Let us all bid September a not-so-fond adieu. October feels better already. A word of caution to home improvement DIYers — while this is pretty, it is an utter, complete, total fabrication that it is in any way "easy" to install. Not easy. Particularly not in a hundred-year-old house, in which the original rooms are not actually "square" and have complicated woodwork around the doors. You may wonder why we chose said product? Because it was supposed to be easy, and we could do it ourselves, saving on installation. This according to the manufacturer and the LIARSPEOPLE OF THE INTERNET.
I hate to use the transitional adverb LUCKILY here, because LUCKY doesn’t even begin to cover it, but when it turns out that you have been lied to by a flooring product and everyone online, the only possible way to salvage the outcome is to be, LUCKILY, rescued by a ridiculously generous neighbor who used to do this stuff professionally and is willing to spend all weekend bailing you out. It looks lovely though, it does, and is done except for transitions and stuff. So, in this way, I am counting our first big house project a success. And those of you who come visit will be amazed at how different the kitchen feels.
(We still have a couple of rooms we want to replace the flooring on, but it’s seeming far less urgent, and way more likely we will hire it done.)
And that was the weekend… On a more bookish topic, the other day OGIC mentioned that she’d discovered The Hobbit for the first time and asked:
What children’s classics did you first discover as an adult (Harry Potter doesn’t count), and how did it make you feel–old? young again?
I’ll say Dodie Smith‘s I Capture the Castle and Michael de Larrabeiti‘s Borribles trilogy. Both of these made me feel incredibly sad that I hadn’t discovered them when I was a kid, and completely enchanted. But then, I feel closest to my childhood self when I’m reading anything that completely connects. There is a kind of joy there that is maybe more rare as I get older, but no less powerful when it comes.
I hadn’t read the Green Knowe books, or Tove Jansson’s Moomin books. Or I Capture the Castle. Or Eva Ibbotson’s ya-ish romance novels, like A Company of Swans, and Magic Flutes.
The Borrible books are wonderful. Have you read all three?
Yep, you gave them to me a couple of years ago. 🙂
I found the Moomin books in high school, but wish it’d happened sooner. And Ibbotson is still on my list; for some reason I keep forgetting to read her. You _MUST_ read Ursula Dubosarsky, btw — you’ll love her stuff.
I have long ago surrendered any DIY homeowner notions (aside from nerd stuff like wireless bridging, etc) and accepted that I am much happier if I have professionals do things.
Primarily this is because I seem to lack what my brother calls “Man Skills”. It is also, though, because I am much better at visionary than at “painstaking and exacting”.
I hear you, brother. This project just (not as advertised) required way more technical chops — and professional tools — than we had access to. I suspect we will stick with things like painting that we’ve successfully done before in the future.