And The Dog Becomes the Parent

Our habit is to watch the 11:00 news, and after the weather report, turn off the TV and head upstairs.

Last night, after all the hoodaw with the house selling, we both dozed off during the news. About 10 minutes after the weather report finishes, the dog suddenly barked. I awoke and looked at her, she was sitting in the middle of the living room, just looking back and forth at both of us. It was very clear we were being told it was bed-time.

I giggled at her for the next ten minutes. She's so bossy!

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Stuff

Eeeeuuuuwww ... first thing in the morning, I came downstairs earlier than usual and stumbled on this scenerio .... naughty frogs!

Finally after having procrastinated for a while, I finally got to it. Last week, I used a really strong tea/coffee blend and stained my violin. It went from white to a pale tan colour. Today, I applied the first coat of clear varnish. Here are the results (not great lighting for showing off, but you get the idea). I am so pleased at the lovely tawny result. I'll do another coat or two of clear and then several coats of brown varnish. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished result.

I've been playing my other violin and am finding that I really miss this one. I'll be getting it put back together as soon as possible.

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Has Granny Quit Blogging?

No, I haven't quit, but it has been over a month. We've just been really busy and it hasn't been at the top of my list. Busy with what you ask. In no particular order (because I haven't the time to sort them). Here's what we've been up to.

This past weekend we went to the Moto Cross place and watched Grandson II on his bike.

Grandpa has been working on his guitar, even though I haven't been busy with it, I thought I'd toss it in.

We spent a weekend at the cottage of friends.

We went camping with other friends and cycled a lot.

We helped Gryper take a tree down.

We went to the Ugly Hat Party and CG's place.

I've worked on my viola.

While spending the weekend in newmarket, we went to the mandarin restaurant.

I got a tattoo with my son and daughter (they're autism awareness tattoos).

And that's the tip of the iceberg. When I have time to sort the pictures from my camera, there's lots more that 's been keeping me out of trouble. Stay tuned.

My Viola Progress

Several of us pooled our shekels and bought a bending iron for bending the wood for violins, guitars, cello and so on. Bethany and I have both started making violas, and since she's away and I have the bending iron in my hot little hands (Well one finger is hot. Ouch!), I got busy bending the sides and the linings of my viola.

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Inside of the maple sides of the viola are thin strips of wood (lining) that makes the edges of the sides sturdier and provides a surface for gluing the back and the front on. You can see in this picture that I've installed the linings on one side (the one showing). After I remove the sides from the mould, I'll put the linings on the reverse side as well, they're all prepared, they just need to be glued into place.

I've got a decent start on the scroll and neck too. Now I can go back to carving the front and back.

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When I made my violin, I was at this stage after two years, it's amazing that I only started it in June. It really makes a difference knowing what to do and how to do it.

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The Home Wreckers

Today I went to Bethany's place so we could work on our violas together. After I got there we talked about where we each were with our projects. She adjusted the sound post in my violin, fixing up a bit of a dead sound when I played the A string.

We talked about varnishing my violin and my next steps. Then we both started working on our violas. I began carving the scroll on mine and she busily started working on the back of hers.

Bethany needed the drill press so she put it up on the work bench, and started to use it. It didn't seem to be working properly. She stopped and looked it over.

With a surprised tone, she exclaimed, "There's a mouse in my drill press!" I looked over to see Mama Mouse peeking out at us from the underside of the pulley housing on top of the drill press. We both stood staring at it for a few moments, then I said, "Shall we take it outside?"

"Definitely" she replied", as she picked it up and headed for the door that I ran and held open.

She set the drill press down on the ground and opened the pulley housing. There was poor Mama Mouse frantically running around with a baby in her mouth. We stood there staring for a few moments at the nest made from fibres from Ernie's jacket, with several more babies in it. Then we both looked around as if there would be some sort of solution standing nearby. It reminded me of a couple of guys staring under the hood of a car that just quit, not having a clue what to do next.

