Our version of retirement: Living a childhood dream
- Thread starter Gary O'
- Start date
The prototype jelly cab is ‘done’
it's rustic and crude enough
Not unhappy with it....
However
The knob and hinges are too factory.looking
aaand TOOOO freaking white!
May go antique white or cream
Then switch to black (like my lady ‘suggested’)
I couldn’t wait for my forge friend down the path
Here’s where I select a tool
most any pointy heavy one'll do
lay the side of my head on the vise
…and commence to adjust
Sigh
It is, however, a protoype
it's rustic and crude enough
Not unhappy with it....
However
The knob and hinges are too factory.looking
aaand TOOOO freaking white!
May go antique white or cream
Then switch to black (like my lady ‘suggested’)
I couldn’t wait for my forge friend down the path
Here’s where I select a tool
most any pointy heavy one'll do
lay the side of my head on the vise
…and commence to adjust
Sigh
It is, however, a protoype
No man can tell another how to live.
Not my place to instruct, preach.
I seriously hate that.
Who is to say what’s best?
Not this wood butcher.
The aim is happiness.
The goal is contentment, satisfaction, no matter the journey.
I’m glad to have this avenue to share mine.
The following is something I posted at another site, early on after our move. It’s redundant in places,
but that redundancy is a sorta proof that nothin’s changed, this is 'where', this is 'there'. I’m home.
A moment of reflection;
I've been struggling of late in being able to put my finger on how I feel these days.
We've been out here 40 days.
We've accomplished more than I thought we would by now.
My wife amazes me...daily.
I even amaze myself.
There's been a flow of activity as we both have our daily chores and our projects, some done alone, some together, but both of us resting (plopping into our camp chairs) together.
We talk together of us never being so happy, so fulfilled, so purposeful.
Yes, we both carry the scars of living, like the gnarled tree in this photo I took just this morning.
But like this tree, there's a renewal.
It's so very hard to generate a renewal when living in the hectic stream of town.
One thinks a good rest will do it, but I'll tell you now, I've kidded myself.
I've just maintained my sanity, and even that is questionable.
This place
This place..has given me a greater perspective of my wellbeing than I could ever muster within a dense society.
I'm not an outwardly religious guy, but if there is a heaven...I'd like to think it's like our little place...
Not some ethereal cloudy place, but a hands on, git dirty abode, a tangibly real place where you can see, feel, taste, smell the beauty of nature.....of God.
Yet, I have this niggling, this feeling of angst (?) that somehow, some way this prize will be taken from me.
A feeling that 'why do I get this?'...I certainly don't deserve it any more than the next bloke.
Surely God is giving me (us) a glimpse of what things could be like... should be like...
Maybe tomorrow I'll fall on a jagged tree spike and lie there bleeding my guts out while my woman is gleefully tending her garden.
Maybe today.
But
Right now
This moment
I have
Contentment
Like I've never known
Or even dreamt of
Not my place to instruct, preach.
I seriously hate that.
Who is to say what’s best?
Not this wood butcher.
The aim is happiness.
The goal is contentment, satisfaction, no matter the journey.
I’m glad to have this avenue to share mine.
The following is something I posted at another site, early on after our move. It’s redundant in places,
but that redundancy is a sorta proof that nothin’s changed, this is 'where', this is 'there'. I’m home.
A moment of reflection;
I've been struggling of late in being able to put my finger on how I feel these days.
We've been out here 40 days.
We've accomplished more than I thought we would by now.
My wife amazes me...daily.
I even amaze myself.
There's been a flow of activity as we both have our daily chores and our projects, some done alone, some together, but both of us resting (plopping into our camp chairs) together.
We talk together of us never being so happy, so fulfilled, so purposeful.
Yes, we both carry the scars of living, like the gnarled tree in this photo I took just this morning.
But like this tree, there's a renewal.
It's so very hard to generate a renewal when living in the hectic stream of town.
One thinks a good rest will do it, but I'll tell you now, I've kidded myself.
I've just maintained my sanity, and even that is questionable.
This place
This place..has given me a greater perspective of my wellbeing than I could ever muster within a dense society.
I'm not an outwardly religious guy, but if there is a heaven...I'd like to think it's like our little place...
Not some ethereal cloudy place, but a hands on, git dirty abode, a tangibly real place where you can see, feel, taste, smell the beauty of nature.....of God.
Yet, I have this niggling, this feeling of angst (?) that somehow, some way this prize will be taken from me.
A feeling that 'why do I get this?'...I certainly don't deserve it any more than the next bloke.
Surely God is giving me (us) a glimpse of what things could be like... should be like...
Maybe tomorrow I'll fall on a jagged tree spike and lie there bleeding my guts out while my woman is gleefully tending her garden.
Maybe today.
But
Right now
This moment
I have
Contentment
Like I've never known
Or even dreamt of
Another little sumpm I jotted down that happened here early on (almost three years ago);
Well, I did it.
Found a saw stop.
My hand.
I'm careful. To a fault.
But there apparently are times, like today.
