Written but not Read

I am procrastinating. I've already gone for two long walks, and now I'm writing a blog post. What I need to do is clean my apartment, which is in a most chaotic state.

A while back, I bought a reclining chair to replace my old sofa, which had been falling apart for years. I intended to purchase a loveseat or overstuffed chair shortly after. Instead, I lived with only a recliner for ages until I couldn't take it anymore and broke down and ordered a full-fledged sofa because it was on sale and would arrive the fastest of my other options. Only it didn't arrive fast at all because it wound up back ordered for months, and when it finally did show up, it was much bigger than I envisioned.1 My living room has been uncomfortably cramped ever since.

Yesterday, I couldn't stand being crowded one minute longer, so I took down all the artwork from my walls and tore the place apart. You see, the big sofa and all the little potted plants that quickly grew huge and formed an ad hoc rainforest weren't the trouble. No, it was the art hanging quietly out of the way on the walls that was the problem all along. I hung most of it years ago when I first moved into the place, and as new furniture came and old furniture went, it was all rearranged again and again, but always in alignment with the artwork already hanging on the walls. Taking it all down allowed me to position furniture in relation to other furniture, which made a big difference.

Now, I have one clean and well-organized room in a sea of chaos that needs to be dealt with today. But the weather is beautiful: a sunny 27°C with 42% humidity. I'd love to procrastinate with another walk, but I can't leave the house; I've played a clever trick on myself. You see, I have to hang all my old artwork back up quickly so it doesn't get damaged. I also recently purchased a fair number of new paintings and prints, on top of taking in some paintings on loan from a friend who's absconded to South Korea for as long as she can get away with. With so much artwork to hang, I went ahead and ordered an electronic stud and electrical wire finder from Residence Despot and asked them to deliver it by 8 p.m. today. I'm stuck here until it arrives, so I may as well start on the cleaning.


  1. It's not actually so large, as the tape measure goes, but it's gigantic compared to what I pictured in my mind's eye. ↩︎

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