Fixing The Fence.

Many years ago, when they built this fence, there must have been a tree in the way because they actually fabricated special fence components that incorporated it into the structure. The original tree is long gone and for the years we've lived here we had a small panel of lattice over the resulting hole. An old apple tree grew up in front and mostly hid the gap from view. When we removed the apple tree this year it revealed this eyesore.

We visited the local Home Depot and what luck. Someone had ordered and returned some "special order" fence sections which were then marked down from $125 to $50 per section.

I undid some of the screws and adjusted the horizontal bar to the height I needed and cut off the parts I didn't need.

I even found and replaced a weathered 2 x 6 on the deck steps to the pool, which would work as the fence top rail rather than using a bright new board.

Even though it's not a perfect match Wendy said she was thrilled by the fix as she had resigned herself to living with this unsightly mess forever. A few vines and some other greenery and no one will notice the difference.
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Happy Halloween!

"What are you looking at?"

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"Somebody voted in this sad excuse for a gov’t"

This was an email I received from a friend of mine. It contains a link to a web site outlining the incredible and horrifying state of wind turbines in the province of Ontario. It should be required reading for EVERY resident of this province. Read it and think about it before you vote Liberal.

An email from a friend:

Somebody voted in this sad excuse for a gov’t: 

http://www.windontario.ca/

Bill

My Reply:

Hi Bill

Ah, FREE, CLEAN ELECTRICITY!

Unbelievable stupidity from a government gone out of control. What industry can survive with the highest electricity bill in North America? Ontario, once the richest province, now is destined to complete failure unless we the public can take it back. How out of touch with reality is our government that has saddled us with this monster. A high electric bill is only the tip of the iceberg when every revenue producing company leaves. Who is left to pay for everything? Just you and I. Every resident of Ontario should have to read this:

http://www.windontario.ca/

Sincerely

Tim

Chasing "Wynne" Mills.

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Just Wondering...

I have never been particularly claustrophobic, probably no more than most other people. Fear of being trapped, brought about by simply being in a dark, confined space would seem to be a developed response that has evolved naturally. Animals likely develop this as a healthy fear to prevent themselves from being backed into a corner or entrapped in any number of difficult situations.

As an aging human animal, I find I am maybe more withdrawn, more cloistered, and less able to defend myself. Am I becoming more insecure in my old age? In the last year or so, I have occasionally awoke in the night and felt uneasy with the bedroom drapes pulled shut. Was it claustrophobia that caused me to get out of bed and open the curtains so I could see outside?

Inside cabins have no windows.

 Lately I have had a few rather terrifying dreams about being stuck in a narrow confine, unable to move. The feeling doesn't stay with me long or take any precedence in my daily life but I began to wonder if it would be unwise for me to book an inside cabin on a cruise ship. What if I found I could not tolerate being unable to open the curtains and see outside? I actually thought about this when we booked an outside cabin for our upcoming cruise. Hmmm.
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Line Up Your Ducts.

Wendy was concerned that our clothes dryer vent at our home in London could be a fire hazard due to the build up of lint in the duct work.  At our condo, our board members in their usual paranoia, have our dryer ducts vacuumed out by a service company every year at a cost of hundreds of dollars. It would be very interesting to see how much they actually get out of the 40 or so condo pipes each year. My guess is you could carry it all in a large Zip bag.

Today I want to tell you what you may already know or at least may have suspected.  It's been over fifteen years since we had our and metallic corrugated dryer vent installed. It met the code back then and I assume and it still does. Keep reading...

  I hooked up our Dyson vacuum cleaner to a swimming pool vacuum hose and and inserted in slowly, agitating in back and forth until it reached a pre-measured length to the back of the dryer.  In all those fifteen years and or so the total amount of lint that I sucked out of the vent line did not even amount to a full vacuum cleaner load.   Over the years most of the lint particles simple move along with the air and are expelled outside. I confirmed with a flashlight visual check that the line was clean. There was a little lint that came from the horizontal part of the line and as you might think hardly any in the vertical part.  Maybe 2 large hand-fulls of fluff. That's over 15 years!

