Grandpa

Hello again,

I thought I'd stay on the Creative Family theme (as per my post label) for a bit. Really want to talk about this from the history perspective, the documenting perspective, the crafty-for-the-blog perspective and for just the perspective, maybe.

This is Grandpa, my mum's dad.

You know, I've had these stories and photos in mind to do for a while and I knew the right time would come.

Turns out this week is the week, and it wasn't really planned this way as I just went with the flow, but it coincides with a big week of rememberance for Grandpa in our family.

You see, it was this week two years ago that we lost him.

This week, too, is his birthday.

This week, too, is his wedding anniversary.

Three big dates, all in one week.

Sigh.

Grandpa was a good man, a creative man and he had a strong heart, that's for sure. And a strong spirit.

I asked Mum to tell me some of the things he made/did over the years.

Here's his extensive, but not exhaustive, list.

Things he did:

• Woodturning


• His first job was a cobbler and shoe repairer. He used to fix Mum's stilletos for her.


• He also fixed cars and did other mechanic stuff.


• Picture framing


• Photography


• He also loved technology and was always interested in the high tech stuff.

He made:

• Furniture - stools, shelves, cupboards


• Toys for the kids like petrol stations and garages for their cars.


• Boxes - box for Mum to put all her icing stuff in, shoe cleaning box, any type of box actually.


• A wooden clothes trolley for the laundry.


• A wooden mat you stand on in the bathroom.


• A silky oak lectern for the church.


• A cork board for my room when I was about 12 or so.


• A Barbie house for my sister too.

He built:

• A house extension - bedroom, bathroom etc.

Isn't all that amazing?

He was a cabinet maker my trade, but didn't have the qualifications. He went to war instead. Amazing again, esp. with Anzac Day coming up. Another connection, this is definitely the right week.

This is what he made for me. Just for me.

(If it looks a little familiar, I posted this picture in December as a part of a quiz I did and mentioned my grandfather made it)

I loved Barbies as a girl and used to play for hours. I built my own Barbie house out of cardboard boxes, but they kept falling down. You can see my sorry cardboard house in the left of the photo.

Mum asked Grandpa to make a house for me for my 8th birthday - oh, it was so fab. Look at it - better than any in the shops.

The Barbies wouldn't fit in the top level, so he had to cut a hole in the ceiling up there. Funny. And I love the red roof, always have.

Mum wallpapered the walls and made all the furniture out of hairspray lids and boxes. She also made me tonnes of Barbie dolls clothes. Again, way better than any in the shops. She even made a crochet handbag and used a small chain necklace as the strap.

I've got other pics of the house I'm going to post soon, but in the meantime just wanted to honour my grandfather today. His love, faithfulness and goodness have, and always will be, a blessing in our family.

Love you, Grandpa, from me to you, always.