House move by pedal power - again!

Well, two weeks have passed, so it must be time for another pedal-powered move!

This time we helped Greg (Director of the Just Voices choir) move house. It was easy in terms of distance (four blocks) and aside from a 4-drawer filing cabinet that felt like it was made out of cast iron, also pretty easy in terms of items needing to be moved. And while we didn't have any appliances to deal with this time around, we did have Greg's musical instruments! And the best part was that the entire move was done by pedal power. And since we were travelling on flat ground I didn't even need to use the electric assist.

Oh, and speaking of musical instruments, I decided to play Greg's helicon (a predecessor of the sousaphone) while riding the trike. And of course we had to get that on video...





Richard loads my trike while his son Nico watches, and Stuart takes a rest break in the stoker seat of the Greenspeed tandem.

Since we're not going very far or very fast, Nico takes a ride in the trike's cargo box.

Greg inspects the final load (after 6 hours of moving) with Jason behind. I think at least 10 people helped out during the course of the move.

Richard also took a bunch of fabulous photos.

Oh, and Greg, thanks for letting me fool around with that nice old instrument. Hmm... perhaps a new twist to my music career, serenading the local citzenry while riding the trike? Hey, I could offer rides in the back, and THEN serenade them. I would make my money by letting them ride for free, but then they'd have to pay me to stop playing! ;)

cool music

Two recent YouTube finds, one being music I've heard before, and one not.

The first is a performance on the Tonight Show (Carson era) by the Bulgarian Women's Choir from their amazing 1990 album "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares". I love the strength in their voices - one could not accuse them of sounding girlie! The time signature for this piece is 7/8, which adds an extra element. This type of "odd" time sig. is common in Eastern Europe (and elsewhere), but rarely heard in most Western music.



(All embedded YouTube clips can be seen directly at their YouTube page by double-clicking on the video.)

Next up is Imogen Heap. I hadn't heard of her before, but saw a link to this clip and found it to be very cool. She sings and accompanies herself live by looping the various vocal and percussive parts on the fly. Watch her sing the first background line, then as it plays back she adds the next one, and so on. Then she fades the backing parts in and out of the mix as she sings the melody. Talk about multi-tasking! She also has a remarkably pure voice, aided by excellent intonation and a very good sense of rhythm. Me likes...

Fan Mail #2

I got another email about a DIY trailer built using the plans at my site. This one is from Jeff in Elmira, Ontario (just north of Kitchener/Waterloo). He wrote (in part):

"I was looking around and found your bike trailer on the web. It inspired me to build one... It's based on your first trailer...the one with the big blue plastic storage box. As I drive a car to get to work, my wife does not have a license/car, and this trailer allows her to head to the grocery store on the bike and bring back a bunch of groceries. I've thought of adding some covers to the spokes/wheels so that a small child could sit in the bin, and not get their fingers in the
spokes. Thanks again for the inspiration."







Thanks Jeff!

even more trike fun

Yesterday was an almost non-stop day where the trike was needed every step of the way. It was the same schedule as last Tuesday, but with the added attraction of first heading westwards to MEC to pick up their donations to the re-Cycles Co-op. And like last week, once I got to the co-op I had to empty the trike of all the gear and bring it inside, and then put it back in again when leaving (perhaps I should into one of those plastic pick-up bed liners with a locking lid...).

So off to MEC at 2:00pm, then back home to pick up some drums and other gear for the evening's events:


Then to re-Cycles for 3:00, where I spent three hours doing my usual work there. I then grabbed some dinner, and headed off to the 7:00 dance class gig. From there I headed south again to another IJO rehearsal. I took almost the same route as last time, leaving Sandy Hill via Chapel and cycling over the 6-lane Queensway:


Taking the lane of course, because I have no choice! (It's easy to take photos while riding a multitrack vehicle.) Left turn signal is on as I approach the lane to turn into the parking lot of the former Algonquin College campus:


At one end of the parking lot is the bike path bridge over the Rideau River. The space on either side of that bollard is about 5' wide, and the trike is 4'4" wide, so I squeak through:


Then, instead of going straight through like last week and ending up on busy Riverside Drive, I took Loretta's advice and went around the TransitWay station. This added a few minutes and had me doubling back a bit, but it was much more relaxing! I normally do not take the trike on bike paths unless absolutely necessary, simply because it takes up a lot of space (though it just fits one lane width-wise). But I did not encounter a single cyclist on this section:


Just ahead of me is Riverside going across, with the bus lanes on my left with Industrial leading away from them. It was nice to just go straight to get onto Industrial and not get caught up in the busy 3-lane crossover like last week:


I only stay on this road for two blocks before cutting over to Coronation, and while that's a 2-lane it is wide and quiet (all the through traffic seems to stay on Industrial, but perhaps this is a busier route in the daytime). This scene remained the same for the rest of my ride to rehearsal, and I arrived with 5 minutes to spare.


