Hi All.

Hard to believe that summer is almost over. It's been a hot sunny one here (except for the week that the Kibblers were out). Sue was home each evening this past week so she is putting on lots of mile on her new car. Driving to Whistler each day is sure racking up the miles on the van.

Tracy is showing signs of her age lately. She seems to be about 90% deaf now. She has to rely on Yogi to bark so she knows that someone is at the door or coming in. Her nose still works well, she can zero in on food from a mile away. It's good she has that hobby; food has always been here passion.

We went out black berry picking this morning. That's a challenge. We picked about 10 pounds in no time but these berry plants are wild in every way. They are predators, laying in wait for pickers. I think they must be related to those diabolical communist thorn apple trees that grow along the Grand back in Ontario. They dangle a big bunch of berries just out of reach and as you try to get to them they ambush you from behind. One plant took my hat and whenever I tried to reach it the other branches would sneak in and try to get me. I had to pretend to be looking the other way and grab it back real fast. The plant was so mad I could almost hear it growl at me. They like to capture pickers and devour them. They must do it very quickly as you don't see any one hanging dead and half eaten so it must be a fast way to go. One good thing, the thorns are so strong that they don't break off when they stick you. They pull out and stay on the plant so you don't have to find and extract them from your arms.

The monitor for the old 586 computer had quit a while ago. It was a used one I bought last winter in Kitchener so I can't really take it back and it was past it's 30 day warranty. That's the computer Sue plays games on so we went to a local computer store and picked up a cheap new 17 inch one. It's far better that the original 14 inch or the used 15 inch even though it is relatively cheap. We are running that computer at 800x600 so it looks like it's set up for people with old eyes, the icons are so big you can read them from across the room. The monitor will except 1024x768 from that graphics card but she can never find her glasses so she likes it large.

The sky is clear enough at night even with lights from the other houses and streetlights that I can see the Andramida Galaxy from my back deck. The Milky Way is very bright and scenic. Just the way I like it.

Going up to Warren's for supper and a jam session tonight. He is getting too darn good on my mandolin. I may have to stop letting him play it or he will soon be showing me up. Denis tried to learn harmonica this summer but he only got the first line of one song, sort of. I think he thought it would give him an edge with those Mexican girls he likes to winter with. For anyone who hasn't seen Denis in years, he is a sitting image of Howard. And Warren could pass for Wayne our grandfather B.

That's it for this week.

the doug