Diggin' In The Dirt

I stole a few more shots from my daughter's Facebook page in order to share them here. Oh, to be 18 months old again and your biggest worry is whether you get sand in your eye or not. Looks like fun - and I wish we were close enough to do these things together. Come to Papa!!

(No name this time and no location)

Anybody Miss Me???

Yeah, I missed all of you.... aw, shucks. I woulda, coulda, shoulda posted last night but thought I'd best concentrate on getting myself set up for a fresh week here at work. Then I caught myself up on all my regular blog reads; if you all wouldn't write so much I might have had some time left to write something myself. Ahem..... er.... maybe not.... by then my eyes were too tired. First night back is always a long one.

So, no really big news here except Lynda had arranged for her brother to install some hardwood flooring in one of the main floor bedrooms. That worked out well. He and his son made a beginning on Friday night, worked away on it all day Saturday and finished up around 9 that evening. By days end Lynda had decided to bite the bullet and fork out the cash to buy an equal amount of flooring for the bedroom right next door. That installation is supposed to happen this coming weekend. It's so nice to have family close by who are handy. I managed to lend a hand occasionally but otherwise stayed out of their way. Now Lynda can apply some of what she has learned from watching hundreds of hours of home improvement and decorating shows.

Toward the end of last week I spent much of my time outside working around the house and yard. We had a couple of sunny, chilly but wind-still days that made for good working conditions. I was able to strip off a couple of the usual layers of clothes and still work up a bit of a sweat. A good deal of time was spent raking the front and back lawns and getting all the leaf debris bagged. Most of it had gone into a neighbours trailer for a trip to the dump but late in the day Saturday I headed back out to do a bit more before the sun set. Foolishly I left a few bags sitting in front of the shed door. Early Sunday after letting the dogs out I heard Lynda freaking out and shouting at Milo. I ran for the nearest window in time to catch him body slamming and tearing into one of the bags with his teeth. He managed to demolish two of them before even letting on he heard us hollering at him to STOP IT!! Then he gave us a look that said 'What's the matter with you two?? I was just having a bit of fun here!!' Lord, leaves everywhere again!! Gotta love him!

One thing about blogland is that over time you come to think quite a lot of, and about, the people you come to 'know' here. Sometimes I comment pretty freely on topics that are written about; other times things can seem too close to the bone and I find myself holding back. I get in a dither wondering if input is welcome at times, or not. Every once in awhile I extend myself in hopes that what I have to offer will be considered in the light and spirit it was intended. Hell, I'm no authority on most stuff but hey, I've been around quite a long time now and been through some stuff of my own. There were many times I could have used some unbiased advice about many things. Anyway, it's nice when those things get acknowledged in a positive way when I've offered some encouragement or let someone know they are being thought of. A feel-good situation, to be sure.

Last night I had kind of an odd conversation with a woman who I thought initially was looking for treatment information. Then it got twisted when she said she had been led to believe we offered aid to abused women. I thought at the beginning of the conversation that she was drunk which wouldn't have been at all unusual for our callers. Something seemed wrong though so I kept her on the line instead of redirecting her. Seems she had been calling a variety of resources during the night and kept being passed off from one agency to another and she was getting increasingly frustrated. It turned out that she wasn't drunk at all; she had a historic brain injury that affected her ability to form thought, translate those thoughts into speech, to speak clearly and be fully understood. Slowly, over the course of an hour we explored the resources she had plugged into and had lined up; reviewed her medical conditions, medications and their side effects; checked into what other local resources might be of help in her situation; and had a plan together for her to follow up on come morning. She was able to go to bed with some clarity of direction and the knowledge that she had been heard. God bless her - I hope she finds the most appropriate help.

Upside Down House

I'm dealing this week with the aftermath of one of Lynda's brainstorms. Which isn't entirely a bad thing; it's just more to do within an already busy schedule.

Lynda's brother had a quantity of hardwood for sale at a great price and he also has time off work in which to install it. Bingo - the project is on. Our neighbour happened to be outside when Lynda got home and they got talking about it. He is a recently retired GM guy who has always had a second career going as a painter; he comes in, has a look around and offers her a great price to finish the room. Saves us the trouble and some money. He has an electrician friend who will install a crossbar in the attic for a fan to hang from; extend an electrical line to the centre of the ceiling and put up a fan. Beautiful.

