The Squamidian Report – Aug. 19 / 17
Issue #795
Including:
From Russ
From Lorne
The Ontarion
Hi All,
For those of us in the Lower Mainland the smoke has cleared, for now at
least. It was a long 2 weeks of choking and hacking and not being able
to see very far. But believe it or not, there is a down-side to having
a clear sky and nice fresh ocean breezes and that is that because the
majority of BC residents live in the Lower Mainland, there is no longer
the same media coverage and political push to deal with the on-going
fires and the problems faced by the residents of those fire areas. The
media is Lower Mainland centric as is the political clout. All of a
sudden those issues take back stage. All of a sudden those issues are
forgotten as life gets back to normal for the people who were affected
the least.
The inconveniences that the residents of the Lower Mainland had to
endure besides smoky air were things like sport events being cancelled
due to the air quality. A Redbull foot race up the Olympic ski jumping
hill near Whistler had to be shut down as that race tended to break
even the most extreme athletes and to hold it under bad air conditions
would have resulted in a few of them expiring right on the spot. And
because of the smoke at that time, all VFR air traffic was grounded
including the Redbull race plane that was going to do some maneuvers
over the ski jumping hill event. That plane was stranded at our little
airport for most of that 2 week period.
The few showers that passed through the coastal areas were very welcome
but not enough to do any good, in fact they may have done more harm
than good because the same brain dead self centered morons that have
now forgotten that most of the province is still burning seem to think
that life should be back to normal, with no back country closers, not
water restrictions and so on. Just because a few millimeters of rain
came down. Not even enough to settle the dust. And as for the forest
fires, well, it will take the rains of fall and the snows of winter to
put out most of them. That won't even be enough for any of the fires
that get burrowed in deep into some dried out swamp or peat area. Those
could very well spring back to life again next spring. Oh well.
And now a bit about the eclipse that will happen on Monday; while the
path of totality will past way south of us up here in Canada, many of
us will at least see a pretty good partial eclipse with around a 75%
coverage of the sun. For viewing purposes one must use proper equipment
that will fully protect one's eyes. Most of us including myself do not
have official solar viewing glasses or filters but it turns out that
#14 welding glass will do the job just fine. Thats the glass that is in
the little window of a welding helmet. It is dark enough and will
filter out the damaging non-visible frequencies. In fact, #14 is the
darkest welding glass available. Down-side is that pretty well any
welding supply place is probably sold out. There has been quite a
run on that stuff, at least around here. In checking out welding glass
there are web sites that claim you can 'stack' lesser rated glass, such
and a #5 and a #10 and the result is a #15 piece of glass which should
work just fine for viewing the eclipse. Other sites say no, stacking
will not produce the same effect, and still other sites claim that even
the lower rated glass still filters out the harmful frequencies
but not the brightness so stacking is ok because that will result in a
dark enough total. Who knows. Either way, be careful. There is a
fantastic web site that gives the timing and location of the eclipse
and partial coverage areas giving a pretty good idea of what you can
see from your location. Enjoy.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/25/16019892/solar-eclipse-2017-interactive-map
doug
****
From Russ
In last week’s Squamidian, Greg wanted us to send in something that
“jogged the old memories”, and he mentioned that music might just do
the trick.
I wonder how many of you readers will ‘harken back to the 40’s?
String of pearls, by Glenn Miller
Blueberry Hill, by Glen Miller; Ray Eberle, vocal Amapola (Pretty
Little Poppy) by Jimmy Dorsey; Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell, vocal
I’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time, by The Andrew Sisters
Tangerine, by Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell, vocal
A Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square, by Glenn Miller; Ray Eberle, vocal
When The Lights Go On Again( All Over The World) by Vaughn Monroe
Blues In The Night(My Momma Done Tol’ Me) by Woody Herman
That’s enough for now,
Russ
****
Installation #3 From Lorne
Homeward bound. All things come to an end but some get there
quicker than others. Leaving Blanc Sablon, Labrador aboard the ferry to
St. Barbe, Newfoundland was interesting. The waters of Strait of Belle
Isle decided to show its temper by sending rolls of sea strait at us.
My guess is 30 feet from the valleys to the top of the rolls. We were
at the front windows on the 3rd deck above the main deck with water
splashing over us and the whole ship. I admit to being concerned but
the crew would have been aware of the conditions and would not have
attempted crossing if they knew it wasn't safe. Disembarking on, for
some reason I think of NFLD as the main land . The opposite is
true. Lodging that night at Plum Point, then returning along The
Viking Trail to Deer Lake. The Golf of St. Laurence almost
continually riding along with us.
Arriving in Deer Lake and finding our last night's digs, included a
stop by a cop. We made a wrong turn or drove where we should not have,
was quickly forgiven when he found out we were from away. Turned out he
was from Ont. as well. It pays to know somebody. Now this house we
rented for the night was very strange. The main room very large with a
ceiling about 30 feet high. A 2nd floor, around 3 sides and open in the
center allowing for the high ceiling, was reached by a metal spiral
stairway. Once up there, we found an office with one wall all text
books and an antique roll top desk with matching chairs. A very
old Surveyor's instrument along with other items, not recognizable. A
2nd story balcony from the office overlooking the lake about 50 feet
from the back of the building. Main floor sported 4 large bed rooms,
one with a hot tub. 3 rooms had queen or king size beds so high
that they were difficult to climb up into. Another deck on the lower
level provided a relaxing evening. The biggest surprise was the very
large basement with a bar, 2 pool tables, lots of tables and chairs and
strange pictures all over. In spite of the freedom we enjoyed,
every floor had many forbidden locked rooms. Moments after
we arrived and paid, the cleaning lady and owner left us to the
haunts of such an amazing timber lined museum .