Oh, and the trike's e-assist performed flawlessly (I guess last week it just didn't like getting left out in the rain). I did bring the battery charger along and recharged the pack once, but probably did not need to do so.

House move by pedal power

Richard and his family are moving to a new house a few kilometres away. They will be using a moving company for the bulk of their stuff, but he wanted to some sort of human power part to it. So the call went out on the HPVOoO list and a small team was assembled.

The organ trailer was going to be towed by the tandem trike, and I showed up with my trike, plus we had three regular bikes towing trailers. Richard needed to swap the fridges and stoves between his new and old abodes, and the new place also had a basement beer fridge that needed to be taken to an appliance recycler. For the trip to his new place I carried his stereo equipment, and on the return trip carried the beer fridge. After a stop at his old place for pizza I continued on to the recyclers to get rid of the thing.

Using my little Canon camera in video mode once again I got a few things on "tape", then assembled the various clips into one and put it on YouTube. I also took some photos, as did Richard, and Charles took both video and still shots.

Stereo stuff. Dead innertubes make great tie-downs!

Yes, the fridge would be carried upright (to keep its motor happy) if not destined for scrap. I don't take the tailgate off very often, but am glad it's removable when needed.

Greg (who took part in the moving day fun) accompanied me to the recyclers, and inspects the fridge for bodies before we drop it off.

The guy at the appliance place admitted that he did not get too many large appliances being delivered by pedal power...

e-assist trials and tribulations

So the new assist set-up (see next post below) got a workout on Tuesday. I had to go to the re-Cycles Co-op at 3:00 for some afternoon work, then to a 7:00pm DanceAbility class (I'm the accompanist), and then to a 9:00pm IJO rehearsal way out at St. Laurent and Smythe. So I had a bunch of stuff to haul, and had to make good time between the last two events...


Under that tarp is a bass drum, snare drum, cymbal bag, small synthesizer, folding stand for same, bag of drum hardware, battery box, and knapsack. All of which had to come out at each stop. Joy...

So things went well, and the assist helped greatly. The DanceAbility class for this session is at the Sandy Hill Community Centre, which is handily only about a kilometre from the co-op. But it's a fair bit further to the church basement where the IJO rehearses, and that southeasterly trip includes crossing the Rideau River. Now, if I was traveling by car the main route would be to go south to the Queensway (Hwy. 417) and on from there. The only other crossings of the Rideau are either by Cummings Bridge (Montreal Road) which is to the north of the Community centre, or going south but tracking a bit west to cross via Main Street.

Now, in a car going out of one's way by 5 0r 6 blocks is not a big deal, but when pedaling a cargo trike (even one with assist) one wants to go as direct as possible, especially when timing is tight. So I was not going to back or sidetrack to either bridge, and of course could not use the highway bridge. But I was able to use of a very handy part of our bike path network. I don't take the trike on the paths very often, as it overhangs its lane on the older ones, and just barely fits the new standard of 1.5 metres per lane. But the part I was using is rarely busy, especially on this unseasonaly cool (not to mention drizzly) night.

Back when train tracks covered many parts of Ottawa, there were four bridges over the Rideau at what was known as the "Hurdman Crossing". Three of the bridges were removed in the 1960's to make way for the Queensway, but somebody thankfully used their head and the southmost one was kept and converted into a cycling bridge, and it's a fabulous link. After I crossed over that I followed a side path that led to Riverside Drive - actually, the off-ramp from the highway onto it! So I had to wait until the coast was clear before launching onto that, and any drivers that ended up behind me must have wondered if I really did just come off the highway ahead of them. hehe

The tricky part was that just as I got myself onto the road the light changed and three lanes of cars came up from behind. In one long block I needed to get from the rightmost lane over to the left turn lane to get onto Industrial Blvd., and all this traffic was zooming past, and it was now dark. So I had the turn signal on, and the assist helped me keep a decent speed (it's a slight uphill there), and I got across those hectic lanes OK. Once on Industrial I easily made my way over to Coventry and from there it was an easy ride in very light traffic to the church hall.


