He Enjoyed His Week-ends With Woodworking

In a group that I post in every day for Marie, I once said, I see, but I don't notice. Interesting how that works. You are in the same house day after day year after year and Marie's things don't change. She has a strict rule about not moving things. Well, that rule had to stretch because of her frail health. I needed to clean and rearrange so that I could care for her more efficiently.
Yes, I found some things that had always been in the same spot and it just amazed me. I have been living with Marie and caring for her for about five months. Yesterday Fran pointed to a shelf that has her dolls and keepsakes on and said,"I made that." What?
Fran enjoyed woodworking for a hobby on weekends to give him something to do. That's what he said when I asked him why woodworking. Then I let him just talk and I got the answer I was expecting, because I know a little bit about him.
He said, "Well I went to auctions and sales and I bought sanders and routers, and different kinds of tools." So he had the means then he needed the how. He ordered some books with patterns and it was fun for him and people really liked them. They would tell Fran what kind of pattern they wanted on shelves and lantern holders and he would find a pattern and make it for them. Of course, I asked how much he sold them for. He told me $35.00 So I said, "What?" again. He told me he could buy a 2"x 10" piece of lumber cheap back then. He could get several lantern holders out of one piece of lumber.
He bought patterns and actually ironed the design on the lumber. He then used a dremel grinding tool to do little intricate designs.
Well, I didn't have one! It seemed I was the only one that didn't have one. I didn't have a lantern holder, or shelf, or sconces. Not a thing.

Before

After

Some months later we were helping a friend with her garage sale. She had a storage area under the garage and Fran and her fiance'e were loading up trailers full of "stuff" that she was going to put on the sale. It seemed like it took forever to load and unload things for her sale. Everything had been in her storage for years. We washed dishes and cookware, and knick knacks. All at once Fran said, "I made that!" I couldn't believe that one of his lantern holders had emerged from the dregs of a under the house storage area. I pounced on that thing and said, "I want that thing, you can't sell it!" She laughed and handed  me the cobwebby thing and said, "there you go!" And I had just the thing to put in it; My mother's antique milk glass lantern. It is now hanging proudly by my chair. Isn't it pretty? I have some other pictures of some he was just starting in his work shop and some finished things. He picked a great thing to do in his workshop in the winter time.
So of course, I tease and nag for more, but he says he sold all of his tools and isn't going to buy any more. Oh well, I have this one and I love it!