We agreed that we wanted Mama Mouse to be able take care of her babies, so we would relocate them. We got a bucket and moved babies and nest into the bucket, but Mama Mouse wasn't so co-operative. She evaded us for a few minutes, but finally we outsmarted her and ultimately she left Casa Drill Press. She grabbed one of her babies and bolted up the wall and out of sight between the wall and the deck. We left her to sort her life out and when we checked back later, she had moved all of them to an undisclosed location.

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall and watched the two of us.

The Viola Adventure

I've been busy gouging, planing, scraping and generally making a woody mess. Here's an update.

I'm hoping to have the sides (strips in front) the right thickness (1.1 mm) to bend them and glue them onto the mould by this weekend. The front (the light piece in the centre) is not far from being finished on the outside. I've cut out the neck and scroll and am ready to start carving it. Lots to do, and with the Mister working busily on his guitar, it's keeping me motivated ... no, keeping me obsessed.

All in all I'm pleased, and particlurly with how much easier everything seems after having made the violin.

As The Pickles Cool

I made pickled beets this morning with the beets CG's Mister gave me yesterday. As the pickles cooled and Froggie pushed the last jar into place, I reflected on my week.

Yesterday we were at CG and the Mister's cottage. We had lunch, a birthday cake, blew bubbles and watched PC's daughter doing her Dolly Parton show. We had a merry olde time swimming and generally goofing around in the lake. Four of us swam across the lake (CG, PC, Andrew and I) and then having done that we turned around and swam back refusing offers of a ride in the row boat.

We're just that good.

PC showed me his new pan flute and let me try it. I was able to find most of the notes of Oh Susanna on it, but not without a bunch of mistakes and I have no idea what notes I was using. He did a demo and is doing really well. Very impressive.

The Mister has been busy working on his guitar all week. This picture shoes the neck with the truss rod channel carved out and the truss rod sitting in there. He's finished that part now and is carving the peg head as I type.

Earlier in the week we went and visited some family. I got to see all the grand kids. I didn't think to pull out my camera while we were with Lex and the Smurfs. We had supper with Gryper and the Missus, then later we went to Grandson the First's first ever hockey game. He is the one skating towards the camera to the left of the goalie. He did really well, scoring his first goal early in the game.

This is Grandson the Second and I cheering from the stands. I took this picture, although it looks like the work of a professional.

Just before the game ended, we headed home and got there at about 11:30. I stayed wake and chatted with the Mister all the way, surprisingly enough.

Over the course of the week, I've been bashing away on my viola, it's coming together nicely. I'll post pictures of that when the work I've done seems more obvious

All in all, a great week.

I Have A Blister, I'm So Pleased

Odd title, I know. After three years of working in it, I finished my violin (except the varnish) and now I've started on my viola. I thought that after having made the violin and understanding the process, the viola would go more quickly. Seems that it's true. On August 10 (Monday), I glued the front of my viola together.

I started to make my mould (for the sides)on Wednesday, I perfected it on Thursday. Friday I cut the front and cut the back to size (I'd only cut it close, should have cut it out properly before I started the rough arching).

Today, I worked on the rough arching of the front (right side) and got a long way with it.

Afterwards I took it inside and hung it up on a cord in the window. With the light on it I realized that it already is starting to look great. I have a blister on my thumb from the gouge and the thumb plane, but I don't care. It was worth it.

Kudos to My Invaluable Helper

Now that I'm back from my classes, I have to give credit to an amazing helper, without whom making my violin would not have been possible.

Who helped put the fingerboard in place? Froggie.

Who helped me to get the bass bar glued into exactly the right spot? Froggie.

Who helped clamp the front to the sides and back? Froggie.

Who helped the Mister to plane the front of his guitar properly? You guessed it, Froggie.

Who was right there ensuring that the Mister made the mould for his guitar perfectly? Froggie again.

Now that my fiddle is at home, where do I find Froggie? On the hanger making sure I've hung my new fiddle properly. What a guy!!

