Your wish granted!

This year I've realized how easy it is for me to grant wishes. I can deliver what someone requested and they are so happy with what I've built. What a great feeling that is for me. Money exchanges, but the real good feeling comes when I get the "Thanks for making my" whatever I made. That expression of appreciation is so great, feels good knowing they really like whatever I made for them, and they are truly happy with it. 

This week alone I got the "I love my ladders!" also "Thanx for bringing the trellises in for me, they look awesome!"

There have been many along the way, I am so happy when Polly shows off the different things I've done in our home, small changes, but important to her. Feels good knowing I've improved a person's life by doing something I love. 

There is the other part of what I'm doing, I get to work with some of the most beautiful wood as I build. I showed my nefew yesterday a piece of wood, was so many beautiful colours and grains that I kinda hate putting it under a table, but I got to look at it, and I think I'll take a photo and put it here. 

Not everyone appreciate's wood the way I do, and that's ok, I just really see the beauty in it and that keeps me building with woods of all kinds. This year mostly Red Cedar, and some Yellow Cedar. 

Today I researched a "potato onion box" I think I know what the person wants, but I'm just looking for interesting ideas that will make it special. Yesterday I finally found the wood I've been looking for for a picnic table, a bit bigger project for me, so I wanted the best wood I could find, and I got it from the mill down the road I've been getting most my wood from this year. 

Funny how I felt, I was home with that wood cutting it up, and planning the table as I went, forgot I had to marinate the fish for dinner. Polly came out the door, said "you going to marinate the fish now" holly, I looked at the phone 4:00, and completely forgot, dinner is to be at 5:30. 

I was excited, as I'd been planning this awhile, so got right into it. 

I do loose track when I'm working at what I love! Today I'll meet with the person that I'm making the table for, getting it right is important to me, and can't do that as good over a message as well as in person. When I'm at the market and a person approach's with a request, I try to get all the information right then, I'm sure I'll make exactly what they want then.

This sign was my first request last Saturday, before I'd even set up, a woman that's husband and herself operate an RV park, and often people come to the door when he's sleeping and she's away here working. Is a simple message, and easy sign, still I liked building it. 

         Sign that u can use both sides

Today I attach something to a project I completed, just a little something to make it look a little nicer because I want to. No request, just a saw it after and looked not complete.

Polly is up now, planning some of our day happens now. The hockey 🏒 game is what's on her agenda, I'm like, "we could go out and watch it!" "Naww, Naw" she says as she clicks around looking for where we could watch it on the TV. 

I really don't care, but Polly she loves her hockey 🏒 😍

Soon I'll have to pack up, still not sure how this will go this year, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to store my tool's and wood in the same place again. Another little concern I have wiggling in the back of my mind.

As I write I'm talking with Penny my daughter, she's busy too, doing what she loves, and planning more for the future. Some of the things she's doing makes her $$, like the hat she made for me for Father's Day. I'm liking it, I got the name from my Nefew Steven, and a hat with it on it. I never really thought of what I was doing with a name, but here it is now. I'm smiling, funny how things just work out if ya just let em go. 

I'm very happy this morning, all is good in our lives. I got a really nice post from Clara, and a call that evening saying how much she appreciates me and my efforts. Penny and Catherine came for burgers 🍔 and all family around made for a great Sunday Father's Day & Penny's Birthday. Tyler showing up yesterday made it even better, always loved that little boy who's grown so big! 

Life is good, love our life ❤️ 

Planning our trip east just got a kick.

Yesterday as I watched another of Anthony Bordaine's shows, this one on India. After dinner with 2 other's they met in the cigar room for a drink and a smoke. I was surprised to see how tall Anthony (Tony he was often called) was. So off to the phone, and Google, how tall he was. 6'4" WOW, I never in all the shows I'd watched thought he was that tall. 

Of course I didn't stop googling there, I looked at his history, as he died June 8th, 2018, suicide. It shock's me, yet as he had dug addiction, not unusual. He took many of us around the world in his journeys looking for foods from every corner of the world. I've watched many of his shows, always surprised at what he finds, and how politics enter his mind as he travels. He was very aware of the difference between our standards in living and where he was taping his shows. 

Of course that wasn't it, I had to look a little deeper, and I found out where he went to culinary school. The culinary institute of America, so I looked this up, well it's a really big deal when it comes to educating chef's, and on the map I see it's not far from where we plan to stay while in New York, on the Hudson River. 

An that is how I started looking at our plans for traveling this fall. It's interesting how one small thing like observing Tony's height in a show, can lead to planning our future trip. I realized that I might want to make a few reservations ahead, although most of our travel reservations are not made too far ahead, these few places, I'm thinking now I might want to get to before the busiest places are full. 

