Actually, it was more of a loud crash.
At 12:40 a.m. this morning, Papa Pea and I were wakened out of a sound sleep by a very loud crash.
(Warning: None of my pictures are of good quality. I blame it on being a little upset.)
We have three double hung windows in our kitchen and a bookshelf over each of them. The shelves have been there for over twenty years and have happily held a line of books on each one. Last night the one over my desk apparently decided it had had enough and let go of its wall fastenings.
Blearily, we stumbled out to the kitchen to see the shelf balanced on top of the three plants I had on the upper part of my desk and all the books scattered on the floor. The receiver of the wall phone had been knocked off. Do you see that black and red roundish blob on the floor to the left? It is a (demised?) metal rooster I had on the shelf with the plants.
We took the time to pile the books (and the shelf) on the kitchen table before going back to bed.
This morning I took the following three pics. First, a close-up of one side (the back side) of the support of the shelf.
Next, a close-up of where it had been fastened to the wall.
Turns out the rooster wasn't dead. He just lost his tail which we've managed to reattach.
All in all, it certainly could have been a lot worse. Would I have been hurt by the avalanche of books coming down if I had been at my desk? I'm just as glad I didn't have to find out.
Now to figure out how to reattach the shelf . . . and be sure not to laden it with too many heavy books.
13 comments:
That must have been shocking!! - Jenn
What a rude awakening!
Jenn - Yep, in the night like that all you know is that you don't know what in the world just created that noise. It took a minute to gather our wits and get up to investigate!
Michelle - Ha, rude is the word for it! Our first thought was thunder but quickly discounted that. All in all, though, nothing serious for which we're thankful.
frequently, as I stack things back in shelves, particularly in the basement, I think: sometime that mess is going to shift and make a weird noise in the middle of the night. Often they do. But I never remember what stack it might be. And when I go to check it out, I can never determine what it was. Your crash - was pretty apparent.
Goodness. Glad it was just a bookshelf. Cute rooster by the way.
SmartAlex - I've also heard miscellaneous small "crashes" during the day . . . or night and knew, just knew, one of my (precarious) stacks of "stuff" had toppled over. Sometimes it take me days to spot what it was.
Kristina - Apparently it was a book (or maybe the rooster?) that made a one-inch long gouge in my desk top and something else made a good-sized knick on the front edge of the desk. The rooster was a recent gift from friends and I just love him. Daughter has threatened to steal him! So when I first say him on the floor among the books, I was sad thinking he was damaged too much. But not so! :o)
I really cannot comment on the rooster and the tail. Glad all is well and my youngest grand girl Genna's grad party paled in comparison .
Ouch! What a startling wake up. So glad you weren't under the avalanche!
Gorgeous rooster, happy it wasn't a fatal injury. Those sudden awakenings from a deep sleep are so scary.
Goatldi - Awww, when they graduate (from high school?), it's really the end of a stage of life for them . . . and the beginning of a great new, exciting one!
Rosalea - Me, too! :o)
tpals - Yep, especially when you never do discover what made the unusual noise!
At least it wasn't the cat puking!
My furniture brain is spinning along. I might suggest some metal backing plates hidden behind the brackets where the original screws were holding. Deep new screws into the bracket holding onto the plate, then a similar setup as the original. If you're really into woodworking (or can talk somebody into it) a thing called a French Cleat would really be your best friend. They will hold the weight of the house, and are extremely easy to install - once they're made up and ready.
Cheers!
Tim - We have not yet rehung the book shelf . . . mainly because we needed some sound advice on how to do it. Which you've just provided! Thank you. Husband is going to the Big City later this week so I'll have him read your comment and possibly come home with what will work. You're suggestions are MUCH appreciated!
When I was a kid, my parents awoke to a loud crash. The bathroom light fixture fell to the floor. I slept through the whole thing!
Post a Comment