dog days of summer

It looks like this might be one of the last really nice weekends before the weather starts to turn. I should take advantage of it and enjoy the outside – maybe get some fibreglassing done on D3’s ODST helmet.

Instead, we’ll probably be doing a bunch of yard work like closing out the pool and garden. We should burn down a bit more of the branches and rake up more of the crabapples. Add a bit of driving around getting fabric for Gee’s costume and that should eat up the weekend.

I am hoping to squeeze in a bit of time to get to a few of the comic book store for Heroclix though. Maybe even a bit of time to play one of the new games.

I should get in some good time cleaning up my desk and sorting out if there are any parts to keep from the old computers but those might have to wait until mid-October when I get some days off.

booking renos

We’ve been busy over the last two weeks. We’ve had a bunch of renovators come in and give quotes. We’ve paid a few deposits and booked some work.


So far we have booked for installing central air, new fence and patio, changing the window in the kitchen to a door, and changing our tub surround. The roofers are coming back tonight so hopefully we can finalize that as well.

We are still waiting to hear back about replacing the counter top and flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Shan’s been busy cleaning and we’ve done a few loads to the storage unit as well as to Value Village.

D3 and I removed the rest of the electrical conduit and the former piping for the old pool heater as requested by the deck people.

new bank - renovations partially on

Since our mortgage was up for renewal anyways, we spoke to a new bank and they were much more helpful in the matter of finding money for renovations. Shan’s been dealing with them for a bit and I went down on Tuesday to sign a bunch of forms to move our mortgage. Shan’s also been getting estimates for a bunch of different renovations.


We still weren’t able to get enough for the big renovations yet but we will be able to do a bunch of other renovations that also needed to get done. This includes replacing the tub surround, the kitchen counter, the flooring in the bathroom through kitchen, replacing the fence, adding a deck, adding air conditioning, and changing the kitchen window to a door.

In addition, since we won’t be putting a second floor above the kitchen/bathroom yet, we’re going to fix the roof on that side. It seems a bit of a waste to fix the roof now only to rip it off in (hopefully) a few years for the renovations but it really needed to be done. With it fixed we can repair some of the water damage at our own pace.

We already had the electrical panel replaced with a new one. The old one kept kicking off when we had any three of (washer, dryer, dehumidifier, oven, microwave, hair dryer, room air conditioner) on at the same time. Since the replacement, we have had no problems. This means we don’t have to keep resetting the clocks on everything all the time.

Books read - May to August 2012

May
The Illustrated Star Wars Universe by Ralph McQuarrie and Kevin J Anderson
Heat Wave by Richard Castle
The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies by George Anastasia & Glen Macnow
The Absolute beginners guide: Making Metal Clay Jewelry by Cindy Thomas Pankopf
Eat This Not That 2012 by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
1000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear & Art by Dr Grymm with Barbe Saint John

June
Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee
Steampunk gear, gadgets, and gizmos: a maker’s guide to creating modern artifacts by Thomas Willeford
Hayes: Millenium Falcon modified YT-1300 modified Corellian freighter: owner’s workshop manual by Ryder Windham

July
Crimson Skies: Pirate’s Gold – Wings of Fortune: Book 1 by Stephen Kenson
Codex: Dark Angels (4th ed) by Jervis Johnson and Andy Hoare
The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan
Steampunk Emporium by Jemma Hewitt

Aug
The Boy’s Book of Mechanical Models by William B. Stout
The Old West: The Railroaders by Time Life Books
The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlen
The Steampunk Bible by Jeff Vandermeer with SJ Chambers
Zombies!: An Illustrated History of the Undead by Jovanka Vuckovic
Fine Woodworking Best Workbenches by the Editors of Fine Woodworking
CelebraTori by Tori Spelling

GW and Mark - both good in my books

I had let a few issue of White Dwarf 391 pass by on ebay because Mark from the local GW was seeing what he could do. Since they have me as a subscriber for the last 4 years they said that they would look around for one. I’ve been subscribing for over 10 years but they have passed the information from UK to US to Canada and back as the printing of the issues has changed. Mark has already been great in this matter so anything more would be outstanding. In calling him back he said that they were able to find a copy and had mailed it to me.

This is beyond anything I could have expected. Many people are down on Games Workshop for being an evil, money-grubbing corporation but they have certainly done more than right by me in this matter. Mark’s help in this is even better – if only they were more local I would certainly patronize it more.

Fire is your friend

While we were out and about the weekend before last, we popped by the real Canadian Superstore and out front they were blowing out some summer merchandise. We picked up a fire pit that started at $89.95 and had been reduced to $69.95 and was being blown out at $19.95.




Our old pit has served us well in the last decade but rust has finally claimed it. When we went to put it away last month after the last time we used it, the area around one of the bolts holding the leg gave way and the leg fell off.



The new pit went together pretty well and seems to work well enough for us. It’s not as deep as the old one or quite as solid but it is a bit more stylish and hotdogs and marshmallows roasted up equally well in it.

White Dwarf - subcription hiccup

My White Dwarf subscription had lapsed. Back in the day, they used to notify you that your subscription was coming to an end. But since they have changed it back to a North American edition they no longer do this. Since subscribers often won’t get an issue until the second week of the month, I wasn’t certain until last week that it wasn’t coming – and I wasn’t able to get to the ‘local’ Games Workshop until Wednesday.

I can’t really complain as I had last renewed back in Feb and received issues up to July. I finally managed to pop by Games Workshop and Mark hooked me up with another year’s subscription but the August issue had a minicodex for 40K in it and has completely sold out. I could get them delivered to the store but, with them not being open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and being located in St Vital – I’m rarely able to get to the store to pick them up.

The renewal kicks back in for the December issue so Mark will hold a copy of the new issues until I’m getting them again. I checked Chapters, McNally’s, and even Comics America to see if they had a copy of the August issue – but none did. So I will have to try my luck on the secondary market.