Fall and a new hobby

I took a stroll with Ruby and took some photos of the fall colours. They took a while to arrive, but were quite spectacular this year. 

Yes, dandelions are still around - I even found some in full bloom. This one that went to seed just begged to have its picture taken.

Some very large leaves are falling

I also have been working on a new hobby over the past few months - inlay ring making. Here are a few of the ones I have made. I buy the ring blanks on Esty, usually. The inlay is made with synthetic opal and other inclusions, but the main ingredient is cyanoacrylate glue - crazy glue. A Dremel for grinding, sandpaper, and some polishing compound are all that is really needed. Most are less than $20 in total to make. 

Black ceramic ring

Cobalt chrome ring

Tellurium copper ring

The tellurium copper ring also glows in the dark!

Blue tungsten Damascus pattern ring with iron pyrite

Tungsten ring with obsidian black, ember & black fire opal, plus stained glass copper wire

It is a fun hobby and only takes an hour or two to make a ring. 

Big news!

The biggest news of the fall is that Parker and Jaclyn got engaged!!!

At the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada

The happy couple!

The custom ring included diamonds from Wendy's mother's ring!

Wendy and I are very please and proud!

Thanksgiving in Manitoba

Wendy and I headed to Manitoba to visit my father for the Thanksgiving weekend, staying just under a week.

My father showed off his new chair - with included ejection seat!

On Thanksgiving day, Wendy and I decided to take a walk while the turkey was in the oven. We wanted to take a picture of a newly painted mural on the local Manitoba Telephone System building (a few blocks away). It was bitterly cold in the wind, so we cut our walk short.

Dinner was only 8 of us (my older brother's wife was not feeling well). I think the turkey turned out well, and we were able to fill my father's freezer with meals before we headed back home.

Couch evolution

We recently had our sofabed/couch reupholstered. 

This piece of furniture was originally Wendy's grandmother's, and it is probably the heaviest couch we have ever experienced. It was likely purchased in the 1940s-1960s, and we have had it since the 1990s.

Here is how it has evolved in our hands:

Original

Original floral pattern

2006

Covered in medium grey (when kids were younger)

2025

Current light grey - with a new mattress inside