Morning Pages: regentisland.com

Wednesday, September 30, 2009: Eating Mixing

I headed up to GFM today for some breakfast. I saw Tiff and her two youngsters there. She looks great as did they.

I went to Sit in Bangkok for supper and had beef basil which was outstanding. This evening I did laundry as well as the usual guitar practice with Half-Pint followed by Seven of Nine. Afterwards I mixed one of the tracks I recorded Naz on yesterday. The other one we did which also has Chris' Chapman Stick on it is daunting. Perhaps tomorrow...

Morning sky

Afternoon sky

Tuesday, September 29, 2009: Recording Naz

Another diabolical sleep. I was up at 6:30 am with the intention of running except that it was pouring rain again. I went back to sleep and got up at around 8:30 am by which time it had stopped raining but there is far too much traffic on the roads and sidewalks at that time for me to run.

This afternoon I recorded for about two hours with the Moog. I added some additional parts to something I had “finished” but after repeated listening have decided to beef up. Once I was done recording I uploaded two tracks to 1 gig flash cards for the MRS8 then packed it along with some cables and two delays in my MEC bag.

At 5:00 pm I went over to “Sit in Bangkok” and had a tasty meal of beef with basil and rice. Afterwards I caught the College Street Car over to Naz's place near Pape and Queen. He has shared house that is huge and very nicely renovated. Naz has the top floor and has his keyboards and gear set up there. It reminds me a bit of my old digs at 1019 but much more open.

We worked on two pieces for the Ping Things net release. I had him play his vintage Fender Rhodes electric piano and ran it into the Zoom MRS8 by way of the delay which stereoized the signal. On the first song we did I used the Digitech DigiDelay and on the second one I used the Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazari. The results were very good. Now it will be a matter of mixing it in nicely. It was an excellent evening and by 10:00 pm we wrapped it up and I headed out in to the cold.

Tonight marked the first time since May that I've worn my toque or my gloves.

Moog

Autumn weather

Naz's gear

Naz plays

Recording parts

Recording

Monday, September 28, 2009: Bad Sleep

Another bad sleep. Bad dreams for the most part except the one about talking to Adrian Belew and his hair having grown back. The rest were not good and I wasn't able to get more than two hours in a row between midnight and 7:00 am. I woke finally with my alarm with the intention of a run to find it raining rather hard. So much for that.

I spent most of the day trying to finish up a few things connected to the Ping Things net release. I did manage to finish the video for YouTube that will go up in conjunction to the release. I also continued transfering 4 track portastudio tapes to digital. There are some gems as well as a lot of stuff I don't remember doing at all.

The rain stopped this afternoon. Nathan came over later on as well. I went to "Sit in Bangkok" for dinner and ended up meeting Bobo there. Afterwards we walked back towards mine and I retired to guitar and Voyager.

Sunday, September 27, 2009: Knox & Pain

An absolutely diabolical sleep and with the sudden shift in weather to wet and cold the most leg grief I've had in several years. I was up early and took several pain killers which had no effect. Eventually everyone else was up and we headed off to the Crossaint place for breakfast.

We got to Knox at around 10:00 am and robed up for choir. It was a difficult morning for me due to a great deal of leg grief. Once service was over and tea was had we went back to Wyndham for a soupy lunch. I took more pain killers and crashed out for about four hours. I woke up in time for dinner.

After dinner the original Ghost Busters was watched after which I got a ride over to the GO and caught the train back to the City.

Waiting for the GO

Saturday, September 26, 2009: Out to Wyndham

I was up early and eventually over to GFM for some breakfast. Afterwards I wandered back to SsW and spent much of the day transfering Portastudio tracks to the world of digital where I might someday if I have the time mix or finish them.

This evening I headed out to Wyndham. Jayne and William were in town for the Symphony so after having a meal at "Sit in Bangkok" I headed down to Roy Thomson Hall and met them after the concert was finished. Then we drove back out to Wyndham.

Breakfast view

My breakfast is delivered!

The breakfast in question

A view from Sit in Bangkok

Rainy season begins?

Waiting for the street car

Friday, September 25, 2009: Druck Farben

I went up to Bobo's this afternoon. Ratboy has been sickly (not swine flu) so he was home for the day. Bobo's neighbor Olesia's cat had infection on its back so she had it back from the vet with a protective cone and stitches. She had it out on the porch with the cone rolled back for comfort which made it look like it was wearing either a life jacket or was part of the Vatican Cat Choir.

