Surf n Sale

Who said "Trunk sailing” wasn’t exhausting!




Last week we went through the newspapers looking for garage sales. It’s amazing how many of them there are each summer. Having just moved, we were in the market (pardon the pun) for a few items.

How different things are nowadays. Today we used the computer map-quest search, for all the street names we didn’t know. Plotting a route to take in our onslaught for the goodies. It’s amazing how many people get themselves out there ‘in the hunt’. Long caravans of vehicles practically racing each other to see who can get there first, ~ ‘follow that van!’.

Whilst in the planning stages I got a little curious. I remembered the English TV program “ Steptoe & Son” the ‘rag and bone men’ from the successful BBC series. I remembered the same people in real life from when I was a kid growing up in England. That brought to mind other well known names related, I thought, like trunk sales, rummage sales, garage sales as well as the famous ‘Flea Markets’. I decided to google the origin. ~ What a pleasant surprise and such a good read. This is the link:


These are part of the loot from our sojourn into the world of sometimes mad, who said it doesn‘t pay to get ready to rumble!




BarBells for exercising. $5.00





Cabinet to hold microwave.. $4.00





Finally what I figured was 'The Prize' ~ Marble Chess set $1.00!!





We arrived home, feeling a little like “Fagan from Oliver Twist!” having picked someone’s pocket.

C'ya

Award Nite

A week ago fellow bloggers Samrina and Newnorth decided that they wanted to give me an award for my blog.

Samrina's award originated at:
Arte Y Pico from Uruguay.

Samrina’s award came because she classed my blog along with others, as artistic in its content & presentation, and that it gave her much enjoyment each day. I thank her for the award and for how she views my attempts at a topic on a given day. Thank you my friend.

Newnorth ~ Her award she gave me was, for as the award says ~ “I made her day” ~ .. Insert a quiet smile here if you please.. I accept that award also. Thank you too my friend.


It is nice to know that other bloggers think of others in such nice terms.
I like to think that all bloggers who try their best each day, are like one big family. An online family maybe, but even so it just shows that when people mingle like this, it is possible to reach out and touch.

In checking out other recipients of both these awards I find, that some pass it on and some offer them to all. I too find it difficult to just select certain ones over others in passing the awards along, for no matter which blogs I frequent on my list I always find all the blogs very well done, “Quite entertaining & Artistic” in fact, so very pleasing, that they “All make my day” So for those of you who would wish to partake, please take one.

Thank you all my friends. :)

C'ya

Book-Ended

Swen ~ Karen

Both have tagged me for this little meme, ‘Open Book'. These were the instructions:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open it at page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence/ phrase.
4. Blog the next four sentences/ phrases together with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig your shelves for that very special or intellectual book.
6. Pass it forward to six friends

My problem though, is I haven’t read very much of anything in a while. My wife on the other hand is a different story. Elizabeth is an avid reader and has probably read half the library.

It is just my luck then, that the nearest book to where I am sitting is the one she has just finished. This has turned out to be not just any book. This book is the latest book written by Ken Follett, the internationally acclaimed “World Without End.”

“World Without End,” is the sequel written 18 years later to the classic “Pillars of the Earth”. The books are English fictional history.

This one is penned in about the 14th century, that alone helps set the stage for some very exciting reading. Some of the things one can expect to find in the novel are cathedrals and monks, kings, knights, love and war, many memorable characters and who can forget the time of the great plague, which wiped out almost half the population of Europe.

This book too will become a classic, ~ it is a masterpiece.





Sentences 6-9 on page 123:

At the end of a rope,” he said. “Same way I brought the cow in.”
“Ah, but you didn’t have to get the cow past me and these people.”
Gwenda’s heart leaped with hope.

These are my tag victims:

Zirelda
Virtual Journey
Samrina
New North
The Ancient one
Augs Casa

Good Luck.

C'ya

The Intimidator

Today I had a nice surprise email from a close friend. After reading my last blog “Joust a Minute”, my friend came up with an idea for me. I took a wild guess that my little Red Knight was hardly intimidating enough to these parking lot bullies. ~ So we give you:

“The Intimidator” which to me, meeting him in the parking lot, would be enough to scare the poop out of my scoop!



As a result of all this fine photoshop work, I tried something I have wanted to do for a long time now. ~ It worked, and the ‘New Banner’ above is the result.

The photo is one we took at Fairy lake, quite close by us.

