Hand cramps and other stories

• Painted dining room? Check.
• Hooked up electric hot water heater to downstairs pipes? Check.
• Pulled carpet in another bedroom? Check.
• Traced an entire wall of teeny petals and leaves and little stemmy bits? Cheeeee-ck.

To whit:

It was, as I expected, tricky. It was not unbearable. Since it took me essentially the entire weekend to do one wall (but it was the biggest wall!) it was nice to have company. Patrick's parents joined us Saturday: Dad assisting with the plumbing hoo-ha, Mom getting the first coat of paint on the dining room. Both joining us for lentil soup and wine at the end of the workday.

The tracing went pretty well. Overhead projectors are unwieldy and cantankerous. Projection stretches the image in places, contracts it in others. Focusing was difficult. Corners were difficult. I found ways to compensate for the difficulties, and subtle "cheats" I could use to deal with the stretch.

Hand cramps abounded. I wore my white colored pencil (tracing tool of choice) down to a stumpy little nub. I got really sick of my limited CD rotation. But, it worked.

Of course, actually painting the thing is a whole other set of hurdles. My plan is to leave this thing on the back burner for a little while (maybe a month?) while we address more important projects. You know, like painting floors and walls and ceilings. Maybe even doing a bathroom. Also, Patrick's new band is booking spring weekend gigs fast and furious, and I'm going to need something engrossing for those evenings he's away.

So, I'm giving it a little time. My next step is going to be filling in the tracing I did on this one wall. I'm going to try and get a wall finished (and see how long THAT takes me!) before I embark on another. That way, if I want to stop after one wall, I can.

How long did it take Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel? Hmm.

The other proud accomplishment of the weekend was getting a few pieces of furniture moved in. Moving the fold-out (which I re-upholstered last year) was another job for The Guys. I tried lifting it into the truck on Friday, and have the bruises to prove it. Did I used to be stronger, or has furniture just gotten heavier?

Your thoughts welcome!