Author: greatwallstudios

Luckily no broken bones, just a bruised ego. Caught the tip of my shoe on a hop up onto a side by side and fell into the gap between the seats and the dash. Skinned my knee. Feel a pretty good throbbing in my palm and outer calf on the same side. Not my finest moment. To top it all off I breathed in a mosquito whilst backing up through the brush after dropping off all of the bags of water softener salt. Ego is deflated, naturally. And yet I persist! I go on.  What else is new? Oh yeah it’s Tuesday and we never did get that big electrical storm we were promised. But we’ve had a decent quantity of rainfall that’s for sure.

So I’m now going to gently hop my way to a comfortable chair, wherein I will work my day job, and keep off my feet. I put my calves through a rigorous stretching this morning (which I did not enjoy) and used a jagged roller on my right calf which is by far the worst of the two. I could have screamed very easily when I found the knotted bunch of muscles with my full weight paid upon the roller. It works to break down the knots, but it is excruciatingly focused on being painful in one singular area. Not a fan of the discomfort, but being able to traverse stairs without limping is a plus I can’t look beyond.

Swimming comes to an end this Friday, so I’ll need to find a new activity to occupy the kids until school starts. I don’t think a day camp will work, too expensive, and likely far too late into the season to find two open slots in a themed camp both kids would get anything meaningful out of. Like an arts & crafts camp that would provide them with the chance to make Fair entries under guided supervision. Our kids rarely do day camps like that, seems a waste when I WFH, and my spouse is off for the summer except when she spends a couple days each week building out next falls curriculum, and sourcing books, and field trips.

Overall it has been a high quality summer break with everybody at home. I can feel my older child becoming more independent and wanted to go out with her friends more and more. That’s great! She is a preteen after all, and as long as she makes smart decisions, she is welcome to expand her independence at will. Do something stupid though, and that contracts to almost absolute zero. But, they’re good kids. Good heads on their shoulders. We’ve got eyes all over town so they’re never all that far from us in the end. Ha!

You can probably tell where this is going right? Yeah, my legs started to itch within about 90 seconds, and today my calves feel like cinder blocks, and my quads are ok, but my knees ache, and and and. I was planning to have a thirty minute run while the girls are at their swimming lessons, but I overslept by an hour, and I had paid work to complete the moment I got out of bed. So today’s goal is to stretch out my calves as much as I can without shouting a blue streak, and pick things up again tomorrow.

To nobody’s surprise our battle of the tube plans went off without a hitch, and yet my shoulders, forearms and back all hurt because of the intense bouncing around I did. I cannot for the life of me steer my tube, but my eldest daughter sure can, and she attacked me with both vim & vigor! I spent the whole ride being thoroughly jostled and having the water try to pull me off the back of the tube. My arms are dead now too.

I struck out on a very short paddle board ride yesterday and had a hell of a time trying to stand up. I got there eventually thankfully which took some strain off my knees and ham strings because I was kneeling (which is not something I typically do with both knees firmly planted on a surface, usually it’s just one, or the other knee gown at any one time). I had the wobbles pretty badly when I tried to stand up. My youngest was out there tooling around getting used to doing her own paddling for a change, so I went to check in on her and she rammed me for funsies, a number of times I might add. All good natured fun I can assure you.

So my legs are a mess today, same with my arms and shoulders. Back is a bit sore from the wave induced scorpion pose I hit a number of times whilst having a tubing battle. So I’m going to sit today out. A big electrical storm is supposed to hit at some point today, so I’ll be here just a stretching my legs out. Stretch, stretch, stretch. Gotta do a bunch before an activity, and then do even more afterwards too. I’m getting closer to fifty than ever before, and these are the rules now.

I’m of the generation this was geared towards and yet I never once set foot in a podcast studio, nor ever attempt to start one up myself, what gives? Likely it’s because I scratch that itch here on paper (such as it is written down) and don’t feel the need to speak it aloud. I also don’t care for the sound of my own voice, and most definitely don’t want to talk on camera. My thoughts are jumbled and varied and don’t lend themselves well to video. I’d panic and repeat myself. Also if 8 have to listen intently I’d likely hear the buzzing of the lights, the ceiling or box fans, the AC, or some other conversation and not be able to 100% pick out the dialogue I’m supposed to be following along in order to answer any questions. Also, not that interesting of an individual am I. Welcome to another edition of “Somewhat of a midlife crisis and hobby change with Mark!” Are we riding giga coasters at Wonderland, building furniture, sculpting, building model kits, painting, playing the guitar poorly, doing lawn care, splitting wood manually, or assembling miniature terrain? Maybe we’re looking at starting welding, or sheet metal fabrication? Having a good in the kitchen with a trusted recipe, or digging for fossils & geodes with my kids, or planting new fruit trees to combat food scarcity… I don’t know, but I do know others have dedicated themselves to any one such topic, and would do a far better job at it. Jack of all trades and a master of none! It would be a mess, but a fun mess at that.

