The Door (Part 2)

I got the door assembled at home and transported it to Basking Ridge where it was then installed. When Timmy saw me with my tools, he quickly got his own tool box and carried it into the kitchen commenting, "This is heavy." Both Timmy and Bridget watched me carefully and provided helpful assistance by handing me nails as needed and by asking many question along with showing me that they had toy tools similar to mine. The installation went smoothly. I now must finish off the top, install catches and make a smooth transition to the top closet shelf.

 

While this is going on, I must continue with the Great Shelving Adventure, but cutting the wood to proper length, sanding and having Harry help me apply stain.

The Door

I have been working on Teddy and Patti's door for their closet and hope to be able to deliver and install it this Saturday. So far things have gone well. I am putting a poly stain on it and I'm finding it tough to spot little runs of varnish which show up quite plainly the next day after it is dry. I am building a frame from measurements that I took at their house, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything fits ok. If it doesn't quite fit like I hope, Timmy got some tools for Christmas, I think and maybe he can help me fix it. Then we will proceed to Harry's shelving. I didn't buy the stain for that yet because I want to give Harry a few samples from which to choose. Maybe that's making things more complicated, but it's his room and I want him to be happy when it is all done.

The Great American Shelving Adventure (Part 2)

 I went to Home Depot today to get shelving for my grandson Harry's room. I don't know how these stores make a profit with the lousy wood they sell. They had a lot of 1x10x8 shelving so I thought it would be easy go get what I needed, but each piece I picked up was worse than the one before it. I had gone through three quarters of their supply to get descent pieces. All of which was a piece of cake compared with my visit to Lowes the other day. I looked at the line by the cash registers and there was none, so I got my cart and loaded up with a piece of plywood for his desk and shelving brackets, along with a door for Timmy and Bridget's house. When I reached the register there was one couple ahead of me and then it happened. Every cash register in the store went dead. All the lights were on, but the registers were not. The couple ahead of me had to leave to get their daughter from school, but now there were all these people behind me. I don't know where they came from; the store seemed empty a few moments before. Everyone just stood there, customers and employees alike, not knowing what to do. Finally a woman came out of the office carrying plastic boxes with paper forms and announced that the cashiers would have to manually write up each item and since nothing has a price tag on it anymore, they would have to GO BACK INTO THE STORE AND LOOK FOR EACH ITEM TO GET THE PRICE!!! Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea of what my items cost and they accepted my numbers, except for two sizes of brackets, which I didn't know and which another employee went back to check while the cashier was handwriting everything. I was lucky. My cashier said she had another job in a clothing store and that they always had to write things up manually. There was generally a chorus of groans from the other cashiers that "We never did this before. How do we do this? We haven't been trained on what to do." To pay, I gave the girl my Lowes credit card which they laid under a piece of paper and proceeded to rub with a pencil to get an impression of it. I didn't mind so much the time I wasted because the whole thing was such a hoot.

  

I now have most of (maybe all) the shelving and brackets I need. I want to let it dry a little before I do anything else with it. Tomorrow, I'll look for some stain. I hope that won't be as adventuresome. In the meantime, where's that dram of Scotch?

The Handyman

We had a man in today from Roto Rooter to clean out our house drain and he remarked on seeing my workshop that "You must be a handyman." I though that yes, I guess I am a handyman, but not just any handyman. I have a special calling in life. I knew for years that I had a destiny in home repairs, from digging trenches to put in light posts, remodeling the second floor and putting in a new bathroom at our former home in Ewing, building a darkroom and shelves at or home in Aberdeen to removing bushes, digging tons of dirt, building porch steps and more shelving at our present home. In fact, I have built so many shelves, I suggested to my spouse that my tombstone should read, "He Built Shelves." I have repaired water lines, faucets, tight doors, rebuilt kitchen cabinets, replaced or added electrical outlets, wired rooms for stereo speakers, wallpapered and painted, refinished floors and the list goes on. I recently bought a pressure washer [family take note] to clean gutters, remove paint, clean soffits and outdoor equipment. I am truly a handyman. No, not a handyman, I am The Handyman of Morning Glory Alley.