I miss it...

At least a part of me does. I'm talking about the involvement in Lions Clubs at District level. I just spent three days at the District A5 Convention in Sudbury and as the saying goes, a good time was had by all.

it was a great experience for me personally as I got to talk and promote Watkins to several hundred people. It was also made plain to me by several that I hadn't been forgotten during my three or for year absence and if I now chose to start my run for the Governor position I would have a very able crew promoting me.

Nice to know a campaign is ready for the launching but I think my leadership days are over. I'm just having too much fun with Watkins and besides, I currently have a growing team of 15 Independent Associates under me and that's more than enough of a leadership role for now!

Still, it's tempting...

Woody is busy...

A little while ago I posted a note that the Pileated Woodpecker is back for the summer. Well, looking at all the chips I'd say he's been a busy fellow but I'm wondering... which way will the tree eventually fall? I guess luck dictates that it will be towards the house instead of away and it will be close!

Oh, I found some great information about this type of woodpecker here. It's worthwhile checking out!

I’ve finally done it…

I passed a major hurdle in my life this morning. As I was searching for my Melvin Jones Fellowship pin to make sure I had it to wear to the Lions Convention this weekend I ran across my old Northern name tag.

What to do, what to do… This little piece of plastic with my name on it represented a huge chunk of my personal history. The slogan “Customer Service Is Our First Priority” was (believe it or not) the credo by which I tried to live my life for the past 35 years. All else got put aside… personal time, dreams and even family. I wonder what experiences and memories I missed during all those decades that I will never know about… it’s now too late to go back.

Enough of that… what I started to tell about today was that the Northern name tag, like myself, is now officially retired. While I sit on my deck or peck away at me leisure on my little laptop the name tag has received a different fate… it’s now on the way to the landfill. Hmmm… almost like losing a friend but maybe it’s time to gain a family.
Hello everyone, I’m home!

The true sport…

It’s only the past few years then there has been much offered in the way of cash to winners of the major bonspiels, and unless you’re talking about the really big ones then it’s probably not enough to cover team expenses for attending the event.

Curling teams have to pay all transportation costs, hotels, meals, entry fees, uniforms and everything else from their own pockets. They most likely will not make any profit on the deal and it’s only the really top players that even come close to breaking even on a year.

Then on the other hand you have the “professional” hockey, football and baseball players. I don't think any of these people would even consider suiting up for a game unless they were getting paid millions of dollars a year... win or lose of course. On top of that they demand that all expenses are paid for them plus a huge bonus if they meet certain goals for the year. Now I ask you, is anyone worth that kind of money? To run around playing a game that has absolutely no importance, no meaning and does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of the world is nothing but a complete and total waste of time, energy and money that could be better spent on more noble endeavors.

While I can understand (and actually enjoy) baseball and rugby, sports like hockey and basketball have got to be two of the most boring activities known to man, surpassed for sleep factor only by soccer and cricket. The biggest waste of money of them all in my opinion would be the Olympics and I seriously resent having one single penny of my tax dollars going to support this extravaganza. I wonder what good could be done in Canada if the billions that are being spent on Vancouver 2010 were channeled towards apparently silly things like housing or fresh water, alternative forms of energy or even maintaining our roads.

I don't know... some people figure I have too many opinions and I guess maybe my priorities are different than a lot of other people.

Sometimes I myself even think that I am too negative in my thoughts and I promise to work on that, but I DO like a good argument... any takers on this one?

Now I’ve nothing against throwing third but…

There just seems to be something wrong with a skip who will gladly accept the glory but not the responsibility for making the deciding shots. Tonight’s game is an example but there have been others who have taken the same out.

Business is business, if I’m in charge then I’m in charge and if the team falls short and we fail or lose money (or the game) then it’s my fault. If the team comes up short then it’s on my head and no one else’s and I say that for a number of reasons.

ONE: I should have trained them better.

TWO: I should have taken the time to find out what obstacles there were that resulted in them not being able to produce (Training? Education? Medical? Personal?) and helped them to overcome any such difficulties.

THREE: If they were not capable of being trained then I should have recognized that, accepted my shortcoming in not being able to get them up to speed, removed them and moved on with lessons learned.

