What I brought back and update

If I told you I did not brought back any tool, would you believed me? Probably not... :-)

But like I said earlier, while I shop for woodworking related tools and products in the States, I tend to stick to stuff I don't see here back home in Canada or a good sale. I find that on average there are no big price differences, after accounting for the exchange rate. Power tools are a different story, but I'm a Galoot...

So truly, the only WW things I brought back from Buffalo was a wood steam bending kit from Rockler and a Fine Woodworking DVD, from Michael Fortune on making a garden chair.

My only WW related purchases in the States

I quickly look for flea markets in the Buffalo area but it was on Week End only and we arrived and left on a Sunday. I had plans to drive thru the Eastern sea board and hit the Tool barn and others mecca, but changes of plans to accommodate visits took precedence's.

But fear not, I made up for it, upon our return came across a few find in my regular local flea markets places this past Week End.

This past week end finds

Mind you my tool budget right now is severely crippled by my high taxes bill this year Grrr...
So will have to cool it off for a while...

We Canadian Veterans are currently in a fight with our government over benefits owe us for our injuries suffered while serving. Not all injuries are visible... After more than 10 years in Afghanistan we have LOTS of injured veterans...
A visibly frustrated Prime Minister Trudeau was quoted saying to a vet during a Town hall discussion this past February, that Quote  Veterans are asking for more than we can give right now  Unquote.
So I send a partial payment to the more than $4,000 I owe in taxes (over some benefits) with a short note: You are asking me more than I can give you right now... :-(

That comment from our PM as really touched a raw nerve with us vets

End of Canadian Political rant, we now return to our normal woodworking blogging in progress

So what about these new to me antiques I picked up?
2 Chisels:

A pair of Stanley 750s, one (1) inch and half (1/2) inch

for $5

Yes the one inch has a greatly damaged handle,

but Heh, it's wood, I can make a new one :-)

1 plane:

A Record No 3 with a replacement front knob and a make shift bolt/nut

for $8. Blade is full length

Good solid bones

Original Rosewood tote

Complete water transfer decal on top 

Sticker on one sidewall says something like:

Canadian Mar... Company.

Guessing a distributor marks?

And yes, the ubiquitous white paint droppings on the tool.

Never understood why white seems to be the preferred color splotches on tools :-)

and 3 saws:

A St-Catherine On (Smith?) back saw, precursors to what became Shurley-Dietrich & Atkins in the 1930s. I paid $20 for it, my most expensive purchase :-)

The seller had a date of 1887 on it, but that is for the patent date

for the Grover saw nut patent (Like a Chicago bolt)

The tooth line is in remarkable order, not messed up

Fits my hand like a glove (The first thing I always check when buying a saw)

It is a 12 inch saw, small tenon saw

Another back saw, this time a more modern Disston, 14 inch backsaw guessing roughly 50s, 60s (?)

Solid saw, will make a good user. Pretty blocky handle, may make a new one someday (??)

Not bad for $4, I'm happy

And lastly, an older Disston hand saw, for $1, who could resist, and no I did not haggle over the asking price :-)

It is a rather small saw at 22 inch long, complete with the original saw nib still present

The handle shows signs of wind/rain erosion, the way the wood grain is worn off.

And yes, fit my hand just right. Probably another candidate for a re-handle job.

Tooth line is straight and in remarkable good shape

Meanwhile, we transplanted some trees on our property. Some ornamental "bushes" are growing too big, too fast too close to foundation, so out they went.

One tree, now out on front

The other, flowering on the right was also moved in this location

The new garden plot were I dumped the extra top soil from my fire pit installation

has now been rototilled (ouch my back)

Found the time for a quick get away to the woodshop to finally made progress on my infamous Boring till project. Got my two hardwood dividers cut to size and drilled all the holes on the drill press. Now just need to cut the slots, apply a finish on them then screw them in, attach till to wall on its French cleats, load it with tools and Tada, almost done I'll say :-)

While we were away we had two frost warnings texts, and since coming back, we keep getting frost at night,  most night lately it seems... It is murder on our gardens. Turned furnace back on yesterday to drive the chill out in the house. Daytime temps reach high teens sometimes low 20s.

That poor tree did not took to the chill easily... 

The cherry tomatoes plant that we started this winter inside, was doing fine

transplanted outside until all these frost came. There are signs of green shoots in the middle, so not quite dead yet (??) The Cana plants are also severely damaged, sigh.

So there you go, you are now catch up on our happenings around the Casa Chaos :-)

Bob, who should start dividing my tools into separate piles for my son's tool kits, to see what I have and still need (?)

Putting the gardens to bed for the season

We are experiencing some strange weather, not our usual fall weather for sure. We still have the occasional mid 20s C temps then frost warnings at nite...
Will you please make up your mind Mother nature already....

You can just make up the dead brown tomatoes plants 

outside the protective dome on the left handside behind Rudy.

In case you ever wondered, it sure works, 

look at the greenery still inside the dome.

There are three big green tomatoes inside turning yellow

The furnace is back on, the remaining vegetables still producing are covered at nite and sometimes until noon or so. The remainders have all been harvested and cleaned up.

Only celery left in the brown two tier raised garden.

Was harvested soon after.

We are done with the cucumbers, but still are harvesting tomatoes, bell green peppers, celery and some spices.
Will see how long we can extend our growing season using covers.

With everyting gone, cover has been relocated

It now protect a remaining producing 

tomatoes plant and some herbs

Rudy sporting his new fall jacket.

