‘Am I getting old or what?’

My daughter saw Zigi Ekron’s “Grand stand” for pot plants ( Platteland #5) and decided it would be a good birthday gift from her dad. I had lots of fun making it (see right); the only comment I have is on the “Time needed: 1-2 hours”.

This Zigi guy must be some kind of superman, because my time was broken down as follows: study plan, check shopping list and search internet for places to buy wood (2 hours); drive to timber mill, place order, cut to size where possible, load car, pay for wood, drive home, unload (2 hours); reload car, drive via hardware store to pick up screws, offload and carry wood up to her first-floor flat (2 hours); assemble both frames, disassemble one frame and reassemble with supports on correct side (2 hours); assemble rest of stand and make a mental note to buy an electric screwdriver (2 hours); paint basecoat (2 hours… this is not a flat surface), paint final coat and clean up mess (2 hours); plus coffee and tea breaks (2 hours).

My time needed was more like 16 hours. I must be slowing down!

Thanks for a great magazine – we enjoy it even though we’re stuck in the city.