Several years ago I needed my side yard fence fixed. The first 2 guys I called to give me a price didn’t show up and the third guy showed up drunk. I know this because he fell down. At 11 in the morning. So when a couple of guys actually showed up sober with a very professional looking flier, I hired em. They built the fence 6 inches shorter than they were supposed to and the nails they used to put it together shot out through the back of the fence by about two inches. From the street side of the fence it was exactly like a very expensive upright bed of nails. It was about this time I decided to become even more handy. I still haven’t built a fence myself but I’ve done just about everything else. I’ve put up drywall, changed out light fixtures and installed my own dishwasher. I’ve made my own furniture, built raised planter beds and often copy things I see in stores and magazines for a fraction of the price they’re charging. If you too want to stick it to the drunken handyman or the overpriced stores … read on.
I think it’s fair to say that I have a “thing” for candles. I like em. I like lighting them, looking at them, smelling them. I like em. You know those people who hoard candles and stick them in every possible cupboard and drawer? I’m not one of those people. I burn my candles. Even [...]
There are three things you absolutely need when you move into your first house. You need a flashlight, a measuring tape and a limp. The most important of these three things is the limp. The flashlight and the measuring tape are nice to have, but if you have a limp you’ll accomplish all kinds [...]
I love Jennifer. I love her with all my heart and a tiny portion of my pancreas. Jennifer is an Art of Doing Stuff reader that brought homemade firestarters to my attention. You may have seen them before. I sure hadn’t. I was familiar with store bought firestarters and pinecones dipped in wax which were [...]
Everyone in my family is insane. I don’t use that word casually. We’re nuts. All of us. All for different reasons of course, but we’re definitely an unbalanced bunch. You think your family has the crazy market cornered? I think not. My mother’s mother didn’t leave the house once. For 20 years. Top that. For [...]
When my father was alive, he would always buy me and my 2 sisters something odd for Christmas. Not odd in the sense that it was really strange, like a mummified otter tail, but odd in the sense that no other father would buy these things for his daughters. One year we all got [...]
There are 4 things in my house that prove that both it and I are old fashioned. They are: 1. Aprons 2. 16″ wide pine plank floors 3. Mouse traps 4. Window Unit air conditioners Every summer the fella lugs the window units into the dining room and our bedroom. I know they’re ugly [...]
I have a piece of knowledge to impart. A tid bit. A nugget. Don’t ever wait to do the laundry until you literally don’t have a single thing left to wear. Do not leave it until you’re so desperate for underwear you are forced to wear, not only the uncomfortable ones but the novelty, ripped [...]
The weather finally got half decent out over the weekend so I was able to go outside and get a few things done in the backyard. Up until now it’s been freezing cold and raining. The first thing I do every year in my backyard is get my pond up and running. I hook the [...]
Have you ever had your screen door slam too hard and too quick? It’s a relatively easy fix as long as you have some time on your hands. Here’s how to do it! Materials needed: Chair, Screwdriver. Total project time: 3 ½ hours, 30 seconds. This is a reenactment of my actual experience … Look [...]
