Month: April 2019

One of the things Steven had on his birthday wish list was a security starter kit made by Wyze. He was thinking about when he and Sara would have their own house. So Jane and I got him that but then that changed when Sara asked us to chip in on Ray Ban sunglasses for him. So we thought we would give the Wyze Security to him when they bought a house as a house warming gift. Well, now that they have bought that house, we learned that it comes with built in security cameras. What to do with that security system?

We decided to use it ourselves so I got the three cameras going to cover most of the common areas of our place including exterior windows and doors. We’re pretty impressed.

Then we tried to think of something practical to give them as a house warming present and decided to get them a BBQ – a good one.

Yesterday, after breakfast, Steven and Sara called us to do a video chat with us along with Chris and Tonya so we could all watch as Sara opened her birthday gift from all of us.

She had been wanting a high end camera and Steven tracked down the one she wanted. She was very happy.

Jane and I sang a little birthday ditty to her that we had written. We had done the same for Steven, Chris and Tonya in February for their birthdays.

Jane’s vertigo is back, though not as bad as her initial bout with it. She has made an appointment to see a physiotherapist, Dr. Paul Love, who specializes in treating this affliction. Only trouble is, we can’t get an appointment until May 21st. Maybe there’ll be a cancellation and she can get in earlier.

Today is Sara’s 31st Birthday. She and Steven are going to a spa this morning for a massage. Probably a good idea since they were very busy moving out of the condo to temporarily stay with Raha and Nico.

This afternoon Steven will give her the gift (a camera) that we contributed to along with Chris and Tonya.

Today I will buy some one inch dowelling so I can make a handle for the rocking horse and once that is done, it will be ready for staining. Then the very last step will be to put the bridle and reins on.

I may be a bit ahead of time on doing this rocking horse. My grandson won’t be old enough to use it for another two years or so. But I wanted to get this done while I’m still around and able to do this kind of project.

Just when you think Winter’s over, Mother Nature gives you a slap.

This is what I woke up to this morning. And today is the day that Sara and Steven are moving out of the condo to temporarily stay with Raha and Nico until they can close the deal on their own house.

Right now there is a deal pending for a house on Westbourne Ave., coincidentally the same street on which I used to own a home. In fact, my old house is a stones throw from the one they’re buying.

Hopefully the weather will be better in Toronto for their move.

We were expecting to hear from Steven and Sara last night when Steve was going to be giving a Sara a birthday present which he had asked us to go in on. I guess things didn’t go as planned because we never heard anything by bedtime.

It’s a rainy, drizzly day here in Barrie. Today I’ll be doing a little more work on Pal, the playroom palomino I am making for my grandchildren. Yesterday I got his eyes finished and I will do some touch up sanding after which I will do the bridle and reins. Then it’ll be ready for a little buckaroo to ride off into the sunset.

I’m having a little bit of a challenge making the eye sockets because I don’t have the correct type of bandsaw blade. I’m going to try cutting some veneer to shape and see how that works.

On a happy note, MY Jane received her very first OAS pension cheque direct deposit in the amount of $601.00.

Today is a glorious Spring day with the sun shining and the temperature up around 18C. It’s a perfect day to do a couple of little things in the back garden. Jane did some raking and even got Minnie outside for awhile.

After I did a little more work on Pal (the rocking horse I’m making), I decided to tackle some maintenance on the fire pit that the boys gave me a couple of Father’s Days ago.

You can see how it’s rusting out. I went to Lowe’s and got some heat resistant paint and a wire brush and went at it.

It’s looking much better

Then I put the solar garden lights out and fixed the rose trellis. I’m feeling productive.

Yesterday MY Jane went to Toronto to meet up with her life long friend, Annemarie, to attend a musical about Carole King called Beautiful. It was their way of celebrating their 65th birthday together. 

I drove Jane to the GO bus station at Barrie South and then picked her up on her return. She was very tired but said they had a good time. On the way home we picked up some A & W burgers which were delicious.