The rehearsal let out at 11:00. It was raining lightly, but nothing terrible, and I looked forward to relaxing 7 km ride home. But I was dismayed to find out that the assist had stopped working! The assist only kicks in once a little speed is achieved (a bit of a safety measure that means if you accidently push the trottle when stopped you don't zoom off), and as I got going I pushed the lever and the motor made a little kick then died. I stopped to see if water had gotten in somewhere, but it was raining and I was tired and just wanted to get home. So the motor and heavy battery pack got a free ride while I got a good workout.

Oh well. At least it worked when it had to, getting me from the Centre to the church in good time, and for the ride home who cared how long it took? :P Testing the system the next day and again today showed the problem still exists, so Juergen is going to make a housecall and we'll sort it out (since my electrical decipering skills rate at about 2 out of 10). I'm hoping it's just something dopey and easily fixed, and not a cooked 36V controller that got zapped by more juice running through than it could handle...

UPDATE: Juergen came over on Friday and of course everything worked just fine, so it was simply a matter of water getting somewhere. Most times when I know the weather is going to be really crappy I borrow a friend's car just for the weather protection (both me and the cargo), so the trike's e-assist has not spent much time getting wet. I rode in on Tuesday even with the iffy forecast just to test it out on a busy day of moving things to different locations. Next time rain is forecast I'll just bring some bags along to cover things like the throttle and hope it doesn't shut down again...

The trike gets another boost

Last July the trike received an electric assist motor courtesy of my friend (and trike co-builder) Juergen. The power came from three 12 volt, 7 amp-hour batteries, a standard kit used for e-assist bicycles. It certainly helped with the hills and bridges, along with helping me clear intersections more quickly (and safely), as getting going from a dead stop with a full load was always an effort. But the power band was very narrow, since of course the kit was designed to help a 30 or so pound bicycle, not a 100 lb. cargo trike. So the motor helped, but not a lot...

A few months ago Juergen suggested adding a 6-volt to the set-up, or even a fourth 12-volt. The controller is only rated for 36-volt, so if I went right to 48V I was cautioned against using full throttle on a regular basis. Juergen also said get a 12 amp-hour battery, because if I decide to stay at 48V then batteries of larger capacity would be even more helpful, and he could get another 3-pack of that size. So that's what I did, and for a little while I had a larger 12V (bought at Alexander Battery here in Ottawa) added to the existing 36V pack. The only hassle was that I only had the 36V charger, so each time I used the assist had to join the batteries together, then when it came time for recharging them I had to separate the 12V and put it on its own charger (same 6V-12V charger I use for the trike's 12V lighting system). This got a little tedious, and I was concerned that the constant plugging and unplugging might wear out the connectors (I've been using the trike a lot since I got hit by that taxi, as my cargo trailer was destroyed in the collision and I have not yet built its replacement, so anything that needs to be moved requires the trike).

So the decision was made to go to a more permanent 48V set-up, and last Saturday I acquired a Soneil 48V charger from Darryl at Econogics. Then on Monday Juergen and I got together and he supplied a new 36V 12 amp-hour pack and wired my 12V into it, fitting it all into an old metal toolbox for now.


The results are great, with a noticeable boost being given. With the cargo box empty the trike boots along nicely (if I'm feeing lazy). But mainly I'm using it to get up to speed more quickly, and not slow down so much when climbing. There's at least enough power now that when I'm at cruising speed I can boost that a bit more (the old set-up did not add to my top speed), but I don't usually do so unless in a hurry. The next step is to figure out how to mount a battery box under the cargo box so I can leave it there, and not take the pack inside each time I park the thing. The assist has become an integral part of the trike's functionality, making it much more pleasant when hauling any kind of weight around, not to mention showing up for those dress-up gigs with a little less sweat...

Summer jazz

The quartet returns again this season to the Metropolitan Restaurant's plaza for Sunday Brunch (11:00 til 2:00). We'll be kicking things off this coming Sunday, and while the weather is forecasted to cool down a bit from the recent above-average temps, it should be sunny and hopefully folks will want to eat their food outside! See this previous post for a view of the place.

