At our last place, we had a garage sale to rid of things we either a) absolutely did not need or b) wanted to upgrade to another item. But from looking at this picture, it’s hard to believe we sold anything. We were in shock and I must say a bit saddened.

So after hours of rummaging, piling, and sifting through everything, we finally saw the floor and got encouraged. The one aspect we never felt like we fully utilized were the walls. So we’re treating our living room as a mini-art gallery. Not that I know Picasso from Dali, but I know what I like when I see it and so just slap it up there.

Then R broke out Evelyn, the leveler. He loves that girl so much and this is where that old saying “opposites attract” applies. Like I mentioned, I just slap it up there. R takes enjoyment in measuring and penciling, measuring and penciling, and repeat for hours.

But that personality trait was important for our next project. We took down our closet door, replaced it with a curtain and set about putting up the shelves. This is our “entertainment center” folks, so be prepared to be wowed.

Or not. We’re not exactly “techie”. But I do like how it came out. I call my style “garage sale chic”. I made R carry that table (on which the TV/Computer is sitting) two blocks home because a neighbor was throwing it out. Score! And for those of you that tease us about not having a TV, guess what we were watching when I took this photo? Wimbledon — Live! Things are moving this way, my friends, so I’d encourage you to research using just the internet to watch your TV shows and sports games. Let me list some aspects of it:

You can hook up the modem to your existing TV. So, if you have a big screen, you won’t be sacrificing size.

You completely wipe out your cable/DVR bill.

Many events are LIVE: President speeches and sports events to name a couple

If you use Netflix, you can watch movies online for free. (We get the cheapest plan possible — I think $9 a month — and in between receiving movies in the mail, watch them online.

Barely any commercials. Talk about freedom. I was listening to an NPR broadcast on the race for ad companies to be effective online. They said it wouldn’t be completely solid for a few years, so why not get as much time away from the onslaught as you can?

One drawback is that you have to wait until after the show airs (unless it’s Live) to see it on the internet, but you get used to that time schedule. You just have to inform your family and friends to not tell you what happened last night on Lost.

Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder. – Thoreau

… or some french postcards I bought at an estate sale. A couple of them are very ornery, so you’ll have to come over to see for yourself. But here’s my favorite.