I got a text from Clayton H that he was in town however briefly and that he was down on Queen St W. I had several stops to make in that area so I headed down that way and eventually met up with him for a few minutes before heading on again.

Tonight was the Druck Farben show in Port Credit. I went out to that with Chris and Richard F in the Chrismobile at around 8:30 pm. They were playing at Rock n Docs again however the place had gone through major renovations since the last time we'd seen it so it was much nicer inside. We got a seat and for the first time in Druck Farben history William Hare, keyboard god, wasn't tucked back in some corner or cubbyhole and I could actually clearly see what he was doing.

It was a good show and there was a pretty big crowd. I think quite a few of them were not Druck fans but just happened to be there. They had dropped the 10 $ door fee which was nice as well. There was one Druck Farben fan who became overwhelmed with enthusiasm when Peter the Bass Player sang on their cover of "Court of the Crimson King". He was an older fellow with a pony tail and large cowboy hat and he began dancing about, waving his hat with one hand like Slim Pickens as Major "King" Kong riding the H-Bomb to its target in Dr. Strangelove. He also did what the waitress later described as "super-kicks" until the establishment shut him down. It was observed at our table that this may have been the first time in history that someone waved a cowboy hat to "Court of the Crimson King".

We stayed for the full three sets of Druck. It was an extremely good show and they did several of their own pieces which more than stood up on their own. I look forward to some kind of Druck Farben CD. After the show we hung out for a bit while Chris jawboned with the band. Richard F was in a big hurry to get home and avoid the rolling pin although he seemed to be in less of a hurry when I suggested we get a slab of pizza. We drove back and dropped him off first then I got in at around 3:30 am.

Protected cat

Cat with a May West?

Or Vatican Cat?

College & Bathurst

Q: How does he play with no head? A: Practice!

William at the keys

A rare unblurred photo of Peter on Bass

Thursday, September 24, 2009: Lakeshore & Choir

I went up to GFM this morning for breakfast. Afterwards I headed back down to SsW. I happened to go by this old condemned house just as they were knocking it down with a back hoe so I stood and watched that for a while. It was amazing to watch yet sort of sad at the same time.

I headed out to Wyndham for Choir tonight. We were supposed to sing at an old age facility in Burlington tonight however due to a death Jayne and the Wyndham Bunch had to go to the viewing at the funeral home so we missed the concert. I got dropped off near Knox until they were done with the viewing and grabbed a tea from Starbucks then walked down to the lake and waited for a text to let me know they were done.

Eventually I got the message and I headed up to Knox and we were there for the brief rehearsal before there was a little reception for a member who is relocating to BC. We didn't get out of there until nearly 10:20 pm so thankfully I got a ride back into the City.

Changing colors

Clouds

Tearing down a house

Looking West

Looking East

Looking South

Wednesday, September 23, 2009: Transfers & Laundry

I was up early and ran at 7:30 am. Afterwards I showered and had a tea. today was pretty quiet so I took advantage of the chance and did several loads of laundry that had built up since last week. I also continued transfering old 4 track tapes from the Portastudio to the relm of the digital. I got through several tapes including some real surprises from 1999. Tracks I have no recollection of writing or recording. There were also some original versions of Snowmelter tunes with slightly different lyrics and little if any guitar.

There was a big rain storm this afternoon but it onl lasted about half an hour and when it cleared it was lovely out. I walked over to Chris and Robin's and then Chris and I went to Pho Hung. We walked down to Moog Audio afterwards and looked around.

I got back to SsW at around 7:00 pm. I practiced guitar while visiting Walnut Grove and Seven of Nine then packed it in. Mike was about cooking and so forth. I transfered more Porta One tapes and discovered some truly bizarre insturmental music Justin M, Richard F and I did. I have no idea what it was for but it was pretty funny. I also came across some amazing soundscape stuff which I believe was the Cyndi on Sunday soundscapes that I did as a gift. I don't think I ever heard it after I mixed it for her. I was surprised at how good it sounded considering the limited amount of gear I had then and the fact that it was recorded on a cassette four track. I must have really liked her.

Heading to Chris'

Monday, September 21, 2009: Chris Recording

I had breakfast at the GFM. Afterwards there was some running about and this and that.

