I COULD BE A CARPENTER....WELL, MAYBE NOT

I have a problem. When I get into my low moods, I like to change the look of my house. Sometimes it’s just a room, not the entire home.

I was sitting in my living room today watching the pre race stuff for the Daytona 500. I looked over at the counter that divides the kitchen from the living room. I started thinking how nice it would be to actually use the counter. However, four cabinets stand over the counter giving roughly 2 feet of space between the bottom of the cabinets to the top of the counter. Not very functional. Then I had an epiphany. Take out the cabinets for a clear view into each room. Then I can use the counter and eventually get some bar stools for the living room.

I went over to the cabinet/count area and pulled off all the moulding around the edging of the cabinets. Luck would have it, there were gaps between the cabinet walls and the walls of the house. I examined the back wall of the cabinets, that faces the living room, and noticed only staples holding the paneling onto the cabinet frame. With a little help from a screw driver and a lot of help from a hammer, I was able to remove the entire back of the cabinets. I removed all the junk, literally, out of the cabinets. I went into the kitchen, removed the four doors, and I was looking through the cabinet frame right into my living room. So far, this was going easier than I imagined. All I needed to do now was break down the frame and the cabinets were gone. I started checking out the frame and noticed that someone insanely stapled all the 2x2s together making it one big solid unit. The only thing keeping the cabinets up were about special 12 trailer house screws. Now, everyone who has living in a mobile home knows the screws I am taking about. They are a “special” screw that has a head similar to a bowtie shape. You need a special screwdriver to remove them. Again, being a mobile home owner, I have such a screwdriver. What I didn’t plan on was the length of the screws. I was twisting and turning one of them for what felt about twenty minutes and it was not out of the wall yet. It was turning into a very strenuous task. I finally got burnt out and quit. I only have about 8 more screws to go and then I am done. I am going to check out Wal-Mart tonight to see if they have a special bit head for my electric drill to make this go faster. But I have noticed one other problem, and it’s a big problem. The cabinets are flush with the walls. When I do get the frame loose, it will rest on the counter top. How I will get off the counter top? I am going to have to try pulling it straight out into either the kitchen or living room. If that isn’t going to work, I will have to tip it over into one of the rooms. They sound like small issues, but you have to be here to visualize it in order to appreciate the situation.

So now, I am just sitting here blogging and occasionally looking up at the skeleton now hanging above my counter top. I am finished for the afternoon. The screwdriver thing sucks. I am not going to do anything about getting the frame down until after I go to Wal-Mart. I really need to get out of this funk of “changing” things when I am depressed. Lord knows what I am going to try and attempt after this. On the super plus side, I have completed all assignments and the Final test for my Understanding Health Insurance class. I have finished the course 2 months ahead of schedule. That should knock off SOME stress.