In the meantime, Chris has been doing some genealogy sleuthing and found out that his grandfather from his Dad’s side was born in Victoria Harbour. He phoned the cemetery up there and talked to a lady whose father turned out to be the brother of Chris’ grandfather, Frank Wilfred Ball. It’s a breakthrough because Jane has also been working very hard to track down information about his grandfather.

We have not yet heard whether Steven and Sara’s offer on a brand new house has been accepted. We don’t know when that will be.

Yesterday was the very last day for sharing my blog with anyone. This was prompted when I made a Blog post about Steven and Sara buying their new house. Both Jane and I were so very excited and happy for them. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to me, not everyone knew about the house purchase yet, so Chris read about it in the blog, rather than hearing it from his brother.

I apologized in an e-mail which Steve accepted. Unfortunately, what was a very happy occasion for everyone took a downward turn for all.

But-As I always say, life is full of choices.

My choice now is to continue my daily posts, only these will be totally private for just Jane and me, so as not to make the same mistake again. I will, however, continue to publish the blog in book format for all to enjoy in the new year.

A quick look outside tells me that Spring has finally arrived.

The wormwood border perennials (the low white plants) seemed to have survived which is a good thing. We got them last year when there was no Dusty Miller available, so we kind of just stumbled into them.

Already the grass is beginning to green up and soon it will be time to get some annuals to colour things up a bit.

Due to an unintentional and unfortunate situation that arose because of a blog post that I made, I have decided this will be the last public post for Life Unfolding. Life Unfolding is folding so to speak. It has been a good run. Not a day missed since February 2014. I’m pretty proud of that. Life Goes On.

Last night the fireplace acted up again. The main burner and pilot light went out and, despite my efforts to re-light it, I was unsuccessful.

So this morning I called Enercare again and initially they told me it would be a chargeable call. However after some discussion and being transferred to another department, they agreed to honour their 90 day warranty on labour and a technician will be coming today.

I am beginning to think the fireplace, which is 21 years old, may be on its lat legs. We’ll see what the technician says.

This morning I beveled the legs and put the rockers together-just a dry fit exercise. I still have to do some sanding and countersinking of screws, but I am happy with my progress. The saddle will be stained a walnut colour while the rest of the horse will be a golden palomino colour, just like Roy Rogers’ horse, Trigger.

I still have to put in eyes and nostrils and I’ll make a bridle and reins from one of my old belts. Then all it will need is a little cowpoke to give it a test ride.

Last night we had a craving for fish and chips from our favourite place, Danny’s Fish & Chips.

MY Jane volunteered to drive over and do a take out order. What neither of us knew was that Good Friday was the busiest day of the year over there and it was a two hour wait.

When Jane finally got back, we were famished and we quickly devoured them. We won’t be getting a fish and chips on Good Friday again.

This morning I continued working on the rocking horse project and got several of the component parts cut out on the bandsaw. I did two of the front and back legs, the body and I cut out one rocker.

Tomorrow I will finish cutting out the second rocker and do the mane, tail and saddle. I’ll get them all sanded and ready for assembly.

While I was doing that, MY Jane was busy with her genealogy project concentrating on my side of the tree.

Tonight we’ll have fish and chips and settle in to watch the Leafs battle against the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This morning I finished cutting hardboard templates for the component parts of the rocking horse that I’m making.

I had already cut the paper patterns which I then sprayed with adhesive and affixed to the hardboard before cutting them on my bandsaw.

Next steps will be to procure the wood, use the hardboard templates to draw the outline of the different pieces on the wood and cut them out.

I decided to make the hardboard templates because I may make more than one rocking horse. We’ll see.

This afternoon I got the water turned on outside and got our waterfall operational for the season. In the meantime, MY Jane undertook to thin out the honeysuckle on the arbour.

