The Only Constant Is Change

Moving Time

2009-05-16T02:15:00.002-04:00

After over 2 1/2 years and 700+ posts here on Blogspot I'm making the move over to WordPress just like I mentioned a post or two ago. No beefs here; just time to try another platform and learn something new.

You can find the new blog at http://norm54.wordpress.com and linked on the right sidebar. It is called 'Unmerited Gifts'.

In the newspaper business when an edition is wrapped or the paper ceases business they do this:

--30--

See you at the new digs......

Catching Up On Kudos / Credit

2009-05-14T00:15:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about being prompted / inspired to return to lending my hand to some form of artwork or another. I've been fortunate here in getting to see, and know a little bit, some very talented writers, photographers, artists and hobbyists. The prompt to action has been brewing for quite awhile and I've gained that inspiration through seeing the work of various people - Kel at 'the xfacta' through her 'Art Attack' challenges, Robin at 'Bountiful Healing', Lea at 'Lea Kelley Saying Thank You For...', among a number of others.....

In this post, http://constantchangeisthenorm.blogspot.com/2009/05/small-beginning.html I singled out QuoinMonkey's series on mandalas over at 'red Ravine' for getting me going on them. I downloaded some and have spent a bit of time using my new art supplies colouring them in - getting used to the materials and working with them and the colours again; tuning my eye and hands in.

The other person I credit with providing that nudge into action is QM's partner at 'red Ravine', ybonesy, with her series of posts regarding the evolution and process of a brilliant graphic she produced. yb periodically attaches what she refers to as her 'doodles' to her posts but these posts took it all to a higher level. The initial one that really caught my eye described the process, her inspiration and the materials she chose - you can see it here in 'The Making of a Painter':
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/the-making-of-a-painting-painter/
A couple of weeks later the finished project appeared here - scroll down to 'The Other':
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/this-that-the-other/
...and a few days later a variation on the theme:
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/flower-power-haiku/
Powerful stuff to be sure.

Thanks again QM. Thanks ybonesy. Thanks to everyone who has provided positive example and encouragement. I needed that!

Oh - come see the new me over at http://norm54.wordpress.com

Switcheroo

2009-05-13T04:59:00.004-04:00

I've done some prep work on a new blog at WordPress (which I haven't properly named as yet, or I'll keep this name) but you can see it at: http://norm54.wordpress.com/

Let me know what you think of the set-up and please, any tips or hints you might have are always appreciated.

I'll likely continue to post here while I work the bugs out there (or do dual posts) for a while anyway.

BTW, this is the 700th post here at Constant Change!! Woo-Hoo!!

Whazzup??

2009-05-13T02:33:00.007-04:00

Well, today will be a long one -- I was up early to cut the lawn before coming to work. By dinner time I was ready for a nap but showered and dressed for work instead. There are another few hours to go before I can leave for home again.

It's a quiet night here - the house population has dipped again; less than 15 guys... and the phones have been still. Since I completed my assigned work I've:

-caught up on all my blog friend's posts;

-played around with some of my new art supplies; did a mandala with oil pastel; checked out the selection of conte crayons

-listened to some Susan Tedeschi (Hope & Desire), Jeff Beck (Official USA Bootleg '07) and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Raising Sand).

For some reason I wasn't expecting to like 'Raising Sand' much; preconceived notions, I suppose. By the time I'd heard 4 or 5 songs I was getting sold on it and once it was over I wanted to hear it all again with fresh ears. T-Bone Burnett's song selection and production for this album are flawless. This unlikely vocal pairing of Plant and Krauss sounds effortless and yet is hauntingly beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpjnaGOeHH4&feature=related

'Please Read The Letter' video link.

Hamster-On-The-Wheel Mind

2009-05-12T03:24:00.002-04:00

Much as I had cheerier things on my mind to write about tonight, I'm stuck.

Back before Christmas my friend, mentor and fellow group member Terry found out he had been diagnosed with and was then treated for an aggressive form of prostrate cancer. This was in the weeks leading up to he and his wife leaving for their winter long vacation in Florida. He was also informed at the time that the cancer had spread to his bones but that it was a much slower growing form of the disease. Since arriving home a couple of weeks ago he has had further tests and he gets those results Wednesday.

Earlier on tonight he was asked to speak at our home group meeting and gave a really good, thoughtful AA talk. Toward the end of it he began talking about this diagnosis and the fact that he has a timeline which has been given him leading to his ultimate demise. Best guess given the initial results: 2 to 4 years tops. Given that he has had months now to think about it I'm not surprised he was able to speak about it in such a straight-forward way but it certainly choked me up to think of this world without him in it.

The gist of the end of his message: no one leaves this earth alive..... do live to your potential each day..... continue to be of service to others; it allows you to shift the focus off your self.... retain your sanity through active practices toward maintaining your sobriety..... you determine how happy you are with your life.

I wish tonight I felt as balanced and unflappable as he sounded. I so hope his news is good come Wednesday.

What Horizon?

2009-05-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

While running a few errands yesterday I took a brief time-out for a walk through (the appropriately named) Lakeview Park. It has among other things a beach area, volleyball nets, soccer fields, ball diamonds, a bandshell, a few relocated historic buildings, b-b-q's and picnic areas... it covers quite an area. This top shot is looking east along the north shore of Lake Ontario.

The colour of the water was almost a perfect match for that of the sky and with a bit of haze rising from the water the horizon was pretty much obscured. This one is facing a little west of south approximately between Rochester, N.Y and Niagara Falls which would both be about 35 - 40 miles distant on the south side of the lake.

Last night and today we've had bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms passing through. It's supposed to clear today through the afternoon. I've invited Mom over for an early Mother's Day dinner - there's a roast out thawing and heading for the oven later on. There's a trip to the store soon to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies and some sweets for dessert.

To all you moms who check in here - enjoy your day Sunday!!

Inukshuk

2009-05-08T09:24:00.003-04:00

The mysterious stone figures known as inuksuit can be found throughout the circumpolar world. Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path." Credit to 'The Inukshuk Gallery' for the quote.

More and more over the last 25 years these stone symbols have become more popular and crept into the common consciousness. You used to see them rarely while driving on northern roads and usually on the horizon where they would catch your eye. Now they pop up all over. Their original intent in the far north was as a sort of assurance that someone had passed this way before - keep going. The one above was made by one of our clients from some simple building materials he had at hand - keep going.

The inukshuk has been adopted as the official symbol of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Find Your Own Path

2009-05-07T09:19:00.002-04:00

Time is short this morning again. Yesterday was spent grubbing around in the dirt while sorting out a couple of garden areas - not so interesting to write about perhaps. Soooo.... here's another shot stolen from my daughter's Facebook page which I just love. It's her son Z walking the independent walk. (Hmmm... now if I just had some airfare, I'd surprise them with a visit.)

Oh, while on an errand yesterday I stopped in to an art supply store carrying yb's material list in my grubby hand. I checked out all they had to offer and came away with a different assortment of materials. A variety pack of conte crayons, another pack of oil pastels, a kids watercolour set and another basic set of markers. I could have spent hours there and spent a whack of money but I tore myself away. The clerk and I had quite a long chat and reviewed yb's list - he explained some of the features of those pens - good guy.

Anyway - brand new day but wet today. I might get some time checking out those new toys afterall. Later.....

Colour Splash

2009-05-05T20:43:00.003-04:00

Gotta love springtime for the colour!! Yay!!

Boo!! Right after this I started in cutting the lawns for the first time this year.

Hey!! It beats shovelling snow.... I ain't complaining.

That Kind Of Day......

2009-05-04T12:53:00.004-04:00

These have all likely appeared here before.... but hey!!, I like 'em. I hope they suit you too.

..... and it's a pokey day; a little running around town doing errands...

... and trying to clean up around the house; I'll get to the yard work if I can fit it in.

Tonight at my home group meeting I've asked my g'friend Audrey to speak for us and I've invited Lynda to come hear her. I've mentioned Audrey before; she's 88 now and is coming up soon on 52 years of sobriety. You know, before the days of detoxes and treatment centres and therapy.

That'll be my day. What're you up to??

Resources Exhausted

2009-05-03T04:23:00.002-04:00

Having attended PJ and Tina's re-wedding ceremony and reception before coming to work for the night I find myself feeling played out and muddy headed tonight. Actually it's the third day in a row where I've had less than 5 hours sleep so it's not to be unexpected, I suppose. I'm hoping I can devote today to regaining some energy and simply enjoying some time around the house with Lynda and the pets. It's been a good week but a busy one - time to wind'er down.

I have a couple of posts cogitating about my brain but they aren't ready to spill out here as yet. See y'all on Monday sometime. (Weather depending; the lawn is due for it's first trim of the season.)

Recovery Tale

2009-05-02T03:26:00.003-04:00

Friday May 1 one of my fellow group members completed 2 years clean and sober. Later on today he and his wife will renew their wedding vows. When PJ arrived here for treatment he was looking for help in stopping his coke addiction; it wasn't until part way through his stay that he realized his dependence on weed and alcohol were also impairing his daily functioning. By the time he arrived here his marriage was completely off the rails... he had spent a year couch-surfing at friend's places, until he eventually ran out of friends to use. PJ was seriously in debt having spent everything he had earned and racking up his credit cards to the limit. There were also some large sums owed to some not-very-nice-people who had fronted him large quantities 'on the cuff'. He was no longer employable; he was messed up.The last couple of loving things his wife did for him were to allow him to crash in their basement on the condition he called us to seek treatment. That he did and was allowed to stay during his 5 week wait for treatment.

PJ didn't exactly dive right into the Tx experience; he had his doubts; he balked; he argued. By the time he left though he had seen the evidence in others and was beginning to see some in himself. He decided to give the recovering life a shot - try it for 90 days and if at the end you decide you like the result stick around. If not, your misery will be refunded.

So, treatment over, PJ returned to his old home but under the same conditions; under the same roof as his wife and kids but living separately. He devoted himself to attending lots of meetings, chose to join the same group as me; looked around at and found himself a sponsor; worked together on getting through the step work; and got into being of service at the group level. At home he began to get more involved in the kids lives, their activities and school work - being a father to them once again. He and Tina began to spend more time together and revisiting their past problems; hashing things out. They started 'dating' again and exploring where the relationship might go. A little over a year ago Tina started to accompany PJ to our meeting once a month or so and she was happy to attend his one year medallion presentation.

About 6 weeks ago PJ sprung the news about renewing their vows on me and asked if I'd care to attend. When the big lump in my throat subsided enough for me to answer him I told him I'd be more than happy to. See, he'd been party to what had happened between Lynda and I - the separation, buying the townhouse, the move, those times. He also witnessed that reunion, the move back home and what has transpired since. PJ was watching, witnessing and was affected by what happened. Enough to give him the hope that it could happen for them as well.

God bless them both and their shared future. I plan on getting up early today so I can make it to the church for the service and on to the reception they've planned.

Today is also the sobriety date for our group's resident 'old-timer' Terry C ., who is celebrating 27 years committed to his ongoing recovery from alcoholism. My mentor. As I'm chairing our next meeting I get to make the presentations on behalf of the group recognizing their contributions to the group. A pleasure and an honour.

