The Squamidian Report – Oct. 21 / 06

Issue #229

 

Also in this issue:

North Nova News

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

Ever notice that no matter how close you check things, or how hard you try, you (or make that me at least) still manage to screw things up a bit! I put quite a bit of effort into having the Squamidian details as close to correct as possible when I hit the ‘send’ button. But it seems no matter how much effort I put into it, there is always some little thing that slips by. Usually, its just a spelling mistake, but sometimes it’s the date, or a web link, or the file name. I even use a template in order to keep things consistent but still manage to miss the auld thing. Last weeks issue went out to some people with just the month in the Subject line rather than the day date. No big deal but it just shows how easy it is to have something out of whack and not notice. Oh will, thas hoe thinks goo.

 

Finally, some rain. The wet coast finally got some badly needed rain. Our hot dry summer turned into a very warm dry fall. That was great for doing stuff outdoors but everything was just way too dry and dusty. There are still lots of dry sunny days happening as well but the days that do give us some rain also give us those neat clouds that seem to drape against the mountains. Makes for great 3D weather when you can see things beyond the clouds.

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Sue has been looking for living room furniture for years. On occasion she has dragged me into various furniture stores to have me sit on a couch that has caught her eye. There has never been any that I could actually sit on. They are all way, way too soft with no lower back support and you tend to either sink out of sight in them or topple over. She was in Anna’s Attic last week and spotted a pair of those short 2 person couches that she liked. So she dragged me kicking and squirming in to look at them and much to my surprise I could sit on them without too much complaining. So she ordered a matched set plus a little matching table thing.

 

Anna’s Attic is a funky local furniture store that actually carries interesting stuff that is of good quality, and gives good service. Quite a leap over many of the local businesses. Anyway, Anna delivered the two short couches and the table on Wednesday evening in her rickety old van, just before we had to head down to the Gelato music thing. While there I conned Warren and Ryan into helping us wrestle the stuff up into the living room from the garage where we had plopped them. That was no easy task, they are heavy and the stairs are stairs. But we got them in and unwrapped.

 

Then came the hard part, figuring out where to place everything. They didn’t quite fit where we had envisioned them, which created a dilemma. Ryan and Emily suggested a different arraignment and that seems to be working out fine. Now we have to figure out what to do with either the old short couch thing or a pair of rocker chairs. If you want them, come and get them.

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And now a short word on computer data backups. DO THEM, THEY WILL SAVE YOUR BUTT !!! With CD-Rs and DVD-Rs being so inexpensive, a quick once-a-week archive is all you need. No need for clumsy backup software, or anything other than your burner’s own burning program. Burn a copy of your data and you are protected. Store every second copy off-site and you are double protected.

 

doug

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North Nova News

 

It’s been a great fall.  One of the most pleasant as all our seasons has been this past year.  Only this week the nights have become a bit frosty but the days are a good temperature.  Our Uncle Wayne arrived Monday for a quick visit after a conference he attended in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  Ward, Mae and I prepared a supper at Dad’s house where we do all our entertaining these days.  It’s the perfect place and it’s good to see the house alive with people and music. Wayne just stayed the night and part of the next day, but we had a great visit.  We talked about Dad’s paintings and how we are trying to make a list of them and where they are located.  Also I plan on making a Collection of Art by Howard Brubacher on a CD so if anyone has a painting I would appreciate it if you would take a picture of it and email it to me.  Please resize it as we have dial-up.  Thanks Sylvia for your CD of paintings.  It’s a start!  Dad used to take pictures of his paintings so I have scanned them onto my computer but I know there are many out there from long ago.  He spent his life painting and I want everyone to enjoy what he did.

 

Everyone by now should know about the big Brubacher and friends reunion next summer to be held here in Nova Scotia at my father’s house.  The dates are August 4th to 7th , 2007, but you can come sooner and stay longer if you wish.  There will be lots of room for tenting and trailers.  Some of the rooms in our houses are already spoken for but I know we can put up a few more, even if we have to use floor space.  We have a local resort called Stonehame Lodge and Chalets that are on the same mountain range, Fitzpatrick Mountain.  They have Chalets that can be shared, also motel rooms.  Their website is www.stonehamechalets.com    Phone toll free:  1-877-646-3468    It’s absolutely beautiful and very comfortable.  You should call soon to book.  There is a B& B in Durham called Rose Cottage, just down the hill from us, I will find out their number for you.  Also there are many places to stay in Historic Pictou.  If you would like to get the Does and Dreamers Guide for Nova Scotia call 1-800-565-0000  op.812  or website at www.novascotia.com     Or just email me and I will do the best I can to help you.  Our families from the west coast are planning to come so there is no excuse for the rest of you. 

 

I’ve been looking into stocking our pond for the big event. We have some trout already but it wouldn’t hurt to have lots of fish for catching and barbequing.  I’ve had offers from friends that will lend tents and sleeping bags.  There will be lots of music and fun for everyone.  For anyone who hasn’t been here, we have a large park-like property with lots of trees and very secluded.  My father and brother Ward worked hard over the years to make this place what it is today.  We feel very fortunate to call this special place home.  So we are looking forward to sharing with you.  There will be more plans to be made and I will keep you informed. 

 

Until next time,

Sus

 

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

Hello everyone!

 

Oktoberfest is over and NOW we get the rain! LOL! Oh well, as long as it’s not something we have to shovel I’m ok with it. We’ll have plenty of time to move the white stuff in the proper months to come.

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With the leaves almost all on the ground if you haven’t taken a drive to see the fall foliage by now you’ll have to wait till next year. This year’s colour display was fabulous from what we were able to see around town. I can only imagine the array of reds, yellows and oranges that were on the forests in the rural areas of southern Ontario. This part of the country is always beautiful in the fall and some of it is right here in Waterloo Region along the Grand River. I’m sorry we didn’t get out to experience the colours this year. We’ll do it next year for sure. I really wanted to get out and take some pictures that I could use to make Doug jealous of our natural beauty right here in Ontario. I’m sure he’s aware of it and there really is no need to make a big deal of it for his benefit. Every nook and cranny of this country has its own beauty all you have to do is open your eyes.

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I remember when we were kids that we used to play in Breithaupt’s bush and the fall was the best time to do that. We would make huge piles of leaves and jump out of trees into these piles. We had a lot of fun playing and hiding in these piles of leaves. The city kids also play in the piles of leaves along the side of the streets in their neighbourhoods. The only problem with this is the danger it poses to the kids with the traffic using the streets as well. The drivers of the cars can’t see that there is a kid hiding under that pile of leaves and it has happened that kids have been run over while hiding in these leaves.

 

One of the fondest memories I have from the old neighbourhood is the smell of the leaves that people with trees used to burn by the curbside. That sort of activity has been outlawed for fire safety and pollution reasons. Nowadays people pack huge paper bags with the leaves and let them stand at the curb for sometimes days on end before they either fall apart from wet weather or get picked up by the recycle trucks. It’s a shame that the kids today have to miss the fun of playing in the leaves as we did back then. I guess they can always go to the local park and find a patch of bush and play in the leaves there but somehow it doesn’t seem the same as using the ones that have fallen in your own yard.

 

It’s time to pack it in for this week. Carole has supper cooking and it smells one heck of a lot better than any burning leaves so I think I’ll say so long for now. I look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report.

 

Bye for now.. Greg

 

PS: Something to Think About>

Borrow money from pessimists, they don’t expect it back.

 

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The Family and the Squamidian sites:

http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca

Have a good one..

the doug

 

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