The Power of Boredom

As the cold and snow settles in, we have found ourselves spending more time indoors, and that does not bode well with my restless husband.  We try to get out each morning to walk with all of the other "old people" in the mall just to get in some exercise, but other than a bit of shopping, our outdoor energy expenditure is limited.

Of course, spending too much time indoors is not good either.  I tend to have more hobbies than Rick, as I can keep busy with sewing, cross-stitching, weaving, and reading.  Right now, I have warps on both the big loom and the inkle loom, so Rick is shut out from both of those pastimes right now, too.

I also tend to take more indoor responsibility with cleaning and laundry.  Rick does his share of cooking, but cooking for two does not take up much time either.  

So what does that leave him?  Time for researching things on the computer, time for a bit of reading, and time for watching politics on TV (which just tends to raise his blood pressure and his ire at the politicians and their shenanigans).  That leaves him extra time to just sit around, be bored,  and to dream up ways to improve this house.

Yesterday he was looking at our old table which currently holds our TV until our new furniture and entertainment cabinet arrive.  Neither of us like the way that the cables and cords of the current system are splayed across the walls in opposite directions just to reach electrical outlets.  

"You know, Sher, I could put an electrical plug right in the middle of the wall.  It would be high enough on the wall to be hidden behind the new cabinet, and we could put in a double box so we could have one side for electrical and one side for the TV cables to come through.  What do you think?" 

What did I think?  I have been married to this man for 43 years, and I know that look in his eye.  His brain was already drawing up plans,  plotting schematics on how it would all go together, and envisioning the end result. At that point, what I thought really did not matter. He had already decided that he would put in that new outlet.  I was just glad, this time, that I actually agreed with him. 

The mass of electrical cords and TV cables made a mess
of the wall behind the table that holds the TV.  We needed an outlet
in the middle of the wall to take care of the clutter.

He started yesterday shopping for supplies, drilling holes, cutting drywall, fishing wires through the wall, and installing the box.  We re-routed the TV cables into the box, and he set it up for the electrical connection today.

With the drywall cut, Rick pulls the electrical cable
through the wall so he can feed it through the box into
a new outlet.  The other cables control the TV.

This afternoon, he used ALL of the 50 feet of wire that he purchased yesterday to connect the outlet to the electrical box in our basement.  We now have a working outlet with TV cables that will be hidden from view once our new entertainment cabinet arrives.  

The new outlet has room to plug in the equipment and
an opening through which the TV cables come from the basement.

Our new couch and love seat will be delivered on Friday, but the cabinet, unfortunately, will not arrive until after Christmas.  At least when it arrives, we will be ready to supply it with hidden power.  Then our living room will be complete in time for the new year.