Also, we will also be playing Thursdays at the same venue from 5:oopm 'til 8:00pm. That was to have started yesterday, but was called off due to the storm warnings, so hopefully next week will see us there.

Oh, and next week also gets busy with IJO rehearsals for three different shows in June! We have about 60 pieces of music to learn from three different eras in jazz. Check the IJO website for complete details.

Collision

On the evening of April 17th, while riding my hybrid bike and towing my trailer, I got hit by a taxi. Details will be provided once the insurance claim is settled.

More "Bikes at work"

It looks like my "All the world's a stage" thing has been less about interesting gig situations and more about how I got there via pedal power! Here's the latest...

I've done quite a few gigs at the National Arts Centre, and this most recent one had me using Kyoto to get there, now that the snow is gone and road salt washed away. And this is the second time I've been able to park in inside the building! Stephane, the lighting tech for the 4th Stage, is also an avid cyclist, and at my last Fall show he said "hey, do you want to park it inside? There's space by the dressing rooms where we normally store the piano" (which had been moved onstage for our gig). So I took the gear out of the trike, we opened the double doors, and rolled it in!

Now, for both gigs I was there in the afternoon to get set up and do a soundcheck, but that only lasts until 5:00, and I don't have to be back for the show until 8:00. So I have two choices - bring the trike in (or leave it parked outside) while doing the afternoon thing, then ride it back home for dinner, then ride it back in the evening and drag it inside. Or, just bring it in the first time, leave it there, walk the 1.5 km back home and then back to the show, then trike home after the gig. Since I get more exercise by walking than triking (and had the time to do so) I chose the latter option. I'm all for multi-modal transport! ;)

Outside the Artist's Entrance on Elgin St., with NAC Manager Peter posing.


Inside that entrance.

Then through those double doors...

Then snugged into the room (along with Stephane's bike).

On its way back out of the building after the show (the waiting drums are piled just off to the right). We joked about using a plywood ramp next time so I could ride up the steps and right outside!

Gratuitous photo of my tiny jazz kit. Compare the size of the drums with the ones in my Big Band kit! (below in the IJO gig post) The small kit is 12, 10, 12, 16, and the large is 14, 13, 16, 24.

This coming Saturday I'll be performing once again at the NAC's Fourth Stage with Steve and Kim:


SATURDAY MARCH 31ST 8:00 p.m. at the National Arts Centre's 4th Stage

“SWING INTO SPRING!” Featuring Jazz vocalists Kim Kaskiw and Steve Berndt performing jazz standards and duets with an all star band.

Kim Kaskiw and Steve Berndt have been invited back to the National Arts Center to perform many jazz standards that have been dedicated to the season of spring.
Mike Tremblay-Saxophone
Rick Rangno-Trumpet
J.P. Allain- Piano
Mark Rehder-Drums
Tom McMahon- bass

Tickets are available at the NAC box office for $20.00

Fan mail!

I got a very nice email from a woman on the West Coast named Sasha. She found my website a while back and the trailer pages got her inspired to build her own. She gave me permission to quote it a bit and post a photo:

Hi Mark,

Great website! So much interesting stuff to see. I wanted to email you to let you know that discovering your site last Spring inspired me tremendously and set me on the road to building myself a bike utility trailer! I'd wanted to buy one but discovered that they are very expensive and somewhat hard to find. So I decided to find out if I could build one, did some web searching for ideas and came upon your site and plans.

The excitement! I was instantly bent on making one, and set about following the instructions you'd laid out. At this point I would like to say thank you very much for the details, the photos, everything you provided to make your plans so user friendly. I bookmarked the page with the plans for the bigger bike trailer, and referenced it, as well as those for the cargo trailer, (and oohed and aahed with my boyfriend at the cargo trike) many, many times.


She then talked about building the trailer, and how she'll eventually build a box instead of just the flatbed, finishing with:

To cap off my letter, another thank you for the ideas and inspiration! I'm
super excited to use my new hauler and happy to remain car-free :)

Well, you're very welcome Sasha! I've had many inquiries about the trailer over the years, which led me to add more construction details to its page. And then when I built the big trailer I was able to do the photo documentation, which helps a lot. But this is the first instance of someone actually completing one and sending me photos, so thanks for that.

(My old roommate Rob recently built one, which I've seen but not yet taken photos of. He borrowed my bender for it, and got it on the road a month or so ago.)

