Does Anybody Else Get Discouraged

15 years ago

at their lack of abilities? I'm terrible with handtools, can't paint artistically, etc. I was trying to get three wheels (that's all it had!) off an old red wagon today. Had planned to either paint it and use it as a planter or recreate an idea that I saw in a magazine - using the red wagon with shelves mounted in it as a wall storage unit. The old nuts and bolts were rusted on SOLID! I worked like a dawg, sittin' outside in the yard, in the heat, sweatin' like a proverbial pig! DH hears me, comes out and proceeds to grab a hammer and KNOCK the bolts loose! Now, he doesn't need to do this as he's had two back surgeries and is having lots of problems, again.

I told him that I'm gonna have to quit coming up with so many projects if I can't do them myself. Either that, or he's gonna have to quit helping me. (And I really have doubts that either one of us will change!) Sheesh!

Anyway...I digress. Does anybody else find it hard to do a lot of stuff or are you one of the Junk ladies and find it very easy!!?

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Comments (21)

Carol_from_ny
15 years ago
There are some things I can do there are others I can't. I've learned to accept it. I have also learned tho that when I'm stuck on something there's usually a way around it and if I can't figure it out on my own the boards are often a good place to find the alternate path.

BTW next time you get a bolt that is rusted use some WD-40 on it. Let it set a minute or two and then use your tools to remove it..I learned that from one of my sons!
des_arc_ya_ya
Original Author
15 years ago
I tried that and they STILL wouldn't come off! LOL
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(That cost is much higher, for e.g., in places where space is expensive, or for goods that require special circumstances --- so the cost of possession was way higher for things I stored frozen in the city than for a canned good in my larger small-town home.) A much bigger often-uncounted cost by many people is the land --- I would have bought a home with a smaller yard if I hadn't known I wanted a veggie garden. So part of my mortgage every month should reasonably be costed to my veggies. On the other hand, the veggies I grew in Toronto were in my BF's backyard which he wasn't using anyway, so it would have been UNreasonable to apply the space cost there. It's comparable to, say, vacant land that a municipality donates to a company to help entice them to move to that municipality. SImilarly, one's labour time should be charged only if, realistically, one would have been making money if one wasn't canning. (In my case this is sometimes true.) If one does it for sheer joy, then it's comparable to volunteer labour. > The fact is, most opportunity costs are unrealistic. Sure, if you weren't canning you could spend that time on a ski trip. But would your _really_ make that trip? Probably not. Opportunity costs are hard to measure, because who can say for sure what one WOULD have done? But they are absolutely real, and companies that ignore them in their accounting make worse decisions. In the case of many people who regard canning as a hobby, if they weren't canning, tney'd be doing something else recreational, very possibly something that costs money. > Number one: You cannot can food less expensively than you can buy it. Well, the main difference between us probably really is that I think you're using a definition of "less expensively" that is irrelevant to the question most people trying to make this calculation are actually asking --- and I mean quite apart from including the whole "priceless experience" factor. One that I suspect would, in fact, be rejected by an auditor. Even under my definitions, mind you, I think many people, probably including me, don't save money by canning. But I think some people do. Sigh. I am tired of arguing this one, too, GL, and I don't actually have any expectation you will change your mind; the only reason I am bothering, is that actual cost, in a realistic, practical sense, DOES enter into it for some folks. (I have one friend, for example, who canned fruit during grad school to save money.) And for those people who might want or really need to economize in this way, it's not helpful to say categorically it can't be done, nor to claim that some supposed "rule" of accounting means they "have" to count certain things as costs that don't make sense in the real situation. It shows a misunderstanding (all too common) of what accounting actually means. > Number two: Who cares? We can for all sorts of great reasons, and actual cost hardly enters into it. 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kudzukween
15 years ago
I have the same problem, so I ask anyone who will listen (heh!) for helpful hints,usually my husband. Now, I would drag the junk inside in the A/C..no matter how dirty or rusty it is, as long as I can do it in the shade and in comfort..:)...let me hear about this shelf from an old red wagon!!! I have the exact same thing. MY granddaughter's first red wagon that only has three wheels, my nephews broke one off before I knew what was happening :( Sounds like it would make a perfect shelf to display old toys.
deedlesmom
15 years ago
Sometimes I get extremely frustrated. I wish I could paint, someday I'd like to take a one-stroke class. My ideas normally come off other people's ideas, wish I had a better imagination and plan my own T2T's. Thank God for the internet!!!
Sheree
texasfern
15 years ago
I think that discouragement is the mother of invention sometimes. Just when it doesn't seem possible to do what I want, something else emerges from it.
There is so much that I cannot do that I would love to do, and then again, if I could do it all I would stay so indecisive as to what to do next I would never get anything done!
Oh Lord, I'm rambling.
Carol_from_ny
15 years ago
As far as painting goes there's lots of ways to fudge it. I wouldn't get too upset if I couldn't do One Stroke painting. I personally thinks it's too stylized and doesn't allow for enough creativity.
Kids coloring books, stencils,rub ons paper, cut outs can all be used as alternates for hand painting.
I have a wardrobe I did awhile back. It really needed something so i added stenciled pansies. They looked okay but needed something so I improvised and added some hand painted details. EVERYONE who looks at it thinks I free handed the entire thing.
daisydal
15 years ago
Yep, know whatcha mean. When a project is not coming out right I have found that I can just come here, see a few new projects and leave that one alone for awhile. Then, I can usually go back with a new idea or help from my friends here, ( I get by with a little help from my friends), sorry that song just came in my head, and then I can usually tackle the problem, refreshed and relaxed. Sometimes ya just gotta walk away!! blessings-sherri
des_arc_ya_ya
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for all the comments, everybody. DH and I went to his dr.'s appointment today and while I was sitting in the waiting room (a lonnng time!) I read through the Junk Ladies latest book a little more thoroughly. Almost every project they mentioned "having a welder do so and so", "our great carpenter, (whomever) sawed the lumber to a so and so dimension", etc. Well, crud! I have a wealth of good ideas. Now if I just had the "staff" at my disposal!! LOL
I feel a little better! LOL

