I find the days with little to do the hardest. The waiting days.

Animal chores in the morning don’t take terribly long, and then today we drove to the city for the big grocery store. The local one is small, expensive, and lacking in options. And since the big one has redeemable points that I’ve been saving up, $225 of groceries cost me $5. Worth the longer drive.

This afternoon, after the groceries were away, we headed out to the barn. Lacking anything to do in terms of the structure itself, we are concentrating on the furniture. The other day, we began making the mattress frames for the kids’ triple bunk.

Yesterday and part of today, I carefully wrapped the frames in burlap, because the wood is raw and rough. Sappy and splintery, and the mattresses were expensive and I don’t wish to damage or soil them.

Burlap was my first idea, as it is both inexpensive and easy to come by but I had forgotten how fragile a weave it is. Eventually, I may have to add something else overtop.

Having finished the roll of burlap (if not the actual wrapping -I am short about 4 feet), we started on the supporting frame.

Each box will recieve a slat-rail on each long interior side, and then cleats and screws both hold the boxes to the upright frame. We have only just begun, but so far so good. We are going to need some metal corner brackets, though.

The bottom bunk is 16 inches above the ground, to allow for bin storage underneath. The middle bunk will overlap and extend on a 90°angle 16 inches above the bottom bunk, and the top bunk will be oriented the same as the bottom, 16 inches above the middle bunk. We needed to keep the overall height down, but also needed enough space that the person in the bed can move a bit. The offsets will be the foot-end of the beds.

It feels like a very small amount to accomplish in a day. Which puts me in a bad mood, or at least contributes. I find driving errands tiring, and spending money with no income causes anxiety, but having a day go by with little to show for it just caps the melancholy.

Maybe tomorrow will be sunny. That always helps the mood.