A Small Beginning

2009-05-01T03:30:00.001-04:00

Funny, ain't it?? How when you've been away from something for a very, VERY long time (like drawing) a blank piece of paper can be SO daunting!! A couple of weeks ago I finally got out my pad of paper, pencils and a batch of markers and thought 'What the hey!?!?'. I started in drawing some flowing sinuous lines, then traced, & double traced and mirrored some of them to get this product below.

I bordered the pencil drawing with grey marker to strengthen the lines and also so it might pick up when photographed. Over to the left I was checking out the various coloured pens and found the pen barrels aren't a very good representation of the actual pen colour.

Each area filled in above has two or three colours in it done in varying ways; crosshatching, pointillism, random squiggles. Is it any good?? Well, no not really.... but it broke the barrier against doing the next one at some point. It also told me I need more and better colours to choose from and probably a different medium. The pack of oil pastels that I picked up at the same time as the markers and paper have taken a mysterious disappearing jaunt. I know I didn't want to leave them in the car but what have I done with them....???? Ah well, back to the store.

Okay, mandalas. First off kudos to QuoinMonkey over at red Ravine for tweaking my interest. I had been following with interest her monthly installments regarding her year long journey and practice. Doing a search over at their site brought the lot of them together here:

http://redravine.wordpress.com/?s=mandalas

If you scroll back to the bottom of the page you can follow the evolution since January 2008. Contained on her pages were links to on-line sites where you can download and print a variety of designs.... so I did, and this is the first one I tried. BTW, I spent that entire night following links and going off on associated tangents including labyrinths, mazes, sacred geometry..... you name it. Anyway, I've been totally impressed with QM's work and her writing on the subject. A big shout out to QM's partner Liz who also contributed some of her artwork to the posts - she has a great eye for design and use of colour.

So, once again, is this any good?? No, I don't expect so but it was fun to do and play around with colour choices (which were pretty limited). I was drawn to the strong geometrics of this design and was satisfied with how it came out. There will be more in my future, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to doing some designs of my own and am thinking of using them as colour studies. We'll see.

There is a maritime Canadian artist by the name of Christopher Pratt who has done an ongoing series of minimalist landscapes using the tri-field 'land, sea, sky' theme. Considering the narrowness of the theme there is a considerable variety in his output. I can't find those particular paintings but to see a page from an online gallery of his fine art work click on this link:

http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/pratt/pratt2/www.ic.gc.ca/pratt/art/gallery10.htm

Just move the cursor over a title to see a thumbnail; click on the title to see a large version.

Flare & Glare

2009-04-29T15:37:00.006-04:00

Any time I see something like this I try to get a record of it. These reflections and light flares always remind me of smoke hanging in the air of a still room.

They appear at odd times and in strange places. I like the randomness of them, the range in intensity of their tones, the shapes they create.....

I think I've put this one out there before but thought it worth repeating. It reminds me of the sudden burst of light when a meteor steaks across the sky... which always elicits that deeply drawn breath and an 'Oooohhhhh!!'.

Beauty is where you find it. Translucent plankton floating by in the ocean depths, perhaps?? The Northern lights shapeshifting across the Arctic skies?? What do you see??

Another 'Wordle'

2009-04-29T04:56:00.004-04:00

I decided to have another go at Wordle. They have a feature that captures random words from your blog to generate a word cloud. Pretty cool. For a look at it full-sized check this link:
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/791925/random_blog_sample_words by Anonymous_Norm.

They ask that all images be attributed to them at http://www.wordle.net/ and I don't mind obliging them.

... and of course you can go the other route and feed it words of your own choosing. Have fun.

Musical Naivete

2009-04-29T03:29:00.002-04:00

Although I have, and always have had, an insatiable interest in music there are some forms that I've never had much exposure to. For instance... opera. Everything I know about opera could comfortably dance a polka on the head of a pin. I never could see the point to the seemingly 'extreme singing' nature of it. So, imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago, when I found myself picking one out for myself at the library. Granted it was written by a composer I like and appreciate - Phillip Glass - but still; me listening to an OPERA??? (btw, it's titled 'The Voyage') It took a while to find the opportunity and open frame of mind to listen to it but last night and tonight it's been in the CD player. Gotta say - not bad.... though I don't expect I'll ever have a full appreciation for the genre as a whole.

For some examples of Glass' other instumental music; click on the link; hit the 'listen/watch' tab; make selections in the right hand panes. I enjoyed 'The Hours' and 'Etudes'.

http://www.philipglass.com/music/index.php

To-Do List - Get some music training and education.

Good Intentions

2009-04-27T03:54:00.002-04:00

Really, I did..... intend to write tonight. But I got hung up catching up on all the blog posts of friends and following trails ad infinitum. Mea culpa.

Yesterday, Saturday, was beautiful here. Sunny and verging on hot at 25C (which if memory serves is around 80F). I spent the day outside in the yard, cleaning up the garage and sorting out my tool box, and BBQ-ing for our company that arrived part way through the afternoon. Then Lynda and I had a quiet evening checking out episode 4 of 'Spectacle', Elvis Costello's interview and music show. This one was with James Taylor and once again was quite good. (My memory is fuzzy but I think it's being broadcast in the US on the Sundance Channel.) I missed the debut show with Elton John and Elvis' wife Diane Krall but did see #2 with the Police, and #3 featuring singer-songwriters Kris Kristofferson, Roseanne Cash, John Mellancamp and Norah Jones. From posts I've seen I understand the series has already shown in the UK and Australia.

In reference to an earlier post, my niece lasted 2 days and 1 night at the detox before begging, pleading and promising anything to her Mom in order to get out of there. Too much 'dead time' doing nothing and too many creepy people for her liking. She's over the acute stage of withdrawal and is continuing well at home. She and I have had a couple of chats on the phone and she says she never wants to take another pill in her lifetime. Good attitude! Once she is over the worst she has a standing invitation to go stay with her brother out west in order to get away from her connections. The plan is to head there in a few weeks.

Re: an even earlier post - I did finally get out the markers I had bought and doodled around for an hour or two to try to try and get loosened up a bit. Checking out the colours and seeing what happened when they were overlayed. I'm not sure they are what I was looking for as you can't lighten a dark colour when you draw over it - it just becomes more opaque and darker still. We'll see; I have to get used to the limitations and play some more. I haven't been able to track down my India ink and pens yet so there might be a trip to an art supply store, in store. Came up with a few of my brushes though! Must get going on some line drawing.

Spring Has Sprung

2009-04-24T14:41:00.002-04:00

This entire week has been a write-off for doing anything outside - unusually cold, revolving cloudiness, showers and wind driven rain. During the night a warm front moved in along with much warmer temps so I'm heading out to spend the balance of the day working around the yard.

We have two, count'em 2, tulips that have blossomed and another 15 or so to go. The irises and peonies are colouring up and have healthy looking shoots and spikes - the peonies are a rich burgundy. Same with the finer branches on the birch and willow trees along with their leaf buds. Apparently the birch branches are a tasty treat; Milo is stripping down the ones he can jump to and munching on them like crazy.

The forecast called for a high around 70F today but being so close to Lake Ontario we might make it to 65F. Tomorrow they're calling for closer to 80F - pretty crazy in that our night-time lows have been around freezing. We're right on a seeming boundary between some harsh cold to the north and warmer fronts pushing up from the south. As that boundary wavers so does our local weather.

That P.D. day yesterday was mildly entertaining and very informative regarding the various pies we find ourselves investing in besides front-line addiction treatment. Despite the economic situation we're expanding services in every direction - family programming, expansion of post treatment services, expanding our catchment area, on-line contact services. If anyone is interested in seeing our re-designed website I can send you a link - it's a major upgrade and very informative.

Later ..... I'm off to enjoy some of this rare and elusive sunshine.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T17:13:00.002-04:00

Everybody pitch in!!

Busy times - trying to help a relative get their daughter into detox for her problem with pain meds. Started out on T3's, moved up to Perc's and then onto Oxy's right up to the 80 mg doses. Not a nice withdrawal syndrome associated with that.

Lots of short trips in and out of the house - things are a bit fractured. Tomorrow I attend a company Professional Development Day north of Toronto; it ought to be interesting.

Friday is DREAD Day - we're going to get our taxes done. Aarrrggghhh!!! The pain of it all... I'll be paying again I'm sure. If I get any sleep between now and then I'll be lucky. Anticipation...

I hope everyone is having a good week. I'll have something more to say when I get some time.

Big Snooze

2009-04-20T15:41:00.002-04:00

Seeing as I knew I had a big day coming up Sunday I took it very easy Saturday night at work... well once I got a couple of anxious clients settled down and off to their beds. The blogs were quiet and I didn't particularily feel like writing. Once my shift was over it was straight home and into bed for a quick nap. I had about three hours sleep before getting up for the day to attend our companies annual volunteer recognition banquet. It was a chance to get re-acquainted with staff from our other two centres as well as rub elbows with senior management, the board members and donors. It was a 'feel-good experience' all round..... some deserving individuals were recognized for their efforts, we all got some good food to eat and there were a few speeches to listen to. Thankfully they were brief and to the point. The organizers also arranged for a stand-up comic to come in and do a 20 minute set - the gal had a good deal of fun at our expense; a bunch of retired alkies and druggies.

Once home Lynda and I enjoyed a very quiet evening of TV and hit the sack real early. Aahhh... snoozefest time..... a remarkable 13 hours between the sheets. Guess I needed it but lord I was creaky getting up after all that time lying down.

Today is off to a REAL slow start. It is clean-up, catch-up, 'get back in the swing of things' day. Tonight I chair my home group meeting again and have my speaker lined up. Lousy wet weather today so I hope he shows up.... Right now it's time to put some grub on for dinner so I can eat and get myself out of here. Later......

Word Cloud

2009-04-18T03:48:00.004-04:00

Here, courtesy of the folks at http://www.wordle.net/, is a word cloud I put together for my A. A. home group 'crew'. It includes points and concepts related to 12 Step recovery through the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
In the Wordle gallery it can be found as 'A. A. Reflections'.

Photo Sharing

2009-04-18T02:48:00.004-04:00

Daughter S in a self portrait showing off her beautiful blue eyes.

Her son Z looking positively luminous.

G'son O jammin' it out and looking good doing it. (This one is for Exquisite Emma)

Sound Waves

2009-04-17T02:32:00.002-04:00

Courtesy of the local public library's collection here is what I'm listening to lately:

The Verve - 'Forth' (2008) http://www.parlophone.co.uk/forth/ here for audio samples.

Jack Johnson - 'Sleep Through The Static' (2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFaC07WEubA&feature=related
for video track "What You Thought You Need'.

Melanie Doane - 'A Thousand Nights' (2008) http://www.melaniedoane.com/music.htm webpage

Ron Sexsmith - 'Exit Strategy of the Soul' (2008)
http://www.ronsexsmith.com/music/discography/cd/ron_AlbumDetails.aspx?albumid=bb89ec22-899e-4b22-bf01-4f441950d633 webpage

Something for us older folks - Joe Cocker's 'Heart & Soul' (2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Cp8l396Lw performing U2's 'One'.

.... and something completely different for me... an opera by Philip Glass titled 'The Voyage' (2006)
http://www.philipglass.com/music/compositions/voyage.php webpage

There's some link love for you.