^^^^^

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My Fiddle

Today, after three years, I finished making my violin. I still have to varnish it, but first I'll play it "in the white" for a few weeks to find any small adjustments that need to be made first.

It was set up by Bethany, and I asked her to put the strings on even though I know how. I was pretty emotional, but I decided I was not going to cry. She put the first string on it, plucked it, and I started. So did several other people in the room.

After all the strings were on it, she handed it to me and I was in tears. I started to play St Anne's Reel, got as far as the chorus, and I could feel a sob building up. I had to stop playing, handed it to Bethany and asked her to play it. I heard a bunch of applause when I stopped playing. I was surrounded by about 30 people, only half of whom were in our class. The rest were from another class who came by to see the first time I played it. I wasn't the only one bawling like a baby, there were at least 10 other people doing the same thing.

It sounds lovely. What a thrill.

As if I haven't lost enough sleep over this violin, I've started building a viola. Hopefully it won't take three years.

Here We Go

Here's what my violin looks like today. Tomorrow starts the week of my course. I'm hoping to have it all finished and ready to varnish by the end of the week. The following week, I'll be taking the Intermediate Stringed Immersion course, a whole week of playing all day. Wouldn't it be the coolest if I could play the violin that I've made by hand for that course??

This picture shows the front, sides and back, all completed and ready to glue together. Just below them is the bass bar which is all finished and fits the contours inside the front (see the next picture).

This is the neck, scroll completed and fingerboard temporarily glued on. I have to finish carving the neck, then the fit it to the body. After that I'll play it "in the white" and make sure all is well with it. Then I'll remove the fingerboard and varnish it.

While I'm waiting for the glue to dry, if there's nothing else I am able to do, I'll work on my viola. As you can see, I've started the rough arching on the back. As if I haven't lost enough sleep over my mistakes while I've been making the violin, now I can make different mistakes with this one.

The Ongoing Ode to Cheryl

When I found this little gem on the comments section of one of my posts, I was left no alternative. I had to publicly expose you-know-who for hiding things from us.

"I've just read the "Ode to Cheryl"....wow it's been a long time, but actually it hasn't. I just haven't told my stupid little secrets. But here's one...Yesterday I was removing the label off a wine bottle and I stabbed myself with a pearing knife in the muscle between the thumb and first finger.Let me tell you that hurt and the muscle is still like a brick in there.

5:06 PM, July 21, 2009"

Only you, wouldn't leave the bottle on the table,

Only you, would try to carve off the label

What kind of a fool, would use the knife as their tool,

Now you've sliced your thumb muscle in two.

We think you're accident prone,

You're hilarious, you one and only you.

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See the bottom of my blog for the complete Ongoing Ode to Cheryl.

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Ask And You Shall Receive

Yesterday we were in the local pub. It was really busy and we were sitting in an area we've never sat before. After we got our drinks, we chatted and waited for our supper.

Suddenly, with bugged out eyes, I said intensely to the Mister, "Look at that!", pointing up on a shelf about 10 feet off the floor. Sitting way up there was a teapot. Not just any teapot, a beehive teapot. I have a friend who, because of her surname, collects bees. I knew that I must have this teapot to give her as a gift.

When out server came back, I asked her, "What do you think are the chances that I could buy that teapot?". She pointed to another employee, Karen, and crooked her finger, calling her over to our table. I asked Karen the same question.

She told me that she'd bought it in a store that was closing down, and that if I put a donation into the box to sponsor her breast cancer team, I could have the teapot.

I put my donation in the box, the server had the people at the table beneath the shelf move for her, and she climbed up on a chair and got it down. Then she took it and washed it before she handed it over to me. So, their team is richer, I have a lovely gift for my friend, and I definitely won't hesitate to ask when I'm in that sort of situation again.

What do you think? Will my friend be pleased?

My New Hero

While we were in Yoho National Park, we went to the interpretive talk about the Spiral Tunnels. It was interesting to hear the history of this engineering marvel that is one hundred years old this year. 

