The New Orifice

I've used a room in my house for years as an office to write from. For a long time, however, it has been a shambles. I had mismatched bookcases, an old dresser, two file cabinets of differing sizes, as well as bits and pieces of flotsam and jetsam from all over.
That has changed. I have a newly-designed office that isn't fancy, but is certainly a lot more open and inviting to write in. In place of all the bookcases, dressers and file cabinets, friends helped me bring up a massive set of kitchen cabinets from my basement that are probably original to my house (built in 1935). It has four sets of shelves on top, seven drawers and a potato bin on the bottom (I'm using that for recycling). Between them I installed a piece of granite, shoulder-level in this photo.
I plan to add some sort of boxes that will lift the upper set of shelves about a foot, so the granite wll be more visible and accessible. I'll also replace the doors to all the cabinets. Only the middle two are visible in this photo.
The typing table I'm working at here is going to be supplanted by an old library carrel I found somewhere. It's served in my basement as a workbench, but it is made of oak and--although the top is ragged and paintsplotched--will make a dandy desk. I have to replace the tattered top veneer, but I'm hopeful that won't be too hard.
I have drapes from Ikea on the windows, and two chairs in the office, all on a cast-off rug someone threw away. It all looks very good together, and I'm excited about the changes.
Not just the changes to my office, either.

• The doctors opened my left eye all the way, since my palsy has receded to about 10 percent.
• My son has moved to Iowa from Massachusetts, which means I'll get to see him and his family more often.
• I've got a technical writing contract that will last until Sep. 1.

Next job: fix up the upstairs bedroom so my son's family can visit often.