Personal Space - An Episode of Cabin Fever

This morning I had a big long list of tasks to get done around the farm. Well, farming isn't all about plants and animals. People live here too, and sometimes they need attention just like all of us. As I walked through the yard to my first task at the distillery, my thoughts were on a conversation, more of an event really, from the night before. Of course, one thing leads to another and I had an idea. A blogosphere surprise for my family. You can all be in on it with me as it unfolds. Here's the scoop...

Life on the farm is not shall we say conventional. Most of our space is outdoors. Fine during the day. But at night, and of course during cold winter rainy season, this makes for cramped quarters. And our house is very small. Let's just say we can amaze even Chinese nationals when they try to complain about THEIR average home size :) I like to think of it kinda like living on a boat.

Last night began with my daughter upset. You see, my son (I know I said my daughter was upset, but it is all connected, bare with me) got a unique Christmas gift, an adorable little device called the Annoy-a-Tron. A tiny little circuit that emits a short, really obnoxious electronic sound once every so often. Just often enough to be a constant distraction, but not often enough to find the darn thing. And it comes with a built-in magnet, so it can be hidden in the most insidious of places. Well a few nights ago he left it in our room and after an hour trying to get to sleep I had to go wake him to find it. The next day he found a new location, but this one wasn't so clever, and ol' Dad managed to track it down, turn it off, and hide it. Then I had an idea, I would give him a taste of his own medicine and hide it in HIS room. Of course in a sinisterly difficult to detect location. He'd have to come wake ME up! While he was at school, I set the trap.

Okay, I know, what about my daughter? Well, apparently it was bothering her while she was trying to study so she came marching in to demand that it be immediately removed. Fair enough, but she was really..., well... really... ANNOYED! I asked her why a silly prank became such a heated issue, and she blurted out: I have no personal space!

It is hard to argue with that.

In fact it is true. For all of us. Cabin fever can take the best. But the key to living on a boat is organization. Or course, closet space is at a premium, and most of our space is shared. For an old weathered goat like me, you stop caring about things like that. But for a young adult, well, it's important. We have always talked about building an armoire so that she would have a personal space to put her belongings. The project never seems to make it to the top 10 list though. Today, it became #1.

So I interrupted my tasks and hatched a plan to build it for her and surprise her. And even better, I would share the progress with you on the blog. All right under her nose. All fun of course. I looked at an old pile of scrap lumber, and visions of King Midas began to overtake me. I would complete it today.

I grabbed my notebook and sketched out a simple design. Looks easy enough, no? And I think I can make it entirely from stuff on hand. Let's give it a try.

With the design in hand, I collected some pieces of lumber from the scrap pile and started cutting. I cut out all of the pieces for the frame, and made the saw cuts for the mortise work. This went pretty quickly.

Next, I chiseled out the mortises for the cabinet frame. I am not a cabinet maker, so this went more slowly. But surely. As the pieces were worked, I fastened them together to make the frame. I had some old 1by6 tongue and groove paneling pieces lying around, so I cut these to length for use as side panels, and fastened these into place using finishing nails. So far, so good.

Uh oh, twilight was upon me. These winter days are so short. I finished the main cabinet frame and side panels, but the shelves and doors remain. As usual, my dream exceeds my day. Fastening everything together had taken more time than I though, getting all the pieces square and lining up right etc. But I had to clean up and put the tools away. I "hid" the 7 foot cabinet in plain sight right on the patio just by leaning it on its side. A simple "fine" seemed to satisfy any questions about my day. He he. If I can only get them all off to school in the morning. Hopefully, no one will notice!

Check back tomorrow to see if I succeed and finish before I'm discovered. With luck, I can spring the surprise when they get home!