...I"ve been busy DOING it!  I have been feeling an achiness with each project.  A tender spot in my back, a cramp in my right calf...a general feeling of stiffness all over...however, the feeling that comes from completing another project far outweighs any complaints I might have!

I took the past week to go crazy on "The Little Schoolroom" so as to get started organizing books, curriculum, the gobs of supplies needed for the broad spectrum of ages I will be teaching this year...from crayons to compasses; construction paper to calculators; preschool pages to protractors.

I had posted in my other journal about a room we have at the south side of the house in which we weren't quite sure what it's function was going to be.  Its dimensions, 7.5' x 15.5', are odd and not ideal for much of anything other than an office or a storage room.  However, after realizing that all three children were going to be homeschooled this year, I needed one place in the house for all materials.  And with Samuel, materials nearly doubled!  So, the race was on!  Wanting to actually crack open a book by September 7, all other projects took a back seat to getting the little schoolroom underway!

Here is the disaster before...a storage disaster.

I guess that's what happens to ugly rooms...they just get cluttered with ugly stuff.  Anyway...

More lovely wallpaper, as you can see!  Fortunately, it was much more easily removed than some of the other rooms.  I've come to the conclusion that the previous owner, in all the nine years he lived here, didn't do one cosmetic thing to the entire house!  Everthing we have encountered thus far seems to have an age of at least fifteen years. Most things are more like 30+!

Behind those two enormous, plywood doors   are shelves with a depth of 12 inches.  Most likely a pantry in its younger years.  I removed the doors and, as much as I would have liked to replace the shelving, it just wasn't a priority.  I forged ahead with white paint and hoped it would forgive some of the sagging going on.  I also would have liked to rip out the carpet and expose the hardwood floor, but that is a project for another day as well.  I took a peek, though!  It is a dark-stained wood.  I'm sure it would be beautiful, after I remove the paint someone so carelessly dripped on it.  Someday...

I should mention here that I wasn't being overly meticulous about much of anything with this project.  It was basically a fix-it-quick-slap-a-coat-of-paint-on-it sort of project.  Most of the wall space would be covered with white boards, maps, calendars, etc.  So, with that precursor, here are the after shots...

Not a bad little space for our needs!  I'm still stocking the shelves and the children still need some sort of work space; I have some ideas about that, but we'll see.  Don't want to crowd the place. 

Now all we need is the first day of school!