Month: September 2019

This morning I installed the aerial ladder and two small side ladders.

I also added a rack for the ladder and an emergency light bar. Of course I had to test it, running the ladder up to the burning candle!!

This project is done.

MY Jane and I went looking for more Fall decorations. We found a white pumpkin to which Jane added colourful ModPodged leaves and flowers from the garden. She said that it was something she had spotted on the internet and loved its look.

It sure looks good on our dining room buffet.

In the meantime I did a little more work on the toy fire engine I’m making. Today it was a ladder, one of two that I’m going to add.

This morning I began making a toy wooden firetruck. I don’t have paper plans so I am relying on pictures I have found on the internet.

I am modifying as I go along and so far, things are going well. Here’s what I’ve done so far.

Next I will put on fenders and headlights then make ladders.

We were invited for lunch by Helen Zoschke, Jane’s cousin, who lives in Penetanguishene. She drove down to Barrie and we met at the Golden Griddle.

We had a great visit after which we went to Georgian Mall to get slippers for me.

I got a comfortable pair at Deckers Shoes and we returned home.

A great day.

We returned yesterday morning after a wonderful visit with Chris, Tonya and Max.

Later in the afternoon we went to see the newly release Downton Abbey, a movie made based on a TV series of the same name. We really liked it.

We got home in time to treat ourselves to TBLT sandwiches. Another great day with MY Jane.

Yesterday we travelled to Toronto to spend some time babysitting Max, whileTonya went to a physio appointment. Little Max is such a good baby. He rarely cries and it’s only for good reason. He tends to grab at his head and scratch it a bit so Tonya has to ensure that his fingernails are well trimmed, so that he doesn’t hurt himself.

When he smiles at you, your heart just melts.

We took him for a walk this morning in his stroller; it was the first time to take him for a walk and we all loved it. He, of course, slept the whole time.

Jane has been dreaming about doing this and it finally happened. It was a great visit with everyone. This little guy is such a gem. Love him to pieces.

This morning MY Jane and I are off to see our Mighty Max, also known as Squeaky Bear, from his newborn days. Tonya has a physiotherapist appointment and asked if Jane could take care of Max.

Of course, we are delighted to do so and we’ll stay overnight. Jane will make supper for us and hopefully Steve will be there too.

My Jane has been busy putting out Fall/Halloween decorations around the house.

The house is looking pretty nice as a result of her efforts.

I tried out my new saw blade this morning. Just to see. The difference in cuts is significantly better with the new blade.

There’s a much smoother cut with less tear out with the new blade because it has more teeth than the old one.

The DeWalt table saw that I bought six years ago has been very reliable. I have used it to do many projects.

I looked for the wrenches to get the old blade off. Where the heck are they?

In the meantime, I decided to watch a YouTube video on the process and it was then that I saw that the wrenches were bolted to the side of the saw with a wing nut.

Good ole DeWalt. They know how guys misplace stuff.

New blade gives a smoother cut than the original contractor blade.

Lately I have found that I get more enjoyment out of YouTube videos that interest me. I am now subscribed to about a dozen or so.

What I recently found out was that some Of these YouTubers are making a ton of money. And some of them do videos on seemingly mundane things.

One channel that I subscribe to belongs to Andrew Camanata. What does he do on his channel? Well, he’s a Landscaper and he has heavy equipment that he uses to build roads, do driveways, take down trees etc. There’s very little dialogue.

He is also adept at welding, mechanical stuff and he has a huge workshop that is very well equipped.

What I found fascinating is that with his 750,00 plus subscribers he earns an average of $22,000.00 a month! Astounding.

I need to come up with something to cash in on this opportunity.

This past Spring, I contacted Enercare several times regarding the pilot light on our fireplace in the Family Room. Different technicians came on five or six occasions and tried everything. One even suggested that I needed a new thermostat so I did that.

The last guy that came, one of their most experienced, told me I probably needed a new gas valve which would cost around one thousand dollars.

I decided to forego doing anything over the summer but last week I gave Affordable Home Comfort, a Barrie company, a call and they came very promptly and recommended the installation of a new pilot light assembly. This was done but the pilot light went out a few more times,

They promised they would send their most senior technicians and when Kevin showed up, I could tell very quickly that here was someone who knew what they were doing.

Within minutes he had re-lit the pilot light and diagnosed the problem by simply observing the flame on the main burner. He said, “It’s not getting enough air.” With that, he went outside to check the vent and found the stainless steel on one side had come away. He very quickly put in a self tapping metal screw and it was fixed!

He shook my hand and said, “Should be good now, sir.” Then he left. No charge. Wow.

This morning we did some grocery shopping at Walmart and picked up a few things at Babies R Us.

I needed a small lion figure to put in my circus car that’s part of the wooden toy train I made.

There’s a number of other animals which may eventually get to ride in Simba’s car.

After breakfast I did some more work on my toy train project that I’m calling theCannon BALL express.

I have a little modification to make to the circus car. I want to have an opening at the top so little animals can be put in and taken out.

Other than that, it’s pretty well done.

Today we went up to Georgian Mall to pick up a little thing Jane had ordered at a store called All Things Engraved. It’s a little pewter keepsake box for Max’s first tooth and curl.

After that, we went to search out a nearby geocache and found it after walking along a trail in the forest.

The inside of the cache was all wet because it had not been properly re-sealed.

Shortly after getting back home, a technician from Affordable Heating came and quickly diagnosed our fireplace problem – a simple fix to the vent with a metal screw.

