Another weekend is quickly coming to an end. I wish I had a proper bookish post for you today, but I think my (nearly) three week's worth of living in upheaval have mostly come to an end finally!
My house was built in the late 1870s and was rental property for a good chunk of time. It is a beautiful space really with lots of potential but my neighborhood has declined over the year's and my budge doesn't allow a lot of fancy renovations. So I replace what I can and it was time to replace the ceiling in my living room. Whatever the original ceiling was like, it had been covered up by cheap (and unattractive faux wooden squares (really they were almost like cardboard). There was a patch that was beginning to sag, and not know what exactly was underneath I was having frightening visions of it all coming down on some poor unsuspecting person's head.
As it turns out that was not likely to happen as the material for the original ceiling was plaster and fairly sturdy, though unattractively covered in this floral wallpaper. Maybe in its day it was bright and light and really pretty, but I still cannot imagine floral wallpaper covering a ceiling (which I am told was quite common). When the ceiling panels had been put in they were attached to wooden boards and a couple of the boards were coming loose.
Rather than doing another ugly and cheap patch job, the whole lot of it was pulled down! What a dusty, musty, messy affair. All the furniture--everything--had been removed from the room and tarps put up the control the dust, but wow--does it get Everywhere. I have a small bookroom that is attached to the living room and I spent hours this past weekend (once the new ceiling had been put up) cleaning the layer of grime off all the surfaces I could reach. The worst of it is cleaned, but I think I will be dusting up the grunge for months to come.
I haven't a clue what those cables belonged to--the original electrical system? It's interesting seeing what is inside the walls (I read too many books--I was a little afraid a body might have been buried beneath the boards). That is my bedroom on the floor above by the way. It was a weird thought that that was all that stood between me and the room below!
By Saturday night the new ceiling had been painted, the walls have a fresh coat of paint, the floor scrubbed clean and the curtains rehung. I am quite pleased by how nice and fresh it all looks. It was almost a pity to put the old furniture back in the living room. I think I would be happy to have just a few things--a nice comfy sofa, a rocking chair and a nice woven rug with some lamps and my needlework hanging on the wall. But mostly all open space.
This is the little hallway that leads to my bookroom. It's pretty packed and very small and only a true booklover is allowed to look inside (anyone else might shake their heads in dismay at the many, many piles of books that overflow from the bookcases). Maybe someday I'll give you a peek inside.
The flash has bleached things out a bit, but here is the room with its furniture put back. It had been squeezed into the dining room that you see to the right. Mostly things are all clean and tidy again, but not everything has been put back properly as I still need to wash smaller items. Those two samplers on each side of the mirror are my work (when I actually spent lots of time stitching and finished projects . . .). And now I feel like I am living in a real home again. It is amazing how a little DIY and a fresh coat of paint makes you feel like you are living in a nice new home. I will do more, but this is my big fall project.
Needless to say not much reading was done this weekend! I did finish my graphic novel and read a short story, though I felt sort of meh about. Maybe I will tell you all about it tomorrow. I came across a few freebie stories that I might try and read in the next day or so. It may be a few days until I get back to a normal posting routine again. It would be nice to sit and read and reacquaint myself with the reading pile.
That's how I spent my weekend. Did you get to spend a little time with your books in my stead?