That pile of yellowing plastic and metal used to be my kitchen ceiling. (Some of the metal pieces are 12 feet long.)

It was hiding five (5!) fluorescent light fixtures and the top twelve inches of the kitchen walls.

Here you can see the late 60s-early 70s orange, yellow and green wallpaper. And the Very Blue paint I slapped on when I moved in. (I didn’t know about primers and three coats of white paint hadn’t dimmed that orange at all.)

Oh, and over here is the back of the short wall, hanging from the ceiling, that closed off the open side of the dropped ceiling.

Now, tearing this down in October wasn’t the smartest of moves! I spend my holiday weekends working/playing at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. And workshops started on Halloween this year.

But I just couldn’t stand that yellowing plastic overhead any longer. So I Googled and Youtubed and took a closer look. And I pulled it all down. And I met my first ratcheted screwdriver (the screws were hexes and my little cordless screwdriver didn’t have the right attachment.)

So – I’ll do my Christmas cookery in this very odd-looking space. And I’ll look at lots of websites for ideas (well – of course – I’ve been doing that!) And I’ll make lists. And convince my sister she’d love to come play with me – and power tools<g>

And in January I’ll start to turn this odd little kitchen into a pretty cottage kitchen for my Make-Believe Cottage.

My cottage is make-believe on two levels. First – I don’t live in a cottage. I don’t live in a bungalow, farmhouse or cabin. I live in a circa-1969 mobile home in a mobile home park. Second – I love fairytales, history and magic. In other words, I still play at make-believe.

I’ve lived here for mumble-mumble years, but last week I decided NOW was the time to make some major changes and create the home I want. And not just a place to keep all my books and my computers… And if you’re doing renovation and redecoration, you have to blog it, right?

As FlyLady says, You Can’t Organize Clutter. And have I got clutter! Books and crafting stuff and… stuff. But I’ve started using the KonMari method (yes, more name-dropping<g>) and I see the clear light at the end of the emptied tunnel. Which means I can start thinking, planning and scheduling changes!

My goal is a cottage that might belong to a wizard, a place where she can work, play and entertain. Comfortable, pretty, with a pair of small dragons curled up beneath a side table that holds three candles and a small pumpkin-and-fall-leaves arrangement. Mostly cottage style plus vintage, bohemian and romantic country. With gryphons.