sometimes leaving the house...

...can be dangerous.
i bought a couch a few years ago from UA - upholstery arts - that was/is beautiful. sadly, i never fell in love with it. most everyone else thinks it's awesome. classic styling. very nice grey wool - imported from england - fabric. blah, blah, blah.
today i saw a couch at fullhouse on west fourth that i may just have to buy. lovely. really. more of what i really wanted in the first place.
so what about the old couch - which really isn't old...? i dunno yet.
need a nice couch?
(below nice new couch...)

g. xo

for hannah.

sometimes things are closer to home than we'd like. here's a bad, sad story that, may, in the end, be a starting point to good things.
cheryl hamilton is a friend of mine. she's awesome.

g. xo

the end of days.

yesterday was the last day at the salt mine, for how long now one is really sure but i do know everyone to a man was ready for a break. as a last death throw we all went to lunch at rodney's oyster bar in yaletown. i had only been there once or twice before but remembered it being ok...and yesterday it was pretty good. i had a little clam chowder and then a dish of mussels...nice. everyone seemed to enjoy their goods and afterwards some went to play a little pool while corie and i drove up to west 45th ave and grabbed a vespa.
my pal simone, president of the vespa club, had a bike stored there, kinda, and needed it moved to her place on commercial so away we went. now i know that a vespa will fit, almost, perfectly in the back of the element. pretty good. a big thanks to corie for holding it steady while i drove - i had forgotten i had some tie downs in the back and that forgetfulness made corie use his arms a little more than he needed to....sorry.
ok...have fun today!

g. xo

ladies and gentlemen...jasper lee tornack.

yes it's true...and really, it was true two weeks ago but i was waiting for the go-ahead before posting pictures or announcing to the world via garnville any word of the bun in the oven making it's, or rather, her exit. and what a little champ she is.
yes. the little nugget, as they like to call her, made her debut wed. jan. 11th late in the evening, literally minutes from being a baby born on the 12th. pretty exciting for the new parents corie and katherine.
congrats!
below a few pics of the new little miss.

g. xo

post game post

well...we're almost done at the salt mine and will all be going our separate ways until the next dig. it's been a long show so i think a break will be nice.
i'll be off to wyoming to see zach and julie, then further on to toronto to see bill and then...well, at some point i'll be boarding a plane and then....in the end, lambchop. pretty cool.
in the meantime, after friday, i think i'll be mr. handyman at garvie's and my place. maybe a trip to trader joe's. possibly some daytime hockey. bomber and cowboy hockey. maybe some late night tv and hanging out at my gym down the hall.
some visits to issy's to take more stuff out of her basement. more getting shit done outside of work.
nice.
tonight was hockey night with corie, the garbs and 'he who can not be named on the blog'...canucks vs. oilers. and for once it was a game that was pretty good. fun to watch. sadly ending in a shootout. (the shootout and four on four overtime has singlehandedly ruined professional hockey for me...oh, and guys making millions and not giv'ner anymore....) it was good to hang out with them guys. tacos beforehand, the garbs and corie keeping pace with the brew, me and 'he who can not...' watching in amazement...ice cream bars between the second and third period. good stuff.

the other day i saw this. and i felt, for once, slightly ahead of thew curve...only slightly. back when i lived up on west 5th ave - with brent and dave, i made a couple car models. but i decided, mainly because i was a bad painter, that i would make my models look like beaters. now they sell them in kits, beater car kits. i love it. i gave mine cracked windows, shitty paint, etc. now they do a lot of it for you. good times.
have fun tomorrow.

g. xo

hockey talk with scott.

during the canucks game tonight scott and i were exchanging texts as the game went on.

me: ham juice sometimes looks like he's 12. i saw burrows in the grocery store last night and he gave me a really weird look.

scott: you're silly.

me: no, i'm serious. i saw him and wasn't sure if it was him. when he turned around he looked at me kinda like he knew i knew who he was but also like he was guilty of something and then he turned and walked away. he has a big ass for a little guy.
he bought four two litres bottles of water. i guess he was thirsty.

scott: maybe he had bum implants.

me: that's it.

g. xo

i do love the barry mcgee bottles.

love it. 

i do.

g. xo

more purging, more stuff outta here...

