I kind of snuck into this at the last minute (without reservations even). I hadn't even realized that Unit 102 was doing a play until I saw the listing in Now. There is a bit of an interesting story here in that their main space was sold out from under them and they had to scramble to find a new place at 101 Niagara. (It is fairly difficult to find, especially as several of the Niagara street signs themselves have been torn down. Once inside, it is a veritable warren of small studio spaces and artist spaces. I know of several places like this hanging on in Chicago's Wicker Park, but it is kind of neat running across this in contemporary Toronto. It does kind of bring me back to my previous stint here in the early 90s.)
The space is really more a rehearsal space than a full blown theatre, which means that there isn't much room for the audience. There are three rows of chairs with maximum seating around 30. This makes for very intimate theatre. (Also, it may mean there will be a run on tickets towards the end of the run, though Tuesdays and Wednesdays have good availability.) I personally would recommend sitting in the front row, but the second row is fine. It is true that they smoke a lot of herbal cigarettes throughout the show. If this bothers you a little, then try the second row. If it is going to bother you a lot, then you probably should pass.
This is a complex and frankly baffling play. It's actually my second time through (I saw it in 2011 in Chicago), and I still wouldn't say I really understand what happened. The different versions of reality are massively in conflict with each other. To some degree, it is like Albee's The Play About the Baby, though if the final "story" that is told is "true" (which is my usual take on the play), then why would this dialogue be performed in this way? Why would the events be discussed the way they are? Alternatively, if it is all in one person's head (another intriguing possibility that I hadn't considered, which is raised here in Slotkin's review), then there are an awful lot of mental gymnastics to explain away.
I think Slotkin's review and this review are fair and balanced. The accents do slip a bit. Deeley is a bit too drunk and too shouty. The Chicago production was a bit more restrained and it worked better in some ways, though the mysterious Anna may be a bit better here (maybe just because I was so close that I could really see all her reactions). What is quite interesting (to me) is that I think the Chicago crew was slightly older than this set of actors, and that feels more right to me. (Pinter does say that they are all pushing 40,* though I would guess most of these actors are only pushing 30.) Nonetheless, it is a bit strange to me that Pinter says most of the past events were 15 years ago, whereas I tend to think of deep nostalgia surrounding events of 20 or even 25 years ago. Another thing that seems a bit odd is that Pinter certainly suggests that the past (of 15 years ago) was London in the Swinging 60s, but Deeley and Anna spend a lot of time singing songs from the 1930s and 1940s (particularly Gershwin tunes). While there was a fair bit of carry over (Frank Sinatra and even Bing Crosby would have kept these songs in circulation), it is still a bit strange that they would be singing songs of their parents' generation. This led me to search up the movie (Odd Man Out) that is referenced throughout, and it was released in 1947! So that basically puts them living in the early 1960s and remembering the 1940s, though the stage directions request that the set use "modern furniture," which only further undermines any essential truth or grounding of the play.
I would encourage people to see this play, particularly if they are interested in power/persuasion, shifting alliances inherent in small groups, in the way memory works (and how two or more people with a shared past may not remember things at all in the same way) and for plays that challenge the viewer. I would not recommend the play to theatre goers who prefer neat and tidy endings.** I'm certainly glad that Unit 102 is taking on challenging plays, and I'll see what they are up to next wherever they land.
* Oh, interesting. The line is that Anna is "about 40," not pushing 40, which I'm quite sure I heard. (Or am I? Memory is such a treacherous thing...) The text of the play then says these events were 20 years ago, but I'm quite sure they changed it to 15. In this case, I am pretty confident, since it was a bit jarring and I noted it down as soon as I got home. I would agree with Pinter that 20 year old memories are in some ways more disturbing that 15 year memories, since anything that you still recall from 20 years ago is both part of your core and yet can be maddening elusive. Some of the work I am doing (when I write at all) is about 20 or even 25 years ago, and I have to rely on newspaper articles and research to check if my memory is accurate. Fortunately, I kept fairly detailed journals from that time, and I definitely don't remember many of the events that I recorded. That in itself would be an interesting idea to explore (not that Beckett didn't basically cover this in a way already in Krapp's Last Tape).
