With Thoughts Like These – Page 14 – Greatwall Studios Graphic Design

Lots of running around today…

November 15, 2022November 15, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Doing odd jobs and picking up things for the house. For instance, I always cheap out and get plastic snow shovels which usually break on me part way into the season. So today I laid out some cash for a proper metal one. We needed more matches for candles and such, so picked those up from the store. I bought eye hooks for hanging toy hammocks in the kids rooms to get all those stuffies off the bed/floor. I bought more baby wipes, as they come in handy for more than cleaning dirty baby bums. I grabbed a proper light up wreath for the front door, which the kids will flip their shit for. And for myself I grabbed an extra 300 lights for our Christmas tree, because the white and blue motif we’ve used for going on 13 years is a bit cold and drab. These kids are vibrant, and deserve a little colour. Let me tell you, if our house wasn’t so cluttered with kids stuff, I’d have light up garlands every where, and I’d hang streamers, and put up a whole lot more festive stuff. But that’s too much while all of the kids things are still everywhere. I imagine that once they get into double digit ages, we can pass much of the toy clutter on to younger families, and we’ll still have enough clothes to dress a football team four times over. Once the kid stuff begins to recede I will reclaim the dining room table, and build a nice candle centric display in a glass bowl with left over holiday ornaments and such. A fancy table runner. Oh… it will be very nice in here! Ho ho ho…

So I added the new decorations in to our current line-up, and then powered up the trusty old stud finder to assemble the toy hammocks, and then I will need to fill out the flu shot forms for the three of us going after school today for even more jabs. Such fun! Better than a raggedy ass hospital visit at this point.

I was also paying my bills, as a few invoices have come in, and I can get flush with the mechanic, and the medical stuff I bought for my youngest. A new humidifier and a large Hepa filter set me back nearly $400.00 bucks, but the kid is on the mend (fingers crossed) for more than just a week or two before the next illness comes around. There were some Kickstarter items I backed, and promptly forgot about, so that was a couple more bucks to make up for. I had bought a lot of airbrush paint, thinners, washes, and cleaners last month, so the Amazon bill came home to roost. Plus our Great Wolf Lodge trip had some bills attached to it with Falls Parking, dinner on the town, the Sky wheel ride, and a stop at the arcade & on site store at GWL. It all adds up. Plus gas for both vehicles, and groceries, & oil changes. Bad month. Not a good look. But I don’t have to buy that stuff again, so investments in the house are a good thing. Investments in general health & well being is great too. We don’t vacation much at all (Covid times or otherwise). So I splurged, and now I had to come to terms with that. Bought and now paid for. Next!

It also seems like a lot, on the old Visa bill, because I stopped using my debit card, and now I track ALL purchases on the one card, and pay it off every single month. More secure too. That new tap feature can make you pretty reckless though, holy shit. Tap, tap, tap. I suppose they designed it that way to get you to be more free with the wave of a hand.

It’s funny, I was going to do a couple of movie reviews today for Top Gun Maverick, and Jurassic World Dominion. But I’ll save that for another say. I just had something else to say today. Mainly because I was excited about the new lights for the tree and a proper wreath for the door! I’m positively giddy. That’s all she wrote today though. Ciao Bella!

When the kids are spoiling for a fight…

November 13, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Oh my god, these kids are driving me nuts! All they want to do is follow each other around and start shit – constantly. Shouting & fighting for what appears to be no reason. Ugh! I’m sick of this, so very, very sick of this. The name calling, the breaking stuff, the little puppy dog following routine just to start throwing punches, scratches, or a bite. No wonder people way back when used to beat the shit out of their kids. Time outs, and being sent to their rooms has only worked for so long. In the words of the Simpsons, I have a “hanker’in for a spanker’in“. But that doesn’t really work either. Just makes everyone hate each other. Can’t lock’em in a closet to keep them apart either. Truly very frustrating.

I have high hopes still, that the two will like each other as they grow up into their teen years and beyond. A man can dream can’t he? Maybe it’s just a multi year long phase? Are they just bored? Upset by all of the impending cold weather? Out of sorts because Christmas looms so ominously large on the horizon. I wonder if the youngest is upset due to all of the birthday talk for the eldest’s birthday party that is coming up before Christmas. Could be a multitude of things given how complicated children are. Sometimes I have to just shake my head and walk away. Take a minute to decompress while they work in tandem to press all of my buttons at once like only your family can.