C’ya

A Hairy 24

Monday we went out to the mall, mostly for me to exercise walking. Of course going anywhere, where there are stores can be fatal when we go out. I’m not a compulsive shopper, but the wife does believe in having back-ups. (cough, cough)

Like lots of people who live in these cold and in winter dry wastelands north of the border, (heating season) we do (especially because of my COPD) have a number of toy’s to compensate for all these climatic changes.

In winter it can get pretty dry here without the use of a humidifier. Ours just needs a new filter this time around.

Monday the day started off in a real hairy fashion. First the missus & I had a lively discussion about the filter as opposed to buying another machine that goes without filters. ~ That’s when the toaster decided to go on strike and refused to toast, oh boy! ~ Elizabeth’s eyes just lit up like a beacon! ~ Ours is a nice cream color, (she says antiquated old white! ~ Bah humbug! ) the wife now would like a black one. Another item to the list, all this and I hadn’t even left my chair yet to find out why it conked out. (I was thinking about the kettle incident!)

We arrived at the mall to walk ~ ahem ~ Elizabeth was off like a shot looking for the aisle with humidifiers, after finally catching up to her, we looked over what was available, we’re not impressed. ~ We were still discussing the filter, when we turned into the toaster aisle. There was a couple already there examining the toasters, and as we approached you could hear them voicing opinions on stainless steel verses black. She it seems, is leaning towards the black one.
That’s when we see…… the nice looking black toaster that the guy was holding in his hands. ~ He spotted us watching him, I guess we had made it pretty obvious, and with a smile he said’ you want this one don’t you?” I chuckled, this guy was a smart cookie alright.

He & his wife had not decided yet what they wanted, so I tried pointing out another store to him, where they had some great stuff, but he wasn’t falling for that either, or putting the toaster down! ~ When we came back a little later they and the toaster were gone.

We did find the aisle that held the filters & even got so far as finding what we needed, but the wife was adamant, she wanted a new filter-less machine.

So more stubborn resistance on my part, and sulks that would bring a fountain to tears on the part of the wife. That was the end of that store and so off we went to another favorite place to shop. Forgotten now it seems was the primary reason for coming out, re: walking exercise! Oh well, walking around a store can be deemed a workout in more ways than one. ~

When we got home with the new machine………… Well it was said that it wouldn’t hurt none to have a backup just in case……We never did get the toaster that the guy was holding, oh well there is always another day.


A number of times during this summer we have experienced a few minor problems with the fridge….. Uh Oh!………. Yesterday in line with all the other hairy goings on, the fridge decided it wanted to be a freezer,…. by freezing the eggs……… At this point it might be understandable then, that there were definite grounds for the gnashing of teeth! ….. C’est la vie……

This morning, after sleeping on an otherwise crazy day Monday, we rose bright eyed & bushy tailed. Elizabeth, all nice and cheery starts to prepare the breakfast. Going to the fridge…….. Surprise! ~
The fridge is once more a fridge again, not being able to compete with the freezer, and the eggs were just fine. Lo and behold, forgetting that the toaster was broken she flipped bread in and pressed the lever down, … The toaster, deciding that it wasn’t going to be replaced, considered it too had better work again, which it did! ~ The wife still in a shocked state served breakfast and forgot my eggs! Then on hearing my yelp! realized she had given me the wrong plate. Still the toaster worked! So today was going to be a fine day after all.

Later Elizabeth sat there deep in thought, then suddenly broke into excited chatter. She had started off by saying that she felt a little guilty over the humidifier, after all we had one that is still ok………. I said don’t be silly, we can always use a back-up…… Yikes! ………Did I say that? She burst out laughing at me. She then went on to point out that with all the savings, offers, adjustments and not having to buy a replacement filter, the new machine wasn’t that expensive anyway!.. Boy! Talk about cost justification.

I said to Elizabeth, ‘be careful what you say around me, you might end up in my blog !’ ~ More chuckles! ~

As you can tell by now, we tease the hell out of each other and have a lot of fun doing it.

A Hairy 24 will do that to you.

C’ya

Just a Great Day Feeling

Up bright & early today. Already we have had the usual groups of birds drop in for a bite. Red Cardinal, Blue Jays, and even for the first time together. A group made up of the Nuthatch, a few Red Breasted Nuthatch's and surprisingly a Black-capped chickadee all on the feeder at the same time. I give up trying to get a picture of that, it's almost as if they know, for the minute I'm ready with the camera they take off!


