random thoughts - Day 1,998 (Friday) - studs and muscle

The list of house and life tasks swells and shrinks daily. Sometimes things are completed, sometimes just started, and some days projects languish, ignored and untouched. The day's successes included two more job applications submitted, the unloading of the dishwasher, and making an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation. Check!

Found a stud.

The week's starts included the corner shelf assembly on Tuesday, which, as of today, is still not mounted on the corner. The stud finder was enlisted to locate the studs in the two corner walls, and one stud was found in each wall which felt insufficient for the three screws. Measurements were taken of the height of the shelf and the height of the support rails. No holes were drilled or screws screwed or rails mounted. I don't trust my ability to correctly set two rails with three screws each onto two walls with only one stud found in each wall and trust it to hold the shelf and TV. The shelf remains on the floor.

Last week's successful chest of drawers painting was harnessed and directed to the dresser mirror which was unscrewed from the base and posts and the pieces brought outside under the carport. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside in shaded comfort. The sanding block and sheets of sand paper were fetched and the work of removing the blue paint with a white crackle paint overlay commenced. 

Minimal results for big effort.

There was some elbow grease involved and the sanding block got warm and even began to disintegrate with the effort. In a few spots, the paint came off in small strips, delivering the same odd satisfaction as peeling off nail polish. Mostly it was a whole lot of work to have some of the edges and a few small random spots sanded free of paint and it doesn't look very different than it did before I started. Maybe just a few degrees more shabby chic. 

Now the pieces are in the shed awaiting either a faster paint removal method or more sanding, which seems like a good arm workout if nothing else. Based on the effort needed to get next to nowhere with the mirror, the bureau is going to be a nightmare, but I may have some muscles at the end of it.