I headed back dow to SsW at around 7:00 pm. I got there just before Chris C showed up with his Stick and Bass guitar. We did some recording until 11:00 pm or so. I had him add some parts to several of the tracks for the Ping Album. I will have to finalize my mixes over the next week. I'll be glad when it is done.

Plastic creatures

Autumn colors

Rain comes

Evening sky

Teddy car

Rainbow and Church

Rainbow and school

Rainbow

Chris' Bass

Sunday, September 20, 2009: First Choir

We went over to the crossaint place for breakfast at around 9:00 am then headed over to Knox. We got suited up and did the service. Afterwards we went back to Wyndham and had lunch out by the pool. I was knackered so I crashed while everyone else swam.

We had a second service to do at 4:30 pm. It was an ordination service so there were several pieces we had to sing for that. There was a reception afterwards but we only stayed for about half an hour then went back to Wyndham. The McW's came over and we had dinner at around 7:00 pm

I caught the 9:30 pm GO back to the City.

Walking to Knox

Knox

Knox and sky

After the GO

The street car arrives

Saturday, September 19, 2009: Uncle Roy's 95th Birthday

I was up early this morning. Eventually everyone else was up and some breakfast was had. Then began the various preparations for the big reunion/birthday bash. A bunch of white plastic chairs had been borrowed so the task of cleaning the filth off of those fell to Wee Fred and I. There were three distinct types of chair and one set seemed to be made of a material that was specifically designed to collect all manner of grit and dirt and store them eternally as they seemed to be completely resistant to all known methods of cleaning. After much effort we gave up on the enviromentally friendly eco cleaners and used something that actually worked; Tilex. I would spray the chair down and let it sit for a few minutes then scrub once the Tilex had lifted all the filth off. Wee Fred would then hose the chair down, give it a second scrubbing, hose it off and set it in the sun to dry. Once all the white chairs were done we worked on a few kids chairs, a table and a big plastic bin for ice. It was a nice sunny morning though so the whole task was pretty care free.

After we were done we helped with other tasks around the pool and we had a bite to eat before preparing for the arrival of the guests. Will was back by noon and joined in the work. Mona Jr and her crew showed up at around 1:30 pm to help with the set up but most everything had been delt with by then. William struggled to light a smoke free fire but instead we had a fire free smoke. As time went on more and more folk showed up some of which I haven't seen since the many of funerals of the 1990s.

Uncle Roy arrived as did his son Rob Roy and Sandra and Bob. There was a large McGreggor contingent as well as Thomson and Cooper varients. Guests also included the Pittsburg bunch and Auntie Mona. There was at least 60 guests at one point and there was a lot of grand and great grand children present. Uncle Roy parked himself in the sun by the pool and refused to be moved by any of the concerned for his health types. He insisted that the warmth of the sun soothed his legs which made sense to me.

The kids kept to the pool for the most part which was fine as they were contained and easy to monitor. Uncle Roy also seemed to get a great deal of entertainment of out watching their antics. Some snackage was provided and there were beverages a plenty through out the day. Later on Paul made tasty burgers and chicken and a feeding frenzy followed. William was given much chop-busting over his smokey fire by the several former farmers present. The fire was a good thing though as the bugs stayed away and it was warm when the sun started to disappear.

The cake came out after everyone had been feed and Uncle Roy got some assistance with blowing out the candles from some of the kids. It was a nice chocolate cake too. Cheryl unpacked some pies that someone had brought and we got into those as well. As it got dark people began to head out but everyone agreed it that the day was a huge success. By 9:00 pm everyone was gone and most things were cleaned up.

Wee Fred broke out "Ruby" the guitar which is now a year old and gave us an concert. The infamous karoke machine also came out and some singing was done. This was followed by William turning up the cheesey echo and doing a great immitation of William Shatner singing "Mr. Tamborine Man". Cheesey echo of course always inspires me to babble and interject "Danforth Avenue, near Pape" at the appropriate points.

The neighbours across the street seemed to be having an Indian Wedding. Various people had been showing up there throughout the day and after dark the music began. It was pure Bollywood but sounded great. Occasionally some Western Pop would come into the mix but then it would go back to the Bollywood musical. I went out for a late night swim and listened to it. It had cooled down to about 10 C so the pool was steaming. I swam in the fog and enjoyed the music drifting over. It was cold getting out though.

