Just another soggy news day

I've been having trouble with the delivery to my home of our local neighbourhood newspaper during this very wet Autumn. While I consider myself to be a reasonably patient person, I must admit I had had my fill last week. The following are 2 letters I sent to their circulation department, complete with photos:

First letter dated Nov. 24th

"Dear Vancouver Courier,

I have resisted the urge to complain about my home delivery of the Courier in the past largely because it’s not a paid subscription. But recent rainfall, combined with the lack of a basic standard of delivery service has prompted me to point out that my area carrier is getting paid for a job poorly done.

Last Wednesday I noticed the paper had not been delivered. On Thursday I noticed it still had not arrived. Then on Friday evening, upon arriving home in the rain from work, I was greeted by a sodden lump of newsprint in the middle of my front sidewalk. But what really annoyed me was Tuesday morning (yesterday), as I walked up the side of the house to exit the yard, there was Wednesday’s paper, lying between the fence and garden, nowhere near the front door or even the sidewalk! (photo attached)

Our front door has a generous overhang, and it really doesn’t take much effort to open the gate, and take 3 or 4 steps before lobbing the paper so it lands in a dry place. Is requesting dry delivery of a free newspaper asking too much? Because really, if it’s not delivered dry, what’s the point?

I realize it’s a free paper, but it’s not like you don’t pay your paper carriers. Your advertisers no doubt spend a lot of money to have their ads inserted into the Courier, and people don’t read sodden lumps of newsprint. They go straight in the recycling bin.

Thank you for your attention."

That wasn't too harsh, was it?

Letter No. 2 dated Nov. 25th

"Dear Vancouver Courier,

Well, it happened again last light; a sodden lump of newsprint was left on the topsoil beside my front walk (see attached photo) about 10 feet away from my dry front door overhang. I figured I might as well have some creative fun with writing this evening since I don’t have a legible edition of The Courier to read.

I was thinking, my neighbours and I would be just as well served by our local paper carrier if he were to simply dump his bundles of papers in a ravine somewhere rather than go to the trouble of walking the city sidewalks lobbing newspapers onto wet residential front walks in November downpours. At least he’d save some fossil fuel by not having to drive to our ‘hood.

If you insist upon delivering The Courier twice a week to my doorstep, which I’m quite happy to receive under normal circumstances, could you please (at least reasonably) ensure that the paper is dry? Otherwise, as I asked in my last complaint, what’s the point? Yesterday the bundle containing newspaper plus Christmas flyers was so waterlogged I couldn’t even separate the pages.

In stark contrast, my Vancouver Sun was waiting for me this morning completely dry on my doorstep (see other attached photo), a mere 10 feet away from the wet resting place of the Courier.

Of course, it’s a paid subscription, but it’s not like it requires any expensive special equipment to deliver a dry paper. The same delivery tool set applies both to free and subscribed newspapers. I know; I was a paper carrier myself for several years in my teens.

And I never left a newspaper in the middle of a sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Thank you for your time."

OK, it probably was a bit harsh, but I have a very low tolerance for poor service. But I stand by my conviction that there's no point doing the job if the end result of said effort has no purpose whatsoever, e.g. providing an unreadable newspaper. It only incites frustration in the homeowner, and creates more work to retrieve the sodden lump and throw it out.

The reason this whole newspaper thing burns my britches probably stems from my pre-teens when I took on a job delivering a free neighbourhood weekly, The White Rock Sun. I think I must've been around 12.

I vividly remember one incident in particular. It was a hot afternoon and I was walking my route with a fully stuffed canvas newspaper bag slung over my shoulder. I walked up the driveway, veered onto the concrete sidewalk, and lobbed the paper onto the front doorstep (a covered doorstep, I might add). No sooner had I turned around to exit the yard than the front door and screen door whipped open and an elderly woman’s voice said. “Young man! Do you realize that my newspaper blows all over the yard when you throw it on my steps? You’ll open the screen door and slide it through the mail slot next time, or your manager is going to hear about it!”

The door closed before I could say anything. And really, what could a twelve year old have said in defense? I had only been trying to do a good job. On windy days I did regularly take precautions by slipping the paper under the corner of a front door mat, or looking for a rock with which I could anchor the paper.

