Accidents will happen

...when you least expect them! That was a song from the 60s, was it not? (No, not the Elvis Costello number.)

Everything was going so well. The curtains measured, brackets positioned and secured and the new curtain pole about to be installed when it just caught the edge of the lamp shade. Being glass, it didn't like being struck by metal, no matter how gently. An arc of it broke off and fell towards the glass topped coffee table below. All I remember was hearing a resonant 'ping' then a crash. On looking to see what the damage was, there were shards and splinters of glass all over the room. These few pieces were the largest remaining.

Fortunately(?), the TV remote took a direct hit and, though seriously wounded with a diagonal crack, it saved the glass table from catastrophe. Sure, there are a few additional scratches, but it's still useable. Sad about the lamp shade, though. It must be at least 25 years old - a Habitat classic. We had two that hung in the hall of our last house and were being put to good use here. However, new recessed lights replaced one of the pair. It had been stacked away in a cupboard somewhere. And that too was fortunate because its shade has now taken the place of the broken one. Mind you, getting the broken one off was a difficult and hazardous undertaking - but enough, enough - it just took ages!

The curtains did get hung eventually but will need to be re-adjusted tomorrow. It should have been such a simple job!