Decorative Hardware

Remember our grandparents telling us horror stories about the great depression?  Jobs were scarce, and there was a shortage of food because almost everyone had no money to buy it.  These were the times when folks grew very large gardens and stored their harvest in a root cellar.  Lets not think that those hard times couldn’t happen again in our era.

That’s why I decided to build a root cellar like my grandparents had done, just in case times would get tough again.  The cellar that I had built was well underground, with heavy timbers supporting the walls and roof, and then about 3 feet of earth covering the top.  The exterior door kept out the weather, while the interior door led you to the cellar room itself.  The floor of the cellar was kept in its earthen state as to keep the produce from rotting.  Only certain vegetables were set in piles on the floor, while others were stored on wooded shelves as to keep things better organized.

With the project complete, I could sleep a little better now, knowing that I had a backup of stored food just in case times got tough again.

 I was returning home one night and had the misfortune of running out of gas.  What was I thinking, as I coasted to the side of a graveled county road?  I was about 2 miles from my rural home and it was already dark.  No one in their right mind would give me a ride at this hour of the evening, so I guess walking home wasn’t an option.

About a mile into my walk back, I distinctly heard something behind me.  Thinking the worst, I started to panic and went from a slow walk to a fast run.  I couldn’t see it, but could still hear it behind me as I was finally nearing my house!  Out of breath, I reached the front porch trying to find the door knob to my front door when the motion sensor of my outdoor security light came on revealing the chasing intruder that I had been running from!

It was a dog!  In fact, a very friendly one that was just looking for some loving attention.  Relieved, I gave the poor thing some milk and returned him to is owner the next day. 

 I couldn’t believe I was sitting in a jail cell because I forgot to renew my license plate tabs a month ago.  I had previously gotten a ticket 2 weeks ago for the same offense and had just plane forgot about it when a hi-way patrolman pulled me over yesterday for the expired tabs and this time impounded my car and took me in to the county jail.

This was my first time ever in a jail cell, and let me tell you it’s no fun whatsoever!  It was very small, with a cement floor, a small steel bed which sported a hard mattress, one blanket, and a toilet sitting in one corner of the tiny room with a roll of toilet paper laying on the floor beside it. I guess so much for any bathroom hardware I thought to myself.

I was finally released after an appearance in the courtroom and promised myself and the judge to never drive with expired tabs again.

 I was only 12 years old when I found some Indian artifacts while playing in my parents backyard one summer day.  Since then, I have been always fascinated with Indian culture and artifacts relating to their heritage.

I went so far as to decorate my home with all kinds of beautiful Indian art work, from pictures and throw rugs, to bronze sculptures and even a cabinet knob in my kitchen that looks just like an arrowhead.  I guess finding those pieces of carved rock when I was a kid would keep my interest for such things for the rest of my life.

 I was the middle of summer and forest fires were burning it seemed like everywhere in the Pacific Northwest.  I had been stationed at one of the larger of the fire camps for about a month now, and the hard work our crew had been doing daily was finally paying off.

At the end of a hard days work, a cold shower was always welcomed and very much anticipated.  Maybe our makeshift shower room didn’t have all the bathroom accessories like we did at home, but it surely did the trick.  At least we all felt better after a very hot and tiring day on the mountain.

What a project this was turning out to be, I thought to myself as I stood staring down at my work bench looking at all the cabinet doors that had to be sanded.  But I knew that  refinishing the cabinets to my kitchen would be a tough job, but rewarding in the end.

Not only would the cabinets look 10 times better, but they would be a whole of a lot cheaper in the end.  It had taken me about a month to finish the gruelling work, and now I was installing the new kitchen cabinet hardware that I had purchased from one of those online hardware stores.  It was the final touch to a beautiful finish.

 My son turned 8 years old 2 days ago, and since I didn’t get time to celebrate his birthday then, I decided to do it tonight.  My plan was to have a surprise party for him as soon as he got done with his cub scout meeting.

 I went down to the local bakery, ordered a custom cake, and had it decorated to the theme of his favorite football team the “Greenbay Packers”.  I then put up a ton of balloons in the kitchen, set the table with all different kinds of football memorabilia, and then brought out his gifts placing them perfectly around the cake.

I waited inside with the lights turned off, and soon I heard him walking up the front porch to the front door.   As soon as he entered, my hands were fumbling around on the switch plate covers cold metal trying to find the light switch, and after finding it, turned the light on and yelled SURPRISE!  Boy did he jump!

Needless to say, he had a very happy birthday that day, and loved his football cake.

 He had escaped from the local zoo and was already being a threat to the local ranchers.  I was the warden in charge of capturing this wild beast since he decided to wander away from his home at the San Diego zoo.  I didn’t think that catching him would be problem, but needed to do it in a timely fashion for the sake everyone concerned.

I knew that this cat was fairly hungry by now, and after talking to a rancher who saw him last, I placed a very large cage trap in one of his livestock corrals.  After opening the exterior door to this large cage trap, I placed some fresh beef steaks on the trigger pan and quietly left it alone. 

The next morning I was happy to find out that the lion was caught, and then proceeded to transport him back to his home at the zoo.  At least no one was hurt, including the lion!

 It was that time of year again, and within a week it would be Thanksgiving Day.  My families yearly tradition was always a challenge, for instead of buying a turkey for the holiday, we would go hunting for one like our early ancestors did and prepare him for the dinner table accordingly.

Unlocking the deadbolt from my firearms safe, I reached in and grabbed my trusty old 12 gauge along with some shotgun shells and went hunting that day in search of that wary old tom.  It didn’t take me long and after a few hours of calling, I had the attention of an angry old rooster staring at me with hate in his eyes at about 20 yards from my little hiding spot. 

Needless to say, our family was sitting down enjoying the taste of his generousity a week later. 

A surface bolt is a locking mechanism that is completely exposed.  It is fastened to the surface of the door or gate and the opposing side is fastened to the stationary jam or another half of the door.  Surface bolts are operated by sliding the bolt into the female half that is fixed to the stationary jam.

Surface bolts are most commonly found on exterior gates, small projects like dog houses and chicken coups, and also on most commercial bathroom stalls.  Surface bolts are great for doors that are too thin for a traditional latch, but they are not as strong as some other types of latching systems.