Small Home Projects to Start off 2010.
Jan/100
Sometimes you go after a home improvement project, with planning, designing, and gusto.
Other times, the home improvement project plops in your lap regardless if you want to do it or not.
We’ve had both in the past few weeks.
The bane of Trevor’s existence in our home of late had been the disorganized, chaotic state of our closets. Specifically, our kitchen pantry where food items were crowding and falling over each other, our guest room closet which was the catch-all for accumulated stuff without a better place to put it, and our under-the-stairs storage closet also known as the pet, cleaning, and storage supercenter.
Determined to bring order and structure to these messes, we spent some time shopping around online and in person. We finally made some purchases – simple plastic baskets to sort our pantry items, a few air-tight square containers for easy stacking and storing of loose rice, lentils, and pastas, and then stackable wire cubes to organize the other closets into compartments. The result is a dream come true for us, but especially for Trevor… (our newly sorted guest room closet shown below)
The second project landed in our lap. But it really landed in our lap about 2 months ago and we put off doing anything about it. One day many weeks back we discovered that our cold water faucet could not be stopped; a perpetual drip was occurring no matter how we turned the faucet handle to shut it off. Then we discovered a leak under our bathroom sink. Items below the sink were soaked and we were not sure what to do. So we did the easy thing: shut the cold water off completely. So yes, we have had nothing but hot water in our bathroom sink. Only a minor inconvenience when, say, brushing your teeth. Then the sink leaked again from the pipes. So, push came to shove, and we reluctantly agreed to fix it… ourselves.
We purchased a nice, new brushed nickel double bathroom faucet fixture, and Trevor along with my father-in-law Jamie tackled the problem. While the problem was not one we were looking to undertake, the fellas undertook it with gusto all the same!
In progress shots…
The final result…
Hello, 2010!
Jan/104
Switching gears to the new year. A time for fresh starts. For renewed commitments and new aspirations. A time, albeit however arbitrary, to get excited about life, and the newness of things, and the things to come.
Goals are already forming for us in our thoughts, and we’ll divulge some of them here. We’d also love to hear your goals, so please share!
Kristi:
- Open an Etsy store
- Complete a Master Gardener program in the fall
- Do more photography, both for fun and freelance jobs — I think we need to put a limit on how much shooting we’ll do for free.
- Develop a proper perspective in all areas of my life. This starts with having a proper understanding of my identity in Christ. I definitely need to work on that!
- Run a 10K to raise money for a worthy cause. And I’ll extend an official invitation to anyone reading that wants to train and join my sister Karen, friend Rebekah, and me in this endeavor here in Lexington this summer!
- Read books. Some of them include titles I wanted to read last year and never got around to it, and some are entirely new. They include:
and
If I can throw in there another Dostoevsky, like Demons which I meant to read last year, then I’ll try to make it happen. But I have a feeling this list is ambitious enough for the present moment.
- Finish watching the AFI Top 100 movies. I started this with my friend Lauren in 2005, continued it the summer of 2008 when Anya was living with me, and with a Netflix subscription given to us at Christmas, I am picking up where we left off with Trevor.
- Visit Belarus, maybe even with some friends and family members.
- Get a bike and become accustomed to using it frequently in the summer.
- Enlarge our vegetable garden for the spring, summer, and fall months.
Trevor:
- Participate in NaNoWriMo
- “Step out” of my comfort zone to take more “risks” (learn to not live life based on fear or even comfort, but joy, faith, and adventure)
- Complete some of the many art projects (beyond just photography) I have imagined doing
- Print off more of my photography (which means taking more, and better, pictures) — and might mean playing around with film and the darkroom (a desire both Kristi and I share)
- Spend the whole year reading. My current 2010 reading list is:
- Use our tax return to pay off our car loan (which will make us DEBT FREE!) and build up our emergency fund
- Practice simplicity by organizing and minimizing material possessions and organizing/planning meaningful use of time and resources
- Continue to complete goals made at our marriage retreat
- Pour into friendships
- Spend more time with my parents and grandparents
- Take life slower, enjoying each day, and not worrying about what I actually complete on the list above
We hope that you have time to reflect on the successes (and even “failures”) of the past year so that you can look forward to the new year as a “fresh start” in 2010. Scripture says that God’s compassion is new every morning, so tomorrow is, in essence, new. We hope you’ll take advantage of the new day by making goals and aspirations that you will strive to fulfill in 2010. And always be open to the wonderful experiences that might not be on your list, but are just as fun, exciting, and meaningful as the rest.
Feel free to share your lists in the comments.
Best of 2009.
Dec/090
As 2009 draws to a close, we’ve decided to make a list (we love making lists) of the most memorable events/items/experiences of the past year. We hope you’ll look back at this year with as much joy and thanksgiving as we do for all the wonderful things, whether they be big or small, that you were blessed with.
