Eldred. In the Library. With the Hammer.
After running trains for no visitors and then tearing up a section of track that had to be replaced, I came home to finish the library. Cutting the shoe moulding went pretty quickly, and I did a great job cutting it to the correct lengths and fitting it in. However, actually nailing it into place was an exercise in extreme frustration. Because the quarter-rounds were made of bamboo, I had to drill pilot holes. The drill bit snapped off before I made it a third of the way around the room. I made do with the stub of the drill bit. The second frustration came from the stupid finish nails. It was is if every third one was made of lead. I scratched up the shoe moulding trying to remove the tightly embedded, highly bent pieces of metal. As expected, I did dent up the baseboards a bit, but at least those could be covered with paint. That little piece of the library renovation job took about three or four hours.
ealdthryth was very pleased to see the work completed when she got home. As a bonus, I moved the mitre saw, the leaf grinder, and the typewriter table back down to the shop and moved the medieval-oid chairs into the house so she could get her car back into the garage. After a light dinner, we started cutting felt squares to mount under the feet of the furniture getting moved into the room. We started with a couple of small bookcases, then we moved the old entertainment center. That behemoth was the heaviest thing to move, I think. But once we got it on an area rug, it slid across the room with ease.
Our 3D LEGO model of the room wasn't as accurate as I had hoped, but it erred on the side of each of the pieces of furniture being too large, so we were pleasantly surprised by how much more space we actually had once everything was in place.
Sunday morning, while I was showering, ealdthryth moved the couch and started unloading the other bookshelves, prepping for the remaining cases to get moved. We got the two intermediate-sized shelves moved, and the bookcases in the library mostly loaded. ealdthryth left for work, admonishing me to wait for her to return before moving the last two heavy pieces of furniture. Like she really expected me to endure the house being in disarray like that for 6 hours?
The big book case wasn't difficult to deal with once I got the shelves out. The curio cabinet, on the other hand, I probably should have waited to move. But I wanted the job DONE. It wasn't nearly as much trouble as I thought, but it was heavy. Unlike the entertainment center that was merely heavy because it was big, this thing was heavy because it was concentrated weight. It fills up the corner of the room, and ealdthryth isn't all that pleased by the bulk, but we are considering letting this piece of furniture go out of our lives. We both like having the curio cabinet, but it doesn't really fit in with the other furniture. Something smaller in a Mission-style would be appropriate.
I finished reloading the shelves, refilled the curio cabinet, vacuumed, rearranged the living room (wow, I hadn't realized how crammed in there we were with all the excess furniture) and settled down for some relaxation. The living room looks HUGE now.
ealdthryth was very pleased by how nice it all looks, but gave me what-for about doing it all by myself. Yes, I am slightly sore from the heavy lifting, but I am not debilitated. We decided against moving all the furniture back into place. The living room is next on our remodeling agenda, and I'd just have to cart the stuff back upstairs.
New Configuration Fu
The cats were all wigged out because STUFF HAS MOVED. Poor Kiera and AElfgifu were trying to figure out where all the good hiding spots had gone, and I am sure Kiera is relieved now that she can hide behind the couch again.
Josie seems to like the monks' chairs. The little "rings" that spin on the ends of the chairs arms are a great thing for her to rub her little face on.
Ignatius sort of tiptoed around a bit, and he flopped down to nap on the rug, so I'm guessing he's OK with the change now. Things need to stay put for a few months, otherwise, the cats will probably go berserk.
Fat Tabby Fu Redux
I got home after dark on Friday--after ealdthryth got home, too. As I pulled into the driveway, I spotted the stray fat tabby ambling down the gravel easement. It didn't seem nearly as plump as it did when huddled under the pickup truck. It also didn't seem too concerned about the blinding headlights headed its way. sigh
Weeding the Collection
While shifting books back and forth between the rooms, I started pondering the merits of letting some of these things go. We are probably keeping some books for decorative purposes, but others that we don't plan to read again should Exit, Stage Right. My first thought was to eliminate a few movie novelizations. We've got the movie, do we need the book? If the movie was based on a book, that is a different matter. We've also go the challenge that not all the books we own are on shelves. A vast array of paperback novels are packed away, and I'm sure at least two boxes have hardcover books in them. Sigh
ealdthryth was very pleased to see the work completed when she got home. As a bonus, I moved the mitre saw, the leaf grinder, and the typewriter table back down to the shop and moved the medieval-oid chairs into the house so she could get her car back into the garage. After a light dinner, we started cutting felt squares to mount under the feet of the furniture getting moved into the room. We started with a couple of small bookcases, then we moved the old entertainment center. That behemoth was the heaviest thing to move, I think. But once we got it on an area rug, it slid across the room with ease.
Our 3D LEGO model of the room wasn't as accurate as I had hoped, but it erred on the side of each of the pieces of furniture being too large, so we were pleasantly surprised by how much more space we actually had once everything was in place.
Sunday morning, while I was showering, ealdthryth moved the couch and started unloading the other bookshelves, prepping for the remaining cases to get moved. We got the two intermediate-sized shelves moved, and the bookcases in the library mostly loaded. ealdthryth left for work, admonishing me to wait for her to return before moving the last two heavy pieces of furniture. Like she really expected me to endure the house being in disarray like that for 6 hours?
The big book case wasn't difficult to deal with once I got the shelves out. The curio cabinet, on the other hand, I probably should have waited to move. But I wanted the job DONE. It wasn't nearly as much trouble as I thought, but it was heavy. Unlike the entertainment center that was merely heavy because it was big, this thing was heavy because it was concentrated weight. It fills up the corner of the room, and ealdthryth isn't all that pleased by the bulk, but we are considering letting this piece of furniture go out of our lives. We both like having the curio cabinet, but it doesn't really fit in with the other furniture. Something smaller in a Mission-style would be appropriate.
I finished reloading the shelves, refilled the curio cabinet, vacuumed, rearranged the living room (wow, I hadn't realized how crammed in there we were with all the excess furniture) and settled down for some relaxation. The living room looks HUGE now.
ealdthryth was very pleased by how nice it all looks, but gave me what-for about doing it all by myself. Yes, I am slightly sore from the heavy lifting, but I am not debilitated. We decided against moving all the furniture back into place. The living room is next on our remodeling agenda, and I'd just have to cart the stuff back upstairs.
New Configuration Fu
The cats were all wigged out because STUFF HAS MOVED. Poor Kiera and AElfgifu were trying to figure out where all the good hiding spots had gone, and I am sure Kiera is relieved now that she can hide behind the couch again.
Josie seems to like the monks' chairs. The little "rings" that spin on the ends of the chairs arms are a great thing for her to rub her little face on.
Ignatius sort of tiptoed around a bit, and he flopped down to nap on the rug, so I'm guessing he's OK with the change now. Things need to stay put for a few months, otherwise, the cats will probably go berserk.
Fat Tabby Fu Redux
I got home after dark on Friday--after ealdthryth got home, too. As I pulled into the driveway, I spotted the stray fat tabby ambling down the gravel easement. It didn't seem nearly as plump as it did when huddled under the pickup truck. It also didn't seem too concerned about the blinding headlights headed its way. sigh
Weeding the Collection
While shifting books back and forth between the rooms, I started pondering the merits of letting some of these things go. We are probably keeping some books for decorative purposes, but others that we don't plan to read again should Exit, Stage Right. My first thought was to eliminate a few movie novelizations. We've got the movie, do we need the book? If the movie was based on a book, that is a different matter. We've also go the challenge that not all the books we own are on shelves. A vast array of paperback novels are packed away, and I'm sure at least two boxes have hardcover books in them. Sigh