** One such person is the Now reviewer. I'm not even going to dignify this ridiculous review with a link.
While I will write about it in a separate post, Edward Albee has just passed away. I find he and Pinter share an affinity for writing challenging plays where power between the characters shifts in unpredictable ways and the audience really never knows quite what happened. This sort of play only appeals to a limited audience, and thus we probably will not see many playwrights like Pinter and Albee again.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
The Closing of the North (Harris at AGO)
This is the last week to catch the Lawren Harris exhibit at the AGO. It officially closes the 18th. It could be crazy this weekend, or it may not be too bad, since everyone that wanted to see it has seen the exhibit. In addition, there may be just a bit less pressure, since most of the paintings (in the core exhibit curated by Steve Martin and the additional early career paintings that the AGO added) are found in local museums -- mostly the AGO, but also the McMichael and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
I don't think I will go back -- I've swung through 4 times or so, plus seeing the show in Boston! And while I do appreciate the austere nature of these paintings, I actually prefer the urban paintings he did earlier.
Anyway, I've already written a bit about the earlier paintings, so I thought I would close out by discussing which of the arctic paintings I liked the best. I should begin with a bit of a mea culpa. It turns out that Grounded Icebergs was added to the Steve Martin show. I honestly can't tell if it wasn't there the first time around (and they added it after a bit of pressure) or (much more likely) I didn't recognize it in the new context (sometimes changing the wall color behind a painting can make a big difference). Well, I'm glad more people got to see it and maybe they'll rotate it in with the Canadian paintings on the 2nd floor (the ones that are not part of the Thomson Collection).
I thought these three in particular stood out -- one from each of the nearby galleries.
Perhaps it is fitting that for another two weeks, there are a handful of Harris paintings from the Vancouver Art Gallery (which I've probably seen at one point or other) at the Art Gallery of Hamilton as part of the Embracing Canada exhibit. Ideally I would go out there, but the timing just isn't great, especially as I am watching the kids while my wife is volunteering at TIFF. I don't think I can make it work for a variety of reasons.
I don't think I will go back -- I've swung through 4 times or so, plus seeing the show in Boston! And while I do appreciate the austere nature of these paintings, I actually prefer the urban paintings he did earlier.
Anyway, I've already written a bit about the earlier paintings, so I thought I would close out by discussing which of the arctic paintings I liked the best. I should begin with a bit of a mea culpa. It turns out that Grounded Icebergs was added to the Steve Martin show. I honestly can't tell if it wasn't there the first time around (and they added it after a bit of pressure) or (much more likely) I didn't recognize it in the new context (sometimes changing the wall color behind a painting can make a big difference). Well, I'm glad more people got to see it and maybe they'll rotate it in with the Canadian paintings on the 2nd floor (the ones that are not part of the Thomson Collection).
I thought these three in particular stood out -- one from each of the nearby galleries.
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| Lawren Harris, Icebergs, Davis Straight, 1930 (@ McMichael) |
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| Lawren Harris, Lake Superior, ca. 1923 (@ AGO) |
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| Lawren Harris, Ice House, Coldwell, Lake Superior, 1923 (@ Art Gallery of Hamilton) |
Perhaps it is fitting that for another two weeks, there are a handful of Harris paintings from the Vancouver Art Gallery (which I've probably seen at one point or other) at the Art Gallery of Hamilton as part of the Embracing Canada exhibit. Ideally I would go out there, but the timing just isn't great, especially as I am watching the kids while my wife is volunteering at TIFF. I don't think I can make it work for a variety of reasons.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
No Menagerie
I mentioned in the previous post how an extremely detailed and negative review of The Glass Menagerie has pushed me entirely into the camp of not wanting to see this production. There is an interesting back and forth in the comments about how open one should be to experiments and rethinking of the classics, and the response that this only works when the core of a play has been left intact. The Globe and Mail reviewer, who I also generally trust, was quite lukewarm. The new Star reviewer, who I don't trust, was more positive. It got a very positive blurb in Mooney's, but I only use Mooney's to tell me what is playing, since I hardly ever agree with their reviewers.
It's not that I have completely ignored experimental theatre over my long "career" of attending plays, but I really am a traditionalist when it comes to the classics. I would much prefer someone call something The Glass Manger (inspired by Williams) rather than calling it The Glass Menagerie and inverting the play. It is really the director who is using the Williams name as a brand to entice people to come (and so far it has sold out most nights) but then being extremely disrespectful to the main concepts of the play. (Maybe I would feel differently if these plays were put on every year or so, but it can be 5 or even 10 years between productions of plays by someone other than Shakespeare, so most people are coming at it for the first time. Is it really fair for that (fairly large) slice of the audience to radically reinterpret the play without at least slapping on a warning label?)
