This past weekend was one of those I wish I could have slept through. I had to start taking some new meds for an allergic reaction I've been having, so I haven't felt well. Got lots of bad news about what some old friends are going through. Then, it seemed like everything I was trying to work on either broke, hurt me, or just got "fubarred." 
The lady that lived next door to me (my in-laws are my neighbors on the other side) had to be placed in a nursing home recently. She has lived alone for several years since her husband died, and with her advanced age and dementia, it wasn't safe for her to be alone much longer. We miss her already. One of the sweetest (but DEAFEST) older ladies that I've known. Lisa and I would go over on occasion to check up on her. If she had car problems or a tripped breaker, or stuff like that, she would call us first. Of course, we're more than happy to run over and help out. Just a few months ago, I jumped off her car in the pouring rain, because she left the door cracked and after a day or two, the battery drained.
She loved it when our boys would go over and play in her "Secret Garden." She had two of those gardens, a Koi pond, and a beautiful lot. Even in her old age, she ran circles around me in yard care. Mine always looks like a dump compared to hers. If the weather was good, she was out working in the yard come sun up.
On Saturday, her daughters held an "estate sale" of sorts to clean out the house for resale. SWMBO and I went over to talk with the daughters about their mother, and to maybe pick up a couple of things. I wondered around the lot a little, and come to find out, they were also selling some of the husbands old tools. By the time I got there, the good stuff was gone, but I got to see some of the equipment he made for himself. One of the daughters and I talked about how back in those days, you built your own tools a lot of times, and that unfortunately when some one died, a person coming in behind them to clean up might not know what things were or how to use them, since the knowledge was gone.
Anyway, to the point of the rambling. I noticed that the cabinets in the shop are these horrible baby blue cabinets...but they're steel!!! There are two sets, and one set was used as a work bench. The hutch was on the other side of the room. We asked if the cabinets were for sale, and I got them for such a low price, it probably should be illegal. I didn't need the cabinets, but I know that the next owner of the house will probably knock down that old shop, and I didn't want to see those cabinets get hauled off to the dump.
Comes to find out, the daughter was very happy to sell the cabinets to me. You see, her father and my wife's grandfather were really good friends and lived next door to each other for probably 30 or 40 years. (As some of you may remember, my wife's grandfather built my house and shop). I promised the family that I would come get the cabinets sometime in the next few days. I'm going to clean them up, maybe paint them, and then rip out my old workbench and install these. It just seemed fitting to their family, my family, and my mother in law that the cabinets should come to my shop and continue to be used. It's not quite in the family, but with all the sentimental value and the friendships from so many years, at least keeping them next door and used for what my neighbor's husband used them for seems to feel right.
I guess not really having a family of my own, I'm a softie when it comes to stuff like this. I just wonder one thing...have any of you guys done something like this as well for neighbors or old friends?
The lady that lived next door to me (my in-laws are my neighbors on the other side) had to be placed in a nursing home recently. She has lived alone for several years since her husband died, and with her advanced age and dementia, it wasn't safe for her to be alone much longer. We miss her already. One of the sweetest (but DEAFEST) older ladies that I've known. Lisa and I would go over on occasion to check up on her. If she had car problems or a tripped breaker, or stuff like that, she would call us first. Of course, we're more than happy to run over and help out. Just a few months ago, I jumped off her car in the pouring rain, because she left the door cracked and after a day or two, the battery drained.
She loved it when our boys would go over and play in her "Secret Garden." She had two of those gardens, a Koi pond, and a beautiful lot. Even in her old age, she ran circles around me in yard care. Mine always looks like a dump compared to hers. If the weather was good, she was out working in the yard come sun up.
On Saturday, her daughters held an "estate sale" of sorts to clean out the house for resale. SWMBO and I went over to talk with the daughters about their mother, and to maybe pick up a couple of things. I wondered around the lot a little, and come to find out, they were also selling some of the husbands old tools. By the time I got there, the good stuff was gone, but I got to see some of the equipment he made for himself. One of the daughters and I talked about how back in those days, you built your own tools a lot of times, and that unfortunately when some one died, a person coming in behind them to clean up might not know what things were or how to use them, since the knowledge was gone.
Anyway, to the point of the rambling. I noticed that the cabinets in the shop are these horrible baby blue cabinets...but they're steel!!! There are two sets, and one set was used as a work bench. The hutch was on the other side of the room. We asked if the cabinets were for sale, and I got them for such a low price, it probably should be illegal. I didn't need the cabinets, but I know that the next owner of the house will probably knock down that old shop, and I didn't want to see those cabinets get hauled off to the dump.
Comes to find out, the daughter was very happy to sell the cabinets to me. You see, her father and my wife's grandfather were really good friends and lived next door to each other for probably 30 or 40 years. (As some of you may remember, my wife's grandfather built my house and shop). I promised the family that I would come get the cabinets sometime in the next few days. I'm going to clean them up, maybe paint them, and then rip out my old workbench and install these. It just seemed fitting to their family, my family, and my mother in law that the cabinets should come to my shop and continue to be used. It's not quite in the family, but with all the sentimental value and the friendships from so many years, at least keeping them next door and used for what my neighbor's husband used them for seems to feel right.
I guess not really having a family of my own, I'm a softie when it comes to stuff like this. I just wonder one thing...have any of you guys done something like this as well for neighbors or old friends?
Comment