I will give a short report of the return flight next issue.
Lorne
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
It’s been a long while since we bought our first house but thoughts of
those days never seem to vanish from one’s memory. Our first house was
a semi-detached bungalow on Markwood Dr in Kitchener. Our friend had
introduced us to a real estate agent he had worked with and since we
were a newly wed couple with no real estate experience we decided to
use the services of someone that was recommended to us. We figured it
was better to draw on a friend’s experience rather than just wing it.
We were advised to get into the market pretty much any way possible
just to avoid paying someone else’s mortgage through renting an
apartment. I guess that was good advice because it worked quite well
for us as first time buyers with a limited income. We thought we would
like a single family home but at the time didn’t think we could afford
one. The agent suggested we purchase a semi to get started and after a
while, move up to a single family home. He found us a nice
semi-detached bungalow on Markwood and said he would do his best to
sell it for us at a profit within a year of so. We moved into the semi
and started our home ownership less than a year after we had gotten
married. We had just barely settled in and were getting used to the
house when after only 6 weeks our agent phoned one Saturday afternoon
to ask if we’d be interested in selling our home. He said he had a
couple with some cash that would like to purchase a semi and he
immediately thought of us. I said I’d have to phone him back as Carole
was not home at the moment. He said “ Make it quick!” as this couple
were anxious to buy and he didn’t want us to lose a chance to make some
money. I called Carole at her mum’s and she came right home. We talked
about the quick move while waiting for our agent to arrive with the
buyers. He knocked on the door and came in with the papers while the
buyers waited out in his car. We told him that we were willing to sell
and he said they would present us with a nice profit that in most cases
would have taken over a year to garner. He told us that they wanted to
come in and look around first and that he could draw up their offer in
his car after they went back out and talked with him. The couple looked
through the house and about 20 minutes later he came in from his car
with the papers. It was amazing that they didn’t ask for anything that
we weren’t willing to leave with the house. All they wanted were the
window coverings. Basically just a few curtains and the curtain rods
was all they asked for and they wanted a one-month possession date. It
sure didn’t take long for us to say yes. We moved out at the end of
that month and into an apartment across the street from Carole’s
parents up in Lakeshore Village in Waterloo. We lived in that nice
little apartment for almost a year. Through a fellow fire fighter I
learned that Dutchman Homes were building a subdivision in Laurentian
Hills area of Kitchener and that the homes were single-family dwellings
and were priced in a range that we could easily afford. One of the
other guys at work had just bought a house in that area and so he put
us in contact with the sales manager from Dutchman. We met with him the
following Saturday and went on a tour of the building site. He showed
us the plans for the different styles of homes they were building on
Calmcrest Dr and we loved the back split model they were planning for
that street. It was just off Blackhorne Dr and would take three months
to complete. We were able to pick the type of trim, cupboards for the
kitchen and bathroom and the carpet for all the rooms as well as light
fixtures. The house was complete and it also came with a fully sodded
front and back lot. That little house was our first new home and we
lived in it for five years from 1975 to 1980. We experienced a lot of
firsts in that little back split as well as started our family with the
birth of our son Adam while living there. We still have friends to this
day that we met when they moved in next door and within a couple of
houses from us in that neighbourhood. Although we have all moves many
times since those days and some to different provinces but we make sure
to stay in touch and get together whenever we can.
I was sitting on the front porch of our
present house the other day and was just browsing through the real
estate newspaper when I noticed that there was a listing for a house on
Calmcrest Dr for sale. It wasn’t the home we had lived in but it was
about the same size. It was built by a different builder and was about
half a block further up the street but it was comparable in size and
value back 1975. I read the ad for the house and was amazed at how much
they were asking for the place. We had paid $38,900.00 for our home
brand new back then and I imagine the Freuer (Not sure of the spelling)
built homes were about the same price at the time. The one for sale
last week was listed at $415,000.00. I was amazed at the present day
price of this little home. Of course as Carole said when I told her
about it, “It’s been 42 years, what do you expect it should be worth
after all that time?”
I guess I just never really thought much of
those places or their value after we had moved on. When I think of them
now, of course they have increased in value but when comparing the
original purchase price and the value of them today it’s a bit of a
shocker to realize how prices have changed and the housed have not!
It would be cool to go over and take a walk
through that little back split today and see what has changed since it
was our home! I have driven by the place on the street and it looks
like it has never been repainted since we lived in it. It still has the
same front door that Carole painted bright RED before we sold the place
and it still has what looks like the same black painted wood trim
around the roof edge that’s never been repainted with it’s plywood
sofit and fascia peeling like it would be after 42 years. I guess some
people just don’t bother to keep up with maintaining their investment!
I also noticed that the rectangular medium green “KeepRite” air
conditioning system that I installed back in 1976 looks like it’s the
original one sitting at the end of the concrete driveway. By the way,
Carole’s father and brother helped me pour that concrete driveway. Our
initials and the date are still legible scratched into the cement at
the edge of the driveway near the road! They say an artist should
always sign his work!
We were lucky that Carole’s dad was a
carpenter and a construction supervisor who was willing to help us with
advice during our purchase as well as any renovations or other work we
did on that, our first house! I’d like to think that our collective
signatures in the cement added to the value of that little house each
time it was sold! After all, without Rembrandt’s signature, his works
would be, just another painting!
That’s it for this week folks! Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look
forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
I wonder if Ice Sculptors bother to sign their creations?
****
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.
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