Here we have a woman who is not really a damaged flower (or Southern belle-in-waiting). She creates all the glass figurines rather than collecting them as a way of avoiding dealing with the world. She doesn't limp, and she pleasures herself on stage. What does she need a gentleman caller for anyway? Slotkin also points out that no matter how louche or self-centered a young man is, the idea that he would show up at a friend's house to eat a family dinner and wouldn't at least button up his shirt is pretty unthinkable. Unless Millennials are even more self-centered and lacking in social graces than I have been led to believe... Actually it sounds as if this production of the play is set in the early 1990s (if it even is set in a specific time), and that would make the younger characters Gen Xers, and we knew to dress up a bit for dinner. Finally, it really seems as if Slotkin is onto something when she says these characters don't seem to love each other at all, and Tom is pointlessly cruel in several scenes, which again is a gutting of the play.
I was going to write a more extended piece here, but I will just sum up that when it comes to choosing between staying true to the original concept as outlined by the playwright and a brash concept by an up-and-coming director, I will virtually always side with the playwright. I find most directors that impose a radical new concept onto a play are basically egomaniacs, who don't have a fraction of the creative spirit of the playwright. I basically find my sympathies go to the playwright, the audience, the actors and the director, in that order.
It's not that I have completely ignored experimental theatre over my long "career" of attending plays, but I really am a traditionalist when it comes to the classics. I would much prefer someone call something The Glass Manger (inspired by Williams) rather than calling it The Glass Menagerie and inverting the play. It is really the director who is using the Williams name as a brand to entice people to come (and so far it has sold out most nights) but then being extremely disrespectful to the main concepts of the play. (Maybe I would feel differently if these plays were put on every year or so, but it can be 5 or even 10 years between productions of plays by someone other than Shakespeare, so most people are coming at it for the first time. Is it really fair for that (fairly large) slice of the audience to radically reinterpret the play without at least slapping on a warning label?)
Here we have a woman who is not really a damaged flower (or Southern belle-in-waiting). She creates all the glass figurines rather than collecting them as a way of avoiding dealing with the world. She doesn't limp, and she pleasures herself on stage. What does she need a gentleman caller for anyway? Slotkin also points out that no matter how louche or self-centered a young man is, the idea that he would show up at a friend's house to eat a family dinner and wouldn't at least button up his shirt is pretty unthinkable. Unless Millennials are even more self-centered and lacking in social graces than I have been led to believe... Actually it sounds as if this production of the play is set in the early 1990s (if it even is set in a specific time), and that would make the younger characters Gen Xers, and we knew to dress up a bit for dinner. Finally, it really seems as if Slotkin is onto something when she says these characters don't seem to love each other at all, and Tom is pointlessly cruel in several scenes, which again is a gutting of the play.
I was going to write a more extended piece here, but I will just sum up that when it comes to choosing between staying true to the original concept as outlined by the playwright and a brash concept by an up-and-coming director, I will virtually always side with the playwright. I find most directors that impose a radical new concept onto a play are basically egomaniacs, who don't have a fraction of the creative spirit of the playwright. I basically find my sympathies go to the playwright, the audience, the actors and the director, in that order.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
End of summer blues
I must say today did not go at all as planned. I knew it was going to rain in the evening, but I have been feeling kind of sluggish and not exercising enough. Thus, I rode my bike to work, expecting to leave it in the storage area until Friday. Then I would take the Queen streetcar out to the Theatre Centre to watch The Glass Menagerie.
It was a fairly hectic day, trying to get some presentations ready and responding to a document that came across the desk towards the end of the day. I looked up the ticket situation, and the play was sold out again! Seriously, who goes to see a 2.5 hour play on a Wednesday? There were a few tickets left for Thurs. and then reasonable availability Friday. However, the timing is generally not that convenient for me, so I delved a bit deeper into the reviews to see if I really wanted to make the effort to go. I think I'll save this for another post, but one of the reviews was both highly critical and very specific, and I am generally on the same wave length as this reviewer, so I can tell I would also be unsympathetic to the director's choices. So not only did I not go see the play tonight, but I've decided to skip it entirely.