I found a place while looking at NYC map that is really close to downtown, just a ferry ride across. Not fancy, just a parking lot kind of place, part of the marina, but from the reviews it's quite, and safe, expensive, but much cheaper than a hotel. I didn't make a call, but I will today, just see how much $$ it'll be, and if there be room for us on the days I'd want to be there.

When I start planning, more than just thinking of where we'll go, the actual making a reservation, (hmm, that's the name of Anthony's show "No Reservations") that's interesting, I'm liking the show, and also try not to have reservations! I snicker to myself now. I don't really like to make a reservation, but in some cases, when I know it'll be really busy where we are going, I do. 

We have a plan to stay at an RV park, in a huge park up the Hudson River in a town called Crotonville, the park is Croton Point park. 

Croton Park has a really good RV park 

Here I drew a line where the trains go into and back from the city, very convenient.

This will be good, and looking forward I'd like to stay for 10 days or a couple weeks there if possible. 

The other place that I found may be good for our last few days here, as very close to downtown, as I'm looking to going to the Macy's Parade at the end of November. Is a desire I've had for many years, as I've watched it on TV for years, always thought be fun to see it in person, so will do this year. 

What we want to do, we better hurry and do, as we're not getting younger, and time will run out! Leads me to think, we often say we have lots of time, yet it is finite, and we at this time in life should be doing whatever it is we'd like to do now, and we are to some degree. I grunt and groan as I get outta my chair to get my second cup of coffee ☕, might as well go for a pee, I'm up now 😂. We have to geter done now, as the ability to do what we used to is fading away.

So I plan and Polly says, I don't know, that seems like be hard to get into, that's the sound of scared that it'll be difficult, always avoid difficult is Polly's thought, me I'm more let's try this 😃, will see what we can get outta this closer to place. I like the idea of being right close to the middle of the city, I'm sure it'll be a good experience. We have been to NYC before, but didn't get to see as much as we'd like. So we go again, last time likely. 

All this and more planning came from watching a show, and wondering how tall he was! I snicker again, such is life.

Polly went for an overnight stay with her sister in Qualicum Bay, at her MH, they had a good time together as always, today she's sleeping good, was happy to be back to her own bed. 

I read this morning our weather is about to change back to cold & wet again, spring 🌱 🌼 isn't finished. Oh well, better for the forest, less fires I'm hoping this year. 

I got a request for a wishing well planter yesterday, a replacement for the one that was in front of their Mom and Dad's house for years. I started right away, hope it turns out good. Always exciting starting on something new, something I haven't built before. I was tired yesterday, but the new project got me going again, helped revitalize me. 

Today I'll finish it I hope, or at least get to the sanding part, I know it's going to rain Tuesday, and working inside the tent is ok, I'd rather be outside. 

I'm moving a little slower, but I'm above ground, and able to still do much. Fortunate to be able, some are not, and some are not here at all anymore. 

I think I'll watch another Anthony Bordaine show "No Reservations" then later I'll look into getting a reservation 😂

Love our Life! ❤️

Having experience that surprised me!

I was floored when I found out that the guy that pulled into Arrowvale campground a few nights ago, was a friend of mines cousin! 

He stopped, looked at my sign, then after a bit of a yak, orders a sign from me with a saying he really liked on it. 

           I'll never forget Dave Bruner 

Said he'd pick it up in the morning on his way out. I made up the sign immediately that night, then lacquered it in the morning. He didn't show, so I thought, he forgot, or just didn't show. I thought then he'd maybe come back after his trip to Tofino, or maybe I'd just inherited a new sign to display at the market this weekend. 

He disapeared for a couple days, then he returned. I was surprised, as I thought he'd skipped out. So after some more yak, he had lot's of history on the Island, Port Hardy way, and logging history, so we had much to talk about.

      Dave showed me this carving done for his father, look closely, it's a logging setting, one his father and Dave both worked on. 

 Somehow we got to talking of native ways, and I told him of the carvings in the trees, and took him on a walk on the trail to see them. We walked and talked, I showed him the carvings in the trees, then we walked all the way to the bench at the end of the trail I built last year. 

We sat down and continued talking, learning a little more about each other as we talked. I heard him mention as he talked a last name I recognized, so I asked him his name, Bruner he said, I said I have a friend with that same last name, Danny Bruner, Dave says "That's my cousin"  WOW, I was surprised, shocked really, all this time we had been talking and I just find out like that he's Danny's cousin. Man was I shocked. 

Now we really had something to talk about, I shook my head, and said have you heard that saying 6 degrees of separation? And then we had more to talk about. Dave could talk me under the table I'm sure, he was full of beans, just so loving life, and exploring the island in his new to him truck and camper he bought after retirement and selling his place in Surrey. 