Sunday Funday. We had another couple of inches of rain yesterday. Good for the corn and beans. At least it was two to six inches like Niagara got last weekend, that’s far too much all in one go for a single day. Dangerous too.

Oddly enough I do know somebody with a music podcast,  they explore esoteric musicians and discuss arrangements and music theory. Things I know next to nothing about. That sort of thing seems dense and unforgiving. I play music, I don’t write it, or about it. It’s why I can enjoy Angine de Poitrine without waxing poetic about microtonal math rock. Time signatures that differ from four-four baffle me. I still like it though, but I couldn’t discuss it beyond a guy feeling, and a vibe check. I know a fair number of people that do Tik-Tok or IG video clips about strength training and sports specific muscle group development which is cool. I’m too pear shaped to try to be a fitness influencer type. I like crabs and snacks far too much.

I’d rather have my collected short works take off than be known for anything physical about myself. Downloads are still creeping upwards too which is pretty awesome. Thank you very much! They’re free, both books.  But I digress.

I wonder if we’ll watch a movie today?

Not going to lie, I like to break stuff so any chance to swing a hammer or a pick axe, or just an axe is going to be a yes from me. We took the kids on a slight misty morning detour since there’s no swimming lessons on Saturdays. They get to put on safety goggles, grab a hammer and bucket and go ham. I get to sit in one spot and break rocks for the sheer joy of it all. It does however take a toll on my hands since I forgot gloves, and those stone chips hit like shrapnel, and cut like scalpel blades. Luckily it was limited to my striking hand and not my face, neck or legs. If I’d have thought about it for any length of time I’d have brought my Rstwing mini sledge and an assortment of cold chisels to really take this place apart. Oh well, on to lunch and a more relaxing afternoon. I do think the repeated hammer swings will have taken much of the fight out of my kids. That and the concentrating on finding treasures among the rocks and boulders. Strategic efforts on my wife’s part.

Happy weekend to those not having to work.

Even if you charge them up to 100% battery capacity, if you let them sit unused for ten or more days, even while the unit is powered off the batteries will drain down to zero. That irks me. I get if they lose 25-30% of battery over an extended period of no use, that’s to be expected, but a full null battery is kind of ridiculous. They fit great, look great, have just enough weight to feel premium but not hurt your neck or head, and the ear cushioning is soft & supple, and the sound quality is pretty good, but that power drain is a mess. A big fat red X on the sell sheet if you compare them to other battery operated items. Besides leaving them on a charger when not in use (I don’t have enough outlets and plugs/chargers for that) I don’t see how you get around it. Like today, I wanted to listen to music while I did some weed eating for the inlaws (with their weed eater since Markham Mower has had my Echo SRM-230 since May 21st for an hour long repair) and was hoping to listen to music while I worked, but no! Battery dead. So dead it takes upwards of 5 minutes on the charger before the red light charging indicator light comes on. So no music for me while I trimmed around the house, trees, and deck rocks.

I might be intermingling my disdain for Markham Mowers lacklustre service schedule with my JBL battery’s lack of holding a charge when powered off and in stasis mode. Either way I am annoyed about it, or both things at once. No matter. It is Friday, and I got some Fair signage done yesterday, with more on the way by the sounds of it. We are looking at a wet & rainy weekend yet again. I’m ok with that, although let us hope we don’t get another 2.5 – 6 inches in a day like last Sunday, because that was intense. A solid inch will feed the corn and beans, and not to forget my baby fruit trees as well, just fine & dandy. I don’t want to flood them or drown them!

The offending headphones pictured below.

They are comfortable, and I like how they swivel and fold to collapse into a smaller block to fit into a bag for traveling. That’s a super duper handy feature, and one I would likely require of a future purchase if these ever breakdown beyond repair. Not that I know of anywhere that would even fix a pair of headphones.

