The Squamidian Report – May 31/03
Also in this issue:
North Nova News
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Well, we made two trips into the city last weekend but I only got stuck with going along once. Sue wanted to buy a dresser for the blue bedroom. She seems to like the white wicker stuff at that Pier One Import place. I tend to wait in the car when she goes into places like that. She found what she wanted but we would need the van to bring it home, thus the second trip the next day.
We also stopped at Staples and Future Shop, (they are side by side in the Park Royal Mall, West Van). I wanted a router and some network cable so we could hook Ryan’s laptop up to our cable Internet. He had picked up a used network card for it back in Kitchener.
No problem setting up the router with my desktop but we couldn’t get his laptop to ‘see’ his card. As Sue and Emily were going back into Van the next day (Sunday) with our van to pick up the dresser, he decided to go in with them and stop at a used computer store just down Marine from the Pier place. They concluded that his card was incompatible with his bios and sold him a different make. It works fine. Now he can use his laptop instead of my desktop on the net.
I had also discovered that my computer had a ram chip with a bad memory address. He picked up a used chip at the computer store (bad idea but they do take items back). The used chip wouldn’t function at all so it goes back next time they go into the city.
Now that Ryan’s laptop is on line, he doesn’t have to muck around with my computer all the time. He also has his desktop out here with him (read my other desktop) but he keeps it lean and clean as a music-editing machine. He’s hoping to do a bit of recording for some of the guys he’s met over the summer.
As a lot of you know, this area is famous for all the filming that is done out here. There are a lot of car commercials filmed along the Sea to Sky highway and it’s scenic lookouts. This last couple of weeks a movie company has been filming a Scooby Doo movie at Britannia Beach. (Not sure what a Scooby Doo is). The mine and museum area at Britannia is one big movie set with some spillage out onto the highway which interrupts traffic. The locals don’t mind as it brings big money to the area.
And lastly, somehow our old dogs have decided that Friday evenings are Dairy Queen night. Their big night out so to speak. They get it in their heads that we should be climbing into the van and taking them out for ice cream, there is no stopping them. Teamwork. Once they have gotten their needs through our thick heads, Yogi can make it down the stairs at lightning speed as he heads for the garage. Then watch your fingers as you hold his cone. He gets a little excited.
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It's hard to believe we have to wait until well into May before things start looking like spring around here. Spring in Nova Scotia just doesn't seem to happen when you think it should. The tulips and daffodils are blooming and the trees are showing a fresh green. I'm still digging up sod to make some new beds. I like the idea of getting rid of more lawn. Our lawn was never perfect as it just grew up on it's own after building the house so we have quite a mixture of clover, weeds, wild flowers and bits of real grass. Actually the dandelions are fairly few. I'm not very fussy when it comes to the lawn just as long as it gets cut. I'd rather not use fertilizer or any chemicals. A couple of year ago the spruce budworm was infesting its way through our Nova Scotia trees. Spraying was everywhere but in our area we decided it was a natural process and we would take our chances on whether the trees lived or died. The trees survived. Pleasant Park in Halifax ended up cutting most of their beautiful trees to try and get ahead of the infestation. Now the city of Halifax is passing a no pesticide law so it will be interesting to see what the lawns will look like in the future.
We had some excitement in our shop yesterday and today. I must have a bumblebee nest in the basement because I had to chase no less than seven large bees out the door. Luckily they are fairly docile and head for the fresh air after I turn the lights off. It became frustrating taking all this extra time away from my customers. I hope that's the end of them. Last fall it was mice moving in for the winter. I set traps in the basement to get them before they head up to the apartment above the shop. My tenants always had cats but not the present one so the problem was growing. I had to talk the tenant into getting a cat and I paid to have it fixed. So now I figure I own a good percentage of the cat. Maybe it can become the resident cat. Our building was built in 1910 and is one of the oldest in the village so I guess I have to expect some unwanted visitors.
The tourists are starting to come. The town of Pictou is coming alive again. Another building is being renovated to house a coffee house and a wood working shop. The waterfront is beautiful and many people enjoy strolling up and down the street. By July you won't be able to walk without bumping into tourists everywhere. Local musicians play down at the marina and the sound carries out over the water. Peter is almost ready for his cruises. He hired a student today and now the training begins. He figures it will take a week of sea trials and then the final inspection by the Department of Transportation. The good weather should be here by that time for the tourists.
Until next time,
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THE ONTARION REPORT
May 30, 2003
Hello everyone! Hope you all had a good week. It’s been a good week here in Kitchener. The weatherman said it was going to rain all last weekend and off and on all week as well. Consequently, I didn’t work on the garden pond. Of course, the weatherman was WRONG! It’s been quite nice weather wise this past week. We had a couple of little downpours but none to the magnitude that the forecasters were calling for. Oh well, come yesterday, I decided that it was time to at least put the shovel in the ground. So my brother in law came over and we started digging. I’ve found that a back yard pond is something that you have to design as you go along. We had all kinds of ideas but none that were the final product. There’s nothing really much to see at this point so I’ll hold off sending any pictures of the project until it’s looking more like a pond. Carole and I are sure it will be lovely when it’s finished. According to the experts, it’s a 3-4 hour project. Well, we’ve got 4 hrs into it right now and we’ve barely scratched the surface. At least at this point, I now know what materials I need to pick up to finish the job starting Monday. I say Monday because that’s when my helper will be available again. We figure we’ll finish it in 3 days. A far cry from 3 hours! I’ll keep you posted as to the progress and will include a finished photo as well.
Tomorrow is Adam’s (our son) birthday. Hard to believe he’ll be 27 years old. I remember his birth like it was yesterday. We really are proud of him. He’s turned out to be a very fine young man. He finishes his last week of college for his apprenticeship in Electrical next week. He is taking a week off to review all of the material from the 10-week course and then he is going to write his Electrician’s license mid June. Apprenticeships take anywhere from 4 to 5 years to complete here in Ontario.
I know Adam will
certainly be happy to have it completed. He’s worked very hard to get where he
is and deserves credit for being so successful at his job and his studies.
He’ll be relieved to have the final decree framed and on the wall. I think
trades are the way to go these days. It seems to go in cycles. When I graduated
from high school trades were just starting to become a popular choice with
people my age. A lot of my fellow classmates went on to University and wound up
with no better way of making a living than I had. Grant it, there were lot’s of
them that did go on to hugely successful lives as well. It seems that for many
years, the University education is the way to go and then there comes a time
when the country is suffering from a lack of trades people. Right now in
Ontario the Government is advertising heavily for young people to enter the
trades. I have always said that we need a lot of thinkers, planners and
managers but…..we need 10 times that amount to actually do the work! I guess it
balances out eventually. I know that I have never regretted serving my
apprenticeship in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. I got my license just
before deciding to take a career with the Fire Dept. I’ll explain that one some
day as well. It’s a long story! Anyway, as long as our children choose a path
that provides them with a full life, it really doesn’t matter which one it is.
I know now that no matter what Adam does career wise from this point on, he’ll
always have his Electrician’s License to provide him with work. I know that I
always felt secure in knowing that if I ever gave up the firefighting, I could
always go back to doing refrigeration and air conditioning. Thank goodness I
never had to make that choice. Well, I should wrap it up for now. Hope you all
have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you again next week!
By for now! GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
Silence is one of the great arts of conversation!
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Have a good one..
the
doug