Home Improvements

Some home projects are bigger and more impressive than others. My buddy Byron, for example, has done some major ones: underground lawn sprinkler system; a very large, multi-level back deck; a 8×10 shed in the same backyard; hardwood flooring in his entryway and short staircase; and, even some wood furniture. All of them turned out really well, you’d be hard pressed to see where a professional could do better.

Another one of my buddies, Evan, is pretty similar though his interests tend to focus more on electronics than wood and, of course, Evan rents an apartment while Byron owns a house with backyard. Even is currently experimenting with robotics and specialized processors and controlling them via a PDA. And you should see his workroom–just jammed with computers, monitors, Black and Decker power tools, drill bits, hole punches, and more. Amazing how much he gets in there and leave enough room to still work.

So those are guys who do bigger projects. Me, on the other hand, I have little in the way of this kind of skill. What’s the opposite of mad skills? That’s me. On rare occasion, though, I do get an urge to be primitive and make something real. Not just bits in a computer. With all the cooking I’ve been doing, I decided that a small shelf in the kitchen to hold my little spice and herb bottles would be very handy. Nothing I found looking in a few stores really struck me as suitable, so Evan and I cooked up a little plan and bought the parts at OSH.

Well, yesterday and today became construction day. Evan did a little cutting and drilling, I did some work with glue, nails, and a hammer. Back to Evan for some serious sanding and a few more nails, then back home for the paint job. Right now I’m waiting for the paint to really dry and then it gets put in its final resting place, under the cabinets in my far too small kitchen. Next question: what goes in the now empty cabinet?