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Issue #1131
Including:

The Ontarion

Russ

Me

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The Ontarion

Hello everyone!

I must say, I’m very happy to have survived this latest health event!

It could have been much worse! Enough health talk for this week!

Our weather has been quite mixed this winter! It’s been a mix of snow, hail and rain with strong winds and very cold temperatures! We’ve set records with temps as low as -30c

Along with side blowing snow! It made one think we were in the arctic! Things are getting rainy and warmer this week! By warmer I mean way up to a high of +6 so that is quite an improvement over last week alone but winter is not over so I’m sure there’s more cold to come! It’s been somewhat snowy but nothing when compared to the winters we experienced back in the 60s and 70s! I’m sure you will all remember those snow piles along the streets that we could not see over! It was great fun when we were kids to play in and on these huge snow banks! To be truthful, I am glad those days are in our past but, there’s no saying the weather patterns won’t change back to those heavy winters and we’ll see those huge snow storms again! I hope we keep these relatively mild winters, I much prefer them to the heavy winters of yesteryear!

Also, things are getting back to normal, sort of! Meaning we finally have a good working fridge and also getting the Jeep fixed through the insurance! Adam just has to choose a body shop and take the Jeep in to arrange a date for the repairs! We have a list to choose one from the list that has a good reputation to be trust worthy for the job! That should be sometime next week! Then, I will say things are truly back to normal!

That’s about all I have 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!

Take care everyone and goodbye for now!

Greg.

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From Russ

Grand Central Station!

The living room in 'me wee cottage' is about 12 by 12 feet, and I had a bunch of relatives here all at the same time -all standing, all talking at once. There were nine of us! I was going to name them, but some of you wouldn't know them, so I won't. My #1 son, Mac from Calgary, who with his wife, Marie, have been here since Tuesday, are leaving soon for the airport to pick up their daughter and her husband, that will make five of us in a two bedroom house - and I occupy the master BR all by myself. There is a pull-out sofa bed in the living room which has a mattress, a comfortable 2 inches deep! If someone or two want to have a 'hard night's rest', they are welcome to yank it open and crash thereon.

Mac is an excellent cook, who likes to make exotic dishes - too rich for my blood - hence I have had the dreaded "D" - twice in 30 hours! But, it's all worth it - I don't see my relatives from Calgary often enough. As mentioned in last week's Squamidian, I'm going to invite Cleopatra to sleep with me in my wee single bed. Hope my 'condition' has cleared up! (You don't remember who "Cleopatra" is? She's my Granddaughter - And I am only fooling!) I wouldn't get a moment's rest.

Uncle Russ😇

At the moment, I'm alone as Mac & Marie are off buying more groceries for our mob, and I have a few minutes alone to type out my story for this week's News Letter.

Some of my guest have threatened to return today, so it will be standing room only, with everyone talking at once. One good thing about hearing aids is, I can turn them down and protect my eardrums!

Last night, I broke into the din and got their attention announcing I will be 95 in May, and made each one promise to attend my funeral. In response, I got unanimous agreement, so I added,

IF YOU DON'T ATTEND - I WILL BE DISAPPOINTED!

Uncle Russ.

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From Me

How’s it going…..eh?

I hate to admit it, but I have nothing to write about this week. Once last week’s winter storms moved out the rains began and it’s been raining ever since so thats pretty boring. I had intended to write about our monkey tree being taken down but that didn’t happen, again, a victim of the weather. The tree removal company had to postpone as they are now way behind. So, that will happen at some point in the future. I was going to write about having cataract surgery on my right eye but that didn’t happen either due to last weeks snow storm. We simply couldn’t get to Vancouver let alone get through Vancouver. However, I may be able to write about it next week as the first eye is now scheduled for Feb 1^st and the second for Feb 22^nd. There are probably other things I can’t write about as well but I don’t even know what they are. Funny how that works.

One thing that did transpire is that one afternoon I was playing one of my guitars, the Martin, and my phone rang. Actually, it didn’t ring, it made that sound it makes when there is a video call coming in (FaceTime, not to be confused with FaceBook). It was Ryan. He was in an auditorium or stadium type place somewhere down in the States getting set up for a concert. During our conversation I mentioned that if he had the chance, could he ask Brian Adam’s guitar tech if he has any suggestions for guitar strings. I’ve been using various versions of the recommended strings for years and have never liked the high overtones. I’ve experimented with different makes of strings to no avail. Many players do like the overtones but I don’t. I tend to like a mellow, woody laid back sound. Ryan grinned and turned his phone camera a bit and there, standing beside him was the guitar tech. We had a great conversation and he ended up recommending I try switching to a bronze string, or a coated string, in place of the phosphor bronze that seems to be so popular. I’ve been using the phosphor bronze all along and like I said, I have never liked the overtones.

So, to that end, I ordered several different sets of the Bronze strings and sets of coated strings from Amazon to try out. I’d prefer to get my strings from the Long and McQuade music store in North Van but that’s an hour and a quarter’s drive from here, and just as far to get back, plus the cost of gas etc. I have orders strings from L&Q online in the past but their shipping (postage) charge is more that the cost of any item I might purchase from them, and their shipping time is close to two weeks. Most things from Amazon are free shipping or it just costs a minimal amount, and tend to turn up in under one week. In the case of the sets of strings, shipping was free. So, there you go. They should arrive some time next week and I’ll let you know if the sound is more to my liking.

Doug

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Have a Good One
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The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.