It is pleasant to sit at the table in the centre of the kitchen and look around this room, which has no curtains on the window above the sink. Often kitchens are the best rooms for sitting. Certainly mine is welcoming; I would find it difficult, though, to say that I have a favourite among the rooms; each one is different, and each serves its purpose with, I think, a certain grace.

Past the kitchen, through a short, low hallway, is the living room. I eat the evening meals here, because it is an evening room, dark, with just two narrow farm windows, at its best at night. In daylight, it can seem oppressive.

I covered this room when I came in an old-fashioned cream wallpaper with deep red feathery patterns. I had never done such a thing before, and will not attempt it again, for I am not good with my hands. I spent several painful days doing it, trying desperately to smooth out lumps, make edges meet, cut the paper away from the obstacles of doors and windows. When it was finished, I felt tired, discouraged, incompetent, for there were gaps between sheets of the paper, wrinkles on the walls — nothing too obvious, but mistakes nonetheless. I look at it now and do not notice the mistakes.

The furniture I bought at a second-hand store in the town, just an old couch, a deep chair with relaxed springs, three small tables, two table lamps, a floor lamp, a footstool. I bought many yards of material and re-covered the couch and chair myself.

I chose a quiet flower print, all muted blue and rose, and the rose blends more or less with the wallpaper. But actually covering the furniture with it was another struggle, with tacks and corners, and even now, sometimes something will come loose and I have to repair the damages I did. It is, however, comfortable.

The tables I sanded down, because they are made of fine wood that had been painted over. Again I spent days on it, but for that I was able to work outside, in the sunshine. Now and again I rub oil into them and they have a deep, quiet glow. They are the one part of the living room that has elegance.

Later I made curtains, a dull blue shade to match the couch, but only after I had experimented with making some for the bedroom.