That shelf is made of two 15″x20″ polypropylene cutting boards (laid edge to edge) from Sam’s… and they’re nicely inexpensive for boards that size — I use them for all manner or projects, especially with building equipment and tools for Curious Confections (they cut well with a table or circular saw). They’re fastened to a 3/4″ PVC pipe frame — again, another versatile product that I make a lot of stuff from — with stainless hardware. The shelf is made to be able to be scrubbed, bleached, and stored in a closet inside.

The shelf height is 60″, and even Sweets, who is on the short-ish, side can comfortably see over it, as well as reach a drink or roll of paper towels. We took the height into consideration, and also the legs holding the shelf up are removable, which also means they are replaceable if I need shorter/longer ones.

Also, I just today finished some screens that sit over the top of the table to keep the flies off. The past few years we’ve been using a plastic trough (for mixing concrete, actually) to dump the crawfish into once they’re boiled, and last year I bought an old window screen to place over the top, and it made all the difference in the world… decided to carry that concept over as an improvement to the new design as well.

What’s this new format that you expect will be around longer? And, maybe you should export a PDF or something, in case all else fails with that.

The fictitious, but more amusing and ‘CSI thematic’ answer is that I didn’t find those pictures until I already had a suspect in custody and I was packing up the documents from the case and noticed a funny detail in a photo that fell at a weird angle on my desk that led me to the real culprit.

But the most satisfying answer for me is: “Shut the fuck up Donny.”

Here’s hoping it breaks the last one’s record. It doesn’t have flooding to contend with, but it does have dry weather and extreme heat.

The brothers are older for sure, much grayer too… where there’s still hair, that is. I’m not exempt from the gray, but I’m nowhere near as follicularly challenged. *grins* But, like petrifying wood, we get tougher and sturdier as we age. It’s in the genes.

I’m waiting with amusement for the reactions of people who’ve never used this contraption. It’s so amazingly USEFUL and convenient. Makes eating mudbugs and shellfish clean and pleasant…and clean-up is a snap. Have fun!

The raised pebble-y texture… that does suck. That’s basically what the “popcorn” ceiling looks like, it’s very “welcome to 1970″, and it flecks off if you look at it crosseyed. It blows, and that’s why it’s going away. Fortunately, most popcorn ceilings are never painted (they go on white), or they get one coat of flat white paint, and you can wet it and scrape it off. Walls likely have more coats of paint than the wet/scrape trick will work on easily

If you have a low-profile texture (like the knockdown) on your walls, you can always skim-coat them with a few layers of drywall mud and sand it smooth, then re-paint. Can’t see that you’d need to rip it out. Even if you have a raised texture, you can likely sand it down a bit with drywall sanders, then skim with drywall mud. Means a bit more elbow grease, but a lot cheaper than all new drywall.