The Grand Tour...

How do house wives do it? (Or is the term “house wife” still acceptable or even exist?) I’m slowly (quickly) going nuts around the house in my retirement years. I’ve got the Summit Group business and the Watkins business and the web page business and lots of little (neglected) chores that I get to very slowly but the routine of sweeping, dusting, cleaning and all the other little things are getting very monotonous. I’m glad we live where we do because if I was stuck in some little city apartment like this it would be very hard to handle. As it is here I can go sit on the deck and watch the wildlife or tour the largest fresh water island in the world. One of my goals is to eventually hit every little back road on the island and I add a few new ones whenever I can. Let me know when you want the grand tour. Hmmm….. maybe start a little tour business next summer?


Yes, a tour guide… pick-up at the various camps and lodges, or the ferry… do a morning tour and stop at one of the many local restaurants for lunch with a leisurely drive back to the places of origin late in the afternoon with pauses at various gift shops and sight-seeing spots? What do you think?

Late Night Ramblings...

It’s fun being me… is it fun being you? (Denny Crane – Boston Legal)

She makes my friend smile… that’s all that’s important. (Alan Shore – Boston Legal)

Sometimes you’ve got to do something bad… just to prove you’re alive. (Chris Stevens – Northern Exposure)

Time you enjoyed wasting, is not time wasted. (T.S. Eliot)

Midway this way of life we're bound upon I woke to find myself in a dark wood where the right road was wholly lost and gone. (Dante)

Had an epiphany the other day, what a rush… and relief. It’s nice to realize a truth. Have to put it in the book someday. Hmmm…. maybe not.

If the men on Biggest Loser have to take off their shirts for their weigh-in how come the women don’t ?

How many chickadees would I have to eat to offset the cost of the sunflower seeds I’ve been feeding them?

I defy anyone to drive under the speed limit while listening to Tom Cochrane playing “Life is a Highway” on the radio. How about Lighthouse and “One Fine Morning” or just about any Tiesto arrangement bouncing off the insides of your windows.

How can anyone who lived through the 60’s not like Jim Morrison? And didn’t the 60’s only last like 5 or 6 years anyway? At least, that seems to be about all I can remember of them... All hail Janis and Jimmy!

What idiot made the Blue Jay a protected bird?

Lord, what fools these mortals be… (Puck)

Another Old Timer Gone…

We lost a curling pin trading buddy this week. Lorne lived in the Ottawa area and used to travel to all the major bonspiels across the country. We knew him well from the Briers and I don’t know how many lapel pins he had altogether but he traveled with about 10,000 of them and set up his display with the permission and gratitude of the event committees. They knew that spectators would remember all the sparkles and rarities that Lorne would have on show and be the topic of many a conversation. He was also great publicity for whatever was going on and I can’t think of any time where he didn’t make the local newspaper with an article and photo of his displays as all the reporters knew what a treasure they had right there in front of them.

It didn’t matter what club or event you asked him about… he always knew exactly what the pin looked like and any variations that it may have. If you walked up with one of your own club pins, even a brand new one he would take a glance at it and say “Sure, I’ve got one of those” and walk you right over to the exact spot on his boards where it was displayed. I don’t know if anyone ever showed him a pin he didn’t already know about but I know I could never beat him, and I would have felt bad if I had.

Lorne, we’ll miss ‘ya buddy... and send me a pin from your new club, would you?