I have begun a new woodworking project. I’m making a rocking horse from plans I got from Wood Magazine.

That’s what the finished project will look like.

Right now I’m making hardboard templates for the different parts.

I made one of these several years ago and was quite happy with the result.

And today I’m having the summer tires put on.

Now that we know the baby’s gender, it made sense to go looking for suitable toys. An obvious place was Toys R Us, so MY Jane and I headed up there right after breakfast and our daily Yahtzee challenge.

The selection of toys is mind boggling but despite going in for just “one”, we managed to get several.

Yesterday, I headed to Toronto to meet up with MY Jane along with Steven & Sara to accompany them on their search for a house. They have already sold their condo and are anxious to get a new place. They are using the same real estate agent as I used many years ago, Charles Stanley. He’s a great guy and will do a good job for them.

Because both Steve and Sara work in the downtown area of Toronto, house location as related to commute time is important.

We looked at about six houses after which we had a late lunch at a little place on the Danforth called Morgan’s.

It was great to see Sara and Steve and to be invited along during their house search.

Yesterday afternoon Tonya’s and Chris’ baby shower was held and the much anticipated gender reveal was a huge part of the happy event.

The moment the balloon was burst and blue confetti exploded all over, pandemonium hit – we are going to have a grandson!!!

The expressions of pure happiness on their faces says it all.

We are over the top with happiness.

And Mom-to-be Tonya and Grandma-to-be are looking pretty happy, too.  Such a happy time for us all!!

Yesterday morning I attended a funeral mass for my brother-in-law, Danny Hodgson who passed away last week after battling cancer and emphysema. Dan, or Dan the Man, as I called him, was a real gem. He had a great sense of humour and was a big Toronto Maple Leaf fan.

It was gratifying to see so many people in attendance, a testament as to how well liked Dan was.

After mass, a hot lunch was served to everyone in the Church basement and I then drove Andrew and Ruth back to their house in North Bay on my way back to Barrie.

A sad time, especially for my sister Terry, who was married to Dan for 44 years.

After a visit with Terry, I checked into the Temrose hotel in Temiscaming and then had a bite to eat in the restaurant across the street. I took a spin around town, recalling where childhood friends used to live and remembering the good times of my youth, the back to Terry’s to say hi to Stephanie & Ross who arrived with their two children Megan and Oliver.

On my way back to my hotel, I stopped across the river from Tembec, the huge pulp and paper mill, to take a few pictures. I was reminded of the days when the odour of sulphur dioxide used to permeate the air overhead and, depending on wind direction, was at times so unpleasantly pungent. You can see the effluent pouring out of the stacks and wafting over the town.

But despite the unpleasant reminder, I enjoyed reminiscing of childhood days.

Later this morning I will be heading up to Temiscaming and staying overnight in order to attend Danny’s funeral service tomorrow. My sister, Terry, has asked me to do a reading at the service and I am honoured to do that for Dan.

Dan was a great husband, Dad, and loved his grandkids. He had a great sense of humour and loved the Toronto Maple Leafs. We’ll miss him.

There is freezing rain forecast for the North Bay area, but I am hoping by the time I get up there, most of it will have passed.

I will be picking up Andrew and Ruth in North Bay and giving them a lift to Thorne where Terry lives.

This morning MY Jane was anxious to rake leaves out of the flower beds in the back yard to see what might be peeking through the ground.

While she was raking, I went to the local hardware store to pick up yard waste bags and when I came back, I bagged everything she had raked into piles.

This afternoon, I picked up a new motor for my RC boat and spent a couple of hours replacing the faulty one. Very tricky job with a lot of tight spaces, but I got it done.

MY Jane has been making great progress in researching family history and lineage.

Right now, she is concentrating on the Lack family tree and has confirmed names and birthdates of relatives as far back as the early 1700’s in England.

Having tried this myself, it is a very daunting task and a lot of work requiring diligence and tenacity. Jane has more of both than me.

