I Look Like a Dalmation.

On Friday I did it. I bit the bullet. Took the plunge. Pulled out the plastic and bought six Walmart bookshelves. I had to involve multiple neighbors at different times to help me lug the shelves up three flights of stairs. Each box was a 70 lb box and I have the bruises on my arms and legs to show for it. Countless little black spots from wrist to shoulder from knee to hip. Amazing.

The new plan was to create a U shape rather than an L. Two on each wall, with them touching, all lined up as if they were one unit. Except there would be some space in the middle on the back wall. Couldn't be helped.

So, Friday after school my mom came over and together we assembled the first bookshelf. It only took us three hours!!! I can scarcely believe that is accurate, but I guess it must be. At any rate, it was torturous and I kept thinking... I have FIVE more to do. The trouble was the horrible directions. Here's a sample:

It was like they combined about 5 steps in each "numbered step." Of course, once we'd finally completed one bookshelf the rest were easy and obvious and if mom wouldn't have had to leave we would have been done in half the time. Instead I made the rest by myself, one after another. And I HATE building furniture. It's a blooming miracle. Clearly I was driven by some otherworldly force.

Earlier today, my pals Marci and Anna came over to check out the progress and though Anna had to leave almost immediately, Marci stayed a bit and offered her wisdom in a way that created MORE work, wouldn't you know? :) She suggested I make the back wall have three bookshelves rather than the two with the gap and then overlap the two side wall ones. She had a point. It did look better. So, that meant getting one more bookshelf and so off we went to Walmart.

After helping me lug it in I brought Marci home and retrieved her daughter Lucy, age 9, to help me put the remaining bookshelf together while I anchored the other ones to the wall. When we were done we put my books on the shelves just to see what we were dealing with as far as space goes. I still needed to find some of those little metal book ends in order to try to arrange the shelves properly.

I'm including some images of the finished product even though the books on the shelves weren't truly organized or decorated. Steps involving multiple lamp purchases, stereo extension wire, extension cords that plugged flat to the wall were all involved in creating this lovely book nook.