Something funny here

For women who enjoy a laugh at men's expense and men who can laugh at themselves.

A couple is lying in bed. The man says, "I'm going to make you the happiest woman in the world." The woman replies, "I'll miss you...."

Q: What do you call an intelligent, good looking, sensitive man?
A: A rumour.

Q: Why do little boys whine?
A: They're practicing to be men.

Dear Lord; I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him; and Patience for his moods. Because Lord, if I pray for Strength I'd beat him. AMEN.

Q: What does it mean when a man is in your bed gasping for breath and calling your name?
A: You didn't hold the pillow down long enough.

WARNING: Political Rant

In my very first post I said I'd stay out of things political. I take it back. I'm sick, I'm tired, I'm cranky and shouldn't be blogging but....what the hell. Hear me roar.

Here in Canada we hit a watershed moment in our history the other day. Unfortunately it wasn't a good one. In a self-serving move to preserve his government, our PM Stephen Harper rammed through a bill granting the province of Quebec status of 'nation' within this soveriegn country. After 30 years, untold millions of dollars and special programs to appease the separatiste francophone b*astards it's finally come to this. Harper should be charged with treason for reneging on his responsibility to ALL Canadians. The RCMP should be slapping the cuffs on him and throwing him in the nearest jail. The only one who came away looking good in this is his Intergovernmental Affairs Minister who resigned his post.

Members of all political stripes jumped on this bandwagon; the motion passed 266-16. Shame on them for not learning the lessons of times past. The Bloc Quebecois will not be appeased. They won't be truly satisfied until they are successful in breaking up Canada.

Shameful. Shortsighted. Self serving. Sad.

Music Notes

Just a couple of things running round my brain......

Wednesday marks 5 years since George Harrison passed away; 4 years since the tribute concert - 'Concert for George' which is a DVD release. Do yourself a favour and spend a couple of hours enjoying this one and feel the love.

I've been running through lots of old CDs, cassettes and compilations I'd put together. Funny how when you haven't heard something for awhile it can smack you upside the head in a whole new way. Here are a few that cover a pretty wide range; if you're able to track them down they're highly recommended.

Stevie Ray Vaughn covering Hendrix's 'Red House' starts off as a straight ahead blues but SRV throws it into overdrive with some chorus effect for some spacey, astral sonics. Lost him way too soon.

The Trio I & Trio II releases. Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. Enuff said. Harris and Ronstadt re-united for Western Wall; The Tucson Sessions.

Two Rooms CD - Tribute to the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Oleta Adams covering 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me'; a rich gospel voice that makes this song sound holy. Stunning.

From the Hendrix tribute - Seal and Jeff Beck covering 'Manic Depression'. Ferocious, unrelenting.

Any of Johnny Cash's last four releases for American Recordings. What a way to wrap up a 40+ year career. Check out his version of NIN's 'Hurt'.

More to come later.........

For your consideration

Last week we had those two P.D. days; day one was pretty much need-to-know business informational sorts of stuff. On day two there were two 'outside' presentators; one morning, one afternoon. I'll talk a bit about the second session.

The fellow who did it is Patrick Mathieu. He has developed a program called "The Power Of Mortality", the basis of which is that we can all expect to die someday and that the sooner we accept the notion, the sooner we can live a fuller life. Patrick began with a brief bio which explained the genesis and development of his program. He then lead us through a series of exercises in order to give us perspective on how we view our lives and the extent to which we tend to actually 'live' them. Although he has no 12 Step background his Mortality Manifesto ties in very neatly with our 'One Day At A Time' credo. Resolve past issues, do some common sense housekeeping for future needs and live fully NOW! Be present; be authentic.

Worth checking out at: www.PowerOfMortality.com

I think Patrick found us a tough crowd to present to - a bunch of retired drunks and addicts who've stared Death down on more than one occassion, beat his ass and partied away his last dollar, all the while laughing about what a wuss Death is - but held his ground very capably.

On the other hand

As a way of making amends for the political post the other week at the expense of our American cousins.........

........any time I've travelled in the U.S. I've found people to be very friendly and helpful. This is for Glen, Robin and Patchouli.

Where have I been?? Lemme tell ya.