To get back to curling however, if I want to accept the glory by calling it MY team then I CANNOT pass off the final decision or final shot to someone else. I personally have to accept the responsibility, take the shot and be willing to absorb the hits as well as the cheers.

I have to be willing to concede that if there is someone else in the group who can take point and do a better job than myself then I MUST stand aside and make sure they get the full credit they deserve. It cannot be MY project, MY victory, MY glory... unless I'm willing to take the responsibility and accept the possibility of having my name attached to a failure.

It is my opinion that leaders cannot give themselves "outs" in sports, business, politics or life. What do YOU think?

Our Ten Year Run of Fun...

I've been negligent in posting lately but it's curling season don't you know!

At one time Gloria and I were real fanatics and I suppose we still are in a lot of ways. We started going to the Brier at Sault Ste. Marie in 1990 and did 10 in a row, ending our run in Edmonton in 1999 and boy do we miss it. The Brier is the most fantastic 10 days of curling, camaraderie, excitement and partying that you could possibly imagine. Those of you who know me would say party? What? This guy at a party? NO WAY! Believe me, the Brier is different...

The fans at this event are a special breed and if you’re lucky you are accepted as one of the group and if you’re very lucky you become someone who is expected to be there and missed if you are not. We were in the very lucky category for many years and as part of the “James Bay Gang” we gained certain notoriety among the group.

Highlights?

Our two personal pins that are now collectors items, making the newspapers just about every year, being interviewed for the Brier Tankard, attending Morning Classes, becoming one of the better known pin traders in the country, the “James Bay Gang” banner across the high and low reaches of the arenas, the many shuttle bus rides, trying to get a sign onto the bus in Ottawa that was way too big for the bus, running decoy and making the local Police watch me by standing in the middle of the street while another member of “the gang” appropriated a HUGE Brier sign off the side of a hotel, running “Sebastian” through the elevator system of a hotel (you had to be there), having a full case of 24 (open) Labatt product dropped on your table 15 minutes before Brier Patch closing (how do we smuggle these out of here?), knowing the secret telephone number that would get a VIP shuttle at your door to take you wherever you wanted to go, leading the singing of Barretts Privateers in the bus on the way back from a team hosting, the team hosting themselves, meeting Prairie Oyster, meeting the Good Brothers, partying with Brier Bear, helping Glen Howard spill his beer, watching people jump a polar bear, the power going off in the middle of the game in Winnipeg, meeting the Wrench and the Iceman, having a very friendly shouting match in a restaurant in Halifax (Northern Ontario! Nova Scotia!), galloping the length of the Brier Patch in Kamloops to claim a prize from Dan Gallagher, riding in Eric Clapton's limo from Kamloops to Vancouver, asking people on Tuesday "So when does the curling start?", being asked (almost seriously) to play a couple shots as lead for the “Maxie” team, shouting POLAR POWER during the games, borrowing (stealing) a bed out of a hotel hallway for a friend, being on the Jumbotron too many times to count, fitting 15 people into a mini-van for the ride back to the hotel in Red Deer, closing off the televised tie-breaker game in my "Curl Naked" t-shirt one night, an entire bus load of us piling off and raiding the liquor store in Airdrie while Russ and the boys go for subs across the road, meeting A LOT of really great people and so on and so on…

I REALLY REALLY REALLY MISS THOSE DAYS!

Must Be Spring!

My buddy is back, spotted him on the tree behind the house today. I think he’s going to be a little hungry before long as there aren’t too many bugs out there yet.

You Had To Be There...

One of the blogs I follow is “The House and Other Arctic Musings” by Clare up in Arctic Bay. He recently posted an entry entitled “They’re not all worth a thousand words” and I agree with him completely.

What he was saying is that there are some sights that just cannot be captured in a photograph. You know what I mean… every so often you spot something that just makes you stop in your tracks and try to absorb what you are seeing before it all disappears. Those little things that just cannot be captured by a camera but must exist only in your mind forever.

… dawn over Smith Bay with the mist is rising, the loons with their young are making their way down the shoreline heading out for breakfast… deer stepping hesitantly out into the fields, their white flag tails twitching, searching and alert for hidden dangers behind every bush… snow shoeing through the woods at night or through a silent falling of lazy snowflakes, not a sound around you… drifting in a rowboat in the afternoon sun with the dragonflies landing on your idle fishing pole, no place to be other than right where you are at… the moment.