One of my favourite parts was to hear about Lady Agnes MacDonald, wife of Sir John A MacDonald, Canada's first prime minister. After hearing the story I was a bit skeptical, but I've found a lot about it on the internet.

This is from the following web-site:

http://www.kvbrakemen.com/inc/Train_Talk_Songbook.pdf

"Now for something wonderfully unique in Canadian history. This song relates a bizarre act by the wife of Canada's first Prime Minister during the couple's cross Canada train trip in 1886. Lady Agnes Macdonald was, by nature, a totally unliberated Victorian lady. Out of modesty, she believed piano legs should be skirted. She referred to "dark meat" and "white meat", never the breast or the thigh of a chicken--and she thought the only reason a woman should leave home on Sunday was to attend church. So it came as a complete surprise to Sir John A, and the C.P.R. executives when Lady Agnes insisted on riding up front on the cowcatcher of the locomotive as their train steamed from the Rockies to the west coast! Unable to dissuade her, John A. rode along with her as the train chugged into Revelstoke but then he returned to the club car and Lady Agnes (smiling from ear to ear) rode the rest of the way on her own. For some myserious reason she wanted that experience badly enough to defy the conventions of the day, her public persona AND the wishes of her husband. Our song honours the gutsy spontaneity of...LADY MACDONALD'S RIDE. "

   

LADY MACDONALD’S RIDE

By: Jack Godwin 

A train went by the other day, the weirdest thing I’ve seen, 

A lady rode on the cowcatcher, as regal as a queen. 

Oh, she was havin’ fun, now that was plain to see 

Later I heard, she rode up there from the Rockies to the sea! 

CHORUS: 

When your big chance comes...TAKE IT, don’t you run away and hide 

Nothin’s gonna happen ‘less you...MAKE IT, you can't win unless you try.('cause...) 

Just once around--then we’re gone--to life’s other side. 

There’s a lesson for the learnin’, in Lady Macdonald’s ride. 

“I’m perfectly aware of the danger, she said. But the spell of the moment is strong. 

Just once to court excitement, that surely can’t be wrong.” 

Past wildfires an' rock slides, riding there alone, 

Lady Macdonald saw it all, on her cowcatcher throne. 

CHORUS 

Swayin’ ‘round the mountain curves, and down the steepest grade 

I heard she laughed with pleasure, completely unafraid. 

Skirts tucked underneath her, hat down ‘round her eyes 

She rode into the history books on those C.P. railway ties. 

CHORUS 

Sometimes in life we get a chance at a dream that we hold dear 

The things that make us hesitate are worry, doubt and fear. 

So when your moment comes, just brush those thoughts aside 

And keep in mind the story, of Lady Macdonald’s ride. 

You just remember well the story of Lady Madonald's ride. 

http://www.vcn.bc.ca/pmmuseum/Programs/Building%20the%20Trans%20Canada%20Railroad.pdf

Last Week of the Vacation

We left the mountains on Sunday, and stopped in Calgary for a visit with cousins Brenda, Ray and their daughter Hayley. She's a cutie.

We all arrived at Susan and Laurence's place last Tuesday. We had supper reservations and Laurence was working until just before supper. So the rest of us went  for a drink and enjoyed laughs, drinks and the view. I didn't get a pic of the supper group. Carolyn and Richard had to leave the following morning, and the next day the six of us had supper in our trailer ... again, no pix. 

Thursday we just hung out at the house because the weather was cold and rainy.

When we got to the house, Froggie enjoyed the view for a few minutes, then went inside for some socializing.

Susan made us a Mexican feast. 

Laurence was just beginning his vacation, so he had some work to finish, but seemed pretty relaxed while he was doing it.

Friday morning, we were homeward bound, with Sunday early afternoon as the anticipated arrival.

It was a great vacation, too many November-like days, but the cold and rain didn't 'dampen' our spirits.

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