Project report … Vaughan garage. Saturday.
We attacked the garage yet again
yesterday. This time the goal was to get
some shelves put up near the ceiling so we could eliminate the massive amount
of clutter that had accumulated over the years without actually throwing too
much away. As I have said before, Chris
has an amazing ability to envision a finished product out of a pile of what
appears to the naked eye to be … well, junk.
Now, as it usually happens with garages,
before we could do anything we had to pull everything out. Well, not everything all at once. We started on the side of the room where the
two rows of shelving would be. And that
proved to be a task in itself. A bed
frame for a bunk bed damaged by Hurricane Ike, numerous boxes, and a stack of
old table extenders. You know, those
slats of wood that make your dining room table giant-sized for holiday
meals. These were also damaged by the
storm, and the veneer was peeling badly.
And as I got the first tow outside and set them down, I discovered
Babyland General Hospital, Pediatric Division … for roaches. Roaches of all sizes leapt from behind that
veneer. A few of the hospital
administrators - large, fat, juicy ones - made a feeble attempt to impede my
progress, but sadly - for them – to no avail.
But there were also thousands of tiny versions that were unleashed into the
cruel world well before their time. And
their sheer numbers, as well as their tiny stature, made it impossible for me
to Godzilla them all. I did my best, but
when they are so small that they can hide in the tread of your shoe, what can a
gigantic monster do?
We did get that first set of shelves hung
and loaded … after a trip to Nathan’s for the impact drill screwdriver. At least we found the studs this time. We also managed to hang one of those contraptions
for storing garden tools like a hoe and a rake.
Or in our case, three shovels, two rakes, a saw, a flounder gig and a
home-made deep sea fishing gig. We put
our old milk crates on the first piece of wood and the second shelf on top of
them. And on that very top shelf we put
stuff that we will probably never use.
Old vases. A giant tea
dispenser. A box of – yep, I’m serious –
pine cones. Into the milk crates went
the sleeping bags that we use for cousins’ sleepovers. It all worked out well. At least it was somewhere near the vision in
Chris’ head.
The shelves on the other side of the room
were a bit easier to hang, but of course they came out off-line. Had to add a piece of wood under one side to
level them out. We used some more milk
crates to create a second shelf. That
group was located low enough that we could fit some of our taller storage bins
on the very top. Did some adjusting so we would have a place for the fishing
poles I use on a somewhat regular basis.
Still need one of those pole holders, but that’s a trip to Academy for
another day.
Getting everything back into the garage was
the challenge of the decade. I finally
opened up the attic and crammed some stuff into the small remaining space up
there. Don’t forget to check that attic
after we die, my Sons. There are
treasures up there you know not of.
Job 38:36 says, “Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?”
Father, open up some hearts at church
today. Amen.
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