Spam

I've been getting a bit more spam in the comments than I care to deal with, so I've turned the verification thingie on.

(And I'm noticing that Blogger has not adjusted their date and time stamp to meet the new Daylight Savings Time.)

Breaking up is hard to do...

Or not... if it's the seasonal ice break-up on the Rideau River!

Early every March the city has to dynamite the river ice ahead of the Spring melt to get things moving. One of the reasons is that people upriver built on the floodplain, which of course FLOODS in the Spring due to ice build-up (are these people daft, or just victims of unscrupulous developers?). A side benefit is watching the huge chunks of ice go over Rideau Falls, and piling up at the bottom, as the dam gates are slowly opened to let increasing amounts of water through. The amount of ice varies, and sometimes it builds high enough to match the height of the falls! Then a few days later it will get too heavy and sink down, leaving a large pool that just gets wider as the Ottawa River ice also starts to melt.

The photos and video were taken last weekend, showing this large ice pile. The video (posted to YouTube and linked back here) also shows a charge of dynamite going off, resulting in someone's minivan getting dented by a chunk of falling ice.

Meow

Time for more cat photos!

The first two were actually taken at the end of February, just before the last dump of snow. Jett will go outside as long as it's not freezing rain or a snowstorm (sort of like me and winter cycling!), while Kitty stays in until the snow is gone. Some snow had melted from the back deck, and the sun's rays had that extra warmth to them that says Spring is not far away, and so Jett had his first outside snooze for 2007 (it was about -3C).

(photos taken through window covered by plastic film)

There's always room for two at their favourite sunny window.

IJO gig

The show went very well. It's wonderful to work with fellow professionals; people that work hard to make the music happen. We did this show on four rehearsals, and some of the music was quite tricky. Each time we got together it sounded better and better, and we were rewarded by a very appreciative audience, and the room was just shy of a sell-out!

So as noted below I got Kyoto out of winter hibernation to get to this gig. Added some air to the tires, checked the brakes and shifters, and off we go. The main pain in the butt with being a drummer is moving all the gear, and that applies to getting it in and out of the venues. All of the hotels and conference centres I've been to have loading docks that are generally cheerless, dark places, sometimes with the added "bonus" of smelly garbage bins. And in many you battle for possession of the single freight elevator, which is also used by the staff, and then often face a few long hallways to your final destination.

For this gig I thought I'd be clever and bring my drums in through the lower front entrance of the hotel, bypassing the loading dock, as I remember doing a gig on one of the upper floor and it took forever to get loaded in. And while bell hops and security people tend to get fussy about equipment being moved through the front doors, this hotel has the lobby on the second floor, accessed by a driveway ramp, with doors to the ground floor underneath. The ballroom doors are about 25 feet from these doors, so I figured I'd park Kyoto right there, load up the dolly, and get the drums in before anyone objects.

And that's what I did. It worked great, and I came out and locked Kyoto to a parking meter. Then into the ballroom, which is quite large, and a long push to the back wall where I put my drums on the stage. I then looked to my left and saw the large doorway that led right onto the loading dock! Doh!! I could've parked at that dock, and moved the drums all of about 30 feet, instead of 200! So I got permission to park Kyoto there for the evening, and went and moved it. At least it made for a quick getaway at the end of the night! And it means the rest of the IJO shows there should be stress-free in terms of load-in.

And no, Kyoto is too wide to go up that ramp, otherwise I could have driven right to the stage, which is directly at the back of the dock! That would've been fun...

The crowd. And in that crowd were friends and family...

Brother Mike and his wife Jane at left, friends Andrea and Terrance on the right.

And a gaggle of HPVOoO types.


Lorenzo gets the timpani warmed up for dress rehearsal...


...and photographs his photographer.

And no, I don't get to play that silver bari sax (though it's the exact same make and model as mine) as it belongs to Mike Tremblay, who has the unfortunate seat right in front of my bass drum.

Professional photos of this event, along with hopefully audio and video, should be available soon at the IJO website.

IJO

I've been busy with rehearsals for the Impressions in Jazz Orchestra, as our first gig of the season is this coming Thursday, March 15. Ticket price is CHEAP for this kind of concert, and it will feature the IJO along with other performers. Please check the website for details, where you can also hear audio clips from last year's gig by clicking on the Listen button.

