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The
Squamidian Report – Jan. 4 / 25
Online
Versions
Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1180 The
Ontarion ****
From Greg – The Ontarion
Hello everyone! Well, Christmas’s 2024 is now in the history books! It was a good one here in KW as we had no snowfall over the 24th and 25th so we call that a green Christmas! I don’t mind that at all! In watching the weather channel, they mentioned that back in 1996, Vancouver had the storm of a century! They usually get an average of 7cm a year of the white stuff but back then they were hit with 64cm in a 4hr period! They even had to call on the military to help rescue people trapped in their cars and homes! It was a record event that hurt a lot of homeless people that day and night! The previous record in Victoria was back in 1916! They got slammed as well in the same storm as Vancouver! I’m sure Doug and Sue won’t see that sort of storm in their lifetime out there! I’m actually looking forward to getting some snow in here coming weeks since Carole and Adam gifted me with a battery powered snow blower for my use on the porch and walkway around the house! It’s a Ryobi shovel sized one that they figure will allow me to help in my own small way with clearing those areas when it does snow! I’m sure we’ll get snow again soon! It’s been raining steady and hard for 24 hours now and is supposed to keep raining for three more days and stay around +3c temp wise! Yesterday the temp topped out at +8c here in Kitchener! As you know by now, the green Christmas is OK with me but it would be nice to try out my new snow toy sometime soon! We have a full sized gas snow blower for the deep stuff but Adam looks after that for us when it does snow enough! Carole and Adam have just finished taking down all the decorations from this year and they have them all packed away! Carole has always preferred to take them down right after Christmas as we are in agreement that they shouldn’t be left up all year like some folks do! That’s just being plain lazy in our opinions! It’s just unfortunate that I’m unable to help much with decorating or un-decorating when I’m not very healthy! I am however very thankful that Adam and Carole actually enjoy the event enough that they still decorate for the occasion! We had a very nice Christmas with just the three of us as usual and Carole made a wonderful turkey with all the trimmings for Christmas dinner! We enjoy that every year and also the dinners afterwards of left overs! We have turkey at least twice a year! Carole likes to buy a couple of turkeys and keep them in the freezer! Speaking of turkeys, there’s no reason people can’t make good use of that year round! Like I said, a good turkey can feed a family for a good week! They can be purchased at a discount after Christmas to be a week’s meals any time of year! So, people that are on a limited budget should pay attention to this lesson! Jut have to be smart shoppers and buy right when the discounts are on at local grocery stores! Carole is a very wise shopper and keeps our freezers fully stocked year round! This is accomplished through smart shopping at the right times! Due to her shopping thrift, we always have a good stock and variety of food on hand and never want for a good meal! Special occasions are indeed special here at our house and I attribute this to Carole’s wise ways when it comes to meals! Well, the next special event will be New Years and I can’t wait to see what meal arrises for that occasion! Following that, my birthday is next on the list on January 11th! One of Carole’s cousins pointed out that on your birthday DOMINOS pizza will give you a free pizza of choice when you show picture ID! SO, I think we’ll be enjoying dinner on DOMINOS for January 11th! LOL! Well, I think I’ve said enough to make up for missing the Christmas SQUID so I’ll sign off for now and talk to you all again next time in the New Year! Here’s wishing you all a happy and healthy NEW YEAR! May you be well and prosper in 2025! Bye for now…..Greg
PS: thanks to all
who wrote in
to the Christmas SQUID! ****
From Gary Welcome to 2025. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a good new year eve. It’s Tuesday morning while I’m writing this post. We plan on celebrating ringing in the new year with Bermuda time so we can still be in bed before 10. Lol. Christmas was white but now it’s green. Hopefully I don’t have to mow the lawn before winter comes back. We’re going out for dinner where Max works and that is the extent of our celebrations. We hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2025. Evy and Gary, Picton, Ontario Gary ****
From Nova Scotia Sus
We wish you all the best in the New Year. Wow 2025 sounds so futuristic. I guess we will get used to it. It seems like time is going faster than ever before. The weeks just fly by. We are having beautiful weather over the holidays. Today it felt like spring. The snow we had is almost gone and the sun shone brightly all day today. I opened up the outdoor pens for the chickens to enjoy. They stampeded out their doors all happy and excited. Since I changed their feed we have been getting two dozen eggs a day. So egg sales are up. One of my clients buys 3 dozen eggs a week. Every Friday we do egg delivery in New Glasgow where we sell at least 7 dozen to 3 separate homes. Our greenhouse is coming along. There is lots to do yet and are pleased with our progress. Happy New Year! Sus ****
From Russ
