I try to honour Canada's veterans every year on November 11 - and on other days. I think most reading this know why we take the time - many of us for the same reasons and many of us for our own personal reasons. Many of us know people who have served, who are serving and who have given their lives while serving. The following are past blog posts about my Grandfather who served as part of the Australian Imperial Force in WW I, and who served at home as part of the Veterans Guard of Canada. Also one post about my Uncle Steve who was killed in action in 1945, My mother's brothers, Bill, Mike and Peter Kazuke all also served in various Canadian regiments during WW II.
Alfred Burrows WW I
Alfred Burrows in The Veterans Guard of Canada
Stephen Kazuke
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Monday, 10 November 2014
The Workshop Renovation
I have been slowly chipping away at my shop renovation (See my first post on my shop renovation), though a lot of what I have done is hard to see. I started by going through everything in my shop and putting what I didn't think I would need into a couple of big boxes. I had my fellow woodworking enthusiast and good friend, Darren, over so he could pick out some stuff, which he did. My other buddy, Dave, came over and took the rest. That's a lot of stuff gone.
In my sorting process, I also started putting like things together, and began emptying the old dresser I use for tool storage (and which will eventually makes its way out of the house) and consolidating in my father's old tool chest. I have also started putting stuff up on my "tool wall", beginning with my carving and shaping tools and my chisels. I particularly enjoyed making my little holders for my spokeshaves. Next up, a rack for my not unsubstantial collection of handsaws and my egg beater-style hand drills.
Though the overall focus of my efforts is thinning the amount of stuff in my shop and organizing what's left, I couldn't resist a little garbage-diving a couple of months ago when I came across a very nice table with cast iron legs sitting at the curb in front of a neighbour's house. This will come in handy for a variety of shop tasks - assembly and finishing, tool sharpening, clamping portable power tools (scroll saw, planer, spindle sander) among others.
So, while progress has been slower than I had originally thought I have nonetheless made some progress. Once I get my hand drills and hand saws up on my wall, I will start some more significant (and fun) construction projects. In particular I will build a rack to hold sheet goods and two or three tool chests to sit under my bench and another to sit under the tool table my drill press is attached to, I think once these project are done, I'll be close to done the shop reno and I'll be able to move onto actually tackling real projects.
That's about it for now. I'll try to post about more progress in three or four weeks.
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| The current state of my shop. Still a long way to go, but I am making progress. |
In my sorting process, I also started putting like things together, and began emptying the old dresser I use for tool storage (and which will eventually makes its way out of the house) and consolidating in my father's old tool chest. I have also started putting stuff up on my "tool wall", beginning with my carving and shaping tools and my chisels. I particularly enjoyed making my little holders for my spokeshaves. Next up, a rack for my not unsubstantial collection of handsaws and my egg beater-style hand drills.
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| Organizng stuff into my Dad's old tool chest. |
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| My "Tool Wall" with carving and shaping tools up, as well as all my chisels. |
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| Cute little racks for holding my pair of spokeshaves. |
Though the overall focus of my efforts is thinning the amount of stuff in my shop and organizing what's left, I couldn't resist a little garbage-diving a couple of months ago when I came across a very nice table with cast iron legs sitting at the curb in front of a neighbour's house. This will come in handy for a variety of shop tasks - assembly and finishing, tool sharpening, clamping portable power tools (scroll saw, planer, spindle sander) among others.
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| An incredible work table I scavenged from a neighbour's garbage. The cast iron legs retail new for about $240 at Lee Valley Tools. |
So, while progress has been slower than I had originally thought I have nonetheless made some progress. Once I get my hand drills and hand saws up on my wall, I will start some more significant (and fun) construction projects. In particular I will build a rack to hold sheet goods and two or three tool chests to sit under my bench and another to sit under the tool table my drill press is attached to, I think once these project are done, I'll be close to done the shop reno and I'll be able to move onto actually tackling real projects.
That's about it for now. I'll try to post about more progress in three or four weeks.
