Punctuate
peter driscoll was living the good life married
to his secondary school sweetheart owner of a
thriving manufacturing business a New York style
loft in the heart of london and a 1967 shelby gt 500 the car of his dreams
Check
Peter Driscoll was living the good life—married
to his secondary school sweetheart, owner of a
thriving manufacturing business, a New York-style
loft in the heart of London, and a 1967 Shelby GT
500, the car of his dreams.
Punctuate
the estate an 800 square foot bungalow nestled
in the middle of an enormous sunflower field was
filled with cobwebs unfamiliar bugs and a hole
in the roof almost three feet long driscoll tapped
into his manufacturing experience and called in
the best materials he could get his hands on but
he did the roof work on his own after all money
doesnt grow on olive trees
Check
The estate, an 800-square foot bungalow nestled
in the middle of an enormous sunflower field, was
filled with cobwebs, unfamiliar bugs, and a hole
in the roof, almost three feet long. Driscoll tapped
into his manufacturing experience and called in
the best materials he could get his hands on—but
he did the roof work on his own. After all, money
doesn’t grow on olive trees.
Break into three paragraphs
‘Jennifer was concerned I was going to make a
bigger mess, but truthfully, it couldn’t get much
more of a mess,’ he says. ‘Even though we made
this decision together, I lived for the first two
months in fear she’d ask for a divorce, pack up her
things, and move back to England. I wouldn’t have
blamed her!’
That fear—along with the cobwebs—is long gone.
After the roof was fixed, the Driscolls made a list
of other things they had to alter and tackled them
one at a time. While they had made a decent profit
on the sale of the business, neither of them was
working, and soon, they were forced to renovate
based on mutual priorities.
New paint was followed up with a modest kitchen
renovation that allowed Driscoll to use the fresh
herbs growing outside his window to create what
he dubs ‘culinary masterpieces.’ They discovered
an appreciation for red wine, long meals, and lazy
mornings at the market in search of fresh meats
and vegetables.
Check
‘Jennifer was concerned I was going to make a
bigger mess, but truthfully, it couldn’t get much
more of a mess,’ he says. ‘Even though we made
this decision together, I lived for the first two
months in fear she’d ask for a divorce, pack up her
things, and move back to England. I wouldn’t have
blamed her!’
That fear—along with the cobwebs—is long gone.
After the roof was fixed, the Driscolls made a list
of other things they had to alter and tackled them
one at a time. While they had made a decent profit
on the sale of the business, neither of them was
working, and soon, they were forced to renovate
based on mutual priorities.
New paint was followed up with a modest kitchen
renovation that allowed Driscoll to use the fresh
herbs growing outside his window to create what
he dubs ‘culinary masterpieces.’ They discovered
an appreciation for red wine, long meals, and lazy
mornings at the market in search of fresh meats
and vegetables.
Add vocabulary to the right place:
settle down
chuckles
galore
transform
revolved around
take a hard look
meant
paints
accustomed to
‘Our whole life ____1_____ excess,’ he said in
a telephone interview Friday. ‘Excessive spending,
excessive partying, excessive pressure. We
wanted to _____2_____ someday, and focus on the
important things. We needed to _____3______ at our marriage as well. When we did, we realized,
that in order to save it, we had to make some
changes. I had to make some changes.’
This___4___ selling the business and the fancy car,
packing up, and moving into a far less glamorous
home than they were _____5____—a run-down,
rustic estate in Tuscany. Yes, a bit like in the Diane
Lane movie,
Under the Tuscan Sun.
‘My wife, Jennifer, loves that movie,’ Driscoll says,
and___6_____. ‘But it ____7___ a much more idyllic
lifestyle than what we found upon arrival. Italy is
beautiful, of course, and the house has character ___8____. But to___9____ it into our dream home
took considerable work—and we’re only half done.’
Check
‘Our whole life
revolved around excess,’ he said in
a telephone interview Friday. ‘Excessive spending,
excessive partying, excessive pressure. We
wanted to
settle down someday, and focus on the
important things. We needed to
take a hard look
at our marriage as well. When we did, we realized,
that in order to save it, we had to make some
changes. I had to make some changes.’
This
meant selling the business and the fancy car,
packing up, and moving into a far less glamorous
home than they were
accustomed to—a run-down,
rustic estate in Tuscany. Yes, a bit like in the Diane
Lane movie, Under the Tuscan Sun.
‘My wife, Jennifer, loves that movie,’ Driscoll says,
and
chuckles. ‘But it
paints a much more idyllic
lifestyle than what we found upon arrival. Italy is
beautiful, of course, and the house has character
galore. But to
transform it into our dream home
took considerable work—and we’re only half done.’
