December 2017

FIRE!!!

While the fires in California may no longer be big news in your part of the country, they sure are here. We are still in no imminent danger as the fires are 70 miles (120km) away but we have grey sky's and ash covers our deck everyday. If I had my plane here, I could go up and throw water bottles at it. Every bit helps, no?

As we go to press, there have been over a 1000 homes destroyed, it has burned over 400 SQ miles (1000 km) and is now the 4th largest fire in the states history. And it's growing... After 10 days, it is 30% contained. It's weird seeing people walk around with face masks to avoid breathing the smoke.

Show and tell...soon.

As I have mentioned once or twice, I am not found of blabbing about stuff that is not finished and such is the case this month. We are very close to finishing a number of projects that have been in the works for some time, but the key words are 'very close' and 'not finished'. So, we will have less to share this month. 

Otherwise, the big news is that I went in for my second shot in the eye for the Macular Degeneration thing, (to make me feel better my aunt wrote that she always knew I was a degenerate) and I was told that I was among the very few who responded so well to the treatment that my vision had actually improved from the first treatment. Not that is was bad before, but...

Furthermore,the doctor expected that I might regain all I had lost after the next shot. Very good news and should be a big help with my astronaut application with NASA.

The hits kept on coming though, when I was diagnosed as having possible borderline Hypertension  (I beat that in a hurry) and blood work for potential diabetes. Crap, it was like I was turning into an old woman circling the drain or something. I was put on an exciting diet of no beer** (4 months without left me seriously dehydrated) no rice, no candy and no bread. In the end, the test numbers  for diabetes were not what I had hoped for.

It is becoming more difficult to make a convincing argument that I am bulletproof. So, if you have been meaning to tell me how much you love me, now might be a good time. The end could be near. 

** " With wine, there is wisdom.
       With beer, there is freedom.
       With water, there is... eh.........bacteria"

A winter wonderland

California style


ABCDEFG

I heard this month that only 30% of third grade students in California are reading proficiently at grade level. This apparently makes them 4 times as likely to eventually become high school dropouts. We are not proud of that.

So, you would think that escaping to Canada in the summer would provide a reprieve of sorts. That was until it was reported that  the Durham school district [in Ontario where we hide out], now provides their elementary school teachers with (take a deeeeeep breath here) LGGBDTTTQQAAPP inclusiveness training. Never mind that being self-pollinating isn't listed (should I feel excluded?) but it is one more reason the island is only 30 feet (10m) from the border, should a quick escape to the land of the free and home of the brave prove to be necessary.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

November, 2017

Avila beach.
No, its not my picture, but it is one of our favorite hang out's and its iconic California.

Fun of the month

A fun find. A slab of 2000+ year old California Redwood. We all know that each ring represents a year. The fourth brass marker from the center (left of Janice's head) marked the birth of Christ. The last marker on the outer edge was World War 1.

Montana de Oro (mountain of gold) park is a great place for cliff walks above the beaches and watching the dolphins jump, whales migrating and sprouting along the horizon. [below]

Every year the nearby town of Cambria hosts a scarecrow festival around Halloween. The whole town's merchants and residents get into the act trying to outdo each other with whimsical themes. The scarecrows line both sides of the street for about a mile. Here are a few samples. 

In an ongoing attempt to raise our cultural level, we attended the Russian Ballet.

For the record, we vehemently deny any and all allegations that we have colluded with them.

I really love being back in California, but sometimes its a bit like being back in France. The place is great, but some of the things that go on are well...incredible. Take, for instance, our Delhi Sands fly....please! The fly is on the endangered species list and has a lifespan of almost 48 hours but has managed to stall or stop important projects like the construction of a hospital.

Or the attempt to enact a law that would cause people to pay fines or be imprisoned for accidentally scaring, hurting, killing or disrupting the habitat of any animal on the endangered species list. Did you read the part about 'accidentally'? 

