We are getting pretty antsy, since we were meant to be upstairs before Christmas, but it is almost February and it doesn't seem any closer. the problem is that the floors we have painted are still not dry and it has been almost two months. If they aren't dry, any furniture we put on them will leave impressions on the floor and - not good impressions.
Speaking of good impressions, this is one of the new radiators attached to a 60 year old pipe. We have a lot of things like this, where there are new layers of change, juxtapositioned against the old - which is what we were aiming for, though it is not to everyone's taste. Many people would want to restore to original or, update completely to wash away the past, but for us, it is the blend of old and new and the eclectic feel that brings that we are hoping to achieve. I am not sure how well we will accomplish it overall, but it will be our home and therefore, comfortable enough.
Today, we will continue doing a little touchup work that we have avoided for weeks now. Without the pressure of the move, we have become a little bit idle and let our work schedule slide. I work best under pressure and when there is no weight, my body doesn't react and starts to atrophy.
Pressure is stress and a lot of people avoid stress as if it is something that is bad for them, when in actuality, it is the stress on us that helps us grow and develop our strength. Avoiding it is at one's own peril and I think that we have created an environment where we can pick and choose our activities, with most avoiding stress without realizing the future cost. If we do not strengthen with the changing environment, we end up being out of sync with the requirements of the time, limiting our options to move, meaning we have reduced opportunities.
Part of this strengthening is through our relationships and they are affected by our behaviors and how we treat other people. One of the consequences of not having emotional control, is that we can end up treating people poorly when we are under pressure, weakening the relationships we have or could have, by doing irreparable damage. As a result, our social circles are often far weaker and narrower than they were earlier, even though we have a lot of access to social networks. Strong relationships that can survive high amounts of pressure take time to build and effort to nurture.
Yet, we are constantly leveraging our relationships as a resource to be consumed, not a point of investment. Rather than putting effort into building, people will suck a relationship dry of value and move onto the next. It is like driving a car until it runs out of petrol and then going to buy a new car with a full tank. The investment to build valuable relationships can be high, but retaining relationships just requires maintenance. But because people don't have the time to maintain, they keep looking for new ones to build, but not having the resources means that the ties are weak.
In my world, friends are more important than family in many ways, because I choose my friends, but not my family. This makes them opt-in relationships and as such, I am a part owner of the relationship and have to take some responsibility for its care. Taking them for granted means losing them and at least in my experience, having a strong network of friendships brings a great deal of energy and well-being to my life and makes life far less dull and far more important.
While I talk often about community, what a community is, is a network of relationships between individuals that overlap at many points of activity and interest. I think that part of the reason that the world is the way it is, is that we have weakened our reliance on relationships by automating and isolating a lot of the activity that a community used to do face to face and as such, we have reduced our understanding of what it means to be a valuable member of a community too. So, we end up with shallow connections.
On Hive it is pretty easy to build and maintain relationships and no matter how busy you think you might be, dropping a line or two from time to time on the posts or replies of the people you value can make a huge difference to the community as a whole, as it can make a huge difference to an individual experience within. It isn't that hard - take the time, invest - you will feel better off for it and be glad that you did.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Well that post was almost as fun as watching paint dry. Kidding, lol. Have you tried some fans and space heaters to take the humidity out? That seems more than 3 times that it should have taken.
On relationships and community, I can't quite put my finger on when that really started going downhill more on average. I'm thinking like maybe 10-15 years ago when I first started seeing the trend. Back in the old days, husbands and wives used be tolerable of just about anything, even affairs quite often. Nowadays it seems the slightest disagreement on paint color, decorations, yard upkeep or politics and folks are off to divorce court.
Used to be the vast majority of people could talk politics, be on different sides and spend hours talking the pros and cons of both candidates. Now the slightest dislike and people feel the need to riot, protest, and become haters.
Somewhere along the line, a large portion of the populace has become intolerant of differences from themselves and their own thinking. I have a hard time fathoming that. I truly enjoy an intelligent conversation with folks of different opinions. There's great knowledge to be had from viewing others perspectives. Even if you don't take on their perspective and their knowledge, you learn a lot about the person, which is also interesting. I've even been known to change my mind occasionally. Well, ok maybe it would take multiple calendars to track the number of times, but it has happened. lol
To others that are stuck, find someone to banter with and enjoy the difference, there doesn't have to be a winner to the discussion, the joy is in having the discussion and remaining friends!
Enjoy!
K
We have a fan up there and a radiator - plus, we have the wall radiators on and the temperature has been around 22-26 degrees. It is crazy. It could be that I painted one of the layers too thick, but even where I k now I didn't, it is the same. I have a feeling that the batch of paint we bought had been exposed somehow, either too warm or it froze along the supply chain somewhere.
