Today, my wish is simple. 

There is a new shed going up on the north side of town.  The owner thereof has advertised he will rent it out by sections to those wishing to store stuff in it, or, to those wishing to do business out of it.

He has even gone so far as to offer customization if those renting get their name and plans in soon enough.

I haven’t put my name in.

Yet.

But I wish I could.

I’d like the east bay.  It looks about 30 feet wide by about 50 feet long.  I’d plan on putting an overhead door on the south side, in the 30-foot wall, with a walk-in door to the side of it.  Next, I’d ask the owner to section off the space inside in half. 

In the front half, I’d run windows all along the east wall.  I’d skin the rest of the front half in gray tin.  Against the back (north) wall I’d have a Dyco workbench/cabinet in place.  I think I’d choose blue for its color.  In it I’d have grinders, clamps, and general tool sets.  Along the west wall would be a heavy-duty welding table that was regular height for half of it and half of regular height for the rest of it. And in the floor, I’d have several anchor points with chain recessed to hook on to.

I’d have plenty of light over the bench, and a nice, modern welder in the northwest corner.  On the south side of the welding table would be a vice that left no question as to its capability.  A regular torch, plasma torch, and large diameter cutoff wheel and a band saw would round out the tool inventory up to the south wall/door.  Just in case, I’d want an overhead crane, nothing fancy, that ran up to and over the welding table on an east/west track.

I’d probably go with a black insulated ceiling, and I’d want an exhaust fan in the roof that I could switch on remotely.  The floor would have a gray epoxy coating with just enough grip in it so I wouldn’t slip easily, but not so much that I couldn’t broom it down or wash it out efficiently.

Of course, it would have heat and a/c in it.

And I know, you think I’ve sort of slipped a cog don’t you. 

Because fellows like me are supposed to have hobbies that involve wood in order to fit in with the ‘in’ crowd of fellows like me.

But just hold on, I’m not quite done yet.

In the back room, I’d like a nice window on the east and north wall.  A door from the front half on the south wall and an outside door on the east wall would be nice.  A nine-foot ceiling would be standard, and for the floor I’d go with that tile stuff that looks like a 1×6 weathered board.

I’d like the south wall (insulated of course to cut down on noise) sheet rocked and then I’d like some tongue and groove 1×6 aspen boards over that.  Maybe on an angle?  Not sure on that yet.  I’d sheetrock the other three walls and do a really heavy-handed skip trowel effect for texture.  The west wall would be a burnt orange color, and in the southwest corner would be an honest to goodness wood stove; one that you have to cut wood for.  A/C would be independent of the front half.

I’d probably use can lighting around the perimeter, although I’m old fashioned enough that I’d probably want a lamp over by the recliners, opposite the stove, for aesthetic appeal. I’m not so picky on the color of the north and east walls, although I would like the windows trimmed out in distressed black, so something to tie them and that orange together would be nice.

In the north and east corner would be a small kitchenette, and under the north window would be a bit of a table.  On down the aspen wall from the stove would be a coffee bar.  There would be an espresso machine for those who can’t seem to do without it, and I imagine I’d grab me an americana from it occasionally, but a set of simple pour-over coffee utensils would probably do well enough for me.  I’d like a semicircle of those Adirondack chairs around the coffee bar.  They sit so well, and they have those wide armrests that rest your hand and your coffee mug nicely.

I suppose somewhere there would be a place to plug this ole computer in, in case I ever got the twitch to write something.

In my off time I might idle back there, and you could stop in and pour yourself a java and help me with the latest conundrum. 

I imagine I would need a sudoku book there in case my good wife ever showed up; although such a book to me is utterly useless and proves time and again my total inadequacy when compared to her.

But the real reason for this all, the primary wish, if you will, would be what I would do in the front half.

And there, I would take all the shopping carts that have ever made me mad and gently fix them up, so the wheels are straight to the frame, they push easily, and turn when you actually want them to turn.  Really, I think I could stay busy there for as long as I wanted into the foreseeable future.

Then I’d take them back to Walmart, and maybe charge just a bit in order to pay the rent that I would owe to make my dream come true.

Don’t even get me started on what the cart that I used yesterday acted like.