On Monday we had  quite a big storm go through. It was the remains of Typhoon Roke. 
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/55604/former-typhoon-roke-deals-bc-a.asp?partner=accuweather which hit Japan on the 20th. Over there they had lots of flooding, wind damage, and nine people were killed. After the storm left them it arced up toward the Aleutian Islands and everyone expected it to dissipate over the cold water so they stopped watching it. A week later it appeared off the BC coast. SURPRISE! We got lots of rain and wind. They cancelled a bunch of BCFerries sailings. It was a bit of a mess but not as bad as Japan. The worst we had here was that a branch from one of the apple trees broke off so Marsha had to make a green apple pie. The most alarming thing during the storm was when I heard a bear rattling around behind the house. I went outside to check (which in hindsight might not have been the smartest move) and found the noise was really the rain and stuff blowing around in the neighbours aluminum fishing boat.

But now for something completely different.

Have I mentioned my workshop? There is a 15’x15’ building in the back yard. It has lights, outlets, built in benches, cabinets, a wood floor and double doors. It is a real workshop. This week for the first time I got to do some actual work out there. I actually built something. The story is like this: we’re getting old. We were finding it a bit of a strain to climb up out of the couch. I mean when you were sitting on it you were only a few inches off the floor so getting all the way up to a standing position was a lot of work. I decided to make some boosters to raise the whole thing up to a reasonable height. Now remember that we’re trying to do everything on the cheap. I got a bunch of good 2x10s from the rental. They were just stacked up in the back yard and the owner was going to dispose of them along with a bunch of other “junk” so we got them for free, along with a bunch of good slate tiles that were just lying around under the weeds. Not sure yet what we'll do with those. I cut some of the boards to length and then stacked a bunch of them up and tied them together with deck screws. I made two of these platforms, one for each end of the couch. Then I drilled six holes in the bottom of each one and threaded some heavy bolts in for feet. Once I got them upstairs I stapled denim from a couple of pairs of old jeans around them for looks and they were done. The seat is now a couple of feet off the floor. You can see the TV better and it’s easier to get in and out. Best of all it’s solid, not going to break, wobble or turn over and it looks good. Everyone that has sat in the 'boosted' couch thinks it's a fantastic idea. OK we have a few friends that might think it’s a bit tall. OK sure there are some that might want a rappelling harness to get down. I’d just suggest they go check out the greatest hits of Randy Newman.

The thing is that building these platforms for the couch made me appreciate the workshop even more. Out there running power tools. Sawdust in my hair, (OK, on my scalp). Figuring things out with a tape and a carpenters square. Taking scraps of discarded lumber and making something useful and attractive. It was wonderful. I want to do more of this.  I mean I feel like I should get a Radial Arm saw and some clamps. I don’t need them but the shop feels like it needs more power tools. I feel like I should have a mini fridge and a radio to listen to sports. I don’t care which one, I’m not really that interested in hockey or football but the room just calls for a sports sounds and a cold can of something or other while I de thatch the trellis or patch the mower valve or adjust the faucet timber or whatever men do in a workshop. I already have a plastic dumpster with small scraps of wood and sawdust in it. What I need now is a shop vac, a powerful shop vac to add to the decor. The walls seem blank. It needs something, like a calendar with a picture of dogs and guns or maybe a girl in a bikini on the hood of a car holding a shock absorber. The space just calls out for one.

It’s more than a bit scary. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Video of the week. I saw this on PBS a few years ago and was mesmerized. I didn’t catch the title though. This week I ran across it and here is the link. Remember they had to compose the music. Then animate the marbles and instruments to match. It’s really amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu-A0jqMPd8&feature=related

More next week. It's Apple Harvesting Time.

Doug & Marsha

PIX: Geiger and Momiji in a quiet moment. Half an hour later they were stalking each other again.




One afternoon the clouds were hanging on the mountains.