Ambivalence about how much to renovate

I’d not thought that the strip of six uncovered lightbulbs above my bathroom vanity is ugly and outdated until I read that it is.

Known as Hollywood lighting, it’s “just ugly and out of fashion,” proclaimed House Digest. “The bulbs stick out like a sore thumb and completely ruin the room’s aesthetic.” 

Then I kept thinking that I should replace the vanity lighting.

Caring about my home’s showiness was so not me when I lived in a vintage three-story building of modest condos valued at under $200,000. Now living in a downtown high-rise, I see how neighbors whose condos are worth two and three times more than mine are remodeling. I try to resist comparing.

Organized but not ready for döstädning

Decluttering advice like döstädning (Swedish “death cleaning”) and KonMari tidying can leave us feeling that we’ve failed if we don’t strip our homes to the bare bones. 

As I attempted döstädning — clearing out unnecessary belongings so that others don’t have to do it when we’re gone — it became apparent that I was not disposing of everything unused. 

Bonded with us or unfeeling? Research about cats gives different answers.

New York Times headline: “Your cat may actually like you”

Vox headline: “What research says about cats: they’re selfish, unfeeling, environmentally harmful creatures”

Two articles with widely different conclusions. Both cite research studies.

Microcalcifications weren’t going to kill me. The process of diagnosing their cause was still stressful.

My memory of breast biopsies in 2001 and 2006 is foggy. Any anxiety must have been wiped out by hearing “benign.” 

This time I tried to tamp down anxiety with knowledge. When a screening mammogram results in a callback for which you have to wait three weeks, and then the diagnostic mammogram results in a biopsy appointment for which you have to wait another four weeks, there’s plenty of time to research the situation.

Sharing what I learned may reduce the stress of women headed for biopsies because they, like me, have suspicious-looking microcalcifications. It calmed me somewhat beforehand to know that whatever the biopsy finding (it was benign), microcalcifications are not going to kill me.