Clean chairs drying in the sun

Another view of the chairs

All plastic creatures great and small

Auntie Mona and Uncle Roy

People begin to arrive

Burgers

The cake indoors

The cake outdoors

Many cousins and relatives

A lovely day

Presents

Evening

Night swim

Foggy pool

Another view

The air is cooler than the water

My ghost swims here

Friday, September 18, 2009: Wyndham TX7

I was awake at 4:30 am. I got up at around 5:30 am and got ready to go for a run. I headed out at around 6:00 am. It was the first time I've run my "old" route in some time. Very much a deja vu from last year at this time except for the degree of construction long one roadway. Even the sidewalks had bits of trechery along them. Once I was past that block though everything was fine.

I got back and had a shower then sat in the kitchen until people started to get up. By 8:30 am everyone was gone and I had the place to myself. I spent some time recording in an attempt to finish off this Ping Album. I picked up a used TX7 tone generator for next to nothing and used it for the first time today. It is a five operator FM synth module and intended to work in conjuction with the DX7, a keyboard I have never been a big fan. The TX7 sounds much the same with lots of paffy 1980s sounds. I had chose to mess with the sounds though through my Mini-Kaoss pad.

Which was damaged.

It must have been damaged in transport as the X-Y control pad had clearly come under stress of some sort and was stuck in the 2.4 position down in the lower left corner. The protect plastic that covers the touch surface was all bent and wrinkled so I decided to attempt to remove it and see if that cleared the problem up. With just a few little screw drivers I spent an hour taking the thing apart, removing the damaged black plastic touch pad cover and then putting it all back together again. I was successful as it worked just fine. I am not sure how long the exposed touch pad surface will last but hopefully I can get another year out of the thing. If not I will have to replace it as it is one of the most useful and mobile items I have.

I recorded well into the afternoon. A fellow came from the security company as there is a problem with one of the sensors (ghosts!). He had to poke at it and do other things which involved pushing buttons and beeping. Thankfully Jayne got back before he was done. After he'd left Jayne and I headed over to the bank and to the grocery store then came back to Wyndham to discover William had forgot that this weekend he was to fight the Yanks at Fort York. His ride was there to take him to battle. As tomorrow is Uncle Roy's 95th Birthday Bash Upper Canada would have to defend itself without him except that Royal Irish Taxi Service (his Grampa) agreed to bring him back tomorrow by noon. So off he went muttering into his shako.

This meant more pizza for us.

Jayne and I took Wee Fred over to the video place and rented the movie "RV" with Robin Williams. We went back to Wyndham and watched that with dinner. I'd seen it before at the Redoubt but enjoyed it all the same.

My morning run

The half way point

Going back past the challenging bit

Thursday, September 17, 2009: Choir

Today involved much bankishness. I did manage a breakfast at GFM. I had to pack and run at 3:00 pm to Union Station. Getting to Union Station tends to be the most difficult part of the journey to Wyndham. Today was no different. After much TTC "The Better Way" (better than crawling like a worm?) frustration I managed to get the 4:10 pm train.

Jayne picked me up at the GO Station and we drove back to Wyndham and I put all my kit in the Ghost Suite. We had some dinner and Wee Fred went off to Underground while William joined us for choir rehearsal. He has joined the tenors. This was my first week back since the season began. Practice was good. Afterwards we headed over to the Queens Head with a few of the Choir folk for a bite and sip. William was restricted to coke. I stuck to cranberry. The onion rings were outstanding.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009: Zombies

i got up early today and ran half of my old route. Today however I ran it in the opposite direction which seemed to be more uphill. It was nice out and it is great to be able to run again. There is some minor discomfort in the leg but hopefully I can continue.

I went up to the GFM at around 9:00 am for breakfast. Afterwards I took care of various things that had to be taken care of. This afternoon I walked over to the bank then headed to Long & McQuade. From L&M I walked down to "Sit in Bangkok" and had dinner.

There was some additional TTC riding and walking afterwards but I was back to mine by 7:30 pm or so. I sorted out some laundry as I am going to Wyndham tomorrow for choir and staying on to help set up for the big family reunion/birthday bash on Saturday.

