My condolences and prayers for your mother, and for you and your family. Losing a parent is one of the most difficult things we face in this world. When my mother passed, a friend mentioned going through a year of firsts, too-the first birthday when she's not there, the first holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on.
As far as setting up a work area goes, I recommend getting a tool box to use for storing your tools and supplies. I've shared these photos here before, but it bears repeating. I tried different solutions over the years, for organizing my supplies and making them easily portable to club meetings and meet-ups. This is what I've come to use:
That's a Craftsman toolbox, with a tray that lifts out. Most of what I need at any given moment is stored in that toolbox. I also have a smaller toolbox, made of pine, that I bought myself years ago at Blick's, when I got the idea that I was going to learn to paint with oils, and paint flats, "just like the Germans":
With toolboxes like these, you can keep your supplies organized and stash the boxes out of the way when not in use-in a closet, under the bed, etc.
I have an LED desk lamp that I carry in the larger toolbox. It's similar to this one:
It has the advantages that it can be taken apart (neck and base) and folded up for storage, and, it's a desk lamp, so you can leave it out on the desk or table. It has several settings of color and brightness. These run about $25 or so.
When need be, I can stow these things in a very short time, in a relatively small space.
Hope that helps!
Brad
