siriosa 2000

the great redecorating project: finished at last.
it was like what happens when you pull a thread in a sweater.

some time in the last century, the chimney separated from the house in an earthquake. i had it taken down, but didn't have the bandwidth to fix the wall properly: the hole was covered with plywood, the fireplace remained.

when i was in europe the second time, in 2005, b.h.e. got the outside wall fixed at the same time the house was being painted. after i returned, she and her cranky cat moved in. late in 2006, i brought kittens into the house. spot was not best pleased, and expressed herself on the carpet. the kittens acquired culture from the older cat, and the carpet became, eventually, irretrievable.

in 2007 i pulled the carpet up. in march 2008 we had jon kerpel come and take the fireplace out (just about a ton of brick and tile). once that wall was all beautiful and shiny and flat, it was obvious that the rest of the walls needed to be painted. further inspection highlighted a seismic system of cracks in the plaster. they'd have to be filled before painting could happen. jon made a hilariously short estimate, but it was still more than i could afford. i started doing the prep myself.

in a brilliant display of 3-D tetris, i stowed the contents of the living room and dining room in the spare bedroom. then we boarded the cats for a week and went to harbin, while some guys came and refinished the floors. here's a piece of advice: do the prep work before the floors get refinished. it's an order of magnitude harder to patch plaster while protecting floors.

the painting was finished in august. and then it took me until last week to hang photographs, mount and frame collages, get the curtain rods and curtains organized.

i've put up a small gallery. do let me know what you think.