odds 'n ends

For the past few days I've been doing some simple carpentry upstairs in my house. Specifically, I've been installing baseboards, which requires the use of a miterbox (to cut the corner angles, if you're not into carpentry). I value my fingers (they come in handy when I want to write, among other things) and anyway, making mitered corners is just an occasional activity for me, so I use a miter box with a manual saw rather than one with a power saw. I've been fastening the baseboards to the walls with both Liquid Nails and nails into the studs to give a nice, tight finish, and then I countersink the nails, fill in the holes with wood putty, caulk the gaps, do a final sanding, and put a topcoat on the baseboards, which are already primed. The work is looking good, if I do say so myself...this is one of those times when it pays to be a perfectionist. I like working with my hands, whether I'm writing or doing carpentry or kneading bread dough. I like the physical aspects of simple carpentry; the feel of the wood and the scent of freshly cut pine and even the sound of the saw. There's work to be done outside my house...I need to repair my lawn sprinkler in a couple of places, including splicing a couple of wires back together which requires the use of shrink tubing...I love shrink tubing...and the flower beds need to be cut back and readied for winter, but it's close to a hundred degrees outside, so those things will have to wait until the weather breaks...

In the meantime, as I finish up the baseboards, I'm considering tackling crown molding, which by all accounts is very difficult to do well, but it really dresses up a room, and I like a challenge, sooooooo...I'll keep you posted.