I'm still fond of the timber-framed forms of colonial farm houses like the one I grew up in, and the smell of pine shavings from a sharp plane will always make me think of Christmas.  I was pleased to find that I could work among Boston's finest carpenters during the nineties, and missed the shavings when I moved on to managing high-priced renovations on the waterfront.  In Vermillion, I've done some furniture-making and finish carpentry, but I'm still looking forward to refocusing on craftsmanship when our boys are all big and our second floor is finished.  On the Preservation Commission, my focus has been on helping to make the CCHPC more of an outreach organization on a practical level, primarily with the monthly series of preservation workshops held on Saturday mornings.  Traditional building techniques that have stood the test of time deserve more respect and understanding than they often get.