So yesterday, out of the blue, was spent clearing one of the bedrooms and finding a spot for all the contents. Not an easy task when you don't have a great deal of space to work with. Tearing up carpet and carting it outside. Today I get to pull all the staples left from the carpet and sweep and vacuum all the fine gritty dirt that had sifted through the carpet over the years.

There has been a problem developing over at the townhouse. Stepson #3 noticed an audible noise and heat coming from the electrical panel in the basement. I had my old friend and neighbour Terry in to have a look - he's a licenced electrician. We've arranged for him to replace it ASAP because the panel has run well beyond it's expected lifespan. Terry has killed a couple of circuits to reduce the load and keep it safe until he can get to it. It better be soon cuz SS#3 is nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.

I've spent a couple of hours at Mom's each day waiting for a contractor to show up and cost a job she wants done. So far, three no shows in a row. It's been nice having a chance to visit with the old doll though.

That is how my week off is shaping up; nothing exciting but a little busier than I had hoped. Maybe I can squeeze in a doctor's appointment to see about this lingering cough.

On The Run

So far this week my days have been segmented by having to go out for a few hours, come back home to allow the dogs out to run awhile, then be off running again. Mom and I have had a couple of hours together both Monday & Tuesday and will again today. Lynda and I paid a visit to stepson #3 last evening to check out the job he has done redecorating the townhouse. He's painted straight through the ground floor - ceilings and walls - and it looks great with a couple of new overhead lights in the foyer and kitchen.

At my home group meeting Monday one of our residents asked if I would come up to the house for his discharge ceremony at lunch time Tuesday. I don't often get specific requests to do that but he and I had really hit it off and had some great talks during his stay. I went up yesterday in time for that and he lit up when I walked in. Afterward I had a sit down lunch with my boss, John, and had a chance to catch up on news and concerns.

With having that long run of work and being sick I have plenty of regular household chores to catch up on, plus some springtime stuff on top of that. Not that the weather has been particularly 'spring-like'. It's still freezing at night and low +0 temps through the day. Very sunny though - not complaining!! Time to move my butt and see what I can get accomplished today. See ya!!

Art Attack Response

Kel, way over yonder, at Xfacta has posted another Art Attack Challenge which you can visit here: http://xfacta.blogspot.com/2009/03/art-attack-nature.html

It just happened that as I was wandering the yard with the dogs I had noticed some of the colour, texture and pattern in the wood of our shed - headed back into the house for the camera and snapped a few shots. A couple of them turned out alright although the focus isn't as good as I would like. C'est la vie. They are for reference purposes if I ever get my materials out of storage, apply myself to the task and get my hand and mind operating in synch again.

Thanks for the nudge Kel.

Prince - Fan or No

Yeah, you know who I'm talking about - Prince and/or 'the artist formerly known as', and once again as Prince. He's a guy that people tend to hold strong feelings about either yea or nay - there doesn't seem to be much middle ground about him or people's feelings about his music.

There's a music blog I've mentioned before - Blog On The Tracks - and Simon wrote a column / post the other day primarily about Prince's early years that I found really interesting. LINK. Personally I think he's one of the most talented musicians and producers out there. I wouldn't describe myself a an enormous 'FAN' but anytime I come across anything of his I know it'll be worth a listen. What I do know is he has a terrific passion for his craft and you can tell by listening just how much of himself he puts into the production of his albums.

Prompted by Simon's post I headed over to Youtube to refresh my memory on some of the tracks he mentioned. Lo and behold, every song video with Prince's name attached to it has had the audio muted by Prince and / or his publisher. Like I said in my comment at Simon's blog; it is Prince's work and his prerogative as to how it is used.

