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Thursday, March 24, 2011

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

WED 23 MAR 2011 3:42pm The power should be back on any minute now, according to the Hydro outage number. We've been in a state of suspended animation all morning and part of the afternoon. Which isn't a bad thing. It really pays to slow to a crawl at times. Also winter keeps on coming.
We're fine because we have a wood stove for heat and a gas stove which we can light for food prep.

Quite a difference in my photo-a-day pictures.

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY
                                  Here's a few more from Wednesday.


LOOKING ACROSS TOWARDS THE LAKE

FROM THE BACK OF OUR PLACE

I'm looking through garden project books to get in the mood to get back out there. I have chopped a few trees, so that's a start. Have an idea to make small fountains out of hypertufa containers, which I will make, and decorate them with found objects. That sort of combines all my interests.  I'd still like to make an Aeolian harp that works. (I made a really nice one once and even in a stiff wind couldn't get a sound out of it.) Or a sun-dial. First step is get the workshop floor in to make it all easier

Got a houseful of neighbours enjoying our wood heat. The power is now off til 7pm. Celine & Jan are visiting. It's nice to have company. Especially from close by. A bit of a community finally.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 SAT 12 MAR 2011 8:58am  Sitting in The main room of the Lyndoch Lyceum. J is getting ready to give a talk on Chi Fusion. It's a beautiful room, with warm colours, and a nice collection of varied furniture. The building is an old school in a lovely village founded in 1812. Our good friend Kimberley runs this conference centre and B&B with her partner Richard.
Picked up a Zoomer magazine. I believe a zoomer is a boomer with an active lifestyle. Interesting articles. Gord Lightfoot on the cover. He's still going strong at 72. I guess that's part of the appeal, seeing someone getting on but still on the ball. We know a few people like that.

SAT 19 MAR 2011 10:58am Jackie is off doing her first class in Lyndoch. Hope it goes well. It should, she's quite prepared. Sounded like a fair number will turn out. It will be interesting to see.

Had a good visit with Chloe and Colton. Got to be with them for a couple of hours while their parents were out. No trouble at all. They're good kids. There were actually three, I guess, since Chloe has a 100 year old daughter. Lot's of experience to draw on, anyway.

7:30pm Jackie's class went well. Eight showed, with a couple more promised for next week. After class they drank tea and had a good chat.

I see I haven't even talked about the party last week. It was fun jamming with Colin, Michael Moon and Bud the banjo player. Colin & Janet's kids are really growing. There was a big crowd to celebrate Jeff's bd. Darlene didn't tell him about it but people kept arriving and he got the idea. We even got to dance a few slow jives with MM playing and Jamie on drum.

Also today I piled the rest of the wood. Now the snow will melt and we can clean the area. Mild days lately. Most snow is gone. Shows me all the work around the yard I have to do.

They have started at work but no call for me yet. No real hurry, but I'd like to get back before our savings are gone completely.

I did a lot while off, but didn't come up with a alternate income. Wonder if I ever will?

Tomorrow is Chloe's 5th bd party.

TUES 22 MAR 2011 3:57pm  Rain is on the way; you can feel it in the air. In fact, they're calling for more of the white stuff tomorrow.

Chloe's bd party on Sunday was held in a bowling alley. Actually a good place for a kids party. They can run around and hoot and holler and even throw big balls around. For the little ones there is a contraption like a ski jump that they roll the ball down. And there's no frustration with gutter balls because they put up bumpers to hold the ball on the lane. There was food and drinks, even a beer if you wanted one. And lots of presents, including a new bike. Chloe was one happy 5 year old.
I was surprised that I was able to knock down a few pins. It's been, what?, 30 years. Found a few muscles I'd forgotten about. They made their presence known the next morning.

Started cutting down Manitoba maples around our place. I just don't want them getting so big that I won't be able to tackle them myself. Even now it's a challenge. I'll see how it goes.

Christopher, Vanessa's brother, gave me a good idea what to do with my daily pictures of one spot. I wasn't really sure how I was going to display them. 365 photographs is a lot. He said I can put them into a slideshow with just seconds in between and they'll go by very fast, but you will see the seasons change. So, that's the plan. Then I can post it on YouTube. You'll see the difference where I cut the tree down also.

Got my motorcycle sticker on Friday. I'll wait til the snow passes before taking it out. If we don't get any here maybe I'll get out tomorrow or the next day. It would be good to take it the first day of work – whenever that is.

Friday, March 11, 2011

EXCITEMENT ON THE LAKESHORE

FRI 11 MAR 2011 12:55pm
Lots of action on the old Lakeshore this morning. After a solid day of rain and melting snow we wake to winter wonderland again. Very heavy snow bending the branches. Then a fire engine roars by and stops at our corner. Now, we haven't seen a fire truck around here for at least 20 years when the guy next door set his truck engine on fire while working on it. So this woke us up.





