Agnes was intent on a fire on the beach. The summer had been dry and I was uneasy about open flames, but in the end we finished our visit to PEI with a night fire on the beach--very small, with well-seasoned wood, almost smokeless, in a pit we carefully dug. We roasted marshmallows and were surprised to find other people nearby followed our example--however, their fires were much smokier. I can remember huge beach fires from my youth, dangerous pyres with enormous logs and roaring flames. I suppose this is a fire in keeping with the times. Well, it was a dry summer.Friday 30 August 2019
Camp Fire
Agnes was intent on a fire on the beach. The summer had been dry and I was uneasy about open flames, but in the end we finished our visit to PEI with a night fire on the beach--very small, with well-seasoned wood, almost smokeless, in a pit we carefully dug. We roasted marshmallows and were surprised to find other people nearby followed our example--however, their fires were much smokier. I can remember huge beach fires from my youth, dangerous pyres with enormous logs and roaring flames. I suppose this is a fire in keeping with the times. Well, it was a dry summer.
Thursday 29 August 2019
Amazing
For the first time, we went to a corn maze. It was quite a set up, with about four acres devoted to the maze and many other attractions, including a cut-down military style obstacle course. It was faintly desolate, being the end of the season: the corn cannon was broken and some of the washers for the washer toss were missing--but I think it was one of the things Agnes enjoyed. Here's Franki, almost consumed by corn!
Wednesday 14 August 2019
George Wakes Up Early
From Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (1889):
George said that the same kind of thing, only worse, had happened to him some eighteen months ago, when he was lodging by himself in the house of a certain Mrs. Gippings. He said his watch went wrong one evening, and stopped at a quarter-past eight. He did not know this at the time because, for some reason or other, he forgot to wind it up when he went to bed (an unusual occurrence with him), and hung it up over his pillow without ever looking at the thing.
It was in the winter when this happened, very near the shortest day, and a week of fog into the bargain, so the fact that it was still very dark when George woke in the morning was no guide to him as to the time. He reached up, and hauled down his watch. It was a quarter-past eight. "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" exclaimed George; "and here have I got to be in the City by nine. Why didn't somebody call me? Oh, this is a shame!" And he flung the watch down, and sprang out of bed, and had a cold bath, and washed himself, and dressed himself, and shaved himself in cold water because there was not time to wait for the hot, and then rushed and had another look at the watch. Whether the shaking it had received in being thrown down on the bed had started it, or how it was, George could not say, but certain it was that from a quarter-past eight it had begun to go, and now pointed to twenty minutes to nine.
George snatched it up, and rushed downstairs. In the sitting-room, all was dark and silent: there was no fire, no breakfast. George said it was a wicked shame of Mrs. G., and he made up his mind to tell her what he thought of her when he came home in the evening. Then he dashed on his great-coat and hat, and, seizing his umbrella, made for the front door. The door was not even unbolted. George anathematized Mrs. G. for a lazy old woman, and thought it was very strange that people could not get up at a decent, respectable time, unlocked and unbolted the door, and ran out. He ran hard for a quarter of a mile, and at the end of that distance it began to be borne in upon him as a strange and curious thing that there were so few people about, and that there were no shops open. It was certainly a very dark and foggy morning, but still it seemed an unusual course to stop all business on that account. HE had to go to business: why should other people stop in bed merely because it was dark and foggy! At length he reached Holborn. Not a shutter was down! not a bus was about! There were three men in sight, one of whom was a policeman; a market-cart full of cabbages, and a dilapidated looking cab. George pulled out his watch and looked at it: it was five minutes to nine! He stood still and counted his pulse. He stooped down and felt his legs. Then, with his watch still in his hand, he went up to the policeman, and asked him if he knew what the time was.
"What's the time?" said the man, eyeing George up and down with evident suspicion; "why, if you listen you will hear it strike." George listened, and a neighbouring clock immediately obliged. "But it's only gone three!" said George in an injured tone, when it had finished. "Well, and how many did you want it to go?" replied the constable. "Why, nine," said George, showing his watch. "Do you know where you live?" said the guardian of public order, severely. George thought, and gave the address. "Oh! that's where it is, is it?" replied the man; "well, you take my advice and go there quietly, and take that watch of yours with you; and don't let's have any more of it."
