Autumn is a great time for work

Our home has been a beehive of activity this past month. We’ve had visits from two sets of grandparents – Diane and Rick then Peter and Loretta as well as my nephew Leif while his parents were in Spain on vacation. We also had a spectacular Sunday brunch last week joined by even more family – Mark, Linda, Megan, Michael and Anna. During this amazingly productive month, upon arrival each visitor over the age of 16 was issued a pair of gloves and a tool – usually a shovel but at times a drill, nailer, trowel or Wacker gravel packer. Young Leif was issued plastic varieties of the aforementioned items for his safety and ours. Work orders were given and the toil proceeded at an amazing clip. Dirt was excavated, grass was trampled, holes were dug, cement was poured, gravel was packed, pavers were laid, frames were built, hot tubs were purchased, roofs were raised, fireplace was assembled, lights were wired, surfaces were finished and firewood was hauled.

The final product is shaping up to be a wonderfully weather resistant, cozy, fresh outdoor living space. The numerous test “sit-ins” have been a success, leading me to believe that the launch party will be tremendous. We haven’t actually scheduled the launch party yet, but we should be ready for it very soon. We are still trying to decide whether we should fill the hot tub for a couple weeks usage before the winter hits, which I am hoping will be mild to make up for the cool summer we experienced here. Now let's get back to work.

Pillowfoot

The other day young Magnus asked me why he was called Magnus. I explained to him that his name "Magnus Antonio" was taken from the names of two of his great-grandfathers - Magnus Olson and Antonio Borges. The exchange then went like this: "Do you like that name?" "Yes, but I'd like a new name." "OK, if you could pick a new name, what would it be?" "Pillowfoot".

I really have no idea where he got that name from, but I must say it is very unique. I tried calling him Pillowfoot for a while but it just didn't seem to suit him - silence generally eludes the young gentleman. He generates noise at all times; sometimes a whistle, other times a whinny, but most often a musical soliloquy - usually his unedited thoughts sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb, Max and Ruby or various System of a Down pieces. He is an excellent singer and it seems like his sister is well on her way in developing this skill too. I try to encourage this development by holding daily air band practice in the basement where the three of us alternate between drums, guitar and mic (Playstation 3 model....though we don't actually have the console - just the instruments, which allows for much more artistic interpretation). I've demonstrated most of the classic rock guitar maneuvers for them including the "windmill guitar strum", "one legged Chuck Berry hop", "flying V stance", "guitar flip over the back" (though I bagged myself trying this one), plus a few of my own that are much too complicated to describe with words. I also gave them an intense demonstration of guttural thrash metal screaming, but I had to stop when they both started sobbing, "Daddy, you're scaring us!!". I'll save those advanced moves for when they are older.

In other news, our backyard deck project is well underway. After massively underestimating the amount of labour and materials required to prepare the ground for a concrete paver patio, we are finally at the stage of actually laying down bricks. The weather has been ruthless, alternating between awe inspiring downpours and brief moments of light sprinkles. I think we've seen the sun once. I am taking daily pictures of our progress so will likely post those on our website upon completion. If the momentum continues, we expect to be finished by the end of October which will be a perfect time for a autumn backyard party - complete with fireplace and hot tub! Onward and upward.

The Shift Home in Saskatoon

My brother Curtis will soon be finishing his latest development project called the Shift Home, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It's an ultra modern, super energy efficient urban dwelling that is now available for sale. I've attached a link to his website which has all the details - also at http://www.theshifthome.com/TheShiftHome-SalesSheet-Sept18.pdf. ...and if that doesn't do it for you, our cabin at Fishing Lake is still for sale and has been dropped by 20k to $139,900. That price includes all the geese and ducks you can blow away with your shotgun from the back patio.

Las Vegas

We finally made it down to Vegas for a long weekend, what a time we had! As usual, the kids were star travelers, we consistently find that they are much better behaved when we are on vacation then when we are at home. In fact, Stella admitted to Ana that she much preferred hotel beds to her princess bed at home. Princess, indeed. As expected, it was hot - just short of 40 each day. The dry, cloudless days were a much needed relief from the wet and cloudy Ontario summer we've lived through this year. Fortunately for the folks back home, the Labour Day long weekend was warm and sunny, which obviously made our escape less enviable, but enviable nonetheless. I haven't been in Las Vegas for 15 years and the changes were astounding. All the glamorous new hotels I explored last time were now eclipsed by mind bending new behemoths built upon the demolished remains of old mobster casinos. Among our favourites were the Venetian and Paris. Of course the older casinos were still amazing, especially the Luxor pyramid, which was Magnus' favourite. That little boy was a real trooper, he kept up with us the whole time as we walked miles each day exploring the strip. We are now down to one vacation on deck (sailing in January) so we really must plan something else. Our family policy is "two vacations in the hopper at all times"!