After Voyager Nathan and Emily came over and brought the "Zombies" board game and a new expansion pack that features zombie clowns. We played until midnight and sort of watch "Evil Dead" which is possibly one of the worst movies ever made. Emily won Zombies then they headed out.

Autumn colors

Zombies!

Emily plans her escape to the helicopter pad

Nathan makes his move

The Zombies I killed

Tuesday, September 15, 2009: Streetsville

Today involved much running about and driving. The day took me out to Streetsville and back and included some good food at an Irish pub in Streetsville.

This evening involved some recording once other tasks were complete.

Streetsville

Monday, September 14, 2009: First Run

This morning I did my first run since my ankle/foot problem shut me down back in June. I did about half my old route to start with and work back up to it over the next month. It was nice to run again though. I listened to some of the mixed tracks from the album as I ran and they work effectively in that context. It was a beautiful morning too.

I headed up to the GFM at around 10:00 am and had a much needed breakfast. I hung out there for awhile then briefly saw Bobo. This afternoon I met up with Bonhomme and we sat on a patio and watched the review of random animal parts.

This evening I spent some time practicing guitar while visiting Walnut Grove and checking up on Seven of Nine. Further recording afterwards. More Moog for improved tracks.

Sunday, September 13, 2009: Recording & Beef Salad

I spent most of the day working through some mixes and trying to finish of the tracks for the album. I have established a rough working order of the songs and have eliminated several tracks that didn't fit for whatever reason. I will be glad when they are all done though.

This evening I took a stroll down to "Sit in Bangkok" for supper and had the beef salad. Afterwards I went over to Metro grocery to get some things then headed back to SsW and did a little more recording.

Fan

Ivy view

Saturday, September 12, 2009: Walkabout and Porch

I got woke up at around 6:00 am but managed to get back to sleep until 9:00 am. Once up and showered I walked up to the GFM for breakfast. Sandy Moon gave me one of her amazing blue berry pancake pigout breakfasts. I hung out there for a while then started back towards SsW with a mind for more recording. Bobo called me and asked me to escort Treasure Kat over to Long & McQuade so she could pick up some strings for her violin as she has placed first violin in her school's orchestra. I headed over there and once she was ready we walked via Christie to L & M.

The Long & McQuade staff got her the necessary strings and put them on for her while we poked about the orchestral part of the store. After her violin was ready I breifly dragged her through the keyboard section of the store before walking her up to her friends near Davenport. From there I headed back to Chez Bobo and lounged on the porch until he and Kelly returned with Korean fried chicken and cigars. Most of the afternoon was spent lounging about although I was attacked by Ratboy and his minions at one point. Kelly and Jane went off to get their feet polished so Bobo and I took a stroll over to Bathurst then down to Bloor. We stopped by Panzerotti Village for a bit then headed over towards Korea Town. Bobo went to pick up some movies and I walked back to SsW.

Tonight I did some recording on some of the more recent tracks I did out in Oakville. Since they were all done with either the Kaossilator or the MircoKorg they had a sameness to them. I added some Moog Little Phatty to one which has helped it alot.

Coffee

First sign of Autumn

Changing colors

Treasure Kat's electric violin

Recording the Moog

Friday, September 11, 2009: Mickey Mouse Hats

Poor sleep and awake early. Not many tasks today though as I had booked the day off to recover from the later than usual evening I expected with seeing Belew. I also needed some time to focus on attempting to complete more of the Ping Things release. I remixed one track that I had "finished" as upon repeated listenings I noticed little things that bothered me and that needed fixing. I have a total of five tracks now mixed although there is another that I may remix as it also lacks something that earlier rough mixes had.

I got hungry at around 7:30 pm and took a stroll over to "Sit in Bangkok". I had some tasty food then walked back to SsW. Upon arriving I received a message from Bobo inviting me over to his place. I headed up there and he was out on the front porch with Kelly and their neighbor Jane. A jet-lagged Treasure Kat was half asleep on the wicker couch but she went off to bed and I took that prize seating.

I was a good evening of great foolishness including the distribution of Mickey Mouse hats that they had picked up during their visit to the Hong Kong Disney Land. Bobo also had these ridiculous four fingered cartoon hand gloves. I demonstrated to all the way I insisted on wearing my Mickey Mouse Hat as a child. I wore them sideways as to offer less wind resistance.

