I moved on to thinking I could start hiding some of the exposed electrical wires. Since the ceiling joists that hold up the two lofts will be exposed, the wires that run along them will be exposed as well, unless I do something to hide them.
I guess it had been awhile since I last used my table saw. Ahem!
I began by ripping some pieces of pine to install above and below the wires on each joist.
Then came the tricky part--figuring out how to enclose the electrical boxes. I began with one that is close to a wall and does not require a full 8-foot piece of trim. I made a half octagon, attached it to a straight board...
...stained it, and installed it.
Then, the final piece--cut...
...stained, and installed.
My goal was to end up with something that would blend in with the joists and not draw attention to itself. I think I accomplished that!
Four more to go!
Also see:
Hiding Wires 2
Hiding Wires 3
For those of you who follow my cats more than my housebuilding: I am very sad to report that Bear appears to be gone--as of ten days ago. There are many possible explanations for his disappearance, but I fear the most likely is that a predator snatched him. While I was working in the JayBee this last week, I was listening to the podcast Criminal; the episode about attacks by great horned owls (Animal Instincts) really had me thinking... Anyway, if he miraculously turns up, I will post an update. If he remains gone, I will probably post a memorial gallery of photos at some point. Meanwhile, George is enjoying his summer.
Some mornings, the Kennebec is so fogged in, it looks like the world ends out there. This was one of those mornings.
I looked up from my desk at work one morning this week...and saw this mama deer, and her baby (camouflaged on the right).
I wonder just how much I miss by keeping my nose to the grindstone most of the time!
Sorry to hear about Bear.
ReplyDeleteBetween last Christmas and New Years, I spent about a week and a half in a hospital. When I came home, one of my cats became my best friend and footwarmer. Then a morning or two later, he missed breakfast, then a day later he came in nosed around a little and went right back out.
Six months later he walked in one morning--Considerably thinner and vociferously reminding me that he really did live here and could he PLEASE have some breakfast NOW? But otherwise healthy and happy.
He's on a shelf above my desk watching me type this.
I've had lots of cats that went out for the day, and stayed out for two, or a week or even a little longer. And yeah, some of them never came back. But I've got lots of neighbors who feed stray (or opportunistic) cats. I'm pretty sure my cats know what they're in for every time the door closes on their tail.
Where ever Bear is, whatever happens to him--He's doing what cats do and it's not up to us to change their minds.
I agree--cats pretty much live their lives on their own terms. I've known all along that I was never going to convert either George or Bear to be indoor-only cats. So the risks are what they are. In the 14 years I had Bear, he roamed pretty far from home occasionally, but he never stayed away longer than a day. George, on the other hand, has sometimes disappeared for a week or more, usually in the dead of winter, and then come home all fat and happy and smelling of wood smoke. I would ask him, "Okay, where is house number two?" If Bear strolls in the house six months from now, I will report it here first--after I pick my chin up off the floor, of course.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Bear, Jan!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon. It's weird to lose an animal this way. No real closure when there's this tiny thought left in the back of my mind that maybe he's okay and will return one day.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and yours are well and had a great summer! Another school year has started--yikes.