The summer?

All in all, it's been a disappointing summer in southern Ontario. The rain will just not let up, except, it seems, for back to work Mondays which have been generally dry, hot and clear. Thank god I don't have a window in my office. Did I just say that? We had a week long trip back to Saskatchewan at the start of August. The weather didn't cooperate much there either - most days were spent either wearing jackets or looking for cover from the rain. Thankfully, the first couple days were very nice but it all went to seed after that. The worst is that the forecast for the week had been hot and sunny so our expectations were much too high. Man, am I sounding like a complainer or what?? Not usually my style.....but that's what happened!

We've been back to the border States a couple times looking for sailboats, seen a few beauties, but nothing has come together yet. We are not in a rush, so will wait for the right boat at the right time at the right price. This week Magnus turned 5 and Stella turned 3 so we celebrated with a big party last Friday night with family and friends. I'm still not convinced Stella knew what was going on...she kept saying "happy birthday!" to everybody else. But she did like her presents. 

Now for a bit of self-promotion. I had a second article published in the Canadian Money Saver magazine, this one was actually sort of a book review of the Nassim Nicolas Taleb "Black Swan" series. My uncle Gerry turned me on to that magazine, it is an excellent resource for Canadians who are interested in earning, saving and investing money. That's about it for now, sorry so dull, but it is the lazy days of summer....

Hail to the Power Weekend

June 23

Over drinks with friends Andrew and Jess (People of the Cul-De-Sac) we decide a summer weekend trip is in order. The only July weekend free for both of us is July 25/26. Date is set, promises made, and the destination brainstorming begins.

July 6

Destination decided - Boston and other nearby salty, fishy sites of interest. 

July 9

Watch Perfect Storm for the 10th time to brush up on local dialect and customs.

July 10

After checking map and talking to cousin, Ana finds out it's at least a 9 hour drive to Boston. Shortly thereafter, plug is pulled on Boston, new destination planning begins. Emails circulate in earnest.

July 21

Tuesday Cul-de-sac meeting called. Charges of procrastination are exchanged since destination has yet to be decided. Team congregates around internet explorer browser and begin googling. After Chicago (too windy), Kingston (too much traffic), family cabins (already full), Niagara Falls (too close), New York (too far), Cleveland (already went there), are considered and dismissed, we finally decide on Rochester, New York with day trip to Ithica. It is a good compromise. Meeting dismissed, people of the cul-de-sac disperse.

July 24

Friday - disaster strikes. Andrew has to work Saturday night as his food and beverage manager as gone awol. Rapid brainstorming ensues. Within moments a new plan emerges like a summer mayfly. Hotel in Toronto Friday night, followed up with a trip to the Woodbine horse racing track on Saturday. Disaster averted. Weekend trip back on.

Friday, 6 pm

Jam bags in car. Take a week's worth of luggage along for the night just in case. Kids narrowly miss being run over by Andrew's 4x4 as he rallies into the cul-de-sac. Everyone in van, depart.

Friday, 7 pm

Arrive at the Keg in Hamilton, eat big juicy steaks. Andrew manages to get them to comp us the meal, what a star. Pile back into van, crack a beer, head to TO and battle traffic all the way.

Friday, 11pm

Arrive at downtown Marriot. By some miracle kids are both sleeping. Haul kids and bags to adjoining rooms, dump kids in bed, proceed to drink heavily, say lots of bad words, and enjoy the spectacular view over downtown Toronto.

Friday, 2am or thereabouts

Lights out.

Saturday, 7:40 am

Awoken by two very alert looking children ready for action. A flurry of plastic animals ensues and the room is soon alive with the roar of blowdryers, which ignites the morning headache.

Saturday, 10 am

Breakfast at Eggspectations, delicious as expected. Talk of life, children, choices, dreams and bowel movements.

Saturday, 11 am

Walk to Andrew's single brother Kyle's super cool downtown condo. Find multiple specimens of women's underwear laying on bedroom floor. Fondly reminisce of the "good old bachelor days".

Saturday, 11:30 am

Leave Kyle's place with his entire Playstation 3 set of Rock Band gear, a well received donation to spark my children's future musical career. It's really not for me at all.

Saturday, 12 pm

Drinks at a scummy downtown Toronto bar. Stella for me, Rum and Coke for Andrew, Margarita for Jess and Diet Coke for Ana. Jess complains of strange and offensive odours in ladies toilet. Leave shortly thereafter.