Now look, we’re all cuddled up on the couch watching Mike the Knight as they share a snack. So who knows what the hell is going on. Doesn’t make those tense moments any better. But I far prefer the quiet times over the tumultuous ones.

Gah! Kids. So much hard work. A real labour of love to keep all of our heads on straight. Kudos to all of you out there raising little ones. It’s a daily struggle.

Family in the military.

November 12, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Yesterday was the Remembrance Day/Veterans Day combo in North America. We are not immune to combat, and having a guardianship role for our countries. My tiny old Grampy D was in WWII, of which he spoke very little, other than to barely whisper that he lost a lot of friends to the war. My eldest brother saw action over seas, and my other brother was in the Army doing reconnaissance in a six or eight wheeled beast with a communications tower attached to it. I myself tried twice to join the Canadian Armed Forces as a MARS Officer, but I was diagnosed with Crohn’s and was told thanks, but no thanks, even after passing my physical tests, medical reviews, and a host of interviews & aptitude tests. For the best, given how prone to motion sickness I am now as I have gotten older. Those rolling waves of the east/west coast would have thrown me for a loop, of that I’m certain. A blessing in disguise. Not for lack of trying to get in though.

Eldest brother who went overseas for action.

Grampy D, who lived through WWII.

I don’t have active service images of my other brother. Or while dressed in uniform or regalia, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

For those young, and old. Those who returned, and to those who did not. Thank you for your service. Without your efforts and sacrifice our lives would be completely different. Stay safe out there. Ciao Bella!

Playing The Dangerous Game of “Just Five More Minutes”…

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Only to awaken in a panic to find that you have in fact only slept in for five more minutes, and not the dreaded thirty plus. After several hours of sleep, those five minutes feel as though they should really help, but for me, they don’t. It just prolongs that heavy brain fog fugue state I get first thing in the morning. At least until I’m up and have peed, and walked about for a few moments. Not a fan of the late night urgency to pee that seems to be creeping up on me. I can have pretty restless sleep to begin with, so having to get up once, if not twice is even more exhausting. Zero stars, do not reccomend. The sheets and mattress thank me, but my body says, “sleep through the night more often you dumb lug“. The joys of aging I suppose.

Now that we’ve got kids, the ability to just lie in and totally whiff on the wake up call has mostly vanished. Which is for the best. No amount of sleep, at any point in the day, seems to leave me feeling refreshed. At all. I know I snore, so I wonder if there is some other sleep issue I have, or if the constant fatigue is just Crohn’s related. Could very well be. Oh well. I try not to read in bed at night anymore, or use my phone in bed, so that I can just go to sleep, and not think about those kinds of distractions. Helped at first, but the benefits seem to be waning, or have plateaued. Hard to tell the difference there. We all seem to acclimate to better circumstances really easily, and then get upset with the new, slightly better, but now baseline circumstances we are in. I don’t feel as though it is bad enough to warrant a clinical visit or trial at a sleep clinic. So there is that.

The kids have an assembly today, and my oldest has a speaking part in it. Looking forward to how it all turns out. We spent some time going over the lines earlier this week, and it was down pat. So the kid will do great, I’m sure of it! I may be only one of a few in a mask, but from the whispers I hear, looks as though masking will make a come back (at least in schools) come early next week, possibly to be announced on Monday. My family has been masking inside the whole time, so no change there. But it’ll be helpful all around, given the number of absences I saw this morning at drop off, for more families to follow suit – again. We all know it works, but won’t do so unless they absolutely have too. Weird flex, but ok. I’m on board with it for as long as it takes.

Today is Friday, November 11th, 2022. This month is starting to pick up speed! Vroom vroom mutha fuqars! Take care out there! Ciao Bella!

The “TIME” change.

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

I was going to avoid writing about this but given how tired I am all ready because of it, I figured that meant it was fair game. The kids you see, they don’t respect the time change, so they get up at the old seven am, but still want to stay up until the new 8:00pm, which usually means closer to nine, after teeth brushing, hair brushing, repeat bathroom trips, stories and cuddles etc… which means I’m now very tired as a matter of course. (Chronic Fatigue sufferer). So while it isn’t a major shift, like timezones across the country, it is enough to put me off my game, so that I want to crash around 2:00pm every day. I will eventually get over it, obviously. Just one more hassle to come to terms with. Ugh.

