The part that got me was the glue... #DIY Horror Story from Jenn McKinlay, author of ON BORROWED TIME: During the years before I was published, I would frequently work out my writerly angst on the wee cottage the Hub, hooligans and I share. It became a sort of therapy. Hours were spent writing. Rejections arrived. House was, oh, let’s go with “improved”. For example, one day the Hub arrived home from work to find a large section of wall removed from the hallway. He hunted me down in the laundry room and asked if anything significant had happened. I assured him it had not and pointed to the hooligans safely at play in the backyard. He then cautiously mentioned the gaping hole in the hallway. I informed him that it would be a built-in bookshelf and not to worry. He nodded and to his credit pretended not to see it. I think it’s safe to say I had received my quota of rejections that day and decided that taking a hammer to a seven by three foot section of wall was perfectly reasonable. In the following days, it went something like this: Measure the hole. Go to the hardware store and buy wood to frame out the bookshelf. Measure the board. Use jigsaw to cut the board. Discover the board is too short. Measure and cut again. Realize second board is too short. Go back to the hardware store and buy more wood. Finally, get it right. Buy paneling to glue onto the interior wall of the bookcase. Glue fingers together with liquid nails and spend an hour trying to unstick them. Glue paneling in place. Measure the boards for the shelves. Twice. Still cut them too short. Go back to the hardware store for more wood. Cut the shelves and start to put them in place. Accidentally put a hole in the wall when trying to hammer in the shelves. Call carpenter brother to whine. Discover through his wisdom that joint compound is a friend. Patch the hole. Finally paint the bookshelf to match the surrounding walls. Put stuff on shelves. Go back to the computer and write a new proposal. Amen. Thanks for inviting me to share my DIY, Kate! Clearly, I need a Shannon Hammer in my life, but I’ll settle for cozying up with A HIGH-END FINISH! Read a sneak peek of ON BORROWED TIME: jennmckinlay/on_borrowed_time_123001.htm #diygoneawry #DIY
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:30:00 +0000
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