Hi all! I don't think I've been here since Nov 20 or so. It's been moving time for us. Couldn't take the old neighborhood any more. We not only have a new (to us) house, but a new town. Bigger house, bigger shop space, and a much smaller community. My wife had to spend a week in training (four days in Southern CA) so we've been moving a little of this and a little of that each day since Nov 19. The house is mostly moved in. I'll move a few last things from the house today, and then it's up to some movers to get the china cabinet and the piano. Then I have the shop to move... Gonna get some movers for the heavier things there before going after the tools and supplies.
The next door neighbors held a neighborhood Christmas party last Thursday, so we got to meet a lot of our new neighbors. Great folks, all of them! Three other woodworkers, four artists, two professional gardners, a stone mason, a tile man, and one is growing medicinal marijuana now that he has "retired" from the family farm. The previous owner of our house (an aircraft mechanic) came to the party as well. His parents bought the house in 1940, and he and his wife lived there until recently.
I can't believe how relieved I feel to be in this small town! Real neighbors! I met four of them when they saw us moving in some heavy things and just came over to help. I haven't had a neighborhood like this since I was a kid. I'd pretty much forgotten what it was like.