Yawn. Didn’t want to get up this morning, but had to. Off to fabric shop! Of course, we’d just been to the garment district a few weeks ago, so I didn’t really have anything specific to shop for. And with all the money we’re putting into the house right now, I couldn’t justify buying anything. I sadly put down some gorgeous purple/gold/black striped fabric that would have been perfect for a field Italian…but not for $8/yard, when I have so much fabric sitting at home. I did end up finding some bolt end stuff to make an Italian, though. Antique gold and burgundy. The first piece, a brocade that cries out for garnets and pearls, should be just enough for the bodice, and it was $2.50 for the whole piece. The second piece is striped and is enough for the skirt, and I got it for $12.50. So between that and lunch, I spent about $20. That’s just fine.

I came home to find Ken covered in dust, with a huge blister on his right palm, admitting defeat. He’d scraped the ceiling just fine, but the walls were fighting back. We can’t get them wet enough to scrape easily. The panelling underneath is sucky, so in a few minutes we’re off to Home Depot to buy new panelling.

We’re back. We’ll buy the panelling tomorrow because the local store didn’t have enough. I think we’ve decided to use oak panelling on the two walls where there will be bookshelves (so they look like the back of the shelves), and white-painted drywall everywhere else. On a whim, we’ve decided to paint the ceiling a dark twilight blue, and put stars on it. (We’re waffling between gold mediæval stars and a more natural look, with Aries and Libra and whatever else strikes our fancy. But the stars will wait ‘til a later date.) So we bought blue paint. And discussed mouldings and such. And bought a shop vac. We’ve cleaned out the room, and Ken will soon begin sanding (the sander has to be back by 10 a.m. tomorrow).

Which means I’d better get my cute butt in gear and start writing.

Uh oh, sander not working properly. Will exchange tomorrow. Ken will now plaster over holes in the ceiling, and then we’ll be done for the night.