The Squamidian Report – May 17/03
Also in this issue:
North Nova News
The Ontarion
The Melbourne Report
Hi All,
Our back yard has a wooden fence around it. Due to our damp climate several of the posts have rotted off under ground. I’ve started to replace the worst of the posts using treated 4X4s. The original were made of cedar. Cedar works well above ground if it can dry out. Whoever had built this fence painted the cedar panels, which is the wrong thing to do. The paint traps moisture and encourages decay. Anyway, the panels are in pretty bad shape but I am re-using them anyway.
One of the rotten posts was also being pushed over by the roots from a tree on my neighbours side yard. The root was a rather large one and was also lifting the fence and my lawn. I took the chain saw to the root. Now the tree seems a bit unstable, as it apparently was the main structural root. I don’t thing the neighbours like the tree being a bit loose now but I offered to take the whole thing down for them, they declined. Not a very big one anyway. And I had to rake its leaves up last fall so I really don’t mind if it tips over.
We’ve had some of our interesting 3D weather this week. On Wednesday there were times when it was raining in the back yard but dry and sunny in the front. Other times it was reversed. It is rather strange to be able to stand somewhere completely dry but be able to stick your arm out into a rain shower. There was also one of the most brilliant rainbows I’ve ever seen. It arched from behind the houses just across from use. You could actually see into the trees behind it at its base. There was a second one, running parallel on a wider ach. The air between them was darker than the air above or below. The top of the rainbows barely cleared the ridge.
Then there were times when clouds hid the mountains, as they were quite low compared to the mountains. At one point there was a hole in the clouds where you could look up and see the sun shining on the trees and snowfield in Fry Canyon. I still find it weird to look up through a hole in the clouds and see trees. But really neat too.
We just got back from a trip into the city. The wife and her parents wanted to go in so we did. Didn’t do much there but it did give me a chance to move my bank account out to a more local branch. There is no TD presence in the land of Squamidia so the nearest ones are in the city. Thanks to Web Banking I almost never need an actual branch.
The trip was its usual scenic wonder. We pulled into the lookout over Horseshoe Bay just as 2 ferries were departing. Do you realize I’ve been out here for over a year and I haven’t been over to Vancouver Island yet? That was always where we went first. I guess I need someone to come out here and dog sit for me so I can do some poking around the countryside.
This long weekend marks the beginning of tourist season, which means the Sea to Sky highway will be chocked with traffic and wallowing motor homes. I always wondered what it would be like to live in a tourist town, the kind of place where people go for their vacations. Now I know, not too bad at all in the off-season and entertaining in the on season. Its especially interesting because we use to be some of the tourists that came here.
****
Carol, it is funny, I was going to relate that story about the lifting of plywood from the vacant apartment building but wasn't sure of all the details. I still laugh about them hiding behind it while the cop drove by. Zane is lucky to receive $20.00 a week allowance but he is good for doing a lot of work around his home. His Mom relies on him since he is the man of the house. She is a seasonal fish plant worker and seems to make enough to get by on. They live in a trailer and have only the necessities of life. So anything he wants has to be earned which is not a bad thing.
My favorite plant of all time is the Hosta. It grows to an enormous size with beautiful leaves. There are many varieties for all places, sun or shade. On Monday I arrived at the Mount William landfill site to get my compost. I don't know what I was thinking because I was definitely not dressed for shoveling the stuff. Luckily there were two young strong men to help me. The bags weighed about 80 pounds and they were even struggling to lift it into my car. I decided after three bags the car was not going to take anymore so my sister-in-law, Mae offered to take one more in her truck. I should have realized after a week of rain the compost would not be light. So my new hosta bed should be really happy with all that rich new soil. We also had our first garden club meeting this week and scheduled our monthly garden tours. There are some very beautiful homes here that are willing to let us normal people trudge through their properties admiring all their wonderful foliage and landscaping.
Speaking of small towns, I found it quite different at first living way out in the country away from all the conveniences. I soon learned to make lists and only go to town once a week or stop on my way home from work. There are some things you miss but to me it is so worth it to live out in the country. I feel like there is room to breathe and lots of privacy. We don't actually have traffic jams in town but it's still more than the traffic on our country roads. Pictou is only 15 minutes away and has a population of about 5,000. We just recently got a new Sobey's store that is apparently called a prototype. It's pure heaven to shop there. We now have all the luxuries of a city store. Pictou is a tourist town. In the summer there is everything from great restaurants and bars to live plays and festivals all summer long. During one of the festivals they have an event called the Show and Shine. Anyone who has an antique car or truck displays them along the main street. In the winter the town is dead. That's why we started curling.
