Sure sign of cabin fever

Well we are right in the middle of the dark days as someone has branded the mid-February period in this frozen land we call home. And in spite of an upcoming 2-week break to Myrtle Beach to play some golf, there’s still a lot of snow and ice to get through before it’s safe to get out on two wheels again.
The catalogues are well thumbed but, surprisingly, I haven’t purchased any farkles or other upgrades for the bike this winter. It just seems unnecessary as the bike is just about exactly where I want it right now and nothing has really struck me as a must-have, or at least not worth the cost for the incremental improvement. So I get no relief from the mini-Christmas every day a package arrives, tearing open boxes from J&P Cycles or David Kirk or any of the other mail order businesses that are only to happy to cater to my every whim as long as a valid credit card number is provided. Nor do I get any from spending hours trying to make the just-bolt-it-on component actually fit as advertised.
The main home improvement project targeted for this winter has been completed and others are awaiting the next round of family stimulus spending, which may not be for a few months yet. (Note to governments: We have been doing our share!)
And so I’m a bit at loose ends at the moment, which is a dangerous place for me to be, idle hands and all that. That’s why my garage is now all torn apart.
I never had a proper workbench, instead I used the top of an old retail cabinet I picked out of the garbage about 20 years ago. It served its purpose but I wanted something with more space and at the right working height for me. As my shop is multi-purpose, used for mechanics, metal working, woodworking, and motorcycle parking, I also needed the ability to easily reconfigure depending on the current project(s) underway. So, looking for something to do, I tore everything apart. I made a simple bench with some lumber I had lying around. Then I took the old cabinet apart, cut it down, and installed an old set of casters so now I can move it and its contents to where I’m working. Add in a few storage bins from Ikea to keep all my ‘stuff’ and I am going to be so organized!
As a bonus I have even found tools I didn’t remember I owned. A month ago I bought a new soldering iron because I needed one for an electronics project. Today I found two in the bottom of a cardboard box unopened since we moved here in 2006, bringing my total now to three. And the safety wire pliers I thought someone had forgotten to return showed up in the bottom of an ‘empty’ toolbox. And there’s more, so I guess it is a bit like Christmas after all.
Yep, it’s a mess, but it’s my mess and it’s keeping me sane for a bit longer.