Dove tails

How long does it take before your finally start something you really don’t want to do?

There must be things you keep thinking, “I must do that!” that always get pushed to the bottom of the list. Maybe there’s a drawer that’s always a bit cluttered that whenever you open it you think, “When I’ve got more time I’ll get that properly organised,” or there might be a button you’ve been meaning to sew on that you never quite have time for, so that outfit never gets worn again. I’m not talking about the big things, like writing your first novel or inventing a face mask that doesn’t steam up glasses but I can now confirm that it takes about fourteen weeks to get around to the bottom of the list.

There is a job that I’ve been putting off. I did start it ages ago but decided that it wasn’t something I wanted to do after all. I inherited my Dad’s Mac and as my laptop is on its last, tired but loyal legs I thought it would be worth cleaning up and using. I did half a job and started to use it before deciding that I didn’t like the keyboard (too small) or the apps it runs. I started to think about cleaning it up, to sell but that was a job that always seemed to be at the bottom of my list.

To be fair, 14 weeks probably wouldn’t be long enough if I hadn’t found another reason to do the job. I’m going to try to learn how to edit music. If I can’t do live music anymore then it might be time to get into technology. Apparently, this is what Macs are good for.

Yesterday, I started to delete things to free up space, to get the thing running as well as it can and to make sure everything was as up to date as it could be. You’d be surprised what you can learn about your parent by looking at their computer.

My Dad had great taste in music and was nothing if not thorough.

I’ve already been through the music so decided to start on the photos and while I say he was thorough I can’t say he was organised. His photos are not in neatly labelled folders. I didn’t want to just delete them all because I might have found a gem of a picture of great Aunt Mabel that I hadn’t seen in years. So, I’ve been looking through every picture.

My parents were a two-shed couple. They said it was the secret to a long and happy retirement. Dad used his for woodworking projects and Mum’s was a printer’s art studio. What I didn’t realise was that he took a photo of every part of every project he ever made. Yes, I do mean, every part. I deleted, holes, joints, drill bits, apple crushers, marble machines, chair legs, candlesticks and light pulls. There were pictures of every hole that every drill bit could make. Every type of joint was photographed from every angle in every item he made. There were butt joints, mortise and tenon joints, hinge joints, biscuit joints, finger joints and dovetail joints. I deleted 450 pictures labelled dovetail and there wasn’t a picture of a bird in sight.

The photo I was hoping for.