Well, let’s see - it’s really hard to summarize 70 yrs. So pour a tall drink and relax for a bit… I’m a retired chemical eng’r, originally from Boston area. Grandfather was a carpenter and dad was a diy’er. With lots of hand tools an available, I often dabbled in small projects. After grad in ‘75, moved to Paducah KY to get my engineering career started, then up to Buffalo/Niagara Falls area where I elevated my woodworking/diy/ hobby skills to building custom furniture. After a layoff in 80s, I took over a custom furniture biz in VT and really honed my skills making a variety of early American reproductions and Shaker inspired furniture. Medical issues, family demands and company paid benefits pushed me back to chem engineering, this time in Searsport ME. Bought an 1840s fixer upper so most of my spare time over the next 20 yrs was filled with repairs and renovations, not a lot of spare time raising 2 kids, a demanding career and a side gig doing IT. After getting my mba, I eventually started doing some consulting and ended up helping a seafood smoking biz expand. Meanwhile got the major house renovations pretty much done - upgraded leach field, new well pump system, some upgraded plumbing, added a dishwasher which required an old built in cabinet overhaul, some new structurals, new windows, doors, siding and trim. We renovated most of the “core” rooms right after moving in, so only a few back rooms and upstairs bedrooms needed to be finished when we sold it, which was after my wife was asked to relocate to the US Corp office in Miami, shortly after we got back from her temp assignment at the Corp office in Oslo. So the last decade or so we spent a lot of time renting and moving and I only had tiny spaces in a garage so did very little woodworking. I managed to build an electric guitar, did a few closet built-in upgrades and finally had a chance to finish a cherry bed with posts I’ve been moving around since leaving my lathe behind in VT. I pretty much retired while we were in FL due to heart valve issues - had my 2nd and 3rd surgeries for valve replacements and related repairs. After my wife retired covid blew up our plans to relocate for a couple years. Only family is too far north with too much winter so we settled on the Raleigh area or Charlottesville VA. After a road trip in the fall of ‘22 to visit friends who recently moved to these areas, we settled on Raleigh and after spending time looking at new construction around the area, settled on Wake Forest. Moved in Nov and been thrilled to be here. After over a decade in the sweltering heat of So FL, it was a pleasure to experience a normal fall and mild refreshing winter. We got a 3rd garage so I can have some dedicated shop space and I’m looking forward to building some furniture for the new house… after I convert the covered patio to a 3 season room.