The hats in question

Porch mess

Thursday, September 10, 2009: Adrian Belew

Tonight I met up with Richard F at "Sit in Bangkok" for supper. We had a good meal of Thai food before heading over to The Mod Club to line up for the Adrian Belew Power Trio show.

We got there at 7:00 pm which gave us an hour to wait before the doors opened. We were the first in line which was fine as it was a lovely evening and Belew and several of this gang came out the front doors and headed up College clearly in seach of food.

People started showing up not long after we did and with conversation the hour before the doors opened passed quickly. We went in at 8:00 pm and got a good seat up on the side area near where Chris C and I had sat for Jason's Black Heath Hounds show. Jason was there as well and I ran into him by the merch table.

The opening act was a local unit headed up by a bassist named Chris Bottomly who Jason seemed to be aware of but whom I'd never heard of before. On drums for that band was The Great Bob Scott a drummer of note in these parts.

Belew came on at around 10:00 pm and put on an outstanding show. I believe this is the sixth time I've seen him live as having seen him at least twice as a solo act before, twice with The Bears and once with King Crimson. The other two thirds of the Power Trio were two young musicians he'd scooped from the real School of Rock named Julie and Eric Slick (Sister and Brother). They were only in their early twenties but were rock solid players and completely deserving of their positions in Belew's band.

During on song the bassist, Julie Slick's strap broke. She managed to not drop her bass, continued playing by kneeling and keeping the bass on one knee until their guitar tech could come out and attach a new strap to her bass. She thanked him with a nod and smile and then stood back up and continued playing. She never missed a beat and took it all in stride.

Belew was inspiring to watch. Not just his mad skills on guitar or the complex stuff he was doing but his absolute joy in playing. If I would aspire to anything as a musican it would be to enjoy what I was playing as much as he does.

After the show the place cleared out surprisingly quick. Richard, Jason and I got in line to meet the band and get autographs. As there was so few people for this part it was very relaxed. It was nice to meet the band and actually talk to both the drummer and bass player. They were totally down to earth, not an ounce of ego at all.

As for Mr. Belew. What do you say to someone who's both one of your favorite guitarists and one of your favorite vocalists? All I could say after seeing such a great show was "That was outstanding!" To which he humbley replied "Thanks".

I really regret not bringing my camera. I was under the impression that it would be forbidden but everyone managed to get a photo but me. Jason even got a shot of himself with the band. I got the band to sign my current journal which was good but I regret I can't share any photos of the show with you here.

Afterwards Richard and I had a bite at the Dip then called it a night.

Autographs!

Another view

Wednesday, September 9, 2009: Back to SsW

I was up early with eveyone else and ready to go by 9:00 am. Jayne gave me a drive over to the GO Train and I caught the 9:30 am back into the City. I took the TTC up and over to SsW, sorted out my stuff then headed up towards the GFM.

I ran into Bobo on the way and we headed back over to his. After two weeks of Apollo running away from me and hiding the crazy cat climbed up on me, purred and allowed me to scratch his back and chin. Cat logic!

This evening I took it rather easy with some guitar and Seven of Nine before retiring for the night.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009: One More Day

I have stayed an additional day at Wyndham. I feel like when I do leave that summer is officially over so perhaps that was part of my reason for staying. The desire to squeeze one more day out of what was a rather unsummerly summer. That and knowing like the seasons my days here are numbered.

Monday, September 7, 2009: Air Show

We got up early today and had a bite to eat before heading into the City for the Air Show and the CNE. We managed to get to Ontario Place at around 10:00 am and went in there. We had a while before we needed to worry about the Air Show so our first task was to walk over to the CNE where the kids went on some rides with their Dad. Jayne and I just watched them. They went on quite a few rides as there were so few people there yet the line ups were short. At around 11:30 am we walked back to the car and got our food and folding chairs and headed over to the breakwater wall in Ontario Place and got a spot. We had a lunch then waited for the fun to begin.

The Air Show was quite good this year. It had a fly celebrating the 100th year of powered flight in Canada. This featured the CF-18 Hornet, a Spitfire from WW2 and a CF-86 Sabre which was a cold war era jet that patrolled the West Coast. As a teen taking the ferry from Powell River to Courtney BC I often saw a few Sabres fly by us low the water at high speed. They would actually fly closer to us than the single Sabre flew at the Air Show. The CF-18 did its usual fly about, featuring the square loop and moving along at a low speed, nose up, defying gravity by the force of its engines alone. It also roared by once at 600 miles per hour, close to the sound barrier, and fast enough that it went by before we heard it.