The introduction of the internet started distancing, social networks even more - on-demand entertainment was the nail in the coffin, I think.
This is the advertising revenue model at work. The internet encourages outrage as it drives clicks and shares. The platforms and news media leverage it for profit and drive polarization between groups. It is a sick system, that sets up conditions so that no one is safe, as there are always going to be a range of like/dislike at the individual level - so everyone is in constant battle on many fronts. This doesn't help build healthy communities.
Because people subconsciously fear the arguments, they have become less social as they avoid the mess by playing games or watching Netflix and many no longer talk to strangers. How do you find a life partner, if unwilling to get to know the unknown? Oh - that doesn't matter "we don't need anyone else"....
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtoday.The stair baluster cap at the bottom that you had to re-miter and fix, pretty seamless with the paint now? The paint will dry eventually I hope for you. You have a lot of nice shadow lines with the choice of white as the color. They add a lot of interest to the feel of the place.
Yeah, the stairs came out really nice, which surprised me a bit :)
I hope it will dry, as we have to get on with the rest of the house and it is this that is holding us up. We can't wait much longer, even if it will ruin the floors.
The colour on the walls is a grey-beige color, but depending on the light it can look quite dark or almost white. What is nice about it is that it seems to always "match", no matter what color it appears.
I think that this is really the best statement about Hive and community.
Very few invest themselves into anything these days, as it takes commitment, something that instant gratification doesn't support.
That is why I turn off notifications for most things so I can interact on my time line.
Notifications might be one arm of the devil these days :D
(I don't believe in the devil - other than Google...)
What kind of paint it is that it's taking so long to dry? I have not painted a floor before. I know that the water based paints dry very quick but are not as durable.
But really love all that white in the photos. 🙂
It is an oil-based paint, but there is likely something else going on - possibly, the paint froze or got to hot along the supply chain somewhere.
It is looking nice, as long as not on hands and knees :)
I would drop you a line, but the chips are burning, so will need to cut it short ;)
Tried an airfryer? My wife and I are thinking about getting one, but not sure if we would use it. However, the Fish and Chips in Finland are rubbish - so if it doesn't a decent job, I might try it. :)
The Fish and Chips in Lancashire are crap too, 100x times better in Yorkshire where they cook em' in lard. Bad for life longevity though.
They make a mess of the beer batter here - it ends up tasting of the grease only.
For some reason this made me imagine Sherlock Holmes. standing next to the window while complaining to doctor Watson that there no more interesting crimes/ great criminals. Reaching towards his drugs to survive his boredom. Only stopping his hand if he hears about a new thrilling case.
It is Elementary.
actually, it is very much like that with most of what we do. People sit in front of their drug of choice daily, because they aren't willing to find something better to do.
Ah! I detect a hint here and so here is my line :D
As I sit here now after just plugging in my post, I am watching 6 doves, a squirrel and two mice cavorting around in the garden. They do what they have always done and they tolerate each other.
But then another squirrel appeared and the one here rushed after him into the trees, protecting his territory.
This seems to tie in about what you said about the media controlling all of us. They know what our soft spots are and it is all a psychological game.
It is definitely all a psychological game, and they know us better than we know ourselves. All the clicks we make give our game away.
Oh yes and amazing how they respond to our clicks with ads "tailored" to match what they think we might buy. I like to confuse them by clicking on many different subjects.
Was that floor pain not mixed properly? What is the plan to fix that non drying? I am guessing white is high on the list of fave colors? Love the different shadings of it.
It was mixed, but maybe it had got too hot or cold along the supply chain. Pretty annoyed.
It looks good, as long as we don't use it :D
I absolutely love the way it looks. I am no fan of white as it shows every speck of dust and dirt. But that shading and all the brighter white on the trim and such is a home run for sure.
I have painted much in my 54 years on this planet. From auto paint to roof coatings, the garage cement floor, We re-painted the exterior of this house and detached garage. @pooky-jax painted 90% of the interior. I had some auto enamel paint that I am pretty sure was dropped to a near freeze point. It separated and would not remix. I recently disposed of the left over few gallons of house paint. I know it had seen temp extremes in the shed storage. We have never had this issue or heard of any remedies for it besides the stripping/removal of it. (not fun)
I think that this is really the best statement about Hive and community.
Nonames is likely occasionally lurking, but mostly playing in the snow. He disappears from time to time and will come back when ready.
I think it depends on the circle of friends you hold. I also think that if someone wants some space, they should be given that space for a time, before sending out a search party. Being alone occasionally is healthy - not a dysfunction.