Thursday, 6 November 2014
Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Ottawa-area journalist and blogger, Sonia Mendes, recently posted on her blog a recipe for a delicious-sounding spaghetti squash casserole. So, I have been inspired to post a very simple recipe of mine for a curried butternut squash and apple soup.
As the weather begins getting colder in the fall, few meals take the chill off like soups and stews. Plus, both the squash and apples used in the recipe are in season. I came up with this very simple recipe a few years ago and it has quickly become a family favourite. Serve with a loaf of crusty whole-grain bread for a hearty meal.
1 large butternut squash
5 large cooking apples (e.g. MacIntosh, Courtland, Granny Smith)
3 tbsp. canola oil
3 tbsp. butter
2-3 litres sodium-reduced chicken broth
1 cup apple cider (optional)
Curry powder (optional and to taste)
Sour cream to garnish.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
While the oven is heating, cut squash in half lengthwise, removing seeds and stringy flesh around the seed cavity. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet and roast in oven until a fork goes easily into the flesh, about one hour. When done, remove from the oven to cool, about a half hour. With a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of the skins into a separate bowl and set aside.
Peel, core and slice apples.
Heat oil and melt butter together in a large pot over medium-high heat. When butter foams add apples, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft and golden brown.
Add squash to the apples cooking in the pot. Add the chicken broth making sure that the broth covers the squash and apples. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, double checking to make sure all the squash and apples are soft.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to speed cooling.
Use an immersion blender right in the pot until the soup is smooth, or blend the mixture in batches in a regular blender. Return the pot the stove over medium heat until the smooth soup is simmering. Taste the soup - if you want it to boost the apple flavor, add apple cider and add curry to taste, simmering for about five minutes until curry powder is fully dissolved in the soup.
Place soup in bowls to serve, add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with apple slices or roasted squash or pumpkin seeds.
The recipe can be altered in many ways. Sometimes I want the soup to be little more fruity tasting, so I add more apples, or more apple cider. You can adjust the thickness of the soup by either adding more or less liquid. Even after the fact, if you find the soup too thin, you can simmer it for a while until it reaches the desired consistency.
As the weather begins getting colder in the fall, few meals take the chill off like soups and stews. Plus, both the squash and apples used in the recipe are in season. I came up with this very simple recipe a few years ago and it has quickly become a family favourite. Serve with a loaf of crusty whole-grain bread for a hearty meal.
1 large butternut squash
5 large cooking apples (e.g. MacIntosh, Courtland, Granny Smith)
3 tbsp. canola oil
3 tbsp. butter
2-3 litres sodium-reduced chicken broth
1 cup apple cider (optional)
Curry powder (optional and to taste)
Sour cream to garnish.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
While the oven is heating, cut squash in half lengthwise, removing seeds and stringy flesh around the seed cavity. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet and roast in oven until a fork goes easily into the flesh, about one hour. When done, remove from the oven to cool, about a half hour. With a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of the skins into a separate bowl and set aside.
Peel, core and slice apples.
Heat oil and melt butter together in a large pot over medium-high heat. When butter foams add apples, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft and golden brown.
Add squash to the apples cooking in the pot. Add the chicken broth making sure that the broth covers the squash and apples. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, double checking to make sure all the squash and apples are soft.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to speed cooling.
Use an immersion blender right in the pot until the soup is smooth, or blend the mixture in batches in a regular blender. Return the pot the stove over medium heat until the smooth soup is simmering. Taste the soup - if you want it to boost the apple flavor, add apple cider and add curry to taste, simmering for about five minutes until curry powder is fully dissolved in the soup.
Place soup in bowls to serve, add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with apple slices or roasted squash or pumpkin seeds.
The recipe can be altered in many ways. Sometimes I want the soup to be little more fruity tasting, so I add more apples, or more apple cider. You can adjust the thickness of the soup by either adding more or less liquid. Even after the fact, if you find the soup too thin, you can simmer it for a while until it reaches the desired consistency.