Off topic here for a sec: I have done 15 to 20 push ups every day except one in the last two weeks, and added in some air squats and sit ups to which I have noticed nothing. Ha! Muscle soreness for sure but little else. So I think that means I need to add a bit more into the mix. Nothing much for now, as I’d like to scout out an inexpensive gym once the kids go back to school in September. I prefer free weights to cardio, but I need a little of both because I am more pear shaped than ever now. Also our climbing schedule will get back on track in the fall so I should wait to see how that works into the mix. The climbing gym requires a 25 minute drive, whereas I’d like a local gym that’s 5-10 minutes to get into tops. I don’t want to be there for hours and hours each visit, but to do 15-20 minutes with weights would help out my bones and muscles quite a bit. CrossFit is out because it’s too expensive and I don’t want to compete, I just want to exercise more. Let’s see if we can make that happen for ourselves.

I’ve shifted over to more vegetables and fiber in my day to day meals, but that has caused me an increase in gas & bloating, which feels counter productive, but we’ll just continue on because that’s good for us regardless of the brass section following us to the bathroom throughout the day. Oh TMI WARNING, got there a little late with that one, just squeaked past. My bad. The snacking is on again, off again with success so that’s something I can work on before the fall. I’m not going to go in on any type of diet, but I will try to moderate portion sizes, and substitute fries for a salad far more often. Diets only work if that’s how you intend to live from here on out, so I’m better off making smarter food choices, and looking for slightly smaller amounts over time. I once wanted to get back down to 165 lbs, but I think that 180 lbs would be more suited to my current lifestyle and not all that different. Basically I want my pants and t-shirts to fit less snuggly, and not have such a pronounced mid section. Tell me these things the next time I see a donut or a bag of Doritos!

Shopping smarter helps too. If you don’t buy it, you can’t indulge in it! I guess that’s why they have cheat days because those cravings can really weigh you down otherwise. But enough about me.

Happy Friday. May you experience a glorious weekend ahead. Ciao Bella. Take care out there.

I recall more than one winter where the AC would turn on and not shut off from January to April for whatever reason. I would drive the 410, 403, and 407 with it being colder inside the can than it was outside. Thank the lords above for cloth seats, snow pants and neck rings otherwise I would have frozen solid during my commute. That and loud music and boisterous singing at the top of my lungs. The passenger side door latch didn’t work, and the tailgate latch stopped working within a year or two of my paying it off. I ran that truck until it was at best scrap. The break lines blew out on the 427 on ramp at least twice and I drove to work with no breaks in morning rush hour traffic. That was fun. The transmission was fubar’d and once it got hot and we crawled along in bump to bumper traffic it would catch and jump like I’d been rear ended, which was good for a laugh once you knew you hadn’t been hit. It was a giant pile of shit, but it was the first vehicle I ever went to a lot to pick out myself and purchase. My first actual car was a Suzuki Swift that was my dad’s, which my older brothers had used too. But they bought the Volkswagen bugg off my parents, and I bought the Swift. The firewall rotted out, same with the floorboards and I eventually drove it to the local scrap yard and left it behind. Cars — what a pocket cleaning, money vampire enterprise they are.

Makes me wish we lived in Europe with the walkable lifestyle, and more temperate weather. I could do with a milder winter! Although not having snakes and bitey bugs is a solid trade off. I will grant you that.

If my calculations are correct it is now Thursday. I have been tasked with fixing some exterior deck steps, so before it rains and/or the bugs get worse I will go attend to that. Cheers!

Kids need to be kept busy, so what better time than now to start putting those crafty little minions on task with some Markham Fair entries. We’ve got glue guns, glue sticks, sparkles, glitter, construction paper, string, threat, plastic beads of all shapes and colours, rocks, paints and just about every colour marker under the sun. The only question we have is, will they stick with it long enough to complete anything, or have we just unleashed an eight hour day of nothing but crafting in place on the dining room table? Only time will tell.

Hump day is here! It’s Wednesday today the first Wednesday of the month. Is that special in any kind of way? No not really, but it does mean we are onto the back half of the year and running headlong into the fall. That means school starts, the Markham Fair, Thanksgiving, Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland, my wife’s break week, Halloween itself, all the way on through Christmas and New Years. It’s a straight shot to snow! Ha. Don’t wish it away, but the leaves are drying on the trees, and pretty soon the rains will come back just in time to make school runs a wet endeavour.

I came upstairs randomly singing a Christmas Carol yesterday morning, and I don’t know why. My eldest will turn twelve before the holidays and I wonder how much longer she will continue to have the child like wonder for the holiday season. Will it dissipate the closer she gets to being an actual teenager? Will it fizzle under the pressure of people a pre-teen? Will other kids in her peer group have “that” conversation about Santa and those kids talk about it with the rest of the class!?! I don’t know. I’m sad thinking about it. I personally enjoy their childlike delight in the holidays and don’t ever wish to see it diminished.

