In our house the end of summer is not marked by TQ and Fox's return to school (although I have to shout a giant Halle-freaking-lujah for that great day!). No, in La Casa de King autumn is here when the power tools get pulled out and the garage gets turned into a workshop once again.

You see, we are creatures of habit. In the fall and through January, The King and I find dozens of home improvement projects indoors to keep us busy every weekend that we are not at Utah games. Last year we installed the wood floors in the entry, painted the entire 2nd and 3rd floors and put up enough fancy-schmancy finish work to just border on insanity. Burnout eventually occurs around February, so we hibernate until April when the energy returns and our eyes turn to the outdoors. From April to July we work with a vengeance on yard projects, but once the 100+ degree weather hits we throw our hands in the air and hope too many weeds can't grow in the scorching desert heat.

I used to favor the outdoor projects, but as I have learned to use and appreciate power tools I find myself anticipating the return of crisp fall weather more and more. The King is rather pleased with my evolution to carpenter as it has allowed him to buy as many tools as he wants (providing they are actually used in one of the crazy schemes I come up with) and I do a lot of the small jobs now on my own so he doesn't have to be bothered with them. All in all, it's a great system. He gets man tools, I get a skilled laborer and teacher.

Labor Day weekend marked the start of interior project season. I have wanted to change my kitchen cabinets since we bought the house a year ago, but only recently decided to paint and antique them rather than re stain. The cabinets are a natural knotty alder, which is a very soft wood that dents with the slightest force. We had the same cabinets in our old house, and I hated them and vowed never to have alder again. But when we found this house and fell in love with it, I decided the cabinets could be overlooked for the time being. Unfortunately, I am compulsively insane and those stupid cabinets have been gnawing at the back of my mind all year. Something must be done before I really loose it! So this last weekend we started the massive project of rehabbing them. The kitchen will be a disaster until I'm done, but at least that will give me an incentive to get the project done faster. I hope they turn out well, but if not it's okay. I hated them anyway so anything is an improvement and I'll just have a better reason to completely replace them when I win the lottery.

Well, I've procrastinated long enough. There are hundreds of nail holes, wood putty and sand paper calling my name. Someday when I have learned to use all the power tools I get to graduate beyond prep work and painting. Until then, I'll leave the complicated stuff for The King and I'll excel at the jobs a trained monkey could do.

*Pictures are forth coming!