Not the Last You'll Hear About Redecorating

I was hoping to just finish everything and throw you a nice "after" picture, but Anna asked some questions and I just hate to keep you in suspense.  Here, then, is what I've learned from the experience so far:

1.  Installing crown moulding is a pain in the butt.  Actually, I should have seen this one coming.  I was standing there in the first of three home improvement stores looking to buy some crown molding, and I asked some random other customer his advice.  He said to me, "You're not thinking of installing this yourself are you?  It's kind of tricky."  Big red sirens should have gone off at that point.  I mean, for me, anything the other side of hanging a picture is "kind of tricky."  When I'm looking at something that is "kind of tricky" for a guy who actually owns his own mitre saw, it's time to seek professional assistance.  I had, however, underestimated the level of professional assistance I needed.  The "handyman" I'd hired (who, as it happens, does have his own mitre saw) said it was beyond him; what I needed was a carpenter.  I do not yet have a carpenter.  The crown moulding is therefore ... sitting in the middle of my floor. 

2.  Lighting Makes All The Difference.  The shutter arrived!  Happy dance!  And the nice men installed it lightning quick.  (Stick frame in window.  Stick shutter in frame.  Use nail gun.  Use little stick to fill in holes in shutter caused by nail gun.  Leave.)  And it looked terrific.  I'd been all afraid that the "off white" color I'd ordered would look brown and icky against my pretty new mint green walls, but it didn't.  It looked very nearly white.  I was really relieved.  Until night time.  When there's sunlight all around, the shutter looks nice and white -- at night, it turns almond.

3.  There's Always Something Else To Fix.  I've figured out the perfect gift.  I'm serious.  If you ever need a present for someone, buy them four hours of handyman time.  The handyman arrived at my door prepared to paint (and, unfortunately, not to install crown molding).  But, once he took down the light fixture to paint the ceiling, I thoughtI might as well replace that... and, of course, the laundry closet door had come off its track again ... and we decided to do that sponge thing on the living room wall.  Next thing I knew I was at Home Depot buying a new light fixture, a new bi-fold door kit, and a gallon of glaze.  And I had to stop myself before I asked him to fix that problem with the vertical blinds, and that one kitchen cabinet door that always scrapes the ceiling, and and and..

4.  Bestest Kitten Ever.  Back when I first got the kitten, she had a broken leg.  The vet fashioned a splint for it (popsicle stick + electrical tape), and told me to keep her in a confined space.  I put the cat in the guest bedroom, opened the pass-through door to the bathroom, and left her there with food, water and litter.  She meowed her face off.  She meowed so loud I was afraid the ASPCA would hear.  So I opened the door and she scampered (or, as near as she could scamper with a broken leg) off down the hall.  Fine.  No confined space for you.  But, because of this experience, I'd thought there'd be no way she'd put up with being confined in the exact same space for a few hours while someone painted.  It turned out to be a lot more than a few hours.  It was very nearly three days.  And she was wonderful.  For most of the time, she was very happy to be in there, as she didn't want anything to do with the man who made the loud banging noises and carried the smelly paint.  But even when she meowed a bit, a little attention calmed her right down.  She was terrific.  I never would have agreed to do the rest of the job were it not for the fact she was, at the time, cheerfully hiding under the fold-out bed in the guest room, acting like a little kid playing "fort" or something.

Carpet on Wednesday.  Crown moulding and re-hanging of laundry room door at a time yet to be determined.  Ugh.