When everyone at a work meeting was asked to talk about their hobbies, Desi McGahey said hers was woodworking.
Someone asked if that meant she went to IKEA and put together furniture.
“I said, no, it means I go to Home Depot, buy lumber and build things,” McGahey said.
McGahey, who has been an information technology services manager at UTMB for 28 years, added, “I know it’s unusual. But it’s what I do.”
McGahey’s interest in woodworking began about six years ago, when she found a table she liked a lot but didn’t like its price at all.
“That was a big moment. I kept looking at it and thinking, ‘This doesn’t look like it would be that hard to make,’” she said. “I thought, ‘I can build it myself,’ so I decided to do that.”
Until that time, McGahey said, she had done a few small things like trays, signs and frames.
“Now I have completed lots of bigger projects, including several tables, beds, benches, and I did a bump-out for a TV in my bedroom and added an electric fireplace,” she said.
“I really like to work with my hands,” McGahey continued. “I like the challenge, and I like that there’s a lot of math involved. I make mistakes, and then I go back and fix them, and all of it takes a lot of thought. It’s not thrown together; I want my work to look like I went out and spent a lot of money on it.”
She said she has plenty of home improvement projects coming up. She has cabinets she wants to extend instead of buying new ones, and she’d like to build out her large walk-in pantry into a butler’s pantry with cabinets instead of shelves and add a countertop.
“My favorite project is the bookcase in the living room,” she said. “It’s 9 feet tall and takes up the whole wall. It’s the biggest and best thing I’ve done. I finished it last year. I had it built in one weekend, but then there was a lot of sanding and priming to do.”
She added that she’d used a paint sprayer for the first time on the bookcase.
“I learn something new with each project,” she said. “It was my first built-in piece, and I love it.”
McGahey’s family keeps her busy with their wish lists, which include beds, tables and other furnishings.
“I have all the tools for everything in my garage,” she said. “My husband says I’m very easy to buy gifts for. He just buys more woodworking tools and I’m happy.”
Meanwhile, she said, if she’s not at work, she could very well be found in the lumber department of Home Depot.
“They certainly know me there,” she said. “Sometimes they say, ‘Oh, you’re back for the third time today!’”
Working with her hands helps McGahey relax.
“It’s definitely about getting in there, figuring it out and clearing my mind of things related to work or whatever else is going on,” she said. “It helps my head, and it’s a part of my mental health.”
 |  |