On the up side I do not commute, so I’m not dragging ass about town behind the wheel of a vehicle for extended periods of time. 5 mins to school, then back, then bam! I can eat some breakfast and then start my work day.

Except today, car trouble. Could be a baring, a brake caliper, or the rotor again. Who knows. I’m sure it’ll cost us a good sum to have it looked after this week though. Puts us down to one vehicle, and multiple extra curriculars tonight too. Going to be a fascinating game of hot potato with the kids to get us all where we need to be. Or call it a night and forget both. I don’t see that going over well, when both kids seem to really enjoy their separate things. Other people do it constantly, we just need to get creative. May involve a fair chunk of sitting and waiting for stuff to start/finish, but it could be worse – right? Exactly. We did it with swimming lessons, and we can do it this evening, just this one time.

I’ll grab our wagon out of the shed, and we’ll walk home from school for a change. Or I’ll carry the backpacks in the wagon as the kids take turns helping to push/pull it home. Could be in for a long day. Again – glad I don’t commute. The car mess would have been so unhelpful.

We definitely started the frosty car window morning routine this week. Two days in a row with it being scraped clean. Will have to start using the auto start feature to clear the windows in another couple of weeks. That, and adding boots, snow pants, heavy coats, scarves, hats & mitts in the mix will mean we need to start getting ready even earlier. So much fun to look forward to over the next five months or so. A solid 26 weeks of icy cold bleak grey weather. But no major snakes, or nasty spiders here. It’s the price we pay to keep vermin like that away from our lives. Just have to keep reminding ourselves of that, and we’ll all make it through the late days of autumn and then all of winter too.

Holding on to useful, old things.

November 7, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

I’ve had the exact same beach towel since I was a little kid. I was given it on a trip to florida one year (though this part is kind of foggy), and I have held on to it for three plus decades or more. It went to junior high as a gym towel, and then high school and my OAC year in the same capacity. It still retains the rusted hook stain on one broad side from hanging in my lockers. The edges are fraying, and the colours aren’t quite what they used to be, but once it is no longer a viable beach towel, it can become a shop rag, and finish out it’s days wiping down oily hands, or buffing off finish from a piece of furniture. Not certain of why I’m so attached to it, other than it has been a part of my life for thirty odd years (roughly). After all the moves, and changes to direction of my life it has been there to add one small sense of continuity and stability. I’ll be sad to see it go when it finally gives up the Ghost. At this point the fabric weave owes me nothing. Thanks for hanging around Sail Boat Beach Towel (SBBT).

Last year my wife purchased the family all new giant beach towels, and somehow they have less absorbency power than a single damp napkin. Not sure how they managed to manufacture fabric that won’t soak up water, and yet still fails to help wipe it off your body. The mechanics of such a tool are beyond me. The colours are vivid, the fabric is soft, and yhe overall size of the towel is huge, so you’d think it would be a slam dunk. But you would be wrong. Damn wrong. So very, very wrong.

Today would be another installment of Domestic Duties Monday, but due to the strike both kids are home, and since teachers haven’t gone synchronous on-line yet, my wife is home too. Will we go stir crazy, or will the afflicted parties negotiate sooner rather than later.

Breaking long held rules…

November 6, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Broke down after years of holding the line, and let the kids put up our Christmas tree before Remeberance Day. I figure with the looming CUPE strike, and then the possible teacher strike this holiday season could go sideways pretty quickly, so why not let them have it just this once. It took us a while to do it, and we listened to Michael Buble croon some holiday songs in the back ground, and a few of us have settled in to watch “Elf” with the tree lit up. I generally feel pretty strongly that we should give the Vets their due by waiting to observe Nov 11th prior to starting in on the holiday season. But we’ve had such unseasonably warm weather these last few weeks, so I put up the lights in warm sunshine, instead of freezing rain & high winds. And given that the kids are off school 2 days minimum (Friday & Monday) with the CUPE strike action, the thought of them being home 24/7 whining and asking me constantly to put up the tree was going to get on my nerves, so I nipped that in the bud, and we have it up for two months, instead of six weeks. Ha. The big red Christmas bow is on the front door, and there are a few other items still left to go, but that can wait. The tree was the big ticket item. And with the time change the kids were up ‘early’ jumping in place to get started.

