The Shaving Horse

It's not very often that John is surprised by a gift that he has been given.  It's not that he's particular or anything, It's just that he doesn't ask for much.  He's pretty simple and would rather use what he has until it is threadbare or broken beyond repair.  I can't really surprise him with books or CDs or anything like that.  He'd rather borrow a book from the library and I can never remember what CDs he has. I have to ask for a list of what he might want, so I've never really been able to surprise him with a Christmas gift. Well, until this year.  This year, I gave him a shaving horse.  Yep, I bet there aren't too many men that would be interested in one, little alone appreciate one like John did.  A shaving horse was used years ago by craftsmen to hold a piece of wood while it was shaved into the size and shape needed.  Coopers would use it to make the pieces needed for wood barrels and buckets.  It would  also have been used to shave wood shingles into the sizes needed to roof a house.  John has already used his to make a replacement handle for his wheelbarrel.  This shaving horse was made by a friend of ours, who has one that he uses to make the spindles of the windsor chairs that he makes and sells.  Pretty special.  John had no idea that I had talked to Carl about making one, and this is the first time that I had his gift decided upon in July.  It took me nineteen years before I could figure out a perfect Christmas gift and it might just take another nineteen before I can accomplish this again.  Merry Christmas.