We hung flourescent lights in the garage this weekend. It was sort of dark out there, and the single lightbulb in the garage ceiling just wasn't cutting it. I've got a minor workshop thing going out there in the garage, and I needed some light. I like to think of myself as a woodworker, albeit an amateur one. But I'm getting better all the time. I've found that the more (and better) tools I acquire, the better I am . No, really! I'm not just saying that so my husband and other family members will buy me power tools and stuff. Though I do appreciate it!
So I've got a hobby. It's one I've thought about a lot over the years. What would I do in my spare time if I had a place to do it, and the means with which to really get into it? Building things out of wood. That was always my answer. I wanted to make things. With wood! Unfortunately, I had neither the place nor the budget for such an endeavor. But then I met P and started thinking it might be a possibility some day.
When P and I hooked up, we planned to buy a house with a workshop out back. Well, in Seattle a house that you'd actually want to LIVE in, with a workshop in the back, costs about $10 million. So we bought a cool condo instead, that just happens to have a garage. Voila. My workshop. For Christmas the first year we were here, P bought me a table saw. Isn't that sweet? And an electric sander. And a cordless drill with a nifty drill bit set. That was a great Christmas. Around Valentine's Day I got a router and router table. For my birthday that year I got a shop vac. I tell ya, buying gifts for me has never been easier. I bought myself a manual compound miter saw, but I think my Dad's going to buy me an electric one for my birthday this year. I can't wait!
So what have I made? LOTS of things! Couple of book shelves, TV stands, stereo rack, sofa table, dozens and dozens of picture frames, etc. Up until I was about 6 months pregnant, I was out my shop all the time, almost every weekend (that we weren't out camping or something). Since then, It's harder to spend any significant amount of time out there, but every now and then, P goes on all day baby duty so I can work on a project. That's what happened this weekend -- after we hung the light. That new light put me in shop mode. And I needed some frames for our bedroom. I've had the prints for a while, and they really needed to be framed. So I made 3 matching picture frames (14 x 16) which, when finished, will hang gallery style on the wall above our bed.
I sort of committed myself to making a rather elaborate frame for a friend who wants a mirror on the wall behind her sofa. That'll be my next project. We're going to attempt the guilded look. Should be fun.
I don't know why I'm blathering on about all this, except that at no other point in my life have I had so much freedom to pursue something I enjoy this much. Part of it is that I'm settled down (in many ways), but a bigger part is that I've got a partner who supports everything single thing I do, or want to do. Wow, how strange to be able to say that. What a stark contrast to my first husband. Shudder.
This Thursday, May 3, 2001, my husband and I are celebrating our 4th anniversary. In an attempt to come to an agreement as to how we should celebrate, last night we had a Meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society, of which we are the only two members. At our meeting, we expounded on each other's wonderfulness, expressing gratitude and, of course, admiration, then came to the conclusion that we should wait for the weekend, get a babysitter, and just hang out together. We then closed the meeting with a short make-out session. That's a good meeting!
All this AND flourescent lights.
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