I admit I have a problem...

This is Bart again and I have hijacked Julie's blog. I am hijacking it because I have a problem and I admit it. My problem is... Well, we'll get to that eventually.

It started about 32 years ago. I moved around a lot when I was a kid and just about every time we moved we moved in to a new house. New house equals new construction. New construction in a new subdivision equals LOTS of scrap lumber. Scrap lumber equals supplies to build dozens of "creations". My parents had to put up with all kinds of interesting things including skis made out of 2 x 4's (not too successful) and a crate to store things (again, not too successful as it weighed more than I did).

The pinnacle of my early construction era was a soap-box race car that ended up being so heavy that had I actually gotten in it and gone down our hill, there is no way that I would have survived as there would not have been brakes strong enough to stop it. For this reason, my dad refused to put wheels on it. I thank him for saving my life.

Jump ahead to college. In college, my only paying job was working in the woodshop. One day my lovely girlfriend Julie mentioned that she wanted a study board. No problem! I worked in the woodshop and could have one cut out and ready in no time. I stopped by the local bookstore to get a better idea of the shape, found a piece of wood, and cut one out.

I showed it to Julie. She loved it. She then put it on her lap to use it and the sheer weight of it instantly put both of her legs to sleep. Apparently 3/4" plywood was not the right material. It was sturdy though. No doubt about that.

Jump ahead to yesterday. Santa brought a Greek tortoise to Owen for Christmas. Owen could not be happier. Santa did not, however, bring a cage for Steve (the tortoise). Santa left a note stating that Owen and I needed to build a "turtle table" for Steve to live in. OK. No problem. I built both of the boys dressers, cabinets in the basement, and a couple of cribs. I think I can build a turtle table. Some research on the internet and I started drawing out some plans. In an hour or so my "L" shaped table plans,complete with an isometric drawing, were finished. I proudly showed them to Julie and she said "Really?".

It was at this time where the intervention occurred...

"Does it have to be so big?"

Big? It wasn't that big.

"You have a tendancy to over build things."

Oh my gosh... She's right. Wooden skis. Death-trap go-kart. Parallasis inducing study board. And now a turtle condominium. I have a problem. I admit it.

"OK. How about a simple rectangular box?"

"Simple would be great..."

So this is what I ended up building. Just a simple box.

I showed it to Owen. He loved it. Steve seems to love it (although it is a bit tough to read his expression). Julie's reaction was...

"Wow it's big..."

Big? This is my scaled down version. Ugh... I still have a problem. Not sure if there is a program I can join to get help. If you know of one please let me know. In the mean time if you need an animal cage or something built that can withstand an earthquake let me know.