How did you end up with the bookcases when it seemed that all was lost?
Well, gentle readers, it is a tribute to what a well-placed complaint can do. Husband, irate at the sheer jerkiness of the guy in charge, wrote a letter to the president of the school and explained the situation rationally and eloquently. That letter caused a flurry of memos? emails? phone calls? to Jerk's boss, who emailed Husband and apologized. Then he offered the use of a school truck to take the bookcases to our house for us on a day of our choosing. While I was there last Thursday, Jerk, who actually was very nice in the end, showed up with a bunch of strapping young college guys, and they quickly and efficiently (and against all laws of physics) loaded 12 massive bookcases into their delivery truck and then drove it here, where they reversed the process into our driveway. I bought them pizza, as they'd missed lunch in the process, and I hope no bridges were burned and angry feelings were soothed all around (not by the pizza alone. That would have been too easy). My brother and dad helped out as much as they could, but had we done it alone we would probably still be there in that quiet, unused library, struggling. I can not stress enough how large these bookcases are. If you're ever in a college library, look at the bookcases. That's what I'm talking about.
That was the first action in our Refurbish the House Plan (RtHP).
The second action was to remove the carpet in the living room (soon to be the library/music room). The previous owners must have decided against the time it took to lay a few drop cloths while they painted the walls and ceilings because there are splotches and tracks of paint all over an otherwise perfectly gorgeous hardwood floor. What, was the pink (mauve) carpet so fashionable that it would last through the ages, a testament to good taste, never to be removed because of its sheer beauty?
"Howls of derisive laughter, Bruce!"
The obvious third action will involve removal of the paint from the floor. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats about that. I'll let you know how it goes, maybe through a script for a musical comedy I will write about it. Picture it: Sanding! or, maybe, The Music of Large Equipment in Small Spaces. It's gonna be big.
Note: if you said the above quotation with an outrageous Aussie accent, you get 200 points. Click here to see the tasteless but terribly funny Monty Python sketch, "Bruces."
1 comment:
Horray! You got them in the end. I know all about the paint on the beautiful hardwoods. I had the same issue in our old house. I sanded away and in the end they looked beautiful. It's hard work, but well worth the results.
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