Distance and Perspective

When we are home we make plans for traveling. When travelingwe make plans for home improvements. That's not quite as backwards as it sounds.

The home projects can seem overwhelming. It's easy to get distracted from one job to another. Being away from the house we have perspective. Somehow it's easier to set priorities. We also are more likely to considering changing major things that would not even occur to us back home.

For example, we've decided to change our water heater from a 40 gallon tank type to a tankless heater. Since the house is shut down and the plumbing drained, the job is partially done already. Rather than go through the trouble of hooking up the tank heater again, my efforts will go into installing a new heater. The old tank can be repurposed as a preheater running off the woodstove during cold months. That part of the project can wait until the end of summer.

Since the power is shut off, it will be a good time to do a couple annoying little electrical jobs before the power is turned on again.

My guess is that after four months or so living as road gypsies, we'll appreciate the house a bit more. Unless, of course, we decide we really don't need a house at all.

-Sixbears