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Issue #1032
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From Russ

The Ontarion

Hi All,

I must say, I am truly impressed. As you all know, there is always something that needs fixing or repairs around a house. In the old days when I was younger and stronger and could get back up off a floor if I were to find myself kneeling or lying down on one, I could and would do pretty well every kind of maintenance that would come along. Not any more, my brain still wants to do all that kind of stuff my my body basically tells my brain to “go stick it”. Last Friday morning one of our garage doors made a ‘different’ sound as it closed. We have two garage doors, one for each of us which is the way it should be. I didn’t give the sound any thought until I went to open the door again. I hit the control button on the wall and the door just wiggled a bit but wouldn’t go up. The lift motor couldn’t lift the door. Upon inspection I noticed that one of the lift cables was broken. There are two of these cables, one on each side. That didn’t explain why the door would not open, would not ‘lift’. I stood right beside the door and tried again using one of the hand-held remotes. I wanted a better view of what was going on. Same thing. Then I noticed that the big coil spring that sits above the door was broken. Now it made sense, that spring loads as the door goes down, storing the energy as torsion. When the garage door opens, that stored energy helps the garage door motor lift the door by pulling up on those cables. The opener motor can’t actually lift the door on its own.

As a bit of back ground info, the doors and related hardware including the springs and cables are all over 40 years old. The lift motors were replaces shortly after we moved here 20 years ago.

I needed to get the truck out so I called ‘The Wife’ and between the two of us and the lift motor, we were able to get the door up. I would then park the truck outside until such time as the door could be fixed. We closed the door, letting it down by hand. I put in a call to a couple of garage door companies. Yes, believe it or not, we actually have a couple of companies here in Squamish that fix, supply, install that kind of thing. One company said they could come by on Monday and fix it. Wow, not come by and just look at it, or come by a month from next Monday, but actually come by and fix it. Fantastic. And guess what? THEY DID, they turned up and had the parts needed, mainly the big coil spring and a lift cable, and they fixed it. Quickly, efficiently. They knew what they were doing and how to do it. They also checked over both doors, all the track fasteners and so on, and checked the setup of the doors and motors. And, an hour and a half later, they were done and gone. We are not used to that kind of service here on the west coast. It just never happens that way. Wow, we are not used to actual professional service around here. Its almost bewildering.

Something ‘The Wife’ has been talking about for several years is that she’d like to have those doors replaced. They are 40 years old and made of heavy wood, probably over 200 lb per door. Given that one of the doors has had a failure, and that we have found a company that could and would replace the doors, we will have them do that. Our opener motors had been replaced about 16 or 17 years ago and I asked about that. They checked the make, model etc and said that those particular units are very high quality and should last another 10 years so no need to replace them. They are the whisper drive units that use a belt rather than a chain and apparently are trouble free for a very long time. We could very well get by with just replacing the doors and tracks. That would save us a few bucks so thats a good thing.

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As you know, I had been enjoying the occasional motorcycle ride during the first half of February but then the weather crapped out and it became either too cold or too wet or both to ride. So, last weekend I gave in and put the cover back on the bike, the cover that it wears all winter. As well as giving the bike some mechanical protection and shielding it from dust and dirt, the cover also keeps me from seeing the bike parked along the back of the garage. You know, the old “out of sight, out of mind” thing. And that works, its a lot easier to ignore the bike when I can’t see it. It also helps trick the weather gods. When I put the cover back on, there was no end in sight to the unpleasant inclement weather we were having. Within a few days of covering the bike, the long range forecast suddenly changed. We are now enjoying almost a week of mild sunny days. I should have thrown the cover back on 3 weeks earlier.

doug

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From Russ

My book> addendum

It was the year 2019 when I decided to write a book honoring our parents on their 100th Wedding Anniversary. Wilbur and Emma would have been married 100 years on October 11th, 2020. The work is neither a study in genealogy nor history, but a pleasant, easy-read of the precious things remembered. One doesn't tackle a project of this size alone, but must enlist the help of many others, each with his own expertise. I might add, one doesn't decide such folly if he has his full faculties! Like - what makes me think I can write such a book? The short answer is - I can't. The kind people I must thank are listed in the back of the book, and the list simply keeps growing! Another person was added just this morning - her name - Nicole. Her expertise, Art & Design. She has designed the covers of seven short books previously written by this hopeless, if not helpless old man. She knows her stuff, and does excellent work!.

Except for a little tweaking here-and-there (or, maybe a LOT of tweaking), the manuscript is ready for "cover design" and printing. As I write this, it is March 1, 2022 - two years since the big 'lock-down' caused by the World Pandemic of the corona virus. All non-essential businesses like book printing were shut down, putting the project back at least two years. Now, we are facing much higher costs for everything - that is, if you are lucky enough to find what you need! But, I shouldn't complain, I still have my health, still living in my home, still able to pay-my-way (even for groceries which have doubled in price in the last few months!)

