Mystery solved
No, I didn't meet a sticky end following my last post - I've been a little sleepy this summer, probably due to the record-breaking rainfall we've endured this July. There's been little to do in the garden as a result.
But I did accomplish one thing - I solved the mystery of the disappearing kitchen knives.
It was almost entirely a matter of deduction. As Sherlock Holmes said, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." I then zeroed in on the one remaining possibility.
In our front closet, there was once long ago an ancient burglar alarm. I removed it, and that left behind a small square hole in the drywall.
I intended to patch it, but it was in an out-of-the-way spot, and no one could see it that easily, so I just kept putting off the job. I wondered...could James have dropped things into that hole, and so between the walls? I tried to find out by lowering magnets into the hole, but they would always be pulled aside by nails in the studs, and could never get to the bottom.
Finally, I decided to take a chance and open the wall down at the floor level. If there was nothing there, all I'd done was put another little hole in the wall, and I could fix that pretty easily. I picked my spot, avoiding the stud, and started to cut with my drywall knife. I quickly encountered resistance - so much so, that I couldn't actually saw through the drywall. I had to proceed by just poking the knife through one half inch at a time.
Eventually I'd opened a 2" space, and could pull out a square plug of drywall. Sure enough, I could see metal blades in the hole - they were packed in so tight, they were blocking the progress of my saw. With great care, I began pulling them out. This is what I eventually retrieved from the space between the walls:
Dean and I did a count, and we discovered 53 blue plastic clothespins, and 64 assorted knives. There were butcher knives, paring knives, several different kinds of steak knives, rounded knives, you name it. Including a brand-new drywall saw, a pair of scissors, nail clippers and a few small toys. I saw rounded knives from sets of cutlery I'd given away to charity or sold at garage sales years ago - obviously, James had been dropping things into this little hideaway for years. It's interesting that, with a few minor exceptions, he restricted himself to knives and blue plastic clothespins. No spoons, no forks, just these items. I had a strange feeling as I was pulling out this pile of ironmongery - I felt like an Irish Republican family, with a hidden arsenal behind the walls for the moment we rise against the British!
I patched the hole the same day, so I hope he abandons this pastime, rather than finding some OTHER place to hide stuff.
But I did accomplish one thing - I solved the mystery of the disappearing kitchen knives.
It was almost entirely a matter of deduction. As Sherlock Holmes said, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." I then zeroed in on the one remaining possibility.
In our front closet, there was once long ago an ancient burglar alarm. I removed it, and that left behind a small square hole in the drywall.
I intended to patch it, but it was in an out-of-the-way spot, and no one could see it that easily, so I just kept putting off the job. I wondered...could James have dropped things into that hole, and so between the walls? I tried to find out by lowering magnets into the hole, but they would always be pulled aside by nails in the studs, and could never get to the bottom.
Finally, I decided to take a chance and open the wall down at the floor level. If there was nothing there, all I'd done was put another little hole in the wall, and I could fix that pretty easily. I picked my spot, avoiding the stud, and started to cut with my drywall knife. I quickly encountered resistance - so much so, that I couldn't actually saw through the drywall. I had to proceed by just poking the knife through one half inch at a time.
Eventually I'd opened a 2" space, and could pull out a square plug of drywall. Sure enough, I could see metal blades in the hole - they were packed in so tight, they were blocking the progress of my saw. With great care, I began pulling them out. This is what I eventually retrieved from the space between the walls:
I patched the hole the same day, so I hope he abandons this pastime, rather than finding some OTHER place to hide stuff.
posted by Dr. Mabuse at 8/01/2009 01:14:00 pm
3 Comments:
Glad to hear the mystery is solved. So James is the "culprit". May he grow up to be the next Canadian freedom fighter! ;P) (My tongue is FIRMLY installed in cheek!)
God Bless Ya'll!
Aggie, Class of '70
An Anglican Firearms "Enthusiast" (ie: Gun Nut)
www.ananglicangn.blogspot.com/
Perhaps, in light of the post below this one, you might sleep more soundly if your knives were kept locked away. Maybe I'm overreacting here, but you might want to consider a sophisticated security system, maybe an electronic lock with a number code, a fingerprint or voice recognition entry system.
Oh, I'm not too worried about any homicidal tendencies on the part of James. It's more the inconvenience of trying to cook without knives. I do a lot of Chinese and Indian cooking, and it's no joke trying to cut up raw chicken with a butter knife!
Actually, I have put away the big knives - I have a magnetic bar mounted to the outside of the door to the garage, and they're all proudly hanging there. It's just a few steps from the kitchen, so they're easy to get when I need them. It was partly so James wouldn't see them and be tempted again, but also because after we found them, I discovered that we now had way too many knives to be able to store them in the kitchen!
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