The Squamidian Report – Nov. 1 / 03
Also in this issue:
North Nova News
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Hard to believe it’s the one-th of November already. Where did the year go? Last weekend was sunny and warm, just beautiful. So we worked pretty hard on the staircase section of the deck project. Building a flight of steps out of treated 2x12x8ft is hard work. They are heavy. I had to create my own risers to fit the location, which took time.
By late Sunday afternoon we were at a point where we could stop. I haven’t had the motorcycle out for weeks, been just too busy as well as having that somewhat rainy spell to deal with. My bike insurance expired this week so this was my last chance to go for a toot. I went to start up the bike but the battery was too low to get it going. I figured I could bump start it by coasting down the driveway. It didn’t work. Now I’m out on the road and there is now way I would be able to push it back up our rather steep drive.
A neighbour offered to help push the bike down the road. It required several tries but it finally fired up and ran. He nursed the engine while I got my helmet and jacket so I could head out on a run. The highway up to Warren’s is a great short ride. I gassed it up on the way home so the tank will not condensate while it’s sitting over the winter. However, if we find we are having nice weather during the winter, I can always put insurance back on. There were lots of days last winter that were warm and dry enough for biking.
We have had our first frost of the season this week. A clear cold front has moved in from the north bringing some chilly nights. Crystal clear days and starry nights, can’t ask for more than that.
I took Friday morning off so I could drive Sue to the airport. She is attending the annual TD thing that she goes to every year at this time in Toronto. She will visit with her parents etc this weekend and next weekend. The bank stuff is during the week. Normally she would just park at the Park and Fly but there was no need to leave the car there that long. Besides, I needed to go into the city to the Marks Work Store and find some cool weather cloths. The shopping choices in Squamish do exist but they are rather limited. And by dropping her off, then doing my shopping, I could be in and back out of the store in less than 5 minutes. That’s about the limit for me.
We are so busy at work that even though I had told them I needed the day off, they begged me to get back as soon as possible. So I was back by lunchtime. Bummer. And I even got fished into working this morning (Saturday). Bummer.
The highway between Whistler and Pemberton is open again. They have installed a temporary bailey bridge, just one lane. It will have to do until they can build a permanent one. The motoring public is demanding a warning system on the bridges out here that could indicate a bridge problem. Someone suggested a simple trip wire that would activate warning lights if the bridge were to move or fall down etc. The highway engineers declared that to be way too expensive and way too difficult to design and install. Someone then went to Radio Shack and costed out the components needed to build such a unit and it came to under $25 per bridge plus the actual lights. After some huffing and stammering, new bridges and ones in hazard areas are now going to get their warning lights.
The highway between Squamish and Whistler was closed again for a day in the construction zone. They got a little carried away with the blasting and brought a whole rock wall down onto the road. That took a bit to clean up.
And lastly, they take Halloween very seriously around here. A lot of decorating and dressing up. They also have lots of fireworks. Makes for a wild night.
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Scallop season is here! On this shore it lasts for about a month and a half depending on weather of course. We just bagged 9 pounds for the freezer and ate one pound as soon as we got home. The price this year is $8.00 a pound from our fisherman neighbour, last year it was $7.00. Peter has nicknamed his wife who is also our lawyer, the scallop lady! I thought she might find offense to this name but when she calls to tell us the scallops are ready, she uses that name as she laughs. Actually it’s the only seafood I like except for salmon. There are so many ways to serve scallops it makes for good eating any time. When I first moved here I made the mistake of pronouncing the a in scallops with an aaaa sound instead of an “awe” sound. The locals can tell right away you are not from here. In fact everyone used to say to me “you are not from here, are you?” Another one is the town of Pictou pronounced Pictoe not Pictoo as all the tourists say. I really wanted to fit in plus you get tired of people saying where are you from? As in Rome……
The leaves are falling fast and soon there will be nothing but bare trees. Luckily spruce trees surround us so it always looks green here. The last two nights the northern lights have been incredibly colourful. I unfortunately missed them but Peter said they were spectacular. He and Zane had been driving around and spotted them on their way home from checking out the fishing on Pictou wharf. (the smelts are running) Well we had only 3 kids for Hallowe’en, that’s one more than last year. Maybe we are on an upward trend. Every year I try to lure kids to our house on Hallowe’en by enticing them with extra good treats such as cans of pop and large bags of chips but they still head for the village of Scotsburn where there are many more houses. It’s always a long disappointing night waiting and hoping for someone to come. Years ago when there was more kids around we used to decorate the wood shed with aliens and pumpkin men but now it isn’t worth it all that work.
The boat is finally out of the water and sitting on its cradle at the marina. Having the boat taken out last ensures an early launch in the spring, as it isn’t stuck way at the back of the yard. Also he can get at it to do repairs and maintenance on the odd mild day throughout the off-season. Now that the boating season is over we are being drawn to the curling rink. As members we are asked now and again to help out. A curling bonspiel was booked for the beginning of November so the ice had to be in early. Well the weather has not cooperated for ice conditions and now it has all melted. The job of layering and freezing ice must be done all over again. I’m not sure if the bonspiel will happen after all. Our club has been doing renovations this past fall and it should look really good to new members. We need to expand the membership to keep the club active and under good repair. The building was built in the 1800 hundreds.