A long time ago a reputable furnace man explained to me why most houses never need "duct cleaning" and I would suppose that the same is true for the dryer duct. He used a moving stream or brook in his illustration. Imagine a crystal clear stream running down a hillside. The water has been running this way for eternity. Only if you wade into the water and stir up the bottom does the sediment stir up and cloud the stream. In thousands of years nobody has had to clean the stream so why would you think the ducts in your home were any different. If they are not disturbed they will not distribute dirt.

The duct cleaning industry is huge and as long as gullible people believe them, these companies will thrive. If your dyer duct was metal and not cheap, combustible plastic as some were, you probably have nothing to worry about, but for peace of mind, spend 15 minutes, try using your vacuum cleaner as I did. Just be sure to visually check the line after to make sure you didn't dislodge the vent hose from the back of the dryer.

DANGER: If you have any sort of screen or grill work over your dryer outlet, it WILL catch lint. YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOUR LINT FILTERS AND SCREENS ARE NOT BLOCKED.
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My $1,000 Screw.

Implant titanium screw with pen to show size.

I was at the dentist's bright and early for my 8:30 am appointment. Today I received the first and most important part of my new tooth implant... the screw!

Wendy says this has got to be the most expensive screw I've ever paid for.

Of course this is only the first part of the procedure. There is the stitch removal next week, then in three months, after the screw has bonded with the bone, a new porcelain crown is attached with dental cement to the insert. The grand total cost will be over $3,000 for one tooth. You can read about Dental Implants CLICK HERE.

If you remember my blog post about tooth numbering, this implant will replace tooth #15 which the dentist removed last spring. Since it is one of my upper molars, I had trouble chewing on that side so I'm really looking forward to having a phoney tooth back in its place.
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My $20 Stone.

When I came out of the dentist's office I discovered my tire on the passenger side rear was nearly flat. It still seemed to have enough air for me to make it over to Jack's Central Auto, my car repair garage, so I took the chance and made the trip. Soapy water revealed the problem. The tire was leaking at what appeared to be the head of a nail. Upon removal we saw it was actually a small stone. That's a first for me!

The tar coated stone was likely picked up as I drove along Mullifarry Drive on my way back from Sarnia on Monday. I remember seeing a sign that advised of "tar and chips" on the road ahead. I guess it's time to replace my tires if they are thin enough for a stone (not even particularly sharp) to go right though and cause a flat. Jack put a plug in the hole and charged me a crisp new, plastic Canadian $20 bill. Expensive stone.
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Is The Opposite of Winterize - Summerize?

Let me summerize how I winterize, or is that summarize. I'm confused!

Today it is time to put the boat away. With few clouds, it's bright and somewhat warm when you stand in the full sun. We felt a little short changed this summer since the weather was so variable, swinging from cool to hot and back to cool all too frequently. Many of our good friends never got a chance to visit this summer, mostly because we just couldn't rely on the weather to be nice. I kept thinking we should wait another few weeks and we'll get some nice, hot weather... never happened!  Think "Global Warming".  Ha ha BS!

Last year I didn't see even one mussel attached to our boat but this year there was a serious number. These barnacle-like animals can really slow a boat down and can damage the surface to which they are attached

Savvy boaters know that if you don't wash these crustaceans and algae off as soon as you take the boat out, they will "set up" like cement and be much more difficult to remove.

Somehow I forgot ti snap a clean "after" photo but the boat did come up nicely and looks nearly as good as new.

All set for our next voyage.
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Git-R-Done.

My friend David told me about a guy hogging the blood pressure machine until he got the results he wanted, so I thought I'd do a cartoon. I found three pictures on the internet: 1) a man at a slot machine, 2) a drug store BP machine, and 3) some display shelves in a drug store.

Put them all together and ... ta da!

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Look Out Dad!

"Look Out Dad!"              Click on the picture to enlarge it.

This is my latest "Rockwellesque" picture. I started with a very old glass negative reproduction in pretty rough shape. I coloured the original and added a few upgrades like the 1910 Ford Model T and the freckle-faced redhead.

Here's the original. I couldn't find anything about it on the internet. Pretty washed out. Probably a moving picture ad for a comedy? Well I've brought it back you to enjoy.
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Corsica Shoals and the Huron Lightship.

Click to enlarge.

