Stouffville, Ontario Canada (647) 962-1997 gwstudios@rogers.com M-F 8:30am - 2:30pm & 8:00pm - 11:00pm

Tag: Dad Life

Just gonna squeak one in here on ya, if’n you don’t mind.

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Had a brain wave the other day about building a walnut side table that was hollow, but could accept the floating bottom walnut drawer I had made a few months ago. Make it tall, on thin Hickory legs, do a thicker walnut skirt, and try a tapered edge on the legs. Round it all over, and then see how close i got to my plans. I’ll draw it out first, and then see if i was actually able to pull it off. That should give me a sense of where i am making my mistakes. I also need to finish by June 30th, before 11:00am, as that’s when schools out for the summer. Pushing against a dead line, and following a plan. Could be fun. But i have a report coming late this week, so that’ll cut into my time significantly. Chop chop, quite literally.

So I have cut up four Hickory legs, the last substantial portion of my slabs. I milled and cut up some rough walnut, and have glued up a single four foot long panel, which will be chopped down into my hollow top. I cut two inch strips for skirting too. I need to figure out a jig for careful, and repeatable tapered legs. Dado out my leg slots to hold the skirting on. I’ll keep the legs poking up above it, to tenon into the hollow top. Then it’ll be round overs on round overs, and sanding until my hands go numb. A quick and easy project.

Walnut skirting and the as of yet un tapered Hickory legs. Followed by a four foot long walnut panel glue up. Didn’t skimp on the clamps this time around.

Here’s how my other table build turned out. Doesn’t look too out of place in the basement. Good height for the sofa that’s there anyway.

The Ninja Turtle is progressing. I like the Apoxie Sculpt, a tad sticky though. But fast to work with. I may still end up detailing it out with Super Sculpey, but for now I’m enjoying the process with Apoxie Sculpt. This could potentially sit for months if need be before I come back to it. I’ll focus primarily on the furniture build, as that can warp, buckle and twist if I don’t build it sooner rather than later. Learned that lesson the hard way with my screen door.

Today is domestic duties Monday, so I need to get the second load of laundry in, run the dish washer, vacuum and tidy up a bit today. I’ll need to sort and hang the laundry too. I hear the temperature is on the rise through this week. Going to feel like 40 °C for several days in a row. Yikes. Also need to get rolling on my youngest child’s birthday party later this week. Busy – busy. Ciao Bella!

Hyperbole Testical Tuesday, BadMan!

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That’s a whole lotta gloom hanging in those clouds there mister. You sure you want to commit to an outdoor activity today? No. And thank you for asking Jimmy “The Shoe” Shitknuckles. I’d rather stay indoors and watch tv.

Getting a little quiet around here today. The threat of rain, and lower temperatures has taken the wind out of my sails, for starting anything outside. Again. Guess I’ll have to wait for May to finish edging the curb line, and washing the exterior windows, driveway, and cars. Take a gander at the railing I worked on the year prior to the pandemic, see if that needs any touch ups or spot fixes. Perhaps I’ll attempt to stabilize our gloppy front fence this year, since the larger shrubs are starting to press on it, and it wiggles in the wind. Not a good look. Floppy posts that catch the wind and flip flop all day long.

Went down the list of domestic duties yesterday, and gave the main floor a once over. So we are back to no clutter, but not exactly cleaned up 100%. I need to either throw away or find a better solution to all of our collected kinetic sand, playdough & plasticine, or learn to live with a cloudy gritty sheen on a bunch of surfaces all of the time. I don’t have the heart to toss it all, as my kids enjoy those things a great deal. But, good lord do I hate the mess they leave behind. Residues and grit, a waxy fog on every single wood surface. Ugh. It’s a bit of a nightmare.

Laundry was done and sorted, hung up. Dishwasher is on its endless 2hr cycle as we speak. I have a grocery delivery set for the next hour or so. I think I might clean the ceiling fans, and light fixtures because they collect so much dust. It is kinda gross. Eew. There are some more in depth deeper cleaning projects I can tackle, but I need to plan out the execution, or I’ll get dug in, make a mess and get overwhelmed, stop, and have an even bigger problem to contend with, than if I just leave it alone until I have my plan of attack.