Signs of Spring II

2009-04-15T03:40:00.003-04:00

A month or six weeks ago Venus and Mars disappeared from the western horizon before dusk. Now driving home in the morning I see they have reappeared on the eastern horizon in the hour before dawn. Jupiter is a bit higher in the sky slightly to the south-east.

The greenbelt behind the house has been covered with flocks of robins. One day I stopped counting after I got as far as 25. A pair of stubborn mourning doves sat unmoving in the driveway as I arrived home yesterday morning. I continue to spot quite a number of hawks; mainly red-tails. This past week has seen the return of turkey vultures. Tonight while getting ready to come to work I heard Lynda hollering at me to come out to the yard. Thinking something must be wrong with one of the dogs I hustled out there only to find her pointing skyward. 'Check this out!' A group of three had passed directly overhead and soared to the eastern end of the greenbelt.... wheeled about back in our direction again and were joined by two more. They passed by again heading across the tracks and out over the golf course. None of them flapped a wing so much as once.

Today was the first day in awhile that the wind direction had changed from being out of the north. By the time I was up for the day the temperature was up around 50F and by dinner time perhaps 55F. I had heard the forecast driving home in the morning and got some steaks out for dinner. Good choice - first BBQ of the season before coming to work tonight. Daylight hours are lengthening and we must be up to about 13 hours now. The lawn is greening up; shoots are, well, shooting up all over the gardens. Irises, daffodils and tulips are in the offing. Some trees have plenty of buds; some are still awakening and are bare. Say goodbye to the fawn, dun and grey coloured landscape. Hello vivid hues. That might inspire me to dust off the camera and start shooting again.

What else?? Well, the frost has barely left the ground and I saw the first mosquito of the season last week. There are some other sorts of bugs out; moths and such. After one heavy rain early last week the driveway was alive with worms - little skinny ones, big fat dew worms - you couldn't put a foot down without stepping on one. The other night there was a tiny toad hopping around in back of the centre here. Passing some streams leading down into Lake Ontario I've seen some guys parked by the side of the road. They're either netting smelt or checking to see if the lake trout are running yet. A few larger rivers also get the lake salmon spawning runs. There are a few brave and foolish souls roaming around who are already sporting t-shirts, shorts and sandals - rushing things just a little bit, donch'ya think.

One more thing... folks are getting their vehicles out of winter storage. All the expensive muscle cars are reappearing; some classic cars; lots of motorcycles. Lots more bicycles and joggers have been getting out and about. Heads up; eyes front; hands on the 'ten and two'.

Pardon My Absence

2009-04-15T01:46:00.002-04:00

Things are good mostly.... except these last couple of nights back here at work I've had a couple of my minor type seizures. Nothing to worry about but they do leave me tired, sometimes nauseous and more than a little 'brain-dead'. (Not really conducive to writing.) Lynda would say that's my normal condition but hey!, that's another story. Anyway, after a couple of months seizure free it looks like I'm into another 'cluster' period. C'est la vie; it won't last long.

Like I said things are good. Last week was a good one in that I got caught up on a lot of chores around the house plus I banked some quality sleep time. Like 8 or 9 hours most every night - unheard of!! Part of what I accomplished was getting some of the house re-arranged after having that flooring installed. Some pieces of furniture were too heavy to move around myself so two of Lynda's sons lent a hand on Saturday. We (meaning at Lynda's discretion) are adding an item at a time to each of the bedrooms to see what fits and what doesn't. Yeah, we've moved our bedroom back up to the main floor from the basement. I did like the basement room as it is so large and it is really good for daytime sleeping but upstairs is workable. Full sensory deprivation works - eye mask and ear plugs. Must get a picture of that - not!

Over the weekend I caught the second episode of 'Spectacle'; hosted by Elvis Costello and co-produced by Elton John. Elvis' guests were 'The Police' who he interviewed separately and then briefly as a group before they played a couple of songs at the end. Elvis proved to be an engaging host and creditable interviewer. Both guitarist Andy Summers and bassist Sting came off well; drummer Stewart Copeland not so much. Copeland seemed to be trying too hard and attempting to be the dominant personality. A good hour long show.

The raccoon.... mentioned seeing him the other night. The following night I had just stepped out the back door, fired up a smoke and he stepped up onto the deck about 15 feet from me. Headed straight for me - curious not aggressive - and I was back in that door, cig in hand, in about half a second. I beat it through the house to a front door out onto the front veranda to finish the smoke while keeping an eye out for him. Half an hour ago - same thing... he has no fear of humans it appears or else the smoke police have him on duty.

I picked up on a quiz from a blogfriend's Facebook page - Which Beatles Song Are You? - and who'da thunk it. I'm 'Strawberry Fields' and it apparently says this about me.
You are a true bohemian. You are profoundly creative and have the gift of intellectual comprehension. You live in an emotional world and tend to be a loner. Avoid the tendency to become self-absorbed and nihilistic..
Hmmm... must ruminate on that one.. and obsess, by myself, while painting and reading Nietzsche at the same time. Wanna share my granola??

For now that's all the news that fits. Later.....

Valuable Resource

2009-04-14T01:09:00.002-04:00

http://websearch.about.com/od/invisibleweb/a/invisible_web.htm

For anyone who does any amount of research this may be of interest. About half way down the page (that this links to) they begin to list a number of search engines which go beyond what you would typically access through using Google or Wikipedia. There are some specialty sites for humanities topics.

I'm off to nose around some more.

Night Watchmen

2009-04-13T04:19:00.002-04:00

Gazing into the night sky

and startled to realize

there is a masked face

staring back at me

from up in the tree.

Raccoon.

'Who is this invader?

this interloper?'

He or me?

We watched each other for awhile

before going back about our business.

Rust Never Sleeps

2009-04-09T16:42:00.002-04:00

(With a nod to Neil Young)

Rich in colour, n'est pas?

We've had a cast iron chiminea for several years and while working around the yard today I was taken with the colour and texture of it. Mostly it sits unused because the neighbours tend to complain when we fire it up. Originally it had a mottled blue-green patina that had been applied somehow but with heat and weather it has gradually faded and flaked away. I prefer the rust.

Once I got up and moving today, after having slept in, it has been a busy one. All the wood cutting for the flooring was done in the garage so I spent an hour trying as best I could to get that cleaned up. The weather has cleared and warmed slightly so I was able to spend some time out back having another go at more leaves - both the ones that Milo had re-spread around and those that have since blown in from neighbouring yards. Then it was time for what we affectionately call around here 'Shit Patrol'..... yeah, cleaning up after the two dogs. They followed me around for a bit, no doubt thinking, 'Wow! We've got him really well trained!'

I would have thought that all the bending, stretching, raking and such would feel good and 'healthful'.... but my back is disagreeing. Nothing that a couple of ibuprofen won't cure. It really was nice to spend some time in the fresh air without being all bundled up though.

My daughter emailed to say she had posted a 5 minute video on Facebook of her son in the kids area of their Science Centre. Little 'Z' was buzzing around the place like a pinball and having a blast. Too cute! I don't use my account there very much because FB was having some problems for awhile but now that seems to have settled so maybe I'll get back into it more again.

Break time is over; time to feed the dogs and then clean the car. Fill the daylight hours in a useful way.

Once Again...

2009-04-08T18:19:00.004-04:00

.... I'm on the Leonard Cohen bandwagon....

I haven't mentioned cousin BJ lately but we continue to keep in touch sporadically. Although she checks in here she chooses not to comment on the blog and emails me instead with any comments. They've been flying back and forth for this last while because of Leonard Cohen. BJ is a huge appreciator of the man having been into him since her late teens or early twenties... and BJ is a couple of years older than me so that is a loooonnngggg time, .... eh BJ?? (I was nice - I said 'a couple'.)

Checking the mail today I found a quick note and a couple of photocopied articles about L.C. - much obliged B.J. I can see why you enjoyed these ones so much and will keep them handy to read and re-read. You're an angel - thanks for thinking to do that for me.

**Update** 13/04/09

After a bit of searching I found links for the articles.
The first one is a regular column called 'Thirty and Change' written by Nicole Langlois of the London Free Press. Her's is called 'Top 10 Reasons to Love Leonard Cohen'.
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Langlois_Nicole/2006/05/18/pf-1585529.html

The second is from a back issue of CARP - the Canadian edition for the 'over 50' crowd - from June 2006; so it pre-dates all the hype surrounding the current tour. Entitled 'Cohen's Age Of Reason' and written by Christine Langlois (hmmm... a relation? or alternate I.D.?) it can be read here: http://www.50plus.com/50plus-article-print.cfm?documentID=12441

... and of course regarding copyright issues; all rights belong to the authors and publishers so this post will be taken down upon request.

Thanks again BJ!!!

An Interesting Read

2009-04-07T20:10:00.004-04:00

While killing time waiting at an appointment today I picked up a copy of the 'old reliable' National Geographic. It happened to be the current April issue and the article that grabbed my attention right off was about the prolonged drought that has affected the South-Eastern region of Australia. 'Affected' seems a small word to describe all the various impacts on every aspect of living in that area.

We've all seen from time to time reports in the major media about the drought or spin-offs like the incredible wildfire season they have just suffered through or damage to the economy because of grossly reduced farm and ranch output. While Kel at Xfacta doesn't complain about it she does dispense some small clues through measures they had taken while building their home that allowed them to reduce water use and retain whatever rain may fall from the skies.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of time and energy here and can't put any more of my impressions about the article or situation down in words here. I do highly recommend seeking out this issue and having a good sit-down read. You'll be glad you did.

..... and I think I'll quit grousing about snow and rain for the next while and be thankful this precious commodity is so plentiful here.

*Update* - I should have done this yesterday when I did this post. Here is a link to the story:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/murray-darling/draper-text

The story runs 11 pages and includes the photos. Excellent!!

Sunday Morning

2009-04-05T04:14:00.002-04:00

April half moon

obscured by cloud

peaking through trees

settling upon suburban

house-top; almost dawn.

Preview....

2009-04-05T00:27:00.003-04:00

... buy ..... or download.

Still on the topic of Leonard Cohen. Here's a link to AOL's Spinner where you can play entire albums. This is my first ever visit here so I know very little about it. All I know is that I'm three songs into Cohen's current release, 'Live In London', and enjoying it. How long it will be posted, I have no idea. I'm planning to buy the DVD anyway.

http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/2

Remember a month or so ago I was hassling a local columnist about his writing?? It was through his blog post that I found this link for Spinner. I've tried this week to begin a dialogue with the guy but so far without success. No more barbed comments to his blog; I've reformed, honest!

Rainy Days, Rainy Nights

2009-04-04T04:49:00.000-04:00

With over 24 hours of steady, soaking rain we will have seen the last vestiges of rotten snow disappear from the shadows in the woods and along the fencelines. Good riddance. The landscape has basically been bare for the last couple of weeks but here and there you could still spy little pockets buried away. Today while out driving around I passed what are normally small creeks. Not today; in a couple of spots there were rapids - elsewhere they had risen above their banks and created ponds and pools. The stream that runs in back of the house was a screaming torrent cutting at the banks, undercutting brush and trees along it's course.

