Sheilajeanne

Thank you, HS! Even the mayor's childhood home burned. The final figure is 30% of the town was burned. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/wildfire-hit-jasper-mayor-mourns-111427677.html#:~:text=A massive wildfire that destroyed about a third,which had been completely destroyed by the flames

Reports are that 30 to 50% of Jasper has burned. Officials are still working on a burn map. Despite some rain, the fire remains out of control. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6458777 I can't get the video to post so it will play on this site. For those of you too lazy to click on the link, here's what a good part of the town looks like. This is all that's left of the Anglican church.

And of course, if there's not enough rain in some areas, there's too much in others. Hurricane Beryl dumped over 3 inches of rain on my part of the province last week while Toronto experienced a record-breaking downpour which flooded the Don Valley Parkway, Union Station, and numerous other spots. I thought the new waterfall feature in Union Station was kind of pretty... https://x.com/rapporturd/status/1813245364515778581?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1813245364515778581|twgr^973a634b573dd49503b02a941580036a414efa9b|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fca.news.yahoo.com%2Fan-indoor-waterfall-at-union-station-downtown-toronto-flooded-as-severe-storm-disrupts-life-in-the-region-205340898.html There was another big dump of rain today, which cause more flooding. https://www.timescolonist.com/weather-news/sections-of-dvp-lakeshore-briefly-flooded-again-after-toronto-rainfall-9263169

Jasper, one of Alberta's prettiest resort towns, is on fire. Maligne Lodge has burned to the ground, and a good portion of the town is destroyed. My husband and I stayed there on our honeymoon. Jasper National Park has been evacuated, too. An e-friend who lives further south in the Slocum Valley of B.C., west of Banff, has been forced to evacuate her home. There are fires everywhere, and many are raging out of control. If you're the praying sort, please pray for rain! https://dailyhive.com/canada/jasper-wildfire-update-town-fire

Making shoes is such a difficult thing that most leatherworkers won't attempt it. You're just beginning - I'd get some experience under my belt before attempting it. You might want to start with simple shoes like moccasins or sandals. This thread might be helpful: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/98188-roman-sandals/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-667774

Chuck, I just saw a cool idea for an addition to your truck! BTW, idjit who originally posted it obviously doesn't know side rails and running boards are two different things...

I thought this was a really cool idea if you're into saddle making and can't afford running boards for your truck! The person that posted it obviously doesn't know the difference between a side rail and running board...

Apparently it's become a 'thing' for vegans to slap labels on things like bacon or pork chops/roast, with a picture of a pig, and a label that says "My name was (fill in the blank). Which reminds me of a true story... A city slicker once asked one of my farm cousins if they named their pigs. He replied, "Yes, I've named these three 'Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner!' Yeah, hands off my bacon, vegans!

That's lovely, Stewart!

This is an old one, but a good one - it's also true! A number of years ago, a radio station decided to have a competition to see which of their listeners had the funniest embarrassing story. This one was voted the winner. A woman phone in to say she had an appointment with her gynecologist one afternoon, but due to traffic problems was running late. She came home from shopping, stashed her purchases away as fast as she could, then ran to the bathroom. She wanted to make sure everything was clean 'down below' before going to her appointment. The only washcloth she could find was one lying beside the sink. It was already wet, so she grabbed it and gave her privates a quick scrub, then tossed the cloth into the laundry hamper. She made it to the appointment barely on time, and was soon ushered into the exam room. When the gynecologist came in to examine her, he commented "My, you did make a special effort today!" The comment puzzled her, but she didn't ask why he'd said that. When she got home, her daughter came to her. "Mom, I spilled some glitter earlier this afternoon. Have you seen the cloth I used to wipe it up? I left it beside the bathroom sink!"