If you'd like to see Prince really shred up the fretboard check him out here performing in an ensemble at an awards show. His solo begins at about the halfway point in the song - 'As My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Watch for George Harrison's son Dhani playing acoustic guitar to the right of Tom Petty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp_SVrlurY

Coming to work tonight I put his 2004 release 'Musicology' into the CD player and cranked the speakers right up high. Ya know, it's difficult to drive while shuckin' n jivin'!! Damn near ditched it a couple of times. Sure was a fun way to wake up though - highly recommended.

Who Finds Dentists Amusing??

Well, Kitty does. Well, maybe not amusing.... but you be the judge.

I chanced upon Kitty a long time ago and unfortunately lost track of her just about as quickly. Pretty much a come and go thing. But by following links on friend's blogs I came across hers once again a couple of months ago. She's a great photographer and has a keen wit. Here she describes a recent root canal job she had done.

http://cinemagypsy.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/dr-lecter-dr-lecter/

She makes me laugh, she does. Kitty is on vacation for a bit but when she returns to posting I think I'll add a link. That way I won't loose track of her again.

S.O.B.

Today is Lynda's 55th birthday!! and you'd never guess that if you were to be meeting her for the first time. She's a vivacious gal who approaches life with a relentless vigour. Although she is critical of her appearance in some ways I think she's just as beautiful as when we met 15 years ago.

I had been thinking of getting her a piece of jewellery but that seems such a cliche kind of gift. There's a terrific graphic print I saw in a shop window the other night that I think she would really like to put in her 'white' room. Maybe that. We were supposed to go for dinner later today at our fave restaurant but something has come up and so we're postponing until Sunday.

S.O.B. ??? That's what will be on the bumper sticker I'm getting for her. It stands for 'Sexy Old Broad'. That should win me some brownie points, ya think?

Happy Double Nickels.

7 Days = 1 Week

A week ago Wednesday I came down with this cold late in the day. This Wed on arising in the afternoon I felt a definite improvement - the fever had broken, congestion was much less, more energy. I know that you aren't supposed to take anything that depresses respiration when you're sick like this but I hadn't been sleeping at all so I took a couple of sleeping pills; the rest made a big difference. Today hasn't been quite as good but I'm still a lot better than I had been feeling. I just have to make it through two more shifts and I can look forward to some rest come Sunday and Monday.

Progress; that's all I ask for....

Floating An Idea

Tonight I spent a good deal of time hemming & hawing about, then eventually writing an email to my boss. Earlier in the evening I was reading the plaque mounted on the outside wall near the entrance and noticed we're approaching the 20th anniversary of when this treatment facility opened. Plus this house will be 150 years old!! having been built in 1859. What a great excuse for a party!!

I laid it all out for him - notify the three local papers and 3 radio stations to get spot ads. Invite municipal, provincial and federal politicians who represent this area. Have an open house for local residents who have displayed some curiosity about the place anyway. Involve local businesses - raffle a selection of their donated products and services. Contact past clients and their families to invite them for a BBQ lunch - there are literally thousands of past clients. Set up a stage and have an open jam for entertainment. Bring staff from head office and our other two residences out to the country for a break from the city. Tie it in with the Canada Day long weekend.

It went on and on..... and I hope the idea will be met with some enthusiasm. It's a good opportunity to promote ourselves and what we accomplish here. Enabling people to effect positive life changes through abstinence from mind and mood altering substances via the application of 12 Step recovery in their day-to-day lives. That's what we do and we do it well.

We have three months to plan and pull together this shebang. I hope the idea gets some backing and action.

Randomness

There are a couple of you folks out there that I had promised emails replies to by now. Sorry, but with this cold and little sleep my brain is mush. Soon...... promise.

I entered a CBC Radio 2 contest to see Leonard Cohen in New York. If I win I'll be wishing I hadn't procrastinated so much about renewing my passport because I can't fly into the U.S. without one. I'd crawl the 500 miles to see this show after the reviews I've seen from this tour. Winners will be announced Monday.

Had my first wife Vicki and I stayed together, yesterday, St Patrick's Day would have been our 30th anniversary. Before I left work I sent her an email greeting to mark the day and wishing her well. By the time I got up a few hours later she had replied complete with a scanned newspaper clipping from last years celebration of St Paddy's showing her toasting the camera with a pint of stout. Cheers to Big Red! She's coming to town later this month so Lynda and I might have her over for dinner. Depends on her schedule.

