Musings and Vocabulary Enhancement Friday

I've always been a big dreamer. It comes in handy for writing fiction, but it isn't just stories that I dream up. I also dream of renovation projects, much to my husband's chagrin.

I was informed today that I think of things he'd never imagine doing. One of which is replacing six-year-old carpet that already looks worn...to me, at least. Apparently not to my visually-impaired hubby, though. I seriously think he has selective-vision issues. Is your husband like that?

The best kind of home renovations that I dream up, though, send dear hubby on a whirlwind of misgivings. Especially ones that are based on a true need (even from his eyes--I know, hard to believe he gets it, eh?). 'Cause then he knows that he's treading dangerous reno-ground, for sure!

Now, like a lot of women, I imagine, I take it as my duty to dream BIG. No use wasting dream energy on anything small scale--the sky's the limit in my dream world, which by the way is the color of purple, since that's my favorite color and coincidentally my birthstone's as well. As a result of my "duty", I often come up with grandiose plans to upgrade any of our dilapidated situations, of which we have many at the moment with a twenty-something year-old house as our abode to tend to. But, since we can't possibly do everything at once (yes, I've conceded to this basic fact, much to my dismay), we've prioritized and our needy kitchen has ranked fairly high up on the list of "considerations for near-future projects". Our cupboard doors that have permanently dislodged from their hinges, along with counter tops that have more grout than tile and are surely infected with all kinds of micro-organisms that I don't want to think about, are just a couple of the deciding factors that confirm this baby needs a high ranking.

But I say, if you're going to redo a kitchen, isn't it understandable that you do that in conjunction with the sun room addition for the sitting area that you've been dreaming of for eons. Don't you agree? And while you're doing that, you might just as well incorporate that basement stairwell to provide a safe fire exit from the games room below that you've been meaning to get to for years, and since you have to excavate for that then you might just as well add a mini bar type area complete with stain glass windows like Cheers had to give it that real games room appeal next to the mahogany pool table you purchased as your fortieth birthday gift to each other to hold the pop and chips that you often eat down there anyway. I'm right, aren't I?

So I went on a google hunt for a gazebo style sunroom that I've been picturing in my head for our kitchen addition forever and guess what? I found something quite similar to the image in my dream-induced head. [Dear hubby, if you're reading this, brace yourself...now!]

Isn't it just beautiful!!!

Okay, back to reality. Think reality, Eileen. Think retirement, Eileen. Think girls needing post secondary education, Eileen. Think of the washing machine you just had to purchase last night because your sixteen-year-old one floods the laundry room floor everytime you use it now. Think of all the other sixteen-year-old appliances you have with their functionality hanging by a fraying thread and then, if that isn't enough, think of why you consciously work on combining all your errands so that you need only make one or two treks into town a week because of those large numbers you see posted high above the gas stations you pass by each time you make those journeys into town.

Sigh.

Okay, I'm cured. Maybe a little more thought needs to go into this after all!

Now, all this was preparation for my word of the week, of course. Today's word for Friday's Vocabulary Enhancement section is...

ennui

And I'm even going to create my own sentence using this word before I disclose its definition. To prevent ennui, I, Eileen Astels Watson, dream BIG.

ennui: [on wee] boredom from lack of interest: weariness and dissatisfaction with life that results from a loss of interest or sense of excitement
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Have a blessed weekend everyone, and for all you mothers out there reading this: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you!

I would love to see some more examples of how you would use "ennui" in a sentence. Click on the word "comments" below and type in your sentence and be sure to leave your e-mail address with spaces between the ''." and the "@" or brackets around them, for your own protection, so that I can contact you if you win my next blog comment contest (to be announced soon).

Blessings,

Eileen