The Squamidian Report – Nov. 24 / 07
Issue #287
Also in this issue:
From the Shores of Lake Huron
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We finally had some sunshine, about a week of the stuff. Very strange in deed. Clear blue skies, day and night. Well, the night sky isn’t really blue, its black and starry. But the sunshine came at a cost. It has been colder here than it usually would be in mid January. But then we have been having late fall and early winter temperatures since September so we shouldn’t be surprised by the chill. However, we’ll take the sunshine any way we can get it.
And get this, because it has been going all the way down to below freezing at night, the emergency shelters in Vancouver have opened so people can escape the numbing cold. I guess its all relative.
*
I know you have all been wondering, but have been too polite to ask. How do we park all those bikes and a car and truck in our garage without bumping into things? The answer is actually quite simple. We ‘red dot’ park. A while ago CTC was advertising cool little laser parking lights. These are small laser light things that mount to your garage ceiling. You park you car in the spot you want it, then aim the laser at a spot on the car that you can use as your target. The light is turned on by a built in motion sensor so when you pull in, the laser comes on. The bright little light shines on your car as you pull forward and when you get to where the light is on its target, you are in the right place. You can park within inches of things that you really don’t want to bump into each and every time. No fuss, no mess, just that simple.
*
Now this is kind of neat. Last weekend we were in Home Depot. Sue usually heads to the home improvement sections and I tend to wander over to the tools and other assorted stuff department. They had a limited number item on-sale that looked interesting and it was $100 off the normal price. So I bought one. Then last evening we were again wandering around in Home Depot and they still had 2 remaining left from the original half dozen. Only thing is, they were reduced by another $40 to encourage someone to clear out the remainders.
Well, I was totally bugged. I was going to say ‘pissed off’ but this is a family newsletter. So I went up to the service desk to read their posted return policy. While reading it, a clerk came up and asked if there was something I needed help with. So I told her that the item I had purchased last weekend had been reduced again and that I wanted to return mine, so I could turn around and re-buy it at the better price. “Not necessary” she said. All I had to do was produce my receipt and she could reimburse me, then sell it back right on the spot. Just that simple. I still had the receipt in my wallet. So that’s what we did. I was going to say I was now ahead by $40 but it would be more accurate to say I’m now less behind by $40, and still have the item I was willing to purchase in the first place.
doug
****
Greetings everyone.
Well its the last week of November and where has the year gone? Just30 more days of shopping till Christmas. I don't want to sound like scrooge but the only people that seem to win in this situation are the retailers. Mind you according to them they never make any money. It simply amazes me that the day after Christmas you can buy the same thing you bought two weeks prior (I know it's mainly the men that leave it that late) for half the price. It's totally mind boggeling.
Our fish are hatching nicely with about 80 % of them hatched last Wednesday when I and my crew were in to clean filters and pick the bad eggs out. I have three new members to which this is a new experience for them so I kind of coach and observe and let them do the work. It works for me!
Wednesday evening and into Thursday we had a wee bit of snow maybe 3/4 to 1" maximum. Can you believe that they closed schools and cancelled buses up here? What’s the world coming too. Maybe they should get horses and sleighs to get around. This is not even the heart of winter. The weatherman calls for snow and everyone panics, but alas that’s the world we live in now. How did we survive as kids, having to walk to school no matter how much snow there was? I recall as a kid coming from Kitchener to the Walkerton area to visit grand parents the snow banks were halfway up the telephone poles. Maybe people had more time and didn't drive like if you don't get there in record time you vehicle may become a pumpkin of something similar. Oh well enough sarcasms for this week. Everyone have a safe and happy week.
****
Hello
everyone!
Well, its
45 years today that John F Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas Texas. I can
remember it as if it were 45 days ago! I was sitting in my grade nine history
class and the announcement came over the PA system at KCI. Our history teacher
Mr Bolden was actually in shock when we heard the words “President Kennedy Has
Been Shot”. I guess we all were in shock at that statement. We had just lived
through the Cuban missile crisis which President Kennedy had managed to
successfully defuse. There was still a lot of tension in the world and people
wondered what would become of all of us with Kennedy dead. He seemed to be the
one solid leader we could count on to keep a world war from happening. As it
turned out, we managed to keep the world in one piece and here we are today
thinking back to ’63 and never imagining we’d ever be where we are today. Who
would have imagined a world without a divided Germany or without a communist
Russia? As it turns out Kennedy wasn’t the only common sense leader in the free
world and although he was a great one, we managed to do just fine without him.
It was a sad day indeed and one can only wonder how the world would have turned
out if he hadn’t been taken from it in such a sudden and shocking manner. We’ll
just have to go on wondering and thanking the people who took control of the
reigns. We’ve still got many problems in this world but as we all know, there
always is someone willing to lead. There will never be another John Fitzgerald
Kennedy but as history has proven, there are other great men in this world and
they will carry on.
*******
We’ve
just had our first snow fall for this winter season and it turned out to be
less threatening than our weather predictors predicted. They tell us it’ll be
gone by Monday at the latest and then, who knows what’s next! The snow as I’ve
said before doesn’t bother me. I have a couple of choices when the weather is
bad, I can either pour myself another cup ‘o tea and snuggle up in front of the
TV or bundle up and head outside to blow the snow. It sure is nice to have that
choice and when I choose the latter it’s on my terms. I don’t have to do the
snow removal in the middle of a blustery storm. I can wait it out until things
calm down outside. That’s the luxury of being retired and I have earned that
luxury if I do say so myself.
*
We spent
the first couple of days of this week putting up the Christmas decorations both
outside and inside. I managed to successfully erect the Christmas tree and
Carole did a terrific job of decorating it. We are the first family to have
their tree up that I know of and it sure looks great! We have it standing in the
hallway of our main floor at the base of the staircase to the upper level. I
don’t know if you can see it from outside but I’m sure if you peek through the
living room window as you drive or walk by you will see it sparkling and
twinkling in all its glory. It’s already lifted our spirits just by shining
into every room on the main floor of the house. Things were getting a tad
gloomy with the threat of winter looming in the very near future. We should be
in these better spirits at least until after the new year and then we’ll only
have a couple of months of cccold to put up with before Spring sets in and snow
is gone once more. I don’t want to wish our months away too quickly, just the
cold weather that seems to make things gloomy. I’m sure they’ll pass with
relative speed and we’ll be hearing about all the rain in BC once more. (Sorry
Doug)
For now,
I’m going to try to stay positive about our winter and try my best to enjoy
whatever it is that Mother Nature sends our way. I’m sure if we all try real
hard, we’ll get through it without any major mishaps.
Gotta go
for now!
Thanks
for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next time in The
Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
Are your
tires ready for winter? Is your windshield scraper still in the trunk of the
car? Do you have winter washer solution in your windshield pump?
****
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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