So the kitchen is now an empty room. A crew of people are helping us put it back together.

And we also had our windows restored.

We’ve got a 65 year old house. 65 years ago, they made kitchens and windows differently.

I find the 65 year old kitchen needs to be fully redone. But it would be a tragedy to get rid of the pinewood double hung windows.

This is the sort of thing that is interesting only to people who are interested in this sort of thing. I remember I had a friend who came over to my house all the time, and from time to time I would point out some little renovation I had done to the house. She was happy I was happy, but it mostly was not important to her.

Then she became a home owner and suddenly every nail and blade of grass was fascinating. Questions like “How do you…?” started being asked.

It mattered now.

I’m not the kind who hires someone and then thanks them when they are done. I put on my work clothes and do the work too. THe parts that make sense for me to do.

I’ve restored three very large pieces of furniture in my life. And one very small house.

I like the way it feels to take off the ugly and non functional surface covering–paint, fabrice, finish–and get down to the form and texture of the original piece. What potential is here? What beauty does this piece have? What does it remember? Where did all it’s parts come from and what did they see and know?

Yes, it is anthropomorphizing. And it makes me happy, to see the seams and the nails and the design that someone put in place. That I get to really know what the wood in the floor and the plaster in the walls are made of.

It’s makes me feel really good to get into the crannies to clean and repair and fix.

It’s restorative.