Funnily enough we went to a big indoor park yesterday, full of trampolines, foam fits, dodgeball court and climbing equipment. And within 30bseconds of getting out into the park my eldest hurt her foot by landing half on a trampoline, and half on a line green padded surface. The very first thing the safety video tells you precisely not to do. So today she is limping a bit. No bruise, no swelling, no numb toes, but a limp and some tenderness. I could have called that happening to one or both of my kids. I just knew it. Glad it doesn’t seem to be permanent damage. Could have been much, much worse. Glad it wasn’t a neck, head or spinal injury. Not with how hospitals are as of late. The birthday party we attended was otherwise a good deal of fun. Both kids tried the leap of faith onto an air bag, and tried the trapeze over a foam pit. So I think they had fun regardless of the initial foot injury.

So a lovely four day weekend, unexpected, but nice nonetheless. I have one more bout with the leaves left to go, and then we can think about putting up the second half of the Christmas lights, ornaments and displays on the lawn, trees. Who knows how long any of this will last. So best to take advantage of the dryness and warmth to get those pesky chores out of the way before the weather eventually turns, and we get that icy rain and snow. Ciao Bella!

A stroll down a musical memory lane…

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

Turns out I can remember a great deal of silly lyrics even after a few decades of changing musical tastes. I saw that the movie “Weird” is out on Roku now, and went to my CD collection to listen to a bunch of my old Weird Al Yankovic albums. And instantly I was in my early to mid teens listening and singing along to Al’s hits on an endless loop. Though I don’t recall the song names & titles, once he starts to croon the words come falling out of my memory and spill from my mouth. I wouldn’t have scored a 100 on any karaoke leader boards, but the majority of it came back, unbidden, and in larger and longer stretches. With head phones on, I bet I’ve listened to the handful of Al albums I had several hundred times. Bits like “One more minute with you“, or “You don’t love me anymore” just exploded out of me full force. I loved those tunes. Along with “Slime creatures from outer space“, and “Like a Surgeon“. There are so many that I kept on a loop for ages. I don’t remember why I stopped listening to it. Great stuff. Although now that I say that, I picked up the guitar at 15/16 years old and turned to Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Joe Satriani for musical fulfillment. So the parodies, while exceptional, fell out of favour. Then along came the likes of Wolfmother and The Blue Stones, and I just didn’t go back. I did like “Amish Paradise”, “White and Nerdy”, “Tacky”, and a few other more current tunes, but it didn’t linger like it did way back when. I also didn’t have access to the depth and breath of music I have now with iTunes, Vinyl, cassette tapes, cd’s and YouTube deep dives.

Pretty amazing what both smells and music can do for your memory. The first hint of cool air after a rain, makes me think of England, or my walk to school in Scarborough. Certain Status Quo songs make me think of falling asleep under tables or chairs late at night, when my parents held their raging house parties on Baronial Court. I still recall the odd scratchy softness of that mustard-yellow brownish semi-shag carpet in the dining room/living room. The split mirrors running vertically up one wall showing sweaty people dancing, drinks in hand. Or hangovers the next day with Dire Straits playing on the family stereo. Ah, memories. Could be faulty, could be my imagination at this point. Who knows!

We’re off to dig up potatoes. Or the others are, and I’m taking the car to get an oil change. So I best eat something, and go get the vehicle sorted out. Have a birthday party to take the kids to, so I’m on a schedule today! Take care out there. Ciao Bella!

One of the many problems with chronic illness is…

November 4, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

I have a tough time figuring out if I’m sick with something new, or if it’s a flare up of the same old, same old. Fatigue, upset stomach, head aches, nausea are all pretty standard fare around these parts, so anything new has to operate outside those bounds. I need to see a Fever, or rash, boils, or something visible to know right off the bat that I’ve picked up something new. And that isn’t the case. A rogue cough might make me sit up, but if I don’t immediately have a runny nose, or an audible wheeze it could just be a rando cough from dust or air quality. That’s no gimme. It frustrates me to no end. Rotten guts? It’s just a Tuesday. Fatigue? Well I did run up and down a ladder earlier today for 90 minutes, so could just be physically tired. Feeling cold? It’s a damp November morning. Head ache? I work on a screen for hours at a time, no surprises there. Like I said, frustrating.