It looked like the rain would hold off for another 30 minutes or so, so I jumped on my bike and pedaled madly for home. I got to Logan and was caught in a sudden downpour. I think I only needed another 7-8 minutes. Oh well. It is probably going to rain on and off most of today and tomorrow.
The kids are back in school, which is great. They seem to be adjusting reasonably well, and they both had a bit of homework on the second day.
It's probably worth taking stock of the summer. I managed to get the deck done, which was a bigger undertaking than I imagined. I ended up giving up the equivalent of 3 or even 4 weekends to this project. I hope I feel it is worth it in the end. I only enjoyed the deck sporadically, though I was sitting outside reading and heard a humming. I looked up and saw a hummingbird right overhead, poking about in the large, flowery bush that hangs over the deck. Very cool. I think that is the first time I've seen one live. The humming sound reminds me that they are now saying this will be one of the biggest cicada invasions in years, so perhaps I'll actually see some. I didn't see any last summer/fall.
I had our stairs fixed inside, and I may have gotten the raccoons to move to another yard, though it is a bit early to tell. I read a fair bit, though in some cases I mostly felt that I had persevered and I hadn't necessarily enjoyed the reading. That's certainly the case with James Clifford's Routes and Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater, neither of which I would recommend. While there were some genuine moments of pleasure reading Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle, in general it was a fairly long slog. I was pleased that I managed to read Hawking's A Brief History of Time, which is actually at the top of the list of books started but not completed. Probably the most compelling read was Hill's The Book of Negroes, though if I go all the way back to mid June, then I also liked Munro's The Moons of Jupiter quite a bit. I did not listen to Finnegan's Wake (and sort of follow along), as I thought I might do, but perhaps that will be an undertaking for the fall.
I saw quite a lot of good theatre, and I got in my annual trip to Stratford. I saw a few concerts I enjoyed. I did not, however, get particularly far with my own writing, though I guess I am about 1/3 of the way complete with "Final Exam."
I generally was able to ride my bike to work 3 days a week, never getting much above or below that. I did not integrate swimming into the mix, though now that I have checked out the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, I'll try to go at least for a few months, before it gets too cold. I did not do much work in the yard, and the plants have more or less all died, except the ferns in the back. It was not a pleasant summer for plant life...
Perhaps the single most rewarding activity was the canoeing on the Humber, just since I was taking a risk that the kids would enjoy it, never having done it before. Maybe next summer we will do just a bit of camping, though probably in a cabin, so I'll investigate that, though I'd like to stay fairly close to the city, since long drives are generally not a good idea. It wasn't a bad summer (aside from the extreme heat), though it wasn't a particularly productive one either. I guess that is kind of par for the course.
It was a fairly hectic day, trying to get some presentations ready and responding to a document that came across the desk towards the end of the day. I looked up the ticket situation, and the play was sold out again! Seriously, who goes to see a 2.5 hour play on a Wednesday? There were a few tickets left for Thurs. and then reasonable availability Friday. However, the timing is generally not that convenient for me, so I delved a bit deeper into the reviews to see if I really wanted to make the effort to go. I think I'll save this for another post, but one of the reviews was both highly critical and very specific, and I am generally on the same wave length as this reviewer, so I can tell I would also be unsympathetic to the director's choices. So not only did I not go see the play tonight, but I've decided to skip it entirely.
It looked like the rain would hold off for another 30 minutes or so, so I jumped on my bike and pedaled madly for home. I got to Logan and was caught in a sudden downpour. I think I only needed another 7-8 minutes. Oh well. It is probably going to rain on and off most of today and tomorrow.
The kids are back in school, which is great. They seem to be adjusting reasonably well, and they both had a bit of homework on the second day.
It's probably worth taking stock of the summer. I managed to get the deck done, which was a bigger undertaking than I imagined. I ended up giving up the equivalent of 3 or even 4 weekends to this project. I hope I feel it is worth it in the end. I only enjoyed the deck sporadically, though I was sitting outside reading and heard a humming. I looked up and saw a hummingbird right overhead, poking about in the large, flowery bush that hangs over the deck. Very cool. I think that is the first time I've seen one live. The humming sound reminds me that they are now saying this will be one of the biggest cicada invasions in years, so perhaps I'll actually see some. I didn't see any last summer/fall.
