More Dust or Will My Family Still Speak to Each Other By Christmas?

Three weeks ago, I decided it was time for the next phase of painting in the shop.  It involved four walls, one that had yarn on or near it and three that just had stuff that had to be moved.  It ended up, as usual, being more involved than I would have thought.  They were long walls.  I figured that I could easily apply one coat Saturday night, and the second one Sunday morning.  Husband and youngest Son stopped by to move the behemoth linen press I inherited with the shop.  Husband decided that it would take me 'til 4 a.m. to paint a whole coat, and stayed to help.  (This made me suspicious, as he has only painted the front hallway in our house in the last 14 years, and I know he dislikes painting.)  This meant I got to do all the cuts, and he got to use the roller.  We finished the first coat at midnight, and the second coat the next day.  I'm very glad he helped.

This left one section of wall needing a new coat to wear.  It's only two 16 foot sections.  Not bad, right?  Unfortunately, it's also the wall with all the needles, notions and a selection of cross stitch threads. I really wanted the painting done before the holiday rush.   And so, the fun began.  Taking down the hanging items wasn't too bad, and they landed in boxes in an organized fashion.  The sections of peg board and the 2 x 4s behind weren't too bad, as most of  the screws holding them weren't actually sunk into studs.

Everything was going smoothly, until it came time to dismantle and move the cash wrap/winding counter/place for putting stuff.  It had been custom built for the previous shop owners, and while a lovely piece that was used in the original shop space, I really didn't feel it was in a good location and was eating up space better suited for cross stitch and yarn.  The Husband and two Sons concluded the wrap is three pieces screwed together and started to dismantle to move it.  To say the least, this took them the rest of the night and left me to paint in peace.

Fortunately, the counters weren't actually nailed in (but they are now!) so it was easy to move those.  All three sections were moved, but we had to decide how to reconfigure the side pieces, which of course, left ends that aren't finished on display.  We managed to solve that problem (at least for now), and after a lot of suggestions and discussion, the pieces were in place.

With the painting completed, it was time to hang more slatwall.  At least this time the studs appeared to be where they were supposed to be (or the family has become expert at this job).  Did I mention the gondolas? These are really great display pieces made of slatwall, and lets me hang a lot of yarn or threads in a compact space.  Not a difficult job for the guys to assemble these.  Now the gondolas were in place and it was getting late into Sunday evening, there was only one more item to hang...the antique fireplace mantel.

Apparently the studs in modern walls are not spaced the same as those in late 1800's/early 1900 Victorian-type mantles.  Since my husband had informed me that he was never moving this mantle again, I told them to just attach it any way possible so it would stay on the wall.  After a lot of discussion, disagreeing and grring, they agreed on a plan and attached it to the wall.  This past Sunday, dear sons came in and hooked up the fireplace part, and realized that I now had a mantle, fireplace, comfy chair, light and knitting........uh oh, she's never coming home........