Am I just an old grouch ?

[ReineD]

Reine,
Just to correct a small point, they have cracked the porcelain WCs not the lids, the eventual repair will mean changing the whole cloakroom to match and possibly our ensuite bathroom.

Oh sorry, that's expensive. I hope you can find a color for the toilet to match, or a complimentary color. As to changing the toilet, kids can help doing that too. I changed ours a few years ago and last month I took it up again to replace the ring between the toilet and the pipe. Children cannot handle the heavy lifting part of course, but they can help clean the floor when it's up and they can help loosen and tighten the screws.

In my case mums and grandmothers don't do the repairs , yours truly does , because it's man's work !

Ouch! Don't go saying this to all the women out there who do the repairs, the painting, etc.

As for the cosy baking in the kitchen , OH boy my wife tried that bright idea to keep them occupied and regretted it , I had to deal with the aftermath of a flooded kitchen !!

I'm sorry you feel that way. Children thrive when they do useful things with adults. It makes them feel valued and competent. But like I said, it does take a lot of love and patience to work with them and you certainly need to be organized.

As to the rest of your post, if your wife wants you to redo your entire home in the hopes this will keep you from crossdressing, I hope that you will learn some boundaries just as you did about going out to support groups. If you both want to improve parts of your house to maintain its value or for resale, or if some things need replacing that's one thing. But just to go ahead for the sake of busy work is quite another. Can your wife help or does she have a full time job.

[flatlander_48]

Oh sorry, that's expensive. I hope you can find a color for the toilet to match, or a complimentary color. As to changing the toilet, kids can help doing that too. I changed ours a few years ago and last month I took it up again to replace the ring between the toilet and the pipe. Children cannot handle the heavy lifting part of course, but they can help clean the floor when it's up and they can help loosen and tighten the screws.

There is even greater significance to this. We have become a society that does not value human physical labor. And, because we don't respect or appreciate it, we've lost a lot of our motivation to learn how to do many things. In that regard, anything that we do as parents and grandparent to pass that knowledge along is a good thing.

DeeAnn

[ReineD]

And, because we don't respect or appreciate it, we've lost a lot of our motivation to learn how to do many things.

Ah! There's youtube! I've learned how to do every single reno and repair work through the excellent videos on youtube. My oldest son is getting married. His fiancée loves to repurpose old furniture - she turned an lovely old wooden dresser that her neighbor was throwing out into a fabulous television and components stand. It's beautiful.