Tonight the temperature has dropped to near freezing and while I was just outside the rain was becoming mixed with slushy snow. There is no way it can accumulate - way too wet - but I don't like to be reminded that in past years we've had snow for Easter. Yuck!!

To hell with that!! We're driving to Florida!!

For Tonight's Listening Pleasure

2009-04-04T04:21:00.000-04:00

Prompted by this week's miscue regarding John Prine I ransacked the basement storage room for a box of CD's and came up with a mitt-ful of favourite American musicians. Enough to get me through tonight and Saturday night.

Oh, the reason for having to do the ransack job - we now have two bedrooms worth of furniture spread throughout the house. The first bedroom to get the new hardwood flooring is still empty as the neighbour is still working at completing the fresh paint job. Earlier today, after Lynda arrived home from work, and her brother and nephew arrived to work on the second room, we emptied it of bed, dressers, side tables, etc. They made a start on the job before I came to work tonight and should have it done late today.

Music list -
John Prine - self titled debut - 1971
" " - Great Days Anthology - disc 2 - 1993
" " - In Spite Of Ourselves - 1999

Steve Earle - El Corazon - 1997
" " - Transcendental Blues - 2000

John Mellencamp - Big Daddy - 1989
" " - Whenever We Wanted - 1991

Danny Gatton - 88 Elmira St. - 1991 (autographed)
" " - Crusin' Dueces - 1993

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat; songs of Leonard Cohen - 1986

Why these ones?? Lemme see.

I've always liked Mellencamp but haven't listened to these two releases in ages; time for fresh ears. His more recent ones have distinctive intrumentation and production so I wanted to see how he arrived there.

If you've been following recent posts you already know I'm on a Leonard Cohen kick. Growing up I was familiar with his poetry and would occassionally hear him perform a song. More often though I would hear his songs covered by other artists so when Jennifer Warnes came out with this compilation that was done so well... I had to have it. It's a long time since I listened to this one, too. Reading the liner notes she is backed by some real talent - guesting on various tracks are Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robben Ford and David Lindley. From Frank Zappa's old band and Jeff Beck's current one - Vinnie Colaiuta does all the drumming.

John Prine is a one of a kind songwriter and performer. The mention of him triggered a ton of memories for me. His debut album was a constant on my turntable for months because it was chuck full of great material. Illegal Smile, Hello In there, Paradise, Donald and Lydia, Sam Stone... it goes on and on. 'In Spite Of Ourselves' is Prine's homage to early country music writers and their songs which he duets with nine of his favourite women singers - new and old. The only self penned tune is the title track.

And Whoa! Danny Gatton, the guitarist's guitarist - what a stylist!! I had the good fortune to meet him after his performance at Toronto's infamous Queen Street West watering-hole, The Horseshoe Tavern back in '92. I had never had the opportunity to see someone so talented, up so close. It was an incredible show. Harlem Nocturne, Sky King, Quiet Village, In My Room. Here he does a moody version of 'Sleepwalk'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt_atAgWH2s&feature=related

Steve Earle's music has undergone a major transition since his early years and sudden success with 'Copperhead Road'. A few albums along that same line, a disconnect, some morphing, underwent some serious problems with substance, did some time in jail and wound up reviving what looked like a failing career. He's one serious dude when it comes to politics and politicrats. His re-emergence with Washington Square Serenade is a musical blessing. Here's a clip from a performance on Bravo - Live @ the Rehearsal Hall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0jW1EbRBY

Promising Program

2009-04-03T05:35:00.002-04:00

A new show that debuts later tonight is 'Spectacle' - hosted by Elvis Costello and exec produced by Sir Elton John. Across Canada it airs on the CTV network at 10 p.m.; encore presntations are on Bravo network Saturday @ 8; Sunday @ 6. For the full blather see this:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20080730/home_spectacle/20090310/

I've seen the run-up articles about it and have been looking forward to it. Must hook up the VCR.

Lollygagging

2009-04-03T03:08:00.003-04:00

(Warning - This is a ramble.)

There's a word you don't hear every day. But that's how I would describe last night here at work. A chance glimpse of a snippet of lyric in someone's blog post sent me off on hours of YouTube-ing; tracking down tracks, following trails to other singers and acts... a little journey down memory lane. Backtracking tonight to the original post I find the person was referring to a different song but 'what the hey', it made for a good diversion. Just a small difference between John Prine and 'Presidents of the United States of America'. For anyone that cares the same words are contained in a song by PotUSoA and Prine's 'Spanish Pipedream'.

Thing is here at work - once my actual work is done and if the clients and phones are quiet - I've got a ton of time on my hands. There are cycles I go through where for a time I'm alright to read and it doesn't bother me. Then for long stretches there is no way I can read on the job - it'll put me to sleep in no time... and that is verboten. Every once in a great long while I'll watch a movie but that is only if the house population is way down and everyone is in good shape. Otherwise I feel cut-off from the 'pulse' of the house and preoccupied where I oughtn't be. Hence, lots of time at the computer... it does keep me occupied.

Lately I've considered junking this blog and it's for a variety of reasons. There is one prime one that I won't go into but one of the lesser ones is that it eats a lot of time that I think could be put to better use. While I don't consider myself to be a writer I do like to think that aspiration is within reason. That with some serious application to the craft of writing I could eventually get good enough at it to lay claim to that title. I'd also like to re-apply myself once again to drawing and painting... and for that desire I'd have to give credit to all that I see about me on the blogs. I can remember clearly the enjoyment I used to get from artistic expression and creation. Of course, the next step is kick starting myself from anticipation / contemplation to action.

One story I like to tell would be a fictionalized biopic of 'Connie', the wife of a guy who just completed our program. See, Connie survived, in a physical sense, a misdiagnosed terminal illness and the treatment thereof. But mentally she never did recover and essentially resigned from living out her re found life. 15 years of occupying space with a heart beat and little else. The trickle down repercussions are incredible, complex and bewildering. I'd like to get her view on these last 20 years and see how it compares with that of her husband.

In a re-approach to art work I can think of a few different avenues right off the top of my head. First, I would start with simple colour choices, line and shape and work from abstract to representational and back again. Play with it in order to free up my mind and hand. Second, I would go back to still-life drawing with an almost 'drafting-like' approach in order to get my eye and hand in synch so that I can once again accurately represent what it is I see. Third, I'd go back to india ink sketches and watercolour washes to see where that would take me. Next, I'd 'construct' - come up with a premise, some idea and explore it and let it evolve into a project I could build using a variety of materials.

Lofty ideas.... when does the rubber hit the road??

Anniversary Time

2009-04-03T02:45:00.006-04:00

Coming up in a couple of days is our wedding anniversary. It's actually our 11th but ... we did have that year or so apart there so, is it really the 10th?? Come the end of the month we will have been back together for a year once again. Man, time flies!! What else - it's about 15 years right now since we first paired up, started going out together and within a couple of months we were living together.

We share our anniversary date with my eldest brother and his wife. For them this will mark 40 years which seems incredible to me - I remember that day like it was yesterday. High school sweethearts who remain deeply in love to this day.

Our middle brother and his wife mark theirs next week and I think they're up to 33 years.

Lemme see - if I add my 3 marriages together: 8 + 2 + 11.... nope, don't even come close. Too many years alone in between.

Anyway, bottom-line. I'm very happy and grateful that Lynda and I were able to work through our 'stuff' in order to reunite and live once again as a married couple. She's a wonderful woman. If I had one wish it would be that we could spend more time together.

Just for the heck of it here is a link to a post I did which includes my favourite picture of the two of us: http://constantchangeisthenorm.blogspot.com/2007/08/fun-stuff.html

*Sue tells me the link 'aint workin'** Let's try this instead.
** Re-edited - the link ought to work now.... 4/04/09

Musical Notes

2009-04-01T03:32:00.003-04:00

Hear ye! Hear YE! Listen up now.

I wanted to point out a new link over to the right there; 'Blog On The Tracks'. It's a blog belonging to Simon Sweetman who is a music columnist and blogger in New Zealand. I've mentioned him a couple of times before as I originally found him while doing searches for Jeff Beck news. Rooting around in his archives I found I liked his style of writing and his enthusiasm for music. He also had a terrific review of the Leonard Cohen show he took in there. His writing keeps drawing me back.

Go check him out and see if it ain't so.

Good Fortune

2009-04-01T01:28:00.004-04:00

It was a hectic sort of rush heading out the door for work tonight. I was late, really late. My day had started off badly what with being awake and up for the day before noon; maybe four hours sleep. Not good. The afternoon was spent quaffing coffee after coffee, wandering the yard smoking ciggie after cig, keeping an eye on the pooches, and sitting head in hands wondering how I would make it through this night. Lynda arrived home late from an appointment after work and we had a simple dinner of leftovers - always better it seems the day after even if it was good the first time. I had planned to come in later than usual but Lynda had some plans for me - she had arranged for the painter to come in later today - so we wound up moving some furniture, shutting down the power for the room and disconnecting the overhead fixture. All said and done, it took longer than expected. I rushed to get dressed, kissed Lynda goodnight, jumped in the car and remembered I had to get gas if I expected to make it to work at all. Damn!!

Flipping on the radio, tuning into CBC Radio2 and *Shazzam*!!, everything changed. Already in progress was a pre-recorded concert of Leonard Cohen performing last summer in London. During the ride to work I heard 4 or 5 songs including a couple of my favourites - 'Hallelujah' and 'Democracy'. Arriving at work, slightly late, I sat in the car for a few moments so I could hear the final bars of a song. Sighing with regret I turned both the radio and car off. I got updated on the days events by the duty counsellor and talked a bit with a couple of the clients before settling in to doing up some paper work. Then it occurred to me; the audio stream is broadcast via the net and you can timeshift it according to time zone!! Brilliant!! I pulled it up and set it for the Pacific zone and heard almost the entire concert, missing about 15 minutes at the beginning of the show. It turned out to be a good thing I was running late otherwise I'd likely have missed it as I'd forgotten it was airing tonight.

The broadcast coincides with the CD / DVD release of that concert. It is also available in a downloadable version from iTunes at this link. http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/spotlight/ If you're a fan of the man, his words and his music this is prime Cohen showing how to put on a show.

I'm good to go for the night. Thanks for perking me up Leonard.

Oh! An interviewer asked Cohen what he thought made 'Hallelujah' such a great song. He replied, deadpan, 'It's got a great chorus.' (Rimshot!!)

Diggin' In The Dirt

2009-03-31T14:46:00.002-04:00

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???

2009-03-31T04:40:00.000-04:00

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

2009-03-26T08:33:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-25T08:49:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-23T13:34:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-22T03:23:00.004-04:00

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??

2009-03-21T04:50:00.004-04:00

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.

2009-03-20T04:13:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-20T04:03:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-19T05:05:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-18T03:33:00.007-04:00

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

2009-03-17T16:26:00.002-04:00

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.....

2009-03-17T04:28:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-17T03:38:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-16T03:17:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-16T03:00:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

Bleagh!!

Later.........

Visitations

2009-03-11T10:42:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-11T10:34:00.003-04:00

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.....

2009-03-11T06:30:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-08T05:03:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-08T00:24:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-06T14:38:00.003-05:00

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

2009-03-05T14:12:00.004-05:00

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

2009-03-05T04:11:00.002-05:00

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!!

