Hot town, summer in the city

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few weeks ago that I was gushing all over myself with excitement because it was spring.

My blog for March 11, “Hello spring!”, went on and on about how happy I was that winter was finally over and that warmer weather would replace the frigid atmosphere in my garage shop. Then I went on to list the not-so-joyous things about summer – heat, sweat, yard work, heat, my noisy neighbor coming out of hibernation, heat, heat and, oh, did I mention heat? I even joked about rusty handprints on my table saw.

Earlier today I mowed the lawn. It was still early, just about lunch time or so, but it was already 90 degrees. Did the yard, trimmed, swept, and put everything away in the garage (also my shop, remember). Everything done. Hot, tired, and the back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, I pulled a cold soda out of the shop fridge and relaxed for a moment enjoying the mixed aromas of fresh-mown lawn and not-too-recently sawn wood. Pure heaven.

Went inside to clean up and shower, did several hours of work on the computer on my woodworking book, made dinner, enjoyed it, read a bit of the current novel I’ve been reading. My wife was already in bed and as I started to “shut down” the house for the night, I made my last stop the shop just a few minutes ago. I have a couple projects in progress, and I always enjoy checking them out before turning in, just to take stock of what I’ve done and what needs to be done next. And it’s quiet and enjoyable in the shop at night, so it’s a ritual I never miss.

As I went to the table saw to look at the small table I’m building – it’s up-ended on one side of the saw table from when I had been working on the underside of it this morning – and right next to it on the shiny cast iron is a big, fat, rusty handprint.

*sigh*

That never happens in the winter.

Till next time,

A.J.

Don’t forget I’m looking for input from any of you who’ve been to IWF in Atlanta, for an upcoming article in Woodshop News. What’s your best suggestion for someone attending the show? What worked well for you, and helped you cover the most ground in the least time? What are your tips for making the show fun? What is the number one not-to-be-missed aspect of IWF? E-mail ideas and suggestions to me at IWFtips@yahoo.com, along with your name and shop location (city and state), and I’ll include the best ones in my article.