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Not much to report other than the impending freezing rain storm coming our way. Otherwise a week of rest and relaxation is off to a great start, or mid week hump. I think it’s Wednesday today. Hard to know at this point. Early days of 2023 are rolling along. Had my father’s 74th birthday just the other day. Operated via facetime. And great grandma just turned 95! Pop bottles and pour some out for the homies we’ve lost along the way.

This weather is weird. Almost feel like breaking out my bike or my longboard and going for a spin. Roads are ice free. Rain could put a damper on things though. No matter. Vacation week is off to a slow start.

At least this morning in the wee hours the temperatures were down below zero, so I hope that they managed to add an appropriate amount of snow back onto the hill. The last four days of heat and rain has played havoc with our accumulated snow. I fear the hills will be open patches of grass and puddles of muddy slush. I forsee more tears at pick up time. I will however sit in the viewing area for a bit to watch a few runs down the hills. I didn’t get to see her at the first lessons last year, and I felt like she didn’t want me to stick around on Friday either.

Back to Monday. Taking this week as a vacation as well, while everyone else is out of school/work. I used my time yesterday to take down all of our decorations, tree and wreath on the front door. I even took down a couple of exterior lighting elements. I didn’t break out the ladder to do the roof line, but I don’t know if I feel like going completely dark right away. The winter is so bleak, so a pop of colour at night is kinda nice.

I need to get ready to drive out to the ski hills. Have a great Monday Jan 2, 2023. Oh – oh. It is also great grandma’s 95th birthday today. Celebration to be held out front of the LTC where she currently resides. Had COVID-19 in August which put her in the hospital for 4 weeks, followed by 7weeks at rehab, then a care home, and now an LTC. Not the best five months for Grandma P! Still alive and kicking though. That’s a plus.

That is going to take a little getting used to. I foresee a number of two’s converted into threes in my near future! Ha. A slightly cloudy and cool Sunday morning today. Ever so slightly above zero degrees Celcius. Maybe we’ll have some snow on the slopes tomorrow? A man can dream can’t he? Not sure what the plan is for my kids snowboard lessons & camp day at Lakeridge. Do they keep them inside the whole time if they have no snow? I honestly don’t know. It’s all prepaid, so it’s not like we aren’t going to go. Tomorrow’s problem to solve I suppose.

Today we focus on things we have control over. Starting with a Zoo visit, then taking down the Christmas decorations. Some exterior lighting elements, wreath, big bow, and the tree. Followed by a smart clean up and vacuuming of lost tree needles. Finding all the secreted bits of cardboard, and garbage, people have stuffed in hidden corners of the house. I would absolutely love to clear all of the mess out this week, but I can tell I’ll be holding on to some until much later on this month. Ugh.

I won’t bother with strip mining the house until after everyone goes back to their regularly scheduled activities. I prefer to clean in peace. And not fight over every single broken toy piece. But that’s a week away from now. Time to focus on the family, and our day ahead.

Welcome to 2023!

That 2022 was definitely a year. Some good, some bad, some great, and some terrible. COVID-19 played a direct part in much of this. For better, or for much much worse, it is here to stay. Waiting in the deepest cells of our bodies, waging a war only some can feel outwardly. Attacking immune systems, causing dysregulation. Clearing a path for other bacterial or viral infections to dig in and gain a foot hold. Truly frightening stuff. But I digress. On the other hand events made a come back in 2022, and companies as a whole increased their marketing spend, investing in packaging, branding and all manner of things. So on the work front it was clearly a better year than 2020 & 2021. I’ll have to see if it was one for the history books, but it was certainly better than the last two years that is for sure. Freelancing during COVID-19 was, is, a difficult tightrope to tread.

I managed to write a whole second book of interconnected short stories. I made even more wood working projects than ever before. Including a few small furniture pieces. I was rather proud of myself for those items. Mostly small end tables. My dream of a live edge coffee table will have to wait as my slabs had suffered some catastrophic failures requiring an all new plan to utilize the most wood I could. Turned out ok, I think.

I was able to sculpt seven items, with an eighth started but nowhere near completed. I also painted six of my sculpts, and got some much needed practice with my old airbrush unit. I painted some board game pieces, my sculpts, and a model kit.

So I’d like to maintain the momentum if I can into the new year. Also this year (2022), while clearing off old lingering projects I did the panel lining, and decal work on my 1/100 ZZ Gundam model from 2019/2020. And a blank VF-1 Macross Gerwalk model kit that I had built and then left unfinished for more than a year. I was aiming towards starting my G-Systems Best mech resin model, but I have opted to try one more model kit build up before I get into the really pricey resin model. I want a chance to improve on steps I mucked up prior to trying the highest quality item I have. Cautious optimism! And a revised plan of attack. I am writing out my steps to approach the new model once it shows up next week. That way I can be meticulous, and know that I’m not skipping over, or forgoing anything vital for the sake of speed. A good plan, I think.