I was zippin' off some wood chalks.
No measurement required.
Got into a rhythm.
Forgot....I don't have rhythm.
A stuck pig comes to mind.
Thing is, my lovely better half was up at the neighbors.
She hardly ever goes to the neighbors.
Today is nine eleven.
Fitting.
So, after nicking the large artery in the top of my hand, I kept my composure and immediately ran down the road, screaming.
Juuust kidding.
I stumbled around, muttering fond remembrances of my childhood puppy.
Kidding again.
I knew to stop the blood.
Thing is, when one uses the good hand to help the hurt hand, well, there's just no other hands.
I was rather amazed at my sensibilities during what could rapidly develop into a somewhat dire situation, by;
Sticking my hand up in the air
Pressing my fingers on the vein
Pouring water on the cut
Then pouring good Scotch on it
Then finding a clean cloth, ripping it in shreds, and tying it tight.
I stood there looking at the smart phone.
Thought about asking siri what next to do.
Then realized the bleeding had stopped.
Went back to work.
My lady got home an hour or so later.
Got a bit excited about the carnage...'blood everywhere!'.
She should be well aware of my thin, onion paper Irish skin, and I bleed most every working moment of every day.
What agitates me is I didn't think to apply super glue.
somebody posed a question
'how in heck did you manage to cut the top of yer hand?'
Well, that's a fair enough question.
Although, I thought it might've been obvious.
Permit me to illustrate;
Haphazardly put your left hand in the path of the whirling saw blade by placing it directly underneath while the other hand is reaching for another piece of wood.
Hurry
Deftly use the sliding feature of the compound sliding miter saw;
pushing down and forward while it's wind milling (not under power) during a state of confusion
as to what's wood, and what's your hand, and whether or not the saw is on,
and what a saw is. while considering changing your political party affiliation.
Permit the teeth to grind into your flesh until it stops.
Wince
Bug your eyes out with amazement at the idiocy of the event
Call yourself several defamatory names
Bleed on everything
Run to and fro
That about covers it
Well, I did it.
Found a saw stop.
My hand.
I'm careful. To a fault.
But there apparently are times, like today.
I was zippin' off some wood chalks.
No measurement required.
Got into a rhythm.
Forgot....I don't have rhythm.
A stuck pig comes to mind.
Thing is, my lovely better half was up at the neighbors.
She hardly ever goes to the neighbors.
Today is nine eleven.
Fitting.
So, after nicking the large artery in the top of my hand, I kept my composure and immediately ran down the road, screaming.
Juuust kidding.
I stumbled around, muttering fond remembrances of my childhood puppy.
Kidding again.
I knew to stop the blood.
Thing is, when one uses the good hand to help the hurt hand, well, there's just no other hands.
I was rather amazed at my sensibilities during what could rapidly develop into a somewhat dire situation, by;
Sticking my hand up in the air
Pressing my fingers on the vein
Pouring water on the cut
Then pouring good Scotch on it
Then finding a clean cloth, ripping it in shreds, and tying it tight.
I stood there looking at the smart phone.
Thought about asking siri what next to do.
Then realized the bleeding had stopped.
Went back to work.
My lady got home an hour or so later.
Got a bit excited about the carnage...'blood everywhere!'.
She should be well aware of my thin, onion paper Irish skin, and I bleed most every working moment of every day.
What agitates me is I didn't think to apply super glue.
somebody posed a question
'how in heck did you manage to cut the top of yer hand?'
Well, that's a fair enough question.
Although, I thought it might've been obvious.
Permit me to illustrate;
Haphazardly put your left hand in the path of the whirling saw blade by placing it directly underneath while the other hand is reaching for another piece of wood.
Hurry
Deftly use the sliding feature of the compound sliding miter saw;
pushing down and forward while it's wind milling (not under power) during a state of confusion
as to what's wood, and what's your hand, and whether or not the saw is on,
and what a saw is. while considering changing your political party affiliation.
Permit the teeth to grind into your flesh until it stops.
Wince
Bug your eyes out with amazement at the idiocy of the event
Call yourself several defamatory names
Bleed on everything
Run to and fro
That about covers it
RadishRose
SF VIP
- Location
- Connecticut, USA
Oh my goodness! Promise you won't do that again?
that was over two years ago
a lesson
re-learned
...and
I heal fast, almost as fast as I cut
if my tools weren't put away, I'd still be lookin' for 'em
C'est Moi
Dishin' it out.
- Location
- Houston Y'all
I'm enjoying the narrative and the photos, Gary. Thanks for sharing your dream (and the reality) with us.
Everbody’s talkin’ about the weather
The south is freezing
And here we sit
No snow
4550’ elevation
East side of the Cascade range
Mild temps
Mid Jan
Incredible
It’s spoiling this geezer
Gotta watch my fat intake
Been shuffling around the shop all day
Then
4p
Crank up the genny to the main cabin
Sit
Eat
Read you guy’s comments
Contribute
‘tween naps
Tough days
MSN keeps showing snow coming
They lie
The lady at the country store a few miles down the main path had a good thought
I said, ‘Man, hate to see how dry this fire season is gonna be’
She said, ‘Well, we had wunna the worst fire seasons last summer.
