MY LITTLE CORNER

Little corners take a lot of work – especially when you turn the whole Barn upside down to establish them. We have already established the fact that it takes me three days to do a three-hour task. Well, this little task should have been done in a day and I’m on day five and counting. SIGH.

Starting was simple enough and quite exciting. GF refinished the chest and dresser of our old bedroom suite. That meant stripping two facades down to the original veneer. This furniture was purchased from Montgomery Ward in 1956, by DSIL Eva when the family moved to town after GF’s father died. It had a light finish then, I suppose to cover the different woods used. It is extremely well built, all solid wood construction, and I like the varied hues the woods lend as well as the new antique bronze paint on the original hardware. Now think putrid 70’s green antiquing, which was how I lived with it for way too long, and you’ll appreciate my being enamored with the new look!

I’m even more enamored with legitimate storage. We moved to the Barn in 1999, and have been “camping” sans closets or drawers lo these 6-1/2 years (but who’s counting). DSIL Eva said I never complained, but I had to admit that I just didn’t complain “to the whole world”. GF will recall that often of late I have whined about being tired of living out of clothes baskets. I know I am but a pilgrim and sojourner in this land, but enough is enough. No complaints now, I promise! No more clothes baskets either…except for laundry. Ah, life is good and getting better!

The aftermath of adding furniture to the limited floor plan of the Barn is a dilemma of enormous proportion. Isobel can clear a sewing area in an evening…it has taken me all week and I can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel. Guess what we had in here was a tunnel of junk – stacks and stacks and stacks. And you have to live with GF to know a stack when you see one. Not that I can’t make towers on my own…mine just don’t seem to stay around to gather as much dust as his do. Too much stuff!!! But we’re making progress. There are three small stacks of papers on the stove that are GF’s sorting chore. If it were winter I would suggest they go IN the stove. There are about six more stacks of STUFF TO GO in the middle of the living area. At least half of that is trash or Goodwill and the rest will go downstairs…once I redo my storage shelves/clothes rack/bins down there to make room. Let’s calculate getting that done by say…the year 2999. One consolation is that we’ve been cleaning as we go so when it's over it will be over...at least for a little while.

As for the quilt top on the bed, I definitely think it should get another border and become my summer bedspread, don’t you?