Of course, I'm sure my memory is crystal clear on that event some 30 years ago, and in my mind I had done all that I could to ensure that an intact and dry weekly edition of The White Rock Sun reached all those intended.

So, in firing off a couple of letters to the circulation department this past week, I must say I did so with some trepidation. I didn’t want to adopt that ”cranky senior citizen” stereotype. I may have sprouted a few grays since becoming a homeowner, but I like to think I’m encouraging a base level of service for me and my neighbours, by expecting the same service from my local carrier as I delivered when I was twelve.

New kitchen progress update

The kitchen is progressing nicely. We’re reasonably on schedule. But there are always a few unforeseen things that pop up. We had to remove all the original plaster from the walls, whereas we were only going to remove it from the exterior walls so we could install more efficient insulation and a vapour barrier. Also, the original shiplap floor boards were deemed to be insufficiently stable, due to shrinkage and cracks. They wouldn’t have been strong enough and stable enough to support our new tile floor. We replaced them with new, thicker plywood.


Currently all the gypsum board has been installed, and has had a couple of coats of drywall mud applied and sanded. We (my contractor and me) decided that all the seams and corners didn’t need to be filled and sanded because, realistically, many of them are going to completely covered by either tile, cabinetry or wood trim. That’ll save us a bit of time.

Once the ceiling drywall is filled and sanded sufficiently I can paint it, and then the tile floor can be installed. Cabinetry is due to be delivered on Dec. 4. Appliances arrive Nov. 28. The cabinetry installer wants the appliances on site so he can be 100% sure of their dimensions. Nobody wants him to have to remove and re-install a cabinet due to tight clearances.

Having a usable kitchen by Christmas is still a possibility at his point. Cabinetry installation is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 7. Then our solid surface countertops get templated and will take about 10 business days (2 weeks) to fabricate. That takes us to Dec. 21. Then the only major item left will be the installation of the backsplash tile.

I’m not sure what my contractor’s schedule will be that close to Christmas, but at least we’ll be able to use the room for the holidays.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Chantal Kreviazuk in concert

‘First and last’ seems to be a real theme for me lately in terms of music concerts.

We attended the Chantal Kreviazuk concert on Friday night at the River Rock Casino. I didn’t know beforehand, but as it turns out Vancouver was her first stop on the tour. A week and a half ago we went to see the 360 Degree spectacle that U2 brought to town, and that evening was the last concert stop on this leg of their tour.

In terms of degrees of acoustic intimacy you really couldn’t have paired together two greater extremes. At BC Place we were surrounded by around 60,000 of our closest personal friends, stuffed into plastic stadium seats just under the roofline (don’t get me wrong, I was still happy to be there!), whereas for the Kreviazuk show, we were completely surprised to discover upon arrival that we had plush, upholstered front row seats! Don’t ask me how we didn’t know. Probably has something to do with the stress of the “Renovation Zone” going on at home right now.

What a show! Both of them, U2 and this one, were awesome, but for entirely different reasons. The media has saturated the entertainment papers with U2 coverage, so I’ll devote some print to a very talented Canadian vocalist. She has Winnipeg roots too, in common with my wife, so that added personal impact for us as well.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Chantal perform. We attended a ‘Find a Cure for Cancer’ benefit concert at GM Place 8 or 10 years ago. I still have a promotional poster at home that I just ran across recently. It says the concert was Oct. 8, but doesn’t say the year. The artists on the bill that evening were: The Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden, Bryan Adams and Chantal Kreviazuk.

From what I’ve heard over the years, Sarah seems to get more coverage and is perhaps better known, and she is a talented performer, but Chantal has, in my opinion, has just as strong a vocal range as Sarah. As I listened on Friday night I was thinking, especially during some of the softer songs, that not many recording artists would be able to actually sing some of Chantal’s songs; her vocal range is that varied.

Instead of a solo show, she had back-up this time provided by drums, violin and cello. Not the expected accompaniment for a rock show.

Although that brings up another thought; how is her music actually classified? I wouldn’t say it’s rock. Perhaps ‘pop’, but that sounds too cheesy. She gets radio play, so I guess that’s all that really matters. Wikipedia slots her into ‘Adult Contemporary’.