And George went home again, musing as he walked along, and let himself in. At first, when he got in, he determined to undress and go to bed again; but when he thought of the redressing and re-washing, and the having of another bath, he determined he would not, but would sit up and go to sleep in the easy-chair. But he could not get to sleep: he never felt more wakeful in his life; so he lit the lamp and got out the chess-board, and played himself a game of chess. But even that did not enliven him: it seemed slow somehow; so he gave chess up and tried to read. He did not seem able to take any sort of interest in reading either, so he put on his coat again and went out for a walk. It was horribly lonesome and dismal, and all the policemen he met regarded him with undisguised suspicion, and turned their lanterns on him and followed him about, and this had such an effect upon him at last that he began to feel as if he really had done something, and he got to slinking down the by-streets and hiding in dark doorways when he heard the regulation flip-flop approaching. Of course, this conduct made the force only more distrustful of him than ever, and they would come and rout him out and ask him what he was doing there; and when he answered, "Nothing," he had merely come out for a stroll (it was then four o'clock in the morning), they looked as though they did not believe him, and two plain-clothes constables came home with him to see if he really did live where he had said he did. They saw him go in with his key, and then they took up a position opposite and watched the house. He thought he would light the fire when he got inside, and make himself some breakfast, just to pass away the time; but he did not seem able to handle anything from a scuttleful of coals to a teaspoon without dropping it or falling over it, and making such a noise that he was in mortal fear that it would wake Mrs. G. up, and that she would think it was burglars and open the window and call "Police!" and then these two detectives would rush in and handcuff him, and march him off to the police-court. He was in a morbidly nervous state by this time, and he pictured the trial, and his trying to explain the circumstances to the jury, and nobody believing him, and his being sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude, and his mother dying of a broken heart. So he gave up trying to get breakfast, and wrapped himself up in his overcoat and sat in the easy-chair till Mrs. G came down at half-past seven. He said he had never got up too early since that morning: it had been such a warning to him.
George said that the same kind of thing, only worse, had happened to him some eighteen months ago, when he was lodging by himself in the house of a certain Mrs. Gippings. He said his watch went wrong one evening, and stopped at a quarter-past eight. He did not know this at the time because, for some reason or other, he forgot to wind it up when he went to bed (an unusual occurrence with him), and hung it up over his pillow without ever looking at the thing.
It was in the winter when this happened, very near the shortest day, and a week of fog into the bargain, so the fact that it was still very dark when George woke in the morning was no guide to him as to the time. He reached up, and hauled down his watch. It was a quarter-past eight. "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" exclaimed George; "and here have I got to be in the City by nine. Why didn't somebody call me? Oh, this is a shame!" And he flung the watch down, and sprang out of bed, and had a cold bath, and washed himself, and dressed himself, and shaved himself in cold water because there was not time to wait for the hot, and then rushed and had another look at the watch. Whether the shaking it had received in being thrown down on the bed had started it, or how it was, George could not say, but certain it was that from a quarter-past eight it had begun to go, and now pointed to twenty minutes to nine.
George snatched it up, and rushed downstairs. In the sitting-room, all was dark and silent: there was no fire, no breakfast. George said it was a wicked shame of Mrs. G., and he made up his mind to tell her what he thought of her when he came home in the evening. Then he dashed on his great-coat and hat, and, seizing his umbrella, made for the front door. The door was not even unbolted. George anathematized Mrs. G. for a lazy old woman, and thought it was very strange that people could not get up at a decent, respectable time, unlocked and unbolted the door, and ran out. He ran hard for a quarter of a mile, and at the end of that distance it began to be borne in upon him as a strange and curious thing that there were so few people about, and that there were no shops open. It was certainly a very dark and foggy morning, but still it seemed an unusual course to stop all business on that account. HE had to go to business: why should other people stop in bed merely because it was dark and foggy! At length he reached Holborn. Not a shutter was down! not a bus was about! There were three men in sight, one of whom was a policeman; a market-cart full of cabbages, and a dilapidated looking cab. George pulled out his watch and looked at it: it was five minutes to nine! He stood still and counted his pulse. He stooped down and felt his legs. Then, with his watch still in his hand, he went up to the policeman, and asked him if he knew what the time was.
"What's the time?" said the man, eyeing George up and down with evident suspicion; "why, if you listen you will hear it strike." George listened, and a neighbouring clock immediately obliged. "But it's only gone three!" said George in an injured tone, when it had finished. "Well, and how many did you want it to go?" replied the constable. "Why, nine," said George, showing his watch. "Do you know where you live?" said the guardian of public order, severely. George thought, and gave the address. "Oh! that's where it is, is it?" replied the man; "well, you take my advice and go there quietly, and take that watch of yours with you; and don't let's have any more of it."
