Awhile back, I talked about a fix-it job that needed done around my house.  Turns out, I never had to do that job because it became a job beyond my limited abilities when the faucet handle broke completely off.  It became necessary to call in the professionals for that one.

I got my opportunity to test my talents more recently, though.  During my trip to Ikea when I was killing time waiting to pick my son and his girlfriend up from the theme park, I picked up a small chest of drawers, somewhat like a mini-bureau.  Now, I’ve purchased things from Ikea before and can generally put the pieces together in one sitting (and sometimes several pieces in one sitting).

Apparently, those have been from the Ikea Lite line.  You know, the ones where all the tools you need for assembling them is included in the packaging, or perhaps one additional screwdriver.  This chest must have been from the Ikea Plus line.  Yes, there was a hex key included, but when I saw the instructions requiring a hammer, and screwdriver, and drill, and boltcutters, and Sawz-all, I knew it was going to take me awhile.  (Okay, okay… I’m exaggerating a bit, but just a bit.  It was definitely more challenging than any of my previous purchases.)  So, I did what any normal person would do.  I left it spread out all over the floor to tackle it another day.

It occurred to me later on, however, that although my husband had quite a few tools and he knew exactly where everything he needed was, I didn’t.  So when it was time to try assembling it again, I searched through the garage for awhile and came across the aforementioned boltcutters and Sawz-all, as well as various professional drills and wrenches and hex keys and a couple of really scary, heavy duty torch kits, but no hammer or anything else I needed.  Wait… I did find one Phillips head screwdriver so I grabbed that.  But it wasn’t going to be enough.

So I decided to buy one of those “ladies’ toolkits” which included everything from a level and tape measure to cordless drill and an assortment of screws and nails.

[HOLD UP!  This is going to seem like an extremely random interruption… but literally, as I was typing this, my toilet suddenly started running for no apparent reason.  I got up and inspected it… jiggled the handle, then removed the tank cover.  It was just running… then I noticed the floater ball (yeah…  I know what it’s really called, but that’s just SO inappropriate. Who came up with this stuff?) was just… well… floating!  Apparently, the arm rusted through and just broke off.  So looks like I’ve got another fix-it job tomorrow.  Ugh…  Just because I have the right tools doesn’t mean I enjoy this stuff…  anyway, back to my story!]

When it arrived a few days later (gotta love Prime shipping), I began the assembly process.  I’m sure a true DIY person hates Ikea, but for me, those silly, little cartoon instructions are exactly what I need (which is why the acronym DIM is rather fitting).  I can do that!

I’d like to say I assembled it in one sitting, but I got interrupted the first time about

halfway through and left it as a sort of chest skeleton.  I was unmotivated to complete it later that day and it took me almost a week to get back to it.  I’m happy to say, however, that today, it looks like a miniature chest of drawers, exactly as it’s supposed to.  Even more importantly, however, is that it works like the chest of drawers it’s supposed to.  The drawers open and close, which is basically all I need them to do, right?

Bottom line is, although it has taken me more time than it should have taken to put the thing together, I finally did it!  It’s a small hurdle I’ve finally overcome.  So there’s that…

Now, however, it looks like I’ve got to do some plumbing after all.  I’m hoping toilet repair is less involved than kitchen faucet repair.  At least I’m better prepared this time.  And I think A would be pretty proud of his feisty wife right now.  Even if she’s much, much slower at this than he would be…

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