We also desperately need to have a massive clear out of junk and broken toys, ruined & unfixable clothes. Fix, wash and store winter garb, change out the cubbies for spring summer, and get rid of hats/mitts/gloves that don’t fit or can’t be repaired cheaply at home, by me. The kids get attached to weird items, so I have to do it while they are gone, but I also need to fit check everything, so I don’t keep useless items, or toss anything worth keeping for another year. It also looks as though I have several hours of hand stitching snow pants if we are going to keep them all for next year too. In seams and crotches go on all our stuff. Not sure how, but that’s where the wear and tear is, besides the knees and cuffs.

Last week I cleaned out jet tub with an old tooth brush, and it finally came out sparkling clean. The toilet and sink get cleaned every 3 days, because… yikes. Too much spit toothpaste, and back spray. You know what. I’m gonna wash the kids bed sheets while I think about the rest of my day. Have a good one y’all.

What a weird weekend.

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Due to a sudden onset of a child’s stomach bug we had a three day weekend, but I keep thinking today is Sunday, and that yesterday was Saturday, but in actuality we’re only in the morning hours of Saturday March 5th, 2022. I’m all discombobulated because of it. Though it was nice to have everyone home yesterday to play card games, board games and watch a family movie together, it wasn’t how I had been planning to spend the day. I had been building up my rest day for a few weeks, ever since I get heavily into the weeds on my In-Store signage projects and then the fairly large marketing audit report on top of that. So the day didn’t turn out how I expected it to, but it was awfully fun anyway, in an entirely different way, which is nice. With the kiddos home, an idea of a peaceful day withers on the vine, as they can only go so long in close proximity before they squabble and fight, and fists start to fly, and bad names get called. I will say this, they actively tried to separate rather than go at it full tilt as per usual. I’m blessed, as it were. Thank your lord for small miracles.

Given that the weather is suppose to swing quite heavily throughout spring in Ontario this year, we will venture out today to try one last family outdoor skate session. Tomorrow it’ll be plus fifteen, so everything will dissolve into slush before our eyes, and who knows if the flat pad of ice will survive until the next precipitous temperature drop, which will happen the day or two after the uptick. This wild swing reminds me of how hard it is to dress kids in May, where it’s only slightly above zero at eight am, and then in the early to mid twenties by three o’clock, and the kids are melting in their morning suitable clothing. Layers, zippered, easy to remove and re-add, layers. Breathable textiles, and multiple layers to be shed as the temperature rises. Then try to remember how many layers you used, and counting the articles of clothing as they come home to make sure you have everything for the next day.

Can I tell you how much aggravation I endure due to having to keep track of every item of my kids possessions, and both their indoor & outdoor clothing. Toys, books, socks, hats, gloves, mitts, boots, shoes, water shoes, running shoes, indoor school shoes, fancy dress shoes, rain boots, winter boots, wellington for out in the farm field boots, all weather jackets, snow pants, long johns, face masks, helmets, dolls, doll clothes, favourite spoons & plates… the list is endless, and they move, discard, and then swap allegiance to their ‘favourite’ toy on a semi-daily basis. It could lead one to absolute madness. Try to keep that favourite pair of jammies washed, and ready for bed time. Where’s my sweater. No the other white fluffy, cloud face sweater!!! Wah-wah-wah! Ugh. Some days it can feel like altogether too much. But you know what, if they listened to me and put their sweaters in their rooms when they take them off, and throw the dirty clothes in the hamper, rather than bury it under a pile of toys, I can wash it, and you’d know where it was. So we didn’t have to have a five alarm tantrum when they can’t find the item they all of a sudden have based their entire personality on that day.

I’d also love it if my kids could describe a toy, or article of clothing like a regular human being who understands colours, shapes, sizes and how to describe actual things that occur in our reality. Telling me how the item makes you feel, doesn’t help me search through the laundry pile for the item. Describing a t-shirt as though it was a night gown also doesn’t help. These kids. I could go mental. Heavens above! But we trudge on through, and make things work as best we can.