It should be a fun evening. My Mom (who's 85) and step-dad are coming up from Kingston to see it, and it looks like some cycling friends are planning to attend as well. I'm using my large kit for this gig (large not in terms of number of drums, but the sizes of them) and it won't fit in the big trailer. So I hope to use Kyoto, since borrowing a car to go about 1 km and then try and park downtown seems is a bigger hassle. It's a little early to dig the trike out, since there's still snow in the backyard where it hibernates and crusty salt on the sides of the roads, but hey, it'll be an early sign of Spring!

In the News!

Last week I was interviewed and photographed for a feature on winter cycling here in Ottawa, and it was printed in today's Ottawa Citizen. The reporter, Patrick Dare, is also interested in doing a feature on my cargo trike in the Spring!

Ski Bike - part 2

This past Sunday Richard and his infant daughter Annabelle joined me for more ski bike fun. We alternated between riding and capturing video, so the footage is more interesting. We even had a couple of wipeouts to liven things up!



And Richard also took some photos.

Ski Bike!

Below is a video of me trying out a ski bike. This odd thing is yet another beastie that came through the re-Cycles Co-op, and is a standard kid's BMX frame, but with skis in place of the wheels! I finally had a chance to take it to the nearest hill (at the Arboretum beside Dow's Lake) to see what it's like. I hope to have someone accompany me on the next trip to take the video, since the POV shot isn't all that exciting (although taking the shot myself while riding the bike downhill sure was!).

For some reason the bike still has pedals, though the chainring has been removed. I think they are a liability, because they are very close to the ground and if they rotate even slightly then they dig in and cause problems. Fortunately, the bottom bracket bearings are either set to be stiff, or have just start corroding in place, as the cranks don't turn all that well...

I processed the video file with iMovie, and have posted it to YouTube. Turn your sound up if you want to hear me yapping away during the two clips.

Stephen Harper's true colours (and none of them are Green)

Grr...

In the News, it has come to light that back in 2002 our current PM stated that "Kyoto is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations." While the accord may not be perfect, its goals are laudable, and the reasons for reaching them are undeniable.

Should I go and park my cargo trike on Parliament Hill and see if he and his party get the connection?

Art in motion

Very cool...

Jerome murat
Uploaded by rockette

winter biking - moving stuff

Last week we got a dump of snow that finally looks like it's going to stay. So winter arrives in mid-January...

And so Kyoto is finally put into hibernation, and I still have to get my drums to gigs. When the weather is unpleasant, or I've got just too far to go (or too much stuff to bring) I have to rely on others with motor vehicles. But for those times when I can do it by bike I use a trailer, which my jazz kit just fits into. This trailer was built by me for my friend Bridget, and since she doesn't use it in winter she has kindy loaned it back to me (in the Spring I'll give the wheels a bearing overhaul as thanks).

Towing a load like this is why I run a 7-speed internal hub on my winter bike, and not a single! And while I can get up to a quick speed on flat terrain, the load is heavy enough that emergency braking gets challenging, and who needs that kind of fun on winter roads? So steady as she goes and I get there eventually...

Like I said, the kit just fits in the box.

Art! Pt. 2

Our family is quite scattered about, so at Xmas time we don't always see each other, and often have a get-together just after New Years. My older bother Jon and his two teenage daughters Marianne and Rebecca came to Ottawa, and since the ongoing warm winter precluded doing the usual fun things like skating on the Rideau Canal, we opted for a visit to the National Gallery. Now, Jon's girls are lucky in having some really cool uncles (according to them!), and being a Cool Uncle I thought they might find a trip to the Gallery to be a bit boring, but they enjoyed it!

The one thing I needed to photograph there was the giant Baby Head. This is one weird piece of work, but very well done. It's mainly made of latex, and the eye lashes and brows are made of stiff wire, and the hairs were all installed piece by piece. I took two photos, one with the flash, one without.



It sits in the room by itself, and is now one of my fave pieces of art. The next one took me a moment to figure out, and then I realized it's a pile of bicycles!


The girls continue the family tradition of making faces:


(Of course, Marianne may kill me for posting this. hehe)

After the gallery it was back to Mike and Jane's for dinner, where I learned how to make sushi! It all came out quite nicely, and tasted great.


And Xmas cookies, ice cream, and sliced nanaimo bars for dessert! (my sweet tooth is genetic).


And I have a new fave photo of moi, taken by Mike after our Xmas day road hockey game:


We'll call this the Curmudgeon Look. Not bad, eh?