More Workbench Fun! Plus a Breakfast Recipe -- Mmm!

Awww yeah, this whole workbench thing is so way way way more fun than I expected it'd be.  Seriously, I am having so much fun working on this set up it's almost alarming.

Mike yanked my chain a little when he came home Thursday night, going downstairs.  I heard a "Oh!," footsteps, footsteps back, then "oh! Wow!  Workbenches!  Nice!"  I got all a-twitter thinking maybe he hadn't read my post while at work and was genuinely happy awe-struck which turns out he hadn't read it but he did see that I posted it.  Wah wah, I thought he was all surprised but nooo, he wasn't.  He approves though.

He did ask why I hadn't painted the tables yet which I never uttered a stitch about.  He does know me well as the thought did cross my mind several times.

This time at Menards, with a much clearer head than last time, I picked up two pieces of 2'x4' plywood, three 2 'bys, and a couple a' 2x2's.  Sometimes taking your time and wandering the store to get ideas is good, sometimes it's not so good, but this time?  So good, hence the 2x2's.

Remember that image of those ridiculously jaw-dropping French cleats?  Please tell me you looked at it.  Drool worthy.  So when I was wandering the aisles a bit at the store and saw the 2x2's, that gave me an idea to do something similar in theory yet different since I do not have the appropriate tools (table saw) to make those spiffy French cleats.

And I'll likely never own a table saw either, which is a-ok fine by me.  I broke a finger badly and tore up part of my hand using a killer monster table saw at Steppenwolf years ago and have avoided those things ever since.  The piece between the blade and fence kicked back, shot at my left hand then flew a good fifty feet behind me.  Yes, healthy respect and fear of them there saws.  So no thank you, no table saw for me.

Right, anyway.

Using my swanky miter saw that I love love love, I cut the last needed leg plus two more for the smaller table.  Two more?

"I hold and lick to help Mommy."

Yeah, I (smartly) thought to make an area for a garbage can under the table while also adding two shelves.  Are the stars aligning up there or something?  All these smart ideas I'm coming up with lately.  Crazy!

Table height:  34".  Finn height:  ginormous.  See?  Wasn't kidding.

I wrapped up that table which hey, cool, allowed me to clear open even more space on the opposite side of the room shelving units which hey, cool, made me butt-wiggle excited as my Battle Basement rearrangement is coming together.  Slowly, but coming together!  Yessss.  I like that.  Hope for the basement yet!

More open space!  Whoooo!  It's definitely a process, people.

Oh, I added an inexpensive 18" towel bar on the end of the shorter table too.  Ahhhhhh!  Slick!  I'll make more of those nifty grommeted towels and hang them here.  Uh huh, smartness.

So next.  Next!  I took one of those nifty 2x2's, grabbed a 5/8" paddle bit and started drilling holes.  Oh yes, holes.  Lots and lots o' holes.  Most all the way through, some not.

With my handy dandy stud finder I located the studs across the wall.  Tacked one end up gingerly, placed the bubble level on the wood and attached it to the wall in two other places.

Ooooh boy was I giddy-as-a-school-girl keyed up.  Because, look!!

Look what I did!

Look!  I hung a tape measure!  Doh am I a-tizzy!

I can find tools now!  And they're organized on the wall!  Up!  Out of the way!  I can see them!  The skies parted, sun rained down, doves flew, angels sang.  A glorious moment indeed.

Omg, how eye-rollingly handy is this?!

Big bummer though?  I ended up with the absolute worst sliver in the entire world.  My hand went across the edge of one of those plywood sheets and zing, stab.  I know -- I wore gloves bringing all the wood indoors, duh, but not when working with it.  Bozo.  It's so bad and so deep and I can't even see it.

I'm inordinately freaked out about it too.  I've never had one this bad, ever.  Can't even see it?!  It probably doesn't help that my brain is on grief therefore my thoughts and emotions process in much more bizarro ways than normal.  Something I was never aware about the grief process.

While the sliver dampens the thrill of workbench area progress, it will get resolved somehow and I'll keep on keepin' on with getting the benches set up and yet more functional.

Goofy ecstatic about this workbench, I am!  I am such a dork, I know.  :)

What else is cool?!  I figured out what I want to do with our main stair.  And it is damn super duper ridiculous neat.  Head spinning cool.  I just need to uh, run it past Mike for final approval which might be tricky, but maybe not, but I already made tomorrow's breakfast in advance to butter him up.

Check out the recipe here, Apple Raisin French Toast Casserole.  Made it for this past Christmas morning and it was yummmy.  I'd advise cutting the bread thicker and less cinnamon in the egg mix, fyi.  We've got a heat wave for the day going on here (over 30 degrees!! Holy cats and dogs!) so Mike's grilling tonight.  Cannot wait.

Anyway, hope you all are having a lovely weekend!

Jump to the next workbench post here!