Buffalo, Rochester and the Finger Lakes region of upper New York State. The Eastman estate in Rochester is a must see - it's been kept as it was lived in by the family circa 1880-1910. Adjoining it is their photo school, archive and gallery. (Eastman Kodak). Buffalo - great shopping. Finger Lakes - picture postcard pretty.

Brooklin Michigan numerous times for the June NASCAR stock car races. I stopped going because the drivers I rooted for kept dying; I felt like a jinx. Beautiful track, incredible fan support - 100,000+ on race day. (Go Mark Martin!!)

Did a two week driving tour of Texas & New Mexico in May a few years ago. 100 deg F by 10 am every day - gotta love that! If I was ever to move it would likely be the lake country south of Waco or to Austin. Carlsbad caverns were amazing. We found another magic spot in N.M. too and it had nothing to do with mushrooms either.

Florida - Ft Myers, Ft Lauderdale, the Keys. Nice people, good food, cheap beer - oh yeah, I don't drink any more. I liked the Keys although being surrounded by that much water sort of freaked me out. Dunno how I'd make out on a cruise ship - stay below deck I suppose.

If I ever have money again I'd like to drive the west coast from Vancouver to San Diego. Roam through Arizona, see more of New Mexico, see Colorado, the Dakotas and Utah.

I have no idea why but I have little desire to see any of the central states or the eastern seaboard - except of course N.Y.C.; give me a month there, maybe a summer. I'd like to see where particular artists worked - like Georgia O'Keefe or the Wyeths. (hmm.. I think that's Pennsylvania)

Anyway, if you look for the good in people you'll find it everywhere - it has nothing to do with artificial boundries and borders. If you're looking for freaks and geeks - look no further than our Prime Minister. LOL.

Early a. m. hours Monday

No news regarding the job; maybe today. Seeing as how it's within this organization I know there are valid reasons why the decision hasn't been made as yet (at least no announcement), there's a lot going on. It has taken up a lot of head space this weekend though and I'm tired of waiting to find out yea or nay.

Had a chance meeting in the grocery store with a counsellor from another area agency and she invited me for a tour of their facility and to bring in a CV if things don't work out for this position I've applied for. We've run into each other at functions around town over the last year or so, so she has a pretty good idea of what I'm about.

.....and what a week it was!!! I had a bit of 'brain dead' TV time Wed & Fri nights but that was about the only time I was still. Got a bit run down by Saturday night and I'm fighting some sort of bug - there are lots of colds and flu going around. Wish I'd had time to get a flu shot last week. They can't give it to you if you have cold symptoms.

Step-son #3 made me laugh back on Tuesday. Mid afternoon I started in raking leaves and I was still going when dusk fell around 5. I carried on for a bit but just as I was about to pack it in for the day he turned on the floodlights illuminating the back yard and gave me the thumbs-up from one of the windows....and so I kept on while he cooked burgers on the BBQ. B*stard!!

Strange weather this last while. A few days of cold, then mild, then rain....it can't seem to make up it's mind what it wants to do. That might have something to do with why I'm feeling off. We've had just a couple of very light flurries of snow so far and aren't likely to get any until at least next weekend. On a newscast today I saw temps of -25 in the far north - oh lord, let it stay up there!!

Rushing; always rushing.......

Once again thanks for your interest and good wishes.

I may hear today or tomorrow at these P.D. days. More than likely it'll be Friday - that's what they traditionally do so those who don't get hired have time to process that over the weekend.

It's done and out of my hands now; I have to be ready for news, good or bad. And wouldn't it be nice to have some good news??? Why certainly it would.

Have a good day whereever you are - I hope you get some good news as well.

Whew!!

That interview went alright; as well as can be expected. The questions were of the scripted variety with all candidates being asked the same ones in the same way. I got caught with my pants down on one of them and didn't recover well on that one. I hope I redeemed myself on the last question where I was able to get somewhat passionate in answering it. Managed to ask some pertinent questions at the end about organizational and logisistics issues; and my interest and willingness to work those sorts of things out. Took a little ownership there. Thanks for your good wishes.

I went to my old school for a quick visit with the new class and a talk about what my working placement had been like following school; the sorts of work, clientele, etc.

