Violin Update

These are a little bit dark, but when I used the flash, you couldn't really see the shape. The back is done and I'm working on the front. I'm just going to go over it lightly with some incredibly fine sandpaper, then get Bethany to check it over one more time. Then I can glue the sides to the back. How cool is that!

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The Question Gets Answered

A few days ago, we were together with a group of friends. Someone posed the question, "Which birthday was your favourite?" Mr FG said his 40th. I know why, we planned a surprise party that worked out so well. All of his family was there, and all of mine.

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I thought about it, and realized that none really stood out, they've all been great. That is except my 7th birthday. I really wanted a puppet. My grandmother had my grandfather hunting all over the place for a puppet for me. She couldn't do it as it was the last few weeks of her life and she was sick in bed. He found one and they gave it to me. It was a witch puppet with a green kerchief and a wart on her hooked nose. It was great. I couldn't wait to take it for "show and tell" at school the next day, but unfortunately, I woke up with the chicken pox and couldn't go to school.

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I now have an answer to the question. This one.

Since we moved here, more than a two and a half hour drive from the rest of the family, we've just about always gone down to where the rest of the family is. It's most convenient, and it's what we figured we'd do when we chose to move up here. No big deal.

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It never entered my head, that Gryper and the Missus, CG and the Mister, and NGU, the mister and the daughter would drive up for supper for my birthday. It had been snowing all day and the roads were not clear, so a long drive was even longer. What a surprise when we got to the restaurant and what I expected was the Mister and I would be having supper, and the "Fam" was waiting.

Hands down the best birthday!! To quote my daughter "My family rocks" and "All families should be as lucky as ours."

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Becky, the very patient server has decided she want to be part of the family too.
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Looks Are Deceiving

As I was working on the inside contours of the back of my violin yesterday, it occurred to me that the weight of it is much lighter than when I started working on the piece of maple. So I weighed it. It now weighs about half as much as our little African Grey Timneh parrot, Merlin.

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Violin Back 145 grams

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Merlin 285 grams

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Bucket List

Over Christmas we watched the movie "The Bucket List". Great movie. Essentially, two older men make a list of the things they want to do before they die.



I have only thought of two things for my bucket list, go on a trip to Iceland. Why? I don't know, it just sort of intrigues me. Also I'd like to do a pub tour of Ireland. Maybe as "kicking the bucket" gets closer, the list gets longer.



There have been things that have been on a back burner "to do" list though. Things I've thought of for years. Like playing the violin for instance. It's one of those things I've always wanted to do, so three or so years ago, I went for it. I've mentioned before that when I was about about ten years old I tried to make one with the lid of a shoe box and different sized elastic bands.



Actually making music is in a category all its own. Singing is one of my loves. I still remember the songs from Grade 2 choir, they were from Alice in Wonderland. Playing an instrument of any kind has always called to me. I did take piano lessons for a couple of years, but found it extremely frustrating.



About eight years ago I got my banjo ... it's so relaxing to sit in the evening and pick away. About four years ago, I got a flute, taught myself to play it and began playing in a local concert band.



There's one other thing that goes way back though. As a little girl I really wanted to learn ballet. I used to take home books from the library and teach myself in the privacy of my bedroom. Recently it occurred to me, I'm not out of time, I can still learn.



So after some checking, I've found an adult class. So I sheepishly went (with Mum who was sworn to secrecy) and got these babies.

I've got myself signed up for a class.

So the secret is out, the cat's out of the bag. I've bashfully told the world. Please no comments about the hippos in Disney's Fantasia.

FG's Excellent Adventure

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Last week I had to get new lenses put in my glasses. The were ordered before Christmas, and finally arrived (from a lab in France) last week.
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When I went to get them put into my glasses, Lance (Haliburton Vision Care Centre) was getting ready to put them in my glasses, so I asked if I could watch. He was really interesting and explained the whole process as we went along. It was very cool to see how it's done. You don't get this kind of fun at the big chain stores!
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Lance shows me the machine that takes the lenses from about 3" diameter to fit my glasses.
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Here's my lens in the machine (between the two black things on its edge) just before the grinder starts to work its magic.

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Here's Lance grinding the sharp edge off it.

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Now checking to see that it's exactly right.

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Turning it slightly because it was skewed.

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Cleaning all the markings off of the finished lenses.

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Here they are, those who know me well will be surprised to notice that they can actually see my eyes because the lenses are so clean (for now!)

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Hey, I know, now that I know how to do it, and I have my foot in the door, maybe next time Lance will let me do it while he watches on. How cool would that be?!

The End (fade to black)

The Saga of the Missing Camera

My camera went missing after this years New Year's Eve party. The next day, after returning to the snowy north, I was unpacking my stuff , and it wasn't there. I remembered having put it in my cooler bag, but straining to remember past the effects of my outrageous three glasses of wine, I couldn't remember if I had taken it out again at the stroke of New Year's tequila-fest (in which I did not take part).

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There were a ton of snowsuits, gloves, hats, scarves, boots, crazy carpets, purses and so on in the kitchen/entrance areas. I assumed that it had been gathered up in with a snowsuit, so I put out the call for searches of property. I began to wonder if it had been gathered up and then had fallen out in a driveway or something. Gryper and CG were ripping their homes apart, everyone was looking hither and yon.

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Then it turned up. Yes, I found my camera. It was nn the first place I looked. I looked there several times more, then folded it up and put it away. Yesterday, I took it out to use it and, viola!

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Here's the cooler bag, folded up just as it was when I found it. One picture with the camera in it and one without the camera.

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Bewildering.


*A quick google search turned up these quotes.

And, of course, there are times when I've stopped looking only to find what I've been looking for - in the first place I looked... I hate that.

The point is when you want to find something, you should know where it lives. And here’s one more tip: If you can’t find something and start looking for it, remember the first place you looked. That’s where your instincts told you it was, so when you find whatever you’re looking for, put it in that place.

The Subject of Liberty By Nancy J. Hirschmann
Thanks also to my father for constantly reminding me of the absurdity of life, and that when you can't find something, it's always in the first place you looked, not the last.

I always tell people what my sister tells her kids: "If you
can't find something, look again in the first place you looked."

Seems everyone has had this experience. (Ask Gryper about his photographs, he should still be looking on the diningroom table.)

This is the only explanation: Poltergeists

A poltergeist (German for rumbling ghost) is widely believed to be an invisible ghost that interacts with others by moving and influencing inanimate objects.