Hump Day

It was still warm and drizzling when I left for work on Wednesday. I wore my light raincoat (for those of you trying to keep up with the musical coat phenomenon in Michigan). I stopped on the way in at Home Depot to get some 1 and 3/4-inch #10 screws (I have an idea for the shower rods).

I greeted all my Home Depot friends. I go there enough they all say, “Hi, John! What are you working on today?” I think that may be a sign I have too many projects…

There are two back stories that you need to know before I get to lunch. The first is that when I bought the shower rods, I picked up two sets of 12 metal shower hangers. These were decorative, but not what I wanted. Moen makes a kind that has metal beads so they roll easier. But, Bed Bath and Beyond only had the Moen dual hook kind (for a single rod, so you can put the shower curtain on one side and the liner on the other – not what I needed.) So, I settled for less…

The other is that, last fall, I bought a set of four Wusthof steak knives. I have some crappy old serrated ones, but they weren’t cutting it (pun intended). But, I never had any safe place (where the edge wouldn’t get screwed up) to put them. My Shun knife block was full as was the silverware drawer. So, they sat, unopened for about six months…

Anyway, when I checked Home Depot a few days ago, they had the beaded shower rings I wanted, so I bought them.

So (back to today) I went to Time Out for lunch. I had a chef salad (thinking I’d been eating way too many carbs recently). I flirted with the waitresses and the barmaid (but I always do), ate as much as I could (I never can finish a dish there, except for the pulled pork sandwich) and then left. I headed for Bed, Bath and Beyond.

So, I took back the decorative metal rings. Since I was there, I checked to see if they had any magnetic knife holders. They only had one. It was in a thick wood block, but I bought it anyway. I figured I’d figure it out…

Another sidebar: IT upper management met with a supplier who had brought lunch at Panera’s. They put out what was left: a ton of sandwiches, pickles, cookies, salad and two baguettes. I was full and not tempted, but I kept my eye on those baguettes.  Somebody broke a chunk off of one to eat (probably with their salad) but other than that, they were untouched.

It rained off and on all afternoon and still was raining when I headed home. I left with the remaining baguettes. I’ll let them get stale and turn them into croutons over the weekend.

When I got home, I decided to completely ignore the shower rod (my shoulder still hurt). So, I watched the news while I did the Wednesday night wash and when it was over, I decided to put up my knife holder. I gave some thought about location. I want it covered, easily accessible, but not somewhere I use a lot (repeatedly sticking my arm into a well-used cabinet next to razor sharp knives seemed like a bad idea.

I finally decided on the upper part of the cabinet door over the stove. The only thing up there is the Tupperware microwave steamer and I don’t use it that often. So, I figured out where it could be mounted where the knives do not hit the cabinet face or the shelf.

I used the little level to keep it true and marked the holes for the screws. I pre-drilled the screw holes and then used the drill to screw it on. That was a mistake. The first one went in okay, but the second one stopped. So, the drill ate the brass up!

I took a photo for you, then removed the damaged screw. I took the knives down and used a finish nail to hold the block in place. I’ll get another screw in the morning.

I warmed up the last of the Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon (and now Mushrooms) and ate that for dinner. I’ll miss it!

I watched TV until about 10:00 p.m. and then went to bed.