The Squamidian Report – Oct. 10 / 09
Issue #385
Including:
A Message From Warren and Family
From Carol & Al
From Vivyan
The Ontarion
Hi All,
For anyone who is interested, there are currently 6 planets visible in out beautifully clear autumn skies. That bright object after dark in the evening is Jupiter, and if you look very carefully, you can see Mercury and Saturn along with bright Venus just as dawn arrives. At the same time Mars is high overhead. So where is number 6?, look down at your feet. You are standing on it.
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I think I’ve mentioned how difficult it is to get competent service and trade people around here. They all seem to want to work up in Whistler where they can do an abysmal job and get away with charging through the nose, or they want to work in the city. We ran into that when we had our windows replaced several years ago. We ended up having a window company from the city come up to do the installation but they didn’t actually do a very good job of it. Then we needed the carpeting replace and couldn’t even get the local carpet company to come and take a look. So we ended up having someone from the city do it. They did a great job but the point is, you can’t get anyone here to do anything unless you shower them with copulas amounts of money. Then they only want to take the money and run.
Where this is all leading is to the fact that our house has a stucco exterior that needed some attention. Our climate is hard on outdoor surfaces and the house is somewhere just over 20 years old. It needed something to protect the stucco, which was deteriorating. We had heard of a liquid vinyl material that has been used with great success all up and down the west coast and has been used to rejuvenate everything from old houses to high-rise buildings in Vancouver. And, when applied by the company that sells the stuff, comes with a 40-year guarantee.
So ‘the wife’ went to the Vancouver Home Show last spring and talked to the company. They really didn’t want to be bothered with a house up in Squamish but had already landed 2 or 3 other houses to do here so they agreed to give us an estimate. That worked out fine as the estimator was able to look at all the homes on the same trip. We were given a price and a timetable of mid June and we went with it. Mid June came and went but the painters never showed up. Then one day in early August we came home to find that the house had been power washed. That’s the first step in the liquid vinyl process. However, nothing happened after that. So by the end of August ‘the wife’ started calling but the company didn’t seem to understand what the problem was. Turned out that the paint crew that started the job didn’t want to do it because of the height of our house and simply didn’t bother to come back or tell their boss that they didn’t come back. By mid September the boss had clued in to what had happened and sent up another crew. He even came up with them and checked them into a local motel for the week it would take to do the job. They then came up to the house and when the crew saw it, the foreman decided he had a sore neck and they simply left leaving the boss who is also the estimator standing there. He had to phone us and apologize and explain what had happened.
Finally a crew was found who would do the job and they came up in late September when it was nice and sunny. They spent several days just prepping the house, it’s a big job and they did it right. Then they applied the primers and the liquid vinyl. We had given them the colours over the phone. There are 3 colours, the siding, the trim and the other trim. Well, they got the siding done and it looks great. They had to pull out for a few days because of the weather. They came back mid last week and got the first trim colour on and it looks great. Then they started the second trim colour. I got a frantic cell-phone call at work asking if I could slip home for a few minutes. The colour looked WRONG, very, very wrong. So I popped home and it was putrid. We don’t know if the colour was written down wrong or mixed wrong but it was a horrid mustard baby-diarrhea yellow rather than the yellowy brown of the colour chip.
The painters had to pull out again as they had some stuff to do in the city. They would come back in a few days and that gave us time to figure out the colour problem. We simply chose a darker brown and once applied it looked great. So now the exterior of the house is all spruced up and looking good.
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And now, a message from Warren and his son and daughter. We have known it was coming for a long time but none of use could ever be truly prepared.
doug
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Hello Everyone:
We're sorry to have to tell you that Janice passed away on October 3, 2009. Having you all able to be here for the reunion meant so much to her.
A special garden tribute will be held in memory of Janice at her home, the Tantalus View Retreat on Saturday, October 10, 2009. She was an avid gardener and spent many years with Warren creating a paradise for all to enjoy. She touched so many people through her love of gardening. Her vibrant personality was experienced by all who stayed at the chalet. If anyone feels they would like to make a donation in her honour, the Squamish Hospital was incredibly accommodating and caring.
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After a long and valiant fight, Janice Brubacher finally lost her battle with cancer. Our hearts and prayers go out to Warren, their children Jason and Becky, their four small grandchildren and all the family. Janice was a joy to know. She inspired us with the strength and courage she has displayed through all the difficult years. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Janice and Warren were living sustainable lives and were one with the land long before "green" became trendy. Janice's spirit and soul was reflected in her wonderful garden. Our picture of Janice in her garden was taken with the old fashion camera, not a digital, so I can't include it here but I will always hold that picture of her in my mind. I wish all of you could have seen Janice's garden and have had the privilege of knowing her. We can't fly to the west coast to be a support to Warren and family but we do send all our love. I understand we are not to send flowers so next spring we will plant a tree in Janice's memory and hope some of you honour her memory this way also.
Warren, we love you and feel for you in your deep pain.
love,
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Where does the time go? Did we have a summer? It seems I just got up in May and it's already October. We did have our trip to Squamish in July and I’m so glad that we did.
We had a great time. As well as spending time with Doug & Sue and of course Ryan, we spent time with Janice and Warren. I’m so thankful for the day we spent at Warrens. Everyone climbed to the lookout but Janice and me. So we spent a couple of hours on our own. I'm so thankful now for that time together, as I realized what a wonderful person Janice was. We all miss her, but her warmth will remain in our hearts. Our sympathy goes out to Warren, Jason and Becky and those grandchildren that Janice loved so much. Also my sympathy to Doug and Sue who were so close to Janice and Warren.
