Well, I can't say my enthusiasm for all things new during the Autumn season is still as high as a few weeks ago. The reason? Decorating.
Now, I enjoy a reinvention as much as the next person. I'm like the Madonna of the property world - new season: new look (even new house quite a few times...) but the trouble is we're at the fundamental level of re-carpeting. New carpets will be great, don't get me wrong, but we hadn't anticipated the preparation and painting of all the skirting boards and beautifully moulded (but tricky to paint) Victorian door frames that would come as part of the whole job. This has turned into a big old project.
I thought I'd get out of lots of labouring because my bit of back trouble means I can't get down to skirting board level, but this just means I get to do all the chores while my partner does sanding and painting. Usually in our egalitarian household we both do a bit of all sorts. It baffles me how people cope with the role of housewife - I go to bed exhausted every night.
The financial drain of decorating should never be underestimated either. I am always seduced by advertising in DIY shops, which means I go into any such store for a single bulb or one paintbrush and come out at least £50 lighter with lots of useful stuff, like new lampshades, doormats and a "wundermat" (its' meant to soak up wet feet / paws upon entry...) Ikea puts a similar strain on my wallet. I go in for a bag of tea lights, I come out with a rug or a sofa. I'm not allowed into these places at the moment.
Fortunately, I will be kept out of trouble by painting walls this weekend. The jury's still out on whether to do walls or skirting boards first so we're following no particular method. I'm not sure if I'm on Egyptian Cotton in the hall or Skylight in the spare room. Pretty sensible names compared to some. I've often wondered who gets the brilliant job of naming paints and what method they use to decide these wonderful but not always descriptive names? It seems the more you pay, the more descriptive the title, so we travel from "mouse's back" at the higher end (brownish-grey, fair enough) to "high society" or "hobby horse" lower down the scale. Now, maybe I'm revealing my ignorance but I've no idea what colour either of these might be without a good squint at the chart. I've pondered what method I would use - how about a favourite animal coupled with a pleasing object near at hand...
Elephant shoes, Greyhound pencil? Hmm I think I'm only a Bear's candle or a Cat's cake away from being onto something here...
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