62 Million Things to Do

Finished Pressure Flakers

Office days are always hard to write about.  I usually build my blog posts around a few photos taken during the day.  So if I'm not working on something tangible, I find it hard to come up with a topic worth documenting.  Most of this week I've been answering e-mails and preparing lists, agendas, and powerpoint presentations for upcoming meetings and workshops.  I've been able to dart out to the shed from time-to-time to work on all those little projects that I'm trying to finish up.  When my Dad would get busy, he'd say that he had "62 million things to do."  I don't have that many, but there's enough.  I completed two dozen pressure flakers and I'm close to finishing the slate and nephrite endblades that I started last week.  Half of the pressure flakers are for upcoming workshops and the other half are for flintknapping kits for the lithic analysis class being offered at MUN next semester.

This hole was filled back in by noon, but then they dug two
more just as big

There are also all kinds of house related jobs on the go. The last 12 months has seen nearly continuous work in and around the house. Maybe we put off necessary maintenance too long or we're just having a string of bad luck, but it really seems like we've been hit by a lot of surprise upkeep this year.  Some was voluntary, like putting new clapboard and windows in, but others, like the leaks in the roof and the sewer upgrades, were unavoidable.  There is a big sewer upgrade happening on our street right now and they've started ripping up the road right in front of our house.  This isn't even the main upgrade - this is just one of the little holes that they dig to hook up the temporary pipes so that they can rip up the whole street and put in the really big pipes.  The big dig will probably hit our section of street early next spring when they start up again, so there's really no end in sight to living in a construction zone.

Lori raking the back lawn.  At least this side of the house looks peaceful.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Spring cleaning

Water damage sucks

I'm still poking away at orders and editing papers, but its really starting to feel like spring here and I've been puttering around the house working on little projects that have been on my mind or in the way throughout the winter.  I'm really not the sort of person who procrastinates by cleaning (my office is proof of that) but for some reason the jobs around the house and yard are seeming more interesting to me than my actual work at the moment.  We had a recurring leak in the kitchen ceiling for an embarrassingly long time and last November it finally came to a head with big patches of paint and plaster falling down.  I tore out a big section of the ceiling to try and find the source of the water.  It turned out that all of the fittings in the bathtub upstairs were leaking and needed to be repaired.  Its been several months now since there has been any sign of a leak, so I'm patching up the hole in the ceiling.  There are a few more sanding and plaster layers to go before its ready to paint, but this is already a big improvement over the gaping black void in the kitchen ceiling and the previous water damage.

It still needs sanding, more drywall compound and paint, but at least there's no more hole or leak.

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

This needs more red

The ochre is looking good

I'm still ochre staining the harpoon.  I've been working on it in the basement, but the house renovations moved down into my drying space today and put me behind a bit.  I think we've passed the half way point on the renovations.  The clapboard is up on the front of the house and the city inspector was here this afternoon to look at the work planned for the back of the house.  We need 4 foot deep post holes for the deck, which would make a lot more sense in a part of the world with 4 feet of soil.

Unfortunately replacing that casement window took priority over my  own  painting and drying on the harpoon.

The renovations aren't complete enough to reveal, but you can see the shiny red clapboard above the new window in the basement.

 Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Chapel Knapping

I had a great day working with Mr. Peters' grade 8 class at St. Bonaventure's College today.  We set up in the school chapel, which was a first for me.  The juxtaposition of the stone tools and the church wasn't as odd as I thought it might be.  It reminded me a lot of visiting Palaeolithic sites in France where it seemed like every site we visited there was found by a school teacher or a member of the clergy.

In the morning I demonstrated flintknapping and we talked about stone tools and archaeology in the Province.  The demo lasted for half the morning and then the kids broke up into groups to journal about what they'd learned and to sketch some of the artifact reproductions on hand.  In the afternoon they all made their own ground slate ulu or men's knife.  It was good to work with slightly older kids.  They didn't let the little setbacks get them down and everyone stayed focused throughout the day.  I'm making a note for myself here, I intended to leave the point that I made in the morning with Mr. Peters but I forgot in rush to restore the chapel and get all the kids home at the end of the day.  Hopefully I'll remember to drop it off in the next few days.

When I got home, the front of the house was ready for the new clapboard.   Including the vinyl siding that was on when we bought it, they found three layers of siding on the house, dating back to the original clapboard from the 1930s.  The new clapboard has arrived and it should start going up on Friday.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Getting the House in Order

Before, Front of the House

This week we're getting the house in order, literally and figuratively.  We're having some work done on the house and the contractor should begin work by the end of the week, so here are a couple "before" pictures.  The vinyl siding is coming off and clapboard is going up on the back and front.  We're getting some new windows, patio door and a deck built off the back of the house.  It'll be a big difference, and something that we've been putting off and saving up for a couple of years.

We're also getting our estates in order.  A friend of ours took on his own law office on November 1st.  We've known John Taylor-Hood for years and have used him whenever we need a lawyer.  In celebration of taking over the practice he's having a two-for-one Will deal during the month of November.  There's an extra discount for craft producers in the province (I served with his wife, Vicky, on the executive of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador).  So Lori and I are getting our wills done up and getting an extra pair for her parents for Christmas.  I remember when a friend was someone who sat next to you on the school bus, now its someone who'll execute your will for you.  

Before, Back of the House

Photo Credits: Tim Rast