I had our stairs fixed inside, and I may have gotten the raccoons to move to another yard, though it is a bit early to tell. I read a fair bit, though in some cases I mostly felt that I had persevered and I hadn't necessarily enjoyed the reading. That's certainly the case with James Clifford's Routes and Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater, neither of which I would recommend. While there were some genuine moments of pleasure reading Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle, in general it was a fairly long slog. I was pleased that I managed to read Hawking's A Brief History of Time, which is actually at the top of the list of books started but not completed. Probably the most compelling read was Hill's The Book of Negroes, though if I go all the way back to mid June, then I also liked Munro's The Moons of Jupiter quite a bit. I did not listen to Finnegan's Wake (and sort of follow along), as I thought I might do, but perhaps that will be an undertaking for the fall.
I saw quite a lot of good theatre, and I got in my annual trip to Stratford. I saw a few concerts I enjoyed. I did not, however, get particularly far with my own writing, though I guess I am about 1/3 of the way complete with "Final Exam."
I generally was able to ride my bike to work 3 days a week, never getting much above or below that. I did not integrate swimming into the mix, though now that I have checked out the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, I'll try to go at least for a few months, before it gets too cold. I did not do much work in the yard, and the plants have more or less all died, except the ferns in the back. It was not a pleasant summer for plant life...
Perhaps the single most rewarding activity was the canoeing on the Humber, just since I was taking a risk that the kids would enjoy it, never having done it before. Maybe next summer we will do just a bit of camping, though probably in a cabin, so I'll investigate that, though I'd like to stay fairly close to the city, since long drives are generally not a good idea. It wasn't a bad summer (aside from the extreme heat), though it wasn't a particularly productive one either. I guess that is kind of par for the course.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Tearing up the basement
I have to say that yesterday was a very trying and tiring day, and I come out of it only half fulfilled. I needed to track down two receipts from the moving company, and I found one (towards the very end of the evening). I am kind of wracking my brains where the other one could be, since it should have been quite close to the other one. Before I completely give up, there is one box that I can flip through a second time.
It wasn't a total loss. I found a few more papers affirming my BC residence. I threw out a lot of old papers (nowhere near enough, however). I managed to consolidate 6 boxes down into 3, so it looks somewhat neater downstairs.
I think the next time I go through the boxes, I'll throw out everything related to my field work at the Chicago Youth Hostel. I am never, ever going to write anything related to that experience. I really ought to throw out all the newspaper clippings related to Chicago transportation, since the important ones were already cited in my dissertation, and I am quite unlikely to publish more in that area either. Maybe I can give myself another 6 months and then really start to purge.
I also turned up a handful of CDs, though there are still a few cases with missing CDs. These are the trickiest, since it is likely the missing CDs are mixed in with a bunch of data CDs (and I must have literally over a thousand downstairs!). And I found all the parts to my son's bike lock, which reminds me that I was very remiss in not having him practice biking this summer. The problem is we are in a neighborhood surrounded by busy streets, which are not too bad for walking but biking is a real challenge, and I don't feel comfortable yet having him navigate so much traffic. Next summer perhaps...
Probably the single best find was a small orange notebook which contains the science fiction story "No More Robinsons," as well as just a few pages of "Final Exam." I had it in the back of my mind that I had started this, but couldn't track it down, so I actually started from scratch while on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Now I can compare the two and see which was the better start.
There are a few things that I still can't find, in some cases I have been looking since we moved. The most baffling is that I can't find the hair clippers, which is in a fairly large black case. I also can't find the cassette player that allows me to convert cassettes to mp3s, though I admit I wasn't really looking for it until the very end of the day. I have a small bag of refrigerator magnets I hope to track down. I'm also missing a couple of USB flash drives, but those went missing recently, so they can't be buried downstairs, just somewhere on the main floor or at work.*
Obviously, this isn't the last time I will have to spend a day down in the basement sorting through papers and other random junk.
* One of the USB drives turned up, and hopefully the other one will soon.
It wasn't a total loss. I found a few more papers affirming my BC residence. I threw out a lot of old papers (nowhere near enough, however). I managed to consolidate 6 boxes down into 3, so it looks somewhat neater downstairs.
I think the next time I go through the boxes, I'll throw out everything related to my field work at the Chicago Youth Hostel. I am never, ever going to write anything related to that experience. I really ought to throw out all the newspaper clippings related to Chicago transportation, since the important ones were already cited in my dissertation, and I am quite unlikely to publish more in that area either. Maybe I can give myself another 6 months and then really start to purge.
