Nailed it

When I selected the title of my blog early 2021, I thought those were 3 words that reflected who I am. I assumed they would be relevant for the next stage of my life. Unleashed was because I felt so constrained by the restrictions on what I could say to whom as a government employee AND I was unleashed to discover the path ahead.

I am still on a path of discovery but feel like Nashville has become my home. My kitchen renovation that I planned from the minute I decided to buy the condo in September 2020 is almost done. I will show before and after pics in a later blog. Over the summer when I am not traveling, I will be able to get fully unpacked and settled. Any THING that does not have a obvious place in my home will need to find a new one. I am committed to being as free of possessions as possible.

What I never could have predicted is my fascination with learning carpentry and fine woodworking which is how I spend much of my time. I have been building on site for Habitat for Humanity https://www.habitatnashville.org 2 days a week and working 2-3 mornings a week at Nashville Tools for Schools https://nashvilletoolsforschools.org.

This is what the Habitat Sherman Commons build site looked like last August when I started with Habitat.

This is what the first of 5 buildings looked like at the dedication with their homeowners last week. All buildings will be completed by the end of the summer. It has been so educational and rewarding to be a small part of the process.

At Tools for Schools, I spend most of my time working with Harry Baird, a legend in Nashville with respect to carpentry and woodworking. We make furniture pieces for individuals that are in need – end tables, coffee tables, etc from left over and donated wood from the Tools for Schools projects. Harry is 91 and a great teacher.

This is our current project – a bit of a eclectic design made of mostly floor boards.

I am getting pretty good with the many different power saws. Nail guns are challenging for me. Today I was so focused on getting the nail gun (for finishing nails) to fire so the head would not stick out that I forgot and put one finger behind what I was shooting. The nail was longer than the board I was nailing into and I shot the nail through the flesh next to the nail. I was very lucky. Harry said – everyone does it – ONCE. We cleaned it up and finished our work.

I have had several misadventures on the Habitat site as well – last week I fell after stepping off a stoop onto an uneven surface. I hit my shin and it immediately swelled up like a goose egg. The crew of volunteers had ice over it within a couple of minutes. After icing while sitting, I decided I wanted to continue to ice it while getting back to work so they rigged this up. I iced it continuously for at least 90 minutes and I had no swelling or bruising the next day. Amazing!

I really do try to be careful but……

I am having a great time learning new skills and staying active.