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Renovation – May 23

Archivist note: This post is from an older recovered archive.


The Scottie Chronicles – Renovation – May 23

((Posted by Scottie Melnik on May 23, 2010))

I’d been happy with my shop but there were a few changes I wished to make. Naturally what had started as a project to tweak the building soon ballooned into a massive renovation. I can’t say that I’ve ever really been a designer of much of anything. I know what I like when I see and that’s about it. With that in mind I made a model of what I planned and showed it to a few friends in town.

First Miss Bilavio made a few suggestions. Okay, many suggestions. In fact, she mocked up a stunning array of new, and I must admit, much better designs. I then showed it to Miss Capalini who recommended the types of windows I should use. I am grateful to these ladies as their ideas and assistance has resulted in what I feel is a much more attractive Portside Books.

So began the task of putting the changes into affect. After fiddling with the smaller tweaks I decided to spend a couple nights making the major changes. I contacted the contracting company I employed to build the shop in the first place and paid them quite a bit extra to get the renovations completed quickly to minimize downtime for the business. As usual I’m impressed with their speed and quality as they completed it ahead of schedule.

So I now have the shop, an upstairs living area, and a roof that has a wonderful view of the port. It’s interesting, really. After my father passed I traveled the world, taking the opportunity to explore more than just the open prairie. Of course I hit the major cities; New York, London, Paris, Shanghai, etc. But I also looked for those little hidden gems out there. And there were so many that I could never see wanting to settle down. Who would want to when there was so much wonder to behold.

Ah, but there’s always a catch. I would return to visit these places of startling beauty only to find it paved over with some garish attraction. So many of those places I visited were either completely gone or worse reduced to nothing more than sideshow attractions. While I could still find other diamonds in the rough I found myself yearning for a sense of permanence. The temporary nature of the world was taking its toll. I’d tried settling down a few times before but I just don’t think I was ready then.

Perhaps this is my chance. A chance to truly take up residence. A chance to make a mark on a world that all too easily shrugs us off in preparation for the next generation.

Or perhaps the call of the open road will be too much for me to ignore. Time will tell.

But enough of dwelling on what cannot be helped. I simply must finish furnishing my room. I need a place to sleep!

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