What a Man Wants.......and how I stumped my guy with a great vintage find

Have you figured it out yet? what a man wants?

I've lived with one for almost 30 years and as Father's Day approaches this year , I realize that little has changed as to my guy's simple tastes and wishes.

Yesterday we made the 100 mile trek to Long Beach to visit the kiddos. My beautiful daughter in law made 'killer shrimp' (try googling this recipe) it's spicily delicious and the place that made and sold it to many happy patrons over the years is gone from it's Santa Monica location. "Boo!" says daughter in law, then, "Aha" as she has performed a number of workarounds to suit the tastebuds and for all intents and purposes has surpassed her ideal when cooking 'Killer Shrimp' for us. YOM! YOM! YOM!

I visited with her and my lovely daughter while she cooked and my son and husband did what my husband wanted to do, which was go to Home Depot, purchase wood (in order to make living room shelves for the kids' new apartment) open a new HD account (he's like the guy in the Verizon commercial, how many toasters can a man have? as many accounts as they will let him open) and get a table saw for 25 dollars after promo. Yes, promos are much better in LB than where we live.

A man wants......FREE STUFF.....second to that, he wants to spend VERY LITTLE. If he is with his son while doing this, he is passing along a time honored family tradition.

My husband 'bubbles' when he gets a new tool. Yes, like a woman at a baby shower holding up booties, he nearly giggles with glee. You have to know him to appreciate it. He's a very LOGICAL person, a PONDERER to the "nth" degree, and well, just rather serious much of the time.

HOWEVER, he is like me when I find a truly great deal at a flea market or thrift shop. I can't stop talking about it, taking pictures of it, researching it and then finally getting it listed, if I can stand to part with it.

For him, the object of his "percolation" could be a two buck stubby screwdriver, or a two hundred dollar 'cuts this', 'trims that', and "stands on it's head and spits wooden nickels" type of tool. Doesn't matter. He's as happy as can be and is on the lookout for a project and has been known to make one up just so he can use it.

Each new 'trick' that the tool performs is a revelation. The fact that his son is there to share in the experience makes it nearly sacred. I can see the 2 of them now, bowing at the altar called 'Table Saw." Let's just hope no one loses a finger.

Tools. That is what my man wants.

Time. He also wants this. As he has gotten older the Harry Chapin Carpenter song, "Cats in the Cradle" comes into his mind. Not wistfully or with regret, but, more like times flies and doesn't come back. I see him initiating more to get the things that he wants. Tools and time. Tools and time. Tools. Time. Too much like Tool Time.

I think he wants to be Tim the Tool Man Taylor only more high-brow and intellectual. He certainly holds the record for owning enough plaid flannel shirts (I call them his 'uniform.' )Uh-huh....hmmmmmmmmm.

Something else my man wants is a CHALLENGE.

Below are 2 great photos of the challenge that I presented to him and that he accepted. They are really stunning and worth a look see, just for your edification. It took 3 weeks to complete instead of the usual 1-2 days and drew him out of his man cave to gain a tan under the incandescent light of my dining room.

I picked up this puzzle by SpringBok at my local thrift shop. 1500 pieces of patriotic bliss and repetition, in the form of an American Flag complete with the Declaration of Independence superimposed over the flag's image.

A man wants a challenge....he got it. The pieces are larger and have many more straight edges than it's modern day counter part puzzles, so, the border couldn't be put into place completely; which is usually the first strategy he employs when solving any jigsaw puzzle.

Much to my delight, we chit chatted about everything under the sun while he sorted and struggled (also, to my delight) to put it together, day after day, week after week. Ah, the things we women must do to get quality time.

Now that it is finished it remains on the dining room table and we are considering decoupaging it and framing it as we used to do with these puzzles when our kids were small and did the puzzles with daddy.

We had many fine works of art in our home and lots of quality time together thanks to puzzles, tools and time. Throw in a good book and a hike in the hills every so often and I know what my man wants....on Father's Day....on most any day.

I honor you honey, a wonderful dad to our children, supportive hubby ALWAYS and wish you the happiest of Father's Day's.

To all of you vintage loving men and the women who love them, carpe diem......just don't lose a finger.

Fondly,
HDRose