Greetings. It’s that time of year again when everyone says ‘It’s that time of year again when . . . ’ Well it is just that so hang onto this season and to 2025 as tightly as you can. Both will be gone in a few days.
I just saw a nice quote by the poet Robert Bly: ‘Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, I want to tie the two arms together, And walk out of the bank carrying the time in bags.’
I myself have forgiven Time for tricking me over and again into believing that it is always the same, a slow steady metronome of tock and tick with no variation. In my school years, Time inched forward with a glacial pace at almost a dead snail speed. I know because I would check the clock every ten seconds to see if it had died. I force myself now, being out of my teens, to notice the quick and agile hours go by like stones skipping across the surface of a lake.
What we fail to understand I think is that Time is a rubber band that starts its journey with us slow and thick so that youth can be impatient and complain about its pace. Then it quickens to a sprinter’s finish line run and the old can mourn its speed. Time rarely satisfies anyone. Must be tough to be Time with no one happy with your efforts.
Where did the time go?
Speaking of which, it’s been almost four years since the last Build Along Session. I was . . . busy. Time got away from me. Tempus . . . something. I forget. Anyways, I’d like to give it another try starting next February. The project is a Bench. I need one. I’m working on a design that is sort of based on this Club Chair design of mine. It’s interesting to riff on a design idea from the past. This design will stretch out the seat so it will fit two if you need it for a gathering, but it will sit neatly in a hallway. More to follow.
Until then, I want to reintroduce myself and my online school and shop. We will start with a Saturday Intro Lecture. The first one on Jan. 31 will be called Wedges, Hammers, and Rule. It is a chat about the tools we use in the shop and which are essential and which are just fun to own and hang on the wall. I seem to have a lot of both.
Class will run on Saturday morning, January 31, 2026 starting at 10am PT and will run for two hours with time for more in depth questions after class. It is open to everyone. I hope to see you there.
“There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work.”
― Solomon
Saturday Intro Lectures:
Wedges, Hammers, and Rule
A Basic Hand Tool Kit
Please consider joining us for the Build Along Session. The Setting Up Shop series will run later next year. If you have a woodworking question please send it along. I will answer them on my upcoming podcasts. There are no stupid questions. Send them to studio@Northwestwoodworking.com
https://northwestwoodworking.com/