Do you have a plan B? You know what I mean, right? When the life you’re living gets to be too much and you just want OUT. A simpler life—no incessant bills, calls, emails, decisions, demands being placed on you every which way you turn.
My plan B is a tree house. I want to live up a tree on a tropical island. Yep, like a monkey. I’m rather handy—I can build a small yet comfortable living space fashioned from thatched palm leaves and coconut husks. I’ve promised to send post cards to family and friends of an aerial view of my host island with a little arrow pointing to my tree. They can come visit—but only if they surrender cell phones and Blackberries at the door, or should I say, bamboo beaded entry.
As of resent, some events have made me doubt my Plan B. Perhaps you’re questioning it as well– Norma, how could you live with no running water, no electricity, no walk-in closet? All valid points, but not what’s thrown my tree-house notions off kilter. It’s actually a matter of the heart.
I’ve fallen in love…with a boathouse.
I’ve been renovating a small boathouse on the North Fork of Long Island, NY and I’m in love, I just know it! All the telltale signs are there—butterflies in my stomach, loss of appetite, an urge to buy new bras and panties. The mere thought of my dreamy boathouse gives me the chills, and not because it’s January with no heat installed yet.
It’s no longer a “boathouse,” per say, but rather a small bungalow. There are new casement windows all around and 2 sets of sliding glass doors that give way to incredible views of Peconic Bay and Shelter Island. There’s a small well appointed kitchen and a bathroom with a large walk-in shower. There will soon be an exquisite gas burning potbelly stove. ..and this is how I know I’m really in love…working with wimpy space heaters in single digit temperatures would normally send me running to the nearest airport for a flight back to LA. But not this time. I’m so in love, I don’t even care about the cold or having to wear layers upon layers of long-johns to prevent icicles from forming along my butt as I hang drywall from a makeshift scaffold 13 feet in the air. Now that’s love….
Speaking of drywall, my cousin Sal and I are hanging this mold, mildew, and moisture resistant drywall—perfect for moist environments, like this sexy little boathouse just feet away from the bay. National Gypsum makes this product. It’s also sag resistant and Greenguard certified—which means it’s been tested for chemical emissions. Something else I really love about it, the face paper on it is lavender. So pretty I barely want to paint it.
As for my tree-house/boathouse quandary, perhaps I need to rethink the whole plan B thing—break it down into a Plan B (a) and Plan B (b). Then, depending on my mood I can pack it all in to either swing from a tree or cuddle in front of a potbelly stove. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me!
So now that you know mine, what’s your Plan B?
