Never EZ, grateful when it is

For some reason every thing that I've needed to work on lately has been difficult.  And to make it a bit spicier, I've been sidelined with this pain that when I get more active it gets inflamed and sends me hobbling and going backwards in terms of recovery.  

So for the last 2 months I've done oil changes, air filter changes, brake service including replacing rear rotors.  I even painted the brake calipers for kicks.  Made new panel doors for the fuse box.  I finally broke down and installed a trailer hitch on our other car, cuz i was tired of putting the bike on top of the car and storing the front wheel inside.  It was something i should have done long ago, but kept avoiding doing it. And then something always adds to my TO-DO list that I don't anticipate, like the downstairs light flickering, that needed to get replaced.

And then the gas filler door cable broke on the Venza.  That was a royal pain in the behind.  I was at the gas station and couldn't get the door open.  Apparently when this happens, the door fails shut.  You can't get it open.  I had to head home to get some tools to pry it open.  I thought I was going to damage something.  And there was no internet video on how to get it open on a Gen 1 - Venza.   To add to it, there's no video on how you go about replacing a busted cable.  I was on my own.  Like in the olden days.

And to really make things even more of a challenge.  The part was on backorder here in Canada.   So here is where it gets interesting.  I used AI to help me figure out where to get the part.  Cuz dealing with the parts guy at my Toyota dealership was a PITA.  We were going back and forth on confirming what comes with the part.  He then told me it was out of stock in N.Amer. 

Apparently warehouse parts stock is different in Canada vs the USA.  So in Canada, if something is on backorder with NO ETA, that means you are SOL and won't get the part until the orders for the part get to a certain quantity.  For a 15 yr old car, that means NEVER M#tha F-er!  In the USA since they are a much larger market, they will carry more stock.  I got it a week later and installed it today.  Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

On top of all this.  There's this robin that was relentless in building a nest in our grape vines.  And this year I printed a birds nest shelf for them to build their nest, and put it up in a corner that would keep their poop away from where we sit in the backyard.  I hope they are good with it.

I ended up watching vids of other cars to figure out how to do it for my car.  Grateful to my Toyota Tech/Mech contact for giving me some tips and guidance.  I still had to take pics and ask AI, which was giving me the wrong info BTW.  My tech guy was giving me the right things to do and I went with that.  Removing the front seat bolts helped give me some carpet slack to find the retaining bolt on the lever assembly that would allow me to reattach the cable.   I would still need to fish the new cable through.  Experience told me to use the old cable and use that to yank the new cable through without having to remove all the interior panels.   My tech guy said the same thing!  Which made me feel confident in moving forward with my next steps.  And it was the smoothest repair job I had done on the car in months!

Grateful for being spared any unnecessary frustration, and the really beautiful day.  But also for the miracle of life that I have, and that I am able to spend time, and to do the little things for the people I care and love.

Happy Fathers day!

City functions

There were a couple of events going on this Mother's Day weekend.   

We celebrated a birthday this weekend—a reminder that while age is just a number, the time we have is our only truly finite resource.  This makes these get-togethers a priority—a time to truly cherish the moment.  You can't buy more time or go back for a re-do.

Even though it rained heavily just prior to us getting to the location, it turned out to be a beautiful & fun evening.

Being social, is something we all need to work on.   Having a supportive social network, as a human being, is a requirement to living a long and good life.

Imagine being in a city with millions of other people.  And yet you are alone?
Having a supportive social group is an investment.  But the returns are priceless.

This recipe for a memorable time is consistent. 
Tasty food, good drink, great company, and entertaining conversation.  Everyone is interested in catching up and genuine.

This is what it's about.  Having family around to celebrate milestones and share in the moment.  Talk about where we were, how the kids were so little.  Who's grown so tall now.

Speeches! Speeches!  Clink! Clink!

Special thanks to the wife/mom & daughter who organized this in a matter of a few days.  I was surprised it happened in such a short period, it feels like everything needs 6 months lead time to book.

It probably took us longer to drive across town than it was to book this place and organize the food.  DVP and TTC Line 2 closed for maintenance.   Blue Jays game, TFC game featuring InterMiami and #10 MESSI!

If the Leafs were in the playoffs it would have been worse!  But they would have been out in the 1st round anyways.

This was the day before Mother's Day.  

My better half is 1 in a million.  She always has a way of telling a story about a person from her view point that's entertaining and honest.

I've heard the Rose+Joe story, and the dependencies that came with it many times.  But it never gets tired.

And don't forget the rowboat!

Don't send this guy across the ocean in a rowboat.
Cuz he'll make it across.  He just needs to pack a few bottles of wine, some cheese and crackers. 

It was a beautiful Mother's Day on Sunday.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there, and daughters, sons.  And everyone that has a mom to spend the day with.

Enjoy the day.  Cuz you never know.

21K-Ai-Poop

Happy birthday to our not-so-little kid.  Legal to drink all over the world now.  Not that the age limit thing prevented it from happening sooner.  He's well trained and honestly better equipped on the consequences of alcohol consumption.

We'll need a new mug if that one ever wears away.  It's been a conversation piece.  It does come in handy for mother-son photo ops.

I'd been using Ai to play with photos.  And this last one was unique in that only the person was cartoon-ized.  The mug and background were left almost original.  I thought it was very fun and cool!