i did more purging today and yesterday. it's great. and while i was cleaning out my junk cupboard i came across something odd. well, what it is isn't odd, but the fact that i had it is. i found a paycheque from sept. that i hadn't cashed. i know. that's fucked. but i think i know how it happened. sometimes, when ailsa and i would be having dinners, she would take stuff that was on the counter (i keep current bills to pay and cheques to put in the bank on one corner of my counter) and put it in the cupboard, always letting me know she had done it so if i couldn't find some paperwork or bill i knew where to look. i guess i forgot.
it's like a bonus even though it's money i earned not like a lottery winning or poker win. still cool though. i have sent the accounting dept. an email just to make sure it wasn't a cheque i thought i had lost and had them re-issue before i go to the bank and drop it in. good times.
so pretty domestic day all said. tonight some hockey with the cowboys and then back to the salt mine in the morning. last night was the wrap party for this most recent project. it's funny, we have these parties at the end of every film and they're kinda like grad parties. like the end of every film is a graduation of sorts.
ok. i'm attempting to make rice. i can cook a million things reasonably well. rice is not one of them.
have fun.

g. xo

clutterbuck.

as you may or may not know, i have been taking stuff out of issy's basement - going through boxes and tossing some stuff, donating some, and bringing stuff back here that i don't know what the hell i'm going to do with it. the other day when shauna and i went out there i found some of my old molds for my crowns. i love these things, i have four such things and know i should toss them but i can't...like i have five autographed pictures of mark fidrych, pitcher for the detroit tigers in the 70's and know i don't need them all, or any, but i will stow them for now until i figure out what will happen to them - maybe i'll pick my favorite and sell the others on ebay.
some old punk rock or alike vinyl was also found out there and it may mean me taking a trip up to zulu to see what they'll take and what comes back here and gets stored away for many more years. lots of people want the vinyl but they don't want to pay for it.
some toys are gonna hit ebay soon too. i have a few kaws pieces that are finally gonna hit the world wide web and fund my trip to see lambchop in berlin. i don't need the money from the toys to get me there, it's just an excuse to part out some of my collection i don't have a large part in my heart for anymore. plus getting a few grand for stuff sitting around here that i don't care about is a-ok by me. i also want less here so when i buy new things i don't feel like i'm becoming a hoarder.
ok. getting to less is more.

g. xo

tour de...

for those of you old enough to remember this album will find this amusing. or, at least i did.

g. xo

neal. simply neal.

in my world, he may be one of the nicest men i have ever met. he and one of his good friends - surrounding himself with like minded and equally good guys - marv newland. a couple of great guys. (and really i know a lot of them, great guys, but...for now i'm talking about neal.)
neal wedman.
i have known neal, in a friendly way, for a long time now...and i have always wished for a piece made by him. and while i'm no closer to this now, there is a show right now at equinox gallery just a few blocks from my house. and you'll be able to find me there soon looking over the goods and maybe, just maybe, picking up a number for myself there.
i have talked of neal before and am, now, doing it again. you should go and have a look.
really. you should.

g. xo

and now for the weather...over to bob...

ok. so i have been doing some research - as one should before leaving on a trip, to plan clothes to take, etc...and it's gonna be fuckin' cold in berlin.
shocker.
there will be no shorts in my luggage...well, there may be but they won't make an appearance until the trip home when i may drive down and cut through arizona and california so i can see some sun on this trip. otherwise, it's long pants and jackets the whole way. maybe even gloves.
i received an e.mail this morning from esther telling me she had put aside a ticket for me to the show on the 23rd of feb. and that i just need to call or e.mail her and let her know how i want to pick it up. pretty cool. she/they have really been great in helping me out on this little adventure.
more as it develops. now i need to figure out where i'm going to fly from, if i'm going to go to toronto and see bill baker and my good pal debbie, what eastcoast US city i will fly from, etc.
by the seat of my pants. as i like it.

g. xo

that would be fine, thank-you very much.

Hello,

yeah sadly the second show is sold out but you can get one for the first show  23.02.2012 . the ticket would be 31,05 € and would be ready for you at the entrance.

Would that be okay for you?

Cheers

Esther

expensive postman

so, the buying of a ticket to the lambchop show in berlin is proving a little difficult. well, maybe that's not the right word to use. it's kinda fucked. the ticket is 34 euros. and they, the ticket agent, want to mail it to me and will not do a will call (picking up the ticket at the venue) for this show and the letter is registered and costs 34 euros from berlin to me.
huh?
so i have contacted the booking agent and she's trying to help me out by contacting the local agent doing the show, etc....and try and get me another way around it...and really, don't get me wrong, it's not the money, it's the principal. 34 euros to deliver a 34 euro ticket.? nope.

oh...this just came through my e.mail...things are looking up...


