Phase II of Project I Complete!

Here is a rule of life: no matter how well researched and reasoned your expectations, any project will take longer, be more complicated, and usually cost more than anticipated. Always add at least 10% to your worst time and budget scenario.

Phase II of my closet project was hanging shelves. I expected to have it done yesterday, but I spent most of my available time at Lowe's trying to decide how exactly I was going to hang the long shelf in the back of the closet and what kind of shelving to use. I really couldn't make a final decision because there were too many possibilities that all seemed a bit beyond my abilities or didn't quite fit my closet. Big box stores overwhelm me with their cavernous aisles, but even though they have lots of stuff, it's almost impossible to find that one exactly right thing.

So, today I consulted with The Oracles. We have a little hardware store in town that is manned by a number of older New England gentlemen who seem to have seen it all. I call them The Oracles. Describe what you are trying to do and they will hem and haw for a bit, walk around the store, ask a few questions (which I usually can't answer, like drywall or plaster), and then come up with a way to do what you want to do, put together all the stuff you need, and give you advice on how to do it properly (like what size hole to drill). It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it will be practical. They will also give you the name of a good carpenter. I came out with a small brown paper bag and a plan of action.

Executing the plan of action did not go quite as smoothly as anticipated and I nearly gave up and called the carpenter. But, I decided to break for lunch. The movie 300 happened to be on while I was eating and after watching the determined but doomed Spartans for half an hour, I had to give it another go, for Sparta! And I finally got that darn shelf up! And it hasn't fallen down yet! And no body parts were hacked off, either.