Lynda headed into Toronto earlier this evening with a few girlfriends to see the stage production of 'Jersey Boys'. News to follow.

I've been reading through some published reports about the correlation between addiction and those diagnosed with ADHD. Scary stats at 3 times the rate for 'normal' populations.

A Bit of Colour

I may have posted a couple of these before.... I can't recall. But I felt like a splash of lively colour and some interesting shapes.

Getting a little ahead of myself with these flower shots - the daffies, roses and trilliums will be along soon enough - these are from last year.

On The Lighter Side.....

Back on Saturday morning we paid a visit to my Mom's to see my brother who was in town from up north. It's always a fun and interesting time because he is still firmly in denial of the fact he has problems with alcohol and so we try to catch him early in the day. Funny, because on one hand, there are a steady stream of caps being snapped off beer bottles, glug, glug, glug; and on the other, he always asks how my work here at the treatment centre is going. 'Well D___, your bed is still on reserve just in case you ever want to use it, bro.' He just laughs and tells me to go to hell. Good natured brotherly stuff.

His daughter Becky and her partner Sheila had come out from Toronto to see him as well and it's always a blast spending time with them. They're a great pair. They were married about 4 years ago soon after our provincial same sex legislation went through. Between our work schedules and theirs these opportunities to get together don't come nearly often enough.

During the visit Mom told us that our eldest brother has handed in his retirement notice after 40 years of teaching. He started out in a 2 room elementary school in a small northern town and is retiring from being principal of the regional high school after almost 20 years in that position. He could write a book about the variety of experience that has entailed. Good guy, good teacher, good administrator. Time to enjoy the grand kids.

Possessed of a Worried Mind

They say, whoever 'they' are, that bad things come in threes. I feel like Damocles waiting for the final sword to fall. Two so far; one to go.

Lynda arrived home shortly after I'd gotten up for the day. 'You look like hell. Your cold isn't any better?? You're going to feel worse once I tell you this.....'. She'd gone to pick up her youngest son from his workplace and deliver him home. He was in a stormy mood when she picked him up and when she asked what was wrong he unleashed a string of 'expletive deleted' curses and told her he'd been fired. One of the owners of the company had mis-read a situation and begun targeting him early last week. Today his supervisor was forced to let him go against his own wishes. They lost a good worker there. His room-mate had just started a job today after being out of work since Christmas. Couldn't we just get them both working and paying rent at the same time... consistently??

One of Lynda's idiosyncrasies is that she rarely ever calls me at work - maybe once or twice in any given year. Tonight she called around 10 p.m. and my automatic question was, 'what's wrong?' She'd gotten word that her Mom, Mother Mary, had been rushed to hospital late in the afternoon. By the time she was called they were into doing a bunch of diagnostic tests, had her stable and comfortable on morphine, and were monitoring her closely. Half a dozen of Lynda's siblings were at the hospital and relaying updates to the rest of the clan. I'd been hoping for an update myself but Lynda might be in transit back to her hometown. It seems every time something important happens I'm at work. I'll get a fresh read on things when I get home. In the meantime prayers for a speedy recovery will have to do. I love that lady like she was my own Mom.

** update on Mary ** She's been released from hospital and has a daughter or two keeping an eye on her and helping out. There are more tests to be followed up on before a treatment plan comes together. Whew!

Signs of Spring

Lo and behold..... with all the snow we had I didn't expect to see the lawn until May.... but all our snow has gone except the crusty, icy stuff left in the deep shadowed ditches and woods. In both the front and back gardens bulbs have sprouted wee shoots an inch or so out of the soil. A few of our songbirds are back; cardinals have been around for a few weeks and robins have just arrived. There were a group of 10 or so jumping about on the greenbelt feeding this afternoon. Lots of chickadees and wrens take turns at the feeder. Although lots of geese winter over here their numbers appear to be increasing. Every brook, stream and river is rushing with run-off.

