HOME IMPROVEMENT BLUES . . .

I'm pretty handy. I'm reasonably skilled with a hand-drill (ergonomically designed and fitted for a woman's hand, thank you Barbara K!, Inc.) and most non-electric tools. And all self-deprecating humour aside, my spatial relations are sufficiently good, sometimes great. I installed Elfa shelving at my parents' place, measured and hung all my paintings and pictures, drilled cabinet magnet catches into some disobedient kitchen cabinets, and replaced some bathroom towel bars. I can paint, sand, drill, screw (get your mind out of the gutter), mould, scrape and move heavy things with the best of them.

Still, once in a while, I am foiled and am left standing around, covered with drywall dust, a scowl on my face. All my recent home-improvement projects finished, I had just one left: one last towel bar in the bathroom. What should have been a no-brainer project, one I could have done with eyes closed and an arm tied behind my back, has turned into a series of nasty, dusty, papery holes gaping in my bathroom wall.

I have an idea -- a good idea, actually -- of how to fix it. I may not even need the super-handy skills of Mr. Safety and Uncle Cello to help me out, though they certainly have been always awfully kind and excellently available. Still, I'm so annoyed. I'm mildly annoyed at the fact that I failed (or rather, that the people who lived here before me made the original hole so huge that no other hole could be drilled in the near vicinity without a near cave-in of the drywall). I'm mostly annoyed at the fact that IT'S UGLY.

Sigh. I'm a girl, after all.

***

DEDICATION . . .

Ranger Jay just emailed me from his honeymoon. I can picture both him an his wife sitting there in the hotel computer lab, typing away to their respective friends and family.

I would laugh and tease and express disbelief that they would feel the need to log on during the most intimate time of their lives. But there are some realities that I recognize, that prevent me from doing so:

1. Even in the throes of true love, people just need a break from each other.

2. Intimacy is meant to be shared, and if that means letting their loved ones know that they are having a great time, then so be it.

3. We love email.

4. I think J2 emailed us from their honeymoon too, so it seems no one can resist the lure of the computer screen.

5. I'm probably going to do it too. Heck, I'm probably going to take Bob ON my honeymoon with me. Who am I to scoff?

***

HONESTY . . .

Someone has recently approached me to tell me that he thinks of me as family, of our group of friends as his family, and that he wants to build a true friendship with me. It is going to be a long and interesting journey, as most true friendships are. Nevertheless, I couldn't be more humbled and thrilled.