The Writer’s Shed Project, part 2

I have never built a house from scratch, nor had anyone do it for me or with me. Except my grandfather, but I was a baby then and it was Poland and we didn’t have Menards. So I am a novice at building a Writer’s Shed.

Ed, the originator of the idea and my future part-time landlord (in addition to being an occasional traveling companion) is an experienced shed builder and so I believed I would need give little more than occasional decorator’s advice in this undertaking. And since this is a Shed, after all, the decorating is pretty basic.

Today, we began the task of finding suitable materials. In other words, we spent many hours at Menards.

I’m not stupid. I know how to keep sane in building projects. You put yourself in the mind of your co-shopper and think like he does. For example, when looking at one hundred different windows with Ed, you say “interesting. Yes, I see that. Double hung. Good screen fit. Ah. Let’s go with the cheapest model” and move on. With the floor? “Bamboo? So nice. Interesting. Yes, I see that. Let’s go with something cheaper.”

At the end, we were both exhausted with being so agreeable. Ed dropped me and my bike right off the Beltline and I pedaled home. He returned to his own shed for an evening of male bonding with his two cats.

So, the process of building has begun. Has exuberance set in? Building requires patience, not exuberance. Exuberance is something I see outside my office window. It belongs to the young and lofty types who think they can fly just because spring has set in.