Devil's Kitchen

Well, as you can see, our car topper made it to Wyoming (see previous post--by the way, it worked well; gas mileage did suffer a bit but not too crazy). We camped at a KOA in Greybull with our friends from Denver. One day we did a daytrip to see some nearby falls, and the Devil's Kitchen (see photo). I'm not sure what was he was cooking up--something green and slimy? We also visited a Dinosaur Track site and walked over some real tracks in the rock. Then after a few days we drove to Casper, which is the subject of my next post!

Car topper

Last time we went camping at Chilliwack Lake, we took my pickup truck...and everything and everyone fit comfortably. However for a longer journey the car makes more sense. Except that the four of us will not fit in there too comfortably with all of our camping stuff (I don't know how my family did it when I was in highschool. I remember a week trip up the Island with 4 of us in a small hatchback).

The obvious solution is to put some stuff on top of the car. I found some nice roofracks on Craigslist for $125. That was as much as I was willing to spend, however, and decided that for this trip, a home-made car-topper would do.

It had to be aerodynamic, somewhat waterproof, light, and secure. I'm fairly happy with the end result, but the real test will come tomorrow when we go road-tripping!

The box is made of some old 1x4s someone gave me for free (cedar I think), some scraps of 1/4" plywood I had, and a wee bit of hardware (some U bolts for the front and some zap-straps for the back). Malachi helped me paint it. I call it the "Thule: Almost" box. I also added another piece of plywood (not pictured) angled at the front to further deflect the wind.

Dragonfly vocalist

Today for our "Canada Day" church service we met outside. I led music with a guitar/amp and mic, and also had a keyboardist, and a percussionist playing my cajon as well! After a nice service, and a BBQ lunch and some carnival games, I was cleaning up the sound equipment and noticed a bug sitting on top of the microphone. It appeared to be a dragonfly of some sort and he was unaware that the microphone was not plugged in--otherwise who knows what interesting noises I would have heard? Dragonfly rap?

Yesterday on the real Canada Day our family watched the parade from street level. Then we walked to the mall to cool off and the kids did some shopping. Later we caught the afternoon showing of Cars 3. It was a nice "family date." The kids did really well on their end-of-school report cards, so it was time for a treat!

Now the teacher in our family can start enjoying her summer break. It will be a bit of a break for me too with no school pick-ups! Maybe we can also get more caught up on cleaning the house!

Handy Andrew

Some time ago I decided to start my own business. It had always been a small pipe dream of mine, but some circumstances at my regular job propelled me just a little more than before. I found myself registering a business name, obtaining a licence and signing up to collect PST (oh, joy!). I set up a website, printed a few business cards, and bought a truck. Without really trying I found myself with too much work, so I've now given my notice at Floform and will commence Handy Andrew in earnest on June 1.

What does Handy Andrew do, you ask? Well, so far just about anything that requires some handiness. :) My accepted quotes right now include bedroom furniture (built-in desk and dresser), custom built RV cabinets, and a day at a house doing drywall repair, window hinge repair, and pressure washing. I'm also painting some cabinets for a friend from church right now.

I'm enjoying the business set-up side of things, although parts of it are a little daunting too. I'm hoping to give more energy to this when I have more time. Right now time is limited!

Beauty and the Beast - Theatre

I was asked awhile ago if I would like to help with set construction for Gallery 7's production of Beauty and the Beast. I had never done any before and was interested to learn, plus I love to volunteer with this theatre, so I started helping out a few times after work, and on Saturdays. It was a daunting task; the workshop was sufficient but not as efficient as my workplace. And the set was quite big. There were many 4x8 flats to make, some mounted on risers with wheels, some 10 feet high, and when stacked in pieces pretty close to to 20 feet high. Then there were custom arched doorways and windows, and stairs. I learned a lot from the guy in charge, Phil, and was able to make a significant contribution.

The last week before the show was quite packed. I was at the theatre when I wasn't at work or sleeping for most days. While stressful, it was also enjoyable helping make this show a success.

Today our family attended the matinee at Abbey Arts Centre, and it was very well done; after the show Kate got pictures with many of the characters including Belle and the Beast. Malachi only wanted a picture with Gaston. Kate took this picture of Mom and Dad with Gaston and LeFou (played by a girl named Emily who also helped with building/painting the set one day).

Cajón No. 2

In 2015 I made a cajón (see this blog-video for one dog's opinion). It sounded really good and I enjoyed playing it; our house and plot were large enough that I didn't feel like I was bugging too many people when I played it. I left it with an American colleague (Drew, aka Oneheart, recording artist) in Zambia and I am happy to hear that it is getting some good use! But I needed to make another one, so when I found some 3/8" plywood in the recycling bin here in Canada, it was time to start.

A friend from the cabinet shop gave me a scrap of 1/4" plywood for the front, and I had some old steel guitar strings for the snare, so this drum cost me nothing! I added a "crotch protector" (not sure if there's a name for this yet) to the top front so as to reduce extending the arms while playing. I'm not sure if this affected the sound, or if it was the lighter box, or my strings weren't strung well, but the sound is not as good as my other one...but it's still fun to play. Just not as fun because I feel more self-conscious in the townhouse. Sorry, neighbours!

Now to write a song featuring it. I'm toying around with some lyrics relating to the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13...

'Bogganing in Queen E.

Victor and I went tobogganing in January in Queen Elisabeth Park.  It was a little icy but quite enjoyable once I figured out I could stop before the road!