April-May 2012

After Dean headed off to Newfoundland with the donor van, I continued to slog away at the window liners and bits of the finish of the solar chimney interior. I also did some caulking and painting on the top that I put on my utility trailer in preparation for the trek to Newfoundland and back. The initial plan was for me to go with my MPV and trailer to pick up a load of stored stuff to bring back to Ontario, and also to engage in helping with the transplant process on replacing the automatic (dead) transmission with the good clutch and transmission from the donor van. There was the possibility of both the VW camper and the MPV plus trailer would be moving west together, with a recruited additional driver. However that was not to happen. I headed to Newfoundland on April 3 with trailer in tow. Dropped down through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine and then to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to take advantage of cheaper gas, and got to the ferry on the night of April 4, sailed at 6:30 the next morning and drove across the island arriving in St. John’s just before midnight.

Unfortunately the work on van conversion was not possible at that time, and the extra driver not possible either, so I loaded up the stuff in the trailer and headed back West on May 5. As before first the approximately 1000 km across the island, then the 6+ hr ferry ride, this time overnight trip, and hit the ground on the far side in the morning running. This trip I chose to stay north of the border the whole trip, did not relish the idea of having the entire trailer load of stuff torn apart by US customs looking for whatever. I made it to Montreal the second day on the mainland and Elena joined me by air. We spent a day visiting my daughter and Elena’s cousin, and then we drove together to Toronto, where we unloaded some items for my step-daughter. Then I went on to Newbury to unload the rest while she stayed for a visit with daughter and a HS friend from Buenos Aires.

After unloading the trailer and catching up on stuff around the house (grass etc) back to Toronto on the 18th, and a visit to the Picasso exhibit at the AGO.  After that  Elena was in Newbury for a several days and I showed her a bit of the countryside around the region as well as the lay of the land in London.   Then  up to Kitchener to visit friends, on the way to drop her off in Guelph for a conference at the University.   After the conference back to Toronto and on June 13 she flew back to Newfoundand.

The donor and transplant vehicle side by side awaiting action at Dean and Alexias place.

Looking to Signal Hill and Cabot Tower while packing up and cleaning the Carters Hill house.

Looking down the hill to the Harbour and Southside Hills.

Looking out the narrows of St. John’s Harbour.

Focusing in on the docks near the Harbour entrance.

Quidi Vidi Harbour St. John’s

More Quidi Vidi Harbour

Walking to get closer to the iceberg.

The Iceberg in sight.

Close-up of the biggest chunk.

Panoramic view of the ice.

April 30, Sheila’s brush, but a little more substantial.

November 2011

November turned into a strange month in construction operations. I was preparing to drive to Newfoundland to spend the holidays with my wife, and to bring back a bunch of things for the house which had been stored. So in addition to finishing up the solar chimney facing, and making another increment in getting the kitchen cabinets installed, I designed and implemented a scheme for putting a top, and lockable doors on my utility trailer. This was also season for the various choirs in which I sing to have their final preparations for Christmas concerts so some extra out and about for that, the major one singing Messiah with the London Pro Musica and Symphony London the first week in December. As that approached conversations with Elena determined I was not going to Newfoundland for Christmas, but we were trekking to Sarasota, FL for a “white Christmas”, sand not snow 🙂 The van minus trailer but with a bike rack went South rather than East for sun and fun. Below is what I accomplished before the Holiday exodus. Just to make life interesting in addition to a lot of beach time, we also did a sing-along Messiah in Sarasota…. can’t stop singing!

Finished the paneling on the north face of the solar chimney, with help from my dear friend Don; two old guys fiddling on the roof.

View of solar chimney from the northeast.

Installing the wall units of my kitchen cabinet.

Wall units on the kitchen island.

View of house with breezeway, and solar chimney finished.

Turning my utility trailer into an enclosed trailer for bringing stuff back from Newfoundland.

Trailer now with top and lockable doors.

Southern view of house with trim and solar chimney finished.

First dusting of snow of the year, and also now water in my backyard pond.

Snow on my stockpiles of topsoil, eventually to be used for landscaping.

Looking through the breezeway to the driveway.