What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
A peer, a neighbour, an administrator, OR a coworker pokes their head into my zone, kiss their teeth a bit, look slowly around, and then vomit this steaming verbal turd at my doorstep: ARE YOU BUSY?
My post-SSRI (post-instructor) answer is the following: f*ck you. I’m doing exactly what I want and since you think I’m at loose ends, why don’t you disco right the f*ck away from me! I resent these questions because it invalidates my right to putter around or even be bored. This is NOT the same as… “hey, I need your help”, or even “hey, can you do a favour for me”. That one comes as a close second — just ask me to do something. Otherwise, I’m hauling out the great cognitive-abacus to figure out when I can call in all those favours. I’m 1/2 Estonian and can hold a grudge (you’re goddamn right I’m going to call in those favours [turn the other cheek, my ass]).
Other questions I dislike being asked: are you gay? Are you straight? Do you have children? Do you live here? Are you fat? Why are you here?
studio assembly – as of friday october 17/25.
- Loft batons added to the bannister. GP did the tough work of measuring out and applying just enough vertical struts to make it solid and safe.
- Door locking mechanism WD40-ed. It smoothly opens, closes, and engages. Thank you, TS.
- All the bug screens have been reinstalled and screwed in. Sawmill Structures intended these screens to be removable. The stainless steel retaining screws will chew up the wood sills. They remain installed.
- The wood lattices (that double as avian anti-collision markers) are stained and screwed back in. The chewed up ugly parts are out of sight and new screws were used.
- PN treated the deck studs with SOMETHING. It’s a wood preservative — somewhat.
- The manufacturer calls it a suspension (not paint) and it’s marketed for treating end cuts of a certain brand of pressure-treated (PT) lumber.
- The paint-on preservatives I grew up on back in the 1980s were liquid creosote (coal-tar creosote) and some oil-based, weird green-paint (chromated copper arsenate).
- Both of these chemicals are carcinogens that can screw up my day, my skin, and my local biosphere!
- No thanks — I’ll use less toxic compounds to protect my lumber creations!
- Deck planking has begun.
- We’re saving money by using PT 1″ fencing planks, made by MicroPro Sienna.
- If they start to flex too much to the point of breaking, we can overlay it with a sheet of PT plywood over the high traffic path.
- TS judges the pattern, PN uses the mitre saw (donated to the house by SR in Hamilton) to cut the pieces to fit.
- These fencing planks are NOT 100% true, so they have to be shaved to fit.
- If we had gone with classic, load-bearing 2″-by-10″ PT deck planks, it would have cost us ~$500 CAD in materials alone.
- That’s not cheap and cheerful. That’s overkill.
- We’ve used up about 25 of these 1″x6″x9′ PT fencing planks at ~$7 each. Other than 1 mushy plank that might fail prematurely, we paid ~$175 for materials. That’s a ($500 CAD – $175 CAD) $325 savings! As long as nobody does jumping jacks on that patio, it’s adequate for our needs. And it looks good too.
- BTW, these fence planks are still juicy from their pressure treatment — eww.
- 6 out of 8 traction pads added to the ladder leading up to the loft. A grab bar will be added later.
- TS & PN chose a pleasing tint for the studio’s floor paint. That’ll be done later.
- Yesterday morning, all 4 exterior walls of the office are painted-stained! The rainstorms rolled in this morning.
- Next: clear more trees around the propane tanks for a larger 500L canister. Then the pavilion? I have all the materials. Then the further removal of 2024-25 ice-damaged trees. Then… then… then… Successful Aging (by Daniel J. Levitin), yes?
PN discovered a mature and semi-abandoned, basket-ball-sized hornet nest near the upper parking lot. The queen and her minions are trying to overwinter in the nearby derelict appliance from the condo. In December-January, I’ll have to evict them from the stove, as it’s destined to become an art-marketing centrepiece for my firewood sales.
WEEKEND, Market Day.