The Brubacher Family Tree, which was intended to accompany the book, is another story; it has been 'roughed-in' using pencil, but needs to be re-done in dark ink so as to 'copy' more effectively. So, why don't I do this? Short answer: Can't - my hands are too shaky now - my son, Greg has shown an interest in helping me, but his hands shake more than mine! Mine don't actually 'shake' - it's more like an involuntary twitch of my digits. I believe my brother Lorne was afflicted with this condition in his later years, but kept typing a funny story for the Squamidian right up until the end. Now that's dedication!!

No, I'm not asking for volunteers, but don't expect to get a copy of the family tree with your book when it is finally printed. I'll ask Nicole if she knows anybody who could type the information on a "spread-sheet", so it would look more professional, more like a tree and be easier to read. The 'hand-printed' version is on two pages, each about 24x30 inches - the size of a Highway Dept. Official road map (you can unfold one, but I bet you can't re-fold one!)

Russ.

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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

Spring is just around the corner and how do I know this? Well, for us here in our house, when Carole starts baking her famous “Irish Brown Bread” it’s usually just before “St Patrick’s Day” and that’s a sure sign of spring each year! We are at this very moment enjoying the results of her baking spree! This recipe is one that her mother used to bake when they still lived in Belfast Northern Ireland. Carole and her three brothers were all born in Belfast and lived there until her mum and dad decided to emigrate to Canada in the mid 60’s. It’s nice to enjoy some of the recipe’s that her mother handed down to Carole over the years. Carole, as I’ve said before is a terrific cook and sure does her mother’s recipe’s justice! The brown bread is only the tip of the Irish cooking Iceberg!

It’s funny that around the time of St Patrick’s Day the north American population automatically assumes that the most famous Irish dish is “Corned beef and Cabbage”. As it turns out, this dish is not something that originated in Ireland but it’s something that was dreamed up by an American chef located somewhere in the Boston area of Massachusetts! I guess it’s because the Irish population of that City needed a dish to call their own so a creative chef came up with putting Cabbage and Corned Beef together and the dish was so popular that it became a regular for St Paddy’s Day!

It’s not uncommon that certain foods are identified with different areas of the country let alone areas of the world but most of them actually originate in different countries! For instance, Waterloo Region is known for it’s “German” food background and I guess that’s because of the German population that first inhabited Waterloo County. So, this area became famous for it’s Pig Tails, cabbage rolls and Weiner Schnitzel and to this day, restaurants in the Region still offer up these three items on their menus. They are especially popular food items during the month of October due to the celebration of Oktoberfest the area’s popular German festival! Once again there is no shortage of German/Canadian Clubs in this area and they of course offer mostly German dishes to their members and patrons! When I think of famous food items in different areas, for instance Chicago is famous for it’s Hotdog’s and I’m determined to visit there some day to give their hotdogs a try. I can’t imagine what would be better about a Chicago hotdog than one made or cooked here in Ontario Canada but it would be worth a try. They say in Chicago that putting Ketchup on a hotdog is a sin but I personally wouldn’t have a hotdog without putting Ketchup on it. My favourite combination of toppings on a Hotdog are Yellow mustard, relish, onions ketchup and hot peppers with a side order of dill pickle slices! This combo can be found at such fast food establishments as “Sonny’s” in Waterloo or any Harvey’s location throughout southern Ontario! As far as I’m concerned, such places are primo dining locations when you are in the mood for a hamburger or hotdog with the right toppings. They also offer such fast food items as Fresh Cut Fries to top off the meal! Not to mention a chocolate milk shake to finish the ensemble!

MMMmmmmm….. I’m making myself hungry just writing about these food items! Of course it’s been over two years since we’ve taken to eating at any of these fast food burger joints! So, once the pandemic has settled down or cleared up completely you can imagine where I’ll be heading for a nostalgic food experience! I’ve been a patron of Sonny’s Burger Joint since it opened for business in 1965 and will still stick up for their popularity till the day I’m lowered into the ground! They were once accused by some competitor of serving horse meat in their burgers but if that’s the case, I’d be whinnying like a thoroughbred from enjoying their “Horse Burgers” for the past 57 years! LOL! I guess you can say I’m a fast food junkie but since my heart surgery and other medical problems my diet has changed drastically. I may not be able to frequent such places with my diet restrictions if I hope to stay alive and well for any number of years into the future but like “Groucho Marx” used to say as he rolled his big eyes toward the sky “I can Dream, can’t I!” Well, now that I’ve gotten myself to drooling all over my keyboard, I’d better head downstairs to enjoy the healthy meal that Carole has cooked up for us this evening! I may not be able to eat junk food the way I used to but eating healthier at home is a terrific substitute for “The Good Old Days” of eating and socializing in the parking lot of Sonny’s Drive In!

I can’t wait to see what’s on the menu for tonight’s dinner! Something sure smells delicious!

That’s my blurb for this week folks!

Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!

Bye for now… Greg

PS: Something To Think About>

How about specialty Food Trucks?

What’s your favourite?

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Have A Good One
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