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Tag: death

Home Alone – watching movies, reading, and working.

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Not necessarily in that order, but while the girls are all away for a bit this week, I tackled some minor cleaning, and watched some pretty violent movies at a reasonable hour. John Wick 4 was yesterday evenings attraction. Not a bad entry in the pantheon on Gun-Fu flicks. I liked it better than number three. But the first one is still the best. Sad to know now how the actor whom played The Concierge is actually dead, so no Continental Hotel of New York spinoff money for that guy. Too bad. Incredibly bad timing. But maybe they centre that set of stories around Winston The Manager now instead. Not sure how they’d do that. Writers strike will have to put a pin in it for now anyway.

I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World again on Monday night. Not really appropriate for the kids either, but less violent, sort of. No guns, but swords and fighting play a big role. So best to wait a few more years before I share that movie with either of them. I saw GOTG Vol 3 on my phone the day it came to digital, so I don’t need to rush to watch the Bluray. I’d like to share it with my wife, she sort of liked the first two anyway. Though, now we have this massively bloated roster of tv shows, specials, and other films in the universe that you have to have some (minor) understanding of, to enjoy the transition between movies 1 & 2, and the huge gap prior to movie 3. It certainly doesn’t play as an interlinked trilogy. Which spoils the overall flow just a little bit. Little bit. Little bit, you know? It feels as though someone cut out three hours of exposition between 2 & 3. Which they did. They smeared it over a bunch of other ‘content’, in hopes you’d watch that other stuff too, in order to get the whole picture. This film needed a prologue where they just straight up give you all that stuff up front. Would make it feel a whole lot more in line with movies 1 & 2 if they did. A Re-rerelease but with that upgrade would be beneficial. Oh well.

So here we are, Wednesday. Clean sheets, showered, house tidied up, and the rain outside is still falling. I have some projects to attend to, but otherwise a chill day is in store. The family is set to return today, in preparation for appointments tomorrow, and a child’s birthday party on the weekend. The house will come alive with noise once more! As much as I enjoy peace & quiet, I do miss the minions when they aren’t here with me. But I had loads to do, and I wasn’t much fun, so better to be with the rest of the family at the cottage to play with cousins, grand parents, aunts & uncles while I was working. Still missed them all terribly though.

So now we are down to the last 10 or 11 days of summer break 2023. Amazing how quickly nine weeks can pass you by. This summer will remain one to remember, not just for the tragedy, but for some other more pleasant memories. First time ever taking the kids to Wonderland! That was pretty awesome. Movies, parks, parties, pig farm, and sadly a funeral. Fireworks, shooting stars, fishing, paddle boarding, wake boarding, tubing, the fun seemingly never ends! The Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree! Finding a new route home! New roads, and books, and things to do & see. A very busy summer. Split by tragedy, right in the middle. Followed by the mad dash to fundraise, and then multiple funerals across southern Ontario. Sadly, at this point I think that will only start to happen more often, as we get closer to fifty years of age.

We are none of us left untouched by tragedy for long. May the long cold fingers of death not touch you until you are ready.

Second wood working job of 2023.

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I have been asked to build a Wooden Urn in three pieces. A base, a nested low profile tray, and a highly polished outer cover, that shows off some of the base. The base will have rubber feet. The tray will be lined in felt. The whole outer shell polished to a high sheen, and clear coated. It’s for an extended family member. At least they get to choose the specifications and fit n’ finish. Perhaps have it in their ownership for a while before they need to use it. I’m hoping this isn’t a race against the clock type of thing. There may be a question of stains, and wood type, but I think Spalted Maple or Ash would be classic looking, and stain nicely. Plus I have lots of it, and won’t need to charge through the nose for acquiring it either.

Some decisions to make before I begin: use the wood I have on hand (Spalted Maple or Ash) or purchase a darker hard wood (added cost) what colour felt to line the low profile tray: Burgundy, Yellow, Blue or Green. Any possible stain colour for the base portion, unless we go bare wood and a clear coat finish. Any additional details to include or forgo.

Some brief time spent doing research has led me to build something along the lines of the below. Classy without being obnoxious or ostentatious.

The three portions of the build. Outer cover, urn and low profile tray.
Where I realize the base is meant to show, and I need to order rubber feet.

The first project, is a moose fence topper I’m making for my mum. I have it all cut out, but I need to sand & paint it. Then ship it out to Campbell River in pieces. I’ve been really busy as of late with my day job, and the winter temperatures makes working in the shop less than ideal, but the Urn is a big deal, so I may just brave it. Plus we are getting ever closer to the February thaw, and I would like to spend some time in the shop again. Not certain what this will do to my VF-1 Valkyrie time line, but that can wait. This is a matter of death after all.

When Covid comes to town, round seven.

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Earlier this week we learned that my wife’s great grandmother, who is 94 years old, has Covid for the first time in the nearly three years it’s been around. Not only that but at least one farm hand in his seventies has it too. We suspect the second farm hand, also in his seventies has it as well, but is such a heavy smoker with heart issues and a permanent cough/wheeze , that he just hasn’t noticed it yet. How could he, inbetween smokes all he does is cough and wheeze and shake like a leaf in the wind. He’d never know anything was wrong until he woke up dead one morning. He’d shrug and say “Could have been anything?” And float off on his merry way, oblivious to actually being dead. What a guy! But in all seriousness we are concerned for the 94 year old former nurse who grew up with a pet bear, and worked in a mining town for ages before getting married and going to med school. Lots of interesting stories wrapped up in that one believe you me.

Years ago, before I got married, I used to cut grass on the side of my full time job, and one of my clients was in Locust Hill. A brash and harsh old lady, I was told by everyone who knew her. A widower, her former husband had struck it rich by being the guy who built a machine, or series of which, that could consistently dye wool in any colour you like. Their house was huge, set back on an acre or so of lawn, with massive old growth trees. A shed full of relics, and a house stuffed to the tits with art and sculpture. When i met Barb, she was the cold and scathing witch i had been warned of, but as i kept coming back week after week, she started to open the door to chat, then poke a head out of a window, then settle on the porch, and after a month or two she’d invite me in for a meal and we’d talk at length about medicine (i have Crohn’s disease after all) so i don’t shy away from over sharing, or gruesome details. Anyway, in Barb’s youth she worked as a nurse in the sexual reassignment wing of a Toronto Hospital. Went in to great lengths and detail on how they could turn a penis into a vagina, and collect the meaty parts of a vagina and reconstruct a working penis. It was all very interesting and shocking. This was stuff they were doing in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and into the 90’s after all. I don’t recall when she retired, or under what circumstances, but she was a hoot, a real riot. Couldn’t cook for shit, but was generous with what she made me, and as a side note she didn’t know how her kids would survive after both of them attended Harvard and now ONLY earn $700k a year as of 2006. Ha. I fucking wish to be a $700k pauper. Her husband was a good looking dude. I saw many black and white photos of him in Jeans riding a motorcycle like a stud. Classic striped down low riding bike too. Old style seat with the coiled springs at the back two corners.

Barb died a while back, and I didn’t attend the funeral. I felt bad about that, but I spent a long time thinking about her that weekend. Had a drink in her honour as well, as I recall.

Really makes me sad that neither of my grandpas are around anymore. I really could have picked their brains on my furniture building projects. They both worked making furniture as a skilled profession for decades in Britain. I remember our house used to be stuffed with things they had made. Chairs and tables alike. Shame I can’t get access to all that experience now that I enjoy doing it myself. Details lost to the wind, like the sands of time passing between our finger tips. Books and YouTube will have to suffice for the moment.