Handy Helper

It's challenging to find a handy/man/person to help with the small household jobs I am no longer able to do myself. The latest job is finishing off the guest room that went from a typical guest room to a multi-purpose room. Where once the queen bed dominated, there is now a reclining couch that quickly folds open for sleeping, a coffee table high enough to be used with a computer, a casual chair, a bookcase, a night stand, and a huge dresser that came with the original queen set that perfectly fits along one wall and adds much-needed storage. Even with all the furniture in the room, it feels roomy and comfy.

In the process of changing the look and use of the room, I removed the 3 ginormous closet doors, one of which is mirrored. The problem with the sliding closet doors is that it is impossible to open fully one-third of the closet, much less more than that, so it became a constant battle of sliding doors back and forth to access the contents of the closet. Once the doors were down, I decided they would not be rehung and began thinking about a replacement. My first choice, bi-fold doors, was nixed because any discretionary money for the project is paying Daisy's vet bill. I had to think ... free, or close to it. After I ruled out a half-dozen other ideas, I recalled a neighbor's living room curtains that use a wire in her "industrial" decorating scheme, so I decided that was my way to go, too.

How easy could this be: screw in some heavy-duty "eyes" in each end of the closet opening, as well as 3-5 across the top to help support the weight of the curtains, attach a wire at one end, thread it through the supports, tie it off: voila. Job done.

Funny thing about having a simple idea is that the employees of the hardware stores, both local and big box, pointed out all kinds of potential problems that I simply refused to believe. I decided to go ahead, but waited to buy the supplies until I could find a handy/man/person to help me install the eyes, which required use of an industrial drill I don't have. One guy wanted $25/hour, another wanted to do it his way, and a third looked at me with a totally blank expression that did not bode well for communication. However, my neighbor knows a guy, and this handyman listened to my explanation of the tasks, asked questions, and said, "Let's do it."

I made it very clear that I wanted to use eyes and wire, drew a picture (literally), and then sent him to the hardware store, from which he returned with ... hooks and rope.

"Nope," I told him, "that won't work. The hooks aren't strong enough to support the curtains and the rope will sag."

"No, missus, it will work. I show you," he replied.

Today, I finished cutting apart the sheets and hemming them to serve as curtains. [Aside: sheets are the perfect curtains: cheap, easy to wash, dry, rehang, and are available in multitudes of colors, patterns and sizes.] These curtains are solid black (which I may embellish before I'm completely finished), so it was challenging to see well enough to do the sewing, but I finished the prep and did a trial hang.

I'll go back to the hardware store and buy the stronger eyes I originally described, as well as wire that will hold the weight of the curtains without stretching and sagging. I'll also add the other 2 eyes for the support that I described in the original discussion yesterday.

And, I won't call him back to redo it to the way I directed in the first place because that would assume I'd pay again to have the job done "my way," which is probably why it was done his way yesterday.