Well that turned dreary didn’t it? It’s sunny out. Early August. The kids are home for the last five weeks of summer vacation and are currently still crafting away at the table. I’ll enjoy what I’ve got while it lasts.

Talk about losing your train of thought on the holiday Monday. I was expecting to see/do Monday morning things today and it’s actually Tuesday which runs on a separate schedule from the whole rest of the week, and I missed it. Damn. It’ll be two weeks before I can get the recycling out again because they came and went at 7:05 am by the looks of it. Oh well. My bad. I will just go back into the recycling bin and make certain I have broken every single box down to the thinnest it can be to make room for the next fourteen days worth of cardboard and packaging waste. Not my finest work. But forgivable given the circumstances I think. It’s rare that I miss an alarm to get our junk to the curb on time. Also, it helps if you turn the actual alarm on the night before instead of leaving it in the OFF position on your phone. Nice.

Anyway, here’s a photo of my eldest riding a single tube from yesterday.

All of our rock climbing has made it so that both of my kids can wakeboard and go tubing for longer periods of time without their hands and forearms going numb. I knew that climbing would be good for more than banged elbows and scraped shins!

Luckily the steady rain I stood in was not as bad as the rain that I walked through to fetch the car once we were ready to leave because that short cloud burst was enough to soak me to my skin over a 600m walk, versus the thirty five minutes I spent standing in line for French fries and drinks that merely wetted my hair through my hat and sweater hood, but didn’t make it all the way down my back to my undies. I was not as chipper as I usually am during this rainy exchange with the outdoors. No indoor food options at the venue without driving out of town. Or more so from out of town and back in to town for food options that were inside brick & mortar buildings and in our of the rain. I drove to the Canadian Tire, and then to the Shell gas station in almost entirely wet clothes. It did not reach to my phone or wallet, a small blessing given we had 100 mm of rain before four pm, and another 100 mm from five o’clock until one in the morning. The rivers, ponds, lakes and tree stands are all full today! Cold water puddles up to your ankles. No need to water today. Possibly not tomorrow either. I did not take any photos of my cheery disposition. We are all glad that I chose not to do so.

Today, as far as I can tell is a holiday Monday in August. This is the middle of summer break 2026. The children get 10 weeks off this year, and do not start up again until September 8th. That’s one whole additional week in September off before the school year starts. Ask me if either of my kids has done any reading whatsoever in the preceding five weeks? Nope. Not a page. Oh mylanta! Could you imagine going that long without reading? I have read more accidental reading without my glasses in five blurry summer weeks by, than they have done purposefully.

Don’t even ask about bed times, sleep schedules and any other things of that nature. We do have a regular time table for swim lessons which we use to anchor the kids to a semi coherent day/week. Otherwise it would just be chaos. I know these kids, they would tend towards staying up later and later, and then trying to sleep through the day. That would be a huge mess to try and fix come the start of school. Praise be to small courtesies.

I put together a deck chair yesterday, and it still looks over cast outside my window, so I don’t really know what is on the books for this holiday Monday. I choose a lie in, and maybe a family movie. Or better yet pick up a book and do some quiet reading for an hour or two! That sounds divine. Cuddle blankets, a beverage and a book! Sign me up.

It’s not anything truly outstanding, or revolutionary, but with the right kind of spicy pepper jack cheese, and Bourbon BBQ sauce it’s a zinger of a lunch sandwich. I had two of them in British Columbia early on in July when we went west for a visit, and I’ve had two, possibly three more over the last three weeks since we’ve been back in Ontario. Now I realize a six inch, or a twelve inch sandwich isn’t entirely more healthy than a burger, but I’ve gotten kind of tired of McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. We don’t have a Burger King in town, nor an Arby’s so I can’t rotate those in or out to broaden the available options. If I had my choice I might still hope to put a Taco Bell somewhere nearby, but the likelihood of that happening are next to zero. But! We do have a Subway in town and I might just stop in there more frequently because using Doordash is way too expensive. I could have had two Subway subs for what I paid for one delivered. Mind you I was watching He-Man Masters of the Universe on Amazon Prime and didn’t want to drive across town to crush the craving I was having. I paid the idiot tax instead. It happens. Not often mind you, so I don’t beat myself up over it.

I say all this because I stopped in for a six inch Steak & Bacon Subway sandwich today and with lettuce, tomato, onions, and green peppers on a toasted Italian garlic cheese and herb bun , drizzled in their Bourbon BBQ sauce it was definitely the late lunch meal I was after. Shredded steak and bacon strips were ripe for the munching!

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