The Durbin Year-End Top Things of 2009 List:
What was the best book you read in 2009?
Trevor — I’d probably have to say “Traveling Mercies” by Anne Lamott. A wonderful memoir from start to finish. Insanely addicting, personal, and charming. I’d put “The Brothers Karamazov” here, but I technically only finished it in 2009.
Kristi — I think Merton’s “Seven Storey Mountain” edges out “Traveling Mercies” for me. In terms of fiction, I’d have to go with “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde.
Best concert?
Trevor — This is a tough one for me (since I love music, especially live, so much). Over the Rhine’s Sunday Soiree was a wonderful experience — a beautiful venue, yummy treats, mesmerizing music, and a chance to see my favorite drummer for the band one last time (he effectively “retired” that day from the band). I also experienced joy at seeing one of my top-5 artists, Ray LaMontagne, live. So…a two-way tie?
Kristi — The Over the Rhine Soiree *was* excellent. So was seeing John Mark McMillan for the first time, a highlight for sure this past fall. But I’m going to have to choose Mute Math here. A new favorite band, the first time seeing them live, and the show was simply amazing in terms of sound and style.
Best new music album?
Trevor — Fleet Foxes self-titled album (and “Sun Giant” EP) probably received the honor of “most-played” by me this year. I can listen to it over-and-over again without growing tired of the beautiful vocal harmonies and simple melodies.
I would also probably mention MUSE’s new album “The Resistance” on this list because, of all the bands releasing new music this year that I was anticipating, I have not been let down at all by their offering. It feels like every other CD I purchased had some flaw I couldn’t quite get over, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this album.
Kristi — This is easy for me. I was only eagerly anticipating the release of 1 album this year, and it did not disappoint. So hands down, it would be “Hello Hurricane” by Switchfoot.
Best trip?
Trevor — Our honeymoon in Asheville was wonderful on pretty much every level — a beautiful cabin tucked away in the woods, eating awesome food every night, having coffee in an old double-decker bus, enjoying the local art scene, etc., etc.
For a non-obvious choice, however, I’d say my favorite trip was our vacation to Georgia (specifically Jekyll Island and the Hippie Hostel). Riding a horse for the first time was a memorable experience, as was sleeping in a literal tree-house. Lots of fun.
Kristi — I am in full agreement with everything Trevor said. 
Best meal?
Trevor — This one is difficult, because I don’t often remember meals. I remember having the best Margherita pizza of my life at a restaurant in Asheville (they toasted garlic under the crust, which was perfectly thin and flaky — and all the toppings complimented each other, rather than vying for supremacy). Other than that, I know I’ve eaten a lot of good food this year, I just can’t remember it all.
Kristi — Post-honeymoon meal at Sal’s Chophouse in Lexington. We both ate the pesto-coated salmon on a bed of whipped potatoes with a caprese salad to boot… mouth-watering just THINKING about it!
Best moment?
Trevor — Seeing Kristi for the first time on our wedding day (as she was walking out to meet me at the altar). I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited, overjoyed, anxious, or happy all at the same time in all my life. The reality of that moment, that our time had finally come, was overwhelming (in a great way).
Kristi — Isolating 1 moment? Who came up with this question? Oh, right… me. 
Probably the moment our wedding ceremony ended. Singing the Doxology with our friends and family as we recessed and knowing “we did it” was a great moment.
+++
2009 found us reading more, watching more movies, and doing lots of traveling. Destinations included North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, Alabama, and Georgia. We changed marital statuses and addresses. We acquired new relatives and became an aunt and uncle for the first time. We’ve made new friends. It seemed like the life changes would never end! But all of them have been wonderful.
2009, thanks for the memories.
Nativity.
Dec/090
Nativity by John Donne.
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov’d imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod’s jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith’s eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
Merry Christmas.
Dec/090
We wish you and yours a very merry (and meaningful!) Christmas.
May the Light of Christ shine brightly in your lives.
Fourth Sunday.
Dec/090
A thought for the Christian at Advent by Thomas Merton –
“The soul of the [Christian] is a Bethlehem where Christ comes to be born — in the sense that Christ is born where His likeness is re-formed by grace, and where His Divinity lives, in a special manner, with His Father and His Holy Spirit, by charity, in this ‘new incarnation,’ this ‘other-Christ.’
The Advent Liturgy prepares that Bethlehem with songs and canticles of ardent desire…”
-pg. 417, The Seven Storey Mountain
A beautiful picture for the Advent season… something wonderful to dwell on. Truly, isn’t this what advent is all about?
As for that second part, I know we may not all have traditions that follow an advent liturgy. But just think what many of the Christmas hymns that you find yourself singing or hearing this time of a year are about… “canticles of ardent desire.” Ardent desire for what? It’s ardent desire for whom, rather; desire for Christ Himself.