My brother Dennis is arriving tomorrow from Vancouver for a visit with us. He hasn’t been here since just before our mother past away four years ago. This will be a happier visit. Well I must get this off to Doug before he wakes up and finds out it is Saturday and starts putting the newsletter together. I have a slight advantage with the time difference of 4 hours. It is 9:19am here and he is sound asleep at 5:19am. I hope!!!
Until next time, Sus
Editor’s Note:
No such luck, I got stuck
working this morning.
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THE ONTARION REPORT
October
31, 2003
Happy Halloween everyone!
Here’s hoping you had a fun time. It’s been a lot of years since I got dressed up and made the rounds. In fact it’s been about 18 years I think. I used to wear a “Devil’s” mask that I bought for $15.00 on sale from the Hi Way Market. I think I bought it during the “Going Out Of Business” sale that they had. I had looked at the same mask at the Stag Shop in Waterloo and they wanted $65.00 for it. I still have it and it’s in perfect shape. It’s one of those heavy rubber masks that you pull over your head and it has a zipper up the back. You feel a bit claustrophobic when you first put it on but that seems to wear off quickly. Carole made me a flowing dark brown robe to wear with it and I would wear a pair of motorcycle gauntlets that I used to wear in cold weather way back when I had my bike. It made a perfect combination. Nobody could ever guess who it was. Usually after the kids were finished with their rounds, I’d head out around the neighbourhood with my shot glass in hand and beg for Scotch, Rye, Rum, Vodka or whatever Liquor they had handy. It was a good thing I was walking to accomplish my mission. By the time I finished the circuit I was in no shape to drive. I think I have a picture of myself in this getup so if I can find it, I’ll send it along with this weeks report. It’s worth seeing for sure. Those were the fun times during the 80’s. It was actually several years before a lot of the people I visited knew whom this masked man was. It’s amazing how you can change your voice inside a rubber mask. There seems to be quite a resonance in one’s voice because of the air space inside. This type of mask is quite hot but it’s only for an hour or so and the results of the tour are a lot of fun to look back on afterwards.
I think when people don’t know who’s inside the mask it makes the wearer a little braver when it comes to saying things. It’s kind of like this thing we are all using called E-MAIL. People tend to say things in e-mail that they wouldn’t normally say when face to face with the recipient. There’s also an element of confusion with e-mail. What is said is not always interpreted by the receiver to be what the sender meant.
What
is missing in an e-mail conversation is the accent and expression in one’s
voice. This can make the statement or comment take on a whole different
meaning. So when reading a letter sent via e-mail we must remember to consider
this aspect of electronic communication before taking offence to what we think
has been said. Give the sender the benefit of the doubt before writing them off
as rude and inconsiderate.
Getting back to the Halloween thing, the last time I wore the Devil’s costume was about a year ago. At Halloween last year I visited the Physiotherapy clinic that was treating me for the torn Triceps injury I suffered at work. They were and still are treating Carole for the back injury she suffered in the accident we were in two years ago last June. They had become quite familiar with us after so many months of treatments and we considered the whole staff of the place friends. I waited till Carole was in her session and I slipped out to the car and changed into the “Devil”. I then sneaked in the back door of the building where the clinic was located and down the back stairs. I opened the door and entered the clinic. Everyone in the place was momentarily stunned. The whole place went quiet as a cemetery! I slowly walked around the room made some guttural mumblings as I swiped the bowl of chocolate bars and candy off the front reception desk and emptied the whole thing into my pillowcase. Still, nobody had made any comment whatsoever. After leering around the room one more time, I took my leave. I went to the car and quickly changed out of the costume. I waited about 10 minutes and reentered the clinic as myself in time to pick Carole up from her treatment. One of the therapists and the receptionist asked me what I did with the candy and waited for a reaction. I just stood there and played innocent. At this point they really didn’t know what to think. Carole played right along with the gag of course and we left for home. I took the bag of goodies home and we ate them like any good thief would enjoy the spoils of his endeavor. The following week, we attended our therapy sessions as usual and maintained my innocence. It wasn’t until after we were finished with our treatments for that day that I went up to the store and returned with a bag containing 200 treat sized boxes of Smarties.
I said that I wasn’t admitting any guilt but thought I’d at least be generous and help them replace the candy that the culprit I was accused of being had taken from the mouths of their patients. To this day they aren’t sure if it was me or not and they asked Carole as she left the clinic last week if I was going to pay them a visit again this year. She just laughed and denied any knowledge of the incident. I’m not going to visit them this year. I prefer to leave them on the hook!
I’ve enclosed a picture of both Carole in her First Prize winning Witch costume and me in my Devil Costume.
I have many more stories of the masked Devil to tell but I think I’ll stop here for now.
Thanks for tuning in again and have a safe and fun Halloween.
PS: Something To Think About<
I’d rather not judge a person by his accomplishments…but by how hard he is trying.
PPS: I’ve just been told by Carole that her cousin in Australia said they don’t celebrate Halloween down under. I’m sure Karin, you remember the fun times from living here for so long. Do you miss the excitement of Halloween? Do your kids remember dressing up or were they born in Australia?
PPPS: Karin, a few weeks ago you called me a “Dil”. What is a “Dil”? Is this an Australian expression?
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I have posted Greg’s masked picture for anyone with a strong stomach.
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/
Have a good one..
the
doug