We've had a couple of mild days together so Lynda and I have spent some time in the yard picking up after the dogs and getting the yard raked. Milo, being part Jack Russell, is a digger and a chewer. The yard is still sporting craters from his digging efforts back in the fall. Through the winter he has pruned every shrub and tree branch that he could jump to - quite a height considering the depth of the snow we had. I swear his daddy must have been a beaver; not a dog at all. He eats as much wood as he does dog food.

Jinxed Myself

Back on Wednesday I called to check on Mom and during the conversation I mentioned how lucky we all have been..... that none of us had been sick with colds or flu all winter. After the call I went to lie down for a couple of hours to catch up on some badly needed rest. When I got up.... bingo... the first signs of a cold. Nasally, sore throat, pressure in the ears. DAMN!! That was around 4 in the afternoon; by 8 I was back in bed for the night so I could suit up and show up for work Thursday. I wish now I hadn't worked that day cuz I might have been able to rest away the worst of what I'm feeling now ... days later ... and I'm back at work once again for a new week.

Guess I should have kept my big mouth shut, eh Ma?

Remember: a medicated cold will usually last just 7 days but an untreated one will last a whole week.

Calling in Sick

Bleagh!!

Later.........

Visitations

Lately, seemingly everywhere I go, I am seeing hawks. Small swift ones, large soaring ones, some up close, most far away.... in back of the house over the greenbelt, while driving. I'm beginning to think they must be my totem animal as they draw my eye more and more these last few years.

Yesterday morning I was standing in my boss's office talking with him and through the window behind him I saw one swoop between the branches and land in a tree outside. I said, ' Look John, we have a visitor.' He rose from his desk and raised the blinds to check out this Red-Tailed hawk sitting 30 feet beyond the window. The bird seemed to sense we were there, hopped about on the branch a few times to show his various sides and after about a minute made a jump and with a massive swoop of his wings was aloft and gone from sight. A big rugged looking character with tawny coloured feathers on his breast, darker brown on his back and deep umber tail feathers. John sat back at his desk and said,' I'm all covered in gooseflesh! That was amazing to see him so close! Did you invite him here to visit? He had a sense of familiarity about him.' I had to declaim any sort of responsibility but acknowledged I had enjoyed the visitation as well.

A few minutes later into the conversation John was speaking of a good friend who had passed away last week and he caught me looking back in the direction of where the hawk had been. John smiled and laughed, 'Do you suppose....??' 'I can't say John but perhaps he just dropped by to say goodbye, so long and see you later.' Who's to say? Not me.

Upside Down, Ass Backward

A musical interlude..... I heard this song on my way home this morning and hey!! I relate to this! It is R.E.M. doing a live performance of 'Daysleeper'. Dedicated to all of us, who for one reason or another, spend our nights awake..... and at odds with all you fortunate 'day' people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDTCfD41Ck

Enjoy.

I Told'ja so.....

This week is coming together as I figured. I'm just out of bed and at work. After I rouse the clients and we all eat I run a staff meeting... then I'm out of here for the day. Back here for a day shift tomorrow.

I'm pretty tired having worked about 110 hours over the last 9 or 10 days so I plan on taking it easy today. Lynda is off work this week so I hope we can spend some time with my Mom either today or Friday.

I admitted one fellow yesterday and he joins a good motivated crew here looking to get well. Both afternoon meeting went well dealing with A.A.'s second and third steps - approaching faith and turning one's life and will over to a power greater than oneself.

The recovery community lost one of it's giants on Monday. Father Martin of La Havre, Maryland died at the age of 85. A recovering alcoholic and priest, he dedicated his life to learning about alcoholics, alcoholism and working to help alcoholics and their families recovery from the disease. Here at the centre we show some of his series of videos to our clients and last evening I showed them one entitled 'Guidelines'. He closed the talk with a prayer which had a number of us in the room teary eyed. God bless him. (Personally I think he shold be fast tracked for the sainthood.)

A quick check-in..... time to get on with the day. Have a good one unless you've already made other plans.