Saturday, 1 pm

Arrive at AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario (http://www.ago.net/). Elongated heads, little ships, squirrel heads, furry cubes and ivory carvings intrigue, inspire and amaze us.

Saturday, 3:00 pm

Leave Toronto in a blinding rain storm, fight traffic, drop Andrew off at hotel in Hamilton for the evening shift. Along the way, we decide to go to Cleveland after he's done work to look at boats. No sense stopping now, the weekend is not even half over.

Saturday, 5:00 pm

Arrive home, have a nice dip in the hot tub, eat dinner, put jammies on kids. Jess spends quality with Bell the dog.

Saturday, 9:30 pm

Pick up Andrew in Hamilton, proceed to drive to Cleveland. Along the way Andrew suggests trying to find a ferry to take across Lake Erie Sunday afternoon. Idea well received.

Sunday, 1:30 am Arrive in Cleveland, only one 15 minute stop required for entire trip, must be a new record. Get checked into hotel. Too late to embark on drinking session, feel the ravages of old age.

Sunday, 7 am

Wake up. Get kids and women moving. Jess does Stella's hair and she looks like a beauty queen. Mental note that the "ragamuffin" is not the only look Stella can pull off. Investigate ferry options. Quick brekkie in hotel lobby. Leave hotel. Note that it's a gorgeous day.

Sunday, 10 am

Arrive at National Liquidators boat yard after driving through the inner city slums of Cleveland. Feel good about our situation in life.

Sunday, 10:13 am

Find our ultimate dream boat. 1996 Catalina 40 foot, pristine condition. Call broker to make offer. Find out boat already sold that week. Feel bad about our situation in life. Andrew continues shuffling through Sun Rays, Rinkers, looking for the ultimate deal.

Sunday, 12 pm

Arrive at WWII submarine, right between boat yard and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Women stay outside and sun themselves while kids join the men inside and cause trouble the whole way through. Amazed and astounded that 97 men could live on such a vessel. Imagined smells are overpowering.

Sunday, 1 pm

Depart for Sandusky, 40 miles west of Cleveland. Arrive, buy tickets, eat lunch and drink beer in shabby but cool downtown pub.

Sunday, 3 pm

Ferry departs for Pelee Island. Lovely ride on a beautiful day. Girls mix us deadly strong rum and cokes.

Sunday, 4:45 pm

Ferry arrives. Clear Canada customs. Drive around island to public beach. Remove shoes, play in water, skip stones. Magnus picks up dead fish and brings it over. Later, inspects flattened garter snake on roadway. Nature trip over, back in van.

Sunday, 5:15 pm

Arrive in the southernmost tavern in Canada. Listen to country music, drink OV, eat greasy stuff, watch the strange people.

Sunday, 8 pm

Ferry departs for Kingsville, Ontario. Much larger ferry this time, retire to canteen to drink, eat popsicles and talk about life. Conversation gets very serious. Andrew is barely talked out of a career as a low paid pilot.

Sunday, 9:30 pm

Arrive Kingsville. Grab a Timmy's. Girls take over driving duties while boys make obnoxious comments from back seat. Kids watch movies. Along the way, try to figure out why on earth we weren't able to fit a blimp ride into the weekend.

Sunday, 12:15 pm

Arrive Paris Ontario. All hail the Power Weekend.

Global warming on pause

Seems there's not much statistical weather ammo being generated in Canada for global warming buffs. It's been an odd summer. Besides back to work Mondays, which have been consistently beautiful, the weather has been unseasonably cool and rainy. Of course, by cool I mean low 20's, which is actually a great temperature for being outside, but far from the 30 degree July heat we normally get. We spent a week in late June at a rental cottage in Port Franks, which is on the shores of Lake Huron and less than 90 minutes from our home. It was spent with a pile of Ana's cousins and aunts and uncles, basically the Portuguese Mafia and me. We lucked out with two hot days to start the trip then it turned cool and rainy, but that didn't stop us. There were several early injuries in the trip, limited mainly to purple toes, ripped knees and intense bruising, all due to the outbreak of two vicious games of barefoot soccer. As usual, participants were highly energized, highly intoxicated and physically unfit for any sort of exercise, especially high octane European style football.

In the days that followed, physical activity reverted to much less strenuous activities, such as bobber fishing, hot tubbing and synchronized beer swilling. This past weekend we visited my brother, sister-in-law and nephew in Ottawa. While my most understanding wife looked after the kiddies, Marty and I went to a Cake show at the Ottawa Bluesfest. As expected, it was outstanding. The nice part of the weekend was that we decided to fly instead of suffering through that grueling drive. We're planning a trip this weekend to Windsor then across the border to cover some new ground in Michigan. As Ana says, our goal is to not let a single summer weekend go to waste!