Woodworking part 2

Parkinson's and wood woodworking part 2

It seems I learn about more and more parkies who like to woodwork. At a flea market talked with a fellow at great length about woodworking and the dangers especially for the movement impaired. We had a great time sharing stories from the shop and techniques, and safety ideas we have and special tools we have made just to keep all of our fingers. He had three finger tips lost from a table saw accident. Some ideas were a little late. But you live and learn.

I normally go to a local farmers market on Saturday and Sunday, but this week we tried something else, a flea market, we thought, great a lot more people, surely a lot more sales, sadly it doesn't work out that way. In fact today for the first time in a long time nothing sold. It seems that flea markets are just bargain hunters, and people looking for really strange junk from others. I guess one problem is in the last couple of weeks we have done very well and I haven't had time to rebuild all of the most popular items, breadboxes (especially roll top, and veggie bins for the counter top,and other small cabinets.

These have been great sellers, but it takes time and it is just me. Also a big on that caught me by surprise was the chess sets. I went to my primary care doctor last week and we were talking a bit about what I was doing and pain and all that I pulled out my phone and showed a couple picture off my wood work and he ordered a chess set right then .

I hand carved the chessmen myself, my first try at that and people seem to love them. I bring this all up because So many people with Parkinson's do woodworking that it is good to show others what we can do. Ourselves as well as the rest of the world.

I am proud of the work I do, after a couple of years not even wanting to get out of bed, between fatigue and depression I just couldn't get moving. Then I started to work with wood. It gave me a tremendous lift seeing that I could still create something worth while with this disease little by little consuming my body and my brain. I have besides the chessboards and chessmen found I really love designing and building furniture, cabinets, tables, night stands what ever, and they look pretty good if I do say so my self.

And a project for my grand daughter who is about to give birth to my first great grand child, a little girl named Riley. I am very proud of the young woman she is becoming. I will post pictures of it after she see's it, when I give it to her next week, she should be the first to see it.

I think it is so important to see that there is life after a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, your life is forever changed, your old dreams are completely shattered but there is life after wards. Your dreams change, your hopes become more basic, but you can still be creative, and be productive. This is just one way, there are as many ways as there are people with Parkinson's