Long weekend

Sometimes long weekends are for relaxing. Sometimes not. 

This past weekend was definitely not relaxing and also not productive in my usual sense, although I did get some writing done because otherwise, who am I? 

When we bought this house in March 2018, one of the things I wanted to change was the partial wall in the living room. Most houses on our block have an archway between the living and dining rooms and a closed stairwell. That was removed and the staircase opened up probably in the 1960s when the previous owner moved in. 

I have no issue with that, but what they did instead was a counter height short wall with three glass display shelves above and a spotlight over that. I'm assuming the previous owner's wife displayed all of her shiny knickknacks there. Certainly the women in my family would have sold a close relative for a display piece like that. 

But in a small house you need wall space. The only place to put my great aunt's secretary desk was up against that non-wall. And when I'm sitting at my writing desk, in what was formerly the dining room and is now my writing space and where the bookcases live, I look straight through those shelves at the back of the secretary. Not the best view. 

All this is to say that in a confluence of events, I picked up a very large piece of drywall on my local Buy Nothing group, found the original living room paint, retrieved the white trim paint I had lent to a neighbor, and borrowed a utility knife from another neighbor, because all of my sharp objects had gone missing. Since found, just none of them in their rightful places.

Over three days, I cut and installed drywall, taped the seams, built a corner where there was none, sanded and painted, then cut wooden shelves to fit, wallpapered the back of the drywall so I'd have a pretty view from the desk, cut trim wood, installed the shelves, and put everything back. 

I went to work on Tuesday to get some rest. But at least I can say I know what I did all weekend and it looks good. 

It's also comforting to know that although I haven't used them in quite some time, I still have skills.