Tacky

Yesterday, I learned that tacks are a pain in the butt, and I wondered what possessed the makers of the magnetic screen door that I purchased to make them use tacks instead of nails.

See, I've been getting outside to go on runs regularly the last few weeks, and when the weather has been nice, I've seen people with those magnetic screen doors. And I thought, wouldn't that be a cool thing to have? Literally, in some cases, in that it would actually help us cool our living space.

And so, I brought the idea to my husband. Great idea, said he. Go for it.

When the item arrived in the mail, I was "at work" so I didn't take it out until dinner time. I started to mess with it, but then realized I really should eat dinner first. So I ate. Then I went back to the magnetic screen door and fiddled and measured and tacked it to the right length for my door. That wasn't too bad, but it was a bit of a pain to shove the tacks through the polyester borders and velcro.

No, where the true evil of tacks lie is with the placement and pushing. I broke about a dozen tacks as I learned what I needed to do in terms of pressure with the hammer and positioning both on the frame in terms of the tack and angle of attack in terms of the hammer. I was dripping sweat, still wearing my work clothes because I had to actually leave the house around 6:30. I was grumbling and a bit miffed that Ambrose hadn't volunteered to help me out. Though now I completely understand and will employ the same tactics in the future, should I ever be in his position with someone uninitiated to the joys of tacks.