Back on the subway and train back home to my meeting and wound up chairing unexpectedly, which was fine. When it wrapped up a bunch of us raced over to another meeting where a friend and workmate was getting a medallion for 14 years clean and sober. Our staff were well represented and there were a horde of graduates of our program there in recognition of his contribution to so many peoples recovery. Excellent speaker, great message of hope.

Our family dinner the other night was a good time, if too short. Mom tires easily these days and needed to get home to rest rather than carry on to my brothers hotel.

Apparently there are big differences in East and West Indian cuisine - we were looking over the menu and our Trini friends didn't know any better than us as to what to order. So we ordered a bit of everything - fish, beef, lamb, prawns, chicken, breads and a couple of veggie dishes. Absolutely to die for; we all walked out stuffed and happy. Lots of laughs with this crew.

A kazillion things to accomplish today in all my 'free' time - gotta go!!

No rest for the wicked

By the end of my shift, come morning, I'll have worked in excess of 100 hours in the last 8 days. Lord I'm weary! Looking down the road at next week - my 'off' week - I'm going to have to schedule some downtime.

(and excuse me here; this is as much a reminder list for myself as anything else)

I have to be up, cleaned up, dressed and ready to head downtown by 3 Saturday afternoon in order to pick Mom & sis Linda up for our dinner with the rest of the family. This is a once a year occurence that we can all get together; same time, same place. Too, too rare.

If that happens to wrap up early we'll drop M & L back in the 'shwa and drive over to Ajax to hear an old friend of mine whose band is playing in a bar there. This band formed recently and they wanted something consistently complex to play in order to keep themselves entertained while entertaining, so they're covering Steely Dan's back catalogue. Friend Don is an incredibly talented guitarist and I haven't seen him play for a few years so I'm looking forward to it.

Sunday Lynda and I have a 'date'. Yes, we sometimes have to plan these things - get out of the house, no kids, no cooking, no interuptions. It has evolved since we first talked about it to include Lynda's best friend, Joanie and her new b'friend Annan. (Who both hail from Trinidad) We're heading back to the Indian Kitchen north of Toronto - great food, friendly service.

Monday I'll be heading into downtown Toronto for my job interview. I've done about all the mental preparation that I can and would like to walk in and say, 'I can do the job. Now give me the damn thing and lets get at it.' Unfortunately things don't work that way so......deep breath....calm....smile... a small prayer...

Once the torture is over I'm going to the college where I did my Addiction Studies course to spend a couple of hours with instructor Steve and his class. You know, give them the benefit of my IMMENSE experience in the field. LOL. Alky posterchild. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!! Then it's back on the train to Oshawa in time to attend my home group meeting.

Tuesday I have no plans; none. Don't write, don't call.......I'm busy doing nothing. Not likely but I can dream, can't I?

Wednesday and Thursday we have professional development days being held at a golf & country club north of Toronto. Always interesting and fun.

Thursday night I've been asked to speak at an area meeting; always a challenge for someone who isn't comfortable being the focus of attention. When you're asked to do something in this program, you do it; as a way of paying back the debt owed for your sobriety. Much as public speaking isn't my strongest suit I have no trouble filling 40 minutes of air-time -- go figure.

As to the end of the week, I have no clue. I'm available to work and hope to score a shift but I hope to be busy celebrating a new job. Wish me luck.

Getting political - Not!! Well, maybe a little.

I read an article last night that got me stirred up. It was about a man, Malachi, (who happened to be my age) who commited suicide in Chicago, self-immolation. The article covered the back and forth discussion about whether this was political statement (against America's involvement in the war on terror) or the act of a mentally ill/depressed man.

Qualification - I don't live in the U.S., never have. Travelled it some and have a number of friends there but I'm not a 'part of'. So, as a Canuck cousin, am I allowed comment?? I'm not looking for a fire-fight but what the hell.......

As an observer of our friend to the south the thing I've noticed particularily during Bush's administration is this: (which the article failed to address) dissent is seen as traitorous and so individuals have no forum for dissent without being branded as such. "Freedom of speech"; not in the real world unless of course you're in support of government policy. There's a ground-swell of anti-Bush feeling and that seems to be okay; don't dare knock policy, the military or the anti-terror efforts though.

