Sunday

The sun rises on my only day off in 12. The Good Doctor schedule is playing catch up after all the delays starting season 4 due to covid. (What a view of Mount Baker!) 

 

Skip back a couple of weeks, Ritsue working hard wrestling our Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

I cannot believe I didn't get a decent picture of the family enjoying her hard work. Believe me, she nailed it, a traditional feast!

A week prior to today, we went for a hike out in Maple Ridge.

The water was flowing a lot harder out at Kanaka Creek Regional Park than it was when I hiked it 3 weeks ago.

On the way home we stopped at the Gillnetter pub in Port Coquitlam for a snack and a beer. Fellow Teamster peep Ron knew we were there and popped in to say hi.

The view outside of the pub shows one of the widest sections of the Fraser River.

Another very pretty view!

I had to take 8 hours off work to take a joint health and safety committee course at the Actsafe offices. This is a requirement for me, being the shop steward and joint health and safety committee representative for the Teamsters on the Good Doctor. 

I wish I would have gotten this in the mail about 3 weeks ago, before I mailed my ballot for the U.S. election.

Waiting for my cast pick-up down by Kits beach. Normally I take a little walk on the sand, but the tide was so high today, all I could do was admire the view.

Waiting in downtown Vancouver on Homer street for an executive producer of the show.

We already get treated so well on the Good Doctor, but it's always a special treat when they bring in the Charlie Bar coffee truck.

On this Sunday, Ritsue and I went to Me-N-Ed's Pizza close to our place. This place has been around since 1969, and we love it!

There they are, the ominous crows hanging on the roof of the Good Doctor stage 4.......

Tonight one of them dropped a rock and it blew out the window of one of our cast vehicles! (and left a big dent as well) This is the  third time this has happened at the studio recently.

A breezy, chilly, albeit clear, day waiting down by the water. This Saturday it only got up to 5 celsius.

The newbies are quickly becoming buddies. Fun to see the banter by the cast trailers.((The new doctors this season are Dr. Enrique Guerin (Brian Marc), Dr. Asher Wolke (Noah Galvin), Dr. Olivia Jackson (Summer Brown), and Dr. Jordan Allen (Bria Henderson)).

Covid protocol denies a lot of the crews (including myself) entry onto the sets this seson. The closest I have gotten was an open door look towards the MRI room.

That cold spell left a beautiful view of the snow-capped North Shore mountains.

Oh Canada! Frost on the maple leaves!

One of the many crows at the Bridge studios that are constantly eyeing us up for treats. (Does it have something to do with our transport captain throwing cat food around our cast vehicles all the time? I think yes!)

Meanwhile in the district of Tomari in Japan, people seem to think this cave resembles the animation character Totoro. Do you?

Ya, it works, but I'm just too tired to figure out why, lol

The Good Doctor, season 4, episode 4

The last scene Friday night found us on the 4th floor of the newly built parkade at the Bridge Studios. After being shut down for nearly 6 months, we are picking up speed, already filming the 4th episode of the Good Doctor.

 

Meanwhile, back in Summerland, junior found this really cool fossil close to his home.

Fast forward to junior moving back to Burnaby to start working on his show, Nancy Drew. First though, we had to celebrate his big 3-0h! birthday.

A great evening at Little Billy's steakhouse, topped off with the mandatory birthday cheesecake!

Ritsue is getting more and more Canadian every day!

My sister Judith reminded me to light an extra candle to honor the birthday of our brother Rick, who passed away last December.

Not much time off work these days, but Ritsue and I managed to get in a hike around Deer Lake in Burnaby.

Spotted a couple of turtles enjoying the sun.........

....back at home, it's not the size of your eggplant............

Meanwhile, at the Bridge Studios, preparations are happening for a scene involving the hospital emergency entrance. First episode of season 4 airs on November 2nd.

What can I say, the caterers spoil us every day.......

