Back in the fall, when my sister Polly and I enrolled in construction school, one of the first projects the class undertook was to build a pair of barn doors to hang on the school's utility shed. One student took the lead, a carpenter from Egypt, whose woodworking skills far outweighed his English fluency. With … Continue reading Locking the Barn Doors

In seven months of construction school, I've spent more time inside a dumpster than at any time in my life. That's because inside a dumpster, space is the chief currency. You can't just be chucking stuff in willy-nilly. You've got to strategize the use of cubic footage, which means sometimes you just gotta get in there and … Continue reading Dirty Jobs: Paging Mike Rowe

Over at Chapter16.org, the literary website of the state of Tennessee, editor Margaret Renkl is sounding the alarm about the proposed federal budget, which would not fund the National Endowment for the Humanities. In her weekly editor's note, Margaret writes, "As a program of Humanities Tennessee, which is funded primarily by federal grants from the NEH, Chapter … Continue reading What Else Builds Me Up: Chapter16.org

While he was helping me make my latest egg holder, my Egyptian classmate—the exquisite carpenter—shared the fact that, where he grew up, people kept chickens on the roof. He also showed me how to clamp a block along the back of the drill press to keep an even axis as I drilled the holes for … Continue reading Gotta Crack a Few Eggs

I was just starting to feel smug about my proficiency with the handheld router, when Phillip Huizinga, my neighbor across the street, introduced me to his CNC (Computer Numerical Control) cutting machine. Cue the Crocodile Dundee gif: That's not a router... This is a router. Large enough to hold a 4x8 sheet of plywood, the CNC router fills … Continue reading Good Makers Make Good Neighbors

Metro Nashville Police Department just shared this article from the Middle Tennessee Council of Aging with tips for hiring contractors: "Spring is the season for home repair and home improvement. Some homeowners may have a hard time physically and/or financially maintaining their homes. It is because of this that they are targeted by scammers. Most contractors are … Continue reading Public Service Announcement: Don’t Get Scammed

This week at Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Nashville, flags flew half-mast in remembrance of Senator Douglas Henry, the longest-serving member of the Tennessee General Assembly. Known for his elegant seersucker ensemble and his eloquent Southern accent, Senator Henry will be remembered for his half-century of public service, marked by uncommon courtesy and bipartisan collaboration. His legacy … Continue reading Notes from the Douglas Henry Building

Next door to our construction class, the cosmetology program has a salon, where students of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology can get $2 haircuts. I've tried unsuccessfully to walk in for a spontaneous hairdo, but the program is so popular that reservations are required. Yesterday, I finally remembered to call ahead for an appointment, and when I hung up, my fellow carpenters questioned the … Continue reading Cutting Class

My construction school classmates coined  a new expression this week: the Piñata Treatment. The Piñata Treatment describes a situation in which one receives instruction from so many different directions as to render it all useless. "Go to the left. To the right. YOUR right, MY left... Forward...No, backward. Almost there. You had it...Higher. Lower..." There's no way … Continue reading It’s All Fun and Games Until…

Over at Jennifer Puryear's literary blog, BaconOnTheBookshelf.com, guest poster Mary Raymond discusses The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know, in which authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman explore the "confidence gap" between men and women in the workplace. I haven't read The Confidence Code, which was published in 2014 as a follow-up to … Continue reading Confidence Woman