Which brings us back to this fellow, Malachi. How else was he to express his obviously strong thoughts and feelings without being a pariah? How?? Surely he shouldn't have to resort to suicide to make a statement of protest.

Yes, I support the military alliance and their work; the importance of having unified support on the homefront but, at what cost to the individual and society at large?

Perhaps this is another case where I should keep my big mouth shut about something that doesn't involve me directly. But I'm human; I'm affected.

To see the article: click on the 'I guess I'm floating' link; go to Wednesday's links;(Nov 15) It's the last link.

What's more topical than the weather??

We're in the middle of a weather system that extends from the high Arctic down through this part of the country, the central and eastern U.S. and on down to the Caribbean. It started raining Wed night about 9 and continued straight through until after I got up today, I guess until 3. The low cloud was scudding by so fast it was surreal.

Woo-Hoo!! We set a record for rainfall for this date in weather history. The creek out back is rushing over it's banks, singing in the night. Downright balmy tonight and foggy. We're enjoying a bit of a respite from rain but it's supposed to continue on & off through Sunday when the temperature is supposed to dip and they're threatening snow. With the ground being so sodden any snow we get won't last.

Never too old to learn

Mistakes remain mistakes if you don't learn from them.

I'd seen references to circumstances under which you shouldn't blog: very upset, tired, drunk, etc. I posted comments to a blog last night (when I was struggling to stay awake) with the intent of being funny. When words haven't a voice to give intonation or a facial expression for interpretation they can lie on the page being extremely unfunny and leaving the recipient wondering, 'Where the hell is this coming from?'

Thankfully they were recieved by an understanding person and if 'you' should read this - please edit them out.

Lesson learned and not to be forgotten.

Two wolves

This is a perspective piece that was referred to at a meeting tonight - I like it enough to share it.

Two Wolves - One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that was going on within himself.

He said, "My son, it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego..."

"The other wolf is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith..."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee replied, "The one I feed."

Author unknown

Memory cues

I didn't post last night as I'm preparing for an interview: reviewing some practical materials and trying to anticipate the likely questions. As it's pretty dry stuff I was taking frequent breaks to check out my fave blogs and following links on their sites. (Hi Michelle, Kel, Robin, Glen) hee, hee...

Anyway, beside the obviously enjoyable part of that, I found it funny that some of the posts reminded me of things I hadn't thought about in years. And that there is some incredible writing talent out there.

Robin's posts about their visit to Yosemite and her inclusion of some of John Muir's writing reminded me of 'my discovery' back in the '70's of Ansel Adam's work in the region. I had a home darkroom back in those days and got right into Adams work, reading everything I could find about him and his exposure and printing techniques. Then out of nowhere I recalled an incident where I came this close to stealing a book of his from a library. It was a limited edition with all the portfolio sheets slipsheeted with onion paper - a thing of rare beauty. In a moment of sanity I decided to walk away without it but I can recall that for weeks I beat myself up for not taking it. Covetousness in the nth degree. But in the end I couldn't deprive the other people who might chance upon it the pleasure of seeing it.

Glen just reviewed a book written by a head-hunter exec about self presentation and how to ace an interview. Apparently it gives the whys and wherefores behind the arcane questions asked in the interview process these days (most of which make me want to roll my eyes and bark like a mad dog). Maybe I should get out my credit card and get on Amazon for express delivery so that won't happen.

'Patchouli Ponderings' post about the dreaded 'middle-of-the-night' phone call caused me to catch my breath, made my throat ache. They talk about a picture being worth a thousand words.....she captured the emotion of the moment and painted with words.I was made to feel like a bumbling interloper walking into the most intimate of moments; being privy to something I had no business knowing. Beautifully written.

Yes, photography! If I'm able to sort out my digital camera I'll rephotograph one of my old prints and submit it for Kel's 'Art Attack' at xfacta. I used to work in prepress in the print trade and was able to take my favourite shots to work and blow them up on a big process flatbed camera. At one point my whole place was hung with my own work. The one I have in mind is the interior of a barn that a friend used to own. The light filters in from many directions through the gaps in the barnboard, the rough hewn beams define the space and the textures of the wood and straw draw the eye. A big airy, churchy place. Michelle mentioned passion in her most recent post. I wonder what happened to mine for photography??? (same as my passion for print - when it went digital there was no craft left to it; and what's a tradesman without craft?)

