While I've been making some progress over here in house world, some projects have come to a... stand still.  One of those projects is repainting the cabinet doors and hanging them.  Part of the problem is it takes some heavy duty paint stripper to find clean metal under at least 5 layers of paint.  The cabinet hardware isn't made anymore, so I have to restore the stuff I've got.  My friendly neighborhood Lowes people recommended Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover. 

So I bought a tin.

And I took it home.

And I tried to open it.

And I tried and tried and tried.

And then I got a blister.

And then I got angry.

Really, really angry.

Inanimate objects have an uncanny ability to make me extrordinarily irritated when they don't do what they are supposed to.  Like open.  I've become similarly outraged when a light switch plate wouldn't screw into the box, a masonry bit wouldn't drill into a cement block wall, and a dryer hose wouldn't fit into the back of the dryer.  There is much yelling, some (okay, much) cursing, and maybe throwing things.  I didn't throw the paint stripper because I thought it might blow up and burn my eyeballs out. 

So, since the jasco has been sitting in my sun room, useless to the world because I can't open it (which, PS, is somwhat surprising because I can almost always open any jar), the hardware for my kitchen has been sitting in a bowl covered in potentially lead based paint, and I've been unmotivated to make any progress on the kitchen.

Until today, when I went to Lowes because I had a coupon (and needed a few things... shocking), and bought another tin of Jasco.  THIS time, however, I asked someone to open it before I left the store.  It took three people trying, but eventually someone got it open and then loosely put the lid back on.  I think they thought it was a strange request until the second person failed to be able to open it. 

Now I can strip paint.  and paint cabinet doors, add hardware, hang them, and have a functional and complete kitchen.  Woot!