Taking a step back to admire my handiwork, the bedside table with a fresh coat of sky blue paint took pride of place in my room.
Switching off another episode of a true crime documentary, I snapped a picture of my DIY work before uploading it to my Facebook account in November 2017.
Not really being a DIY person before now, with an empty nest, I didn’t have much choice – but I knew I could do it.
My twins Tony* and Ruth*, 28, had both gone on to live their own lives, leaving me to find ways of entertaining myself.
Only before long, it seemed my post had caused quite a stir – so much so, I had a friend request from a stranger.
Lee Norris.
With a string of mutual friends, many of whom I had known from when I lived in London, I clicked accept.
But before I had a chance to put my phone down, I had a message within seconds.
Hi Elizabeth, love your DIY – have you got any tips? Lee quickly messaged.
Was he being sarcastic?
Well, that’s a bit of a sexist thing to say… I thought, knowing that some men thought that women couldn’t do a job for themselves.
Only, I wasn’t afraid to put him straight to start with – if he was going to message me first then I wasn’t going to be too shy.
