Hammer Time: Sometimes It's My Tool of Choice in a DIY Project

Ever since I moved in with my husband into the house he owned when we met, there have been little projects around the house that need tending—some of a decorative nature, others of an essential functional nature. One of the more functional items that needed fixing was the broken lazy susan in the kitchen that didn't spin. What good function can a lazy susan provide if it is more lazy, than it is Susan? So there it would sit, open, exposing all of our dishes and making our kitchen look.... well, broken, and unfinished.

Well, two years of tolerating the un-lazy Susan and I had enough. I carefully measured and Googled my way to finding just the suitable replacement, as well as thinking about how to get it installed. How hard could it be, right? I am a smart girl who knows her way around a power tool or two.

Like a kid on Christmas morning, I was so excited when Ms. UPS lady delivered the new lazy susan. I grinned in pleasure at the thought of freely spinning my dishes with ease and, more importantly, being able to hide them when not in use! Hey, it's the small stuff sometimes, right?

But first, the old unit had to come out. With drill-driver in hand, I carefully started to unscrew and dismantle every screw I could find. Of course, the first few came so easy. This is going to be a breeze! Or so I thought. They steadily got harder to turn until, finally, the last two wouldn't budge.

Hmm.. what are my options? I thought. Well, let's try a manual screwdriver. Nope. A prybar, nada. By this time, I was getting tired and impatient. Time to step it up a notch: get the hacksaw! Damn. I learned that the wood of my cabinet was not as tough as a metal nail.

I was almost feeling defeated at this point. So excited about my goal and so convinced it shouldn't be this hard, soon my grief and despair turned to anger. That's right. I got just plain pissed. Soon my tool of choice became a good old-fashioned hammer. And the slow, methodical reserve that I had started with three hours earlier was quickly replaced with swift rage and a clear mission: start swinging-- old unit OUT!

It only took about three good blows to break through the stubborn hold of those rusty screws. And damn, it felt sooo good! At that moment, I felt like She-Ra, Queen of the Handtools! Mistress of her (domestic) Universe!

Please don't ask me about installing the new lazy susan. That was another matter entirely, for which I had to call in some testosterone troops. But in the end, the new unit works beautifully. And I smile big every time I don't have to look at my dishes. Let's hear it for an incredible DIY moment, around the house, and in life, especially with a hammer in your toolbelt.