Monday, 3 November 2014
Dissecting Animals at ABC Ottawa Take-Off
Last Saturday morning, our daughter, Lena, was looking every bit the pre-teen fashion plate: a green and blue tartan shirt over a pair of grey leggings; a mod pair of glasses perched on her nose, her long golden hair pulled tight into a ponytail at the back of her head. Incongruously, one of her latex-gloved hands was wielding a razor sharp scalpel, poised ready to reveal the inner anatomy of the perch lying on the desk in front of her. Welcome to ABC Ottawa Take-Off, an organization devoted to advocating for the needs of bright and gifted children, including providing a range of extra-curricular classes on a diverse range of subjects in the arts, sciences and engineering fields.
This is Lena's second experience with the ABC program. A few years ago, she signed up for a music appreciation course and an art and poetry course. This year, she decided she really wanted to take "Discovery through Dissection". Over the five weeks that the class runs, the seven or eight children in the class will dissect an earthworm, a fish (the perch mentioned above), a frog, a fetal pig, and a group project on the last day - a shark! I was a little surprised that our little girl, who runs screaming at the sight of a little spider, could be so enthusiastic about slicing open little dead animals, but there you go.
Her reasoning for doing the class was twofold: she has a genuine interest in biology in general and animal biology in particular, and she, at least for now, aspires to be a veterinarian and figures this would be an opportunity to test her tolerance for the icky-squishyness she may need to pursue that profession. So far so good - she has enjoyed the earthworm and perch dissection, though while working on the perch, one of the instructors noticed her fish had a much larger stomach than the other specimens. So, everyone gathered around as Lena cut into the distended sac and two smaller, partially digested fish oozed out. She had no problem excising all the various fish organs, but this, for some reason, freaked her out a bit. She is also concerned about the fetal pig - apparently eviscerating cute animals may require steelier stuff. We'll see how it goes.
The classes offered by ABC are really quite varied and challenging. Topics include fiction writing, a variety of crafts, juggling, model rocketry, forensics, chess, programming MineCraft plug-ins and guitar to name but a few. Don't be put off by the "bright and gifted" labels - all comers are welcome. The classes tend to be fairly small in size and are taught by very enthusiastic volunteers. Be warned, though, that many of the offerings are very popular and to have a decent chance of registering for the course your kids want you have to arrive early - VERY early - on the evening of registration at a local community centre. Lena and I went two and half hours early and we were the 16th in line. We had no trouble getting the course she wanted, but as soon as we stepped into the line to pay, they already announced that the MineCraft plug-in class was full.
The courses are given at St. Paul's Catholic High School in Ottawa's west end, conveniently located a couple of blocks from Lee Valley Tools and the Pinecrest shopping centre for parents who are looking for something to do for the hour and a half their kids are engaging in pretty cool stuff. While the fall courses are already underway, there are usually offerings in the new year as well.
This is Lena's second experience with the ABC program. A few years ago, she signed up for a music appreciation course and an art and poetry course. This year, she decided she really wanted to take "Discovery through Dissection". Over the five weeks that the class runs, the seven or eight children in the class will dissect an earthworm, a fish (the perch mentioned above), a frog, a fetal pig, and a group project on the last day - a shark! I was a little surprised that our little girl, who runs screaming at the sight of a little spider, could be so enthusiastic about slicing open little dead animals, but there you go.
Her reasoning for doing the class was twofold: she has a genuine interest in biology in general and animal biology in particular, and she, at least for now, aspires to be a veterinarian and figures this would be an opportunity to test her tolerance for the icky-squishyness she may need to pursue that profession. So far so good - she has enjoyed the earthworm and perch dissection, though while working on the perch, one of the instructors noticed her fish had a much larger stomach than the other specimens. So, everyone gathered around as Lena cut into the distended sac and two smaller, partially digested fish oozed out. She had no problem excising all the various fish organs, but this, for some reason, freaked her out a bit. She is also concerned about the fetal pig - apparently eviscerating cute animals may require steelier stuff. We'll see how it goes.
