Another year gone

Yes, another year all but gone. I’m not sure anyone still reads my drivel, there is so little of it these days.
I have done no turning, and very little making.
It has been a very busy year for me. My daughter was married, I renovated the main bedroom, had to do some significant welding on both cars to pass their respective MOT tests, and repair/refit a badly installed loft ladder. The ladder may on the surface appear insignificant, and the actual repair was. Lifting the loft flooring and undoing the poor structural work however was not. I will never understand how supposed trades people can rip elderly customers off. Every job we have taken on in this house has uncovered botched work the previous owners commissioned trades to carry out. From nails through electrical cables, to the shower back-feeding a redundant water tank, to the massive hole behind the boiler. It really is a disgrace. Shame on each and every one.
The coming year will see a milestone. The last two new windows will be installed, and the spare bedroom will be fully renovated. This will see the last of the electrical being upgraded, new ceiling, party-wall being dry lined with acoustic plasterboard, new door, new skirting boards, and new flooring.
Once complete I can rest, and start saving again. None of this has been cheap, but much cheaper than if I had employed people to carry the work out. With the exceptions of the roof, boiler, and log stove, I have done every bit of work myself. Not bad for a little old fat bloke.
I also have a plan on the back burner, to start some kind of introduction to new makers. This will involve re-assuring people that you don’t need to be rich to embark on the making journey despite what the “purists” may say. I started with nothing. I got my first lathe free, bought the cheapest tools on the market, and survived. Almost all of my machine tools have been from either budget ranges or used from estate sales. It can be done.
Hopefully I can start turning again. First job will be a baby rattle for my daughter’s best friend who had a new addition to the family in this past year. I also need to try to finish a quaich I started earlier this year. I need to either buy or build a pressure pot for resin, as the wood is an extremely punky piece of sweet chestnut. It was to be a wedding gift, but at this rate I may have it finished for the happy couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.
We also both came down with Covid-19 after dodging it since 2020. We went out shopping without masks for the first time since the pandemic began, and tested positive 3 days later. I do not care what people say or think, I’m wearing a mask outside again and will continue to do so until this plague finally disappears. (if it ever does) I never want to go through that again. I shudder to think what it would have been like were we not vaccinated.
Wishing you all a very happy Og Maidne. Lang may yer lum reek.

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