STRINGS ATTACHED

The last several days in our neck of the woods have found me roaming the yard, picking up debris left behind from a storm that blew through several weeks ago. While bundling piles of sticks together for the compost pile, a friend called seeking some dating advice. She'd happened upon a website where profile after profile was riddled with abbreviations, making her feel more like she was searching for an apartment and not a date! Feeling fairly confident in my grasp of cyber-lingo, I was sure I could dissect what the men were trying to say. I was wrong. Just when I thought I'd mastered the fine art of reading and understanding real estate listings (W/D, FMO, WUU, HVAC, etc.) I met my match with the language of dating. One that kept popping up: "NSA". I thought it meant the gentleman was a steward for Northwest Airlines or a member of the Northern Symphony Association. After a little searching I discovered it actually means "no strings attached." Then why, I wondered, were these men on sites specifically geared towards getting attached? Humm. As I tried to talk my friend off the dating ledge, a limb fell from the tree above and hit me in the head, giving me a bright idea. A few months ago I found inexpensive curtain rods at Ikea and brought them home only to discover our 80 year old windows are odd sizes. With sticks in hand and a bundle of string, I created a fun, strong, interesting curtain rod for our guest bedroom. Now these poor sticks, which once faced death by compost pile, are happy to be attached!

ATTACH YOURSELF!

To create this fun, free curtain rod I used the support brackets that came with the rod and hung them above our window and just below the ceiling (I like to hang curtains as high as possible, giving the illusion of bigger windows). For the rod, I bunched several sticks together, measuring the length of the window and width of the curtain openings. By tying the bundles together with string I created a strong support for my curtains!

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Ten minutes

COST: FREE (fishing wire and floral wire..above...can be purchased at the Home Depot for $1.99)

STRESS LEVEL: Stringing things together with ease: LOW