Or our legislators raising our gas taxes .12c a gallon on top of the highest gas taxes and prices in the nation for road maintenance. Like Canadians, Californians have never heard of a tax they don't immediately fall in love with. There is nothing wrong with California that a little regime change wouldn't fix. Just saying.

WWW.Projectsthatneeddoing.com 

This season here is a little different from past ones. We do have a substantial project in the works but we will not see it to its conclusion until next month, I hope. This has left a fair amount of free time between play days to get to things that have been lingering for ages. You know, those kind of things in your 'one of these days' file.

So, after promising to build another linen closet in our upstairs bathroom 30 years ago, I built it this past month. Go me! Then, I remembered when we had our final building inspection 33 years ago,  Janice looked like she was 16 months pregnant so the inspector took pity on us and signed off, allowing us to move in. He did though, have me promise to finish the last 6' (2 M) of banister I had built on our circular staircase. He did not specify when.

A promise is a promise so this past month I put it in. It is in the same spiral circular form, made of Honduran Mahogany with a Peruvian Walnut inlay that I built the rest of the house cabinets out of. We are now legal, and of course it is safer. Most important: Promise made, promise kept. Before I go on beating my chest, there are more of these unfinished 'loose ends' than I will probably ever get to in my lifetime. It won't be from a lack of trying.

I really did love getting back into working with exotic hardwoods, building furniture and furnishings. General construction and building things is great but working with exotic hardwoods is like the difference between flying a real airplane and a model. In the woodworking world, to me it separates the men from the boys.

Speaking of promises, as long as I was at it, I built the  bookcase for our bedroom I had promised Janice 30 years ago also. She had been using a cheap one from Ikea awaiting the real deal. Patience is a virtue and she has been nothing if not virtuous. I built it out of  2" (5cm) thick West African Afrormosia and Aboudikro wood (also known as Sapele).

With all these promises kept, I should be called  'Mr. Promise Keeper' as 'Mr. Wonderful' might be a tad premature. Now that the 30 year old promises are kept, I guess I can start working on ones I made 29 years ago.

Back yard picnic area

Not promised but needed nevertheless, was spreading 3000 sf (300sm) of walk-on bark around the landscaping in the ongoing effort to spruce up the place.

Then, we put a little 'artsy-fartsy' project together. We found these vine wrapped  branchy looking things in Sedona Arizona years ago. We had no idea what to do with them and they hibernated in my workshop for years until we finally came up with this. What are they? We haven't a clue. We just though they looked cool.

Finally, I was instructed to remove the small built in refrigerator out of our master bathroom and build some shelves. I had installed it next to the 2 person Japanese Jacuzzi tub I installed when we built the house and stocked it with whipped cream, chocolate and Champagne in an valiant attempt to keep the romance alive. With 5 kids, it clearly worked. With the romance now self-perpetuating, Janice decided it would be best used in my workshop to keep me hydrated while I worked on her  great new ideas. 

All in all, just another relaxing month hanging out at home.

Keeping it real

It may seem that we has nothing but good news to share, but that is because by and large, that's all we have. We are constantly looking for something to complain about but can't seem to find anything. We are blessed beyond words, and we know it. In the interest of keeping it real though, I do have a setback of sorts to report. 

I recently had an eye test for new prescriptions and was referred to a specialist. Surprising, I thought, since I am bullet proof. After an exhaustive battery of tests, including injecting dye, it turns out that I have wet Macular Degeneration in my left eye. That is the bad kind that can degenerate quickly.

The treatment called for shots in the eye and the doctor said we would begin immediately. "Stick a needle in my eye? No problem" I said. "You will just have to kill me first". For someone who is as phobic to needles as I am, I told him that I would rather have cancer. The idea of getting a needle in my eye was as appealing as getting a shot in my male appendage. I then asked  just how drunk I could be to show up for future treatments.

I will have to continue treatments in France and when we return to the island, in the hopes I don't become a one eyed pilot who can only land on the right side...

A year ago, before the election, there were some people who swore that if Donald Trump was elected, they would leave the country. If you know any, you can tell them you have great news.

The jet is ready and they are now boarding