The best however is one I can never explain or communicate in any way you could possible understand if you weren’t there with me. I was doing an overnight computer program and equipment update at our store in Pangnirtung several years ago. Finishing up about 3:00am I set the alarms, locked up and headed out the back door of the store towards the house that had been loaned to me for the night. It was the dead of winter and about -45c with perfectly clear skies, not a breath of wind… and a full moon. I picked my way down the icy walkway and as I was about to climb the stairs to the door I looked around… The snow, the mountains, even the air and my drifting, frosted breath was a shade of blue I had never seen before… since… or ever will again. I have no idea how long I stood there but it was a magic moment in time never again to be experienced by me I’m certain. A sight such as this was surely a once in a lifetime experience and one that should have been shared, not just imprinted in my own memory. It seems “wrong” to have been the only witness to such a thing.


These photos of Pangnirtung were not taken by me, but you may be able to imagine a little bit of what I’m trying to say about the magic of the community. The way it hugs the mountains and cliffs and the way it clings to life even when the 100+kph winds are blowing the length of that fantastic fjord. If there is any way you can ever get there at any time of the year by all means, GO!

Six drinks continued…

The long stories will have to wait. Here are the final five of the six…

#2) Galliano: Ahh, the Harvey Wallbanger period. Not that we liked those things you know… just because we once ordered an entire case of this liqueur and the accompanying ingredients flown in doesn’t mean a darned thing!

#3) Draft Beer Ball: This brings back memories of Salluit (or Sugluk as it was known then). For a long time I fooled around with making my own wine. You need a new and clean plastic garbage pail, water, sugar, Welch’s Grape Juice and a bag of raisins or currants. Mix all those together with a little yeast and the darned stuff would knock you down in no time flat if you let it cook quietly for 2 or 3 weeks first. Anyway… the draft beer ball… the local teachers knew that I made wine and wisely refused to touch it (they weren’t that desperate) but one year we had a Super Bowl (XXIII maybe? Do you remember Jim?) party at the house and invited them all over. As soon as everyone was comfortable I served up pitchers full of beer that I told them was bathtub hooch. “Hey, this stuff is really good, you couldn’t have made this in the bathtub!” I said “Sure, it's there, go take a look” and sure enough there was the beer… the 5 gallon plastic ball was sitting in the tub full of snow to keep it properly chilled. No, I didn’t really make it as it had travelled the 900 mile trip north in one of those “special milk” boxes but it had everyone going for a while and it sure was good! I don’t remember the score or even who was playing or even if we watched the game at all but it was definitely a memorable event.

#4) Lagavulin: I don’t think I need to say anything else. A well aged, very peaty single malt scotch and quite possibly the most magical and transforming liquid ever produced by man. Don’t believe me? Let me know when you’re available to drop by and I’ll have a bottle for us to sip slowly out on the deck some evening while we enjoy a couple fine Cuban cigars. Now that’s life at its finest!




#5) Just to scare you a little bit how about... Coffee! This is now the drink of choice in my old age. Nothing quite beats that first coffee of the day and is there anything better than a large Double-Double with a box of Tim-Bits to go?




#6) Asti Spumanti (the most memorable one to close off the thread): This will always and forever hold a special place for me. I’m not sure exactly when we got out of the habit but on the 24th of every month for many years after Gloria and I were married (June 24, 1978) we would always chill a bottle and raise our glasses in a toast to each other and our good fortune on somehow finding one another. I guess the tradition got put aside when we were posted to areas where we could not import Asti or anything else for various reasons. Occasionally we would get a friendly southern supplier to ship in a bottle or two or even a case of “special milk” so we wouldnt' run dry, but I always hated to put anyone out and there was always a chance that it could be spotted coming off the plane by someone that you didn’t really want to see it. I miss those days… time to revive the tradition wife? I’m ready if you are.

Six Drink Challenge...

Recently my buddies over at Just Below 63 have passed on a challenge that they received and are asking us to summarize our lives in 6 drinks. I’ve had to think long and hard on this one as living in what most of you would call the north for 35 years had its toll in the drink department. It seems that most of the country considers everything 30 minutes up from Toronto as “north” whereas I don’t think the north starts until you get above the tree line, or at least above any connection to the Canadian road system. So…

#1) Has to be Captain Morgan Black. The standing story was that whenever a new clerk transferred to a new post tradition called for them to sit down with the store manager and together drink a 40oz bottle of something containing alcohol just to get the feel of one another. While there is some truth to the manager offering clerk a drink to “get acquainted” the volume in the stories is much exaggerated, most of the time.

