Category: Garden Bay

Happy Place

We have been back six weeks now and they have been busy ones. A number of my projects have come to completion these last few days and I feel the glow of accomplishment.

  • the ornamental gardens are growing well
  • the vegetable garden has been planted
  • the hall has been repainted
  • the workbench is made
  • new shelving built in the garage

We went to Victoria for the weekend in April and enjoyed being tourists. Aimeé is working part-time with a friend cleaning houses so we should have more time to recreate this year.

It rained today and the forecast for tomorrow is mixed, giving me time to review my TODOs and set priorities. I need to get back into the garden soon and get ready to open up the cabin, maybe next weekend.

Reading, Planning, Shopping

After returning from our beach break, I went on a reading binge:

I was scared off welding but have embraced woodworking as a practical hobby, while gardening is a life-long pursuit.

Above is my first woodworking project for 2023, a solid workbench for the garage, which will be a great workshop. I decided to follow the design from the book, relying on the experience and wisdom of the author, even after reviewing many alternate designs on YouTube which is a fabulous resource for woodworking ideas, tips, and instruction.

The second project will be to add shelving to the garage walls. Having lots of free time here, I’ve watched many videos on YouTube to help me decide on the design, which although simple there are many options to consider. One goal is to move tool storage from the shed to the garage.

Part of planning these projects is developing material lists so that I can order the lumber for delivery when I get home. Another aspect is considering construction techniques and identifying new tools to purchase. So I have been window shopping on the Amazon, Home Depot, and Lee Valley websites, comparing products, prices, and filling shopping carts ready to hit the buy button.

We return to Garden Bay on March 21 and it will be time to start seeds for the vegetable garden. It is my turn this year to grow food so that has been another project to plan. I will place my seed order soon so that it arrives when we do.