Talk about cool and chill...DQ log cakes have been a thing for us for a while now.  Nothing makes a person feel like a kid again like ice cream.
The works of art BakerBots cakes Rosanne made for K when he was younger.  They were insane!  We were fortunate to have her do those for us.
The DQ ones are simple & we encourage the workers there to not fear adding their touch with a message and some fun art to personalize it.  We also had these DQ gift cards, that we had for years and unsure where they came from so we used it to get his cake, and a hotdog + smoothie!

I've learned to sketch something simple on a post-it and they do a fantastic job of replicating whatever fun doodle i quickly come up with.

This toonface was based on the recently BTS inspired blonde colouring that he did just before Easter a few weeks back.  It looks really great!

I give that cake about 5 days before it's devoured. 

Life imitates ...

They say life imitates art, and this oil painting themed image surprisingly captured how yesterday felt - a warm celebration on calm a spring day.

With everything going on in the world, I’m so grateful for our health and the family we have. Yesterday was about appreciating the simple things: a bright & beautiful day, good food, good drink, and the people we love most. 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife.

First to the Ring

This was an invite that I genuinely felt great accepting.
1. I'd never been to the MacMaster campus.  Tucked in a beautiful area of Hamilton, with lots of character.
2. I could barely remember my own iron ring ceremony.

The occasion? My nephew was receiving his Iron Ring, and he asked me to be the one to present it to him.  As the first of the "kids" in the family to graduate from engineering, it was a true full-circle moment.

Lou was happy and proud.  Very fortunate I was able to be there and be a part of it.

I knew the story, most engineers know it beforehand anyways.  But it was vague and so long ago that I didn't have other parts that were quite interesting.
1. Made in Canada: This is a uniquely Canadian institution. You won't find this exact ritual anywhere else in the world.
2. A Literary Touch: The ceremony was actually developed by Rudyard Kipling in the 1920s, at the request of Professor Herbert Haultain. Kipling understood that engineers needed a "calling" that emphasized the gravity of their work.

3. The Symbolism of Failure: One of the most sobering parts of the tradition is the origin of the steel. The rings (and the ritual hardware) are linked to the history of structural failures in Canada (the Quebec Bridge collapse was real). It reminds us that if we fail at our jobs, people pay the price.

Glad the day was nice.  Chilly but at least it wasn't raining.  It was a beautiful clear day.  The day before was dreary.
Always seems like someone was watching over us to clear the skies.

If it was crap weather, there would have been more fender benders.

Leaving the Macmaster area on the highway, an accident in the far left lane.  Young black kid in a Civic and an older white dude.  Guess who rear ended who.

Then getting on the QEW another accident with 3 cars, again in the left most lane.  No wonder our insurance is going up and up.  These folks need to chill the #f down when driving and pay attention.

Once nice thing about heading out to the Hammer.  I stopped by the Copper Kettle in Waterdown to bring home some fritters.  Unfortunately.  They stopped making the pear one, only apple now.   Still delicious!

If there's one reason to Stay in School it's this ratio of girls to guys. ^^^
My nephew and his engineering friends.

Do your best, work hard, and good things will come of it.

Sun sets on Art

The sun rises in the east, brightens our day and provides warmth as we go about our day, and then sets in the west.  Tomorrow it will do it again, regardless of what happened today.

There is a rhythm to life that we often don't notice until the tempo begins to change. We come together in the beginning, we gather through the middle years, and eventually, we find ourselves gathering once more to say goodbye.

Last week we said goodbye to our Tito Art.

It is a quiet, inevitable circle.

We go through our routines, like the rising and setting of the sun.  Change is always difficult.  We get injured, our bodies readjust resources to heal a wound.  And for a while we might feel some pain.

Saying goodbye is one of those instances when a piece of you is no longer there.  It feels different. Because the world you know has changed forever.  Something that can't be undone or replaced.  That in itself is a very powerful statement.  Acceptance is up to the individual to find what works for them.

There's no magic spell, or words, or fix.
But eventually the pain minimizes some so you can make it through today and continue on to tomorrow.  The realization that there is a piece of that person that is always with you, forever.  They gifted it to you, and no one can ever take it away.

Winters of Winters Past

We have had more snow this year than in previous years.  It reminds me of the amount of snow we would get many years ago. 

In recent years the snow we have been getting hasn't been much.  Sometimes if you wait a day or so it'll melt away.  But this end of January snowstorm was a lot of snow in 1 day.  That pile of snow is higher than the 4ft high chainlink fence.  When the day started there was a few inches there.

I had gone out to clear snow 4 times.  I have a Toro e21 snowblower.  I had to charge it half-way through the day.  

When I went out for the 3rd time, the snow in my backyard had accumulated to my knees.  It was piling up around our car in the backyard.  It was the most snow I can remember coming down in a matter of hours.

You can see how much snow we got on our awning and roof tops.  It was was coming down a few cm/hr.  Which doesn't seem like a lot.

That laneway between the homes adds to the effort of clearing.  There's nowhere to throw the snow.  At least this snow was fluffy.  Just a lot

I had ordered our usual North Of Brooklyn pizza for noon instead of supper, before the snow became too much for anyone to deliver let along drive.  And it was coming down fast.  Every time I had come back in from clearing, it almost seemed like I hadn't shovelled at all.

Just as I was wrapping up, the 3rd time, the snow plow came through.  So I spent time clearing the piles it pushed around my car and driveway.  My neighbour had only been out 1x earlier.  You can see how much was on top of his SUV.  It looks like a cargo van.

But this past Family Day/Valentine's Day weekend the temps warmed up.  It was around 0 deg C on the Monday, and on the plus side as we made our way back to the city.  Yesterday was a balmy plus 6.  Today it's raining.  Dreary.