Captain Hook
Summer has really shown herself today. It was very warm. Too warm to really do anything so I took it easy. Work in the morning, and then read. I finished A Clockwork Orange. It’s a fascinating read. The nadsat Burgess’ uses makes the book difficult to read. You need to often infer the meaning of a word by its context and as such may need to re-read sections. Or refer to the word list in the back as my edition has. The book is sometimes misjudged because it features vivid descriptions of violent encounters. This makes sense as the ultra-violence is something the protagonist not only performs, but also enjoys. And being the narrator, he would revel in it. In the end, though, the violence isn’t the point. The underlying issue is free will and morality. Choosing to be good, versus not being able to be anything but good and struggling with that in your mind.
I then started reading Libriomancer, by Jim Hines. It’s an urban fantasy where the protagonist is able to pull things from books through magic. He and others form a secret society to protect this book magic. However, bad things start happening. As they are wont to do in books. Books also create monsters. Vampires, for example. With the many ways vampires have been described, you also get different kinds of vampires. For instance, there’s the Sanguinarius meyerii, these vampires come from the books of Stephenie Meyer and they sparkle… I’m only a few chapters in but I can tell I’m going to like this. It’s a fantasy book lover’s book, there’s references to books, items from books, and authors all over.
In between I did a little bit of weed pulling in the back yard. Slowly, because of the temperature. And I decided I was finally going to get my hooks sorted.
I’ve wanted a way to keep the back door still when it’s open. So it doesn’t go back and forth when there’s wind. Or closes accidentally leaving a sad Milo outside pawing the glass to get back in. At first I was thinking of some kind of retractable leg. You’d lower it to the ground and then the door gets stuck. But those things are more specialty and harder to find. So I decided on simple hooks.
After weed pulling I grabbed my wallet and bike and headed for the hardware store. I got myself a short hook and a long hook. On the way back I stopped, as usual, at the thrift store. No luck on furniture or items, but luck in books (also as usual). I left with Pillars of the Earth, a Brother Cadfael mystery and a book of Siberian myths and legends.
Once home I waited for evening to come on and the sun to go away some. The short hook was to attach the door to the fence that separates my yard from the neighbours. I eye balled the height and started screwing the small eye in the door. That is kinda tricky to do without a pre-made hole. You don’t really have an easy way to give the needed weight so the screw actually goes in. But, I managed it. Then I screwed the hook into the fence and part one of two was done.
The long hook was meant to attach the door that opens to the door that stays shut. This way I have a middle ground between open and closed. It’s open far enough for the cats to go through and to let air in, but closed enough so it’s not very windy. Because this hook was much longer, it was also much bigger. Which meant it was a bit harder, too, to screw it in. In the end it worked, and I have a door that I can secure.
I texted the pictures to mom, so of course she came to look a little while later 🙂 It was a short but fun visit. It wasn’t until much later, when I went to collect the cats and close the door fully, that I realised something. I’d screwed in the large hook too close to the other door… The other door has an overlapping edge that I forgot to take into account. And that edge couldn’t pass the screw. Nothing to be done but to remove it and screw it in again, 1 cm more to the right. Once that was done, I truly had a door that still worked with hooks that worked 😀
I lost track of time a bit, and am also short on time right now. So short this will be, as well.
Then on Sunday I went to the farm where we had a work day to get material for our re-enactment camp back in good shape. We fixed existing benches and tables, and also built new ones. In the picture we’re working on the new kitchen workbench. It was a good day to spend outside, and we got a lot done.
After finishing the cupboard I left it standing for two days to fully dry everywhere. I then enjoyed myself in packing it in. I’m also slowly starting to work on other bits in the house to get that as I want now that I have the space to myself. I pulled my old bed from the attic and put it together in the spare bedroom. I can now have guests sleep over! And, while I was painting anyway, I put a chalk board rectangle on the wall in the kitchen.
Now that Nienke has moved, the need for a new kitchen cupboard has become rather more urgent. I’ve been scouring Marktplaats for a while now looking for a good match. But I’m pretty picky and hadn’t found anything yet. I wanted a white cupboard, with an open space in the middle, at least two drawers, a shelf with glass in the doors in the top part and tall enough that it sort of matches with the bookcases. Oh, and also affordable and requiring little work 😀
Other cupboards were too short, or had no drawers, or no glass doors at the top, and so on. Eventually, however, I stumbled across one that was perfect. Except it wasn’t white. But, based on the image, it seemed the wood was mostly unvarnished so it should be easy to paint. I mailed back and forth with the seller and he confirmed it wasn’t varnished. If the only thing I had to do was paint, I’m good. So we agreed I would come pick it up Friday Morning.
The next morning my Uncle, whom I ‘d chartered to drive and help, and I headed for the rent-a-trailer place in town. I’d reserved one the day before with a hood on it in case of rain. Once trailered-up, we headed to Friesland to pick up my cupboard. And it is glorious.
I bought standard white paint for the exterior. I also snagged a jar of deep red base paint from the sale bin. I didn’t know what I would use it on, but I loved the colour. In the end, I decided to use that for the interior of the cupboard. Which turned out to be best decision ever 😀
So, today we went back to the furniture store with Dad. After some trying out of both, the decision was made to get the one we chose Wednesday. Except in a different colour.
Thus it was decided. After filling out the order form, Mom decided she also wanted a new chair to go with it. In the showroom across from the sofa was a chair she had been eyeing while we were there. It’s a more modern and streamlined shape than the old-fashioned wooden chair they currently have. The covering resembled that of the sofa on display without being too matchy-matchy.
Next stop was the thrift store one town over. As of today Nienke has a new house, so I will need some additional furniture when she moves out. That will still be a few weeks away but we’re in the neighbourhood anyway. The thrift store didn’t have anything that struck my fancy in the furniture department. I checked out the books, and hit the jackpot there. I found both the third part in a three-book series that I’ve been missing. I got the first two parts as a kid and always wanted to get the third to go with it. Here it was, for fifty cents 🙂
We then made our way over to the town center to check out a few other stores and to have lunch before heading home.
A little after five Mom picked me up to drop me off at the 
I now have a whole new house to work with and shape to my wishes. I’m very pleased with the bones (layout, light floor, dark wood kitchen) and I have ideas for the various rooms, but I’m taking my sweet time to see if it will stick. I plan to get a lot of things from Marktplaats and/or thrift stores, so that demands patience any way.
I’d also been thinking about what to do for a coat rack. My entry way has a recessed area before the electricity closet and the toilet. I have a free standing coat rack (which is awesome, I must say). However, I use the recessed area for one of the two litter boxes (the other one is in front of the electricity closet). This means I have no space for the free standing one. I could conceivably build a platform above the box and put it up there, but then it’s too tall.
Last night I spent my first night in my new place. About time too, it’s been a month since I got the key.