Homebodies - This will become one of my abilities
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- Published on Saturday, November 22, 2014
By Rita Friesen
We are all entrusted with gifts and abilities. A gift being a talent that comes as natural as breathing. An ability just that. The ability to do, to think, to learn and therefore, achieve. My thoughts, please feel free to disagree.
General consensus, and I concur, one of my gifts is speaking. Words flow easily. Some have depth and understanding, some are idle chatter. But I am seldom at a loss for words. Got that gift from my paternal genes. My father was a farmer, teacher and a visionary. He was not a handy man. My mother could see what she needed or wanted, and proceeded to make the vision a reality. I have been reflecting on her penchant for carpentry. There was the year she saw a small storage unit that would slip between the fridge and the stove and house the cookie sheets and cake pans. So she made it. Not afraid of the hammer and saw, master of the sander and paint brush, the finished project served well for decades. Her projects were of a minor nature – shelves and boxes, but woe to her home if all the reno shows that are televised now were available back in her day! I believe that she could have become the reno queen.
This “fix it” attitude will become one of my abilities. The desire to execute minor repairs is in existence. The tools are in the shop. The printed information on repair kits is not always easily understood. But I can learn by trial and error.
First simple project was to install a flooring transitioner at the front door. I know that’s not the proper term, but its that little flat strip of metal that keeps the flooring down when the door swings open. Got that done. The draft from the gap under that front door was enough to freeze the boots to the floor. Purchased – and installed – what I call a door sweep. A channel thing that fits under the door and blocks the draft. With the right tools, the old unit was removed and the new one installed. A little tight but there is no gale force wind entering the porch.
Current project: to re-aligning the storm door. Time and age has caught up with this door, as it has with me, and there is a sag and a lean that prevents a tight shut. I have thought it through and have begun the work. It will happen. Next on the list for winter warmth is a kit, “vinyl spring action weather stripping” door surround. Properly installed, it promises to automatically adjust to efficiently seal the door. This is not for my poor overworked front entrance, but another offending orifice!
When I have become confident enough, I will tackle the kitchen cabinet doors. There is one set that habitually has a bird beak gap. Now if I could only speak these repairs into completion. That would be as easy as breathing!
