I'm Back in the Blogging Business

Okay, it's not really a business at this point.  Besides, I'm retired...but not dead yet.  I've been busy for the last week or so building a platform bed with storage underneath.  My youngest daughter (a junior in high school) often has 1, 2, or 3 other teenage girls staying over.  Picture 2 or 3 of them on the bed at the same time, lying there watching television or playing video games.  Or engaging in too much horse play.  Now think of collapsible bed--not manufactured that way.  I'll build a better one.

Two reasons exist for building it myself.  (1)  They are way too expensive!  (2)  I wanted something STRONG, really strong.  No unintentional collapsing here.  (3)  They are way too expensive!  I know, I know, I said 2 reasons and gave you 3, but 1 and 3 are so similar that I counted them as 1.

Yes, those are 2 X 4 cross-members, joist brackets, and 2" screws.  You can't see the screws, but they are in there.  I made each panel, head, foot, left side, right side, in the garage and painted it there (4 coats).  I also made the 2 cross members in the garage.  I did this so I only had to bring the pieces into the house and add the final screws.

The sides are 1/2" plywood and the top piece (actually 2 pieces) is/are 3/4" plywood.  It has 3 doors with brass hardware that open for storage (much needed in our small house).  When we left California, we left behind a 5 bedroom, 2 bath, 2,200 sq. ft. house.  Here in Nebraska, we bought a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,300 sq. ft. house.  The really big difference was that we left the house payment in California and paid cash for our Nebraska house.

 

The above pictures give you a little idea of the glossy black finish.  And, the picture below shows you what the new full-size (replacing a twin size) platform bed looks like with mattress, sheets, pillows and such--ignore the labels on the comforter.

Total cost=about $150.00 since I had some of the materials.  I counted that in the cost but had to estimate.  The mattress was an additional amount yet to be determined.  My daughter loves it and that is the best part of this DIY project.  Her old twin bed is for sale on craigslist.com.

P. S.  The green cube at the foot of the bed is so that her dog, Baxter, can get up on the bed.

Nebraska--Less People, Less Stress

The Shortest Distance To Chinese Food....

     Before moving to Nebraska, we had friends already living here.  In fact, they were born here, but their family had moved to California a looonnng time ago.  As things happen, they moved back to Nebraska, one by one.  I guess you could call them replanted natives.
     Anyway, my wife was best friends with one of those natives and talked to her often, much to the delight of the phone companies.  What in the world they can find to talk about at least thirteen times a day I have no clue.  However, one of the things batted back and forth is the subject of eating out, as in mostly you can't in the town I now call home.  Oh, there are places to eat, one of which closes at 2:00 pm.  And another isn't open for breakfast, another has homemade doughnuts on the one morning a week that they open before lunch.  The doughnuts are good, by the way.  We also have one franchised eating establishment, Subway.  This town is not without amenities.  But no Chinese restaurant run by real Chinese, or anyone else for that matter.  So what to do when one has a hankering for Chinese food?
     In one or more of the many phone calls, our friend, my wife's best friend, says that she is going to KANSAS for Chinese!  What?!  My wife says that her friend must be crazy to go to another state for Chinese food.  I concur.
     Now I live in Nebraska.  That nice little town in Kansas is only 32 miles south of where we live; and the Chinese food is good there.  I do prefer, though, the Chinese food in Nebraska, even if it is 38 miles north of where we live.  But, they have a Wal-Mart next door, and Sonic, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and KFC within a 5-minute walk.  That's if you are in the mood for fast food, that is.  So sometimes we go clear to another state for Chinese food.  Don't ask how far we go for Mexican food.  Nebraska--Less People, Less Stress