Here's my "artsy" for today. In Lake Huron, Huron was the third ship to be placed at Corsica Shoals, a station established in 1893. Three vessels bore the designation of 'Huron Lightship' from 1893 to 1970.Corsica Shoals is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the Blue Water Bridge. There is now a concrete lighthouse structure near the place where the Huron was anchored. CLICK HERE to read about the last last lightship on the Great Lakes.
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Covering the Pool.

Last year we covered the pool early on the 21st of September. I guess this year we kept waiting and hoping for an Indian Summer since the real summer was so cool. Oh well, "global warming" hopefully will make next summer a little better.
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A Cornucopia of Earthy Delights From Erin's Garden.

Erin and Jake came to visit bringing some delightful fall vegetables from Erin's bountiful garden. They don't get any fresher than this!
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You'll Feel Different...

Holly, Wendy and Cheryl

...In the Caribbean.

Still time to book for November 13 on the Noordam. Come with us!

And below is the original picture from which I created the above collage:

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He's Finally Gone Nuts! - Steampunk Nuts and Bolts.

"The Steampunk"                            Click pic to enlarge

It's not a new religion or anything but I thought I'd give "the look" a try. Kinda suits me don't you think?

You might remember the background was from a photoshoot with with London Photowalk in 2013. It is actually a picture I took in the old boiler room at the abandoned Harvey Woods Underwear factory in Woodstock Ontario. I found the hat, goggles and pendant in Google Images and pasted up this collage.

Read about "Steampunk" CLICK HERE.
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It Must Be True - I Read It In A Magazine Somewhere!

I wonder if they really thought this could actually be sold as true? Coke couldn't possibly be considered good for a baby...

But 7up is okay, right?
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Goodbye Joanne...

Today Wendy and I made a sad journey to Orangeville to say goodbye at a funeral for my dear cousin Joanne who died suddenly at age 62 on October 1, 2014.

My Dad's brother Tom had four daughters, Joanne was the second oldest. I have known Joanne all my life and we shared many adventures and good times as we grew up. She loved the water and the sunshine and had a kind and loving spirit. Our hearts go out to her cherished family, husband Ken and her two sons Jonathon and Nathan.
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Fly Away You Dirty Duck!

"The Great Escape"

Says it all doesn't it?
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The Least Of The "Less Mundane".

As the byline in the title of this blog says "From the Mundane to the Less Mundane with Everything In Between", I feel obligated to show you even my least favorite things we are committed to do as land owners. Our outdoor projects usually wait until fall when we return from the condo and this year is no exception. Below are the jobs we've been tackling this fall so far.

Our beautiful, old, red, Japanese Maple caught some sort of fungal infection that was rotting off all its branches so it had to go. The sprawling apple behind it was totally out of control.

Our back yard looked pretty good to me, although some would say it was more than "a little jungle-like". The vegetation was really taking over and crowding the pool.

A juvenile oak was blocking the view and light in the garden so its "goodbye oak".



Other black locusts and stringy looking maples were creating a look of overgrown havoc.



This is a panorama of the back yard BEFORE.

Oops! Heavier than it looks!

"This way out!"

The Japanese maple was now beyond the point of no return.

Click to enlarge.

This is a panorama of the back yard AFTER.
 

Wow, you can see the side yard again with the oak gone.

It always amazes me how much can be achieved with a trailer and a small electric chain saw. Look how green everything is for this time of year. We've had lots of rain. Usually the grass is brown by now.

We continued to pile the trailer high with brush and eventually finished 2 trips to the dump. I slept well that night with more than a little back pain and stiffness the next morning.

Now, with the foliage gone, the fence was fully visible and showed that at least one post was leaning over, pushed by the rocks as everything on the side of the hill makes its inevitable and eventual voyage to the bottom, assisted by Earth's gravity.

Before we could straighten the fence, we had to move some pretty big rocks. Tim jr. and I managed to wrestle the biggest one back up, away from the fence.

 The Fence BEFORE.

At Home Depot I bought some channel shaped metal stampings called "Simpson EZ Menders". These, according to a you Tube video are the answer to repairing rotted off fence posts instead of digging them out. Worth a try.

The fence AFTER.

The fence looks much better and I must say the yard looks bigger with the trees gone, but I think I will miss them for their beauty and shade. There's lots left to do around here but that's' a couple of tough jobs we've finished.
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