2009-03-04T03:09:00.003-05:00

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!!

2009-03-03T02:47:00.004-05:00

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!!!

2009-03-02T14:36:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-02T03:20:00.003-05:00

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....

Wintery White

2009-02-27T16:53:00.002-05:00

A few shots from last winter and this.

Late afternoon, low light, blue cast view of our yard, the neighbour's and the greenbelt.

Shooting into the sun and picking up a nice flare effect - the patio area and woods at my workplace.

Nice swooping line to snow overhanging the eaves outside our kitchen door.

Last winter while still living at the townhouse... the crab apple tree in my yard laden with fresh snow. Hmm... taken from a second floor bedroom by the look of it.

It'll be spring soon, I promise.

Shaken and Blurred

2009-02-27T16:20:00.004-05:00

One thing about carrying a cell phone is that I'm glad to be able to get a visual record of things I happen to see, that make me go, 'ooo, gotta grab a shot of that.' Of course, on the downside is that in snatching a quick shot I don't often care a whole lot about what the quality of the final image will be when taking it. These, I bet, are all one-handed shots where I didn't think to try and steady myself while hitting the shutter button.... and I don't dislike the results.

Iridescent cellophane backer for bulletin boards ( and perhaps fancy wrapping paper).

My daughter's cat peering out a steamy kitchen window (Vancouver).

Rays of sunshine splayed across a pool table. One of my outings with young Arlo; the problem foster teen.

Swirling embers from a trash can bonfire on Canada Day '08.

I'm all for nice crisp, detailed photos but departures from the norm are okay by me, too.

DV8 From The Norm

2009-02-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

(Stole that title from an ad in a home decorating magazine)

Bear with me - another test.

#1 was at the Dylan concert.
#2 is a local gallery interior space / atrium
#3 was taken at 'the house' were I work.

Oh Yeah... About Last Night

2009-02-25T20:41:00.003-05:00

Heh, heh..... Geez, I got all excited and had to tell a few friends about it. You see, I have a really hard time finding ANYTHING on TV worth watching so... when I do, I feel I have to tell people.

Scrolling through the cable listings I came across one of those 'The Making Of' shows which happened to be about a CD that has spent an unreasonable amount of time in my car's player these last few weeks. It was one of those 'OMG..... Holy Crap!...... Hallelujah!!' moments.

So, Bryan Ferry (ex of Roxy Music fame) covers Bob Dylan on 'Dylanesque'. The sound used on the TV show was a rough studio mix and not the same as on the CD so I found some vocals and instruments standing out at times. This show is also available as a DVD release (which I just found on Amazon.) According to the credits Brian Eno provides some electronic 'atmospherics' but I didn't see him throughout. I did recognize the bass player as being the guy who recorded and toured with David Gilmour for the 'On An Island' release - Guy Pratt. Other back-up musicians include journeyman Robin Trower on guitar and an apparently VERY young, very talented Oliver Thompson also on guitar. (Ollie turns in some incredibly controlled slide work.) Ferry does a great job on vocals, harmonica and Farfisa organ.

While I've said some less than favorable things about Ferry (on a personal level) in the past he managed to change my mind with the short interview portions between songs. His public persona used to be based pretty much solely on 'image' with a capital 'I'... lots of glam with little seemingly to back it up. I was glad to hear he had a good deal of insightful things to say about Dylan, his music, it's writing and the times it was written in.

Here's a link to the portion of the show where they perform 'The Times They Are A'Changin' as well as a short interview segment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7xM1UpK0nE&feature=related

Cell Photos

2009-02-25T19:22:00.005-05:00

On a shopping trip today I picked up a multi format card reader so I could upload and save my cell pictures to the computer. Here is a little test to see how they will display....

A high thin layer of cloud holds the colour of the setting sun while an underlayer of scattered cloud provides some contrast.

Before the sun had fully set it backlit these clouds highlighting the fluffy scalloped edges.

I managed to catch the swirl effect happening to these clouds when I thought a funnel cloud might drop at any time. Thankfully it didn't.

More to come later... ** they look about as good as they did on the screen on my cell. **

Music and Memory

2009-02-22T03:37:00.005-05:00

Times when I most miss my father I search out some form of keyboard music, either piano or organ, and listening eases my feeling of loss and helps re-establish a sense of connection. We always had a piano in the house and later on into my teens Dad treated himself to an organ as well. It made for pretty cramped quarters as the house wasn't all that big.

Dad was a blue-collar guy who had his own sheet metal business and to relax at the end of a day he would often sit down and play for a half hour. In focusing on his music he could lose the cares of his work day. For quite a number of years he was also the organist at a couple of churches and sometimes choir director. He never thought much of his own playing abilities because he always compared himself to others of greater natural talent, technical ability and overall musical sensibility.... but it didn't stop him from putting himself out there.

A couple of years before he died, while my niece and her husband were living in Dubai, Dad recorded a 60 minute tape of himself playing selections from a songbook and talking to them. Following his death they were kind enough to make duplicates of the tape and give them out to the rest of the family. I pull it out once or twice a year to hear him enjoying himself, playing and to hear the sound of his voice once again.

I don't know that this piece would be to Dad's taste but I'm sure he would appreciate the composition of it, the mood it conveys and the talent of the woman playing it. It's what I was listening to tonight (along with other Philip Glass compositions).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imbwn6iVryQ

Cheers, Dad. Miss you.

Cloudy Guy

2009-02-20T04:15:00.002-05:00

Last night I started scanning through the photos on my cell phone looking for a new screensaver and was, more or less, stunned to see I had over 130 shots on it. Many of them I had forgotten I'd taken. I began saving them over to the memory card and was surprised at all I found (cuz I don't really use it very often). Quite a variety and just a few that needed to be deleted. Very few with people in them - a couple of Lynda, a couple that had been taken of me with Owen or Zeph - my grandsons, one or two of my daughter Sarah during our visit to Vancouver or her visits here, one of the counsellors here clowning around.

There were a number of building shots and architectural details and landscape scenes. But the vast majority were shots of the sky and especially cloud formations. Stormy clouds, sunlit clouds, clouds at sunset and sunrise, clouds shot while driving, stacked clouds, high thin ones, lowdown and dirty ones, armadas of clouds sailing across the skies..... I came to the conclusion that I'm just a 'cloudy' guy. There must have been 70 of them taken over the last 2 years. I must get a USB cable connection for various sizes and types of storage media so I can download a few here - some of them are startlingly good. I'm constantly amazed at the clarity and vivid colour captured by such a dinky little lens.

Getting up today I was a different sort of cloudy guy - as in 'head in the clouds'. I had slept very soundly for a change and had great difficulty waking up and getting aware. Even with having been up for 4 hours before coming to work I really wasn't 100% with it and didn't feel like coming in. Concentrate - hah! Thoughts cascading like a blizzard of butterflies. I couldn't follow the path of any of them and gave up trying. Go with the flow Norm.......

What did wake me up was the half hour drive to work over snowy and icy roads. Yikes! Nothing like very real danger to kick your senses fully into gear. My mindset and mood improved once we made the bus trip to our meeting. Our driver has been sober for 15 years but hadn't ever joined a local group since relocating here from the west a number of years ago. I introduced her to one of the women I know well at that group and she wound up joining it. I nodded a hello at a guy I didn't recognize and we talked for a bit - it was his first ever meeting so I showed him some of the available literature and introduced him to some of the members. Paul was chairing the meeting and asked if I would come up and do the slogans so I got to take part. I rambled a bit but I can get carried away talking about recovery - I don't think anyone minded. The sister-in-law of one of our recent graduates came up to thank me after the meeting and promptly burst into tears; I can't recall ever getting that reaction before but there's always a first time, I suppose. The guy who spoke is a friend of mine from my first days in A.A. and his talk was brilliant - just what I needed to hear tonight.

Tonight has been much quieter around here than the last couple so I've had a chance to roam the blogosphere and check out the usual suspects. There are a few of you 'out there' that I generally keep in fairly regular email contact with but I haven't over the last few weeks. I might play catch up Friday night on that but if in the meantime you fell like dropping me a line - feel free. I'll be around.

Restless Natives

2009-02-19T04:14:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been an awful lot of time to write these last couple of nights as there have been a constant flow of residents up and down through the night. Some have things on their minds that they want to talk out; others disturbed by material covered during the day that won't allow them decent rest; a couple are struggling through treatment while nursing coughs and colds. One guy is due to leave at days end and worries about what his immediate future holds - I remember that feeling of hope tinged with fear. 'Will I make it a day? a few days? a week, month... dare I hope a year? No, stay in the moment and work through the next hour.'

Between these visits and my tours about the house I kill a few minutes here and there checking videos on Youtube. I was surprised to find most of Jeff Beck's brand new DVD posted there. Hell, it hasn't even been released in N. America yet. From what I saw it is a 'must buy' and is supposed to be out on March 11. It features guest performances by Joss Stone, Imogen Heap and Eric Clapton. (Then I went hunting for a video of Imogen and Jeff performing 'Rollin' and Tumblin' but all I can find is an audio version - damn fine song - go check it out.) Imogen has her own youtube channel with a video blog that is worth having a look at.

Other than that things are pretty much the same. Lynda and I are getting along fabulously well. I continue to look for other work but there isn't any to be found. Finances are a struggle cuz I'm still carrying the townhouse with little coming in from the boarders - may be forced to turf one of them. Lynda's niece may move in with us in another month or so if she finds a college work placement near us. She is eighteen and chuck full of life, as she should be. Good kid. I don't expect to have any dayshifts next week and am looking forward to having some time off. Watch now - someone will surely get sick and I'll be called in last minute. My week is more than half done - 4 nights done and 3 to go. Woo-Hoo!!

A few weeks ago I saw a post on 'Quinn Creative' about making copper book covers and had mentioned it to a counsellor here. He's to bring in some light gauge sheet copper for me to fiddle with sometime in these next couple of days. If I like the outcome I'll share it here. Quinn's post reminded me of a shop project back in high school that turned out well. There are all sorts of tooling you can do with it, plus acid etching, embossing, debossing, burnishing and enamelling. We shall see.....

Not A Quitter....

2009-02-17T03:12:00.003-05:00

.... usually.

But the time has come again for a serious attempt to quit smoking. I've been back at it since sometime in late October and I'm feeling the effects. Thankfully I've managed to keep it quite a bit below the amount I used to smoke. Unfortunately it's still making me feel like crap.

Last year I quit on my son's 25th birthday; my planned quit date is our grandson Owen's 5th birthday. Tonight I registered for a quit smoking contest run by the Canadian Cancer Society where you commit to abstaining for the month of March..... with the intent that if you manage to quit for the month you'll have the incentive to carry on the quit. Top prize is a new car..... not bad.

Between now and the quit date I intend to do some writing about all the background reasons I have to want to quit. Besides that my principal aid will be the CD recording of my hypnosis session from last years quit. I might put in a call to the hypnotherapist Lauren to review any notes she might have kept from our interview; might help, can't hurt. Perhaps some regular directed prayer for the relief of the obsession to smoke will help as well. 'Thy will, not mine be done.'

Soon I'll be saying, 'I quit'.... and hopefully it will be for the very last time.

New blog friend Rao writes here at 'The Age Of Geek' about his recent success in quitting.