I didn’t expect to recognize any of the members of the back-up band, but one I was familiar with. Kevin Fox, the cello player, was interviewed on CBC’s ‘Q’ with Jian Ghomeshi a few months ago, and he also played a song or two live in studio.

I told myself I’d remember the name of the violinist too, but to no avail. Chantal mentioned her name, her band and one song that Chantal really liked. Do you think I can remember any of those names? Nope. Her band’s name was something like “The ______ Lately’s”. Gee, that helps a lot, doesn’t it? I’ve never been great with names.

Another high point of the evening was the opening act. I wasn’t even aware there would be an opener. I get the feeling the organizers didn’t either until last minute because we were only told that there would be an opening act when we picked up our tickets at the front desk. And we were left in the dark as to who that might be until Meaghan Smith was introduced on stage. A curious way to handle it, I thought. None the less, I thoroughly enjoyed her acoustic set with her “husband for this evening”, as she put it, on acoustic guitar.

All in all, a very fine evening of Canadian music.

Not the usual "Car of Your Dreams" dream

Years ago, before I had much sense, I traded a ’72 Beetle for a 1940 Buick 4-door sedan that was not in running condition. It still ranks among one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. Fortunately that stinkin' Buick is long gone now.

Last night I dreamt about my parents driving that car, still the same burgundy red with silver roof, but fully restored, and in coupe format instead of 4-door sedan.

They were just leaving a large family gathering at a church. It seems to have been a gathering in their honour. I rushed outside to get a ride with them, and in passing declined a ride from someone that was going to the same place they were leaving for. I got to the car only to realize that there was no room for me in the car because the back seat was folded down flat for my Dad’s collapsed wheelchair. That in itself was strange because he always pulled it into the car to store it folded but upright, immediately behind the driver’s seat.

I was left standing in the parking lot as both cars left and I had no ride.

Kitchen Update 2

I must say, it’s quite fascinating to watch the progression of this kitchen renovation (even more so since I’m not doing any of the heavy lifting!). But I’ve found that it’s easier to track the changes focusing on one wall at a time, especially for those that have never been in our kitchen.

I’ve always liked progression photography, where one can view events unfolding over time, happening at the same location. A really good example I’ve seen is a series of photos depicting the controlled implosion of the Georgia Medical/Dental building that occurred at least a decade ago (probably longer). They are on display in my dentist’s office. Since I’m a photography enthusiast, it makes those semi-annual check-ups at little easier to endure. I’m a bit of a dentophobe.

Recently on another blog, I’ve been following past and present photos of locations in Vancouver. An archival photo is posted along with a current shot of the same location. Sometimes it’s hard to tell that the two locations are indeed the same. Most of the time, at least one heritage building is present to anchor the scene. What I find interesting is the tree growth over the time period.

A few years ago I bought an old framed photograph of the Lions Gate Bridge in a second-hand store. It’s one of those old black & white’s that was hand coloured. The whole North Shore that is visible in the photo is all trees. The Guinness family built the bridge initially to entice development of its newly acquired land, essentially the British Properties in West Vancouver.

I’ve tried a couple of times to take the same shot as it exists today, but as of yet I’m not satisfied enough with my attempts to display my past and present views of the bridge.

But I will show you one wall of our kitchen, past to current states. The first scene is, of course, anchored by our trusty carpentry spaniel, Shelby.

Kitchen reno update

The kitchen is progressing nicely. All the plaster has now been removed from the walls. We decided to keep the ceiling plaster intact in order not to trigger an avalanche of fine particulates of insulation.












Have you ever gotten insulation down the back of your shirt? It’s not even a little bit fun.

A layer of new gypsum board will be fastened to the existing ceiling to give it a smooth new finish.

Today the electrical upgrading will begin. We’ll finally have more than one duplex plug-in per wall. Back in ’62 no one could have anticipated the average home-owner’s desire for kitchen gadgets. And lights! We’re adding much more brightness to the room. Ceiling pot lights, under-cabinet puck lights, and two hanging feature lamps over the island will eliminate those over-the-shoulder shadows. I mean, what were they thinking way back when, only installing one or two lights in the middle of the ceiling to illuminate the entire room?