Success!!!

Okay, I can barely walk, as my back is really not happy with me, but everything's been done, including taking out the trash and recyclables, vacuuming, washing dishes, and cleaning the bathroom. My apartment is visitable again. And yes, I may have to admit I have too many books. Keep in mind there are three bookshelves in the bedroom and one in the closet, plus two that are seen here only from the side. There is absolutely no room for expansion. I think it's time to weed a bit, much as I hate to. And yes, I'm aware that my décor is something like post-dormitory in nature. But the shelves are an improvement over bed rails.

Trying to finish up the living room

I just got home about half an hour ago. The loveseat is clear. I need to finish clearing the dining table, take out the recyclables and trash, and vacuum, but my back is hurting and I'm kind of sleepy (I got about five hours' sleep last night). I think I will take a short (less than an hour) nap and then come back to the work to be done.

I've been over at my friends' house most of the day

But I worked on the house for about five hours total last night and this morning, and then came home and spent another hour or so on it. I'm almost finished. The books are more or less where they should be. The plants are watered. The CDs are up on the new rack. I need to vacuum, clean off the dining table, take out the recyclables and trash, and run a load in the dishwasher. I'm not sure I'll be able to finish that tonight. I'm going back to my friends' in about a half an hour to cut the hair of one of them and then watch 'Witches of East End'. It's been a tiring weekend, with lots of organisation of chaos. But I will get it all together. It's definitely taking longer to put things back together than it did to take apart--and it took five hours to do that. :) I also have to figure out if I want to get rid of the bedrails entirely or not. They've been very useful as wooden shelves. Okay, I'm going to do a few things more before I leave. If I don't write anymore tonight, I hope you had a good weekend, and good night.

Another couple of hours, and I'm getting pooped

I still have quite a few books to put up. But I worked steadily for several hours today, with a trip over to my friends' house in the middle to help with the grocery run and some other things. I really hoped to get everything back in place in time for tomorrow afternoon, but I'm not sure that's reasonable. There are still books everywhere, plus the boxes the shelves came in, etc. I think I'm going to take a break and see if I can manage not to fall asleep, then see if there's any energy left to work with. Part of the trouble is I'm trying to at least put them in discrete categories (the literature section, for example, isn't in order, but it's all together). I'm trying to keep the books that were in order together, but I wasn't able to keep them like that in piles, because there just wasn't always room next to each other, so that's an issue. But I'm going to keep working on it, just not at the moment.

Well, I've been working steadily for a little over two hours

The computer desk was set up already, although I moved it back a little, tilted across the corner. Then there's the printer stand, the table that had been between the living area and dining area, now with the TV/Cable Box/DVD-R/VCR. To the left of that is a couple of those stackable bookshelves with the DVDs and VHS tapes on them. That goes to the corner. In the small bit of wall on the left of the room, there's a bookshelf. I took the entertainment centre and put it between the living area and dining area. It is facing the dining area, with two of the bookshelves on the living room side. I need to get two more to go above those, so the back of the entertainment centre is hidden. Then I have to start putting books up on the shelves, and they'll go on the entertainment centre as well. What isn't going back up are the bed rails; I could never really reach the books anyway. So there's actually some wall space in the living room. I might be able to put up another painting or so, maybe the ones from the hallway. I'm not sure.

I took a few minutes to eat a salad and some cheese. I really needed some water, too. I think I'm going to stretch out for a few minutes, though, before I take a shower and head over to the store for those bookshelves.

I had a moment looking out the window just now, looking out at the leaves blowing in the wind, and I had a flashback to being stuck in the house last year, where my window was truly my main connexion to what was going on outside. I'm so glad that time is over, and that I'm able to move around and even though I'm probably overdoing it a bit today, at least I am up and able to move things around. I really appreciate how far I've come since I was hurt.

Oh, I'm so happy it is Friday

and the great cable upgrade is, indeed, finished, although the new outlet isn't completely turned on yet (I get the programme guide, and a notice saying the channel will be available shortly--for all channels). But most importantly, I can put everything back, or actually, re-arrange the living room as I like--which I plan to start in the morning.

I just got back from watching 'Grimm' with YKWIA and spending some time over there visiting. We had a good night. Tommorow we have a couple of projects, the grocery run, and maybe, if I can get everything back together, we can watch The Blues Brothers over here. That would be really great. It means that my morning is definitely going to be busy. If I can't get everything back tomorrow, there's Sunday, as Brenda has a doll meet, I believe, so there's no game.

