“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 657 (Sunday)

Most of the decorations.

The Christmas wreath is now down from the front door. It was the only sign of Christmas at The BungaLowell that was visible from the street. Minimal decorations were done this year, mostly just enough to feel a sense of the season without going overboard as in years past. 

A candle ring, some ornaments in a candy dish, a soda can snowflake, and the church rummage sale tree topper still adorn the living room, and represent nearly all the Christmas decorations placed in the house this year. Most of it was forgotten when the 2020 decorations were put away, and were slipped into a drawer in the living room. This is where they will return. 

Not having the usual trees set up in multiple rooms makes the undecorating step a lot quicker and easier. Now my mind is free to shift back to overthinking other longer-term decorating matters like drapes for the dining room sliders, café curtains for the kitchen window, and maybe an entertainment center wall unit for the living room.

The domestic musings are nothing new. They’ve been tumbling around the cranium for the entire five years I’ve been here. One of the biggest arguments in favor of inaction specific to the entertainment unit is the need to designate furniture to go out in order to be able fit anything else in. And where would it go and how? It all feels like a lot more work than just shopping for a specific furniture piece. Then there is the moving it into the house and setting it up part. 

Deeper shelves to
hold more work.

A small part of the day involved actual activity and not just sitting around overthinking curtains and stuff. It was the day to pick up unsold artwork from the member show I had photos in for the past month or two. While at the gallery, time was finally spent swapping out acrylic display shelves for deeper ones bought at least six months ago.

Laziness and procrastination prevented making the shelf swap earlier. At least now, when the closet door is opened to grab paper towels or dog food, there will no longer be a box of acrylic shelves parked on a shelf emitting guilt rays. Several more matted photos were brought to my gallery space, a framed piece was swapped out, and the wall was rearranged. It was a brief and unhurried hour that delivered a long overdue sense of accomplishment. With the deeper shelves installed, I can bring more matted photos into the space.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Cobra Kai playing on Netflix and an online search for more mats and frames playing out on the laptop. There are another nine gajillion recent photo prints waiting to be dealt with for both the house and the gallery space. They’re everywhere. Open a drawer, find a pile. Family photos. Dog photos. Artsy photos. Each begging for a window mat and a frame. Soon, little photos, soon. It’s in the unofficial official goals for the new year. The progress may be accomplished in shards and fragments, but over time, hopefully it will make something larger.