Right after having five and a half feet of snow accumulated’
I like how she thinks
And how she’s so free with the local scuttlebutt
Bought the box of matches at three times their value
Got in the Jeep
went home
yessiree
tough winter
it’s not over by any means
but
the front part has confused the critters
and a bit of flora here and there
I’d take some pics, but that’d mean getting outa this chair
Keep a fire
....in a minute
...bears have it right
The south is freezing
And here we sit
No snow
4550’ elevation
East side of the Cascade range
Mild temps
Mid Jan
Incredible
It’s spoiling this geezer
Gotta watch my fat intake
Been shuffling around the shop all day
Then
4p
Crank up the genny to the main cabin
Sit
Eat
Read you guy’s comments
Contribute
‘tween naps
Tough days
MSN keeps showing snow coming
They lie
The lady at the country store a few miles down the main path had a good thought
I said, ‘Man, hate to see how dry this fire season is gonna be’
She said, ‘Well, we had wunna the worst fire seasons last summer.
Right after having five and a half feet of snow accumulated’
I like how she thinks
And how she’s so free with the local scuttlebutt
Bought the box of matches at three times their value
Got in the Jeep
went home
yessiree
tough winter
it’s not over by any means
but
the front part has confused the critters
and a bit of flora here and there
I’d take some pics, but that’d mean getting outa this chair
Keep a fire
....in a minute
...bears have it right
Lil' known fact....
heard about that
also, the mammas can get cranky if you wake 'em too early
Yep
snow
snow
and more snow is in the forecast here
I believe 'em this time
Got a dusting last night
Looks like the Jeep will officially become the go to vehicle for a few months
YeeeHaw
Well now, we finally got snow worth mentioning.
Just four inches by last night, but more, much more is coming.
Ma nature gave us a bit of a gift by staving off this stuff ‘til now, but gotta say, I missed it a bit.
And four inches, well, ain’t no trick yet to do chores.
Got the Nikon out and walked around the place.
The new snow was nice and crunchy
Felt good
The well shack's first winter
Even the Downy took note and began stocking up on suet
First thing I noticed was a slender lodge pole extending her little offering of a season’s first snowball
Then snow stumps, wrestling
stumps will be stumps, whudduya gonna do
Nature’s version of Senior Wences’ hand puppet (sans lipstick)
Even my favorite old pine by the shop, obvious signs of harrowing events written all over its torso, donned a fake beard for the event
And other shots of the back yard
even the lichen is...well....liken it
Heh, sometimes after downloading pics of the untouched areas, I’ll see a critter staring back or sauntering away
Anyway, gonna slip into town while it’s moderately easy, stock up, buy a couple tools
May slip back into the sack for a not ready for prime time nap
Y’all take care
Just four inches by last night, but more, much more is coming.
Ma nature gave us a bit of a gift by staving off this stuff ‘til now, but gotta say, I missed it a bit.
And four inches, well, ain’t no trick yet to do chores.
Got the Nikon out and walked around the place.
The new snow was nice and crunchy
Felt good
The well shack's first winter
Even the Downy took note and began stocking up on suet
First thing I noticed was a slender lodge pole extending her little offering of a season’s first snowball
Then snow stumps, wrestling
stumps will be stumps, whudduya gonna do
Nature’s version of Senior Wences’ hand puppet (sans lipstick)
Even my favorite old pine by the shop, obvious signs of harrowing events written all over its torso, donned a fake beard for the event
And other shots of the back yard
even the lichen is...well....liken it
Heh, sometimes after downloading pics of the untouched areas, I’ll see a critter staring back or sauntering away
Anyway, gonna slip into town while it’s moderately easy, stock up, buy a couple tools
May slip back into the sack for a not ready for prime time nap
Y’all take care
C'est Moi
Dishin' it out.
- Location
- Houston Y'all
Beautiful pics, Gary. Stay warm!
oh, there's definitely a few places down south that stole this northerner's heart
one being Corpus Christi
but
the adventure here has yet to bore me
and the sun this morn felt good in the pit of this geezer's soul
RadishRose
SF VIP
- Location
- Connecticut, USA
I really enjoyed all these photos. Thanks, Gary.
Thank YOU, Rose
Snow
We’re now in it
from the cabin window
Tree clinging albino mastodons are a sign
The three wise bins
from the side porch
'tween cabins
other than normal chores and blowing/shoveling snow
dedication to the shop is yielding jelly cupboards
However
It’s gonna be brief
Temps touching the low 50s for the next couple days
last year this time we had over four feet
for five months
Incredible
We’re now in it
from the cabin window
Tree clinging albino mastodons are a sign
The three wise bins
from the side porch
'tween cabins
other than normal chores and blowing/shoveling snow
dedication to the shop is yielding jelly cupboards
However
It’s gonna be brief
Temps touching the low 50s for the next couple days
last year this time we had over four feet
for five months
Incredible