Last time, I tore apart my kitchen, and started building a shelf. Now, I want to finish it.

I knew the bottom half would be the hardest to build. I would need to use imperfect tools for the job. It was most of the reason why I put this off for so long. But this wasn’t my first shelf. I knew how to do this. And it did not need to be perfect, just functional.

My level and was in the garden house, so I measured a million times instead. Don’t ask me why I didn’t use the ruler I have. It didn’t occur to me at the time.

I tried to get all the noise out of the way, so I trimmed all the boards before putting them in. Fun fact: if you trim two boards at the same time, you get the chance to mess up both the same way.

As we don’t own a vacuum, I cleaned every few cuts. And then, I tried to get these shelves installed. They’ll use the shelf’s mechanism on one side. For the other side, I trimmed some of the shelf legs to make short beams.

I installed the first shelf to check my work. It was level. It all worked out. Yay! It’ll hold the cooktop we got to be able to use our non-induction stuff when needed. I really wanted the noise to end, so I made the last cuts. I cleaned saw dust up a final time. And used the board that had been under the dishwasher as a shelf.

Finally, I got my ab workout for the day by installing some trim to hide my imperfect cuts. Ahem, I mean, I installed trim for added stability. The beams would hold the boards in place.

I don’t think I would have gotten this idea had it not been for the imperfect cut. But it all worked out quite well. I’m happy with the end result.

Pepper was a bit confused because his spot looks different. But he’ll get used to it quickly.

And then, school stress and editing two Q&A episodes derailed any progress. For a full week, the kitchen looked the way I’d left it after construction. I dealt with the things that always need to get done surrounded by empty shelves and things out of place.

I put the apartment into maintenance mode to focus on the presentation and the two Q&A episodes. And then I took a break. I worked on things slowly when I felt like it. I didn’t go to the garden once. I left the kitchen in limbo.

One of the really hard things has been admitting that I enjoy pretty wool more than using it. I’m giving most of my wool to a friend. She’s a much more regular crocheter and knitter than me. I kept the tools and a few balls of yarn, but packed up more than half to ship to my friend.

There is still no storage in the bathroom, so we’ve been using our travel bags as storage. I hadn’t cleaned out mine in months. Maybe, I need to build another custom shelf for the bathroom…

I made more of a mess out of my bedroom. I wanted a full inventory of the kitchen, so everything had to leave.

After building a sturdy shelf in the other corner, I hate this shelf even more. But it’ll work a while longer. I just need to make some adjustments.

My mom gave me this food processor for my birthday. It’s finally time to try it out now that I have a spot for it. Assuming I can understand the horrible manual. I struggled with every step but managed to put it all together in the end. I’ll only have to figure this out once, luckily. But when did manuals get so bad?

I’ve left parsnip and carrots for too long again, so I peeled them, and finally dealt with them. Eager to try out the food processor, I didn’t even complain about the peeler much. The processor made quick of all the carrots. And it wasn’t even a pain to clean up after. This might work.

That night, I figured out how to make German Rouladen. I’d never tried before. But I’d gotten close-to-expiration meat again at the local dairy, so I figured it out. I used pickles I’ve made a few months ago, and rolled up the meat. I’m sure German grandpeople are going nuts at my lack of technique here. Ah well. It worked.

I used more carrots, onions, and parsnip for the sauce. It’s supposed to be celery, but I didn’t realize that then. I added some regrown leek from the hydroponics system in the bathroom. We don’t eat a lot of meat, so these more traditional German meals are always special. Though, at this point, I was still very skeptical this would work out into anything edible.

Some whey instead of broth, some tomato paste (I’ll have to freeze more soon), and some bay leaves.

Whenever I waited, I cleared out more of the kitchen. My bedroom was turning into a complete mess. While I edit this, I’m still surrounded by a lot of food and kitchenware. But I needed the break, so I took it.

I sure am glad, though, that the upcoming holidays don’t put a deadline on things for us. If we celebrated Christmas, I probably would be stressed now. We chose a calm end to the year instead.

That evening, I got to see sunlight again. It was the second short appearance in more than two weeks. Pepper and I went for a quick walk, and then I stood on the balcony until the last light vanished behind the woods.

I miss the sun more than I can express. So moments like these get cherished. Every bit of them.

So long, and thanks for being here.