Furniture for Sale

Antique oak buffet, 60" wide x 21" deep x 38" tall. Has pretty, curved legs, decorative trim. Includes one long drawer across the top, silver drawer, and a third deep drawer. Also has a small cabinet on each end with door. $300.

Pretty oak china cabinet with curved glass front. Has glass shelves inside, key to lock door. 36" wide, 14" deep, 60" high. $300.

4 antique oak chairs with round seats, curved backs. $125 for the set.

Selling all to make room for new piano!

Take It--Please!

I read today that HGTV is launching a new show called, "Takeover My Makeover." The show features a professional designer who comes in to "rescue" a do-it-yourselfer who's tried (and failed) to design a room.

The type of design they're talking about is interior design, not heavy-duty renovation. It seems to focus mainly on things like paint, color, wallpaper, furniture selection and arrangement, etc. Sounds interesting enough.

But what I'd really like to see is a version that has a designer rescue a project like mine. Takeover my makeover, please! Finish this project before it finishes me!

Why are we so apt to give up before we finish things we start? I imagine one of my reasons is the inordinate length of time I've been working on this one project--more than two years now. Heck, some marriages don't last that long! If two people can get sick of each other in that span of time, you can imagine how I feel about these bookshelves.

I'm a little frustrated today because I got nothing done this weekend except to carry the trim from the garage to the bedroom. Whoopee! What an accomplishment! And I don't foresee getting much more done this weekend, either. We're trying to clear out the dining room in preparation for a new piano--a chore that is not unwelcomed but is time-consuming. Then we have to post ads and try to sell all the furniture that's coming out of the room!

A takeover sounds pretty good to me right now.

Carpenter Quotes

I'm cutting out this one for the workshop. Thanks, Arlo and Janis! (After you click on the link, select the comic strip for 4/24 to get the right one!)

Don't Try This at Home

I think I may have found the reason why I never seem to make much progress on my projects. It appears that I wear too many clothes. This week's news reports the arrest of a California (where else?) 50-year-old carpenter who allegedly likes to work in the buff. He says it gives him "a greater range of motion."

OK, I like to consider myself a carpenter-in-training, and--what a coincidence--I'll be 50 years old in a few months. Somehow, though, I can't imagine myself shedding my clothes to do my work. For one thing, these bookcases are beside two large windows that look out on our driveway. If I closed the blinds, I'd lose the sunlight which illuminates the dark corners. I'm also very cold-natured, and the thought of leaning against that cold, painted wood gives me the shivers. Besides, can you imagine the sting of a misdirected nail or the pain of a heavy, wooden hammer falling on your bare toes?

No, I guess this isn't my cup of tea. I guess I should've known. The guy in California also said, "a skilled craftsman can work clothing -- and injury -- free." That leave me out. Skilled, I'm not.

So fear not, neighbors. You won't have to worry about being scared to death if you glance in our windows one morning. I may have on dirty sweatpants and no makeup, but at least I won't be in my birthday suit!

Marital Bliss

The latest issue of More magazine has an article about a woman who got closer to her husband after she became interested in carpentry and tools. That wasn't her intent when she started, but it was an unexpected byproduct of the venture.

I can see her point, somewhat. I recall one night when my husband and I were debating the merits of certain brands of a power tool. It was hilarious, in retrospect. Who'd have ever thought we'd be doing that?

But since my husband and I both have so many interests (and too little time), we don't have much opportunity to work on projects together. When I need his brawn on my hutch project, he accommodates my request, but more often than not we're doing separate things. Right now, he's much more into his dirt bike than woodworking, which leaves me pretty much on my own with the power tools.

And that's ok with me. I've finally overcome my fear of the table saw, and I can usually manage it on my own unless I have a huge piece of wood that needs extra outfeed support. But when I need the pickup to tote something home from Home Depot or Lowe's, I rely on him. I absolutely HATE to drive that stick shift, especially in traffic.

I've also heard it said that couples bond when one teaches the other how to drive. About the only bond I had when he was teaching me to drive a stick shift years ago was the one between the steering wheel and my hands!

The Morning After

Happy Easter!!

After the day I had yesterday, you'd think I wouldn't be breathing today. But fortunately, that's not the case.

Yesterday, I had absolutely no energy--zip, zero, nada. I don't know if it was a sinus infection or just plain sleep deprivation, but I could barely move. After I went to the grocery store, I collapsed on the couch for about three hours of blissful napping. (I awoke to a huge mess in my kitchen and the sounds of my girls screaming with glee outside as they chased each other with a jug full of fruit tea. But that's another story.) Even after the nap, though, I was still lethargic. I vegetated on the couch all evening before finally retiring to bed about 11 p.m. Sometime in the night, though, the tide apparently turned, and I awoke this morning refreshed and rarin' to go.

Since I accomplished nothing so far this weekend on the project, I got down to business today, after we attended Easter services, of course. I've primed all the remaining trim and applied one coat of paint to it. I switched back to oil-based paint on the trim, though, because I really prefer its smooth texture and finish. I had used latex on the rest of the left hutch and cabinets, which made for much faster painting (and cleanup), but I am already disappointed in the durability of the desktop. It's not holding up as well as the right desktop. So for those areas not already painted with latex, I'm using oil.

Of course, that means one coat is all I'll get on the trim today. It will take forever to dry. That's ok, though, because the remaining oil-based paint in the can needs straining, and I haven't got anything to strain it with. I'm not going to go to Home Depot today--even if they're open. No use, since I can't do the second coat anyway.

At least I got something done. And we even had time for a nice, long family walk with the dog!

http://www.patswebgraphics.com

What's the point?