Our boat is finally in the water and at her berth in the marina. Peter has been working on getting the motor working after it's winter overhaul plus all the other spring preparations. If you own a boat you better like working on it and he does. We just heard we are getting a summer student grant for Peter's Sailing business. That will help financially this year. Last Saturday morning we helped some friends get their boats in off the Pictou wharf. They hire a boom truck to lower their boat into the water balanced from a single sling that is attached to the keel inside the cabin. It almost looks impossible to do but works like a charm. Then everyone helps each other get their masts raised so we can all get sailing sooner. The weather has finally broke and the sun is shining. I hear by next week we'll be enjoying temperatures in the twenties. Hope so!
Until next week
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
May 17, 2003
Hello everyone!
Wow is it the weekend already? I guess it’s the fresh Spring air that makes the
days go by so fast. We’ve had a busy week again here in Kitchener. It seems
there’s always something to do these days. Carole is busy touching up her
gardens and planning what changes she wants to make this year. We are still in
the planning stages of the garden pond. I found a great source for craggy, moss
covered rocks to surround the pond with. Now all I have to do is find someone
willing to lend me a pickup truck for a day and we’ll be under way. I’ll get
more into the pond description once we get working on it officially. I had to
start cutting the grass last Saturday and I cut it again on Thursday evening.
It’s amazing how quickly the grass is growing. I bought a couple of bags of
weed n feed but the weather has been too wet to apply it to the lawns. I need
at least 3 days of nice weather to follow spreading the fertilizer. Guess I’ll
just have to be patient about it.
There are many
lots around ours that are covered in dandelions but so far we’ve only had 2 or
3. I guess the weed n feed from last year is still working. However, I’m going
to spread it again soon to prevent the darned yellow plague from striking us
like it has our neighbours. I finally got around to building up the one foot
wide area along side the concrete expansion of the driveway with topsoil and
seeding it last night. I covered it with burlap and staked the burlap down as
per Carole’s instructions. I’m sure we’ll have nice green grass there within a
week. This is the area that was roughed up when Doug excavated the expansion of
our driveway for us before he left for the west. It only took me a year and 3
months to seed the mess along the edge. Oh well, better late than never. Our son Adam bought himself a new car and
took delivery of it last night. He traded his 2001 Nissan Xterra in on a BMW
Mini Cooper. It’s a true beauty! I think the fact that it gets 45 miles/gallon
has something to do with its appeal too. I had a Mini Cooper and also a Mini
Cooper ‘S’ back in the late 60’s. I’m sure you all know what a Mini Cooper is.
Well, they were made in England back then by British Motor Corp. and were a
great little car. They were actually voted “Car of the Century” in the year
2000. They stopped making them in 1982 and Rover of England revived the
manufacture of them again in 1987 and continued to make them until 1992. After
10 years of no Mini’s, BMW bought the design and all the Mini Manufacturing
plants from Rover.
After many
months of redesigning the Mini to meet BMW standards, they have reintroduced
the Mini Cooper and Cooper ‘S’ to the world. Well, let me tell you, the new
Mini is an amazing automobile! It might have the original Mini basic shape and
size but in no way is it to be compared to the original in quality or
performance. It is a true BMW through and through. Hence the 25 to 35 thousand
dollar price tags. These little beauties come with 16” mag wheels, run flat low
profile racing tires, heated seats, leather interior, full instrumentation,
heated locks, heated windshield washers, sport suspension, air conditioning,
power everything, high performance overhead cam engine, ABS braking system and
the list goes on and on. I have always been a Mini fan and now I guess our son
is carrying on the legacy. As you all know, Carole and I have a 1979 MGB and
now we have another British made auto to admire in the driveway. A new vehicle
in the family always gives us a new source of endless accessories that we can
buy the owner for birthday gifts etc. I’m sure there will be many items that
Adam will want for his new toy. His birthday is coming up May 31st
so we’ll see what the end of the month brings. It should be fun shopping for
these extras.
This is the weekend of the annual 24th
or May Victoria Day holiday here in Canada and we are looking forward to
sunshine for the weekend. It’s been raining most of the past week and it’ll be
nice to see the sun. There is a small town not to far from Kitchener called New
Dundee. New Dundee has a town wide garage sale every Victoria Day weekend. It
draws thousands of bargain hunters and Carole and I usually spend the day
browsing through other people’s treasures. Most years we come home with a
couple of bargains and this year will probably be no exception. The sale takes
place on Monday and is always a fun time. I’ll report on the success of that
day next week.
