2013 was a bit of a tough year for me with my extended back pain issues. The back is not cured, but at least it is understood now and should be controllable.
The view out our window on New Year's Day was similar to the above photo, there was lots of snow and as we were up north away from our house in the city, the snow was white and crisp and undisturbed, a chilling beauty that is best admired from inside.
All this snow has been tricky for my back but I've managed Okay so far. On several occasions I have had help with shovelling.
Kieran is 4 1/2 and 1/3 of my wonderful grandchildren, and the oldest. One day over the holidays I went out to shovel snow and he came to help me. We shovelled for nearly an hour and he did not stop to play, he worked steadily the whole time.
K's shovel was one of my last projects for the year. The handle comes from a cheap plastic children's shovel where the blade had fatigued and broken. Being the cheap skate that I am I decided to keep the handle (a good length) and put a new scrapper blade on it.
I decided to fix the shovel for a couple of reasons.
1. I hate plastic mostly, and wanted to show the kids that wood was good.
And mainly I want the kids to grow up considering the idea that things can be repaired, not just thrown away.
It would have been quicker and easier to go to the $ store and get another shovel that would have lasted a season or two and then been thrown away because it to was broken. I want Kieran, Clara and Tova Elise to learn that the easiest way is not always the best way and that a repaired item can often be as good as a new one.
I don't see any honour is battling along with inadequate tools, but I do see honour is caring for and repairing things if they will still do their jobs.
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