Good one! Just a reminder -we DO have a dedicated joke thread, though currently it's been sidetracked a bit... https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/111799-2024-for-fun/page/3/#comments

Oh, the stories I could tell about my late husband's love of black powder! He and his brother and a group of their engineering student friends are the reason the cannons in front of Hart House at the University of Toronto got filled with concrete! Fortunately, the black powder charge did not cause the barrel of the ancient cannon to explode, and the ball only made it as far as the lawn of the legislature buildings at Queen's Park! Do NOT underestimate the ingenuity of the U of T engineering students!! They are legendary for their crazy pranks! And they still love to play with black powder: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/uoftgrad17-kaboom-u-t-engineering-students-celebrate-convocation-cannon

I got my start when I bought a Tandy's beginner kit, which came with 8 weeks of free lessons. If you are close to a Tandy's store, I can highly recommend this. Their tools are good enough quality to get you started in this wonderful hobby!

Since Al made just about every conceivable thing out of leather, it comes as no surprise to me that he'd make holsters. But proving the holster was actually made by him, and not someone copying him...well, that's another story. I'd have to see proof of provenance from the seller. Would love to see a photo! Do you have access to one? Edit: Al actually did a book on making holsters. His books always featured photos, or at least drawings of the items he'd made, showing the steps in the construction. For every pattern he published and every Craftaid he put his name on, there was an actual piece of leather work he'd made. https://tandyleather.ca/products/how-to-make-holsters-book?_pos=1&_psq=How+to+make+hol&_ss=e&_v=1.0

The main problem I see is the rapid turnover of staff (due to low wages mainly) means the staff isn't as knowledgeable as it once was. Even the managers aren't on the ball. I was looking for a particular tool, and the manager couldn't find it. He had to go and hunt for my mentor, Bill who was on his lunch break. Bill knew EXACTLY where it was! I remember this story - sort of a modern day parable - of someone who started a hamburger stand. They did everything right, and soon had a thriving business. They expanded, and hired more people and things were going great. Then the economy took a nosedive, and someone with a fancy business degree told the owner he'd have to 'tighten his belt'. They suggested he buy cheaper products and lay off staff and shorten the hours of the ones he kept. Needless to say, neither his staff nor his customers were happy with the changes, and his business suffered. Fortunately, he was smart enough to realize what the problem was. He fired the MBA, and changed things back to the way they had been before. After a number of tough months, his business was thriving once again. So, Charly, pretty much what you said above!

I probably should do that! I noticed the leather I have in my storage cupboard all seems to be about 4-5 oz. whereas some of it was marked as 3-4 oz. when I purchased it. That's the main reason the side I just purchased was marked as 2-3 oz. And oh, it is one heck of a nice looking side! Yup, I certainly put that 20% off coupon to good use!

When I was moving to my current town, I'd just bought a new vehicle and it didn't have a hitch yet, and I needed to tow my tent trailer to my new home. The only vehicle I could find available to rent with a hitch was a (nearly) brand new Ford F150 pickup truck. I tell yah, if I ever wanted to pick up guys, I now know what to drive in order to get them looking...

Fred, that's AMAZING!! Only SIX DAYS?? How long ago was that? I'm more used to hearing stories like mine, where a small parcel took 6 weeks to get from Ontario to somewhere in the North-eastern states, and a package Frodo sent to Romania took nearly FOUR MONTHS to get there! Was it sent by something other than U.S. Post?

During my riding days, there was a dog at the stable that was as fond of carrots as the horses were! I used to save one for her! Photos: YUM!! A new toy to destroy Second photo: same toy, about a week later. The brand name was Tire Biter. The rubber was reinforced with threads. I guess the only thing that would have saved it was if they'd reinforced it with steel bands, like they do with car and truck tires!