I also turned up a handful of CDs, though there are still a few cases with missing CDs. These are the trickiest, since it is likely the missing CDs are mixed in with a bunch of data CDs (and I must have literally over a thousand downstairs!). And I found all the parts to my son's bike lock, which reminds me that I was very remiss in not having him practice biking this summer. The problem is we are in a neighborhood surrounded by busy streets, which are not too bad for walking but biking is a real challenge, and I don't feel comfortable yet having him navigate so much traffic. Next summer perhaps...
Probably the single best find was a small orange notebook which contains the science fiction story "No More Robinsons," as well as just a few pages of "Final Exam." I had it in the back of my mind that I had started this, but couldn't track it down, so I actually started from scratch while on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Now I can compare the two and see which was the better start.
There are a few things that I still can't find, in some cases I have been looking since we moved. The most baffling is that I can't find the hair clippers, which is in a fairly large black case. I also can't find the cassette player that allows me to convert cassettes to mp3s, though I admit I wasn't really looking for it until the very end of the day. I have a small bag of refrigerator magnets I hope to track down. I'm also missing a couple of USB flash drives, but those went missing recently, so they can't be buried downstairs, just somewhere on the main floor or at work.*
Obviously, this isn't the last time I will have to spend a day down in the basement sorting through papers and other random junk.
* One of the USB drives turned up, and hopefully the other one will soon.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Long Weekend, Labour Day 2016
I am certainly glad that I have one more day off. (I already went ahead and turned off the alarm on my phone, though I may not ultimately go back to bed.)
I already went into some detail on how Sat. was almost entirely dedicated to getting down the first coat of stain on the lower deck, as well as the second coat on the stairs and railing.
Sunday I had to go off and do the grocery shopping, which included trying to figure out what the kids wanted for school lunches. Then I finished putting down the second coat on the main part of the deck, running out of stain at the end. I took my son swimming in Greenwood Park. As we were leaving, the attendant said that it was the last hour of the last day that the pool would be open. Summer is really over, I thought. I don't know why I find that a bit upsetting. It was a brutally hot summer, and one that basically killed all the plants in the front yard, particularly the new ones I tried to add this spring. I guess this is something we will have to adjust to. Perhaps I shall plant cacti.
There is no question, we are a bit relieved that the kids will be back in school and not quite so underfoot all the time... I did just a bit more shopping at the mall for school supplies. I spend a bit of time on times tables with my daughter. They are probably as ready as they are ever going to be.
At 6:30, I set out for the Theatre Centre. It did take slightly over an hour to get down there, and it turned out The Glass Menagerie was in fact sold out. I was number 4 on the waiting list, and it appears that only one person actually came off it. I guess they can do what they want, but it seems to me their oversold policy is foolish. There were clearly quite a few seats left, but they won't release them before the show like most theatres do. Instead, they hold them indefinitely, since patrons can even enter at intermission. I waited until 8:01 and split. It seems like next weekend may also be sold out, though having the two matinees will help, but I can't go next weekend due to various obligations. I'll ponder today if I want to go Wed. or Thurs. after work, since I am fairly likely to be taking transit anyway, as there is rain in the forecast. I will admit, I am somewhat less interested than I was before, mostly because this evening ended up costing me two tokens. (Though I'm still not as mad as I was when Ryerson didn't honor my reservation and wouldn't get me in to see their show. Never again will I cross their door.)
Today I would like to get some rest, though the single highest priority is to track down two receipts associated with our move to Toronto. I know they got stuffed into a folder, but which one??? If I find that relatively quickly, I'll probably spend most of the rest of the day writing and doing some reading. And maybe a nap thrown in for good measure.
I already went into some detail on how Sat. was almost entirely dedicated to getting down the first coat of stain on the lower deck, as well as the second coat on the stairs and railing.
Sunday I had to go off and do the grocery shopping, which included trying to figure out what the kids wanted for school lunches. Then I finished putting down the second coat on the main part of the deck, running out of stain at the end. I took my son swimming in Greenwood Park. As we were leaving, the attendant said that it was the last hour of the last day that the pool would be open. Summer is really over, I thought. I don't know why I find that a bit upsetting. It was a brutally hot summer, and one that basically killed all the plants in the front yard, particularly the new ones I tried to add this spring. I guess this is something we will have to adjust to. Perhaps I shall plant cacti.
