Chores and Other Stuff

I really need to start blogging earlier in the day. Lately I’m staying up late watching TV or playing a game and, by the time I get to bed, I’m too tired to sit here and remember what happened during the day. I like doing this, I just can’t stay awake long enough to get it done. I’ll figure something out.

So yesterday Ty made his diorama. He did it mostly by himself; I wrapped the box in wrapping paper to cover the orange color and Nike logo. He drew it out on paper (at my suggestion) and then redrew the different pieces on cardboard, colored them, cut them out and glued them inside the box. It looks great. He decided to do an urban community and it’s got the Statute of Liberty, the now-gone Twin Towers, the Empire State building, and a couple of other buildings from other countries. I don’t know why; please don’t ask. I’ve got pictures of it, I just haven’t uploaded them yet. I’ll try to do that tomorrow.

I’ve been busy during the days getting chores and things done around here; just organizing, unpacking, reorganizing and other things. Yesterday I actually switched the doors on the refrigerator. Kara’s kitchen doesn’t really have the most convenient layout so, after she and I talked and rearranged a few things, we decided that the fridge and freezer doors, that opened from the counters out toward the room (left to right), should be flipped so that they could open toward the counters.

Picture this: you’re standing at the counter doing whatever, and your spouse wants a drink from the fridge. The problem is that you’re standing right next to the handle to the door so your spouse either has to wait for you to finish, or you have to step out of the way while the drink is fetched. Not really the best plan. With the doors opening from the opposite direction you can continue to stand there doing what you’re doing and your spouse can get to the fridge to get a drink, a snack, or whatever he or she wants, without disturbing you or having to wait.

I knew the doors could be flipped; I’d just never done it before. This was my first door flipping and, I must say, it was rather enjoyable. I love doing repair-type work, or anything where I get to build something. The only bump is that I had to remember which parts went where when I got both doors off. I took off the freezer first because it’s the smaller of the two and the most logical. Once I got the freezer door off and the handle moved to the other side I couldn’t reinstall it until the fridge was flipped also because the freezer door sits on a peg from the top of the fridge door. Imagine that.

So I got the fridge door off and the handle flipped; then I got it reinstalled. I got the freezer door back on soon after and they both worked and sealed properly; plus I had no spare parts. Then came the kicker. I’d removed all the shelves from the fridge door, and I’d even put them on the table in the same layout they were in inside the fridge. What I didn’t note was which notches they’d been on in the fridge. I had to play shuffle the shelves to get them back to the correct heights they’d been. All in all, though, it was a pretty satisfying project and I had a great time doing it. If you decide to take on the same project at some point remember to work quickly; the food does begin to defrost while it’s sitting there waiting for you.

I don’t know what chores are in store for tomorrow but I hope to find something fun and productive. Not that most chores aren’t productive but I get a better sense of accomplishment when I have to take things apart and put them back together. Not Tim Allen-style; I don’t rebuild things to work better and faster. I just like working on hands-on projects; it’s actually fun for me. Maybe I’ll hang pictures or something, I don’t know yet. You can bet, though, that whatever I pick, I’ll have a blast doing it.

Until next time…peace to all.