Ah, Love!

Ah, Love!

Love is exciting!  

The ding of the phone letting you know you have a new text message sends little charges of electricity through your body.  To see the object of your affection unexpectedly makes your heart go pitter-patter.  Hearing that they are coming to see you might even make you bounce - literally! - and dance around.  

Yeah, I know that feeling.

It must be love!

Except when it's only infatuation, or worse, addiction - being in love with love and the adrenaline rush.  

Take some time for that to wear off.  You know - a month maybe?  Better yet, make it 6 months.  

Talk to them about real stuff.  Heck, even argue with them about nonessential things (to see how they will act if you argue about important things.)  Determine what they consider "arguing."  It may well be a lot different than your definition.  

Play board games with them; something you like, something they like.  

Go to a restaurant that has a reputation for slow service or bad food.  See how they react.  Be nice to them.  Ignore them (for a little while.)  

Go without your usual hygienic routine (you know, skip the makeup or shaving.)  

Meet their friends.  Have them meet yours.  

Ask them to go somewhere you really love to be.  Go with them to their favorite place.  

Discuss your philosophy of life and (if it's important to you) spiritual things.  

Verbally set boundaries for actions you consider important to your mental and physical well-being.  See if they intentionally cross them.  

Ask them to do something that would inconvenience them.  And costs money.  Something altruistic, even.  

Work with them doing something you enjoy, and something you might not, especially if you know more about the subject than they do.  

Say "no" - on more than one occasion, and stick to it.

Oh yeah.  Notice that most of this requires face to face, not social media.

You get the idea.  Be creative.

And then pay attention.  Without all the excitement.  

And then wait a little while longer to see if they are just playing the game for an ultimate goal that is a little less than savory.

Then, look for the peace.  Not until then is it a good idea to call it "love."

Yeah.  Experience.

Have you ever been in love, only to find it wasn't?

bi-fold door/shutter shelf

So... I moved.  Since the last post - twice!  I've been too lazy about writing.  Sorry, folks.

It's been quite a while since I lived in an apartment complex.  Sixteen years, to be exact.  And then I had just moved from Alaska to South Carolina, with only a few boxes and airplane luggage, albeit back in the day when you could check 3 70 pound pieces of luggage, in nearly any shape, not just suitcases.  Anyone from Alaska knows that suitcases are inconvenient for the things we haul around.

Anyway, this time, I moved with waaay too much stuff, and not much by way of storage.  So... time to get creative.

How about a broken bifold door and rescued rough cut 1x12 pine boards?

The broken slats are what gave me this idea.  Well, I got it from here in a image search for what to do with shutters.  As you will see, I didn't follow the instructions!  But hey, I remembered what it looked like.  What do you want from me, anyway??

Onward.

My bi-fold door came to me with two slats broken out beneath the center piece.  Well... If I put one of my extra dining room chairs in front of it, who's gonna know - or care?

I desperately need more space to display glassware, since the house I moved from had a corner china cabinet that was stuffed to the max.  Here, barely enough space to store one set of dishes - and I have  fetish for collecting dishes!!

Time to get to work.  I checked out my supply of wood (that I'm sure my friends who helped me move were shaking their head at.)  Sho' nuff, some reclaimed 1"x12" rough cut boards that came with that old trailer in New Hampshire. Perfect fit.

Now, here comes the part where I started winging it, because I didn't know there was an easier way!  I reclaimed a box that was destined for the dumpster and started making a template for the shelves.  Notice the black tape. That's because I cut off too much. 

It fit, so I marked two of them on one board. 

There is no way I'd make good straight cuts, so I got out my old chop saw that I picked up for $30 off one of those fb sale sites.  The table top is a reclaimed table from the side of the road.  The metal rolly cabinet is from a friend who was moving and going to throw it on the side of the road.  I love friends!

Alas, it's only a 10" saw, so it won't cut a 12" board at a 45degree angle without some contortions. 

The first one wasn't quite perfect, but would do, so I adjusted the next one cut 2 of those.  The smaller cuts were done with a miter box saw because I couldn't find the jig saw blades. Again, no pictures.  I was working, not taking pictures.  Gimme a break, okay?Sorry, I didn't take a picture, and I'm not going to unload the shelf just to take a picture.  Suffice it to say, it looks very similar to the cardboard template. 

Here's the shelf minus the top.

And then the top.  Much easier to cut.  Just a triangle with the front corners cut off.  I laid the piece on top of the shelf and scribed where the corners needed to be cut.  Easy.  Then, as luck (and God, who is a lifesaver when it comes to me getting anything done!) would have it, I drilled holes in the front corners exactly where the holes for the door hardware are!  The screws are left over from a knockdown bed that is no longer.  They are simply dropped in for stability,

And done!

Thanks to my cousin for the fake plant - the only kind I can grow!


See?  When you put the chair under the bottom shelf, the broken slats disappear.

What you think?