Here's a shot of the new, but already-populated cookbook shelves we added to the kitchen this week. I'm pleased with how easily they came together, given our history of home projects with annoying wrinkles and seemingly endless delays. Laura's pleased that I got them done this year, and I can't say that I blame her. My record on timely completions is poor, you might say...

They were a pleasure to stain and varnish (ok, polyurethane, but that's not a verb outside of this house, damn my East Texas education, but I digress) compared to the three six-foot bookcases, two kids' beds, the dresser, and our Nimitz-class sleigh bed that I've finished in this house.

Hardware is all basic Lowe's/Home Depot stuff, and the wall bolts claim to hold 100lbs each, although the packaging advises you to not load them beyond 25% of the maximum load. Sounds like 25lbs to me, but hey, I'm no engineer.

Oh, and there was no red paint involved. Longtime readers will get the joke.