nipples and nuts

I bought a new light fixture for the dressing room last week, and installing that became more of an adventure than painting the room. I was excited at first that this particular location already had a box in the ceiling, but it's an old one without enough room to accommodate the nipple that came with the new kit. I cut the nipple to size, but then the cross bar wouldn't accommodate the burred ends that I failed to reshape. I went to the depot in search of a new nipple in the hardware section and when a man asked those of us in the aisle if anybody needed help I raised my hand. He looked through all the drawers with me and when he was ready to throw in the towel asked what the part is for. I explained, then he smiled and sighed and laughed relieved there might still be hope for me. He said he also works in the electrical department and knew where I might find what I was looking for. I sauntered over there and found the section of replacement parts, none of which were the size I needed. I stopped at Ace on the way home and found myself slightly better off. They had a nipple of the right length, only with an imperial diameter when the rest of the parts in the kit were metric. I wound up buying an entire set of matching hardware to conclude the install I thought would only take a half hour at worst yet turned into a paragraph long affair plus five dollars for the extra nipple, nuts, and cross bar.

On my way to Ace I received a text from the studio informing me the boudoir prints were ready. I made one last stop at the library to schedule a pick up for next week, the soonest available slot, then finished preparing the room for their arrival.

I'm hosting a party in two weeks, and with another room of projects to go the last week has felt like the longest day of Mrs. Dalloway's life. I met with a friend for a dog walk yesterday morning. I stopped for flu and COVID vaccines afterwards and woke up too sore to function today. I slept a little longer and after a walk and rest in the hammock felt revived and ready to resume work. I peeled wallpaper then patched and plastered a hole in the bathroom ceiling, which is drying now awaiting its top coat.

I found a cluster of chestnuts fruiting on one of our walks this week. Robert Graves's "Greek Myths" makes numerous references to ancient foragers subsisting on acorns, and seeing the mushrooms made me wonder what bounty the forest might offer in these inflationary times. Mostly I think I'm curious to try a bowl of acorns.