Off Hiatus

2009-02-16T02:23:00.004-05:00

.... I'm BACK.

There has been way too much packed into the last few days to try and recount here. The only important things have been getting out with my loverly wife for a Valentine's dinner back on Friday night; and we spent the afternoon and evening Saturday with Owen out at his place west of Toronto.

The dinner was delicious at our favourite steak joint; Steak Neptune.... choice cuts grilled to medium and smothered with Bearnaise sauce which was laden with shrimp, scallops and crab. And crunchy asparagus.... and hot sourdough bread. Oh, and the company was great as we rarely manage to see one another never mind actually get out and enjoy each other's company. It was a treat.

Owen was a blast, chuck full of love and enthusiasm... just go, go, going the whole time we were there. 'Let's do this Pops.' and 'C'mon Gramma, I want to show you this.' Counting, spelling, adding, drawing.... you name it, we did it. On and off through the day Owen was trying to maneuver us into staying over night and explaining how we could work the sleeping arrangements. Along around his bedtime Lynda told him that we had to go - that we had a long drive ahead to get home. His eyes welled up and he threw his arms around Lynda's neck... then she choked up and got all teary. For a minute there I thought we might just be staying the night. Only after assurances that we'd be back for his 5th birthday party next weekend did he settle down again and we were free to get on our way.

What else?? Well, lot's else actually but it's just plain busy sorts of stuff. Lynda had some running to do with a friend Sunday while I attended a district AA committee meeting in the afternoon. Pretty dry stuff (no pun intended) but I'm still getting used to some procedural changes with the new position I was elected to. Back at home we kept a steady feed happening for the washer & dryer of clothes, sheets and towels while dashing about before a quick lie down in preparation for coming to work. This could be a long shift as there are a few hours to go and I'm rapidly running out of steam. I think I'm due for some extended down time.

I expect to be short changed on sleep today as I'll be waking to a houseful of company - out of town family are coming for the afternoon and dinner. It will be a rushed muddle getting time with them, getting cleaned up, eating, and out the door again to work. This is a long weekend for most (not I) here.

There has been some talk between Lynda and I about me (maybe) taking a 2 or 3 day trip to Calgary so I can meet my grand-daughter Madison. She is almost 7 months old already and I'm feeling badly that I haven't made it out there yet. Must get talking to her Mom & Dad.

Along with the good stuff there is some discord. Ever get that feeling that although things are apparently going the way you wish them to, there is something running below the surface that just doesn't quite 'click'?? I'm doing my best to discount the feeling and believe it's mind play at work but.... I also find I'm doing the 'turtle' thing and pulling in all the extremities for fear that something is about to be lopped off, shocked or pierced. My nose and toes will re-appear ever so slowly once I have some indication everything is kosher and on the up-and-up. The human mind is a strange thing, n'est pas? It's probably a reaction to having to spend considerable time in the company of someone I detest..... and was unable to avoid or otherwise get away from with any degree of grace. Amazing just how long a four hour span can be; it seemed never-ending.

By A Thread.....

2009-02-11T10:45:00.003-05:00

Given that I've worked over 100 hours in the last 9 days I'm carrying a solid weariness that feels like it is running through and through me; right to the core. I've been in the door for about an hour, tended to the pets, straightened up a few household things, have a couple of emails and messages to reply to..... and then the balance of the day will be devoted to rest and personal maintenance. Hmmm... maybe a long soak in the tub is in order for my achy bones. Aaaahhhhhh......

These day shifts at work have been good having been involved in running program meetings and doing one-on-one reviews with the guys. A day off today to catch up, rest up and be ready for another day of work tomorrow.

Later on I hope to catch up on blog buddies recent posts as I had at tops 1/2 an hour on the computer last evening during our in-house meeting to do a little checking around.

Anyway - I thought I'd best check in, let you know I'm hanging in and feeling pretty damned good considering all the hours I've put in lately. Ciao.

p.s. - We're enjoying much milder above freezing temps bringing about a major thaw, light fog and now a drizzly rain. Good napping weather. zzzzzzzzz.....

This and That and That and That....

2009-02-08T03:56:00.002-05:00

Newsflash!! I feel good today! / tonight! It's a nice change because I haven't been very energetic lately. Part of might be that this 70+ hour work week will be over in a few hours. Hmmm.... could be.

The other thing might be that tonight Lynda and I laid eyes on one another for the first time this week. A sight for sore eyes, fer sure, even if it was for only an hour. I had everything on the go for our BBQ dinner by the time she got in from work - the grill warmed up; peppers, onions and garlic chopped and heating in the pan; potatoes peeled and on to boil. I think it was probably late November or early December the last time I fired up the grill; lord, I was ready for a good steak. And it turned out great! I wolfed mine down, grabbed my coat and keys and had to dash for work.

Quiet night here at work; I've been killing time roaming the blogs and firing off comments and emails.

Birthday greetings went out to two great ladies who both turned 50 this week; Lazy Buddhist on the 2nd and Lea Kelley yesterday on the 7th. Now the real fun starts girls!!

Kel at 'xfacta' was good enough to post an update about their local conditions in SE Australia where they are being plagued by wildfires. Put my mind at ease somewhat after seeing reports on the evening news. An incredible heatwave with sustained temps over 40C have left everything tinder dry.

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On another note entirely.... The counsellor I'm working with tonight gave me his copy of a book to check out through the night tonight. One I'd never seen before. It's re-written Bible which relates 12 step recovery directly to scripture and is chuck full of daily meditations and other resources. For a full description, for anyone interested or to pass along, see this link: http://www.amazon.com/Recovery-Devotional-Bible-Verne-Becker/dp/0310936756. There are times when I feel spiritually 'stuck' and this has come along at an appropriate time.

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A couple of posts ago I described my work schedule for this week..... besides that, when I get up early Sunday afternoon Lynda and I have a few hours of work to do during the afternoon. Dinner, relax, bed... then up for work Monday. After work Monday I'll have enough time to dash home, change and eat before going to set up my home group AA meeting. Home, bed and up for work Tuesday on into Wednesday. Get off work Wednesday morning, head home and collapse into bed for the day (I hope). Back to work Thursday. C'mon Friday!! Lynda and I are intent on keeping our dinner date but haven't decided whether to go out Friday or Saturday for Valentine's.

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It's 4 a.m. and it's a balmy +4C outside!! Positively short-sleeve shirt weather. Glorious!! I'm not sure how long it is supposed to last but I'm thoroughly relishing it while it's here.

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I have no clue as to when I'll be able to post again but I'll be checking in for comments when I can..... and roaming blogland looking in on the regular crew. Have a great week; mine is just about over. Toodles.

Random Pic's

2009-02-06T17:18:00.004-05:00

I have a few minutes on my hands here and thought a splash of colour would be a nice change. This first one is Freedom and Milo in the yard last winter when Milo was still a pup. He hasn't grown a great deal but is a little longer, a bit taller and has filled out and become more solid. Freedom is a husky / border collie mix. Milo's mom is a purebred Jack Russell but we don't know who daddy was.

I'm getting ahead of myself by a couple of months at least but I can't wait for vivid abundant colour and warm breezes.

Buddy is the younger of our two cats and although he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer he does get along well with his playmates. To the point of being a willing pillow at times.

M.I.A. Present and Future

2009-02-06T02:22:00.003-05:00

I'd best write something of substance here soon or no one will be stopping by. Bear with me as I've gotten hung up rummaging about in the archives - it has proven to be a time consuming endeavor.

Otherwise, strange days?? Although I've spent a fair amount of time in bed and had a few sessions of seemingly sound sleep I'm having quite a battle with fatigue. Dragging butt between when I get up, get myself together and leave for work - a space of about 4 or 5 hours. Doing what must be done and little else.

On the work front things are improving. A couple of our more troublesome clients have left in the last couple of days and one goes later on today. The entire atmosphere of the house is transformed. Now the rest of them can quietly get on with their recovery. Back to business without the constant distraction of dominant / discordant personalities.

We've been to a couple of particularly good outside meetings this week with extraordinary speakers. Their stories haven't been all sweetness and light; they've shared about their struggles in recovery as well and that brings hope for newcomers about living life on life's terms. Tonight I ran into one of my sponsees unexpectedly. He travels on the job a lot and had just returned to town for the day before heading out again today for several more days.

Talking on the phone with Lynda earlier - before she went to work she took my Mom out and they both got their hair done and did some shopping through the mall. Mom loves her time with Lynda; they enjoyed themselves so much they're planning another get-together today. We were talking about a date at our favourite steak joint one night next week. I didn't tell her I was planning to marinate some steaks for the BBQ Saturday before I come to work. (It's supposed to get considerably milder.) What the hay - we can do both and see which is better.

I expect next week will be 'blog light' and I'll tell you why. This work week finishes at 6 Sunday morning. I've been asked to work a dayshift rotation starting Monday morning and it's a wonky rotation. Days Monday; a 26 hour sleep-over shift Tuesday into Wed; another day shift Thursday. The only time spent at the computer will likely be checking emails, doing banking and checking in on blog friends posts. Of course the best part will be being here running day meetings and being directly involved in client's recovery efforts.

Although I don't really feel like it I had better get back to editing the archives. Mind the dust as I shuffle things about......

Plodding Along

2009-02-05T02:46:00.003-05:00

I haven't written much these last couple of nights as I've waded back through my posts to do some editing. I've been trying to ensure there isn't anything that invades anyone's privacy, discloses too much, or is hurtful. Truth be told I haven't found much but I haven't reached the point where Lynda and I were breaking up for a time there, either. So far I haven't come across anything I needed to delete, for sure. There is a long way to go yet as I've posted in excess of 600 entries to date. As I go along it is fun to re-read some of the topics and events that have been covered - some I had forgotten about.... and I've been adding 'labels' as I go along. It should make things easier to find when I want to locate something specific.

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Tuesday through the day the temp was hovering around -10; during the evening it gradually dropped to about -15C; after 2 a.m. the wind switched around to the north and the mercury dropped like a rock down to -25C. Walking out of work in the morning into the wind was absolutely stunning - like being whacked in the forehead with a frozen hammer. Wind driven tears froze on my cheeks as I cleared snow from the windshield. I had the car heater blowing on 'full' all the way home and never had to turn it down. Once home and off to bed I doubled the comforter over myself and waited ages for the chill to leave me. Tonight it has dropped to -30C but at least the winds are still. Aahhh, winter in Canada!!! Nothing like it (unless you live in Siberia).

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Back to regular blogging soon......

Wine Tip

2009-02-04T02:24:00.003-05:00

I know - strange for a retired alky to be suggesting a drink nevermind something in particular...but hey! that's just the kind of guy I am..... still trying to share the good stuff even if it isn't good for me.

The wines are probably labelled differently in different countries so I won't name them but a couple have been recommended to Lynda lately that she went ahead and bought. Both of them are blended wines; one was Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the other a Cabernet with Shiraz. They are a dense, rich red with a terrific 'nose' to them. On both occasions when Lynda poured a glass she told me I had to have a whiff of them. They smell glorious!! I could get into a pack of trouble with these, I tell ya, but of course I'd need a 5 gallon pail to start with. Lynda says they pack quite a punch though; that she can feel the effects after just a glass.

