As the weather grows colder by the day, I find myself fully engulfed in the end-of-season push to get projects finished before the holidays.
As if cold temperatures slowing down paint, finish, and epoxy dry times weren’t challenge enough, limited daylight hours and precipitation (both snow and rain) is making sanding my projects near impossible.
With finish drying in the garage, I am left to enjoy an outdoor workspace for all cutting and sanding. And while an outdoor workspace has served me fine in the past, it’s much easier appreciating the great outdoors with a sander in your hand on a wind-free 75 degree afternoon.
High temperatures of 31 degrees with no sun and questionable skies of spitting snow kind of put a damper on the outdoor workshop image.
For sure, this decent into winter comes with it’s challenges.
I am mid-way in about five different projects as of date – and my goal of having them all complete by Christmas Eve is sounding more loft full by the day.
I find myself almost in a panic wondering how I can get it all done.
Surely there are plenty of readers feeling the same sense of panic about their project lists.
As I have stumbled through project this summer and fall, I have many times found myself mentally frozen in my tracks, stuck on how to complete a project or perhaps disappointed by how a project is looking.
My motto this woodworking / house-projects season has become the only way forward is forward.
In these last few weeks of feeling the pressure for pushing projects, I find myself rhythmically saying this to myself, but with different purpose.
This fall, my newly found motto was a cry of determination to keep going in order to get the project complete.
Lately, my creed has become a resignation of time and fate; the best I can do is to keep pushing forward to get what I can accomplished.
And the reality is that I might not get all of my planned projects finished before Santa comes barreling down the chimney. Some projects won’t get time and will have to wait for spring and warmer weather.
Some projects simply can’t be pushed. And I have to be okay with that.
So even though I am tired and in desperate need of a weeklong hiatus from the garage in order to clean my house, I guess I will keep trying. Keep pushing. Keep working a couple of hours here and there in the garage between school and overall parenting.
Then maybe, just maybe, I will see these projects pushed out of my garage and to their permanent locations in corners and against wall here in my home.
Here’s to pushing projects. May the weather and temperature be on my side (and on yours).
