The Squamidian Report – Aug. 21 / 04

 

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Also in this issue:

North Nova News

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

I’ve had a lot of trouble this summer coming up with interesting stuff to write about, mostly because I’ve spent so much time working that there hasn’t been enough left over time to get into trouble with. And of course it has been so hot out which tends to leave one pretty beat at the end of the day that there is no left over energy even if there was some left over time. So it all means that I’m reduced to babbling on about nothing, just like in this paragraph. And you thought it was easy!

 

Last Sunday Warren and I played at the Britannia Beach Mining Museum’s arts and crafts show. Actually, a whole bunch of performers played. Each act had their assigned half hour to do their thing. We were kind of lucky in that our time slot was at 11:30 in the morning, before it go too hot out. There was no real audience, just lots of tourists milling around so it didn’t really matter what we did or how it sounded. In fact, their sound system was the pits so we probably sounded pretty bad. Kind of funny how in a situation like that the milling masses of people tend to avoid the stage area, like they could catch something icky if they looked up at us.

 

However, we enjoyed ourselves and had fun. Sue bought a jade wind chime thing in one of the stores. That store operator actually asked Warren and I if we’d like to play in her store but we decided that it would distract from whoever was on stage at the time. Besides, I was getting hungry by then. We figured this event was a good trial run for when we play the Brackendale Fall Fair, which is actually on Labour Day. That’s not in the fall at all, go figure. Most of the performers playing the Britannia thing are also doing the Brackendale thing so we wouldn’t want to tick anyone off, too much.

 

Britannia is that spot along the highway where the old mining building hangs down the side of the mountain and the rail line runs beside the highway, squeezed between it and the Sound. It is where that big old mining truck is on display and the fruit stands are. There are major development plans for the area. In fact, 94 building lots of various sizes went on the market this past week and they all sold, in just 4 days. The developer didn’t even have a chance to advertise or market them.

 

Incidentally, Britannia Mountain, which towers over the village and valley, was named after the British Admiralty survey ship Britannia on its mission in 1859. It would be another 100 years before the Sea to Sky highway would open the area to other than ship and rail traffic.

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Our long, almost endless run of very hot sunny weather is about to take a short brake. We are in for a couple of desperately needed rainy days. Everyone around here is looking forward to the rain, even if it is just for a short time. Some cooler days will also be welcome.

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Sue spent this past week way up there in Yellowknife, NWT. She sure gets into some interesting places. The branch they audited was pretty laid back. The people working in it figured that something like a robbery was very unlikely as everyone knew everyone else and there was no where to escape to. The branch manager showed them all around town and the area and kept taking them out for supper. Perhaps he was trying to get on their ‘good’ side.

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The PNE opens this weekend in Vancouver. I guess that means the CNE opens in Toronto. I have no interest is going to either. Too many people, too much traffic. Too hot.

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Any hey, good news. After a long silence, Nova Scotia Sus has sent in an article.

 

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North Nova News

Well Evelyn has inspired me to write again.  I really enjoyed her write-up and was relieved the weather didn’t put too much of a damper on the trip.  Of course the sun came out and stayed ever since they left.  Summer finally arrived!!!  Better late than never.  We had a wonderful visit with them.  It was fun preparing the house for the “70’s guests”.  I got a great buy on a day bed for the sunroom and a very comfortable twin bed for the laundry room.  Yes the laundry room became a bedroom for Evelyn and Ed for a week.  It’s not a small room so there was plenty of room for twin beds.  I borrowed another twin bed from my neighbour to make a pair.  Another friend of mine lent me some comforters and Dad had extra sheets.  This was also a good excuse to buy some new pillows and towels I’ve been putting off for about 10 years.  I had fun getting everything ready and felt this must be what it is like to own a bed and breakfast house.  Only better because these guests made themselves right at home, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning and doing laundry.  I was the guest!!!!   The only complaint I heard was from Russell who said he was tired of screwing the door handle every time he needed the washroom and that someone else should take a turn. You see we have wooden burls from trees for door handles and it kept getting loose from so much use. 

 

Vivyan and Lorne slept in the sunroom under the stars (if it wouldn’t have rained so much) and had to get up early because it is the brightest room in the house with all the windows (no curtains) and skylights and definitely no privacy.  Good thing we live in the woods.  Russell and Barbara seemed happy in the spare bedroom.  It was a busy household but a happy one.  Everyone got along so well and definitely enjoyed each other’s company.  I know we did.  I can’t think of a better group of people to have.  No offense to anyone else.  We are fortunate to have such great fun-loving relatives.  I feel close to you all.

 

Peter has been fairly busy lately with the sailing tours.  Some days he has as many as 3 cruises.  We took a day off and sailed over to Pictou Island.  This island is about 9 miles out of Pictou Harbour, which is about an hour and a half sail.  The island has about 11 people living year round on it and in the summer that swells to probably a hundred.  There are cottages around the shoreline.  They have no store or gas station so everything has to be brought over by boat.  Stocking up for the long winter is quite an ordeal for those permanent residents.  I have met them in Sobeys with cart after cart loaded with provisions.  They are cut off from civilization in winter with only a small plane that brings in the mail or flies someone in or out once in awhile.  The plane lands on the only road.  There are old cars here and there that need no license or inspection to get them from the wharf to their homes.  Some leave the keys in and let anyone drive them.  The children are home schooled until they reach high school and then stay on the mainland during school terms.  They have phones and satellite dishes but no power, only what they can generate themselves.  You can look up their website:  www.pictouisland.com the big attraction to us is the beautiful beaches and a sailing destination.  Boatloads of young people go over in the summer to party so the best time to be there is during the week. 