At one time there was only one Hudson’s Bay Company dwelling in any community and the clerks lived with the manager and their family if they had one. A drink or two broke the ice and got everyone talking a little bit so you got to know your new housemates (and their quirks) fairly quickly. Why did I choose Captain Morgan Black first? Well my first manager was Glen Speers at Mistassini Post (60 miles north of Chibougamau) back in the early 70’s. This was his main drink, alternated with Burnett’s gin, both mixed with boiling hot water. It sure warmed you up on a cold night, especially when the wood stove was giving us trouble (no furnaces in those days!) He also alternated between Du Maurier and Cameo cigarettes all day and all night. We could often hear him boiling the kettle in the middle of the night to heat up his mix for one or the other drink, along with a cigarette of course.

He’s gone now but I miss those days, and him. I spent two years there and even though we sometimes thought he was cantankerous and hard to deal with he was one hell of a good store manager and it didn’t take long for anyone with a brain to realize that this man had a wealth of knowledge and experience that he was willing to teach and share with us if we were smart enough to listen to him and not our own opinions and egos.

The Manager or “Whitcheemaw” (boss) as he was called in that part of the country was respected by all the community and used to be asked advice on everything from marriage to “Should we sign the James Bay Agreement.” (We apprentice clerks were known as a “Whitcheemush” which meant little boss.) Not a feast or special event in the community could take place without the Whitcheemaw being invited and given a place of honor at the festivities. When couples got married and the manager was unable to attend for some reason the happy couple always came to the store to shake hands with him for luck and good fortune.

At Christmas the entire community would drop by the house to shake hands with all of us and have a cup of tea. We clerks were kept busy boiling water for the tea, emptying ashtrays and putting out cookies for the visitors. We (and they) were all dressed in our finest for the day and it was a great time for neophytes like myself to attempt the few words of Cree we had learned and laugh along with everyone else at our strange pronunciations and accents. As the saying goes… a good time was had by all.

Mr. Speers (as he was called by everyone including us clerks, even after hours) was an old bachelor, and one of the last of the old timers who had delivered babies, pulled teeth and cut off frozen toes when called upon to do so. This was in the days before nursing stations and doctors when the only person the community could turn to in an emergency was the Hudson’s Bay Manager. I didn’t miss those years by much but I’m kind of glad that I was never personally called upon to remove an appendix while following instructions coming in over a crackling bush radio from some doctor hundreds of miles away. Yup, these things actually used to happen and not that long ago either.

Hmmm…. looks like the “6 drink” challenge will have to be spread out. That is #1 gone and I’ll work on chapter and drink #2 over the next few days. Cheers!

Sleepless in...

I don’t really know why this time, just too much rolling around my head I guess… freezing rain forecast, will I make the hill on the ice in the morning, summer visitors, go visit my father, work on family tree, get ready to do the taxes, make a fast trip to Espanola, figure out how to use webcam, work on Facebook addiction, do a backup, run spyware checker, optimize registry, defrag, finish the Pituvik web page changes, add Google maps to the Farmers Market web page, update the Our Manitoulin web page, get the new signs on the car, coach the downline, add to the downline, finish convention plans, book Regina for June, read a book, write a book, make a chocolate gateaux, find a better music organizer for the laptop, sort music, make a delivery to Mindemoya… OK so now I’m tired, see ‘ya!

The Joke is Still On Us...

They’re all the same. I don’t blame Mr. Ignatieff however, I blame our pro-dictator anti-citizen, anti-region political system. What’s the point in electing a local representative from your riding when that person is not allowed to help you? Why do we bother sending someone to Ottawa when they are not permitted to help the people who elected them because (good or bad) they have to follow the direct orders of the party leader?

Oh sure, your area may get a few perks thrown it’s way, but only if your MP sticks to the party line and follows the dictates of the leader. And every party is the same. I’m picking on the Liberals right now because of the budget vote yesterday and Mr. Ignatieff being generous enough to permit the members from Newfoundland to one time and one time only now vote contrary to the orders from the man himself. How gracious of him to allow the people elected by the people to actually vote the way that does a little good for their communities and not play the silly kid’s game that politics has become.