Sue, I know how you are going to miss her as you have spent so much time together. We are very lucky, we have a great granddaughter she knows us and has such wonderful smiles. While no one can replace Janice, the little one fills a hole in the heart. Time runs out on us all but its great to enjoy the little ones as they accept us as imperfect as we are.
Thinking of everyone right now.
God bless,
Vivyan
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Hello
Everyone!
Well,
it’s Oktoberfest time here in Kitchener once again and once again the weather
is rainy and cold! It seems that every year (almost) since this festival
started it’s rainy during the 10 days of events. They never seem too upset by
this weather but I’m sure the organizers and participants would rather have
sunshine and warmth. It’s supposed to be dry at least for Saturday and Sunday
but for the parade on Monday its back to rain and cold temperatures. What a
shame that the biggest event of the festival gets the poorest weather. Oh well,
maybe if they all fill up on Beer before the parade they won’t even notice the
rain! I’ve only attended the Oktoberfest celebrations once and that was the
first year of the festival back in the late 60’s ( I think that’s when it
started?) Anyway, I was out with a few buddy’s and we went to the Concordia
Club on Ottawa St. That year it was nothing but a big drinking bash for big
drunks. We made it about half way through the evening in their big tent and a
fight broke out right in front of me. One of the guys swinging his fists
managed to bump into a woman standing a few feet in front of me and she turned
and stumbled towards me and puked right on my feet! YUCK! Right on my new
TopSider running shoes! I headed for the washroom but was unable to clean them
enough to save them. Besides, getting puke on my hands wasn’t my idea of a good
time either so I dropped them directly in a garbage can. I then carefully tip
toed outside and haled a cab that was in line to take people home. It cost me
$20.00 for the cab ride from there to the North ward where we lived and that
was a LOT of money back then. I have never attended an Oktoberfest since that
evening. It’s just not my cup o tea or mug o beer I guess! I leave the drinking
and polka music up to the visitors from out of town and the few KW residents
that do attend this event. They can have it! I do hope that the regional police
don’t have too many drinking drivers to deal with this year. It’s always a
concern when Oktoberfest comes around.
However,
I’m sure they will be busy now that the alcohol limit for driving is .05 to .08
instead of just .08. That means that having just one beer per hour is even more
important than it used to be. I’d be willing to bet that NONE of the
Oktoberfesters will be able to limit themselves to just one beer per hour! I
sure hope they all have designated drivers to chauffer them around this week. I
responded to many a car crash that was the fault of drinking drivers.
Unfortunately they usually wound up killing or seriously injuring an innocent
totally sober driver and their passengers and coming out of the crash without
more than a scratch themselves. I think it’s time for a total ban on drinking
and driving. If you’re caught with any alcohol in your system, you’re done for!
You should lose your license for a year and get slapped with a big fine as
well! Well, that’s enough about booze and festivals for this week.
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I’d like
to mention just one more topic that is bugging the hell out of me again!
Political
scandals! I say it once more, “Here we go again!” with the Liberal party of
Ontario this time. The last big scandal that incurred a slap on the wrist for
the Liberals was Federal but we know that whether Feds or Provincials a Liberal
is a Liberal! This time it’s not necessarily theft of taxpayer’s funds but
misappropriation of same. The Liberals in charge of the Ontario Health system
have managed to spend (or hand out) a BILLION of our dollars and accomplish
NOTHING! What the hell are we allowing this to go on for? The Minister in charge
of the Health system for Ontario has turned a blind eye to the dispersal of a
billion dollars to fund a computerized record keeping system for the dept of
health that after 7 years is only being used for 1% … get that 1% of the
departments record keeping! What kind of management is this? Of course after
the auditor general made this report public the Health Minister resigned. A fat
lot of good that’ll do now! Although they say nothing illegal has been done, I
say it’s still a crime to have wasted a billion of our taxpayer’s dollars. When
you read the report and see where this money went, it’s hard to believe that
awarding “friends” of the Liberal party huge contracts to work on this system
wouldn’t lead back to “kickbacks” being paid to Liberal members as a hidden
commission from their so called “friends”! I’m sure if the auditor general or
the RCMP did some deeper investigating they’d find criminal activity in there
as well. At any rate, I don’t think that just the Health Minister should be out
of a job, I think the Liberal Government of Ontario should be ousted from power
and replaced by the reigning opposition!
I’m sure
you all know by now that I am not a Liberal supporter but in this case I’m not
just trying to suggest the we dump the Liberals because I see an opportunity,
I’m saying this because the Liberals for the umpteenth time have shown that
they CANNOT be trusted with governing our province in a responsible manner. Mr
McGuinty has stated that he takes full responsibility for the Health system mess
and vows to straighten it out. I say, he does NOT deserve another chance nor
does his party! It’s time to hand the reigns of government to a party that will
do their job properly and not just think they have nobody watching their every
move! It might just be time for a Provincial election as well as a Federal one!
I’m sure
if the Feds held an election right now we’d have a Conservative majority
government as the outcome and with the Provincial Liberals making such a mess
we’d see them out on their asses as well!
TIME TO
WAKE UP! Both federally and provincially before we have another poo storm hit
the fan thanks to the Liberal Party!
Enough
said!
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>
Have you
started your Christmas shopping yet?
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.