The classes offered by ABC are really quite varied and challenging. Topics include fiction writing, a variety of crafts, juggling, model rocketry, forensics, chess, programming MineCraft plug-ins and guitar to name but a few. Don't be put off by the "bright and gifted" labels - all comers are welcome. The classes tend to be fairly small in size and are taught by very enthusiastic volunteers. Be warned, though, that many of the offerings are very popular and to have a decent chance of registering for the course your kids want you have to arrive early - VERY early - on the evening of registration at a local community centre. Lena and I went two and half hours early and we were the 16th in line. We had no trouble getting the course she wanted, but as soon as we stepped into the line to pay, they already announced that the MineCraft plug-in class was full.
The courses are given at St. Paul's Catholic High School in Ottawa's west end, conveniently located a couple of blocks from Lee Valley Tools and the Pinecrest shopping centre for parents who are looking for something to do for the hour and a half their kids are engaging in pretty cool stuff. While the fall courses are already underway, there are usually offerings in the new year as well.
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
A Long Lost High School Friend
I had a bit of an odd dream a couple of nights ago. An old friend from high school made an appearance - just bumped into her, exchanged a few pleasantries and we each went on our way. We had, as I said, met in high school. If I'm being truthful, she was probably my first adolescent crush, but once I realized nothing romantic was going to happen, we fell into an easy friendship. She was just a great person - very caring and always happy and a smile that just made you feel better. We spent a lot of time together - in person and on the phone. Then, I think in our final year, we drifted apart. In part, if memory serves, because she started dating someone outside of our mutual circle of friends and acquaintances.
I remember seeing her once a few years after graduating from high school. I was in a local drinking establishment with some university friends in my home town of Chateauguay and I saw her alone at a table. We nodded to each other, but her body language said "stay away". She looked sad and tired and somehow hardened. That was probably 25 years ago and that was the last time that I saw her.
I wonder why she decided to pop up in my sub-conscious after all these years. I'm glad that she did. She was a definite bright spot in my teens. I've been thinking a bit about her these past couple of days since my dream. I searched for her unsuccessfully on Facebook and Google. Anyway, I hope that she's somewhere good and happy.
I remember seeing her once a few years after graduating from high school. I was in a local drinking establishment with some university friends in my home town of Chateauguay and I saw her alone at a table. We nodded to each other, but her body language said "stay away". She looked sad and tired and somehow hardened. That was probably 25 years ago and that was the last time that I saw her.
I wonder why she decided to pop up in my sub-conscious after all these years. I'm glad that she did. She was a definite bright spot in my teens. I've been thinking a bit about her these past couple of days since my dream. I searched for her unsuccessfully on Facebook and Google. Anyway, I hope that she's somewhere good and happy.
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Ongoing Service Frustrations
Earlier in the week, I wrote about some problems we have had with some local retailers and our frustrations carried over to this week. As Fall settles in in the capital, we are accustomed to seeing our fair share of rain and this week hasn't disappointed. So, imagine my frustration when every day we've seen rain this week, my newspaper has been soaking wet because the carrier doesn't see the need to close the lid on the mailbox. Now, I'm sure carriers work hard for meagre pay but, all the same, I doubt anyone would mistake the job as being high-knowledge and high-skill. If it looks like it may rain, close the damn lid. In fact, close the damn lid regardless. I called to complain and get a dry paper each time and the guy who manages delivery in our region told me the problem would be fixed, but this morning the lid was, as always, left open, though the rain had not started falling yet. Gadzooks!
The other frustration this week has been Lena's school bus. Pretty much since school started, the bus has been varying degrees of late. Rarely were the kids getting to school before class started. Two days in the past two weeks, the bus came 30-60 minutes late. This is highly disruptive to the teachers who have to stop what they're doing as kids file in late to say nothing of the safety issues when parents are leaving their kids at a bus stop for what they think will only be a few minutes only to have them stand there unattended for up to an hour. Earlier this week the Catholic school board had a cross country running race for which Lena has been training since school started five weeks ago. She takes these events very seriously. This was the day the bus was nearly an hour late. Fortunately, I got home from the gym early enough to get her to school in time to catch the bus to the event. She would have been devastated if she had missed it (she finished 27th in a field of over 100 kids, by the way). Numerous phone calls to the bus company over the past few weeks yielded little improvement. Finally, after this last one hour wait, I e-mailed the school board, the school and the bus company to complain and I gather I wasn't the only one. This seemed to do the trick. The bus has been on time since.
