Last art of the summer

This evening William and I sat together at the kitchen table. I painted Joanne's Nikon (the Adventure HD camera pictured below is from yesterday) and William drew multiple days ahead on his comic while we listed to the Nicholas Cage commentary track on Vampire's Kiss. 

 

School year begins

 William off for his first day of school (this being his fifth year at university, he knows the way). 

Peach pie

 We bought two cases of peaches a couple of weeks ago. They were incredible but we ended up with some starting to become over-ripe and we need to accelerate consumption. Margaret and William worked on pies. Gave some away. One is saved for us. 

Comparing paintings

 I painted a Canon 814 super 8 camera that Gavin lent me (above). As I started it, I felt certain that I've handled, and possibly painted, this model before. As the side of the camera has nice details and is roughly the size of my canvas, I opted to paint it straight on from that side. The feeling of familiarity lingered. Sure enough, not only had I painted it before (from Dianne, three years ago, below), but I painted it from the same angle and side. 

Nuit Blanche

Last night after the party at Lori's, we stopped downtown for the last hour of Nuit Blanche. Probably because we were late, it all seemed subdued and low key. Few people. High point for me was the storyteller Skyler Anderson at Sakewewak. I arrived just before the rest of the listeners departed and we were able to have a few one on one conversations about the nature of storytelling, of the telling of truths, of the telling of lies, and how legends and mythology comes from the combination of the two. 

Also finally saw the window display at Neutral Ground with the video and artifacts by Jane McCreight. 

 

Party for Tate

 

Lori hosted a great party for her son Sean and his son (with Shim) Tate. Shim's parents are in the country, visiting for a long vacation from China. Quinn, Sharon and Maureen also came to town. Amazing food, and such large portions! 

Art and cats

William and I are both working on art at the table today. On a break during the afternoon, we joined our cat on the deck to watch a strange black cat drinking from the bird bath. Seen this black cat a few times in our yard (and gazebo) but it is timid and we never can get close. Don't know if it has an owner or not. 

 

Ramping up painting

 I'm disappointed with myself at how few paintings I've finished this summer. Barely one per week. I am trying to get more done. This isn't a camera but is made as a fake camera to cheaply dissuade robbers. 

Questionable behavior

Coffee with Kevin and William this evening. For years I have noticed the row of pop options on the shelf behind the till. A bottle of each pop was placed there long ago and now they have become discoloured and shrunken. 

 William is further developing his robot tv show. These scissors are a part of it. They inspire him. 

New computer

 

Mike Garcia helped me order and assemble a new computer so I can get some 4K video editing done at home. Spent much of the day re-installing software and all that jazz. It has a bigger case so I'm able to put my existing hard drives plus the one we bought for Sockvile, and still have space for more later. 

Painting again

 I'd hoped to paint a lot more this summer but numerous distractions have prevented it. This is only the second painting of the month. I have a backlog of about 6 or 7. Registered for the course at the Balkwill for the fall so that might help keep me on track. 

Happy at 22

First thing this morning, William's 22nd birthday, we turned on his radio show (9:00 am) and listened to to air. I'm the only one to hear it in advance (I suppose the radio station could have listened, but I don't think they have that much time on their hands).  This was a special episode where Geremy hosted and Margaret and I were primary guests on site, and remote recordings were added from Gavin DeLint, Erik Sirke, Victora Beahm, and Allan Dotson. William grinned uncontrollably for the whole 41 minutes as everyone talked about William's daily drawings instead of the newspaper comics. Later in the morning we visited the grandparents then came home to play video games (Geremy and Rory joined us and had loads of fun) and then Emma came and we played a few hours (didn't conclude) of Carcassonne. 

 

Ghost Carcassonne

 Margaret gave William and early birthday gift; the new ghost Carcassonne set. We played it at the gaming café last week while William was recording a radio show with Nicole's friends. It can be played two ways. It can be added to the existing set, or more uniquely it can be played as a cooperative stand alone game. That is what we did this evening. We lost and reset a couple times and lost some more (we beat the first two trials but not the final). Fun to work together sometimes. 