Yeah, rawhide is responsible for a lot of dogs needing surgery. Do not give my dogs rawhide chews - only shank bones that are too big and hard for them to swallow! I know a lot of dogs die due to eating things they shouldn't, and have always been careful what I give them, but you can never be TOO careful! I never would have dreamed Star would eat a nylon leash or collar! And it was very hard to find toys she wouldn't destroy after just a couple of weeks, if not days! I was just really lucky she had a cast iron gut! I'm glad to know most dogs can chew on wood with no bad effects. I actually gave Star branches to play with when keeping her in toys became too expensive! You see that orange toy in the photo? That's a Bad Cuz. It's like a big ball with feet, ears and a squeaker. A REALLY annoying squeaker... She went through a number of them during her time on this planet. I'd remove the feet from it before giving it to her, as I knew she'd chew them off. The ears were too tiny to bother with. First, she'd go after the squeaker. It might last a couple of weeks before she pulled it out. Fortunately, she never swallowed it. Then, she'd start working on the squeaker hole. The main advantage of the Cuz toys is they are made of REALLY thick rubber. It would take her awhile, but eventually, she'd rip the squeaker hole open, and tear off a piece. If I noticed this about to happen, I'd chuck the toy in the garbage. But there were several times when I noticed her chewing something, and realized it was a chunk she'd ripped out of the toy. I'd head towards her to grab it out of her mouth, and I swear...she'd wait until I was a couple of feet away, then swallow it! I'd find it in her poop a day or two later... Here's that same Bad Cuz just before I tossed it a few months later: You can see the cracks starting around the squeaker hole!

Local shipping rates are pricey, too, and when I shipped two small parcels from Ontario to the eastern U.S., it took them about 6 weeks to arrive! So, cross-border is a PITA no matter which direction the package is going Had a much better experience with shipping a teacup from Ontario to Quebec - it arrive intact, and the trip only took a couple of days!

To respond to the folks who suggested ordering from their favourite stores in Wyoming or Ohio, guys, I'm CANADIAN!! Do you realize just how badly you get dinged for cross-border shipping these days?? It really is ridiculous! There are still two Tandy stores within roughly an hour's drive, so I will likely be buying from them, and probably paying to have stuff shipped. But when it comes to actually buying LEATHER, nothing beats hands-on. I didn't ask why they were closing. I assume the usual reasons - not enough sales/customers. I'd never met the man I spoke to before. He just got pulled into the store to do the dirty work of closing it down. Certainly don't envy him his job! BTW - just remembered my mentor, Bill, was the one who suggested I check out this site back when I was first getting started! Another thing to thank him for, posthumously.

Nope, not necessarily. The dog in the picture ate half of a nylon leash, plus an entire nylon collar, and never suffered any ill effects. I didn't even know she'd eaten the collar until I couldn't find it when I needed it 3 days later! I did find the plastic buckle on the floor, but assumed that maybe my cat had knocked it off my leatherworking bench, as I use these buckles for collars, etc. Do NOT underestimate a dog's digestive system... The photos show a black Kong (the most durable Kong) on Day 1, then the same toy a few days later. The dog in question lived to 14.5 years, and was rarely ill a day in her life.

Good news - I had a certificate that gave me 20% off regular priced items at Tandy for the month of June. So, this being the last week of June, I visited my closest Tandy store in Barrie, Ontario. Bad news: I was shocked to see that the store's marquee had been blanked out, and that there was a sign on the store door saying they were closing for good. I was about to return to my car, when I saw there was someone inside the store, beckoning to me. I went inside, and was told the store was about to close for good at 4 p.m. today, and I was going to be their very last customer. He was just about to lock the door forever when I showed up. This is the store that started my leatherwork adventure back in 2015 https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/65312-is-everything-from-tandy-sub-par/page/2/ My mentor, Bill, passed away in 2018, and is greatly missed. The man who helped me with my purchase today is the regional manager for Ontario, and remembers him well and spoke very fondly of him. https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/82652-heres-to-you-bill/?tab=comments#comment-556218 The closing of this store means the only stores close to me will be in either Markham or Mississauga, neither of which are close to where I live (Simcoe County). The good news is, with my 20% off certificate I did some serious damage to my credit card, and purchased a very nice side, plus some dye, resist and two spools of thread. But dammit, Barrie Tandy, I will miss you!