Musings on a Small Life

By "assembly," I don't mean the Regency-era variety where the idle rich went to gossip and spouse-hunt.     I mean yet another flatpack assembly, a shoe cabinet this time, to replace the Ikea console table I had there (now moved upstairs). I don't think I've purchased any furniture needing assembly in a year or two, so I guess I was overdue.   It took me about five hours to assemble, get everything moved (old/new) and set up, then clean the downstairs. I had to carefully turn that old Ikea console (solid metal and heavy ) onto its top and drag it up the stairs. I told my Mom (in spirit), out loud, that I hoped she wasn't watching. LOL. I managed, though, and I switched out an old table used as a desk for the Ikea piece. The old table/desk was almost as heavy as the console table, but I managed to get it down the stairs and into the garage without hassle.   I'm a Goddess!    Ha!   What I was, was a hurtin' human unit last night. I thought I'd be sti...

I'm back to work today after the 10 days off. I don't know how those of you who take three (or more) weeks off at once manage to get back into the routine! I'm struggling as it is.    Anyway, it was a busy and productive break, with a get-away to visit friends for a couple of nights.   Click to enlarge the pics for best viewing.      I finally got the last upstairs door painted ("only" eight months after doing the others). I decluttered (always ongoing!) and had a donation pick-up. I trimmed shrubbery, reorganized all my upstairs closets, moved the three bookcases in my "storage" room to the opposite wall to make room for a new 12-cube Ikea Kallax unit, visited the aforementioned friends, had a couple of appointments, bused all over town for various errands, and still got reading time in during the evenings.    I also went to Art in the Park over the Canada Day weekend, unplanned. I'd been downtown at my favourite café for breakfast and someone m...

I took last week off as vacation (the four days after the Victoria Day Monday). Ha! Mostly it was cold and rainy, and I heard on the news last Friday that we're having the coldest May in 10 years. I believe it!   Below: May 16 sunrise, a very brief burst of colour in the otherwise grey and gloom.     All was not lost for the time off, though, as I had a couple of appointments and spent every morning out anyway, in spite of the weather. I also had lots of cosy tea and reading time in the afternoons.   Below: I swung by campus on the holiday Monday (May 19), to get a few pics of the cherry blossoms before they were all gone. OMC, it was COLD! I didn't linger!     I also had taken Monday May 12th off, as friends had kindly come up to help me in the little garden. We dug up the invasive stuff, as well as the two hostas by the fence that got too much light and fried to a crisp by June/July every year. (I shouldn't have split the original ones and put them there ...

After taking a year or two off, the Ikea Assembly Queen has returned! My excitement for Friday evening: Putting together the little Ikea Tyssedal storage stool I'd ordered. It had been delivered on Tuesday, but had to wait till week's end for assembly. I ordered it partly because I'm always on the hunt for affordable double-duty furniture, and partly to see if I'd like the series. I've had my eye on a 4-drawer Tyssedal bureau for a while now. While I do like the storage bench very much, I now don't think I'd buy the bureau, as the series has a more traditional appearance than I care for. Still, if the price--and shipping costs--are ever right.... I had hesitated to order it because one reviewer had said it was difficult to assemble. I actually found it straightforward, didn't even make a mistake. Maybe having a couple of glasses of wine while I was putting it together helped? Nicki approved! It's currently up in my be...

First, let me me state outright that I do not want to see anymore flat-pack furniture for a very long time to come. Yesterday being the holiday, everything was closed and of course there wasn't any bus service. That meant it was a great day to put together the Ikea desk I had ordered. I started around 7:30 AM or so and finished in the early afternoon, with breaks to take down my outdoor Christmas decorations, talk to family and friends on the phone, etc. So it wasn't as onerous as the TV bench, though I had to pause a lot and enlarge the PDF instructions, puzzle over the drawer rails, etc. All the hardware.   Hardware sorted.   Nicki's ready to help!   It's progressing...slowly.   There were 34 instructions on 24 pages. The drawers were almost at the very end. Done at last. Even though the desk is plain and utilitarian, it works really well in the space. I love having my laptop on it, in view of the TV and freeing up my dining ...