There is no question, we are a bit relieved that the kids will be back in school and not quite so underfoot all the time... I did just a bit more shopping at the mall for school supplies. I spend a bit of time on times tables with my daughter. They are probably as ready as they are ever going to be.
At 6:30, I set out for the Theatre Centre. It did take slightly over an hour to get down there, and it turned out The Glass Menagerie was in fact sold out. I was number 4 on the waiting list, and it appears that only one person actually came off it. I guess they can do what they want, but it seems to me their oversold policy is foolish. There were clearly quite a few seats left, but they won't release them before the show like most theatres do. Instead, they hold them indefinitely, since patrons can even enter at intermission. I waited until 8:01 and split. It seems like next weekend may also be sold out, though having the two matinees will help, but I can't go next weekend due to various obligations. I'll ponder today if I want to go Wed. or Thurs. after work, since I am fairly likely to be taking transit anyway, as there is rain in the forecast. I will admit, I am somewhat less interested than I was before, mostly because this evening ended up costing me two tokens. (Though I'm still not as mad as I was when Ryerson didn't honor my reservation and wouldn't get me in to see their show. Never again will I cross their door.)
Today I would like to get some rest, though the single highest priority is to track down two receipts associated with our move to Toronto. I know they got stuffed into a folder, but which one??? If I find that relatively quickly, I'll probably spend most of the rest of the day writing and doing some reading. And maybe a nap thrown in for good measure.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Deck Follies #9 (the saga concludes)
This will close out the posts on the deck unless in the very near future I have to replace the deck for some reason. I'm certainly hoping that is not the case, though there are a few individual boards that I may look into replacing. That seems like a task for professionals, though I suspect they would say it is more cost effective to replace the whole upper deck. (In contrast, the lower deck seems in very good shape.)
I should actually start off with a report on the work crew. There was definitely more than a little miscommunication, and I didn't care much for the project manager, though the workers were very satisfactory when they were actually here working. I had booked some time off work and asked to work from home another day. It basically took a day for the materials to arrive, and then all the indoor tasks were done in another day. It was a huge relief to find out that they could put in a legal hand railing right on top of the existing wall. It would have been a huge mess to tear out the wall, and then rebuild it and paint it etc. It would definitely have meant they would have been working in the house while I was travelling, which was far from ideal, so I'm really glad it worked out.
There was some mix-up over the stain and who was doing what, and I ultimately decided to do it myself rather than wait around for another half-day. I think it came out pretty well (the extra paper is there just to avoid drips, but I managed to keep things tidy).
It basically looks as if it has always been part of the stairs, which is incredible. I think we'll finally be able to invite some of the neighbours over soon, and they can see how the house has been updated, generally in modest ways.
The outdoor task was to staple some chicken wire around the bottom of the lower deck to try to convince raccoons to move along. We have been very careful not to leave food scraps out, but the lower deck was still super inviting for their siestas. There's no question this wouldn't keep them out if they were totally determined to get in (or rather under), but it might be just enough to get them to move on into another yard, ideally the next street over...
I've been keeping an eye on the wire, and so far it hasn't been disturbed, so fingers crossed. I did see a big pile of racoon poop on the deck this morning, but it might just have been their calling card, letting me know how they didn't appreciate me messing with their den. They stopped just short of the area where the new stain had been laid down, so maybe staining the deck will also change the smell of the deck enough to dissuade them from coming back, which would be an extra bonus.
This weekend looked like an ideal one to go ahead and stain the lower deck, since there is no rain in the forecast until next Wed. or so (and it was much less hot than the previous weekends have been). I did get a somewhat late start, and only my son wanted to take part this time around. So I didn't finished getting the first coat on until 4:30 or so.*
Here are a few photos of the work in progress. I actually had to get a ladder out to reach a few sections, and we stained the sides of the stairs, which clearly hadn't been done the last time around.
I came back around and took care of the steps and the railing that goes around the deck. Those are some of the trickier bits. I thought about pushing on, but my arms were tired, it was getting kind of dark, and the first coat was still quite tacky. I think I should be able to wrap this up in 90 minutes to 2 hours tomorrow, and then I'll be entirely done. Yea!
