Day 239: Building project #3

Ted took a personal day today so we could finish putting together the bedroom wardrobe. It has been an experience. One I would not want to repeat again for awhile! We proved we could get at least the two inside walls and the three backs installed yesterday. Now all we have to do is put up the sides, the tops, the doors, the molding and the rod and shelves. And we have to figure out what hardware goes where. It's definitely a challenge to our minds! Thankfully, the Lord has answered our prayers once again and He's helped us when our puny minds couldn't grasp how the wardrobe was put together. I neglected to take a photo of the darn thing when we bought it because I thought it was coming in three pieces. Silly me!

Since our aero bed is too small for the bed frame that came with the bed, we are buying two new mattresses for our guests. This means we have to go get the Euros, stop at Panzer to get VAT forms and then go get the matresses. But we want to at least get a good portion of the wardrobe completed and possibly do the hall wardrobe tonight when we return from shopping.

To start the day with enough energy, I made us our standard Juice Plus+ shake which will hold us until either a late lunch or early dinner.

Well, the two sides went in quickly and we tightened them down. Then we put the tops in. Two of the three tops went in quickly as well, the third we had trouble with. It took a bit of time to do that. After completing that, we started with the doors. We decided, because of the weight of these doors, that we would prop them up on books to line them up so we cold screw in the hinges. The first one took a bit of time but then we realized we could put the screws in and hook the hinges on the screws and then tighten them down. We were able to install four doors in an hour. The challenge will be the doors with the mirrors. They are so delicate and we don't want to break them. We managed to get them in too. I wanted to put the molding up too, but it turns out a piece needed to be glued so we decided to glue the piece and let it set while we did our errands. By this time it was noon and we needed to get going or we would be late in getting everything we needed from the base and from IKEA.

We stopped at Kelly to pick up the cash. Ted said LIDL had mattresses for a really good price so we decided to check them out. Well...the sale doesn't start until Thursday and we just couldn't take the chance that they would be out and we would be out mattresses at such a late date. Off to Panzer we go to get the VAT form and then on to IKEA for the mattresses. It turns out the mattresses were on sale and they are rolled up so we could easily fit two into the car. We also bought some fitted sheets, some felt furniture squares and some electrical plate covers so that the baby would not be tempted to play with the electrical outlets.

By this time it was almost four in the afternoon and Ted wanted to try out Le Rose restaurant at Patch base. He also wanted to check out the thrift store and the theater. I needed to use the rest room and Le Rose didn't open until 5pm so we were able to use the facilities in the conference room area at Patch.

We were second in line when the doors of the restaurant opened. One thing I miss about the U.S. is that you don't have to wait until a certain hour to have a meal. Here, they open at 5 or 6pm and close at 10. If you haven't eaten by 10, you are out of luck or it's fast food for you. (Yes, they have McDonalds and Burger King here....sad, but true).

We had our dinner and got home around 7pm. By the time we hauled up the mattresses and released them from their plastic confinements, it was 7:30. We decided to rest for half an hour (and read email) and then we would tackle the last of the big wardrobe project...the molding. When we finally figured out how the molding was isntalled and where the screws went, we realized the outside tops were not on the right sides. UGH!! So we had to remove both of them and switch them. We were concerned because the doors had already been installed and this would make the unit very, very shaky. It took a little bit of time to get them installed again before we could even think about the molding.

The one piece of molding is very long and very heavy. To get it on the top of the unit, took both of us to do. Once we got it up there, Ted screwed the screws in, while I positioned the molding. The first piece went in fine. Now the corners. Unfortunately, it was hard to see and the screws that needed to be screwed in were above our heads. We both tried and finally we were able to get the first one in. The second one went in a LOT easier. By this time it was after 10 and we both were exhausted and needed a rest.

We decided to treat ourselves to Cherry Quark (sort of like Yogurt only better) and an episode of NCIS.

Tomorrow I will finish putting the shelves in and putting our "stuff" away. I can't wait to have one room completely done!!!

Tuesday 11/17/09