I don’t know if any of you are
“Survivor” fans but Carole has been watching this “reality” show on TV and has
me hooked on it as well. It’s over for this season but they are planning
another one to start in the fall. I hope the person that you were rooting for
won this years Million. I personally didn’t like the little twit that won but I
guess there’s nothing I can do about it. LOL! Maybe they should have next years
show set in the wilds of northern Ontario or the mountains of BC.
Hey,,,,,,,,,good idea! Maybe I’ll write the producers and suggest that, what do
you think? I also think we should all send in Doug’s name as one of the
contestants! Another GOOD idea. Then when he wins, we can all hit him up for a
share of the Million!
I know you’ll be
reading this too Doug but you don’t have any say in this one! The Brubacher
Clan and friends are going to speak for you. I’ll let you know what the
producer’s answer is in a couple of weeks. I’ll have to sit down and compose a
nice introductory letter about you and send it in to them this week. LOL! I’m
sure you would enjoy spending 39 days in the wilderness with 16 strangers and
getting paid a cool million for outlasting them all. On that note, I’ll say
good bye and wish you all a happy healthy week to come. Talk to you again next
weekend!
Sincerely, GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
Middle age is the time when the narrow waist and the
broad mind begin to change places!
****
Melbourne Report
Saturday, 17 May 2003
G'day everyone,
I’m up early today – 6:28am. I always used to get
up around 5:30am, but these days I've gotten out of the habit,
and therefore miss what I believe to be the best part of the day.
Karl’s job in construction meant that he always had an early
start. His alarm would “crow” at 5 am. (He still has that old Kellog’s
Cornflakes rooster alarm, which we purchased by mail- order about 20 years
ago). He loves it, because it reminds him of the happy times living on the farm
(on Old Chicopee Drive).
Anyway, I always used to get up early and really enjoy the early
morning solitude.
Most mornings I would walk up to the beach with Buddy, and watch one of the
spectacular sunsets. It was always a good start to my day. I had a lot more
energy back then.
Back in the early days in Altona Meadows, I used to explore the
neighbourhood too, and discover new and wonderful places which were within one
or two hour walking distance. Mornings were the best for walking, especially in
the summer, because later it would get much too hot.
I remember the first time I walked up to the beach (the part
where there was no road access).
Normally that part of the beach was cut off from the main land, and you
had to jump across a kind of a wide shallow creek to get there. But
on this occasion, the tide was out, and the creek had narrowed, so I could
jump accross.
So here we were, Buddy and I, walking up this totally reclusive and
deserted beach.
It was too early in the morning for anyone to be out. This place seemed
like paradise and as I watched the sunrise over the bay - I couldn't help
thinking how lucky I was to be living here.
Buddy loved it too, one of his favourite things was to run up ahead
of me, and then turn around and run back at top speed towards me and leap up at
me (nearly knocking me down). He was so exuberant and a joy to watch.
Summer is always a happy time for me. I love the warmer weather
after the winter gloom. Yes it does get cold and miserable here too. In
winter I always long for the warmer north, but in summer I just start to feel
happy, for no reason other than the warmer weather. It’s no wonder that Donald
Horne was inspired to write a book about Australia, entitled The Lucky
Country. I haven’t read it yet, but it's on my must read list.
Actually reading books is one good way to learn about life in
Australia. I love stories about what it was like for the early settlers. Life was a lot tougher back then. It
was really hard to eke out a living in this harsh climate. Over the years
I've read quite a few books– I particularly recommend A Fortunate Life
by A.B. Facey. I’m sure if you want to know more about Australian literature,
the Internet will guide you to some good selections.
Well, after all that rambling, I must get back to present day;
more specifically this week.
The biggest news is that Karl has booked his flight to Canada. He
will be departing Melbourne on July 1st, and arriving about 22 hours later in
Toronto.(still July 1st).
It’s a long flight, as I well remember, since I only made that journey last
July. I had the most awesome ten weeks in Canada.
At the time, I really needed to see my family, but Karl couldn’t get time
off, so I told him that it was his turn to go next time. This will be Karl’s
first visit back in 10 years. Since his family all live here, and mine live in
Canada, I have been back twice.
He will be in Canada for two months, visiting friends and relatives in
Kitchener, Ancaster, Huntsville and Toronto. He will probably spend most
of his time in Kitchener. Karl has a lot of friends in the Kitchener
area, since he lived there for 23 years. So he is going to be very busy
catching up with them.
