I've had many interests and hobbies through the years. Some have been ambitious and taken a lot of time. One of these was a scratch built hot rod. I briefly considered building a model T Ford but after attending a car show and seeing a bunch of similar cars lined up in a row I decided something a lot more rare was in order. After some searching I found a picture of a 1904 Mitchel in one of my books. I took a few liberties as I designed the body to make room for a V-6 engine but the car was based on that teeny little picture. The frame and front axle were from a Model T. Everything else was scrounged from the wrecking yard or was hand built. Norm, my good friend did the welding of the aluminum body. The most expensive component was the custom stitched, button tufted seat. The car was financed with the pocket change I threw in a jar at the end of each day. I did get the car running and we did a night time run around the block. Pictures of the 'garage car' were even published in Street Rodder Magazine. The project lasted a number of years before life became so busy it was time to set it aside. It languished in the corner of the shop under a tarp for a long time. By that time I had even more hobby projects on the go and I had to make a choice. I decided that the grampa train around our yard was much more of a priority and so I gave the car to our neighbour. Some day it may even get finished.
Everyone loves a parade!
Small town parades are a whole lot of fun! Yarrow Days Parade is all that and more. Everyone knows everyone and if the folks you know aren't in the parade they are lining the route waving and cheering you on! 😁 The judges awarded our little entry with a first place ribbon and that was before Juniper arrived at the parade start.
Juniper was dressed up in her new princess dress and a custom grandma made princess hat. She had her princess wave down pat and really enjoyed throwing candy to everyone on the sidelines! After the parade we headed back home and she continued to wave to everyone along the way. As we pulled into the driveway she asked me 'Did you have fun grampa??' I think she is already looking forward to next year...
Plenty of mud
Today was what we refer to as a big mud day in our shop. That's a day we trowel and hand carve lots of fibreglass reinforced concrete onto a number of large features. Today's task was the wood grained barrels of the four halves of the giant stills. We applied the concrete onto two of the large pieces, then did other tasks for an hour or so before returning to apply the mud on the balance of the pieces. The time gap is to allow the crew enough time to carve as this process takes longer than the application. Janessa played lead today, laying out the grain on all of the pieces. Peter and I helped with the sculpting. With one person doing all of the layout, the style is then consistent all the way through. The pieces looked fabulous when they were done and will look even better when they are painted!