He stayed the night at Arrowvale, he said he really liked pigs as I was telling him about all the different animals here at Arrowvale. I talked to Ann, as she was going to look in on the pig's anyway, so took him for a look to check them out. He said the male pig was scary looking, big tusks. 

I'm still shaking my head thinking about how this sign thing connected us. I put out a sign saying "pick a blank, I'll make you a sign" and so far it's sold two signs here, but this story of meeting Dave, and his history, which I just couldn't write it all down here, just too much, was so coincidentall, so WOW. 

Sometimes I just put myself out there, and this is what happens. Although this was so cool, I'm still shaking my head, even as I write. 

Today I'll make a few more planters, getting ready for the market this weekend, I'm going to try something a little different, I have some paint that I added more thinner to, trying to create a stain that looks as I like.

See how that goes. Just a little different, not as dark black, and will show the grain in the wood. 

Still enjoying the woodworking, and seeing what I can do that'll be interesting. 

I have a bench that I've started yet to finish, the legs are my holdup for now. 

A fire 🔥 and smokies tonight with family, be really nice was to enjoy Friday night here. 🤗

Love our life ❤️

A week of 😲 WOW

This week was one of the fastest I've had for a long time. Building planters isn't rocket science, but when I get lots of requests, I like to complete the orders quickly. Everything takes time, and as I started to feel like I was rushing I remembered the reason I was doing this In the first place, to enjoy the process. As I was scraping the bark off a piece of live edge cedar I was making into a bench I remember, don't rush the process. 

Planters & live edge bench I made for Neil @ Lock Busters in Port Alberni 

From then on as I worked I really enjoyed what I was doing, not to rush through it. I made so many planters I started to run out of the cedar I was using, and thankfully a friend Bob Lloyd had some he'd offered to me, so I went over to his place and picked it up. He had a message for me, "let's get together, we are getting a little long in the root, and we only have so much time left". He's right, so that's another one of the reminders I need to get it straight that I need to do. 

I just realized I promised a woman I'd come look at a screen door to install at her place yesterday morning, I got so into another order, a guy was coming to get, and a stand I'd started to make, that I completely forgot about making this appointment. I'm going to have to call her today, apologize, and see if another day be ok. I feel silly when I forget something like that. 

Forgetting is something, I have to really concentrate on marking things down now, even then I can forget. I'm not sure if just old age, or too many thoughts going around in this well used brain. Oh well, I'm still kickin, better than the alternative. 

Our grandson Jet's graduation 🎓 ceremony was yesterday, was a really good graduation. Many children (well adults now), graduating this year. Everyone dressed up in the most beautiful interesting clothing. Everyone looking so great, and the weather seemed like it might rain, but it held, and went to sunshine at half way through. Was a perfect day for graduation. 

A BBQ after at his place, put on by his Dad Kenny & Step Mom Jessica was a nice way to end the graduation, we got to meet and talk with all Jet's family, everyone that supported him through his life. There I'm sure we're a few that didn't make it, but most all his supportive family was there.

The saying "It takes a community to raise a child", I believe this, as we grow there are so many people that effect how you are shaped, and with Jet like everyone, he has had many people help him along, in many different ways. As grandparents we really just keep in touch, and visit with him at this time in his life. But there was a time when we'd take him and his brother and our other grandchildren to our cabin down the canal in Port Alberni, that time was a special time in all their lives, a time they'll never forget. So many things to do, and no phone to play games on. Was such a great time. 

Jet's now got a plan in place, he explained it to me yesterday, finish his schooling, get his car going, needs a few repairs. Practice driving, and get his license. Then start working in August, from there he'll continue without taking time off till he goes to school in Victoria for his sheetmeal work and HVAC apprenticeship. I like that he has a plan. 

After the BBQ we came over to our friends Americo & Claudette's for a visit and stay the night. It's their 39th anniversary, WOW, that's aong time married. They're younger than us, still kickin up their heels often. We had a drink with them, stayed in and just watched a little TV, as we yaked. Was a nice day, all in all. 

When I leave home I don't think of what I've got to do, it's a holiday, even just a day or two away, a holiday. Well actually all our life is a holiday 😄, so fortunate we are. 

Will start my building again tomorrow, every day now, I see wood, sure is a good feeling. After a few more planters, I'm going to get back to that Bench I started, wanna finish that this week. I'm still thinking of what's next! Lol

Life is really good, especially when I'm living in the moment. 

Love our life ❤️

Oh yeah, I took time out for a ride up the mountain with Moe Francoeur, that was and excellent day!