More later, perhaps --work now.

Seasonal change

Snapshot: I live in a subdivision about 1 km north of the lake. Our lot backs on a greenbelt, then there's a creek, a railroad track and beyond it a golf course. What this affords us is a terrific view, from our side patio and back yard, of a wide variety of birds, beasts and flora through the course of the seasons.

My drive to work is a little over 20 km, the first 5 of which are through town and then it's prime farm land and woodlots until I get to the small town where I'm employed. This residence is an old country mansion on nice grounds which back on a 50 foot deep wooded ravine with a creek. The trip here is a gradual climb except when I hit the leading face of the moraine (a leftover of the last glacial age) which parallels the lakeshore. One of the pleasures that I have on a daily basis is passing Canada's premier stable - Windfield Farms - and having the opportunity to see the many thoroughbreds roaming acre after acre of fenced pasture.

I was a little disappointed with the autumnal colour change this year; the colours just didn't seem to be as vivid. I think it was because we had a number of slight frosts as opposed to a couple of sharp, killing ones. Still the change from the many shades of green to yellow, orange and red delighted the eye. The season is over, the trees bare now except for a few stubborn, straggling leaves.

And with that the birds have mostly flown off to warmer climes. Gone are the robins, orioles and flickers. So too the swallows, killdeer and meadowlark. Lynda and I have lucked out this year and seen huge flights of hawks, geese, ducks and finches headed south. Back in September we saw the Monarch butterfly migration for the first time in our lives. Hundreds of thousands of them parading past the end of our street on their way to Mexico.

It turns out that the owl who has taken up residence in the neighbourhood is of the 'Great Horned' variety. (thanks John, thanks Trish for passing that on) I'd love to lay eyes on him. The coyote pack that I'd hoped was just passing through is still in the area; one of our guests heard them again last night. Quite often at night here I see raccoons and skunks out on the lawn searching for grubs and worms. In the fall and winter, deer are a frequent sight at dawn or dusk along the tree and fence lines of the farm fields between here and home.

There are many places on this earth I'd like to see but there aren't many where I'd prefer to live.

On 'Change'

King Whitney Jr. - "Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

Over the course of the last few years I've tried to recall what I was like at various ages - 10, 20, 30, 40. By that I mean my make up; attitudes and perceptions of life, attributes and liabilities, characterisics and traits. What an eye-opener this trip has been; exploring the timeline. While, in retrospect, there were a lot of negatives to be found - insecurity, lack of direction and initiative - on balance there have always been a lot of positives too - caring, hard working, creative. Now at age 52 (god that sounds old) I can see the evolution of personality, feel that I'm alright but remain open to still more change.

Fearful? No! Hopeful? Yes! Confident? Oh yeah!!

In reflecting on my past the thing that dismays me most is that, although I'm generally a pretty conventional, responsible type, there have been periods where I've put myself in some pretty incredible physical danger as well as dwelling in some ugly head spaces. I don't live in the past though I believe very strongly that we are products of our experience.

What I'm grateful for is a pivotal moment of clarity where I knew change was a neccessity. Opportunity grew out of hardship - a job loss leading to longterm unemployment neccessitated re-education, which lead to re-entering the work force in a new field. Attitude has proven to be key - openness to change, optimism, enthusiasm, commitment.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - "The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it"

Busy, busy, busy......

.........so much so that I haven't read a newspaper or seen a newscast to know whats going on in the world - globally or locally.

Yesterday was Remembrance Day for our veterans of WWI, WWII and the Korean War so I took a time out to think of those who didn't come back from those conflicts and the millions of lives affected. I was also thinking about our young troops peacekeeping in Croatia and rebuilding/fighting the Taliban in Afganistan. Canada has lost over 40 troops to date in Afganistan.