Anyway, I feel better having got that off my chest. Thanks for reading.
The other frustration this week has been Lena's school bus. Pretty much since school started, the bus has been varying degrees of late. Rarely were the kids getting to school before class started. Two days in the past two weeks, the bus came 30-60 minutes late. This is highly disruptive to the teachers who have to stop what they're doing as kids file in late to say nothing of the safety issues when parents are leaving their kids at a bus stop for what they think will only be a few minutes only to have them stand there unattended for up to an hour. Earlier this week the Catholic school board had a cross country running race for which Lena has been training since school started five weeks ago. She takes these events very seriously. This was the day the bus was nearly an hour late. Fortunately, I got home from the gym early enough to get her to school in time to catch the bus to the event. She would have been devastated if she had missed it (she finished 27th in a field of over 100 kids, by the way). Numerous phone calls to the bus company over the past few weeks yielded little improvement. Finally, after this last one hour wait, I e-mailed the school board, the school and the bus company to complain and I gather I wasn't the only one. This seemed to do the trick. The bus has been on time since.
Anyway, I feel better having got that off my chest. Thanks for reading.
Friday, 3 October 2014
Retail Blues - the Sequel
I continue to be amazed by the poor service offered by so many retailers in our little part of the world (See my earlier post). I understand that many in the retail sector may not be very well paid, but if you agree to do a job, then try to do it well and if your company makes a promise, fulfil it. This all brings me to two recent negative experiences.
Back in August, I somehow managed to break one of the rear wheels on my Craftsman lawn mower. So, I went to the Ottawa location of the Sears Parts and Service centre only to find that it has closed. So, we're off to a bad start. I came back home and after spending a half an hour on the Sears website trying to find a number I could call to order the part (I imagine this is a pretty significant part of their business, you would think they would make the number easier to find) I managed to reach someone at what is clearly an offshore call centre. This always makes me laugh because the guy with the thick, nearly incomprehensible Indian accent on the other end inevitably says his name is some plain vanilla-flavoured English name like "Bob". After telling "Bob" what part I needed, he told me it is on back-order and will take a month to ship. So, here we are, a month and a half later and still no part. I have just fired off an e-mail to Sears and I will see if I get a reply. Stay tuned.
The second incident is far worse. A little background: Our daughter, Lena, wears glasses. Her eyesight has reached a level where she now has to wear them to play soccer. This past season, she wore her regular glasses on the pitch, but Kate and I were not entirely comfortable with this because if she got a ball to the face, or was otherwise struck, her glasses could shatter, possibly causing serious injury and, less important, significant expense. So, we started suggesting that we buy her a pair of sport glasses, which are impact resistant.
To say the sports glasses sold in retail outlets are not fashionable would be understating the point. So, for an 11 year-old girl trying to fit in with her peers, wearing these things would rank up there with getting her arm hacked of with a butter knife. After weeks of resistance (and many shed tears) we relented a little and reluctantly let her play the remainder of her season with her regular glasses, figuring she was due for an eye exam in the fall, and her enthusiasm for the sport seemed to wane a bit, so we would see how things played out. Finally, she decided she wanted to do the winter development program, so now we insisted she get a pair of sports glasses, or try contact lenses. She agreed.
So, one day we were walking past the New Look Optical store in the St. Laurent Shopping Centre and I suggested to Lena that we go in to try on a couple of pairs just to get her used to the idea of wearing them. As I've said, she is extremely insecure about wearing them, The woman who served us got Lena to try on a pair. Lena turned her back to us so she could watch in a mirror as she tried them on and when she turned around, the woman burst out laughing. Indeed, she had a hard time controlling herself. Lena hung her head but seemed to take it okay. I didn't make a big deal of it at the time, but the more I thought about it on the way home, the more it bothered me. This was the worst possible reaction for a girl who already had serious trouble bringing herself to wear these things.