Meanwhile, outside our studios, the show Lost in Space has left some styrofoam rock lying around.

The place where I start my day 3 times a week......

Wow, things are sure diffrent at the airport these days. It was like a ghost town at domestic arrivals as I waited to pick-up a producer.

I think it will be awhile before people are comfortable flying again......

We spent one night filming at the Dr. Marcus Andrews home. We have used this house in Coquitlam a handful of times over the course of the four seasons.

As busy as it is, there is always time for a bloody Mary on the week-end!

My newest cast vehicle prop! Still cranks out "pop goes the weasel"! I got one for fellow cast driver Jim, and my transport captain, Ward. Reminds us how hard it can be sometimes to keep track of the cast.

A little downtime for Dr. Reznick, Dr. Park, and Dr. Lim

Well, that's some real driving prowess right there, driver! I forgot my coffee on the hood and drove 1/2 a block, including turning a corner, and voila!, still there!

My ballot for the U.S. election finally came in the mail!

Summer is over, the ducks and geese have taken over Kits pool.

It is still really quiet at the Sutton Place hotel. I was the only one waiting on a cast member. Many shows are starting up, but I wonder if it will ever be as busy as it once was.

A week and a half ago, we were all gathered between stage 4 and 9 for an announcement. Turns out we had been waiting all day to get covid test results back. The decision was made to shut down for the day. We did eventually get our results, and filming resumed the next day. Many shows around Vancouver were shut down even longer. Apparently the labs in Vancouver can't keep up with the amount of productions that are getting tested. 

I love this pic. While waiting to pick-up my cast, I went down to the water. It was such a hazy day, you can barely distinguish the ocean from the sky.

......and they're back! Now that we are back at the studio, the crows have returned each evening to check us out, before they settle for the night just east of here.

Lost in Space had been using these massive styrofoam blocks to create their space worlds.

Starting to take shape......

Too cool! On this Friday our fuel truck driver, John, was thrown into a cast driving role.

Meanwhile, back at home, Ritsue is still getting huge radishes from her mini garden. Still can't figure out how the white radishes got mixed into the same seed pack.

Sunday brunch. Ritsue nailed it once again!

That night we went to La Foret, a funky little cafe nestled in the burbs of South Burnaby. 

I had the bacon mushroom cream rigatoni, OMG, so tasty!

Down by the water waiting for a 5:30 a.m. cast pick-up. Not much to see out in Burrard Inlet this early.

The caterers have lost their minds again! Bacon wrapped chicken legs???? Really? 

Round and round, back down to Kitsilano again. This time a funky hazy view of downtown.

I'm trying to watch what I eat, the food is so abundant at set!

On this Friday, I had to take my cast vehicle out to Maple Ridge to get new brakes. I love the loaner creeper van they let me use.

I had a couple of hours to kill, and I came across this regional park.

So when in Rome, or in this case, Maple Ridge, hit the trails!

There was a small waterfall along the trail. (Not much water this time of year.)

On the way back to the studio, I stopped at Tim Horton's and treated myself to a coffee and a Canadian maple donut! I also treated myself to this mini Ovechkin hockey stick. You're never too old!

A rainy day at the Sutton Hotel. At least this time I had company from fellow cast drivers Jim and Eric.

On another brighter Hawaiian shirt Friday, the Good Doctor cast drivers took over the Sutton! Myself, Jim, Jaz, and John were all stylin'!

Which brings back full circle to the last scene of this blog, the parkade at the Bridge Studio.

Eye to eye with the sky-train.

Under the parkade, Lost in Space was storing one of their moon buggies.

Looking out of the parkade, reflecting on the long week. At least it wasn't a Fraturday.

A blast from the past. As I was digging through pictures this week, I found this shot of myself with a toque that is way too small for my noggin. The shot was taken on a cold, cold minus 20 celsius  night in Timmins, Ontario. Working for the 2010 Olympic torch relay certainly had it's fringe benefits.