On a happier note; today is Mom's 82nd birthday!!!! I'm hoping for some sort of a quick visit and maybe a meal between when I get up this afternoon and when I come in to work. The lot of us are meeting for dinner next Saturday in downtown Toronto; both my older brothers and their wives are coming from up north, our sister Linda and a niece or two - a rare opportunity to celebrate together. 'Mabel! Get down off that table! And put down that beer!'

We did get those couple of mild days but unfortunately the week was mainly grey and wet. Tonight the temperature has dropped again and it feels like it may snow a bit.

After work on Wednesday I stepped out of the house for a smoke just after sunset and noticed a column of small birds flying south. Wrens, finches, sparrows....I don't know but the column was about 50 feet in diameter and after watching for a few minutes I started trying to get a rough count. They were pretty consistent with only a few gaps and I figured there were 250-300 passing each minute and I stood there gawking at them for 20 minutes before they finally petered out. By then it was gathering dark and I wondered....'are they going to cross Lake Ontario tonight into New York state?...in the dark? It has to be 25 to 30 miles; I hope the little buggers don't tire and wind up drowning.' When I went back in the house step-son #3 said I'd just blown off 20 minutes of my life looking at a bunch of birds. Hmmm...20 minutes of awe and wonder. Damn right I did. Priceless.

In reference to.......

.....my last post.

(I've been absent....mea culpa....[and very busy])

Russ did come out Sunday evening for a visit. We spent a while trying to download a program so that I could download movies and TV episodes but it kept dying so we quit - it was eating up too much time. Lynda had run out to pick up some dessert so we had a good feed on pecan pie, ice cream and brownies - diabetic heaven. He made it back home to Calgary Wednesday evening; about 40 hours of driving. My main concern was deer and moose through northern Ontario - a deer will wreck your car and likely injure you. A moose will kill you if you hit it broad-side. Ahhh, home safe.

I got my wish - I was asked to do a relief day shift Wednesday and an overnight shift Friday into Saturday morning. The shift ended at 9 and I was back here, in time for the first night shift of my week, by 7. And so it goes...getting organized for the week at hand.


"Think globally. Act locally."

Meandering again

Last night I decided to follow my grandmother's advice - 'If you haven't anything good to say, don't say anything at all.' Not that I was in a particularily bad mood; just in a strange mix of emotions and thoughts. I whiled away the hours catching up on some emails that needed attention and following links on others blogs. Interesting stuff. Solbeam has a unique manner of writing and some beautiful photos of her trek.

We'd headed into the east end of Toronto Friday evening to meet Russ for dinner and had a good visit with him for a couple of hours at Casey's bar & grill over steaks. I'm hoping he can come out to the house for the evening Sunday and spend a bit more time with us. He's to leave Monday now once he gets a few loose ends tied up. He's made me really proud again this week with the way he's attended to Reada; always within reach or nodding distance. Just as he was with my Mom when we lost Dad a few years ago. Incredible.

It's been a weird week; full of ups and downs so I was hoping it would be a quiet night here at work to wrap up the week. The gods had other plans. It's a good thing that on the drive up here I had a good hard think about what it is I have to offer the residents. Act and react appropriately. Do the next right thing and the next thing right. Stir thought not emotion.
It was visiting day so the natives are restless tonight; lots of thought and emotion awakening, lots to process.

The change in the weather has been swift; a definite shift to wintery stuff the last couple of nights. Supposed to be mild for a day or two - we'll see. Looking out our back window this afternoon I could see streamers of snow falling here and there. Nothing that would last for more than a minute in any one place and certainly wouldn't accumulate but it's on it's way. I was outside for a smoke awhile ago and heard an owl hooting which is a rarity around here. Either passing through or settling into it's winter range. I'd rather have owls that the coyotes I heard about a month ago crying in full hunt mode - gives me the shivers hearing that. Another rarity, thank God.

I have no idea what next week holds. I'm hoping to get some day shifts filling in for a coworker who is off sick. It'd be good to have more contact with the guys inhouse and do some meetings with them. There's still lots to accomplish at home, both inside and out. If I'm going to write it'll probably be over cereal and coffee in the morning. We're to have a business meeting after our regular 'open' meeting on Monday night and we're to have elections for various committees so I'll likely be taking on a different role supporting the group function.