By the time I got home, I had worked myself up pretty good. When I told my wife, Kate, about the incident, she was similarly offended. So, I left a comment on New Look's Facebook page. To their credit, they responded quickly and within two business days the woman who served us called to apologize. But, I'm afraid that's too little. I can't see myself going back to that location and I may even boycott the chain altogether.
I should say that we have been to this location several times in the past and have had very good service from our favourite optician, Kaylee, but she doesn't seem to work there any more and so we have less than no incentive to return.
The upside is that just two days ago we got Lena her sports glasses at the St. Laurent location of Lens Crafters and we got very good service. So, New Look's loss is Lens Crafters' gain, I guess.
Would love to hear about your own retail experiences - good and bad.
Back in August, I somehow managed to break one of the rear wheels on my Craftsman lawn mower. So, I went to the Ottawa location of the Sears Parts and Service centre only to find that it has closed. So, we're off to a bad start. I came back home and after spending a half an hour on the Sears website trying to find a number I could call to order the part (I imagine this is a pretty significant part of their business, you would think they would make the number easier to find) I managed to reach someone at what is clearly an offshore call centre. This always makes me laugh because the guy with the thick, nearly incomprehensible Indian accent on the other end inevitably says his name is some plain vanilla-flavoured English name like "Bob". After telling "Bob" what part I needed, he told me it is on back-order and will take a month to ship. So, here we are, a month and a half later and still no part. I have just fired off an e-mail to Sears and I will see if I get a reply. Stay tuned.
The second incident is far worse. A little background: Our daughter, Lena, wears glasses. Her eyesight has reached a level where she now has to wear them to play soccer. This past season, she wore her regular glasses on the pitch, but Kate and I were not entirely comfortable with this because if she got a ball to the face, or was otherwise struck, her glasses could shatter, possibly causing serious injury and, less important, significant expense. So, we started suggesting that we buy her a pair of sport glasses, which are impact resistant.
To say the sports glasses sold in retail outlets are not fashionable would be understating the point. So, for an 11 year-old girl trying to fit in with her peers, wearing these things would rank up there with getting her arm hacked of with a butter knife. After weeks of resistance (and many shed tears) we relented a little and reluctantly let her play the remainder of her season with her regular glasses, figuring she was due for an eye exam in the fall, and her enthusiasm for the sport seemed to wane a bit, so we would see how things played out. Finally, she decided she wanted to do the winter development program, so now we insisted she get a pair of sports glasses, or try contact lenses. She agreed.
So, one day we were walking past the New Look Optical store in the St. Laurent Shopping Centre and I suggested to Lena that we go in to try on a couple of pairs just to get her used to the idea of wearing them. As I've said, she is extremely insecure about wearing them, The woman who served us got Lena to try on a pair. Lena turned her back to us so she could watch in a mirror as she tried them on and when she turned around, the woman burst out laughing. Indeed, she had a hard time controlling herself. Lena hung her head but seemed to take it okay. I didn't make a big deal of it at the time, but the more I thought about it on the way home, the more it bothered me. This was the worst possible reaction for a girl who already had serious trouble bringing herself to wear these things.
By the time I got home, I had worked myself up pretty good. When I told my wife, Kate, about the incident, she was similarly offended. So, I left a comment on New Look's Facebook page. To their credit, they responded quickly and within two business days the woman who served us called to apologize. But, I'm afraid that's too little. I can't see myself going back to that location and I may even boycott the chain altogether.
I should say that we have been to this location several times in the past and have had very good service from our favourite optician, Kaylee, but she doesn't seem to work there any more and so we have less than no incentive to return.
The upside is that just two days ago we got Lena her sports glasses at the St. Laurent location of Lens Crafters and we got very good service. So, New Look's loss is Lens Crafters' gain, I guess.
Would love to hear about your own retail experiences - good and bad.
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