I did some more work on the toy train I’m making, finishing the coal car and wood-burning the name of the train.

And to cap off a really nice day, MY Jane made some of her delicious muffins which I taste tested. They’re delicious.

Last night we saw Goldfinch with Nicole Kidman. Great movie.

Today I did some work on making a toy train. I’m going to call it the CannonBALL Express and the engine number will be 2019 for the year it was made. This is what I have so far.

Tomorrow I’ll add more detail to the cars and make a caboose.

After breakfast MY Jane and I went to Lee Valley in Vaughan to pick up some parts for making wooden toys. On the way back we checked out a geocache and Jane spotted it amongst the branches of a tree.

On the way back home we decided that we would have a date night so we are going to see a newly released movie called Goldfinch with Nicole Kidman. She’s usually pretty good.

Today I did some wood burning on projects I have completed. Here’s a pic of the underside of the rocking horse I named Pal:

There’s room for the names and birthdates of additional grandchildren when they arrive.

And I did the underside of Max’s time capsule too.

Today I gave geocaching another try. There is one nearby that I tried to find twice before with no luck.

The GPS on my I Phone showed that, at one point, I was within two feet of the geocache, but I could not locate it.

Meanwhile, MY Jane spent some time on her genealogy pursuit.

We continue to have problems with our gas fireplace with the pilot light going out despite having a new pilot light assembly installed a couple of days ago.

A technician will be back on Monday.

Our plan today was to head up to Honey Harbour and take our dinghy, Shenanigans, out for a spin and to have a picnic at Tonche East where MY Jane and I were married over 6 years ago. It was the happiest day of my life.

As I turned out, the weather got really iffy on the way, so we changed plans and headed to Waubaushene to check out a cemetery for Ball/Blanchard family headstones, part of Jane’s genealogy quest. We didn’t find any there, but I did find a geocache called “The Undertaker”.

Afterward, we went to the cemetery in Victoria Harbour where we found several markers for “Ball”, Steven and Chris’ ascendants. Their grandfather’s marker was just steps away from where we parked the car. We took a video and sent it to Chris (Steve is away in Europe) and then took photos of each Ball headstone.

We meandered over to the waterfront in Victoria Harbour where we had a little lunch and enjoyed the scenery. While there, we received a video call from the aforementioned Steven! He was calling all the way from St. Tropez with Sara on a vacation trip! What a nice surprise!

To top off her day, Jane had to test the water.

Today was one of those lazy days. MY Jane and I went looking for wooden toy wheels and axle pegs at some local hobby shops but no success.

We did some grocery shopping at Walmart and then returned home.

It continued to be a lazy day which we enjoyed on our deck.

The wooden dachshund pull toy I’m working on is taking shape. I got the three pieces cut out and “hinged” together using 1/8 “ doweling.

I decided to try using some wheels I have but they may not be wide enough. I have some other wheels and axle pegs on order so, before I fasten everything permanently, I’ll wait until they come in.

This afternoon I went looking for a nearby geocache, but I was unsuccessful. The GPS signal was all over the map.

This morning I installed some styrofoam insulation in the ceiling of the garage to prevent heat loss in the gable section of the garage roof.

That, coupled with the new radiant heater that I hooked up yesterday, will result in a comfortable working environment during the winter months.

I am already looking at plans for wooden toys that I can make. One of the first that I’ll tackle will be a toy train something like the one pictured below.

Today I decided to install a new workbench light that I had purchased sometime ago. It’s an LED which is very bright.

You can see how much brighter it is compared to the one to the right of it.

I also installed a hose on the laundry room sink, something I’ve been meaning to do for sometime.

Today I went to Princess Auto – one of my favourite stores – and picked up a radiant ceiling heater.

As soon as I got home, I installed it in the garage.

Now I’ll be able to work through the winter and be toasty warm out there.

Today was spent puttering around in the garage and doing more organizing.

We have been pleased with performance of this system and even more impressed today.

The system works in conjunction with the local weather network and because of this, I received the following notification:

This is the first time I’ve received such a notification and it is quite appropriate considering the forecast.

Today I continued with my goal of re-organizing the garage/workshop. I relocated a small storage cabinet closer to the bench and created space in a corner to store lumber.

Sara and Steven are currently in Positano Italy enjoying a 15 day vacation in Europe. They took time to do a video call with us and their upgraded room is splendid with a view of the boats anchored just below.

And our little Mighty Max is developing so quickly, now holding on to things and trying to stick them in his mouth. What a treasure.

Yesterday, while MY Jane was in Toronto, I decided to do some workshop cleanup and organization.

The first thing I did was cut up a steel framed table that was just too wide in the garage and took up too much space. Cutting the steel was the most time consuming, but eventually I got it done.

Next, I cleared off the workbench and put things in their designated space. After that I painted the work surface, covering up all the marks and stains.

After breakfast this morning, I will continue straightening up some more.

I want to have things ship shape so I can begin toy making.

Today, MY Jane is taking an area rug to Chris and Tonya’s that they asked her to get at the local Home Sense store here in Barrie. Turns out the rug they had their eye on was now on sale for $100 cheaper so they were thrilled.

Jane will have a chance to visit with Max and will stay the night.

In the meantime I will do some organizing in my garage/workshop. I have a cumbersome steel framed table that I intend to cut up and discard.

I may even paint the work bench white – just to brighten it up a bit.