Long Haul

So, with this work week done within the hour I'm psyching myself up to do the quick turnaround so I can be rested and full functioning for first thing Monday morning. Off home for a short sleep, get up & go to work with Lynda for a few hours, try for 8 to 10 waking hours and then crash so I can come back to work. After work Monday I'll race home for dinner and a change of clothes and head to my A.A. home group meeting. Back home to get my gear packed up for the 26 hour overnight shift Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Another day shift Thursday. A couple of days off and back to my regular series of night shifts come next Sunday night. Whew....

What all that boils down to is that posts may be short and infrequent... but I'll check in on my regular reads as per usual.

This has been a good week despite a completely sleepless day Wednesday. Normally I can separate work and home so that one doesn't affect the other. That didn't happen the other day as I'd fielded calls from a couple of women through the night. Both were long calls and the second one took me right up to quitting time. I guess there wasn't enough time between the end of the call and when I made it home to bed to de-stress and process all I'd heard. The first woman was seeking treatment for alcoholism; the second had 6 months clean of her drug of choice and had relapsed due to a variety of life pressures. Both were survivors of every sort of abuse. The circumstances that some people are able to endure.... amazing.

Lynda had had a rough week so Friday night I took her out for dinner at a good and popular burger joint. We had a good hour and a half over our food and Lynda eased out with a couple of glasses of wine. I had been considering a quick 2 or 3 day trip west to see my son, his lady and my 7 month old grand daughter but I told Lynda I couldn't justify the expense right now. It's on hold for awhile until we see how work and finances go.

Milo

In this shot Milo is enjoying being spoiled and sucked up a bit. Short haired dogs chill quickly in -20C temps. He's been on meds for his ear for almost 2 weeks and is showing marked improvement. The vet thought the problem might be due to food allergies because Milo had been scratching at his ears and chewing at his nails and pads. Apparently that is generally how allergies show in dogs - feet, ears and coat. So, between the pills, drops and a different formula food he is better than before. He's leaving his ears alone, not chewing at his feet, his coat is even more thick and lustrous, and his behaviour has improved. His diet may have been causing him some stress as he seems more settled now and less likely to be into everything. He's a great dog and one thing is for sure; he couldn't get any more handsome.

f-Stop Friday

Wow! I haven't done one of these in a dogs age but seeing as how I'm back into posting photos again I thought it was in order. BTW, thanks for the positive comments on this latest bunch I've put up. Your comments are appreciated (and encouraged) Feel free to say what you don't like, too.

I'm not going to mess around with trying to put type where I want it.... too muc agg. Big, big shift in the weather - it got milder straight through last night and I've gotten up to a balmy 14C, which if memory serves, is around 55F. Huge difference from the -25 from just the other night., and I love it.

With that in mind I thought I'd clear the deck and look back on a few wintery shots so I can start thinking of the season in 'past' terms. (I know we aren't done yet but.....)

Shot #1 is Freedom playing sentinel on her hill over looking her domain during on particularily fierce storm. Good girl!!!

#2 was taken at work after we had been dumped on a couple of days in a row. It has been so cold that it hasn't alll had a chance to melt yet - no where near that deep anymore, but still..... go away.

#3 is looking straight up our driveway. Taken one morning after arriving home from work and being unable to negotiate the driveway because it was too deep and choked with snow to drive in. I'll do a spring or summer shot another time for comparison.

#4 is one I took last year while living at the townhouse. Meet my gate. I liked the stuck-on snow on the board faces and the blue cast that the low light gives this. It's a strong linear image, too.

Second Attempt Today

I tried this as soon as I arrived home this morning and gave up in frustration. During the long interval when I wasn't posting photos Blogspot must have made some changes to how they load and how to edit in html. Text won't flow properly; pictures disappear..... arrggghhhh!!!!

Time for another look at Wordpress.....

So, I'll go the easier softer way and save myself some aggravation. Aaahhhh!, all better now.

Shot #1 was taken outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and shows some funky sculptures of their resident snowmen. That is the Skydome in the background; home of the Blue Jays.

Shot #2 is an old L-shaped house that was being used as a car sales lot. It was situated at a small but busy intersection in an area undergoing rapid development. The house has since been torn down to make way for the intersection reconstruction and expansion. That evening threatened severe weather and at that point looked like we could get a tornado. I thought the shot had good strong graphic qualities; dark and angular.