"Hogmanay" My story today is a bit like reading yesterday's newspaper, as by the time you read it we'll be 4 days into 2025 - I started it on New Years Eve, and now it's the 1st day of a brand new year! One of the chapters in my current book is called "Culture shock", and it's all about the experiences of a "Country bumpkin", or "Hay-seed" - a resident of Rural Ontario in his early 20's, who married a woman 10+ years his Seniour. The age difference was not the culture shock, but the staunch, Scottish Heritage of the newly acquired in-laws! Fred, Maurice, Dickson High school teacher, skilled "tool & die-maker", "watch-smith", and son of a black-smith (Edinborough, Scotland) was a "Proud Scot" who often was heard to say, "There are only two kinds of people in the world, Scots, and those whom wish they were" (and he rolled his R's as he said it!) He was married twice - the second one blessed him with three daughters - I was blessed in acquiring the youngest one as my first wife who blessed me with her two sons - Charles, Frederick, MacFarlane "Mac" Pittman , and Gregory, Arthur "Greg" Pittman. Barbara Dickson married Arthur Pittman who, sadly was killed in a car accident when Mac was 3 years, and Greg was 3 months of age. Sadly, this single, working parent had to give up her independence and move back into her family home (where she was treated, by her father, as "one of the children"! The "Pecking order" in the Dickson home was: Fred (in actual fact, it was Edyth, Mae - his part Irish wife), then Greg (the youngest - spoiled by his doting Grandy), then Mac - spoiled by his Nana, then Barbara, and at the very last was Russell. * What's all this got to do with our 'subject'> Hogmanay ? It's like this.....Fred Dickson kept as much of his Scottish background as possible - "proud he was"! The Dickson's practiced hogmanay on the evening of the last day of the old year - I had no idea what it was all about - wasn't even familiar with the word, but HAD to take part in the nonsense! "Hogmany" is interpreted as "First Footing", and the idea was to "drown the animosities of the past year in hilarity and merriment" In the Dickson household it started out as a "house party" with friends and neighbours getting 'jolly' with alcohol, then, with drinks-in-hand, and 'gifts' for the homes we visited: coal, coins, whisky, and black buns, and after more drinks, hugs, kisses, singing "Auld Lang Syne" over, and over, the visitors became part of the gang, and we continued " First footing" around the neighbourhood well past midnight!! It's time for my lunch, so with your kind permission I'll stop here, and next week, complete the fascinating history of events practiced around December 31st in old Scotland.
Russ😇 ****
From Wayne
A week from today marks the 5th anniversary of my major cancer operation. They gave me a 75% chance to live 4 years but I made 5 years and still going strong. This year I am kicked out of the programme. No more special attention! Sylvia is always complaining that part of my pee bag shows from under my sweater so, as a topical gesture I printed a message on it I have come to realize that I have a business opportunity here as the bag represents noteworthy advertising space which can help finance my old age. Wayne
****
From Doug
How’s it going…..eh? Well, here we go with another year. It would be nice if we, as a species, could get it right this time but I don’t think there is much chance of that so we’ll just keep on plugging away as best we can. You may remember that I had mentioned I’d be playing a New Years Eve gig on of all days, New Years Eve. And, that it would actually be in the afternoon. Well I did play that gig and it was great. I’ve played at the local senior’s home many times before and have written about it. As per the other times, it went great. Playing to the inmates of the senior’s home is always fun. They make a really good audience. They are attentive, paying attention to every song and every thing I say. They are very well behaved. They tap their feet and nod along to the music. Occasionally one of them will nod off but thats ok too. The music most wanted is basically anything OLD. That works for me because I’m also old. Heck, I may even be older that a few of those inmates. You can always tell when you have hit on a song that they really like because you can hear them singing along. But whether its a song they know or not, they give it their full attention. At the end of these gigs, many of the inmates will want to chat about some song or some memory, some will tootle off and come back with an offering of cookies or re-gifted chocolates or whatever, which is really cool when you think about it. Doing a gig is actually a lot of work that starts a few weeks ahead as I go over my play lists looking for material that I think will be a hit with the aged audience. Then, I go over said material enough times to be really comfortable with it. If I played in public more often I could skip that part as I’d always feel ‘current’. I never use sheet music. I have the lyrics to the songs in my head. Most local performers around here have sheets and books laid out in front of them and seem to think they need that. I personally think they could do their thing without the aid of the books and sheets but for them it has become a crutch and they would probably choke on songs that they have been doing for years. Kind of silly but thats how it is. My gigs are as ‘bare bones’ as it could be. Just me, my guitar, 2 speakers on their stands, 1 mic on its stand, my digital mixer that I control through an app on my iPad, and the necessary cords to hook everything up with. Thats all, plus a stool to sit on as the retirement home only has chairs with arms, and arms don’t work as they get in the way of the guitar, and I am too old to stand in one place for an hour. My back would give out if I tried. This equipment must be loaded up, taken to the venue, unloaded, carried in, and set up. Nothing hard about that but it takes a bit of time. Then I play my gig, at the retirement home it is a 1 hour show. Any longer and they and I would need a nap. Once done, the equipment needs to be taken down and loaded back up and taken home and unloaded and put away. In some ways its a lot of work for an hour of playing but thats how it goes. By the time everything is put away, I need that nap. Now
a
couple of astronomy things…. Social media has been
infested with
notifications about all the planets being in a line this
month. Well,
NOPE, not going to happen, total fake news, pure
garbage. So don’t
waist your time looking for all the planets in a nice
straight line
because it ain’t happening. Doug ****
Have
a
Good One ****
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