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Issue #1118
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Russ

Nova Scotia Sus

The Ontarion

How’s it going…..

One of the many things that needed doing once we returned home from our 3-week long journey was check the mail. Our mail is not street delivery, we have postal boxes in our local postal outlet. (That’s why anything mailed to us must include our PO box number). Our mailbox was full of stuff but most of it was junk. There were a few bills and a card and so on, and, there was a notice addressed to me that my driver’s license will expire on December 25. I knew that. The notice was very vague and sort of suggested that I might have to write the driver’s written text, given my age. So, I figured the best thing to do would be to pop into the local ICBC office and find out what would be required in order to renew. Our licensing system is controlled by our government run insurance monopoly and is a pain in the ass as well as very expensive and virtually useless so if your provincial government ever starts making noises about taking over the vehicle insurance industry and giving licensing control to an insurance provider, kick them out immediately. Anyway, I went in and stood in line until it was my turn to talk to someone. I explained why I was there and asked if I needed to write an exam in order to renew my license. I was told no. Because there are no blemishes on my driving record I could simply apply for renewal. Cool. All I needed to do was surrender my current driver’s license, have my picture taken, and pay the required fee. No problem. So I did all that right then and there. I hate having things hanging over my head, I like to get things done. They do take your plastic credit card sized license that also contains your health number but they give you a temporary license printed on a large piece of paper that you must somehow fold up and fit back into your wallet. Bottom line is, my renewed license is applied for and I don’t have to jump through any hoops. One more thing out of the way.

Another think out of the way is my flue and Covid shots. Our left wing provincial government seems to have a desperate need to control everything these days including vaccines. It used to be that we could just walk into a pharmacy and get our yearly flue shot. Now we must wait for an invitation from the ‘system’ and then go on line to book an appointment. Same with the Covid boosters. My invitations turned up on my phone so I did as told and booked my shots, both at the same time which was nice. My shots took place at a local drug store. Sue’s shots were booked but her appointment isn’t for another couple of weeks. That’s how bureaucracy works. Incidentally, one shot went into one arm, the other into the other arm. I barely felt a thing and neither arm bothered me at all. The only side effect was for the rest of that day I felt really tired which was simply a good excuse to go have a nice nap.

Like everywhere else in the country, our weather is reflecting the time of year. Days and nights are getting colder, snow is coating the mountains, the leaves are falling, and so on. I did manage to take both motorcycles our for a ride, one at a time, not both at the same time in case you were wondering. On returning from each ride I topped up the fuel tanks and added some fuel stabilizer just in case those rides proved to be the last for this season. You just never know this time of year. If conditions permit more riding I’ll simply top up and add the required amount of stabilizer at the end of each ride so at all times the bike(s) are ready to be tucked away for the winter. Actually, the Harley will be tucked away for the entire winter but the Enfield could be taken out for an occasional ride during the winter if road and temperatures permit. That would be kind of nice.

Something else that happens this time of year is the Gondola shuts down for several weeks for required maintenance. That usually happens during the whole month of November. This time they are closed from October 23 to November 9. They’ve actually gotten a bit smarter in how they do things. November weather can be miserable and they must check every nut and bolt and pulley and bearing on each tower as well as every other part of the lift system. That’s not easy to do in howling winter winds and snow. So, this year they have done some of that work ahead of time and will do the rest a few weeks early when working conditions are a bit better. And thats a good thing.

And one last thing, there was a song going through my head the whole time we were on our Ontario road trip. Its called ‘When The Sun Says Hello To The Mountains’. The version that was playing in my head was done by Lucille Star (mostly in French) and the song is from about 1936 or so. So, I took advantage of Sue being out in the back yard catching up on 3 weeks of yard work and did my own version because thats the only way I can get it out of my head. It’s a very sad song, perhaps about a lost lover who has gone off to war but I really don’t know. Regardless, here is my audio version of this song.

When The Sun Says Hello To The Mountains

Doug

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From Russ

Chestnuts....

