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Sunday, July 13, 2025
Karl and Lenny's EZ Haul
Some time ago, I assembled this MDF milk delivery van. Needing something to distract myself yesterday, I painted it and covered it with rust and grime. Then, I added some cargo, a cooling unit, and two miniatures sculpted in seated positions. I call them Karl and Lenny. I imagine them as industrious, good natured ne'er-do-wells who drive around the community offering to transport goods or haul away junk on the cheap. Karl drives, and Lenny is the muscle.
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Friday, July 11, 2025
Thursday, July 10, 2025
The Birthday That Might Have Been
But maybe she's celebrating with Dad. I'd like to believe that.
Here's Mom in 1960, the year she turned 18. Looking beautiful, Mom, as always.
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Elizabeth Blanche Woods, 1942 - 2025
While we've always loved her, Sean, Sylvia and I got even closer to Mom following Dad's death in 2018. We're all grateful for that strengthened connection.
Mom was tough. She was resilient. Strong. Principled. Generous. And compassionate. She was a fantastic partner for Dad and a great mother to Sean and me, as well as a great aunt to her many nieces and nephews.
She loved to read. She loved to garden. She worked hard and took things in stride. She loved her family and the outdoors. She was an excellent curler. She was a teacher, though she left that career behind to raise Sean and me.
We did our best to help Mom through the stress and worry of the last few months. Even in her hardest moments, Mom was most worried about me, Sean, Sylvia, and her sisters.
I hope, in some way, that she's with Dad now.
Good travels, Mom. Thank you for everything.
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
Monday, July 07, 2025
The Propreantepenultimate Straw
Sylvia was the voice of reason and found a solution within minutes. Thank goodness for her.
Why is there a Molson box in my garage, given I don't drink alcohol? Some miscreant put their recycling in my garbage bin the last time I put it out for collection. I know that sort of thing shouldn't annoy me, but that, too, made me irrationally angry.
Sometimes I don't like who I am.
Sunday, July 06, 2025
Mutant Overlords
Saturday, July 05, 2025
The Missing Key to Tomorrow and Yesterday
Friday, July 04, 2025
Golden Hour Hydrant Crossing
Thursday, July 03, 2025
Granddad's Partsman Award
Wednesday, July 02, 2025
Frustrated Scavenger
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
A Most Valuable Coin
A couple of weeks ago--which now feels like a lifetime--Mom and I went to Co-Op after one of her medical appointments. While she waited in the car, I went in to get her some lemonade and Sprite. When I returned, she said "I have a present for you." It was this coin, the first doubloon with King Charles III on the obverse. She knows I have a small collection of coins, so she saved it the last time she received change from a store by herself.
Mom is not doing so well now, but after her last six-week hospital stay, she returned home and had a pretty good most-of-June. We were planning what to do for Mom's 83rd birthday when she had to be hospitalized again. Sylvia and I went to visit her today, and it was a hard visit; Mom's cancer has left her confused and not herself, and she demanded we leave after we were there about 20 minutes.
But I know that's not Mom talking; it's the disease. I still have hope there are more lucid moments, and moments of happiness, to come. In the meantime, I'm very glad for this keepsake, which symbolizes how Mom always took care of us.
Monday, June 30, 2025
Stealth Sky Fighter
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Another Visitor Sky Fighter
Saturday, June 28, 2025
CARTEL1
Friday, June 27, 2025
Bold Bunny Bush Blog
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Super Mutant Suicider Fumbles the Ball
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Gold Plated Synth
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
We’ll Be Right Back
Monday, June 23, 2025
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Friday, June 20, 2025
Copse
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Spun Unspun
All the space stuff caught in the event horizon of a singularity
Splash and fuss spinning around the nothing at the centre
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Monday, June 16, 2025
Harper's Dry Goods
I guess it's kind of neat that you can see the frame through the walls and roof. Did dry goods buildings in the old west ever use cloth for walls or floors? Maybe it helped coffee grounds and the like stay dry . . .
Please don't steal our dry goods!
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Dry Goods, Roofless
Saturday, June 14, 2025
A Red Barn
Friday, June 13, 2025
Unconscionable
Today Alberta's UCP government announced most Albertans will have to pay for COVID-19 vaccinations starting this fall.
The government claims this is because over half of Alberta's supply wasn't used over the last couple of years. This isn't surprising, since premier Smith's government has consistently downplayed the severity of COVID-19 and refuses to properly publicize the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.
Currently, Alberta has the highest rate of measles cases (per capita) in Canada. This is what happens when a government abdicates its responsibility to debunk anti-vaxxers and instead implicitly supports anti-vax messages through its policies.
Anti-science, anti-intellectual, anti-vax thinking has brought measles back from the brink of extinction--a disease that can cause death and permanent disability.
Just like COVID-19.
Sylvia and I can and will pay for our booster shots. We have that privilege. But what about the majority of Albertans, living paycheque to paycheque, who can't afford a shot expected to cost over $100? I guess they'll just have to take their chances.
And of course this makes life even more difficult and hazardous for the small minority of people who legitimately cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. These people are usually protected by herd immunity, but Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination rate has dropped down to around 13 percent. Herd immunity requires over 90% of any given population to be vaccinated to protect those who cannot be vaccinated.
The UCP's decision to charge people for a life-saving vaccine could very well sicken and even kill scores of people. It will likely place immense strain on our already overworked health care providers.
Unconscionable.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
The Landscape of my Mind This Year
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Hardware Store Interior
Having built several Old West buildings, I've now started using various odds and ends to give the interior spaces a little verisimilitude. The interior of this hardware store features some extra sledgehammers from Fallout: Wasteland Warfare and a collection of odds and ends left over from a variety of miniature kits.