..Hello? Its 2019 - Are you from the Past?
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 12:02PM
Chris Purdy

Going through my emails and blog subscriptions and was like - "Hey - I think I use to have a blog thingy right?"

 

Yeah.... that pretty much sums up where my mind had been the last *three* years.

 

So - as a catch up...

Hobbies..... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  Thats funny... I use to have those things. 

Lets see - I haven't looked through a telescope in about 9 months... haven't been out in my dome to *observe* in over two years.  I have moved some equipment around and picked up another 5" Maksutov to grab and go duties up at the cottage.... but I haven't had time to use them.  Yeah - this is one of -those- blog posts.

Music / recording - thing of the past... I take a guitar out about once or twice a year and brush up on my scales a bit, but thats about all.  I bought a Epiphone Les Paul Elite Custom back in 2017 I believe (Dream guitar - found it on cragislist and jumped).... and I think I've only played it a handful of times.

 

I did get back into Commodore computers - picked up a C64 and then got a new c64 Reloaded MKII motherboard for it and a new case... pretty cool stuff that I hope to get into more detail on in the future... but there is a whole new crop of C64 folks bringing the platform back!  I also picked up a C128 and refurbed it.... as well as an Ultimate II cartridge which allows the transfer of files from PC and acts as a virtual 1541 drive.... plus a lot more!

 

What else..... RC cars - I built my dream car back in Dec of 2017 - for Christmas that year I treated myself to a re-issue Tamiya Frog - the car I have wanted since I was a kid..  I added all the goodies, and even wired up some off road lights!

 

Vintage Audio - This will seque into some serious life changing stuff we wnet through, but during that process I managed to pick up a set of 1966 Klipschorn's.. I fully refurbed them with new crossovers and drivers from Bob Crites... they are simply amazing!  I also setup a 5.1 system in the Den using them as fronts.

 

Life Struggles - Seque.... So in December of 2017 (the 17th) I was at the Gun store (Williams Gunsite in Davison)... picking up a new Marlin lever action rifle... and on the way home got a call from Mom - Dad was dead.  That call started the most difficult 9 months of my adult life thus far..  My sister and I took over the daily affairs at the house for Mom and set up care for her... dealt with all the issues associated with Dad and his final affairs. 

 

I also took over maintaining Mom's house and the two cottages - and all the associated headaches that go along with that...  and things were starting to normalize a bit by March of 2018...

 

And then - Life struggles, "The Sequel" arrived.

 

On March 28, 2018 - at 4:15 (approx) in the morning... We were literally shaken out of our beds.

A drunk driver crashed through our living room and destroyed the living room, bathroom and kitchen downstairs.  We had to be out of the house in 30 minutes as it was flooded and condemned.

 

We spent the next 13 weeks living in a two bedroom hotel suite in Flint.  It was the single most difficult experience I have ever dealt with.  Marie took it like a champ - the woman is a rock... I love her to the ends of the earth and back for putting up with me.

 

Long story short - it was also the single biggest blessing we have ever received!  Nearly all the remodelling work we were hoping to do got done for free, all new appliances, all new home theater system (Remember those Klipschorns from earlier?  Yep - I managed to work those into the deal).. All new furniture, new laminate flooring - new masonry, new bathroom with shower insert.... All in all - including hotel stay and all associated costs - they repairs were more than our mortgage... and we only had a $500 deductible!

 

That process was completed in mid July.. and we managed to get a couple trips to the cottage in as well..

 

We just passed the 1 year mark of Dad passing, and this entire whirlwind ordeal has taught me more about myself and my family than I ever knew before...

 

During the whole mess I realized I had turned 45 - and was the same age my Dad was when he built the cottage... and also the same age as when his wife was diagnosed with Cancer - and he was going through the hardest trial of his life.  Talk about getting perspective.

 

I'm not going to say that these blog entries will be more often - because I've said that for four years now - but I will say that I would like them to be.  As with most everything these days - I want a record to be out there for my kids... something they can read and know what life was like from my perspective... so - in that spirit - I do hope I continue this.

Best of luck in 2019 to anyone who reads this!

 

 

 

 

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