One brand was from South Africa; the other from Australia. Have an eye!! The nose knows!

A Tonic, .....

2009-02-03T01:46:00.004-05:00

a balm, ..... an elixir.......

We had two days back-to-back with clear blue skies and temps on the plus side of freezing. To me it 'felt' like +20C but in reality we probably got up to 6 or 7. It was nice enough to sit outside mid-afternoon to drink my wake up coffee and be comfortably warm. Beautiful!! Just what I needed after a very snowy Saturday where I had to shovel the driveway twice; once around dinner time and again at 10 p.m.

With the warmth Sunday and Monday we had quite a thaw and lost a fair bit of the snow that fell Saturday. Not to worry, there is plenty left. We're still on track to set a snowfall record for the season - about 15 cm ahead of where we were last year at this time. Within a day or two we're heading back to night time lows below -20C again and day time highs around -7 to -5C. C'mon spring!!!

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One of the counsellors here had an 'Anger Inventory' quiz which I asked to copy. Later on when checking it out it was split into 6 areas and was comprised of about 30 questions which help you identify how you process anger. I was able to see one area that I continue to have problems with; it fell under the label 'Moral Outrage'.... and has to do with big picture systemic sorts of things which are beyond my control. There were also two other areas where I used to have issues but not any longer. I must be maturing and getting more right-minded as I age; what a concept!!

Once I was done with myself I started looking at it from other people's points of view. Apparently Lynda is pretty healthy in her dealings with anger. Stepson #3's score came clanging in at a relatively unhealthy '5'.... but he's better than he was say 5 years ago. Stepson #2 is in need of some help. He had scores in 5 of the 6 areas and had multiple hits in a couple of them. I wish him well, I wish him happiness but I can't see him ever attaining it by his own devices. So very happy I don't live in his head. God bless him.

Anyway, in respect to all that; I rarely allow my personal feelings about any of our clients to affect how I treat them. There are 3 in-house right now who are feeding off one another and negatively affecting the quality of other client's treatment. Here comes the 'moral outrage' where I question why they have been allowed to stay so long when it is apparent they have no interest or purpose in being here. Largely I've been correcting their behaviours when appropriate, ignoring it when it is minor and trying to focus instead on making other client's stays more positive. Afterall, we are here to treat, not discharge. For some all we can do is plant seeds that may come to fruition at a later date.

More Music Notes

2009-01-30T09:07:00.004-05:00

While driving this week I've heard some more great tunes. The other day the announcer gave a great intro for a tune so I perked up my ears, turned up the volume and gave a good listen. It was Blitzen Trapper playing the title track from their CD 'Furr". They are out of Portland, OR and have a terrific sound. They come to Toronto Feb 21.

Yesterday the same announcer intro'd a track by Pink Martini saying they were playing in town last night, and went on to say about the huge following they have in France. I've written about them before, like when I first heard them on the radio, and I like everything I've heard so far. If memory serves they are based in Portland as well ( or somewhere close by.)

Thank god for radio cuz I'd need quite an income to indulge my love of music. Forking out for CD's and going to see performances can add up in an awful hurry.

** For the last 24 hours I had some wrong info posted here which goes to show me I shouldn't write when I'm only half awake. I referred to a band by the name of Pink Cadillac which does exist - it's a long time local 50's & 60's band - but it isn't the one I meant to include here. Mega-brain fart there. Mea culpa. So I added links to enable you to more easily check out Blitzen Trapper and Pink Martini. Have a look at their tour dates and if they are in your area in the next couple of months, go support them and have a good time. ** NM

Also on the music front..... woo-hoo!! I finally set up my Bose music system yesterday and I can listen once again to my music!! Hallelujah!! I thought Lynda was going to faint when she walked in the door and saw it was about ready to go. We re-christened it with disc 1 from The Eagles: Long Road Out Of Eden. Today might have to be a Jeff Beck marathon (which I'm sure all the pets will enjoy).

More Snow

2009-01-29T09:17:00.004-05:00

Some frost from one of those -20C nights.

Ice Sculpture on Steel

View from our front window this a.m. - my car is just visible peeking over the snowbank.

The flare above the sun is called an 'ice pillar'. Ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere refracting the rays of the setting sun.

Cool (as in cold) Pictures

2009-01-29T08:51:00.003-05:00

Here are a few that have been taken over the last couple of weeks.

This is dog tracks frozen in the ice and snow.

This was taken while it was still snowing. Shot from our kitchen/patio door toward the greenbelt.

A wider view from the same spot that shows more of our yard. Birch tree, willow, grape vines, wind mill.

A couple of shots got lost here so I'll publish these and try to track down the others.

Second Helping

2009-01-28T13:06:00.003-05:00

Just finished round one of shovelling the walks, deck and driveway. I'm all out of breath and puffing like mad. Damn, I wish I had stuck with not smoking. Dumb ass!! To my small credit I've tried to keep it manageable at about a half pack a day - some days less; some a little more. Depends largely on the length of day at weeks end of my shifts as I'm up for maybe 10 hours when I'm turning it about to a day shift routine and sometimes I'm up for a full 24 going into night shift mode. I've been holding off playing my CD of my hypnosis session from when I quit because I want to psyche myself up properly for another full-on quit attempt. It had better be soon with the way I have felt these last few days. Exhaustion and smoking don't make good bed mates.

I also meant to mention my stepson is due back from Australia this weekend. He set up his shifts to run from 2 in the afternoon until 2 in the morning so he takes breakfast by the pool, swims and sunbathes before work and is apparently brown as a nut now. Lucky so-and-so!! Kel - we'll have to work on a house switch for next winter or the one after. Sounds like a worth goal to me. You and Mr X can enjoy the cross country skiing and downhill; Lynda and I can swim, sail and enjoy walking the waterfront in the heat. Fair trade!! Start saving your pennies.

Must get cleaned up and then go retrieve stepson #3 from his work; a 30 mile round trip in the snow storm. Loverly!! I should go take a picture of the front of the house so I can do a 'before and after' come May - one with all the snow and one without. Sounds like a must do. See ya!

Looking Back

2009-01-28T09:33:00.003-05:00

Wow!! Wednesday already so how about a little recap??

Sunday I was up early in the afternoon to help Lynda with 'that' job we do each weekend. She had some car trouble Saturday evening so there was some checking around to do with that and stewing because she has extra hours booked to work all week. We both crashed before 10 that night.

Monday was a steady go from 5 a.m. straight through until after 10 that night. If my A.A. home group wasn't so small I would have begged off but I felt obliged to show up - and did. During the day I got some household stuff cleared up, some running around town done picking up car parts and shopping. Plus, catching up on blog friends new posts. The car got fixed by a friend. By that evening I was exhausted and wound up spending 12 hours between the sheets without feeling the least bit guilty.

I got up Tuesday not feeling all that great - headache, heavy feeling in my chest and generally blah. The plan was to take it very easy and do not much of anything but all it took was an early call from my Mom to rouse me. As my sister is leaving on vacation (again!) and weather isn't supposed to be good for the rest of the week she thought she'd best get a few things from the grocery store. No problem Mom.

My stepson was called back to work from his layoff and started back Monday. Lynda drops him off on her way to work and I pick him up at days end. That has worked alright so far but I figure there are already 3-4 inches of snow on the ground now at 10 a.m.; there is plenty more forecast and there is quite a distance to travel and get him. Oh, joy.

Yeah, the weather. Friday we had a tease of mild stuff to come - we actually got up to freezing!! That night it dropped right back to -20C; I could have cried. There were a couple more cold days but as this storm system moved in it brought much milder temps. I think we're sitting at about -5C which is comfortable.

Lynda is doing her regular shift all week but T, W, & Thurs she is putting in an additional 4 hours on-call for another department. She goes back in Saturday for a super shift; 16 hours from 7 until 11. (Then we do that job on Sunday again and she's back at work Monday. Fun, eh?? She's definitely working way too much.)

What's my day hold?? Well, shovelling snow for sure while trying not to blow a gasket. That trip to get stepson #3 and then have dinner on the table for when Lynda gets home. Last night it was pork chops in mushroom soup, sherry and seasonings with rice. Tonight it is schnitzel with peppers, onions, roasted garlic and garlic mashes potatoes.

Y'all have a good day; that's my plan.

Infectious Melodies

2009-01-24T23:47:00.004-05:00

Ya know when you get a tune stuck in your head that just keeps going round and round?? Some folks call them 'ear worms' and that seems pretty appropriate. Lately I've found each day there has been a musical theme running about upstairs; sometimes raising quite a clatter, and other times it's a soothing comfort. Usually they are the simplest of melodies. For instance, about a week ago I eventually identified the tune as coming from the theme music in the movie 'Babe'. It took quite a while even to figure out what the source was but once I nailed it I was satisfied. A little, 'Aahhh, okay...' moment and I proceeded to hum away the rest of the day.

One morning this week on the way home I heard Rufus Wainright's cover of The Beatles 'Across The Universe' and it continued to play across my mind as I fell asleep. Only trouble was that it played all the rest of that day once I'd risen from my bed once again. Man, am I ever glad that I like that intricate tune. I'd have hated to be humming, whistling and singing a song all day that I don't care for.

I do wonder why and how this happens from time to time.... a few notes or a simple musical phrase lock in and continue to hit the repeat button for hours on end. Sometimes from a popular release, other times a snippet from a commercial on TV, some jingle or theme music from a show.

'Can't get enough of those Sugar Crisp, Sugar Crisp, Sugar Crisp.....'

'I wish I was an Oscar Meyer wiener, then the world would be in love with me...' or, like me the other day...

'words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup' from 'Across The Universe'; John Lennon.

There - that should be enough to get you started. Heh, heh.... Pass it on.

Bonus!! Here's Rufus. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=H71Fv3PcQQY

Man of Few Words

2009-01-24T02:22:00.003-05:00

It's been a quiet week on the blogging front as there hasn't been an awful lot going on. There are a couple of things I've been working on and working through..... indecision and procrastination are working against getting to a solution in either case. Primarily it's been another week split between work, sleep and a couple of hours daily spent with Lynda before coming to work. Oh, and there's that struggle to get any amount of decent sleep, too.

Most of the writing I've done this week has been email dialogue and I find those sorts of messages time consuming. Especially with people I don't know personally I try to take time and put proper thought into what I'm saying so that I'm not misunderstood. The thought process takes long enough; the actual typing takes at least as long. Speedy on the keyboard, I'm not.

There is a blog I've been visiting for the last couple of weeks that I'm impressed with and would recommend. A music blog written by columnist Simon Sweetman of New Zealand. He and I appear to have similar taste in music and I enjoy the way he writes. I came across him while doing seaches for Jeff Beck - Simon interviewed him recently. Find him at http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/blogs/blogonthetracks?source=nav
One of his recent posts was about having seen Leonard Cohen in concert this past week - sounds like it was a great show. It prompted me to go searching on YouTube where I found some of his videos but I also came across k.d. Lang's version of Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE
Sheer bliss - such an incredible voice!! As in 'gift of God' sort of vocal abilities.... and when combined with Cohen's incomparible use of language in his writing you get amazing music.

