A Diversion from Staining and Finishing...

It's no secret, you all know I don't like finishing.  But, I'm doing it for Legal Doc (next post I'll show you what I've been working on for him!), so it's a labor of love - believe me, no amount of money would be enough to get me to finish all of this stuff I'm working on right now!  And, because I really hate finishing, I've kind of procrastinated.  No, not "kind of", I HAVE procrastinated!

I told myself I had to clean the garage in order to have room to spread out all the pieces that need to be finished.  So, I gathered up scraps and cut them to a size I could stuff into a big trash bag.  I swept and emptied trash.  Put tools and lumber away.  Then, I decided I really needed to return something to Home Depot, but if I was going to return that item, then I should really think about returning the Costco TV mount that I'd decided I wasn't going to use.  After all, Costco is just around the corner from Home Depot and you sure don't want to waste a trip!  But, if I really wasn't going to mount the TV  in my bedroom to the wall, I did need to build something to raise it up enough to cover the outlet that is 6' up on the wall!

See, this really needs to be covered up! 

But, before I started on that "fix it", I managed to do a couple of other little things to put off getting out the stain!

My boss got a new sound bar for his big screen TV.  But, with the sound bar in place, the signal from the remote was blocked.  Now, I'm not sure what he needed to raise, either the TV or the sound bar.  But, based on his measurements, this is what I did - just a simple 2x4 construction job!
He's been on vacation so I don't know if it worked - I'll have to check with him on Monday.  Sure hope it did!

Then, as I was picking up scraps I decided to put some of them to good use.   I made another planter box, a bit smaller than for my nephew and his wife.  I didn't need it, and don't know anyone else who needs it, but darned if I was going to put those scraps in the burn pile!  

I'll probably paint it next time I want to put off doing something I need to do!  Until then, it's sitting in my courtyard and I'll probably end up dumping my junk mail in it!

And, then to finally build my TV riser I needed to cut some wood, buy some trim, build the piece and the drawers that would go in it.  Then I had to clean up again so that I could stain the finished piece, and only THEN would I be ready to just continue on in the finishing mode and get the real work done on Legal Doc's stuff!  This took me a few hours + drying time.  Yes, folks, I'm pretty darned good at procrastination!

In progress...

The stain is the same that I used for my headboard, Light Walnut.  It has a reddish gold tone that is really very pretty, but in this case I probably should have put on a couple more coats of stain!  

It's close enough though, and good enough for me.

I did goof on the measurements-which should be no surprise to anyone!  I made it deep enough for the electronic device, but failed to consider the depth of the power cord.  There's a hole for the cords to come through the back at the bottom center of the piece, so I've shoved the box to the side and pushed the bulky end of power cord into that hole.  That allowed it to be sit back enough to fit.
Not a perfect fix, but, again, good enough for me!  

Next time, though, I'll remember to consider the power cord when measuring! :-)

So, before and after!

 See, the outlet is no longer visible!  It's the perfect height for viewing from bed.
And, I gained two extra drawers 

And, look who was my partner-in-procrastination!  

Gracie-girl was visiting, and here she is peeking at me from behind the makeshift gate I thought I had to make to keep her from roaming out the open garage door.  Turns out, Gracie doesn't want anything more than to be with you.  She stayed right in the garage with me even when we had neighbors stopping by to chat and the post lady bringing my mail to me in the garage.
What a good dog!