I didn’t do as much home DIY this year, as 2021 was the year for that. That was the first year both kids were in school, and I took the opportunity to work unencumbered! It was a blessing, as those Covid rules kept the kids home for spits and spurts all school year long. Glad I used my time wisely in the beginning, because all that isolation, and restricted movement played havoc with my plans. This year, it was more cleaning, and building furniture for around the house. Lots of storage items for kids toys.

I don’t think I built any miniature war gaming terrain this year. But I did buy a bunch of D&D miniatures from Kickstarter. Going to be a long while before I see those delivered. And even longer before I get them painted for a game!

I’m rambling now. All the best for New year’s eve! Enjoy the new year! Ciao Bella!

Screamed the young woman from the bottom of the decrepit stair case. Her clipped words echoing down the long bare central hall of the rustic Victorian townhouse. The peeling wall paper doing little against the spoiled plaster walls to limit the ear splitting echo. “And what good would that have done, you silly shit!” Comes the shrill answer from the attic. Followed immediately by a rattling coughing fit, and the shaking of the patinaed light fixtures, causing dust mites to tumble from the gaps in the busted ceiling. “You never take my advice! You ask me thousands of questions, and ignore all of my suggestions! I hate you, you old fucking cow!” Booms the young woman, pausing her pacing at the foot of the stairs just long enough to tear a piece of thumbnail from her teeth. “That’s the spirit, you little shit! Fight for your suggestions then. Win me over in our dinner time debates if you think they are so much better than what I’ve written.” The disembodied voice replies, a little less shrill, and with just a hint of a laugh. “Oh sod you then. See if I have any answers for your thousands of questions on the next one!” Replies the now motionless youth, gathering herself and her voluminous skirts. “Oh my deary. You say that now! But what of my next manuscript? Can you truly contain yourself when the opportunity for input arises?” Barks the raspy voice from the attic, with a choked laugh.

The sounds of a type writer tick, tick, ticking once again fills the somber air of the run down Victorian townhouse. Rain pelts the cheap leaden windows. Water pools along the mouldy baseboards. A lone candle flickers as the youth rushes past it with her skirts all a skitter. “Bitch”. She mutters to herself, as she moves along the hall towards the kitchen. Dust trails her foot steps on the roughly worn carpets. A knock at the front door goes unnoticed.

The air is thick and scented in the downstairs foyer, with oil lamp soot. The candle flames in the lower levels sconces leave trails of soot up the walls. The burned edges of the old wall paper curl and writhe in the air. From the attic a steady thrum of the typewriter can be heard. From the front door a louder and more insistent knock persists. The clanging of pans in the kitchen just about drowns everything out. Atleast until the clanging, and tick, tick, ticking is interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.

With imminent and sustained rain on the forecast too. I hope it goes well for the eldest one. Has had their mind on snowboarding lessons since the one, and only one they had last year. Six full hours of on the hill private lessons, a lunch break and some tubing for the day. I expect an exhausted, and soaked child to collect at the end of the day. With Day Two on Monday. Let us hope the rain fall is far less than expected, and that the snow makers can keep up with the temperature fluctuations. Luckily the hills are not that far from us, so I don’t think I need to sit there for all six hours of the lesson. I hope.

Otherwise today is Friday December 30th, and the days on the calendar are running out if you need to complete a project in 2022. I have a few new 3d renders to do later today, or tomorrow depending on how the travel to and from the ski hill goes. Let us all join hands and pray! For safe passage and a healthful informative day on the slopes with no major accidents or mishaps. Amen! And also with you.

What the hell is going on. It was only just Tuesday for about 30 seconds. Man, all this snow, and shoveling has got me discombobulated. My back is aching, and my arms & chest are sore. I’m good for snowfall for the whole rest of this winter. Come January third you can take it all away. That, or I need to shake it loose and buy a second hand snowblower of my own. A push button start with hand warmers, and which operates by itself, and is really quiet too. Just a few items on the wish list. But in reality, I’d be happy if it starts and stops when requested, and can chew through harder snow deposits from the road ploughs. That last third of the driveway would save me at least an hour with a snowblower after the town has come by to salt & plough after a storm.

Not sure what is on the docket today. Likely more snow clearing, and shoveling. Gah! I hate this part of winter. I detest it with a raging hot passion.

Getting all the way out into the woods in the heavy deep snow only to realize you do not have the required tools at hand should things not go immediately to plan. Did the snowblower start on the first pull? No. No it did not. Did we have the correct sized scrench to pull the spark plug to see if that was working. Also no. Did the primer bulb flood the engine? Possibly. Did the motor not turn over at all, without a single cough, rumble or hint of a start. Also yes, by way of no. No hint it even runs at all. Did the snowmobile battery have long enough leads to be changed over and start up? No. That required us to find, strip, and cut copper wiring by hand, or with a screw driver and a bit of a blade to perform some much needed mechanical surgery to give the battery leads the additional inch it needed to reach the battery terminal. Fun times. Fumes, gasoline, the cold, and thigh high snow to shovel through to uncover the shop & bay doors. Not our finest moments. Have already spent several hours shoveling deep snow out here. And most likely will spend even more hours doing so later on aswell. It’s inescapable at this point. Lessons learned. A sore back earned for my troubles. C’est la vie!