the hidden places

I am in the middle of another home improvement project. Yesterday I was sanding the walls I had taped and plastered and ended up all white and powdery from head to toe. Hmmm...safety glasses might have been a good idea.

I am making a functional bedroom closet out of a miscellaneous storage space that houses ducts and an air exchanger. This means I have to finish the walls, paint, and install a hanging rod and shelf. Now I had never taped and plastered drywall joints before, but I thought that a small walk-in closet might be just the place to develop this skill. Sanding removes any mistakes you might make, right? I admit, it is not the prettiest plaster job I have ever seen, but after a quick second coat today, another round of sanding (does one just put on the old clothes you wore to sand the last time or do you put on clean clothes for every new work day? Where is that book on sanding etiquette?) and a coat of primer and paint, I think it will look fabulous.

I realise that hardly anyone will ever see the inside of this closet, and probably no one will ever inspect each corner or joint in order to point out the fine workmanship, attention to detail, and just plain sweat invested in it, but I will go into it every day for a week after it is finished and just stand there, looking around and smiling.

A hidden place is a good place to develop skills. I take great pride in my hidden places even though no one else might ever notice them, because the attitudes I have in my hidden places are the attitudes that will automatically come out in my public places.

These are the wonderful Webster's falls, hidden away near Dundas, Ontario. Taken May 27, 2007.

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outWORD by Matte Downey

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