The sekrit project is done!

I built an extension onto a little bookshelf unit my late father-in-law made for me to do sewing on. He added a particle-board top that sticks out 5” from the shelving unit but that really wasn’t enough to make the piece very useable for a sewing/crafts table, so I added more.

Before:

After:



Why did I stick those funny legs into the middle? You might well arsk. It’s because the hinges I used to attach the tabletop to the shelf were pretty small, and I had to switch down to shorter screws because the ones that came with the hinges were too long. Therefore, I was concerned that if I put too much weight on the tabletop, it would work the hinges loose. I could envision a complete disaster with my sewing machine crashing to the floor and the table wrecked into splinters. So I added those two funny legs to support the hinges. 

It took an unbelievable amount of cogitating to figure out how to put this thing together. I mean, it should be simple and straightforward, right? Nope. Not that simple. I give thanks to my friend E.T. (Not, *that* E.T. - the one I know personally) for figuring out for me how to do the folding-legs arrangement. 

This is one of those things that if my son has to dispose of all my assets, this one will embarrass him, I fear. I can just see him conducting the yard sale out front, with someone asking what the hell is THAT? And him rolling his eyes and saying, “Oh, my wacko Mom made that.” LOL - I’m leaving you such a rich legacy, my son!

Edited to add: I've decided against the carpentry class. This project taught me that it's not something I care to do very much or often, and also that I *can* cobble together something if I need it badly enough - and I doubt there'll be anything else I need this badly. Not having a sizeable work surface presented a bottle-neck to a LOT of projects that need doing. Sorting, creating, etc. So now I don't have THAT excuse any more!

Belated follow-up

The Christmas cookie extravaganza seemed to be a success, if people's ravings about the cookies are any indication. There's always the possibility that they're just reluctant to hurt my feelings. But for the sake of sanity, I choose to accept the compliments as stated, and everyone who received them is very welcome.

To prove I really did bake cookies, and that the "halfway" photo wasn't just a staged scene, here's a picture of some of the cookies:

Clockwise from the top, they're: Ginger sticks (they have fancy gold and green sugar on them but they're turned on their sides in this picture); eggnog cookies with eggnog frosting; lime & ginger cookies; chocolate chip cookies, and Jammy Dodgers. 

Jammy Dodgers, you will no doubt recall, are proclaimed by Doctor #11 as "The Best!" and he even uses one to bluff the Daleks in one show. These are made from scratch and I vow, as Chthulu is my witness, I will never ever do that again. WHAT a pain in the neck! I'm so slow, it wasn't until I had the  sugar boiling in the pan that I realized that this "raspberry caramel" stuff I was making WAS CANDY - you know: caramel! And I don't make candy. I learned long ago, candy and I do not get along in the making process. But, since I'd bought fresh raspberries and gone to the trouble of extracting the juice, and since the cookie parts were already baked and waiting, I followed through the best I could. It did not turn out perfectly, but no one has complained so again, for sanity's sake, I'm going to assume they were eaten and enjoyed. But next time I'm buying caramel candies and frozen raspberry juice, and saving myself a lot of work.