Blogger's Block

So, I don't know what I want to write about for today's blog. My mind is taken over by a home improvement project that keeps going off track. All I can think about is hinges.

You see, we have painted all of our kitchen cabinets. We took all the doors off, removed the hardware, treated them with deglosser, and painted them white. They were this gray-green color that was really dull. Last year we painted the kitchen walls yellow and the cabinets really looked drab.

Since I am somewhat physically limited I can only work for a few minutes at a time with rests in between. I call it "inch-worming" and do a lot of things that way. But since I have 23 cabinet doors, it has taken weeks to get them finished. 

Once painted white we went to buy new hinges and knobs, white ones. The knobs look great. The hinges didn't fit. So we returned them and got another kind of white hinges. They didn't work either.
So we decided we could live with silver-toned hinges. We bought another style of them and discovered they don't fit either. And because they aren't self closing we'd have to install magnets to keep them closed.

The only option left it seems is to paint the old hinges. And as we looked at them against the white paint to see how we would like them painted (white or silver-tone) we discovered they are not all the same size! We didn't realize that and don't know which size came from which doors. We will have to check each against where the screw holes are.

So tonight the hinges are soaking in vinegar water to remove the grease and grime from fifty-some years in a kitchen. And once we buy the spray paint for metals it will be back to painting, after I was so relieved I was done with that.

Now this project has been underway for a month. My kitchen has not been fully functional that whole time. I have to keep moving things from one place to another to do any cooking. And I have to watch where I step because of the paper and plastic littered floor.

Maybe when we get it all done I'll bake a cake or pie or something to celebrate.

So what did I learn from all this frustration? (Believe me, big time frustration) First, to do a large project you must be flexible. Second, you have to be a problem-solver because there are going to be problems. Third, when all seems to overwhelming you have to take a break and do something else. and Fourth, don't get too attached to the deadline you set for the project, cause it probably will take longer than you think. Fifth, be open to asking for help when you need it.

I imagine those points could fit most any kind of project, even big things like making the world a better place and working toward world peace.

So were you bored by my unlikely blog post?