WORKING ON BUILDING THINGS
My Dad built himself and
my Mom Adirondack chairs, then created his own pattern to build a little one for me.
They were painted yellow – my favorite color. I loved my little chair. I wonder if that’s why yellow is my favorite color? J
The terrace roof completed
created a great place to gather in the summer – to play ping-pong or just sit
around. The ping-pong table was
collapsible & easy to store off to the side when not in use.
I designed & my
husband built this front entry deck for our house in Groveland. It was a tricky design because there is a
stairway leading down from the front door to the garage behind the railing
behind the bench, so we came out the front door and either went down the stairs
to the garage, or came forward out onto the deck. They don’t show here, but we had flowerboxes
behind the railing where the candy-canes are crossed. Obviously decorations for Christmas were up
when this picture was taken.
The wooden back deck to
our Groveland house was beginning to age so we had a new deck built of
simulated wood. It wraps around the far
side of the house.
The new deck completed
& showing the wrap-around side deck.
The original deck had wavy metal panels underneath the decking to keep
the rain from falling on the patio beneath, but we didn’t have those redone
because raccoons would sneak up in between the metal panels & the decking
& create nests for themselves & their babies. What a mess!
So when it rained we couldn’t use the patio, but it didn’t rain that
much in the summer anyway.
When we moved to Soulsbyville the only real view we had of the hills surrounding us was from our front yard, so we had a gazebo built from which we could enjoy the view. Here it was still in the process of being built, obviously.
Meanwhile, our son built
himself a garage.
My sister’s husband built
this sweet little two-piece cabinet for our Mom when she moved into a small
apartment and needed more kitchen storage.
After she passed away I had it for a while till we moved into a smaller
house. One of my daughters has it
now. Hopefully it will stay in the family
for a long time to come.
And our middle daughter,
wanting a nice little table and chairs for the kitchen in her new house,
sent away for this cute trio. It came in
pieces which she painstakingly put together.
She also put a couple of other things together including a small
occasional table and a side chair for her living room!
I put a floor lamp
together once.
Come to think of it, I also put a small upright bookcase together, and in the sixties, when I moved into my apartment, I made a long low bookcase out of boards & bricks – like, who didn’t back then? J
:->
La Nightingail
Loved seeing all those decks, and thinking of all your time relaxing on them! Lots of talented persons in your family who could build things!
ReplyDeleteDecks, patios, gazebos - I love being outside when the weather's warm - especially in the early morning & later in the evening. Late spring, summer, & early fall plus Daylight Saving Time is my favorite time of year!
DeleteMy dad designed the house we moved into when I was 10; and later in life, an extension of the house his parents built in the 1930s. Myself, I lived all my adult life in rented flats, so no big building projects!!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things to do is figure out floor plans for the perfect house. Of course ideas for the perfect house change as life goes on. What was perfect 20 years ago would not be perfect now, but I keep doodling at it. :)
DeleteI learned to build things from my dad, too. He was always fixing broken cars or appliances and he introduced me to power tools and woodworking that became my alternate world away from music. Much of the time in rehearsal when I'm not actually playing, I thinking about building or fixing something. I find it very therapeutic and satisfying to be able to make my own repairs or furniture. Unfortunately my wife thinks it creates a backlog on my long, long list of things that need doing! :–}
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to buckle down & do the things that need to be done when you want to do things that would be so much more fun & rewarding. I try telling myself if I'd just get the needed things done first, then I could relax & fully enjoy the other. Unfortunately I'm a terrible procrastinator & most of the time do the things I want to do, then feel guilty about not getting the other done. Oh well. :)
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