Shot #3 - I shot this specifically to be a screensaver fo my phone. I liked the various colours of the stone work, the random shapes, and the textures. Most of the shapes are angular and square-ish except that one at right centre.

Shot #4 - This was back when Jupiter and Venus were very closely aligned and as steady as I could hold my hand it still shows squiggly movement. If it hadn't been for the beautiful flare effect from the streetlight I likely would have deleted it.

Renewed, Refreshed

Ah, patience pays..... this period of discomfort and pain seems to be easing somewhat. T.G. I'm beginning to feel more myself again. Enough so that I'm getting back in the game and re-establishing contact with some folks I care about and had lapsed with. Getting out of myself and extending myself a bit. I was in a lousy headspace for a while there.

Roaming about the blogs is a constant wonder to me. I've done a lot of visiting around tonight and what I've seen affects me deeply - from laughing right out loud as I read, to being aghast at situations people cope with and get through, and moved to tears by the beautiful ways people use language to convey their thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Awesome.

So; what's new?? This lengthy cold snap is due to end in the next day or two and we'll see some temps above freezing over the weekend. Lord, I'm due. Bring it on in spades.

Last Sunday Lynda and I went to her hometown for her Mom's 80th birthday celebration. Good times; great turnout. It was to be a come-and-go luncheon and lots of folks came; no one seemed to want to leave. This was the first occasion that all 16 of Mother Mary's kids were together at the same time since their father's funeral almost 15 years ago. I had fun touring around and spending time with all my many in-laws. Lynda got re-acquainted with a gal who was her best friend for years when they were just into their teens - they used to horseback ride together. We made it home just in time for me to change clothes and come to work for the night making for a 23 hour day. Not the smartest way to start the week but well worth it. We miss too many family events because of work.

I'm hoping to get a few more pictures posted later on today after I get up; it depends on how well and how long I'm able to sleep.

Oh yeah - the firefight. Even after two conciliatory messages from me the guy still has his shorts in a knot. I didn't bother responding tonight to his latest comment. Best to let it lie, I think. We'll see what happens when he puts up a fresh post.

Firefight!!

Lord, that was rich!! I positively roared with laughter when, on arising today, I checked for reaction to my comments to that columnist's blog. Sensitive creature that he is, he got overly provoked and posted 3 comments within 3 or 4 hours. Seems I really bothered him. Oh well..... toughen up, buttercup.

Although he provided me with tons of ammo for further volleys (and I was so sorely tempted throughout the rest of the day and evening to continue the barrage) in the end I decided to play nice and offer a truce, nice guy that I am.

Hopefully that will be the end of it and he'll take the offer in the spirit it was intended. End of firefight. Of course, if he doesn't the gloves come off and I'll have some more fun playing with his mind. Cheap entertainment.

If anyone else would care to critique his writing I can provide a link. Hee-hee. We could go international on him.

Doh!! Bad Surprise!!

Tonight I thought I'd have some fun but the situation backfired on me. Can you smell cordite?? Here's the skinny.

About a month ago I came across the blog of a guy who writes a music column for the local paper. It's cross-linked with the newspaper's web-site so you have access to all his writing, both columns and blog. On that occasion I gently gave him the gears about the quality of his writing and gave a few suggestions about how he could improve it, thereby attracting more readers through quality reporting and reviewing. (advice which I should also be following, btw - I don't pretend to be good at writing) The comment went to moderation but did appear a day or two later and he took me to task for leaving an anonymous comment but saying he would follow-up and seek to improve.

Earlier tonight I wound up back on the site and decided to wade through his output for the last few weeks. Guess what?? He had one post, just one, that was well written, a few that weren't bad but most were pretty awful. So, off I go and make a few more pointed, blatantly critical comments which may have got a bit personal. (I should have left out that comment about his mother.) There was some constructive, informative stuff in there, too though. All in all it came off sort of snarky. Anyway.... Hit the 'publish' button and **blink**, it went directly to the post!! NO MODERATION!! Shit! Double Shit!! Joke is on me...... groan.