There are some things I have in mind for this blog when I have time to spend on it. More links, add the automated blogroller, add a site meter, thought of the day and on, and on....What's the deal with 'Ad Sense'?? Worth bothering with or just a scam?

Time to check on my charges and finish up my nights work.........Later.

Wool-gathering

Here it is, the wee small hours of Friday morning, back at work. I didn't work Tues or Wed nights so as to attend Shorty's funeral Wednesday afternoon. As funerals go this was a good one and aptly so - he was well loved. The clergy did a good job with a thought provoking talk about life and loss, celebrating a life while grieving. Five people gave brief eulogies including my daughter Sarah. If I'd tried doing that at her age (25) I'd have been a puddle. (good job!)

Still sorting out impressions of people who were there; a few I've seen fairly recently, most I hadn't seen for 15 to 20 years. Among them were high school friends and old room-mates. Time and circumstance have been much kinder to some than others. A motley crew raves on.

Following the ceremony and reception Lynda and I took Sarah to collect her things and had a quick dinner at an Indian restaurant in north Toronto. Sarah is vegan, Lynda is omniverous and I'm a carnivore - we were all happy. Great breads, spicy sauces, tender veggies and meats. We then dashed to the west end to drop Sarah at the airport for her flight home to Vancouver. She was to repack, get some rest and fly off to Hawaii with her new fiance Daniel for a week.

Yes, I didn't blog about that before - I wanted to talk to Sarah a bit more about her engagement before writing about it. Over dinner we heard about their early plans for the wedding. Then she pulled out her cell, rang him up and handed me the phone for a quicky introduction. What can I say? He sounds like he truly loves her ... she's happy and obviously loves him ... good enough for me!!

Tonight we meet up with my son Russ for dinner and a chat before he leaves town Saturday morning for Calgary. He thinks he can drive it in 3 days - I think he's pushing it. 1 day to Wawa, another to the Manitoba border and another straight across the prairies to Calgary. I dunno; it's an awful lot for someone who isn't used to driving much. That's what young people do though, isn't it? Push their limits to find out what they're capable of. Anyway, I'm looking forward to having some time with him - it doesn't happen often enough.

Work has been fairly quiet tonight with just a few restless souls getting up for a drink or a smoke; walking off the effects of bad dreams; having a quick talk with me. They sure aren't lingering outside - the weather has turned cold and wintery. Snow in the forecast - oh joy!!

Actually one of my occassional favourite winter moments is to pick a windless night when it's snowing, take a flashlight outside and point it straight up, tilt my head back and watch the snowflakes fall randomly about me in absolute silence. Mesmerizing; I could do it for hours if it isn't too cold. The visual is so strong that.. it's...difficult....to.....think.......a........complete.........thought.
Imagine that...............................bye.

Reno update

For anyone who happens to care - the kitchen is coming together at last. The floor is complete; the painting done except a few touch-ups. It's been a trial because with the layout of this house, the kitchen really is the heart of things. You enter the house and are immediately in the kitchen; you get into the living room thru either of two doors from, you guessed it, the kitchen. Off the kitchen into a hall to the two mainfloor bedrooms and the stairwell leading to the basement. You literally can't get anywhere except by walking through it.

So we've had a large pantry, refrigerator and the stove all hunkered down in the living room taking up most of the space - looming over us as we try to watch TV. Poor Lynda has consumed more than a few bottles of wine and a couple of rum through this endevour. I'm still sober but sometimes wonder how -Arrrggghh!

Now it's a matter of sorting what stays and what goes; and cleaning room by room straight through the house the 1/4 inch of plaster dust that has filtered throughout. Dust bunnys galore!

If you care to see the project in progress, the fellow who did the floor has pictures on his website, on the projects 2 tab, Norm & Lynda's kitchen. It includes a pic of our cat, Buddy, who took a shine to Gord the contractor. It's at www.hunnydoo.ca/.

Get creative

Thanks to Kel in Oz for a link to a fun site. Bring out your abstract genius or inner child and paint like Jackson Pollock. I tried it; I liked it!! I also tried to save one and post it here, but failed. A shame really cuz no one will see how brilliant it was - 'Drunken Spiders on Iceskates' coulda bin a classic!!

http://www.jacksonpollock.org

Check it out!!!

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