This was quite the site a couple of days ago. ~ That's a whole lotta Pumpkin Pie!

C'ya

Jack Sprat

Tonight we sat down to a delicious supper of orange-glazed pork chops, served with scalloped potatoes and cabbage as a vegetable.
During the course of the meal, I noticed Elizabeth cutting away a little bit of the fatty part of the chop. On seeing that I said to her that, that was one of the tastiest parts of the meat, but she wasn’t going to buy that one from me. That’s when the following nursery rhyme came into my head, which I quoted to my honey. I was surprised to hear that she had never heard it before, so I promptly googled it and showed it to her. The history of how that particular rhyme came to be was what I found interesting.

Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean.

Origin can be found in British History:

The Jack alluded to is in fact reputed to be Charles I and Henrietta Maria, his Queen. Apparently, when King Charles declared war on Spain, parliament refused to finance him (leaving him lean!) So his wife imposed an illegal war tax (to get some fat!) after the angered King dissolved Parliament. The first publication date for the lyrics of this nursery rhyme can be traced to 1639.

This is the recipe for a taste sensation.

Orange-Glazed Pork Chops

Prep: 15 min.
Bake 30 min.

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
¼ cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-½ teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bone-in pork chops
(¾ inch thick)
1 small lime, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce and water until small. Stir in the marmalade, lime juice, oil and garlic until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir mixture for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Place the pork chops in a greased 8 inch baking dish. Spoon glaze over pork; turn to coat. Top with the lime slices. Bake, uncovered, @ 400 for 30-40 minutes or until pork juices run clear. Yield: 2 servings. ~ Enjoy ~

Bon appetit!

C'ya

Giving Thanks

This year, before sitting at the table this thanksgiving, to partake of the wonderful bounty placed before us. I would like to take a moment, to offer our thanks to Mother Nature for all that she has given us already in such a wonderful year of pleasure.

This has been at a time of my life with this COPD, that I never dreamed I would participate in, let alone feast on such a menu of beauty to take home, but then who could turn down such an incentive.

When it comes to putting on a show nobody does it better than Mother Nature, who once again flexes her awesome power, putting on such enjoyable sights.

In addition to the park that we go to and I have shown so much of, we also have a small lake a short distance from where we live, it takes all of five minutes to get there. These then are a few shots taken there and some of its wildlife.

(clickable thumbnails)




Round em up, move em out!~ Time to go.




Now be nice ya hear, eat and no squabbling.



Well whadya think. ~ We come again next year?



Doncha think this is just a great turnout?




Get outer here! Ya say that to all the ducks.



Thanks for a summer to remember.

C'ya

Park Poetic

We were at the park again on Sunday, the days are getting shorter and the summer is drawing in. I never mentioned before, but near the entrance to Willow Park there is a day care nursery school. The air is usually filled with chattering shrieking children, most days when we arrive at the park, but they are just kids having fun.

Today when we got there, the playground was standing empty but the signs of kids were still unmistakably scattered around. Over by a far fence there were tricycles & scooters. Gently blowing around in the breeze, was a red balloon, but restrained still, by the captive fence.

There is plenty of evidencet this week that fall is well under way, with leaves falling like red and orange colored raindrops, soon to be replaced with feathery flakes of white as the face of winter arrives with a vengeance.

The very landscape seems busy preparing itself for that Christmas card look, that comes with the approach of cold blustery snowy days & Santa Claus.
Small chipmunks and squirrels scurrying around gathering up winter nuts, food supplies, before the blanket of white covers them up to sleep, the turtles having disappeared already. Strangely, when leaving to drive home on this, one of these waning days, my thoughts were filled by a red balloon.



A red balloon escapes-
Twisting, turning lazily
In a shifting wind.
No longer tethered-
To a sleepy child’s hand.



A leafless limb,
stark against an autumn sky.
Music faint-
Amid the swirling mist -
Mendelssohn.

C'ya

Loose Ends and Friends

I can’t believe that September is almost over, where ever did the time go? I have been thinking recently that I had mentioned certain things in previous blogs and then left them dangling. Just lately I seem to have been so busy with online friends and ongoing business. Loose ends and friends, it’s time to tie a few knots and clear the decks for more stuff.



You will remember a little while back, that we ran into some transmission trouble with the truck and this, after we had, had a front end brake job done.