I hastily wrote another comment; a note of apology saying I expected it to be for 'his eyes only' or for it to be moderated and asking that it be deleted.

Bad, BAD man. That'll learn me to keep my big mouth shut. (Not likely.)

You shouldn't put stuff out there for public consumption if it isn't up to snuff.

oooOOOOooo!! Scary Monsters!!!

Okay - a little test here. Which one of these 3 doesn't belong with the other two?

This first one was taken in the first couple of days I had my phone before I found the settings for different lighting conditions / sources. This was just when Lynda and I were splitting but were having a good time one evening goofing around with our new phones. With the strong orange cast to it you would think it was taken around Halloween. NOT!!

(I'm having problems with text flow around these shots so....this next blurb goes with pic #2.... moving right along)
Ta-Dahhh!!! NO, this isn't a figment our collective imaginations. This is my friend JPW taken around the same time as Lynda's and my break-up. JPW and I met for dinner at a local chicken joint to catch up on all the breaking news. He was a great support to me through those times. Evidently I didn't change the settings for flourescent lighting and seeing as how it has no flash, this is how it turned out. Lousy shot but you can still tell what a handsome s.o.b. he is.... damn him. Thanks for your permission to post this J.

Mom decided she really didn't want her picture taken once she cottoned on to what I was doing with my phone. We had been out running around town and stopped for a quick sandwich. Mom bought lunch, sweet lady. I'll have to give her a good talking to about being more co-operative in front of the camera.

Okay, the test is over. Which doesn't fit?? Well me of course. JPW is a complete psycho - everyone knows that and I'll be glad to tell anyone who doesn't already know. (sorry man - calls 'em as I sees 'em) And then there's Mom.... she goes about in this disguise as a calm, good natured woman but I tell ya, you don't want to rile her and feel her wrath. Scary, scary shit - wouldn't kid you. I don't fit in this group cuz I'm just next to the sainthood, doncha know? All around good guy; wouldn't hurt a flea. Hardee-har-har.....

Keeping Still

Of late I haven't had a lot to say here because, increasingly, I've been in an ongoing state of pain. You see I can't be comfortable for very long whether I'm sitting, standing, walking or lying down. There are a number of factors at work but number one I'm sure is age..... and all the stupid things I put my body through when I was much younger. Likely just too much snow shovelling this season; too many working hours; not enough rest, blah, blah, blah. It has resulted in a flare up of old back problems, tendinitis and renewed pangs from arthritis. Stretches and exercise aren't having any positive effect.There is a medication I used to use which I might have to get back on but the side effects on my stomach were enough to make me stop using it a couple of years ago; time to give it another shot, I suppose. Increasing multiple doses of ibuprofen aren't working anymore.

I'm finding the pain is wearing me out; wearing me down. Lately sleep has been my refuge and I have slept solidly. There's just that occasional problem of changing positions or eventually getting up out of bed. Creak, crack, crunch,.... snap, crackle, pop. The swings in the weather don't seem to be helping either - going from mild and damp to bitterly cold and dry - I feel it all in my bones. Friday saw temps drop 30C in 16 hours from a damp +9 to a bone chilling -20; brutal on the body and psyche.

During my week off I accomplished little and didn't push my self very hard. Some light housecleaning and cooking was about it..... oh, and looking after the pets. I'm not the only one around the house who is feeling off. On Tuesday I had our younger dog, Milo, to the vet for a procedure on his ears. One ear is infected and he's on meds for it. Friday I took Freedom up as well to get her checked out; her hind end is seizing up; she's having difficulty when she first stands to walk and with climbing stairs. She's on a couple of meds including a glucosamine food additive. Oohhh, the joys of getting older, eh, girl??

In a nutshell that's why I've been keeping to myself a bit more than usual with little to say here and not so quick to comment elsewhere. I'll continue to cull any photos I think are worth sharing and get them posted. For right now though this has been enough sitting - time for a walk about the house. Yeah, I'm back for another 7 night stand and I've already been asked to cover a series of dayshifts starting 24 hours after I close off this week. Later....