Abandonment

Dear Readers  ~  It's been far too long since I updated my blog, and I think that is a common malady among many woodworking bloggers.  I'm going to be 67 this fall, and I've entered the stage of life where I've become a care-giver to one parent and one life partner, so it's been a double-whammy of a few years with life changes keeping me out of the shop, with no end currently in sight. 

  I love woodworking, though, and I love writing, so here is a non-essential update.  

  My big dream of a hand tool cabinet has been put off.  Many days I go out to the shop and dust, clean and de-rust any metal, or sit on my shop stool and ponder exactly how the someday-cabinet will fill my space behind the little work bench. 

 
And, I've been an 'arm-chair' woodworker, buying a few new tools from catalogs, and the hinges for the upcoming doors of the cabinet.  The Lee Valley Small Plow Plane was my Mothers Day present, and is one sweet little plane that I dearly love. 

  The big news in my woodworking life is that I've commissioned an 'Autumn Box,'  which means my friend, artist Autumn Doucet, has agreed to make a large carved mahogany box to contain my growing collection of wood samples, and is working hard on the design we've collaborated on.  I'm very excited about this project, and it will truly be a treasure box once she's finished it, which may take many months.  This is an older photo of the samples to be stored; I now have over 50 samples of various species waiting for a new home. 

 

 
 I'm sorry to those who were waiting on me to build my large cabinet, but my life is overflowing with lemons for these few years.  It's a tough row to hoe, watching those you love descend into dementia. Our way of dying in this country is a long, slow process sometimes, with those going through it just wishing they could lay down on the tracks and be done with it.  We don't always get what we want, so the next best thing is to buck up and deal with it.  I have a new appreciation, though, for those heading into 'the golden years,' I'll tell you that. 

  In the meantime, I'll try to keep up some posting on this blog, and keep taking care of my tools until I can get the time to really put myself into the shop and get back to doing what I love best! 
~BarbS