Another artist whose music I've enjoyed lately is Habib Koite and his band Bamada. He is a brilliant young Malian guitarist. Check this out: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=K4VRGALZdBA&feature=related

Here's a tune, My Sweet Love, from John Mellencamp's latest CD - Life, Death, Love, Freedom. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_CAcJidaE

And a love song from Steve Earle and his wife Alison Moorer called 'Days Aren't Long Enough'. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkimV4iQ9k

A treasure from an old episode of The Smother's Brothers show featuring Jefferson Airplane circa 1967. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1cfTMdjkYM&feature=related

If you don't like any of those there might be a problem with your ears.....

Having Fun

2009-01-23T03:13:00.003-05:00

A big shout out to Lea for a reminder to have a bit of fun courtesy of the folks at Marvel Comics. You get to choose from lots of options in making a super hero graphic of yourself. Seeing as how this isn't my computer I didn't save it here but to see my alter-ego click on this link: http://marvelkids.marvel.com/cyos/422592/name/nm/hero/abnormal)
Too much fun!!
From that link you can start your own - check it out and do have fun. I did so, thanks Lea!!

One Other Thing

2009-01-21T03:26:00.003-05:00

My eldest stepson is in Australia working on a project and is missing his son Owen terribly. He had been hoping to be shortlisted to head home early if the work went well. Lynda was talking to his wife last night and he has been asked to stay an additional WEEK. EEEKK!! Neither Owen or his Dad are happy at that prospect. Dad has also been offered a new job within the company in California. (Which would mean Lynda and I would HAVE to move there as well in order to be close to Owen.... lol) Discussion to follow on arriving home.

Coupla Things

2009-01-21T02:41:00.003-05:00

I had a response from the customer service folks at Eagle Records advising me that the DVD release of Jeff Beck's latest has been delayed from Dec 08 or Jan 09 until April. Me not happy.... but I thanked them for the info anyway. Maybe they should just update their website???

On the sleep front - newsflash!!! Today I slept like a king and didn't get up until after Lynda had arrived home from work... and that NEVER happens. Ah, bliss. Praise the Lord, I was due.

Weather front - a high pressure system has pushed it's way into the area bringing clear skies and much colder temps. We're back down near -20 once again tonight. Unfortunately I was so late getting up I didn't get any photos taken of the snow. Maybe later today.

Beard update - I know everyone is breathlessly awaiting word on the latest developments here. Geez! For the last month I've let it grow on my cheeks to raise the line of it from running along the jaw line. Made it through the itchy stage last week without scratching myself up too badly. I think if I give it an overall trim today it should all be the same length and then I can start subtracting with the razor and figure out where I want it.

Once I was up for the day Lynda and I tuned in to CNN and caught the inauguration parade. Since getting to work I've viewed the actual swearing in ceremony and excerpts from Obama's speech. The satellite shot of the crowds before the White House was incredible - I haven't as yet heard any estimates of crowd size but it must be in excess of 2 million. I'm happy and relieved that everything went off according to plan and without incident. Blessings on Barack Obama and through you, to all your citizens.

Excuse me but I have to go view some WordPress tutorials now and consume a rather large bar of chocolate and almonds.

Update: Obama's Playlist

2009-01-21T02:17:00.003-05:00

The final selections were announced Tuesday morning for the 49 songs chosen for the compilation to be sent to Barack Obama by CBC Radio 2 and their listeners. A little inauguration present from north of the 49th parallel. The list can be seen here: http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/obamasplaylist/

You are able to hear sound clips of each song and go on to purchase them from iTunes if you wish to.

A few of them I heard for the first time during the submission and voting period but I'll note a few faves here:
This is probably the most recent release and one that carries quite a message -'Brother (Watching) by Shad, a hip-hop artist.
One of Leonard Cohen's most sardonic and compelling songs - 'Democracy'.
The Oscar Peterson Trio performing - 'Hymn To Freedom'.
#1 personal favourite tied most closely to 'good times' memories of being up north enjoying the cottage - 'Bobcaygeon' by The Tragically Hip.

Apparently CBC received over 100,000 messages in regard to this by way of song submissions and the voting procedure. Nice to see so many engaged in the process. Enjoy Mr. Obama!!

Slow Motion Man

2009-01-20T01:22:00.003-05:00

By the time I got home this morning I had been up for 21 hours and surprisingly felt pretty good. I had gone through a tired stage through the night and that was why when I posted I kept it on the short side and to the point - a bare bones account of the weekend. It seems that tonight is when I'm paying the price. The dogs had me awake around mid-day and I've been up and around ever since. Ever feel like you're slogging along wearing a heavy damp cloak long after your energy has run out?? That is me tonight on 4 or 5 hours sleep. During the day I kept busy with household stuff - laundry, dusting and vacuuming, and cooking - and managed to get away from the house to make it to work a bit early.

Primarily for our youngest dogs benefit (Milo), Lynda and I have adjusted our work schedules so he is well tended to. We had a talk tonight and decided we've done this long enough, he is grown enough that this shouldn't continue to be necessary. So, at long last she and I will have some common time at home instead of an hour here and there spotted through the week. Hallelujah!! Lynda will go back to her regular day shift and occasional rotation into a week of afternoon shift instead of every other week. We will enjoy having the chance to actually go out and do things together again.

We haven't had any sun since getting that dumping of new snow but I did get a couple of pictures that could be alright to post. There also hasn't been a breath of wind so everything has an 8 to 12 inch hat of pristine snow atop. Looks pretty damned cool. Really must get back into posting photos on a regular basis again - there's a worthy goal.

Today marks 6 years since Lynda quit smoking; or 2192 days.... and she has never looked back. Doesn't miss it and has no cravings. Pretty remarkable since she went along with my sister and I to the hypnotherapist not really intending a serious quit attempt. Right time; right place; right outcome. Sister Linda is coming up on a year soon via a different method. I'm back pretty well where I started; smoking daily but not as heavily as before.

Family Times

2009-01-19T02:32:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy weekend spent with Owen and his Mom, Mom's friend Lynn and then at Saturday night's dinner both of Lynda's other 2 sons, plus one of their g'friends. Owen's Dad will be in Australia for another week working on a project. He finally had a day off for sight-seeing Sunday after a solid week of 16 hour days.

Owen and I coloured and drew pictures, counted, read, played with cars, planes and helicopters. Between times I shovelled snow. He decided again to sleep with his Gramma and I, and once again made it through the night. Owen and Milo are best friends except when Owen decides to cuddle up to Freedom. Then Milo and Freedom put on a play wrestling demonstration that is hilarious to hear and see.

It started snowing late Saturday afternoon and didn't let up until tonight. In total we had about 14 inches and it had me leery about attempting the drive to work tonight. The roads were lousy but funnily the worst part was getting off our own street - the drive took double the usual amount of time. Then I got to work and found our plowing contractor hadn't been here to do the job and almost got stuck in the driveway. Oh joy!! I managed to slide the car into a spot and will be moving it if he ever gets here tonight. The plus side of this is that the very cold weather is over for awhile - the milder temps brought the snow. That cold snap was a trans-polar airflow straight out of Siberia, btw, and it felt like it, too.

Back at work here for another week of nights so I've organized myself and reviewed the new admission's files. Very unusual but we have three new guys straight out of jail so there is some posturing going on, lots of street talk and gangsta stuff. (Knock, knock, knock.) 'This isn't jail, so knock it off' is the general message. Good house, growing in numbers finally.

Although I'll be sleeping during the actual ceremony I'm very much looking forward to Obama's inauguration on Tuesday. (Is anyone truly disappointed McCain didn't get in?) I can catch the highlights on the news or CNN when I get up that afternoon. Lots of good wishes to my Obama backing friends south of the border. Cheers to a brand new era in American politics.

Baby It's Cold Outside

2009-01-15T21:12:00.003-05:00

The weather is what everyone is talking about here these days. Today's high temp was -14C and we're heading down below -20C again tonight. Lots of cold associated accidents, fires, watermain breaks. Shelters are opening extra beds and doing more outreach trying to get the homeless to take shelter. Exposed skin can freeze in as little as 10 or 15 minutes; less time if there is wind.

I had a bunch of running around to do today and everything went incredibly smooth, tickety-boo, no waiting. A doctors appt, haircut, oil change - nice not to have the frustration of having to hang around cooling my heels. Layer up and give the car plenty of time to warm up and off I went. Hah! Layering up - I had a ridiculous amount of clothes on today but I won't bore you with the details. Normally I look like a long, tall drink of water - today I was somewhat rotund and was restricted in movement by all I was wearing.

Unlikely to post during the day Friday as I had yet another call-in for work; this time just a dayshift. Ching-ching. The weekend will likely bring a visit from g'son Owen and his Mom - Dad is on a business trip in Australia. I'm hoping they stay Saturday into Sunday again. Sunday night I'm back into my regular series of night shifts.

BTW - My comments regarding the weather shouldn't be interpreted as complaints, though it may seem sometimes that is the spin on them. Walking out of doors in this sort of weather is bracing, exhilarating and life affirming. (Though daunting at times - must be mindful of inherent dangers and precautionary measures.) If you haven't experienced it I highly recommend it even if it's for a short time.

Chillin'

2009-01-14T20:26:00.003-05:00

Once I had all 'that' stuff out of the way yesterday I enjoyed a dinner I had thrown together, then some other tasty rib-sticking goodies and somehow managed to stay up until Lynda made it in from work. (There is a vegetable drink I've been enjoying lately - a blend of 10 veggies - made by 'Allen's'. One glass is never enough; have to have 2 or 3. I've been thinking it's be interesting to cook with too.) Then I was done, totally done after we'd had a quick check-in on our days. 10+ hours of blissful uninterrupted sleep - aahhh!! Hadn't had one like that in weeks and months.

When I eventually did get up it was a bit of a rush getting cleaned up in time to head off to a dentist appointment. I had planned to swing by the house I grew up in, the house Mom and Dad built there in the eastern suburbs of Toronto, but it had started snowing pretty heavily. Drat; and headed back to the highway and home. One of the hangover affects of doing all those hours is that along with being incredibly tired I'm awfully sore. Really sore; deep down achy to the point it is uncomfortable to even sit upright for any length of time. As a result I haven't accomplished as much on the home front as I would like but.... there is always tomorrow.

A few days ago I saw a hawk sailing about out in back of the house over the greenbelt area sporting his winter plumage. It was a terrifically gusty day and he was wheeling and swooping along looking like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Looked like an out-of-control kite up there but in a regal, superior sort of way.

Last night about 9 p.m. I heard a coyote's wavering call out back. We have heard it before on occasion but that sound never fails but to give me the 'willys'. The theory is that they're driven down this far south by persistent cold but I have no proof of that. All I know is that when I hear them I don't walk outdoors at night and I keep a close eye on the pets.

Lynda has been agitating to get things arranged and sorted out around here and I don't blame her. My stuff is still boxed (mainly) taking up room in the spare bedroom on the main floor and a good portion of a basement room. Problem is that I left the furniture items that held my stuff back at the townhouse where it is all being used. So, that's one project for tomorrow besides all the running around I have planned. Get a start on unpacking and arranging. Get the Bose system out and set up - I don't think I'll do the full surround set-up; just the centre channel and left & right speakers. I've lived music-less for long enough. Completely miss my tunes.

That should account for more than a few of my '50 Goals'. Stop dithering; get on with it.