There were two P-51 mustangs that put on a show. I have never seen the P-51 in real life before so that was treat. The US Navy Blue Angels were there as well. They were amazing. They also flew F-18 Hornets and it was great to see them put that plane through its paces. I always look forward to the noise of the CF-18 so six F-18s was a sonic treat. The US Air Force had a F-16 which roared about and made lots of noise. The highlight of the day for me though was the F-22 Raptor. It was just unbelievable to watch. It seemed to do things that defied physics by hanging in the air, then turning and moving about as if gravity wasn't even an issue. Absolutely amazing.

The Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds finished the show off. I wondered if they would have a hard time following the Blue Angels in their little Tutor Jets but I have to say they were just as impressive. I always have my heart in my throat watching the Snowbirds as I saw the crash in 1989 that killed one pilot and destroyed two planes. (Wow, twenty years ago! Where has the time gone?)

After the Air Show was over we took our stuff back to the car but instead of getting caught in the brutal traffic trying to leave we went back over to the CNE. The youngsters went with their Dad on more rides while I accompanied Jayne to the Crafts Building. We roamed about there for a bit then went to this Salvation Army van that was selling tea and coffee. We grabbed some hot drinks and then sat for a bit in the shade before heading back into the Crafts Building. We all met up there then headed out back towards the car. Wee Fred was demanding a corn-dog but our attempt to find some was interupted by a sudden and unexpected "parade". It started off with a Canadian Forces Marching Band and some Soldiers handing out trinkets and recruiting materials. They were followed by a variety of strange floats and people including some sort of Marti Grais themed thing with people pelting us with plastic bead necklaces, a Chinese Lion Dance team and band, a pirate ship, a dragon, and so forth. Once the surprise parade was done we headed back to the midway in seach of corn-dogs. We managed to find a vender and once we were munching away we headed back to the car.

The drive back wasn't bad. We were all rather tired after a long day in the sun so we picked up a movie and some Thai food then went back to Wyndham Manor and ate in front of the TV. Amazingly no one bothered with a swim.

Entering Ontario Place

A view of Toronto

A twirly twirly CNE ride

More twirling

The Air Show begins with the CF-18

A Police Boat

Four of the six Blue Angels F-18 Hornets

The crowd watches

The Blue Angels

Another fly-by

The F-22 Raptor

The Snow Birds

The Snow Birds fly by

Ontario Place panarama

The Cinesphere

The Harbor

Leaving Ontario Place

Traffic looking West

Traffic looking East

The unexpected Parade

Reminds me of...

Jester guy

Reminds me of...

A cartoon Dragon

Lion Dancers

Throwing kisses or belching? You decide!

The CNE Angel

Sunday, September 6, 2009: Anniversary

I was up early as I slept poorly. Eveyone went out for a bit to pick up some food stuffs and when they returned we had nice little breakfast. Afterwards eveyone went out again for a few hours leaving me to my devices which I set up outside and did some recording until I lost my shade.

Once the shade was gone I moved my gear in and went for a swim. Jayne got back with groceries so I helped bring them in. Once everyone was back I just hung out by the pool. I did sort of crash towards 3:00 pm due to last nights lack of sleep. I was unable to keep my eyes open so I just went back to the Ghost Suite and slept until 6:00 pm.

When I got up the McW's had arrived along with an Aunt Molly from the Old Country and two other friends for Jayne and Paul's anniversary dinner. We had much food including some very fine steaks all out by the pool. We stayed out there until it was dark then we moved inside for dessert which William dished out to all takers. Coffee and tea was had and people stuck around until 10:30 or so.

Recording in the morning by the pool

Popcorn cloud sun set

Saturday, September 5, 2009: Basement Adventures

The main reason I came out to Wyndham this weekend was to help sort out the basement. Recent wetness has caused some flooding and water damage in various parts of the "older" basement and many things had to be moved to deal with this. Not a small task so both the McW Crew and myself came in to assist with the work.

I woke up early and had some tea. Eventually everyone else was up and after a small breakfast and some coffee the work began. William and Wee Fred joined in and over the course of the day we cleared several areas of stuff and managed to move most of the stored stuff into the dry new part of the basement. I relocated all of my plastic bins which contain the archives of the before time as well as my CD collection.