But it could always be worse, so I thank my lucky stars I have symptoms that I know how to live with and work around. The malabsorption issue is tougher, as that affects teeth & bones, but that’s why I take the vitamins and such. Not much else to do there. Live & learn.

So it’s friday, the first Friday in November, and the EA (CUPE) strike has the kids at home for… the day at least, possibly a few week(s)??? Maybe? Who knows. If all of the unions band together it could work to calm the waters by showing unity, and a united front. I don’t know, I’m not a negotiator for anyone, and I have no inside information from our provincial PC government. Instead it could fan the flames and make both sides dig in their heels. You never know with some people. Especially those whose whole MO, is the shit on the little people, under spending to purposefully ruin programs, and settle into needless road building to appease the very wealthy construction donors. Screwing the little guy is what gets them hard. Or so it would seem, from where we sit.

Kids want to erect the Christmas tree this weekend. So now we need to figure out which furniture we’ll move around in the living room or dining room to make room for our seven foot tall tree. Has to be close to a wall outlet so it can be turned on/off easily, but not block too much of the room. If I get rid of some of the really young kids toys, I can push the couch back, and put it infront of the storage unit (newly built by me!) And have it roughly where it usually is. But that will restrict the kids ability to play there, and will effectively block off access to the toy box behind the couch. First world problems, that aren’t really problems.

Love what you’re doing, but I have a few notes…

November 2, 2022November 2, 2022greatwallstudiosLeave a Comment

In regards to your performance recently… in that it sucks. When you work, it’s all great, but then you break down, clog, jam, hell we even lost an integral part of you recently in the u bend of a drain (more on that later). So yes, as a no name air brush, you do what it says on the tin, in brief spurts, and do fine work, but ultimately you are a major failing and we don’t want to work with you after you finish all seven parts of this major project. Oh ok? Hmm. Yes, no you can not leave early. We’re under staffed, and you’re the only equipment we have on hand. Budget constraints and all that jazz. Please and thank you. I’ll dock this meeting from your time sheet today. Bye-bye. But don’t leave. You’re not fired – yet. You are fired, but not until all seven items are finished ok? We clear? Great. Uh-huh. Toodles.

So yeah, the no name cheap air brush is solid when it works, but needs to be torn down and cleaned to the Nth degree after every single solitary brief use. The air brush cleaner, and hot water treatment don’t seem to cut it. And all I’m working on right now is priming stuff black. Haven’t done a zenithal high light on anything yet, nor have I laid on any actual colour. So maybe in the new year I will break down and purchase a higher quality air brush.

On the other hand, the caddy works great. The Vallejo ready out the bottle paint primer is fantastic. The iawata air brush cleaner feels like it should work. Smells nice. And my make shift card board box over spray protection booth, while lacklustre is perfectly fine. Can be set up in seconds, and torn down to store under my drafting table just as quickly. I do want to build a better one, but I need to know what I really, desperately need out of it first. Do I need extraction, filters, lights, a turn table or flat static bottom. Do I want to be able to tear it down, or is it a new permanent fixture in my office/studio from here on out. Do I need to build it to fit inside a closet? Or store it under a work table. I don’t know. I do know that eventually a box of more than 100 miniatures will come my way in mid 2023, and I want to hit the ground running when those finally arrive from a kickstarter I backed a while ago. I should have done the Reaper Bones kickstarter, but I opted for a less expensive one, and it might take me for the $100 bucks. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it now.

In other news, the U bend I busted yesterday has been fixed. I went to Schell Lumber and bought a suitable replacement. I put that back in place, and tested the taps. No leaks – as of yet. It threaded properly, and fit the current existing piping. So a win! Yeah. Also I stopped off for groceries and bought a present for the birthday party this weekend, so that’s taken care of too. Came in and worked on some sample labels, and sent them off too. Had a request for some French Language items and got that put together, and am waiting on any additional instructions. So Bully for me. Ciao Bella!

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