I saw a photo of the red wagon wall unit. Think it may have been in Country Home or something a couple of months back. They had taken the wheels and all the hardware off the wagon and had placed shelves (wood, I think) inside it and fastened them with screws on the outside of the sides of the wagon. It was really cute. Think they were using it to store gardening supplies, or something.
caroleena
15 years ago
i can't paint or draw- seriously. only stick figures come alive from my hand.
i can scrapbook, glue, and such. it gets aggrevating when you just want to paint a flower or such but it just doesn't flow.
primgal36
15 years ago
We all have things we're good at, and things we're not. Sometimes, we don't know we're good at something, until we do it.
The junk ladies are over rated. They started out good, but some of their projects are just plain out there. I've been to their place here in Minnesota, it was ALL way overpriced, and I felt out of place because no one there was even friendly.
When I want to do something, I read and research, then just do it, alot of times, I end up improvising somewhere along the way, but it always works out in the end.
I never try to be like anyone else, God gives us all talents, I work with what he gave me, and make the best of it, don't compare yourself with someone else, you probably inspire people in ways you don't realize, but THAT'S the beauty of it, you don't have to know it, if we did, we'd probably not be as humble.
If you want to do that wagon, do it. Study the photo, and implement it. Take a drill, pre-drill holes where you want the shelves to go, and then drill the proper length of screws into the back, do the same with your hangers, and there you have something you can enjoy and say, I did this. You can do it.
calirose
15 years ago
Primgal - I think you also answered the question asked by so many, "what is my purpose in life" with the comment about God given talents, and remaining humble. Maybe we aren't to knowwhat our purpose is, other than to worship God and be thankful for and take care of our surroundings.

