Home Renovation and Me

It's winter, and thre's not a lot to do but sit around and read (when I'm not writing).  And I've got a LOT of decorating books--and tons more decorating magazines.  (For some reason, I have this aversion to tossing out the printed word.)  Add to that, I watch Hometime and This Old House on PBS.  Lately, I've been watching a lot of episodes of Divine Design, Spice Up Your Kitchen , and Income Property on HGTV.

(No, I still don't get HGTV with my cable package--but my mother does!)

Mum and I sit there and criticize--or praise--these home makeovers.  And unlike ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, these other makeovers take a lot longer than seven days to complete (and probably have a much longer life expectancy that the buildings that are whipped into existance in so short a time).

So what's my point?

All these makeovers (especially in a kitchen) are making me unhappy with my outdated kitchen.  (And I want to totally revamp our summer cottage's bathroom, too.)  There's just one problem.

A lot of readers make the mistake of thinking that authors make tons of money.  The truth is, 94% of  us don't make enough to live on, let alone give us extra cash for renovations.  Unfortunately, I am not very handy, and neither is my husband.  (Those skills died with our fathers.)  So why torture myself with those TV shows and magazines and their ceramic farm sinks with sculptured aprons, soaker tubs, and $50,000 makeovers?

I must be a masochist.  (How about you?)