As they were putting pylons across the road right in front of our driveway, I went and asked what was happening. It seems a hydro pole had fallen on the road and was burning. So that explained why our power was out. Eventually a County truck came along, then an OPP, then a Hydro truck. The snow plow was turned back. Too much excitement for one morning.

The mail did get through. Our mailman, Harold, is celebrating 50 years on the job and his 80th birthday today.  Way to go, Harold!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY

THURS 10 MAR 2011 10:40am Ah, sleeping in is one of the joys of the modern world.  I keep thinking it would be good to get up early when not much is going on and enjoy the solitude. But, snuggling into a warm bed beats it every time. Maybe when it's warmer I'll be more inclined to get up and at it. But, then I will be working so that can only happen on weekends, because during the week I'm up before the sun anyway. So then, sleeping in past 4am is a big deal.

5:41pm Bored again. Not really boredom, just getting into my going back to work mindset. That means I have a hard time getting seriously into any project because it will just be dropped when I go back. I always think I can overcome this and carry on but it never works that way.  I'm just away too many hours to fit much else other than work into a day. I have to accept that.


Did go for a drive to take photos and got a few good ones, I believe. Thought it would be good because of all the rain and mist. And it was. Stopped in at the Hay Creek CA, haven't been there before. The ground is very spongy and soggy with melted snow but it was worth slogging though it. Some big White Pines, a picnic pavilion with the floor submerged, and the dammed pond, which was delicately misted were highlights.

And finally I stopped for a minute at the Jackson-Gunn Old Growth Forest, which is near home and you can read about it here.



Hay Creek CA
Hay Creek Pavillion
Hay Creek CA

Frozen Ground
Needles & Bark
From the Port Dover pier.
Jackson-Gunn Old Growth Forest

Saturday, March 5, 2011

WED 2 MAR 2011 10:55am 
Haven't sat down to write for a few days. It's been a busy time. Went to Duane's marathon 48 hour guitar playing gig a couple of times and had the honour of sitting in for a few songs.  He did a great job, brought the community together to raise money for a good cause, focused attention on the musicians of Norfolk and surrounds and, I hope, gave a good deserving boost to his own music career.

I've started recording again. Bought a book which is a big help in using Garageband. If only for the small details that could take hours to find out on your own. I never find help on computer programs very easy to understand.  But, I did some overdubbing which worked quite well. I was happy with the resulting piece of music. It could be the theme song for the little podcast I'm working on.. Looking forward to doing more today.

Got a surprise from Jazz.fm. We get to go to a movie about Allan Lomax , the Gatherer of Songs, at the station on Friday. And not only that but it's being screened by Ross Porter. I've been listening to his singular gravely tones for years.  As Jackie says, in a business based on the voice, his really stands out. He hosted the late night jazz show on the Mother Corp and now is head honcho at Jazz.fm 91.1.

SAT 05 MAR 2011 4:08pm
We didn't go to the screening because they had to change the movie, and I wasn't that interested in the other one. And it was calling for freezing rain, so we 'll wait. They said it will be shown in the future. Hope I'm not working.

Went on a good drive the other day and got some photos to put on the blog. Today I was a bit bored and was thinking about doing a self-portrait. I realized my tripod was in the car and it was gone, so I got the idea of shooting my reflection in a mirror. And it worked. It's a bit of hit and miss and hard to set controls, but after quite a few attempts I got some I liked.
This was the first one and showed possibilities.

Really hard to frame with any accuracy.

That's better.

I like this one the best. Interesting angle and it looks like music flowing into my ear.


The car was gone because Jackie went to an event where they are collecting underwear for women in Haiti. It's an item they just can't get and that undermines their dignity. It's been over a year since the earthquake. To learn more about this effort called We Care With Underwear, have a look at this short video.








Right at this moment in time I feel good about myself and my situation. Doesn't mean everything is perfect. But, I feel in control of what affects me and what doesn't. I'm not jumping through anyone's hoops and I'm not even allowing myself to sabotage my happiness. I could still bemoan a thousand things if I allowed myself to do that. But, it's much better to celebrate what is good; meanwhile you can work on the rest but don't let it spoil what is good.
My philosophical rant for the week.

Friday, March 4, 2011

I AM THE DAYTRIPPER

Went to the post office yesterday and just kept going. Sometimes you just have to move. Didn't go far but got a few good shots.

I was attracted by the incredible cluster of buildings on this dirt road. 
It was like coming into a pioneer village.
         

  Probably the last winter standing for this old dear.
                               
Nice iron traffic bridge outside of Port Bruce.
                                            

Ice boulders like large blue gems from the  Port Bruce harbour.