It is fascinating to say the least.

We have a fireplace maintenance plan with Enercare which means they will come every year to check to make sure everything is working properly and to clean the glass.

In the last couple of weeks, Enercare has been here four times because the main burner and pilot light kept going out.

Yesterday the technician that came – Colin – was extremely thorough even taking the faux brick liner out and adjusting the Venturi. This morning when I checked, the pilot light is still lit and the main burner is operating too.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

On another note, MY Jane and I put up the Wall Talker I ordered a couple of weeks ago.

MY Jane is going to Alliston this morning to meet up with her lifelong friend, Annemarie, who has a gift for Chris and Tonya’s baby shower which is being held on April 13th.

And Jane has a birthday present for Annemarie whose birthday was April 4th.

I’ll be staying home with Minnie.

Jane and decided to meet up with Sara and Steven this afternoon to check out a few houses. They are looking for a house in the East end of Toronto.

They have already looked at 8 or 9 and the search continues.

They definitely know what the must haves are, so I have no doubt they will find something.

Yesterday MY Jane and I had a few painting touch ups to do on the little side table and to the bathroom hallway.

We still have a couple of plaques and pictures to hang downstairs and that will pretty much complete our current to-do list.

The other to-do items are little outside jobs that will have to wait until the weather is warmer.

On a sad note, my brother-in-law, Danny, passed away last night in the North Bay Regional Health Centre. My sister, Terry, was at his bedside. His suffering is now over. RIP Dan.

When we decided to re-decorate the main floor spare room, we had a number of paintings and plaques for which we had to find a new place.

One of my favourites is a print done by Johan Boots that I purchased many years ago at the Buckhorn, Ontario Art show. It’s called Ready or Not and reminds me of the Norman Rockwell style wherein nearly all of his paintings told a story.

If you look closely, you can see the toddler’s older brother hiding under the steps and gesturing to her “shhhh”.

Quite charming, I think.

We have pretty much finished the re-decorating of the spare room. The theme that MY Jane chose was Let Your Imagination Soar, one of balloons and clouds. It’s one that a child can grow into and is bright and cheery.

The corner bookshelf was made from vinyl eavestroughing that I got at Home Depot and I made the cloud shelves from scrap wood which Jane then painted.

The pink elephant on the dresser was actually given to the daughter of Jane’s hairdresser by Jane’s Mom, Ted a few years ago.

Little Mallory doesn’t play with it anymore so Sabrina very kindly returned it to Jane. A very thoughtful and meaningful gesture that Ted’s great grandchildren will now enjoy.

The yellow balloon and white cloud to the right of the dresser also light up as does the hot air balloon ceiling light which has a dimmer switch on it.

We’re happy with the end result. Hope the grand kids enjoy it too.

While visiting Dan at the hospital, Terry had said she had to go home to Thorne to get a change of clothes and have a shower. Jane and I offered to go to her place in Thorne so she could stay with Dan and we confirmed with a nurse that there were shower facilities for visitors right in the hospital.

After getting her things at her place, we drove the short distance across the river to my hometown and picked up a coffee and spent a few minutes driving around the town and reminiscing about my younger days.

You can see how much snow is still remaining up there. A lot more than we have in Barrie.

I pointed out to Jane the locations I had in mind when I was writing my fictional book, The Maraca Murders, which were based on the Town of Temiscaming.

Shortly after returning to the hospital, last rites were administered to Dan with close family present.

A couple of days ago I retrieved my remote control boat from the laundry room to charge up the batteries and test it. I found that the motor was not responding. I suspected that the motor might be done because I had noticed this past summer that the cooling system was malfunctioning.

So I took it to a nearby hobby shop where they confirmed that the motor was indeed fried. I requested that they order a replacement which they said would arrive in about a week.

I want it to be ready for use this summer when we are up at the cottage we rented near Pointe au Baril – the same one we had last summer.