You're My Angel. A Handyman's Tale.

I'd like to think of myself as Mr. Handyman.

Actually, I'm passable. I can paint a room. I can hang wall paper. I can lay out tiles (wall and floor). I can fix small rust in a car. I can change a tire (while sweating profusely). I can repair minor scratching on wood floors. If cooking is another measure of a handyman's tasks, then, I'm it.

Well, if you live in North America where labour is costly, you have to be a Mr. or Ms. Handy. A fix-it-yourself- er.

Especially nowadays, when there's more companies laying off people, home owners and even renters, rely on themselves to fix trouble spots in the house, or to do minor make-overs.

Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Rona's and now, Lowe's Home Improvement Centres, are every Handyman's friend. You can find anything there, from hardware such as nails and screws, to the large items such as lumber, insulation, paint, wall papers, and even whole decks.

This business of wall papers. The Unit has beige wall paper now; a while ago, it had flower and plant motif. Meanwhile, in the bathroom, there's a very faint greenish wall paper with the slightest hint of yellow flowers.

I also installed these quite fancy mouldings in the living room and dining areas - not wood, but they're made of light, cork-like mouldings which I got at Home Depot.

I read the instruction on how to install mouldings and presto, got the project done. It was not easy; I had to buy the corner moulds, and a special tool for cutting the in-between moulds. But it came out quite... well.

One friend who visited from Michigan commented on how fancy it was. Or maybe, she had just been well-fed.

If you fancy wall papers, I can understand. Paint can become boring. With wall paper, you can spruce up the house quickly - choosing from a wide array of colors and designs which can match your mood.

Now, in the balcony where the birds hang out, the walls are just plainly painted green with some old geometric designs.

The male budgie, Tommy Boy, would once in a while accidentally fly out of his cage. His favorite landing spot is the living room - on the window curtains - thinking it's a soft bed. He loves it so.