I'm debating whether to get a small charcoal grill and perhaps a hammock, though since the season is almost over, I might just wait until next year. On the other hand, if there are some really good sales, that might be enough to convince me to go ahead and get something now. Again, I am not entirely sure I've gotten them out of my yard, but I am definitely planning to use the lower deck more now that we have put in all this effort and hopefully reclaimed it from the raccoons.
Update (9/4) - Well, perhaps it should not be a surprise that there was a small snag. I ran out of stain at the end. This deck has used up 4 full cans of stain! They don't sell a smaller version, and I decided for the time being to leave the corner with just one coat of stain and touched up just a few places that looked particularly thin. Had I not stained the backs of the stair risers a second time, I probably would have had enough. But sometimes it is just time to say: this is good enough. That's where I am right now with this project.
* It turns out that there is no matinee of Glass Menagerie this weekend, though there will be some next weekend. I guess that actually worked out for me, since otherwise I would have had to leave the job half done or lost out on the ticket. It's looking like I will go tomorrow for the evening performance.
I should actually start off with a report on the work crew. There was definitely more than a little miscommunication, and I didn't care much for the project manager, though the workers were very satisfactory when they were actually here working. I had booked some time off work and asked to work from home another day. It basically took a day for the materials to arrive, and then all the indoor tasks were done in another day. It was a huge relief to find out that they could put in a legal hand railing right on top of the existing wall. It would have been a huge mess to tear out the wall, and then rebuild it and paint it etc. It would definitely have meant they would have been working in the house while I was travelling, which was far from ideal, so I'm really glad it worked out.
There was some mix-up over the stain and who was doing what, and I ultimately decided to do it myself rather than wait around for another half-day. I think it came out pretty well (the extra paper is there just to avoid drips, but I managed to keep things tidy).
It basically looks as if it has always been part of the stairs, which is incredible. I think we'll finally be able to invite some of the neighbours over soon, and they can see how the house has been updated, generally in modest ways.
The outdoor task was to staple some chicken wire around the bottom of the lower deck to try to convince raccoons to move along. We have been very careful not to leave food scraps out, but the lower deck was still super inviting for their siestas. There's no question this wouldn't keep them out if they were totally determined to get in (or rather under), but it might be just enough to get them to move on into another yard, ideally the next street over...
I've been keeping an eye on the wire, and so far it hasn't been disturbed, so fingers crossed. I did see a big pile of racoon poop on the deck this morning, but it might just have been their calling card, letting me know how they didn't appreciate me messing with their den. They stopped just short of the area where the new stain had been laid down, so maybe staining the deck will also change the smell of the deck enough to dissuade them from coming back, which would be an extra bonus.
This weekend looked like an ideal one to go ahead and stain the lower deck, since there is no rain in the forecast until next Wed. or so (and it was much less hot than the previous weekends have been). I did get a somewhat late start, and only my son wanted to take part this time around. So I didn't finished getting the first coat on until 4:30 or so.*
Here are a few photos of the work in progress. I actually had to get a ladder out to reach a few sections, and we stained the sides of the stairs, which clearly hadn't been done the last time around.
I came back around and took care of the steps and the railing that goes around the deck. Those are some of the trickier bits. I thought about pushing on, but my arms were tired, it was getting kind of dark, and the first coat was still quite tacky. I think I should be able to wrap this up in 90 minutes to 2 hours tomorrow, and then I'll be entirely done. Yea!
I'm debating whether to get a small charcoal grill and perhaps a hammock, though since the season is almost over, I might just wait until next year. On the other hand, if there are some really good sales, that might be enough to convince me to go ahead and get something now. Again, I am not entirely sure I've gotten them out of my yard, but I am definitely planning to use the lower deck more now that we have put in all this effort and hopefully reclaimed it from the raccoons.
Update (9/4) - Well, perhaps it should not be a surprise that there was a small snag. I ran out of stain at the end. This deck has used up 4 full cans of stain! They don't sell a smaller version, and I decided for the time being to leave the corner with just one coat of stain and touched up just a few places that looked particularly thin. Had I not stained the backs of the stair risers a second time, I probably would have had enough. But sometimes it is just time to say: this is good enough. That's where I am right now with this project.
* It turns out that there is no matinee of Glass Menagerie this weekend, though there will be some next weekend. I guess that actually worked out for me, since otherwise I would have had to leave the job half done or lost out on the ticket. It's looking like I will go tomorrow for the evening performance.
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