Wish I Could Hang Out in Grandpa’s Shed

My choice for this month’s Blog Carnival theme is to talk about my grandfather.
He was a craftsman. He made his living as a house painter, a skill he passed down. My siblings and I always pitched in when the house needed painting, and I still don’t hesitate to pick up a bucket of paint & brush today. But in addition to his profession, my grandpa was a woodworker. He built all the oak kitchen cabinets in my childhood home and he handcrafted many small household items. Not only did he cut & assemble the pieces, he also did his own decorative painting. I believe my mother still has a cutting board in the shape of a pig. I’m not totally sure, but I believe he used mostly hand tools, don’t remember him using power tools.

Grandma & Grandpa

I’m sure grandpa could have produced lots of items for an etsy shop, but I doubt he would have embraced computers. So much of their home was very old technology, from the ringer washer that grandma used to their telephone (which is probably the oldest style phone I ever used).  But using those old-fashioned hand techniques is what makes the new craft movement exciting to me.

While taking the photos, I noticed inside his intials and 1958 or 1968 

so this may be the same age as me

When you walked out onto my grandparents’ small back porch, you first overlooked his huge vegetable garden. He tended it meticulously & as small children we were banded from playing around in it. Behind the garden was his huge shed, which extended almost of the width of the yard. As small kids we were also forbidden to go into the shed because of the dangerous tools, but as we grew older, only my brothers were permitted inside. The only times I remember seeing the inside was when grandma would send us out to retrieve him & then we got to poke our heads inside. It was filled with all kinds of tools, hardware and furniture needing repair. I always longed to be inside. But when I was around 9, we moved out of state, so there were few opportunities after that. My younger brother did spent one summer there and he built an end table with grandpa. 

 Grandpa, Mom & either my Sis or me

I was about 18 when that house was sold and didn’t have the means or place to store most of the wonderful goodies in the shed or house. Though I pursued so much sewing and crafting throughout my teens, it wasn’t until adulthood that I realized I had missed an opportunity to learn proper woodworking. I’m not one to have many regrets in life (I feel that all our ups & downs create the person that we are) but learning from grandpa is something I definitely wish I had taken advantage of as a child. I’d love to be exploring that shed right now!