finally a day off. plus a trip down memory lane.

i had a day off today after what felt like about 3 weeks... it was no where close to that long but still felt that way.

i thought about doing vw stuff but ended up sleeping on the couch for most of the morning then hung out with my son after lunch. i feel so guilty for not doing anything on the car or much cleaning, but it was so good to be able to just do nothing (well i cleaned up but still could have done more). the girls are back at school so there wasn't the constant bickering of 2 girls a year apart and full of pre/teen attitude. we all played sillybuggers out the back after they got home from school, an excellent bonding day really, so definately not a day wasted.

more "presents" turned up in the mail over the last few days, lovely. i have really become a bit of a period packaging pervert. i am devoloping a "thing" for the packaging NOS stuff is in. aka the lovely plastic boxes that the points and rotors i got turned up in. the makers name and the "made in australia" boomerang symbol  embossed on the lids of some, cardboard tags inside most and paper wrapping holding the plastic box halves together on another. none of this moulded plastic glued onto cardboard or shrinkwrap. these were packed as though they were valuable and intended to be kept safe for long periods if nessecary. you could re-use it for something else if you wanted too. quality.

completely OT but the thoughts of reused containers made me thing of my grandfathers shed when i was a kid. it was a magical place, made even more so by the fact that half the time he would say "sorry you can't come in... haven't got a union ticket" but my older sister always could (damn that upset me). a place of true wonder, generally a total pig sty, benches covered in tools, mockups of things he was making, half finished things that he had gotten bored with, projects that were waiting for this or that. a whole wall of pidgionholes full of stuff, from his fishing gear to poisions from his farming days with many many other things in between including lots of stuff in old metal icecream tins and plastic containers all re used to store this or that type of screw or bits from something that might come in handy later on. stuff put aside for an idea that had been floating around in his head for 20 years but was waiting for the right spark to resolve the last problems. fishing rods and timber stored on the ceiling joists (obviously no ceilling)

everything covered in a layer of dust. drifts of sawdust around the edges mixed with the smells of grease, oil and thinners. tools that were well worn, with the handles be they timber or plastic, smooth and shiny from use, some with spekles of white paint from being left out when painting etc. worn but still good, worn from use not miss use. 

it was the one place where he wouldn't need his walking stick, he'd just hang it iff the framework near the door and use the bench if he needed support.

it was his sanctuary, his thinking place.

i think he went through periods when he spent most days out there, sometimes turning out heaps of stuff, other times just pottering or contemplating  (thinking about life and the world etc) he was rather ahead of his times in some respects, still a product of his age, but intellegent, open minded and empethahic (sp). even into his 90's he was willing to listen to new ideas and shuffle around his thoughts to include them if he deemed them worthy.

i truely wish i could go back and get him to teach me some of his skills and generally just hang out with him, we talked quite a lot when he was older but it would have been good to spend time with him back before arthritus took the use of his hands away and old age fogged his memory.

can you tell he was my childhood hero :)