With the fast changing temperatures, he is wearing layering clothes

It is also time to removed the various plant bulbs from the ground and protect them over the winter.

She had Canna plants here and there, 

they sure did not like the cold...

Yes, I got my shovels out and the snow blower is back inside the garage :-)

So out they come...

Would be trimmed out and the bulbs wrapped in paper and put inside.

 All in all it was a good growing season, now we will experiment over the winter to sart some plants from seeds inside, using lighted plant stands and heating mats.  The idea being to get a jump start in the next season.

Straw will be put over the strawberries plants 

Yes, its getting cold Dad, but not to worry, 

I rearranged the chairs covers...

So far, I am very happy with these brown raised gardens. They used the same sort of "plastic" used for decking plank. Strong and maintenance free. Also can be assembled in various configurations and expanded as required. Personnally I prefer keeping them at 4 feet square, since there is a lot of available covers and accessories in that size. I also found it easier to tend to the garden all around. Reccomended. About Cdn $70 each kit (one tier). Will be buying more next year.

The white raised garden on the other hand is a bit of a dissapointment.
It is a bit flimsy to assemble and does not stay locked together very well under all the pressure of the dirt and the 10 foot high swaging Canna plants in the strong winds. One side blow out... :-(

Removed for storage and will be fixed next year.

At Cdn $99 it was not a good deal. Mind you got mine on sale for $79 but still... The white plastic is thinner and not as resistant as the thick brown stuff of the others. There are no locking screws, everything just snap together.  Not reccomended. Will probably end up as a flower bed somewhere else on my land next year. Will use metal brackets to screw it together.

October being Fire prevention week, they have Fire Drills at the schools.
Meadow, our grand daughter, was the honorary Fire Chief for the drill at her school.

The Fire Chief arriving to supervise the operation...

The Fire Chief in full kit

And her designated fire crew.

The school and the kids made it through safely :-)

She really enjoyed it, but thought that the kit she wore was pretty warm... She was the only one thinking so, everyone else was frozen.... it was a cold morning :-)

Meanwhile, made more progress on my boring till... Coming up soon

Bob, proud grampa

There you go Dear, I fixed the flag pole...

Well .... Temporarily at best, but heh :-)

Back in 2011 when we got posted here, in Greenwood NS, the house we bought had a rusty flag pole in the front yard.

Barely visible, but the pole is there, middle RH corner.

The two large trees too close to the house, would be cut down later on

Yes, way too close...

So of course, one of my task was to clean up, paint the pole and hang a flag.
Which I carried out diligently, but it kinda look lost into a large flat, feature less front yard.... So....
In the year leading to my retirement (2013), we started to landscaped the front yard, wanting to make the flag area more of an anchoring feature.

Our first plant garden in front of the flag pole, circa May 2013 

Throughout the following years, more plants and flowers were added, some relocated some did not survived some of our harsh winters.,.
We lost the flag pole to a severe windstorm and rust ...

Since then, all the major renovations have been carried out inside, bringing this 1976 house (the year I joined the Airforce incidentally) kicking and screaming into the 21st century :-)

Last year, obviously,  no work was done whatsoever in the flower beds and etc :-(
so this year, it is grand time to tend to them.

First we set up a garden in the back yard, producing both vegetables (now coming out faster than we can eat them :-) and flowers, plants for the flower beds. But would you know it, we need more...!?
I must say that Jean is a very savvy plant buyer :-)

The raised gardens last month

Everything is overflowing and some is our second growth...

As much as I brake for tools in our travels, 

It should be said that Jean brake for plant nursery :-)

First we widen the existing flower bed, then duplicate the half moon bed behind it. I left a space large enough to drive the tractor thru. I can see a classic English garden bench in between later on, once garden area is established or Stefan is finished with his :-)

Every new plants locations have been

 inspected and approved by Rudy

Then listening to chain gang music (well this is a forced labour camp, isn't it :-)
I diligently worked under the blazing sun.
Not to worry, cold refreshing beverages were consumed in this operation... :-)
OK, not really comparable to a forced labour camp, my apologies to whomever got offended by this lame comparison... :-)

Starting to take shape, dug about a foot plus, 

then loosen up the soil under at the bottom.

Was aiming for about even with top of soil in pot 

and about 5 pot's wide holes (diameter) for the trees.

More flowers and plants to come

The trees have a raised mound lip around to make sure 

they get properly watered. Once established, probably by next year, 

that would be replaced by a mound of bark mulch 

The look as of last nite

In our nursery visits, I spied this little flag, so you know I just had to get it and play a joke on Jean :-)

There you go Dear, flag pole fixed :-)

What? You can't see it?

Look how tall it is :-)

And it even meet regulations, it is lighted at nite :-)

yeah, I know, still going to have to fix the real pole or install a new one, one of these day. But for now, I can scratch that from my list ? :-)

In the mean time I am experimenting with a pizza oven 

that you put on your BBQ. Works great

Part of the rear yard landscaping projects is setting up a gourmet kitchen outside. Would love to have a wood fired pizza oven, so I thought we could experiment with this pizza oven box and see how we liked it. A heck of a lot cheaper than building your own, especially for experimenting :-)

And that is about all the news fit to print, Cheers :-)

From our bistro area up front.

The girlie beer (Corona) is Jean :-)

Bob , Jean and Rudy enjoying the front sitting area while discussing our next projects... and keeping an eye out for squirrels...