Self-sufficient

When I moved into the cabin, I had lots of grand ideas about home improvement projects I'd take on by myself. I'd teach myself how to do all sorts of things and the cabin would look amazing. After all, home improvement runs in my blood. My parents were always doing handy things and surely I could be handy too if I had enough time and no TV to distract me.

And then, all of a sudden, I got lots of help. My uncle came for over a month this summer, and my mom was here while I was in Belize, and my uncle is here again now . . . and somehow that spark just faded. I tried at first, really I did. But my uncle, while a fantastic teacher, doesn't really need a lot of help, so there was a lot of just standing around watching him do things and occasionally handing up a tool while he was on the ladder. And then, when I got back from Belize, it was easier to just hide in the loft, playing with the kittens and reading the internet, and generally just keeping out of his way except when I had to come downstairs to play the girly supportive role - making sure he ate, and keeping him in cookies, and when there was something decorative to do, like painting, getting my hands a little dirty.

As I woke up this morning, I could see the sun streaming through a seam in the wall in what would be a closet . . . if I had such things as closets. When I'd moved in, this little triangular section of wall had some ratty old insulation covered by a 1980s era floral sheet. While my mom was here, and I was in Belize, she'd discovered a wasp nest in the insulation (I know, it's mortifying, don't you want to come visit?) and had ripped off the sheet and disposed of the insulation, leaving only thin sheets of rotting exterior plywood between me and -20 degree winter. So this morning, I thought . . . well, I know how to caulk, I'll just seal up that seam. So I did. And then I thought, you know, there are spare slabs of drywall laying everywhere, I bet I can put one up. And amazingly enough, I did. Now, I didn't do a great job, but I put up nailing strips and insulation, and cut a piece of drywall to fit the hole, and now, now that little corner of what should be a closet is weathertight and doesn't look all that much worse than the rest of the naked drywall lining the walls of the loft. It's a little cattywampus, because I didn't bother with using a level to make sure the nailing strips were even, but . . . I did it myself. No help. And I feel ridiculously proud of myself for it.

(Not proud enough to post a photo, because it actually looks kind of like shit.)