Mental Health Monday: For the Things You Can't Fix.

I am a big fan of controlling things. Or, the perception that I can control things. The problem with this, as you probably know, is that you can't really control the most important things in your life. I can't cure Max's Autism. I can't make people do what I want them to do (despite best efforts!). When I'm feeling out of whack, like my world is just a little more off kilter than I can handle, I look for something in my home I can "fix".

There have been Friday nights spent under assorted sinks in my home when I decided "enough is enough! all of these faucets must be replaced NOW!". There have been weekends of installing countless ceiling fans and light fixtures. I have taken vacation days to paint my house. And the modern electrical outlets and timed light switches I put in? You got it - my idea of a good time.

My target this time? The 20 year old toilet in the bathroom off our bedroom and the nasty linoleum:This toilet has been making an ominous leaking sound for months, and the hard water we have in the area has corroded the bowl to the point that there are rust coloured stains on it (very pleasing to the eye and great for guests who just think you are disgusting and never clean your toilet):Cam and I went toilet shopping and picked up some of those linoleum tiles with the sticky backs. I would have loved to do ceramic tile, but I have no idea how and wasn't about to delve into that right now. Out came the toilet and up came the linoleum. Except the linoleum was glued down "very" well, so that took some time to pull up (to quote the great Zaza Pachulia, "Nothing Easy!"):

Once I got the linoleum up, the new floor went down really easily. It looks so much better, and has me thinking I should put in new quarter round on the floor boards and repaint the entire bathroom (a happy colour...yellow maybe?):Now that I've replaced this toilet, all four of the toilets in our house are up-to-date. Funny how the fourth one was super easy to install (took about 15 minutes total). Back in the day, the first one took about 90 minutes! :

I'm heading out on a road trip tomorrow, by myself. I need a few days to rest, clear my head, and wander where the wind blows me. I'll probably blog about it...