 

I always enjoy reading the Squamidian every week.  Keep up the good work everyone.  I will do my best to contribute once in awhile.

 

Until next time;   Sus

 

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

August 21, 2004

 

Hey there everyone!

 

Can you believer Summer is almost over? Did I say Summer, what Summer? I guess it could have been worse, it could have been more like the Maritimes weather. YUCK! We have friends in Saint John NB and they say if they’ve seen 2 dozen sunny days since May they’re lucky. Let’s hope we at least have a long “Indian Summer” this year. At least the grass has been easy to maintain this year! Before I go any further, I must say a hearty “Thank You” to Clyde for having the foresight to stockpile all that Killex and Diazenon last year. It sure came in handy for me to be able to just skip up to his place and pick up a litre or two whenever I had to control some pesky Dandelions or Stink Bugs and Grubs this year.

 

You Deserve a “Gardener of the Year” award this year Clyde for being so thoughtful and generous with your chemicals. Thanks again!

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OK, back to reality! I guess it’s been a record year for NOT having to use chemicals on our lawns. In fact, I only just last week spread a light dusting of “Grub Killer” on the lawn after watching a flock of Grackles feasting on my front lawn for 2 days. I figured they’d never get them all so I had to dig out a small bag of the stuff from the shed and give the yard a couple of passes with the spreader. I must have gotten rid of the Grubs since I haven’t seen a Grackle around since. Either that or my “Grub Killer” did a number on the Grackles!!!!??? Oooops! I sure hope not!

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I finally got around to purchasing the license sticker for the MGB. I still had to pay full price for the darned thing even though the year is half over. It’s got a renewal date of December 11th on it as we use Carole’s birth date for the MG license. We took the MG to a car show at the Mohawk Raceway last Sunday in Milton Ont. It was quite a large show. Actually, it was more of a “Cruise Day” than a car show. Car Show implies that there is judging taking place and prizes awarded to be best vehicles of the day. This was just a day to display your classic vehicle for the sheer pleasure of doing so. Our MG was one of only 4 British cars on display. There were over 700 vehicles in the lot that day. I bought a ticket on a $50,000.00 Cobra that some Cambridge charity is raffling off. I put the ticket in Carole’s name and told her that I just know she’s going to win the car.

 

She said “I hope you’re right, like you were right about winning that photo contest you entered”! On the way out of the show about 4 hours later, we walked past the Cobra display again and I noticed that the “Draw Date” was December 11th. Well, it just so happens that December 11th is Carole’s birthday. As I pointed it out to her, I said “Now I’m sure you’ll win the car”! The last time I entered a contest for anything worthwhile, was back in 1998. It was a contest put on by CKCO TV for a trip to Jamaica. The trip was worth over $8,000.00 and the draw was on December 11th as well. I said to Carole that I entered that contest so I would win the trip to give to her for her birthday. Damn if I didn’t win the trip that night. Sooooooo, this has to be a good omen! I hate to rush the seasons but, now I can hardly wait for December 11th to see if our luck holds out this time too. Along with the entry into the car show that day, Mohawk gave the first 500 vehicles drivers a grab bag.It contained a tee shirt, a dash plaque with the event date on it and a coupon for $5.00 worth the Slot Machine tokens. We went into the Casino after only about 20 minutes to cash in our coupon. We wound up winning $200.00 each just minutes after sitting down at the slot machines. We spent a total of $40.00 of our own and the $5.00 in their tokens by the time we finished the day. We went home with a nice profit of $400.00 after playing for about 3hours. We also ate lunch for free with the points we have accumulated on our Slots Membership cards. All in all, not a bad day! I had been unable to obtain a license sticker at the mall kiosk so I drove the MG for the day without the new sticker. I guess I was kind of foolish doing that because it might have cost me $100.00 if I’d gotten caught by Johnny Law! Fortunately we didn’t get stopped and I was able to visit the License office today and buy a sticker. I also had to buy a new battery for the MG before we could take it to the car show. The old one was about 10 years old and just wouldn’t hold a charge anymore. A quick trip to CTC and $75.00 later and we were mobile once again. It’s amazing what a new battery can do for your car. Now all we have to do is hope that the weather for the next couple of months is conducive to driving a sports car with it’s top down.

 

I have it on good authority that we are in for a wonderful Fall season and Carole and I certainly hope that good authority is right. My “good authority” is a Mennonite farmer that I met last week at the market. He used to store my MG in his barn for us when we lived in Linwood and he said he’s sure the Fall will be exceptional this year. Hmmmm….. I sure hope he knows what he’s talking about.

 

Anyway, I must go for this week. I thank you all for tuning in once again and I hope you all have a great week!

 

Talk to  you again next time in The Ontarion Report!

 

Bye for now…..   GREG.

 

PS: Something to Think About>

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

 

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Have a good one..

the doug