And I had to go and scrape it all off.
First the paper had to be torn off, then either I steam/scrape/scrub the glued bit left behind -- it's like a ghost of the paper. If I decide to go with lining paper, then I don't have to scrape the glued bit off.
It took hours, long hours, it soaked up my entire long weekend, and it's not even finished yet. It took hours just to get all my books out:
It had better be worth it. I'm taking next week off to redecorate the dining room and my bedroom, and possibly the livingroom too, depending on how I get on. I thought I'd get a good headstart this weekend. Hah! By the end of next week I'll be knackered -- I'm already aching all over.
However. It did have to be done. I painted the livingroom over the wallpaper, which I really don't like, and guess what? I still don't like it. In fact it's worse, because it's the wrong colour.
Did I tell you about the toilet in the dining room? Frances next door told me a little while back that once Mrs B couldn't manage the stairs any longer, her son-in-law installed a toilet for her downstairs. She was sleeping in what is now the diningroom, so that's where the toilet went. After she went into the home, he took it out again. So while stripping off the wallpaper I discovered where all the pipes went. How fascinating! What a lovely mental image.
In other news: a message from Faye. She says she can't get a signal on her mobile at her new home, and internet access at the library is fully booked, hence the silence. However, it's a lovely house and a busy job. Can I suggest that everyone send her a card/letter the olde worlde way?
Spooky moment while stripping wallpaper: I was listening to Poetry Please on Radio 4, something I don't usually do because a) I'm usually working and b) I hate the way Roger McGough says "poo-etry". So anyway it's a poetry (pooetry) request programme, and as I scraped away, I thought, I should write in and ask them to play Sorley McLean reading my favourite poem (pooem), his great work Hallaig. And I swear, the very next reading was ... yes, Sorley McLean reading Hallaig. I nearly fell off the ladder.
You can listen to the programme via the internet, follow this link.
In between scraping and scraping and scraping, I went on some good walks, cooked some nice meals and watched a bit of TV. Just now I've had a lovely long bath. Now I'm off to the 24-hour supermarket for some dog food. Bertie hates interior decoration -- it's completely pointless and makes a hideous mess. I have to compensate with lots of treats and nice walks.
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