OK, my sister is bugging me to update this. But I have very little to update with, considering I've done nothing on my project since last week. Oh, I've done some minor work in the garden, but I've yet to lift a finger on the hutch project.

Today, I had the good fortune to be off from work for the holiday. But between kids' stuff, repairing a broken belt on the vacuum cleaner, and a visit from my mother and her dog, I've failed to "accomplish" anything. The trim leaning against the garage wall mocks me every time I pass by.

Oh well, perhaps tomorrow. I did enjoy some "down time" today and had an especially happy telephone call from a dear college friend. I think I needed that respite.

After all, tomorrow is another day!

Remembering

It's been a rough weekend, at least for my mind. I don't know if it's the hormone fluctuation from menopause or just senility, but I can't seem to remember anything lately, or if I do remember, I get it all confused. For instance, I had made an appointment with the vet for Saturday morning for our dog's annual checkup. The vet's office called Friday to remind us. I had it written in my calendar. The vet is our next door neighbor. But come Saturday, the appointment didn't even cross my mind until about 4 p.m. when I saw the vet in his yard next door.

A similar thing happened today. My eldest had a soccer game. The schedule was posted on the bulletin board by the back door. I looked at the schedule yesterday and saw that the game was at 7:45 p.m. I reminded her about the game, and we worked our entire day's schedule around the game time. While I thought it was a little late for a game on Sunday night, I didn't let it bother me. I should have, though. Because when it came time to leave at 7 p.m., I looked at the schedule again--and I saw that I had inadvertently misread it the first time. It turns out her game last Friday night, which was cancelled by bad weather, was at 7:45 p.m. TODAY's game was at 3:15 p.m.--which meant, of course, that she had missed the entire thing.

I also forgot my watch this morning, and I forgot where I put the dentist bill that needs to be paid. I went to the grocery and forgot the list. I forgot everything else I forgot.

Am I crazy? Is it menopause or do I just have too many things going on in my life to remember anything? It doesn't seem like there's anything more going on now than there was last year, but I just can't remember. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep. Some nights, I get only about 4 hours. Most nights, it's about 6 hours. Hardly ever more than that. I even tried to take a nap today, though I should've been in the garage priming and painting the new 3" trim I bought. I drifted in and out of sleep and woke up feeling even more tired than before the nap.

Perhaps some of this weekend's memory lapse stems from the disrupted schedule we experienced. It was anything but normal. School was dismissed 3 hours early on Friday because of bad weather. Piano lessons were cancelled for the same reason that afternoon, as was the daughter's Friday night soccer game. On Saturday--I barely even remember Saturday. Today, only the girls and I went to church, and we had to rush afterwards to drive about an hour to a dirtbike race, where my husband had gone earlier. (It was his first race to ride in.) We were the only idiots stupid enough to drive a car out there in the field and rutted road. Everyone else had trucks or SUVs. After we drove home, I ran to Home Depot to get the trim, then collapsed on the bed.

I told my family tonight that everyone has to quit relying on me to tell them when and where things are. Everyone has their own calendar, and they ought to be able to keep it. But since I'm usually the one who has to drive the kids to and fro, all their "events" need to be on my calendar, too. I need to hire a reminder service.

However, I did accomplish a couple of things this weekend. I definitely decided to go with the 3" trim (which means more work to replace the 2"). And I discovered that the maximum length of wood I can maneuver into the car is 9', and that's with about 1' sticking out the rear side window. I don't think I'll try 9' again, though. I felt like I was going to sideswipe everyone who drove by.

Re-evaluation

After cutting the adjustable shelves and giving them their final paint jobs, I took a moment to re-evaluate the trim situation.

Though I cut a couple of the pieces and tacked them onto the left hutch, I began to wonder if the entire project (both sides!) might not look better and more "finished" if I used 1x3 trim vs. 1x2 pieces. I used the latter on the right side (except for the top, where I used 1x4). And while it looks ok, it does not overlap the separate hutch pieces. In other words, it gives the edges of the vertical sides a nice finish, but it does not cover up the view of the inner workings--the metal shelf standards and support clips. Those are recessed into a dado, but if you are not looking at the shelves straight on, you can see them. As I said, it's ok but not as finished as I would like.

Since I won't have time to get back to the trim til next weekend, I'll probably stop by Home Depot or Lowe's this week to pick up a piece of 1x3 to try it out. If I like it better, I'll have to knock off the trim on the right hutch. I've already nailed that on and countersunk the finish nails, so it may be a challenge. Before I start putting it onto the left hutch, I'll have to try to get the other stuff off. If it won't come without damaging the entire unit, I guess I'll be sticking with 1x2 after all.

That said, I think the left unit looks pretty good right now. The adjustable shelves fit as good as I can make them and look ok. I still need to do some touch up painting, but that will be my last step.

Meanwhile, I have a huge blister on my hand where I constantly tightened and loosened the drill chuck when I was alternating between the screwdriver and the drill yesterday. The ol'
back doesn't feel so great either. Too much hunching over trying to get underneath the unit top and into the corners.

No picture today. I didn't feel like fooling with the camera. We spent about an hour waiting on a tornado that didn't come, and that kept me from using the computer.

April Fool's Day

What better day to post a picture of the hutch in progress than April Fool's Day? Only a fool would take two years to complete this project! (I can't, however, claim the mess. That belongs to my teenaged daughter.)

It's officially April 1, since it's one minute after midnight. Why I'm up at this hour, who knows. I'm selling some stuff in a garage sale tomorrow a.m., and I know from experience shopping at garage sales that the best buyers will be here long before I want to get up.

Hopefully, I'll get a lot done on the project today. April Fool's!