With the transmission if you remember where we left off, I was holding my breath that the problem wasn’t a serious expensive job. The o/d light was flashing and that could be indicative of anything from a hamburger to a steak. The good news turned out to be that it just needed the bands adjusting and they replaced a ‘Shift Kit’ for it appeared that it was skipping 3rd gear. The cost for that was sufficient, but certainly better than a new Tranny.

Some very good advice I received along the way with this saga was: Never take your tranny to a franchise dealer, for it is assumed that you could get set up etc. etc. The advice is to always pick a small non franchise dealer, you will fare a lot better, it certainly paid off for me at least.

For an encore to the transmission I was endowed with the plague of ‘Vista’ on my new computer.
There was of course the initial problem of no email service, which was resolved after much harassment of a number of people, ranging from Hewlett Packard, Internet explorer types and even the giant, Microsoft itself. So after much gnashing of teeth and resetting of half the hard drive, it seemed. “We Got Mail” since then the only problems we get with email is, sometimes they are just so slow to go anywhere, and other times they just go into orbit never to be seen again by man nor beast!

I have read and heard a number of times about that most elusive word, (usually found in divorce courts) Incompatibility, a week ago I ran into that monster full tilt.

We use a digital camera like most folks do and for us we run the Kodak easy-share program. Easy? Ha! Not when you hang out with Vista. It downright refused to accept the disc that came with the camera. I was almost ready to need a gasket job of my own! So off I went with my newly working email to get in touch with Kodak. After much detailed conflabation, we achieved success with another download. However I celebrated too soon at the newly installed Kodak program. As always when you get an upgrade, they always seem to mess something up that used to work oh so well with XP. With XP I used to be able to email out my pictures in varying sizes, which works great for the things I like to do with them. Not any more! What a botchup!

Between the differing ‘My Document’ files set up with Vista compared to XP, the Kodak too has to bring in its own set of file mis-management and manipulation as well. Trying to get the two to work efficiently together is so far, still out to lunch.

I am determined to get the better of these two adversary’s, by hook or by crook. To that end I got the Vista Dummy book from the library, I realize now though I will be better off to buy my own book, I cannot resolve all the challenges of Vista in just a 3 week span. At the present I have the 'Windows Vista book for seniors', which gives you more visual oriented explanations, until I get to the store. The battle continues.

October 21 is supposed to be closing day at the park we go to so much. We are going to miss that place tremendously over the winter months, but we will be ready with the ‘Bit firmly between the teeth’ come opening day in April 08. My thanks to all the volunteers that make Willow Park the haven that it is.

The final loose end my friends belongs to all of you, the friends and people who daily come along and visit my blog with such regularity, wondering no doubt or I hope, what did he do today!
Without the people to come and read/look/post, there would not be a lot of incentive at times to try and write anything. I don’t have a set piece that I do when I write here, but I do try to provide a little variety in an effort to keep things interesting and at times provide a chuckle or two. So to all of you out there a big, big thank you for all your support, interest and comments keep coming back ya hear!

C’ya

Pandora’s box

This saying is fast getting to be a habit, but this last week sure was a Pandora’s box of events.

To start, the weather certainly played its part being so hot and humid. The humidity + temp at times reached temperatures of 40c which is warm in any language. On a sad note there was the passing away of the guy upstairs.

On the bright side though we were able to get to the park twice during the week, Monday and Saturday. Stolen visits between hot spells.

On Monday at the park we had the privilege of running into a gentleman who with others, helps run and look after the park, his name is Brian. We had a very entertaining conversation about the park and learned of some of the more intricate behind the scene concerns. Things that one would not normally think to be related with a place like this. A very interesting man.

The real bonus though is that we are always able to come away with a few more pictures, memories of a glorious days visit. (clickable thumbnails.)



I guess fall is on its way. A sugar maple on the turn.


Such a nice contrast in colors.


What can I say COPDer's!


One of the many trails that one can take.


Not exactly the 'Bridge on the River Kwai' but hey, this is a great place all the same.

C'ya

A Small Escape

Yesterday we finally had a little break from all the oppressive heat and humidity. ~ There was little humidity, but temps were a respectable 29c/86f though still quite hot in the sun. I had been housebound long enough because of COPD, so off we went to the park. (clickable thumbnails)


A few wild flowers


Can't have flowers without a butterfly.

A different shot of the river

And of course Freddy Frog has to have a show.

Yours truly, for after all the trip out is for our benefit.

C'ya

Whispers In The Willows

The air is full of old cliché’s nowadays. ‘The older you get the worse one gets?’ I don’t think so! ‘The best things in life are free’ we can go along with that, but then our needs are few, in order that we be happy.
‘Life is what you make it’. I can’t argue with that one.

