In Which T. Tiger and I Build a Desk!

My husband and I had errands in town in the morning. But in the afternoon, it was finally time to put together the new desk! T. Tiger got our tools ready: an Allen wrench (provided) and a Phillips head screw driver (mine). And I looked at the instructions, which consisted of lots of diagrams but very few words, and we began assembling parts together to make the desk.

First, we made the desk drawer. Which went great until I had to decide how the parts with the rolly wheels went on. As it turns out, the instructions had them reversed. Common sense prevailed, and I reasoned through it, attaching parts with wheels on the outside of the drawer. T. Tiger thought the desk drawer was magnificent, and he said a whole family of tigers could live there (but only if they were very SMALL tigers).

In short order, I had also put together the main desk part, and attached the rolling wheels inside it. The next thing to do was to make the shelves, and I did that. They are several different sizes and that was among the easiest tasks to do. Then I put the metal parts together, snapping the top and bottom black pieces into place and then adding some screws to secure them.

That's when things got interesting, and I could have used a couple of additional hands as I started putting the metal frame and the shelves together. For you had to sort of hold things in place, standing up, all the while screwing screws into place, as pieces and parts attempted to slide. I got overheated at this point, and started taking clothes off.

Then it was time to attach the main desk part itself, and I had to crawl under the desk, with my hands above my head, screwing things together carefully. My husband came in to survey the scene and suggested he could take a picture of me working on the desk, but it looked too weird: "You look like you're four feet tall," he said. Yes, I told him; my people are Hobbits; that's just the way it is. So he departed in peace, leaving us to our tasks.

The final thing to go in was the desk drawer and I am happy to report that it rolls beautifully and smoothly. It is so exciting that it all works! The last task of the day was to do some clean-up around the area and vacuum up all of the little bits of packing material that were all over the floor.

All told, I spent about an hour the day the desk arrived, just opening things up, removing packaging, and checking to make sure all parts were there. And on this day, I worked on desk assembly for about 3 hours and 15 minutes, with another 15 to 30 minutes tacked on at the end for tidying up and simply standing around admiring our handiwork. So my total time spent was between 4 and 5 hours. (Plus Tiger Time for supervision and moral support!)

There are still things to do. I need to decide on the final placement of the desk, and check every screw to make sure it's secure, and remove all of the number stickers, and wipe the whole thing down with antibacterial soap. And I have a little rug I'm going to cut into squares to place under the desk legs, so they don't cut into the carpet. And I need to decide if the printer goes ON one of those nice shelves to the left, or on a separate printer table to the right of the desk. Once all of that happens, I'll start moving in!

The photo above depicts the triumphant moment when we realized our task was (mostly) done. Hooray! We have a brand new desk!!!

The soundtrack song can only be If I Were a Carpenter. I'm including two favorite versions, one by Dwight Yoakum and Alison Krauss, and the other by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Enjoy!

P.S. And yes, I've initiated contact with the vendor regarding the refund of the $20 differential in price between the desk I ordered and the one I received. Response predicted within 48 hours.

P.P.S. For those who are interested in the dragonfly and cat-tails mural behind the desk: No, I did not paint it myself. The people who lived in this house before me used this room as a child's room, and each wall has something on it. The wall by the window has a waterfall. And in the extras to my December 30 Blip, you may see the huge tree that lives inside our house!