A friend of mine Theo, also known as JOAT or Jack of all trades in the rec wood working newsgroup sent me the photos above for the blokes in basements, geezers in garages series from his shop in North Carolina. A big man in a small shop is evidence that size doesn't always matter. A woodshop never goes soft on you. It can provide hours of pleasure even when it is only 8' x 10' in size and filled with tools to the point you can hardly work without moving something out of the way. Theo paints his tools a distinctive yellow so that he will see them again when borrowed by his sons. He says about his shop:

Better today than it was a day ago, got rid of some trash. And, better now than when I was doing some reindeer 'yard art' for the dau-in-law. What a PITA those are. Mostly concentrating on banks, and routing jigs, for just now. Also do some kids puzzle rocking chairs, all my own shop stands,and whatever is fun at the moment.

Theo, thanks for sharing your shop. In the meantime, there are two more making days until Christmas. You will likely notice that everything you'll see under the tree this year will be made in China. If you are lucky enough to receive a gift made by a real person you know, take time to notice things about it. Fuss over it and compliment the skill or intent of the maker. As we have led our children away from the joy of making things, encouraging them to spend a large proportion of their lives in a virtual world, what little you see now of hand-made, well crafted objects may be the end of it. Unless, of course, we take matters into our own hands.