Today is Lucy Maud Montogomery’s birthday, and I’ve been wanting to sit down and blog about her all day — but I’m just too tired!

She was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island on November 30, 1874. She published her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, in 1908 — so I guess that means she was 34 years old (we better get moving). Altogether, she published 20 novels in a little over 30 years.

I enjoyed reading about her life here at Wikipedia, especially since I’ve journeyed to Cavendish where she lived. It’s interesting to note how her life seems to parallel Anne’s in many ways.

I hope I can write more tomorrow. Right now, every muscle in my body is aching. I feel like I know how manual laborers feel when they come home at night. If I were a man, I’d want to sit in a big, fat Lazy Boy chair and hog the remote, shutting out the world.

I’ve spent the better part of my week either down in the basement totally reorganizing and hauling clutter off to Goodwill — or I’ve been upstairs repainting a bedroom and a bathroom. Who knew painting gives you sore muscles?

Why, oh why, did I ever let our house painter talk us into matte (flat) paint three years ago? I can hear him right now, “Well, m’am, I’d highly recommend the matte paint on these new walls here. I’ve done this for years, and I wouldn’t go with a satin. No sirree.”

Grrrr. Ever tried to wipe crayon or fingerprints off buttery yellow flat paint? It leaves a mark, even if you use those Mr. Clean eraser things.

So it was a glorious occasion yesterday when I covered the boys’ bathroom walls in a rich, deep SATIN taupe that dried a little bit shiny. I’m so happy I could kiss the walls. And another bedroom with light pink flat paint is now a happy apple green — satin of course.

I still have one more coat to paint tomorrow — then I have to haul all the furniture back in. Thankfully, most of the toys now have homes in our semi-organized (though still unfinished) basement.

When I’m not so tired, I want to tell you more about what inspired me to TACKLE my basement. And yes, it does have something to do with Lucy Maud Montgomery. I’ve had a creative burst of some sort.

Tonight I’m flat, worn out. Not flat — satin! There’s a new phrase — satin worn out. Sounds better, doesn’t it?