I haven't been idle all week. I'm just about done hanging the pantry door – need to find a couple of trim pieces in the gym, and patch the holes and dings in the cheap, modern, used-and-abused door jamb. It took days of slow-mo carpentry to do – chiseling out the hinge pockets, finding hinges and pins, rummaging out shims and trim.... Richard, bless his heart, hauled the door over from the gym. It's one of the original doors from the school – there are 20 or 30 stored over there. The casing (thats the flat trim part, yes?) is original, too, and warped and fragile. The jamb is a battered newer one, almost tall and wide enough, that I found in two different places. The handles and operational bit (we call them "door guts") are from our stockpile of cool metal parts.
Of course, since this is an old building, nothing is truly square or plumb. And the old materials are not in the best shape. And the walls are a weird thickness. And I scrounge materials. So it's all a little funky. But since the old door was sheet of plastic stapled over the hole (augmented by a down sleeping bag during the cold spell last year), it is a big improvement.
It opens and closes beautifully.
I'll have to get creative on the inside trim.
C. has been making corn tortillas from masa harina (gluten free!) and we've been making enchiladas from our own black beans, salsa and tomato sauce. Pretty tasty.
Also, the local roofing guy came by and did some patching up there. He's a nice guy, but very shy. He quietly appears, climbs up there, and clumps around painting roof-goop on bad spots. We're shy, too, so this lack of interaction is fine. He does need to get us an invoice so we can pay him from our special roofing account at the bank.
Right now, trying to make myself do something. I split a little wood and haul it in in our little red wagon. Feed and water the animals. Read. Wait for some kind of ambition. Or motivation. Or sunshine.
Meh.
By now I would have also descended into a similar state of winter lethargy, but am prevented from doing so this year by my promise to accompany two choirs, who both lack pianists and want to sing Christmas carols at four concerts between now and Christmas Day.
ReplyDeleteLove that door. We couldn't keep any of the old wooden doors of our house because they were too decayed, which I was always sad about.
You're so smart for making commitments that keep you moving!
ReplyDeleteYes, we are lucky to have the doors. They're not fancy, but they're solid. And very turquoise. I wish we had more of the original materials... steel-frame windows, plaster walls, even the desks and chalkboards. But have to be grateful for what still remains.