-falls-out nature of their hair. Especially when it’s on the couch and my clothes. But, I’m getting kind of attached to the cat. Her name is Bella, but I’ve always called her Hat. Because she’s so soft…I want to make a nice warm winter hat out of her fur. Anyway, when you’re living alone, it’s kind of nice to have someone to talk to at night. Even if it’s a cat.