Tag: building

challenges

Another Day to Build

2chicksandapen

I am back at my construction project. That 120 square feet that I am updating for my current needs. The bandaid is on my annoying blister as a cushion.  As a bonus, I will probably have a little scar from that stupid blister. Lucky me. A badge of honor I suppose. The grungy clothes are back on. This time I will be actually wearing my gloves to avoid more bandaids. It took a good week to get rid of the ouch of the blister.

Insulation is wrapping up and the planning of the metal has begun. And maybe begun again more than once. I also scrapped the wood I was going to use and decided to use some accented bead board. A cheap alternative and easy to work with. I’m obviously not building a house thus I can use the more flimsy materials. I am calling this my lipstick renovation, Somewhat of a little puzzle to put together. I have a vision but I have to figure out how to make it look just the way I want it. Piece by piece. Brick by brick or makeshift brick. Sneak peek below.

As a pause button is hit on the faux brick the shift is made to focus on the metal. Cutting. Measuring. Assembling. Aligning the trim to cover rough edges. Let the drum roll begin. A cleaning process. Then the final touch was some sealant to keep the vintage metal from rubbing its age off on passers by. Not sure if it will work, but I guess in time I will find out. A decent stink of aerosol was in my small space just lingering in the air. Thank goodness for window ventilation and air flow. At the end of this session I was definitely happy with the assembly of the recycled metal. About 50 percent more to go. 

A level. A power saw. Screws. Snips. Elbow grease. Patience. Measuring tape. These are the ingredients for today’s progress. Maybe not as much progress as I wanted but it’s forward progress. Another half metal wall to knock out. The top half of each small wall over the metal still needs to be crafted fully but a sneak peek is below. Another puzzle of sorts now that I am on window height. A few tricky spots will be the final stages to conquer.

My next update in this series will hopefully be the final project. Progress not perfection for this project. 

mental health, perspective

The Web

2chicksandapen

Can you see the web hidden in the dew and the sunlight? If you can’t it’s okay. I will tell you about it.

The web is masterfully crafted. Many layers. Anchored skillfully. It was a beautiful web. There were spiders to the eye. There were no prey woven in. It was a midnight masterpiece I’m sure. One that a skillful spider crafted while I slept. 

When I awoke it caught my eye in sun. It was hard to get a picture but the dew and the sun made it stunning to admire. Not many can say they found a web stunning but on this day I did.

It’s craftsmanship had me interested. Much like life we live with many tangled layers similar to a web. Carefully crafted relationships. Overlapping work and pleasure lines. Family connections. Friend circles. All interwoven to fit what we call life.

I was drawn to this web today. A simple part of nature. Many won’t see. Many will take for granted or even wipe it a way in an instant. But the beauty of it all is a spider will get back up and craft a different web. Maybe one that can withstand more than just a simple wipe away.

This was a firmly build web. Anchored. Robust. How does your life web compare? Is it flimsy? Can it be wiped away easily? Are you memorable like this web was for me? Can you say your feet are planted firmly in life?

Life is so full of many ups and downs. Sometimes you have to pick yourself off the ground and start fresh to build a better life web. The beauty is we are all capable of doing this. 

Get after your day today. Look at your web. If it’s tangled, worn or flimsy look at options to refresh your web of life. If it’s robust and built sturdy look around and see if you can share your gift of life stability with others. Somebody nearby may need help with their web.

Enjoy your day.