We had better sales at the Owen Sound Farmers Market (OSFM) this weekend. TS was able to take the time to build more stock for the upcoming holiday markets. We were able to give about a years’ worth of high quality laundry detergent to a fellow vendor — and I was given 2 tacos back in appreciation! PN needs tacos, with cilantro no less. Whenever we go to DA BIG TOWN OF OS, we bundle the event with doing errands and grocery shopping. We got halloween candy for ourselves. TS and PN have different ways of dividing up and inventorying candy. PN makes geometric shapes and then does a 1-here… 1-there portioning process. TS does the math. I dislike M&M Peanuts, so I was able to negotiate Smarties as a trade-off. If you ever want to see another MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING way of dividing up candy, view ZeFrank’s 2015 (2 minutes 15 seconds [subtitles might help you figure out what the hell he’s talking about]) YouTube episode:
PLANKING, October 20/25.
According to Environment Canada, we have 1 rainless day this week.
…so we got the (DAY USE ONLY) studio’s deck completed. The last thing to do will be to encircle the deck with metal landscaping fabric to keep pests out. If it’s too wet, that can wait until week’s end. We can apply tinted stain on the interior floors. I’m looking forward to getting this studio online!
Inside the (Actor’s?) studio, october 21, 2025.
I’ve been up since about 3 a.m. and had time to see the night sky. Next week may be a rough ride for me — I have to go to British Columbia to help settle family affairs. We’re trying to get the bunkie finished before this weekend — anti-vermin skirt, floors, inside trim. Waves of heavy rain are passing over the peninsula, so we’re trying to get work done during the lulls.
We had an appointment at Electric Woodpecker to discuss the north wall mural. That session had to be postponed at the last minute. EW’s owner caught a bug from his school-aged child and neither of us want to catch it. TS now has time to bake bread and do other tasks she enjoys.
After a 90 minutes nap, I recovered enough for us to finish the anti-vermin skirt around the DAY USE STUDIO patio. The anchoring rocks pose enough of a trip hazard that we’ll build a little set of stairs for people to use. There’s enough PT lumber that we can make a small ramp if necessary. Before the snow flies, we might even make a little overpass for the stainless steel fuel pellet pipes leading from the e-shed into our home’s mechanical room!
I’m loading this multi-day blog with lots of detail. Here’s a running list of all the links that I referenced:
https://www.electricwoodpecker.com/ …accessed (tattoo studio) site Oct. 21, 2025, 7:30 p.m. EST. Tobermory, Ontario, Canada.
https://weather.gc.ca/en/location/index.html?coords=45.095,-81.403 …updated weather forecast for West Miller Lake, Ontario, Canada. They’re assuming Tobermory’s good enough.
https://www.owensoundtourism.ca/en/plan-your-visit/top-attractions/farmers-market …the Owen Sound Farmer’s Market. It runs every Saturday, year round.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/598506/successful-aging-by-daniel-j-levitin/9780735236899 …Successful Aging. A book that I need to make time to read.
Sawmill Structures (their URL errored out… here’s the link). 1 and done.
https://www.homehardware.ca/en/store/18354 …my local Wilson Building Centre Ltd., on the highway just north of Lion’s Head, Ontario, Canada.
https://www.rona.ca/en/store/ontario/miller-lake/miller-lake-rona-04920 …I might not like their obnoxious colour pixel board outside the storefront, their staff are decent enough. They’re within eyesight of the Miller Lake turn-off… also on the highway. We share their their postal code, N0H 1Z0. Like Rona, we’re nowhere close to Miller Lake itself!
wednesday, october 22nd… 2nd coat applied.
I slept better last night, and I’m glad TS was able to talk to our family health team about booking a sleep study. We’re privileged to have access to a team of medical professionals — even if it all has to be done remotely. While TS baked bread, made raisin scones, and assembled the MOC&HC(*), I was able to get a 2nd coat of tinted paint-stain on the STUDIO’S floors. The Beauti Tone exterior paint is quite the product. I’m uncertain if it’s really sandstone coloured. It looks grey. The 2nd coat evened out all the inconsistencies TS and I did applying it on bare wood.
*MOC&HC = mother of cheese and ham casseroles.
I’m thankful an associate could lend us a ladder. It’s been returned and that saved us a lot of money.
THURSDAY, WACKED SEVERAL WORRISOME TREES!
