The hammer Falls

The world is a beautiful vast place. You could spend your entire life exploring the far corners of the earth. And yet the beginning of 2020 showed us that the world, as we live on it, is a very small crowded little ball. We watched a sickness in a city that most of us had never heard of, in a country half way around the world, and thought to ourselves "wow that sucks....I am sure glad I live over here!" The next thing we know our little flu is all the way around the world, reaching into every little nook and cranny of those far corners that we marveled at being vast and expansive in a matter of weeks. It's speed and veracity caught a lot of people of guard.
The beginning of march was no exception for us. We like many others had been carrying on with our lives, watching the warning signs, but not really acknowledging them.
March 13, while Shawn,Adele and Sofia traveled from Winnipeg for a weekend visit and to catch a Jets v Flames game, Jeff and I traveled to Edmonton to tour the U of A campus faculty of engineering. Thursday night as we settled into the hotel....all was normal. Friday morning, the hammer fell. The University called and cancelled the tour as they were shutting down everything. As we returned to Bragg Creek we found that the Hockey game was also cancelled. We watched and marveled at how the doors and shutters to our seemingly otherwise normal world were closed and drawn at a seemingly staggering rate.
After getting over the initial disorientation of it all, we quickly saw the opportunity in the mix......and headed to the shop.

 I have tremendous respect for Shawn's creative mind, I stopped asking years ago where he comes up with ideas. Its akin to the mistake of asking a musician how they thought thought up the catchy melody to a new song. If you have to ask then you really don't get it. So now I just watch and marvel. Put this guy into a crowded shop with materials of opportunity and a fresh pot of coffee as motivation and great things start to happen.

 The process starts to create its own gravity, and the next thing you know the creative pied piper has lured even the teenagers into the shop.

 My vision for what I had always called the lounge area, which is traditionally the "dinette" was rudimentary but functionally solid. A space where a pair could sit in recliners with their feet up, or enjoy a game of cards on a "yet to be designed" table. As you can see above, Shawn too that idea and made a space out of it. Rather than being a spot with two slightly askew chairs, he created a "space". So now the FUN begins to make that happen.

 The cabinet making was going to be in my corner, and will take time. But with the creative juices flowing we embarked on the creation of the table. Calling it a table seems woefully inadequate, but for now its just that. Anna was put to the task of creating the actual table from maple and black oak

 Jeff took the opportunity to learn from the master and improve his welding technique.

 For what seemed like minutes, as the hours past we had wood in clamps...

 table frame taking shape...

 And by early morning we were ready to take the next step.

AFTER we spent some time with this little sweetheart Sofia. She will rule the world of her stand off rough and gruff poppa, he doesn't realize yet how lost he was before her.