Well, folks, it's been a while since I've rambled ......
       I'm on the continual quest to organize my tools. I moved all of my planes, levels, braces, ratchets, hand drills/ breast drills/ push drills and screwdrivers out of my office and into another room with a bookcase dedicated to them.  That has resulted in a "treasure hunt" of finding tools I forgot I owned.  .....  strange tools... a clapboard gauge, a tanners knife, several "hog ring pliers,"  a bunch of blacksmith tools, a collection of starret tools that I forgot about, a bunch of padlocks (yeah, I have an addiction when it comes to collecting things), ...  I even found a few cutting boards, footstools and coasters that I have made.  Yeah, it's a constant sea of chaos in my house! 
      I think my dog, Bean, has been sleeping on a few ratchets for a long time..... poor thing, that couldn't have been comfortable! However, I don't feel too bad for her.  She has her own double bed and a room to herself.  ....  that's better then most persons have!  She's the love of my life....  half lab and half great dane. She's both a pain in the ass and my best friend.  My brother has told me that's similar to being a parent!
     I recently stole my brothers banjo (not really, he gave it to me). I've been "plucking" that banjo a bit. I haven't quite "mastered" playing it yet, but, I'm fairly good at learning how to play instruments (woodwinds, and strings, not brass instruments).  Besides my dog, my biggest love of my life is my piano. Usually, at least once a day, I pass by the piano and sit down for a few minutes to  make sure the keys know that they are welcome in my house.
     Let's see...  what else can I ramble about?  I'm broke.  But, who isn't broke these days?!!!!  At one point in my life, I made 34 thousand dollars per year..... I felt like I was a millionaire!!!!  I was working as a chef, the only official job I've ever had (for 16 years).  Of course, I was working 8-14 hours a day.  All the same, to me, that was a TON of money!
       I can barely pay my bills, but, I'm happy.  I've spent the last 9 years living off of selling furniture I build, the occasional catering job, and (if I'm desperate) refinishing furniture.  I'm much happier being broke, living in my shop (the bottom level of my house), and doing the things I love to do.  I'll be pretty pissed off if I can't pay for AC this summer....  but, everything comes with a "price." 
      Well, tomorrow (or today) I plan on building a few more shelves that are devoted to housing my wrenches.  I have 30 boxes that are devoted to different "brands' of wrenches.  But, I still have a long way to go. It's astounding to think about how many different brands of wrenches there used to be, and how few brands of wrenches there is today. .... not to mention how many tools are actually made in the USA!!!!!!!
      Well, if you happened to read this post, you're a real trooper!
cheers,
bird.
       

I've been tool sorting myself and YES many brands.  One thing to sort another to learn  about all those compnies and their history..  Cheers

I know where you are coming from. I moved here 6 years ago. Because of the long move a lot of tools etc didn't make the move. Started going to auctions 5 years ago to pick up tools to fill the gaps and material to build a shed. That morphed into 2 sheds and an addition on our mobile home.
Then I got the bright idea that because this is quite rural there weren't that many suppliers around it should be easy to put together matching sets of wrenches so I had nice quality tools. I thought buy a few boxes, sort out some sets and take the surplus back to the auction and end up with quality tools at a reasonable price. In the process of that I discovered old machinery tools and decided it would be nice to collect them. Then of couse you need tool boxes to put them in. The result to date is I have a few pickup loads of tools and still have very few complete sets. The scary part is I'm not only sliding down the slippery slope I'm gaining speed as I go.