It has been a productive, yet tiring, week, and I'm glad to finally be home where I can snuggle up in bed and get some rest. I went by Kroger earlier for snacks and got a power strip for the bedroom (I'd used one in there for the living room when I moved the computer and lamp over), so I can plug in the TV, RF modulator, and Roku box. I'm also going to put a little DVD player I won as a door prize years ago back there, so I can watch DVDs. But I think what I'm going to do soon is put on Pandora back there, kick up my feet, and enjoy some music for awhile, although I might do a little work in the living room first. At any rate, hope you have a good night. Once I get things back in order, I'll post a picture. :)

Okay

I didn't take a break and didn't take my contacts out. But I did take the entertainment centre down partially and it's pulled out about two-three feet. They'll have to live with it. I just need to pull the chest of drawers out in the bedroom and get some things out of the floor and then I'll be finished. But I'm very, very pooped, and my living room is basically unusable except for the computer station. It looks like some strange creature vomited books up all over the place. I had a small moment of temper when I kept stubbing my toe on a large book on the floor at the bottom of a tall pile. I had to take it out, toppling the uppermost books, and I'm afraid I literally threw the book onto the couch. But it's okay. I'm okay. I am sniffly and covered with dust, and my ankle hurts from climbing up on a metal chair, but I'm okay. But I am not happy.

Ugh...

While I was waiting for 'Supernatural' to record, I moved the computer desk, which was now free of the bed rails with books, and that entailed unhooking everything and moving things around so that the desk is angled. The computer tower is now under the printer to the left of the desk, rather than in front of the window, and a floor lamp that was too close to the curtains has been moved to a better spot. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the rest of the living room, but I don't think I'm going to put the books back up on the rails. Anyway, it took quite more time than I expected, and this means I still have to undo the entertainment centre, and it's 11 pm. I'm wondering if I can get the books off the top and then angle the actual entertainment centre so they can get behind it without undoing the whole thing. I doubt it. What I do know is that, late as it is, I have to take a break and take my contacts out, as things have gotten blurry with all the dust I've uncovered. :(

Ha, ha!

I've gotten the bed rails with those books down, plus the bookshelf cleared off and moved. When I took it out of its place, there was a fortune cookie fortune underneath it that said, 'All the effort you are making will ultimately pay off.' I hope so. I still have the entertainment centre to go, but I'm going to wait until after 'Supernatural' is off (I'm recording it), in case I have to move the cable box around. Ugh. It's a good time to take a break, anyway, as my back is now bothering me. But at least I have the radio to listen to.

Well, drat...

I was getting ready to go over to a friend's to watch 'The Originals' and 'Supernatural' with him, when I decided to stop by the house and get my mail and change into some more comfortable clothes. On my door was a note from my landlady explaining that our cable company had subcontracted a company to come in and install new cable lines in our apartments, starting as early as 9:00 tomorrow morning. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Monday they can be here any time between 9 am and 5 pm. The note goes on to say where the new outlets will be and then says (in bold and italics), 'If you have items that sit in front of these areas, please move them away from the wall so the techs have easy access to those locations.

This is not so much a problem for most of my neighbours, many of whom have fairly minimalistic decor (or at least the ones who leave their blinds open seem to). But I have books. Many books. In fact, along the wall in the living room that must be cleared, I have an entertainment centre with a bookshelf above, with a bookshelf next to it that holds up two wooden bedrails with books on them that spans to the computer desk. Yes, I was thinking of rearranging my living room, but I wasn't expecting to have to do it, especially with that little notice! They gave me two days' notice that the exterminator was coming, but one day (which really translated to fourteen hours, since I was at work and out until 7 pm) for this???

YKWIA said I should just call them in the morning and tell them this is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I'm too much of a 'good girl' to do that. But still, it does irk me. Anyway, I should start that process. Wish me luck!!!

Well, I feel better able to face laundry now

I got up at 3:30 am and have done some small tasks, including putting the bedding into a laundry bag and getting the other two out of the hamper frame. I have at least four loads, counting a comforter in the trunk of the car that never got properly clean after a friend's puppy barfed all over it.

A different friend asked to use my computer (the desktop) on a regular basis, and I don't mind that at all and actually it will give us a better chance to see each other, but it occurs to me that I have basically set up my computer just for me. The workstation is against the wall, when it really should be catty-cornered to work well with the bookshelf that comes very close to it. I have a keyboard that is too tall for my regular tray. My mouse is on the left and set as left-handed. If I try to put it on the right, I'm not sure he'll have enough room to type on the keyboard, short of putting the keyboard on the actual table and not on the tray. And there's no chance of getting a deeper tray put onto this desk.

We'll try it out and see if he can comfortably use the computer. If now, I do have a solution, although it's one I don't relish. I'd need to turn the computer desk catty-cornered, of course. To do that would mean taking down two shelves of books that span between the entertainment centre and the desk hutch. I could then move the desk, put the shelves back up, and re-shelve. It would be a lot of work, and we'll save it until after the current cleaning frenzy. It would make the computer more user friendly for both of us, actually, and somewhere in the closet I have a triangular piece that joins my printer table to the desk that would work that way and provide better stability on that front. But we'll see how cramped he is in my little computer space, first.