There was some furniture that was in need of being moved up and out. This task was completed by William and myself, usually with much grunting and often Austrian accents. There was also a great deal of junk and or water damaged items that needed tossing. The McW mini-van was loaded and packed and later made a trip to the dump. Jayne and I took a drive over to Sobey's and picked up some food for lunch then came back. Work continued and when it was complete and the dump crew had returned we settled down by the pool and had a meal. It was lovely to jump in that water after it was all complete.

William went off with his Aunt and Grandpa for the night and we continued to hang by the pool. We had an outstanding meal which including peaches and cream corn on the cob from a local farm. As far as food goes few things please me more.

Water damaged horse

Ugly painting

Lovely sky

Wasp by some spilled sugar

Sky and trees

Friday, September 4, 2009: To Wyndham

I headed out early to Union Station and caught the train to Wyndham. I took the bus over as there was no one about at Wyndham Manor during the day. I spent part of the morning recording by the pool and later relocated my kit inside then swam, lazed in the sun and then swam further.

Tomorrow there is the basement to clear. I went down and checked to see if my stuff was water damaged at all and the main bulk of stuff was untouched. There was some boxes of crap that I had seperated from the rest that were under the stairs that did get some water damage but since it was of no value I set them aside to be tossed out. One box that did get wet contained some old drawings and so forth but to be honest they only pangs I felt when I looked through it was seeing some damaged drawings my Father had done. One treasure I found and rescued in that box was a small green four leaf clover with my name etched on it. It was given to me by my Sisters friend who I had a huge crush on when they took me to the PNE as a child. I would have been 4 or 5 I think.

Jayne and Wee Fred got back at around 3:30 or so and joined me by the pool. Later on we had supper outside by the pool which was nice. William was at Canada's Wonderland with some friends so he wasn't back until much later. Wee Fred insisted on watching one of the Harry Potter movies on DVD so we did that after supper.

Pool

I have gone down these steps since I was a child

Two seats

Evening sky

Thursday, September 3, 2009: Finishing Off Tracks

I was up early and about. Mike was up and having some breakfast. I headed up to GFM and had breakfast there. Afterwards I headed over to the Wonder Cat Zone and found them both snoozing in the living room.

I took up my Kaossilator and MRS8 recorder and worked on two tracks that needed some finishing. One was something I began on August 3rd but never went further with because it sucked. The other was one that needed some drums. After I had done the drum tracks I relocated out with Venus on the porch and worked on fixing the unfixable.

The Air Show is this weekend so the jets were doing their test runs. I couldn't see them but I could certainly hear them. I also managed to record them which is fitting since on of the tracks for the album has the Toronto Grand Prix cars off in the distance and run through various filters and modulators so they sound nothing like cars. I will do something similar with the jets.

I did some mixing and at around 6:00 pm headed back down to SsW. Mike was in when I got back and listening to some music. He played me "The Knife" which is the band that the singer from "Fever Ray" was in. It is excellent. He had to head out, but I had some soup then practiced guitar and watched Voyager.

Recording drums

Venus is thinking

Recording outside

Venus relaxing

Wednesday, September 2, 2009: By The Way

Nathan was by this morning to do laundry and drum. I hung out with him for a bit before I had to go over the Wonder Cat Zone. He also got to meet our new housemate Mike who was about.

I went up and saw the Wonder Cats and spent some time with them. I continue to mix and finalize stuff. I hope to do a big push to finish some before the weekend.

I went over to Bonhommes later in the day and hung out with him for a bit. We went down to By The Way Cafe. I am not a huge fan of the place as the food is in my opinion not worth the price. There was an abundance of wasps for some reason. I found that rather annoying. Still it was a nice evening and Baby Em is cute beyond all measure.

Sunset in the Annex

Tuesday, September 1, 2009: Autumn Aproaches

I walked up to see the Wonder Cats today and check on their progress. Apollo is more skittish than normal, while Venus is her lovely self, although shedding.

I did some additional mixing and hope that I can finalize most of the recording over the next week. I also completed some video editing. I suspect the rendering will take up to 9 hours.

I went back to SsW at around 6:00 pm. It was nice out but there is definately a feeling of Autumn in the air. This evening was the usual guitar practicing and Seven of Nine.