Today, I turn 40 years old. There, I said it.
All kidding aside, numbers don't bother me as far as age goes. But birthdays are a time of reflection for me, especially the ones that end in zeroes. It's another year in the books so to say, and another year beginning and bringing with it new opportunities. It is definitely a time to take stock and make plans.
Forty, though, is a little different. Statistically speaking, I realize that I am in the neighborhood of the half way mark in life. I am fortunate to be able to look back and realize that I have accomplished a great deal in my forty years. I have been blessed with a great family (thank you mom and dad for all that you are in my life), wonderful experiences, and many opportunities to gain knowledge and skills. For the most part, I have been able to pursue my interests and dabble in many different areas,
The last year (or seven) has been one of change. I was blessed to meet and marry a woman who is, at least to me, the picture of perfection. A truly amazing woman, friend, mother, wife and genuinely good soul. I have been graced by the presence and love of two wonderful children. We have made great progress in household renovations (one of the main reasons this blog has been so quiet these past few months) and reclaiming the yard from years of neglect. Back in January I started this blog as a means of interacting with fellow woodworkers, and it has been a tremendous experience. Among others, thank you to +Ralph J Boumenot, +Jonas Jensen and +Robert Demers for all of your advice, encouragement and support. As I get this blog back up and running, I hope to continue talking with each of you and hopefully many more.
Realizing that I have lived such a wonderful forty years, it brings me to what will hopefully be the next forty plus. There are so many things that I still hope to accomplish in life. Of course continuing to be a better son, husband and father. Professionally, I have many goals, not the least of which is finally going to graduate school. Physically, I have been working for months at taking better care of myself. Plenty of cardio and weights (although not nearly the way that i worked out a couple decades ago) and a more healthy diet.
But for the purpose of this blog, I am very excited about dedicating myself to finding more time in the shop, taking classes and pushing myself to become a better all around craftsman. That's not to say that I've been completely inactive. I have had a number of small projects pass through the shop and I have a backlog of material for posts which I promise to get to in the coming days. But I do need to be conscious of better documenting my work with photos and actually making the time to update here regularly.
And on that note, my latest project...
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| Stanley 246 |
I just blundered into this miter box and it's saw on Craigslist on Monday. I have been using a shop made miter box for some time, waiting patiently for the opportunity to upgrade. While the Stanley 246 would not have been my first choice, the price was right and at least this will be good practice in restoring it to working order. The saw definitely needs some work, sharpening at a minimum. I am not sure how effective the box will be when I finish, but I will definitely have some fun with the process. I began the dis-assembly last night with the help of original documents I was able to find online. Hopefully I will have some time to get to it this weekend, if not before. I'll update my progress as I go.
Also, in the next couple days, I'll share some of my woodworking related birthday gifts.
This Day in (Mostly) American History
1804 Lewis and Clark promote Patrick Gass to Seargent
1862 Second Bull Run campaign begins
1920 19th Amendment Adopted
1939 First Televised Major League Baseball game
1944 Charles DeGaulle enters a liberated Paris