He wanted me to come too, but it is too soon after my last
trip. I think Karl will have a lot more fun without me,
because, to be honest, he and I tend to argue a lot when we see too
much of each other. So I actually prefer that he goes alone this
time. (If he wins the lottery by the time he goes, I will defenitely
go with him.)
I hope I am not going to be too jealous, when he is there having a
good time. I keep telling myself that I'm going to have a holiday at home,
while he is away. I am getting a holiday from
marriage,lol. That means no cooking (unless I feel like it). The
kids are pretty independent, so they can fend for themselves. I can use that
time and just be totally selfish with my time. That means working in the studio
without much distraction, or interruptions. It'll be fun - it'll be
different...
I bought a gardening magazine yesterday, because it showed how to
build a wood fired oven in your back yard. It's really quite
ingenious. One of Karl's bro-in-law's Italian parents apparently had
one of those wood ovens when they were still living. His mom used to bake bread
and pizza and according to Phil, it was the best he ever had... I don’t know if
it would be worth it however. It would probably take all day to bake bread. You
would have to bake enough to last the whole month. Maybe we can get Karl's
bro-in-law Delfino to build one. He has a big property on the outskirts of
town, where he has tried raising chickens, and keeping bees, making home made
wine, etc. He might very well be up to trying a new venture....
On Tuesday I went to the city. It was such a perfect day (about 22C). I
just had to get out of the house. I took the train in, since I'm too
scared to drive in city traffic. A train ticket costs $5.20 for an
all day pass. This pass will get you downtown, and from there you can
either walk ,or take the trams, pretty well everywhere. So it is good
value for an all day outing.
My purpose in the city was to pick up some watercolour paints (two
colours I needed) from the art supply shop. They do have a couple of shops
closer to home, but I actually enjoy walking around the city, and browsing in
some of the shops. It's a very clean and safe and interesting city. Not nearly
as big as Toronto, just nice and compact.
The shopping is just great. Anyone who is into fashion would just love it. But
it also has great restaurants, art galleries, and if you want to have a gamble,
a Casino.
Well, you know, it has the things that most cities have, but I think Melbourne
is special. Did you know it has been named the worlds most livable city by some
intenational organisation. I would have to agree with them- it is a great place
to live.
Well, after about 3 hours of walking around the city, I decided to go
home. I couldn’t wait to listen to my two new CD’s, which I’d bought for
a bargain price. Don’t laugh… I bought the soundtrack of The Sound of
Music (and the movie Shine.) Picture
me, singing along with Julie Andrews and the Van Trapp Family…the hills are
alive with the sound of music....
My painting, which I started three weeks ago, in my watercolour
class, is coming along nicely. It is nearly finished. I have been taking
pictures of it as it’s progressing. It has been a challenge, and I made a lot
of mistakes with it, but it is looking good anyway. (I've included a
photo). I will finish it today, so I can start a new one to work on in my
next class.
The watercolour class has inspired me, and Nicole, (the instructor)
is a tough taskmaster, in a fun kind of way. She got me to try a more
challenging subject, rather than something I would normally do. The class is
giving me the motivation I needed, to get into learning watercolour
again. I am already looking forward to trying my next painting - maybe a
landscape this time.
Well, as usual, I've rambled on. If I've held your interest this long,
I'll be surprised.
Let me know if there is a particular subject you want me to write
about.
I'm looking forward to hearing about Tara's wedding...and the
Squamidian report, of course...
Have a great week...
PS. The tree dahlias are now flowering. They are awesome - like pale pink or lilac, multi-headed sunflowers, which grow to be about 14 ft tall (I'm guessing). I took some photos which turned out great. I'm including them in the report. If Doug has time he can put the pictures in the Down Under section of his website.
****
This newsletter has always been open to anyone who wants to write an article. Now that summer is coming to the northern hemisphere, my loyal columnists will be finding it hard to find the time each week to do their writing. So I am repeating my invitation to any and all that might want to send in a story or essay anytime throughout the spring and summer. We will all be interested in what you have to say (anything short of X rated would be fine) and it will take some pressure off my over worked and under paid regulars.
Oh
yes, this is Tara’s wedding day, best of luck to her and her new hubby.
Ryan and Emily hit the road tomorrow morning for their long but scenic drive out to spent the summer here. We are looking forward to their safe arrival and wish then a great trip.
Have a good one.
the
doug