WE HAD TO CLEAR SPACE FOR AVENIR ENERGY TO UPGRADE OUR PROPANE TANKS. ONE 500 LITRE TORPEDO SHOULD GET US THROUGH THE DARK DAYS WHEN OUR PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS PRODUCE MINIMAL ELECTRICAL POWER.
We had only 1 screwball tree. Despite me doing my wedge, angling it away from the house and generator, setting up a hinge, and releasing it with a back cut, the bugger still got hung up on the overhead canopy. After a lot of heaving and CAREFULLY chipping it this way and that… whoomp. It came down. The big ass poplar right besides the tank will have to get the winch, truck tow rope, and come-along treatment. To make DAMN SURE it falls away from the STUDIO AND e-shed. BTW – during these cuttings sessions, I turn OFF THE PROPANE SUPPLIES ON TOP OF EACH BOTTLE. DOG forbid, but if I drop a tree on a propane bottle and it tips over, I don’t want a messy rupture.
What irritates me is that these trees (among others on the south and west perimeter) were supposed to be removed by FQ at Evolve Builders. The bugger just nodded and carried on doing regular site work. FQ left Evolve Builders after our fiasco (and another major project where FQ really, REALLY SCREWED UP [that couple sought us out and we had a serious discussion]). Once that guy left, it was up to Evolve’s senior coordinating construction dude to clean up the messes. SH, if you’re reading this, your damage control and fixing-it-up made a difference. I’m willing to consider having Evolve Builders do our phase 2 build. SH, thank you. Your deeds spoke more than words.
Avenir Energy Limited (formerly Sparlings, formerly Parkland), help us out. TS and PN want to give you another chance this heating season. Give us reliable propane service so that our lights don’t go out! Needless to say, after all of this gentleman and gentlewoman forestry, we postponed studio floor painting until tomorrow. We have wobbly arms, legs, and all major muscle groups. THIS IS THE HOMESTEADERS WORKOUT ROUTINE, eh.
friday, october 24th…
At the end of today, I’ll release this week-long blog. Over the weekend, I’m packing and preparing to go back to British Columbia to take care of some important family affairs. TS will have to remain to look after the farm and our elderly house-panthers. I have to make this trip, despite not having the money to do it and that makes me sad. I need to ensure my surviving parent’s affairs are in order and spend time with her. I know I’ve kept my extended family at arm’s length over the decades and that was necessary for my mental well being.
TS moved all of the cut logs from around the tank farm and set them up at my chainsaw cutting station. This weekend, SHE NEEDS TO FITTED OUT WITH STEEL-TOED WORK BOOTS. It should also have a supportive steel shank (to reduce the risk of her hyperextending her arch). And provide enough shin support to prevent TS from rolling her ankle.
Together, we cut the trim out for both floors of our DAY USE ONLY STUDIO. TS painted the last of the floor. Unfortunately, we still have some stormwater seeping into the structure at the corners. The roof and its overhang expose those junction points to the elements. My plan will be to add beads of clear silicone about the joints during the next sunny day. A removable electric block heater may also dry it out.
This nonsense reminds me why people shouldn’t live in these structures year-round… inadequate weatherproofing inherent in its design! There’s just too many seams, gaps, and spaces (for the sake of making it assemble-by-numbers). It’s also an argument for buying pre-assembled studies, outhouses, bunkies and studios. Less seams. More weatherproof. At least our roof is bone dry — steel roof and foam insulation.
Timberframe Gazebos and Sheds, you’ll be making our next outbuilding! My garage-workshed.
I think butter-and-bread would have been a better choice for the tint. Sandstone looks like battleship or NAVY grey. Or hell, in the right light, avocado!! …Avocado, like an El Dorado (1984 movie reference to Repo Man). TS joked we’ll throw a rug down and presto… nice again. No plates of shrimp necessary (nor aliens in the trunk).
Be kind to each other. I’m enjoying a bitchin’ sunset over Lake Huron and the North Bruce Peninsula.
Addendum, October 26/25!
TS painted the rest of the STUDY floor & put the trim in the e-shed. It’s decided: avocado 🥑 green and navy blue-grey!
We applied some reflective tape on 2 beams that can brain unsuspecting loft users.
And it’s curtains for those windows!
As you can see, that last baton was cut to fit the badly warped floor.
BCB&B, neemtree, bdb, and blog 