Some are edible some are inedible - how can you tell the difference? There are many chestnut trees growing in this area, but none on my property. Yet, the squirrels bring them to my deck where they proceed to open the greenish, prickly pods, eat the seeds (nuts) and leave me the mess! These, I discovered were "horse chestnuts" (Reference for Horse chestnuts: bing.com/images)

"Horse Chestnuts: Benefits and Risks. Horse Chestnut is a tree with spiky green fruits that contain bitter seeds, not to be confused with sweet chestnuts". Description for those of you not having access (or just too lazy to look-it-up); "The horse chestnut seeds are round, shiny, reddish-brown - one to pod, about the size of a chicken egg-yoke, and toxic (poisonous!)

"The sweet chestnut is also a tree with thick hairy green fruits, which contain seeds, usually three to a pod, elongated, with little 'tails' - also, reddish-brown - and safe to eat". These are the chestnuts referred to in the old Christmas song: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack frost nipping at your nose....

Horse chestnuts (although poisonous), when oils are extracted have several medical uses including treating;

1. Varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

2. Disorders of the respiratory system and throat.

3. Stomach upset, slow digestion, pulse in the stomach and burning headache.

4. Back pain.

5. Congestion in the eyes with tearing, burning pain.

6. Complaints of rectum and constipation.

7. Joint complaints, sacroiliac, and hip.

8. Back and spine complaints, lower-back pain.

9. Poor blood circulation.

10. Men-related problems; varicocele, involuntary prostatic fluid discharge, seminal discharge with sexual dreams.

Guess what? I scored 100% of the a.m. disorders.

While you're thinking about a suitable prize for such an accomplishment, I have a few more observations about chestnuts which I plan to include in next week's Squamidian (No, not more about 'dreams'!)

Russ.

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From Nova Scotia Sus

The weeks go by so fast and before you know it....it's Squamidian time. Fall is always busy preparing for winter and not knowing just how much time is left before winter hits. We only had to cover the garden once with the threat of frost. Living on high ground does give us more time than the low landers. Right now we are battling a rat invasion. We caught 2 already and there is evidence of more digging. It's been a long time since having this problem. You just have to be diligent. It's possible our neighbour's down the road may have attracted them since they have free range chickens.

Our fall weather has been quite nice and we have only had our woodstove on a couple of times. Nothing like a wood stove to make the house inviting. We are hoping for a few kids for Halloween. Our new neighbors down the road came last year with their 3 kids. Hope they remember us. We certainly made it worth their while.

Take care everyone and Happy Halloween.

Sus

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The Ontarion

Hello everyone.

Well I finally got off my duff and did some more work outside on the yard for winter preparations. I got my leaf blower out of the shed and blew a ton of leaves off the front lawn. I had such a pile it took up 4 large yard waste bags to clear the pile of leaves I managed to build up along the curb. I finally decided not to blow them across the street like I have for the past 20 years and up against the neighbour’s curb. If you remember, I got into a bit of a tiff when he objected to my doing that and he called me and a-hole so I guess out of spite I kept on blowing them over to his side. Of course Now that I’m older and kinder and under pressure from Carole, I decided to change my ways and keep the leaves on our side of the street and then bag them for pickup by the garbage truck on Monday mornings. So, I guess in the end, it’ll make me look better and not such and a-hole after all! He was out mowing his lawn today when I was blowing my leaves and I don’t know if he noticed my change of heart or not but he most likely did! He probably thought “Holy Smokes, the a-hole is actually picking up his leaves for a change after 20 years!”

LOL! I think after 20 years I likely learned my lesson or on the other hand, maybe I just got tired of being that vindictive sort o neighbour and I guess it felt better doing the right thing this year but, I’ll have to see how I feel next year when it comes time to blow the leaves again!

I think that’s about all I have to yak about for this week. So, thank you all for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week!

Be safe and stay healthy between now and then everybody!

Bye for now… Greg

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Have a Good One
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