Ah, the smell of newly-sawn wood

Two projects, a trellis for the clematis, and shelves in the pantry.  Should be a no-brainer, huh?  Well, on HGTV and the DIY channel, and even on ABC, they landscape whole yards in 8 hours, and build mansions in a week.  So I should be able to, shouldn't I?

The trellis project was started before I went to Maine.  I put in four hooks, hung the thing up, and braced the bottom.  There.

Well, our constant west winds soon put the kibosh to that.  The cement block I had been using to brace the trellis temporarily ended up UNDER my truck -- that's what the wind will do here.  So, instead of a half-hour project for $25, it has now turned into a THREE DAY project for about $50.00.  I had to brace the entire trellis with 2x4 lumber, which of course had to be painted -- a whole day just for that.  Then I had to screw the vinyl trellis to the 2x4 bracing.  Then I discovered it wouldn't fit on the hooks now.  So, I took two more pieces of wood and screwed them into the frame of the trellis and into the rafters of the carport.  There.  Fixed THAT!  Well, we'll see.

It always takes twice or three times as long, and costs twice or three times as much as the home improvement books tell you.  Oh, and it NEVER looks like the picture.

The shelves have been easier -- well, so far, but they're not done.  I bought a 4x8 sheet of plywood and had the guy at Lowes strip it up into four pieces one foot wide by eight long.  Then after "finishing" the trellis, I cut two feet off each piece, nailed and screwed bracing along the edge. 

Now all I have to do is to screw 2x4 "legs" onto each shelf, five per shelf.  Note I said "all I have to do" -- somehow I'll bet the home improvement gremlin will have some say in that.

THEN comes the fun.  Emptying the pantry, and putting the new shelves in place. 

FINALLY, we'll put everything back and everything will have a place, and everything will be in its place.

Maybe.