Apple sauce time again

 After having burned half of my own apples, I picked apples from Gertrud's tree today and began cooking up a new batch of apple sauce. I am returning to my older method of turning the head on for only short periods of time and then off to get them slowly cool and cook in the residual head. This will take a day to do the four large pots of apples (took until Saturday when I jarred 29 jars). 

Secret radio recording

 Geremy, Margaret, and I recorded the somewhat secret hijacked birthday episode of William's radio show. Its guests include Erik SIrke, Allan Dotson, Gavin DeLint, and Victoria Beahm. It airs this Sunday on William's birthday. 

Super Nintendo

 Set up Super Nintndo in the basement. Had a bit of difficulty getting it to  run at first. I think the console has become a bit sensitive to being handled and the reset triggers for no reason. 

Paul birthday wishes

 

Hopefully we got this clip of us wishing my brother in law a happy 65th (later this week) to my niece in time for her compilation. With all our visiting of family, we lost track of our own commitments. 

Margaret's dad woke up this morning at his regular time (surprising given that he was at the hospital until midnight) and is right as rain (whatever that means). I spent the day in front of the tv and catching up on emails. 

Final drive home - 2023 summer vacation day 12

 

Heading home. Purposely got lost in Medicine Hat, just to break the monotony of the highway. Got some royal ice cream (was okay). Surprised that such an ice cream place had no line up during this heat wave. Margaret got some calls about her dad that she needed to be on top of so instead of switching drivers I continued the rest of the way. Back home, Margaret joined her brother at the hospital where her dad was getting tests done. Everything took a very long time and they eventually just took him home at midnight, given that his vitals were all back to normal by that time. 

Penticton to Calgary - 2023 summer vacation day 11

Making our way back. I hadn't wanted to do two drives in a row but this makes three (due to the side trip yesterday). We arrived in Calgary too late to see Michelle. I'd like to stay another day so that we can see her, but there is a feeling that we should continue home. 
 

Art side trip - 2023 summer vacation day 10

Side trip to see Cardiffmiller art Warehouse. Totally worth it with four amazing installation all under one roof, even though the "easy" 140 km road trip ended up being through 4 towns to busy holiday traffic and 2.5 hours each way.  
 

Gaming in Penticton - 2023 summer vacation day 9

Another nice breakfast before hitting the road. Adele's treat this time (thank you). The drive from Vancouver to Penticton was smooth sailing with no major delays (a few small ones, but didn't amount to much). 

Priority of the day was to meet Nicole's friends at her regular gaming cafe. Pretty good time. William did recordings there as well as at breakfast, so we should have another couple shows in the bank. 

Nicole and Kristen picking out games

 

Vancouver with Katherine - 2023 summer vacation day 8

Cousins William, Katherine, and Quinn.

 Whole day with Katherine, starting with a great breakfast close to our hotel, then Granville Island (bit touristy for my taste, but we met an artist who studied with Jeannie Mah and bought a small work by her). Saw some Fafard's but didn't climb on them this time. Played a game in Katherine's apartment. Eventually connected for supper with Adele and Quinn and Annaliese. 

Vancouver with Carl - 2023 summer vacation day 7

Drove to Vancouver. This was pretty chill until the last third when traffic started getting hairy. Margaret got a room on points and we ate at a nice little fast Japanese place (William's choice). Delicious. Went to Carl's house after supper and hung with him and his family. Traffic in town is surprisingly easy going (that said, we have avoided going downtown). 

 

Finally relaxing in Penton - 2023 summer vacation day 6

Getting into the groove now, doing some of my own cooking, hunting down legendary donuts, and having a really good time. I like road trips, but there is also a need to not drive for a while and just be someplace. Had lunch at one of Maureen's favorite spots. 

 

Penticton - 2023 summer vacation day 5

 William really wanted to try the climbing wall that he'd fallen in love with in 2009. Margaret convinced him that it was for kids, although I think he might find it more challenging today than back then. Compare: https://geraldsaul.blogspot.com/2009/08/vacation-day-7.html