The garage passed its final inspection yesterday. At last! The building permit was issued in 2018.
This concludes the permitted construction phase of my retirement. I still need to install tiles and shelves in the house, but it feels great to complete all of the structural work.
I told the project manager not to install shelves in the closets in the house because I want to do that myself. I have been interested in carpentry for a long time. In ninth grade when two of my friends and I tried to enroll in shop class we were sent to the principal’s office, where we were told girls were not allowed to take shop. When I graduated from college with a degree in psychology I thought becoming a carpenter might be more useful, but in the 70s it was harder for a woman to get into the union’s apprenticeship program than it was to get into law school, so I went to law school. Last month I enrolled in four woodworking classes at a local makerspace, and I have already attended two sessions. It was very satisfying to finally be able to pursue this interest without having to expend a lot of energy pushing back against misogyny. More than 50% of the attendees were women.
The makerspace is a LEED-certified green building, and as a matter of policy the materials in the woodshed are zero-VOC. A respirator mask not only deals with the sawdust but also blocks the fragrance in other people’s laundry and grooming products.
I had a similar experience to you… Tried to take wood shop in high school and was told the same thing, “It is not for girls.” They let me and another friend take mechanical drawing instead. Firs girls to take it. And I STILL have the dream to do carpentry. I even married a contractor once upon a time and think it was partly my desire to build things. (It didn’t happen though!) I did take a metal working class once and still hope to some day have time to build something with wood. But my life is so full, I gotta pick and chose!