The whole point to this preamble is, yesterday we had a great day, and all we did was go out to our ‘special’ park again and sojourn with mother nature for about three hours. Of course now on these excursions, we take along a packed lunch making it into a picnic. On these occasions the camera is a must, for there is no telling just what we will bump into each time we visit. ~ Today certainly was no exception.

Every time we go the park I seem to say the same things over and over. “I feel that I should sit and do an article about this place,” for each time we go I am moved by an urge to write.

Could it to be because of the peaceful tranquility that just seems to flow over you and envelope you in its embrace.
Or perhaps it just may have been the ghost of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Author of “Anne of Green Gables”, who used to live in this area for a while. Adjacent to the park, there now stands a beautiful memorial garden in honor of her. ~ Whatever the reason, the urge to write is always there!


Today the sun was shining brilliantly, occasionally peeking out from behind convenient white puffy clouds, that sailed along like ships in the night.
The temperature was very comfortable, with a light breeze, just sufficient to make the tree tops sway, in rhythm to the whispering sounds of the rippling stream. Happily, three American goldfinches flirted with the glistening waters, swooping and dancing then swooping yet again.
Further along closer to the wetland the bullfrogs could be heard honking their deep throated call. The vibrant chirping and singing of a cardinal rang out from a nearby tree. Overhead could be seen a gliding hawk, scouting the area for a morsel for lunch no doubt.

We sat for a while and had lunch ourselves, all the time surrounded by the sounds of nature, such music to the ears. ~ In the distance the sounds of happy children & their parents, as more visitors arrived at the park.

We wandered over to the wetland area to a chorus of calls of the bullfrogs once again. Standing on the wooden patio platform, one can lean on the rail and get a good view of the whole wetland terrain. Before long a couple of frogs came near, I thought they would pick up a hapless moth that had come amiss on the pond water, but no. Instead one sizeable frog came ashore. At first it seemed to sun himself but I guess he had his eye on a good sized bug that was flying around, more meat on that one I thought as I spotted them. However it was not meant to be as the bug went on his way the frog meanwhile, still sat there.

Elizabeth ever vigilant, decided to try and get close without scaring him away, and yes! She got a very good picture of our friend.

During our visit we explored some more, to see what else was different today that maybe we could photo and spirit away to go with the other souvenirs from previous visits.

We had been by the bridge a little earlier and heard the sound of a bird not very familiar to us. Then we spotted him landing on the branch of a nearby tree. The wife went to work right away with the camera. She was successful in getting a couple of shots and more when he decided to alight on the rail of the bridge, this was our lucky day! We are still not quite sure what kind of bird it is, it does look a little like a larger Robin except he has spots on his breast and his head is a somewhat different shape than a Robin, we have got to look that one up. So far the possibility is maybe a juvenile robin, but the spots are misleading.


We moved on eventually, making our way over the bridge ready for our departure, walking up the steep sides of the hill. Stopping for a moment that I may catch my breath, I noticed a very weathered tree, that at that level I thought, would make a good photograph.

At the top of this garden of magnificence there stands a grand looking house. The occupant of the house certainly provides such pleasure with their choice of music regardless of whether they are aware of the fact. They play the haunting strains of classical music from the Masters, which seems to simply float on the air as we wander around the park. Truly, Whispers in the Willows. A whole different World.

C’ya

Time To Meander

Yesterday was another beautiful day to be in touch with nature. Going to our favorite park is getting to be good habit forming. So just a few more shots of that adventure. (clickable thumbnails)

For those of you who suffer COPD, please note my trustworthy chariot and life saving refreshment on tap! Proof positive that one can get around.~ Follow me!


Surprising difference when the sun goes to hide.

This little fella provided a nice surprise, glad the bullfrog didn't snatch him up!

Another whimsical treat, me wandering around, thank goodness the park is handi-capped accessible. (no drooling allowed!)



Where there are bullfrogs, you just gotta have bullrushes. A beautiful contrast.

For more history and information on the park follow the link. :)

Willow park

C'ya

A Little Piece of Yesterday

Yesterday everywhere was closed for the long weekend so we went for a drive in the country.

That‘s when we found this little piece of heaven. An Ecology park is what they called it. I have lived around here a long time and never knew this place existed. (clickable thumbnails)

Beautiful. .



More.



Another



And last for now.