I have four hobbies/loves that in indulge in and would like to share. I have spent hours and hours talking with professionals and reading testimonials and critiques on the internet before making purchases. This site is a culmination of all that time spent and I hope you like my recommendations. I have dedicated a page to each of my loves so you can go directly to your area of interest.
Books and Reading
What better way to spend those hours when it is too hot or dark to work outside and you don't need the mental challenge of working on a computer…reading. A person has only so much room for paperbacks and hardbacks so I have been slowly building up my electronic library. Don't get me wrong, I still love my hardback books and pick them up now and again for my library but I'm much more selective.
I have a voracious reading habit that would fill my library space in a short period of time if I bought it all in physical books. When the Kindle came out I just had to have one and still use the same 'Generation 1' Kindle although the newer ones are tempting me.
Landscaping
I worked in the construction field for 30+ years with most of them being out on the site in the baking sun and my days often stretched 12 - 20 hours a day. At that time I had a fellow that took care of the mowing and trimming in my yard cause I didn't have the time or energy to keep up with it.
That blessed day came when I could retire and my time was my own once again. I still love working outside and I love my property and keeping it green. With all this time on my hands I decided to take back my yardwork but… I didn't have any tools.
I spent hours on the internet and talking with professional yard people to track down what was the best fit for my needs. I"m fairly environmentally conscious so I didn't want to be spewing gas/oil fumes into my neighborhood so electric or battery operated tools were my first priority. I also didn't want to have to keep track of which battery went with each tool so I had to find a system that used one battery type that I could interchange so that was the second priority. Being retired I had to keep in mind my fixed income so overall cost and maintenance was a third priority. With all those in mind I settled on the Black and Decker 18 volt system of tools. This had a benefit as it also meant I could build up my carpentry tools with the same battery system.
Carpentry
I've always enjoyed building and finishing items made from wood. I had a few hand tools that dated back to the 60's when they were made of steel and cast iron. I'm not getting any younger by the day and my ability to long hours with the heavy tools has come to an end. As part of my research and decisions in yardtools, I included the woodworking tools as a secondary benefit of working off the same battery
system.
Hand tools are only part of working with wood. I have included some additional tools that help make building a little more time efficient.
Computers
For some reason computers and I just click together like it was meant to be. From the early 1980's to now I have had some sort of computer to work with. Until recently all of my computers have been Windows platform desktops and laptops. I still have the laptops and keep them running. I recently bought my first Mac and to be honest, it was love at first sight. I'm not a snob to either operating system as each has it's benefits.