What Keeps John Out of Trouble?

While in Texas I snapped a few pictures of what John does to stay out of trouble:

This is a solid cherry and glass souvenir cabinet.  It's the first thing he ever made.  He got the wood at a specialty shop in Dallas off of I-35, Austin Hardwoods.  The glass cost more than the wood.

John decided to take one of those community courses.  He picked out woodworking and the project he chose was this cabinet.  He learned that practically everything is a "box," and once he learned how to build a box he could change the dimensions to build anything.

(Notice the speaker stand to the right of the cabinet; John put those together in no time at all.)

These end tables are basically the cherry cabinet with different dimensions and no glass.  You can't tell it from this picture, but he actually built in slide trays above the doors so that whether you were sitting upright or reclining in the chair there would be a surface handy for his beverage (usually milk to go with his cookies - think 6' 3" Santa Claus.)

The hospital John was working at in Dallas was going through a renovation and tearing out huge pieces of old oak and throwing them away.  John asked if he could salvage a few pieces, came home, sliced those with his table saw into the thickness he wanted, and used his planer to finish them out.  Then he built another "box," with legs this time and a drawer.  He cut the top to size, routed the edges, and ta-ta! another box.  He has built a bunch of these pieces over the years and given them away as gifts or because someone saw his and asked him to build them one, too.

Then he wanted some place to store his LP record album collection.  Again with the box.  These, I think, are the only things he painted; the rest are stained so he could see the wood grain.  He loves wood grains.  Above the TV, out of the picture is a picture frame he made to put a jig saw puzzle of Bryce Canyon in.  Bryce is one of our favorite vacation memories.

I needed a place to put a microwave so John built this.  Over the years it has been used for several things besides the microwave.  This piece is on casters so it's really easy to move around.

I asked for a "tea" table (We don't drink coffee - neither of us ever has.  I know, it's strange, but that's the fact.)  Not only did I get a table, but he fixed it so that it doesn't get cluttered with books on top - they have their own little hidey-hole!

This chess table is really tricky.  I still haven't figured out how he did it, but each of those squares are different pieces of wood.  I think this is his best piece.  At the time, tables like this were selling in furniture stores for about $300.  To me, this one is priceless!

Our neighbors decided to build a log home of their own after seeing ours, and John again asked if he could salvage some of the throw away wood.  This is solid cedar, the size of a card table, and my second most favorite piece.  He actually built two of them - one for us and one as a house-warming present for the neighbors who shared their cast off lumber.

John went out into our "forest" and cut down a dead pine tree with his handy-dandy chain saw.  He had more trouble building this quilt stand, I think, than all of the other furniture.  The pink quilt was made by our son's paternal grandmother, born in the late 1800's, without the aid of a sewing machine.  (Sentence structure is SO much fun!  That last one read as though she was born "without the aid of a sewing machine - unless you stress the pause indicated by the commas.  Maybe I should have used parentheses instead of commas?)  Each stitch is hand done.  The red-white-and-blue quilt is one of two that John's mother made for us years ago.  These are some of my treasured possessions.

And the best of the best (always save the best for last!):

Yes, John went out to the forest again and chopped down a tree, salvaged some of the trunk and limbs, and made me a log bedstead.  I absolutely love this the best of ALL!!

There is more that he has built and given away like a table top chess board with a drawer to store the chess pieces in, an entertainment center for his momma's living room, a wall hung what-not cabinet for his momma's dining room - lots of stuff.  But now you know how he used to stay out of trouble...  He says he misses his woodworking.  I said he should buy a little enclosed trailer, load all his tools in it and just bring them along!  Lord knows there's plenty of room outside where we're blessed to be staying now for him to set up a few sawhorses. 'Course we might have to leave whatever he built behind... maybe sell it to the landlord? trade it for rent?  Cheryl and Jerry have been so good to us, I think we'd just have to leave it as a thank you.