Yesterday I put up pictures.

I'm really, really fussy about pictures: they have to be at exactly the right height, centred precisely in their space, and straight. So the picture-hanging kit includes a tape measure, a ruler and a spirit level as well as my dear little hand drill and a ratchet screwdriver. The hangers I use are oblong plastic things that screw to the wall and hold the picture wire in a groove across the top, steady and straight. I bought a bunch of them years ago at a Home Depot in Ottawa, and they work so well that of course I can't find any more; they seem to have vanished even from Amazon.

It took me all afternoon to hang three paintings, two etchings and one Japanese wood-block print. The sitting room finally looks finished, complete with curtains, carpet and art, and I did not fall off the ladder.

My lungs are slowly recovering, but the cough is still a definite presence -- I have to sleep propped up on two pillows. I'll know everything is back to normal when I can lie flat on my back without wheezing.