......

Hello Garnet,

as i gathered from the emails you would like to have a ticket for each of the lambchop shows. Is that the case?

As we cannot charge the money directly from your credit card I was wondering if you would be alright with paying both tickets directly at the door of the show or if you are here in berlin beforehand to pick them up at our office? What would be better for you?

Cheers

Esther

..........

drivin', flyin', ridin'...

while i have come to no real answer, i think i may be charting a course for a vacation of sorts. (i think i'm driving garvie crazy with my thoughts about how and when and more how and when...) i have always wanted to see the band/ensemble lambchop and since they are not going to be playing in the states or canada anytime soon, and may, actually, be on their way out as a band, the time my be now to see them - wherever they may be. and that now is europe.
they are starting a tour in australia soon and then heading to europe and the tour dates i see that i would, maybe, be able to get to would be in germany in late feb. and i say, why not.
expect for that fuckin' long plane flight. good god. i'm no one's friend after ten hours in the air. that's the truth. so. why not drive part way there?
so. drive east heading to julie and zach's place in wyoming (a couple i met in mexico last year who are awesome...), see them and then keep heading east. try and see my pal bill in wisconsin - also from my time in mexico. then drop in on bill baker in toronto, then head to new york or boston and fly out of there to london. shorter flight and i have had a fun little drive across the states.
fly to london, take the train/whatever to continental europe and then head to germany by train - i like the train...and then see lambchop and then do the whole trip again in reverse.
ta-da.
that's what i'm thinkin'.

g. xo

out there we's stones.

sometimes it all goes south. literally. and that's kinda what happened today. we had another job here at the salt mine that the new boss took away today so we're left now with a lot of time on our hands after this current dig is over. such is life at the salt mine.
it's ok. but now i'm left wondering what i'm going to do after this is all over at the end of the month. go for a drive? hang out? play day time hockey? drink coffee every day with 'he who can not be named on the blog'? fix up ailsa's attic for storage? relax? go visit bill baker in toronto? go see zach and julie in wyoming? still much too early for spring training baseball...but if i'm still off in march that's a great option.
tacos in tuscon? a trip back to gerlach? clean out more of issy's basement? for sure. there really are a lot of options. but i generally know when this may happen and it came kinda quickly - though there were rumblings of this a while ago, i tried to think good thoughts. and really, truth be told, we're had a good run here. job after job after job...we'll be fine. and in a couple months there will be lawns to mow and sun and such.
i haven't had an in-n-out burger for a long time it seems. it's a long drive but that's a great burger.
so there you have it. that's my report. pick-up hockey tonight in north van with the bombers and friends. nice action. then home to sleep and tuckered out and still having to get up at six to come on back. it's good.

have a wicked thursday.

g. xo

want it.

i want this.

g. xo

fuse-tastic

i ordered a few fuses for work. some i picked up at the vendor, the others, they said, would be shipped in later. we picked them up yesterday.
they were packed in this.


what the fuck?

g. xo

super duper - early - spring cleaning.

the garbs and i went out issy's today to get rid of some of the stuff we have in her basement. and not only us. i have stuff there, the garbs does, mishi, mishi's brother peter, marcy, my sister allison, gary and shauna....and issy put a call out a little while ago that she wasn't so concerned with the things there as much as she was in knowing people still knew what they all had there. so today was our day. and we made a huge dent. we also took away things issy had been planning to take to the dump.
so we loaded up my honda element and my trailer and away we went. to the sally anne to make sure some clothes, bedding and toys made it to the right place, to the dump to do some recycling and get rid of stuff we couldn't donate or give away (plus ailsa's xmas tree to the greens recycling area there...), then to see a friend who took the entertainment centre thingy i wanted to give to someone to use, then to ken diamond's studio to give him a load of leather the garbs had been given years ago but was just too much for him to use all of it.
then to refuel for a well deserved first burger of the year...
now a little relax before bed time and a nice sleep before heading back to work tomorrow...



our snack today.

 a very loaded element.

 ken diamond at his, now fuller, studio.

 here ken, have some leather.

 getting the trailer packed.

 bustin' out.

 xmas tree graveyard.

g. xo