A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
Once upon a time there was a little room at the end of a long hall that was more than a bit drab and full of trash. Nobody ever went in there except to toss something out.
I pulled up the old, old, old linoleum and found wood flooring. Sweet! Except now I had to try to clean up that old adhesive. Bummer.
Almost done. It took a while because some of the tiles were stapled down on one end and the cheesecloth had been nailed in place, so I had to pull out staples and itty bitty nails as I went.
This color is “Inchworm” from Valspar. Normally I wouldn’t choose this color for walls, but I wanted a little pop of brightness amidst all the blue of the hall when looking down the hall from the front door.
I added even more brightness with a little rug I got in New Mexico a long, long time ago. I haven’t painted the trim yet, and I’m still working getting all that old adhesive off the floor, but I have faith that it will get done eventually!
I moved this little high-boy in from a bedroom, and I’m using it to store various things like light bulbs and pet supplies. 
Here’s how the room looks from right inside the front door. And Andy lying in his favorite spot right in the middle of the hall. Oh, I forgot to mention that I painted just the wall at the end a slightly darker blue, “Dusty Spruce,” to make the green fresher looking, and to give a little more definition and depth to the area under the landing.
One thing led to another and NOW I decide it’s time to remove that musty old carpet from the stairs. Notice how the carpet pad underneath is just disintegrating to dust. Yuck.
So here’s the hallway right after we had the roof replaced. The reason I know it’s after the new roof was put on is that there are no pots and pans sitting on the stairway to catch leaks.
Once we get a fresh coat of paint on the front of the risers the stairs will look beautiful, but here’s how the hall looks today. Well, yesterday. Today wasn’t this bright because it’s been thunderstorming all day. In fact, the sky has been so dark this afternoon that it was too dim to paint by natural light, which is why you’re reading about old house renovation and not art making right now.