Des Arc Ya Ya - too late to help on this project, possibly another? Use the hammer to hit the wrench, pliers, etc. It will give added strength.

I don't "belong" to any forum, I just roam about and read many of them. I do paint, and I get discouraged when I haven't anything to paint!! Or, someone to give a paintd item to.

Thanks for letting me post!!
Rhonda
des_arc_ya_ya
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, primgal - your words put it all into perspective!

Calirose, welcome. Why don't you hang around awhile!!? LOL
Carol_from_ny
15 years ago
Surprisingly the thing about projects that frustrates me the most is having the time to work on them. I don't have much trouble fudging things as needed it's finding the time to work on what I want to do that is hardest for me.
des_arc_ya_ya
Original Author
15 years ago
I didn't get discouraged making my "Hulk Bookends"! I wonder why!!! LOL (Check out the photo post.)
barefootin
15 years ago
Sounds like a cute idea. I would use a hacksaw and cut the rods and all the other hardware off the wagon. I am one that, where there's a will..there's a way type of person.
jaybird
15 years ago
Coke is also a great "Loosener of things stuck" including kitchen drains!!
Yes, I REALLY get disgusted with my lack of talent...I'm not smart enough to do the neat things that you do, but I can make anything that I can see with fabric. I have so many ideas in my mind and can't draw a straight line with a ruler!!! How hopeless is THAT!!!! I try to explain what I am "seeing" to other people and it really makes me feel inept when I can't just draw them a picture!!! arghhhhh
renie
15 years ago
In my estimation, I am not really good at a lot of things.
I try a new craft, and if it does not work out the way I wanted it to, oh well and I move on.
I do not sell my creations, normally, so if it is good enough for me, great. do not care if anyone else likes it.
Did some flag bowling balls that I thought turned out really good.
Forget about painting. Not going to happen. Luckily I have a really good friend who takes lessons and she does some basic things for me.
I knit fairly well, again, usually for me or a family member.
lamalu
15 years ago
Hi all. I usually don't post - just lurk - it always seems as though someone else says what I want to say better than me! But I do have something to add here. I finally got sick of having to ask friends to cut boards for me because I was afraid of the circular saw. Last year I took a basic woodworking class at the local technical high school. Oh my! I love power tools! The class have me the confidence I needed to do things on my own. It was well worth it and the women in the class outnumbered the men! Next I'm going to take the welding class. woo hoo!
des_arc_ya_ya
Original Author
15 years ago
Omigosh! I would love to take both courses. Wish there was something similar around here. Might call the local community college and ask about classes. A lot of times if there's a demand for something they will offer it.

Glad it gave you some confidence. Enjoy, be careful and keep all your "digits", wouldya!? LOL
ladycraft
15 years ago
I have always felt it is a lack of training not the lack of talent. You cann't be the best at everything, that is why we all have to work together! I use to just do it so I could prove I could but as I get older it is a bigger challange. With that said I do get really discouraged at a lot of things. On occasion I throw it all away and start over. Other times I research and find another way of doing things.
Marlene Kindred
15 years ago
Hi there! Just checking out this site. I usually post on the garden junk site, but your email really hit home! I know exactly what you mean about feeling so inadequate sometimes. I've had two hand surgeries and have arthritis in both hands, so I can SO relate! Fortunately, my DH is a whiz, so he is able to help me when I get stuck, but you might want to try hitting a small hardware store if there is one in your area. Sometimes the sales guys there are a wealth of knowledge and are also willing to help out with welding, etc. I know that when my husband worked at a hardware store, he was forever bringing home stuff that ladies would bring into the store. He painted, welded, cleaned, and even designed stuff for them. Just a thought. He always loved to help them out--mainly because he knew how much I loved my garden stuff, so he was a sucker for ladies who needed the extra help!

Does Anybody Else Get Discouraged

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