Changes

I guess this is the time of the year for changes. Currently the weather is changing from long, warm Indian summer days to shorter, cooler autumn days. The leaves are just beginning to change from green to red, yellow, orange, and brown. Last week I wore long pants to work for the first time since May. That was not a welcome change, as I love warm weather and wearing shorts.

At work there is change, too. Just recently we gave up our second office suite, which housed 3 offices, a cubicle, and some storage space. Since I was located in one of these offices, I experienced a change in my office space. My new office space was vacated by one of the former principals of the old company that was acquired by our new company. He will be gone as of Nov 1, so he is currently working out of the old production area, located in the suite we are keeping. My new office is the same size as my old office, but the new one has a vaulted ceiling, two skylights, and sliding glass doors onto a deck that faces the woods. Not to shabby. I guess you could call this a change for the good.

There are changes at home, too. We decided to get new furniture for our TV room. The current furniture was very inexpensive, and was selected because it could easily be wiped off in the event of an unauthorized nap by our dog, Jordan. We've had the furniture for 5 years, and feel we've gotten our money's worth out of it. We sit on it every night to watch TV, and its not very comfortable anymore. It was time for a change. So last weekend while we were at the beach, we ordered a sofa with a chaise lounge that butts up to it. They said it would be ready in 2-3 weeks. It's ivory chenille, with throw pillows in a graphic red, black, and ivory pattern.

We've also decided to change the orientation of the TV room when the new furniture comes. We're going to put the new furniture on the opposite wall, where the TV currently is, and put the TV where the old furniture currently is. That way when you enter the room from the hall, the first thing you'll see is the new furniture, rather than the TV.

Speaking of the TV, it is currently sitting on a metal stand that is barely big enough to hold it. We've never liked the look of the TV on that stand, so today we went to the "As Is" room at Ikea to look for a 'scratch-n-dent' deal. We found one. It's a wooden entertainment stand, in a light stain, that's about 4 feet wide. It is plenty big enough for our existing 19 inch TV, and a much larger one we'll get some day.

It seems that even old habits are changing around here. Joe and I both did a little housecleaning today, without the usual prodding and complaining. Joe even went through all of the laundry baskets and hampers of clothes (containing clean, dirty, out-of-season, and no-longer-fits items) and organized them appropriately. Next weekend he will go through the items that no longer fit and decide which ones to keep and which to give to charity. This is real progress, people!

And if that wasn't enough, we both felt so good about our accomplishments today, we vowed to adopt this change in attitude and continue doing a little bit every weekend, to keep our house tidy and our minds peaceful.