And George went home again, musing as he walked along, and let himself in. At first, when he got in, he determined to undress and go to bed again; but when he thought of the redressing and re-washing, and the having of another bath, he determined he would not, but would sit up and go to sleep in the easy-chair. But he could not get to sleep: he never felt more wakeful in his life; so he lit the lamp and got out the chess-board, and played himself a game of chess. But even that did not enliven him: it seemed slow somehow; so he gave chess up and tried to read. He did not seem able to take any sort of interest in reading either, so he put on his coat again and went out for a walk. It was horribly lonesome and dismal, and all the policemen he met regarded him with undisguised suspicion, and turned their lanterns on him and followed him about, and this had such an effect upon him at last that he began to feel as if he really had done something, and he got to slinking down the by-streets and hiding in dark doorways when he heard the regulation flip-flop approaching. Of course, this conduct made the force only more distrustful of him than ever, and they would come and rout him out and ask him what he was doing there; and when he answered, "Nothing," he had merely come out for a stroll (it was then four o'clock in the morning), they looked as though they did not believe him, and two plain-clothes constables came home with him to see if he really did live where he had said he did. They saw him go in with his key, and then they took up a position opposite and watched the house. He thought he would light the fire when he got inside, and make himself some breakfast, just to pass away the time; but he did not seem able to handle anything from a scuttleful of coals to a teaspoon without dropping it or falling over it, and making such a noise that he was in mortal fear that it would wake Mrs. G. up, and that she would think it was burglars and open the window and call "Police!" and then these two detectives would rush in and handcuff him, and march him off to the police-court. He was in a morbidly nervous state by this time, and he pictured the trial, and his trying to explain the circumstances to the jury, and nobody believing him, and his being sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude, and his mother dying of a broken heart. So he gave up trying to get breakfast, and wrapped himself up in his overcoat and sat in the easy-chair till Mrs. G came down at half-past seven. He said he had never got up too early since that morning: it had been such a warning to him.
Thursday 8 August 2019
Summer Shower
Just as I was leaving for the Island, we found that the upstairs shower was not only partly blocked (probably by a chunk of mineral deposit) but quite irreparable, as the hex screw for removing the single tap had fused to the metal shell.While I was on the Island, Joanne demolished the closet, exposing the tap and pipes. I then spent a long morning putting in the new shower valve, spout, and shower head.
The pipes required 13 sweat-soldered joints and 6 threaded ones. Astonishingly, when I turned the water back on, nothing leaked!
At some point in the fairly distant past, I installed two compression type shutoff valves, which still work and are sufficiently sturdy to continue using. The sad part of all this is that we were in the process of overhauling the entire bathroom, so the offending valve would have been replaced shortly, could it have held together for another month or two.Thursday 1 August 2019
Vanity
I sometimes wonder why so many projects get delayed. This is a typical case: we were advancing nicely on the garage renovations when the van failed its MVI due to bad rear rotors. I had to drop everything and fix them, which I did the same evening and the following morning.
I was quite sure that the calipers were seized, and the pads were the old style (non-ceramic), so I went for the full package: pads, rotors, and calipers.
As has become usual, I had to use the cut-and-cold-chisel approach to remove the old rotors--they were rusted to the hubs.
It was good to see the new parts in place--they do not continue to look shiny and new for long, but it's nice while it lasts. They were a little difficult to bleed--on one side the copper washer required a lot of torque before it conformed to the caliper face and made a proper seal. In the end, I felt the van braking was more responsive. Anyway, this is one reason why the house and woodlot sometimes do not get the attention they deserve!
I was quite sure that the calipers were seized, and the pads were the old style (non-ceramic), so I went for the full package: pads, rotors, and calipers.
As has become usual, I had to use the cut-and-cold-chisel approach to remove the old rotors--they were rusted to the hubs.It was good to see the new parts in place--they do not continue to look shiny and new for long, but it's nice while it lasts. They were a little difficult to bleed--on one side the copper washer required a lot of torque before it conformed to the caliper face and made a proper seal. In the end, I felt the van braking was more responsive. Anyway, this is one reason why the house and woodlot sometimes do not get the attention they deserve!
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