When will the country wake up and scrap the party system. It doesn’t work but the non-party system used in our northern Territories does, and quite nicely. The members we elect down here are just a waste of money and space as all the power is only in the hands of the party leaders anyway and should an MP choose to vote the way their constituents want and against the party leader’s orders well… you’re out! Let’s turn the Parliament buildings into a flea market and just rent a half dozen small offices somewhere for the party leaders to work out of. To really make sense we’ll put those offices up at Rankin Inlet in the North West Territories as that is pretty near the geographic center of our country anyway and makes a lot more sense to me.

(By the way… I’ve been a liberal supporter since the 60’s but I do believe that has finally come to an end).

The Great Grey...

We had a new visitor at the house yesterday. He stands about two feet tall and a good four feet or more wide when he’s in the air. I knew there were Great Grey Owls on the island but this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. When I first spotted him he was gliding past, completely silent and following a smaller bird into the thicker woods. I’m not sure if he caught him or not but about a half hour later he was perched in a tree down by the road tossing something down.

From there he moved to a poplar tree about twenty feet from the house and that’s where he spent the night… or at least he was still in the same position the next morning. Maybe he can help me with my Blue Jay problem but he seemed content just to perch there watching (drooling?) over the crowd of Goldfinches, Chickadees and other birds that came and went from our feeder.

He’s gone now but it certainly was something special to see such a large and majestic creature close up. I hope comes back later and if he becomes a regular I'll let you know and you can stop by for coffee and check him out.

Thanks to shanta and lizjones112 for the photos as the combination of faint light and an out of date camera prevented me from getting anything but blurs myself.

February 4th Note: He came back the next day again and spent an hour or so sitting on top of the hydro pole.

A Sudbury Saturday Night at The Slots...

So I'm sitting at the Sudbury Slots, my self imposed limit reached for another trip. Not much luck here the past couple visits but I'm still well ahead all together. I always mark down any loss to education and yes, I realize that there is no way to win long term but it kills some time, and can be entertaining in the short term.

I enjoy it here, although it's much nicer when the horses are running. It's too cold for their lungs at this time of the year but I have seen them run in a rising blizzard. Haven't ever placed a bet on the races and wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to go about it. I suppose we'll have to give it a go someday just for the experience. It’s always interesting to examine and evaluate each horse as it goes through its paces before the race. You can tell the more professional and experienced ones and know they will do well. On the other hand it’s a fairly safe guess that the ones that seem headstrong and impatient may come out quickly but soon find themselves drifting towards the back of the pack. Funny, the same thing seems to apply to humans as well but fortunately as all breeds mature they usually settle down and do much better.

We came up today to do a little shopping and pick up Andrew. He hitched a ride up with Sandra when she was in Wiky Thursday night dropping off Nicholas at his Dad's for the weekend. So now I'm sitting here in front of the big grandstand windows overlooking the track. Gloria is still in there doing well, as she always does... not sure how, but 9 times out of 10 she’ll come out ahead. Oops… here’s Sandra, time to go, chat later!

Discoveries and Thoughts...

I just discovered that YouTube has music videos on it. Shows you how far behind I am. I don’t normally watch music videos but I’ve found some great stuff… Hey! They have TV shows as well! I sense a night of Iron Chef Japanese or Dead Like Me coming up soon! How about a weekend marathon of the classic Space 1999?

I don’t understand competitive sports. How can anyone possibly take pleasure from making another person lose, especially something as unimportant as a game. To be the best? Isn’t having to be the best just arrogance? By the way, why don’t we take half the money we’re wasting on the Olympics and actually do some good in the country instead of just playing?

Does anyone out there remember the old Max Ferguson radio show? It had a great little intro tune, not like these noisy blaring surprises that today’s shows have. It was just a happy little bit of music to take us into his program. I also think that CBC does a great job at news and information and that is where they should stick. I listen to CBC just about exclusively when I’m driving and more often than not I have to turn it way down or off completely when the (90% crap) music of today comes on. Sigh…. can we not somehow bring back the old days? (As every generation says, I’m sure).

Hey, do you know those little heating wires they put in the rear window of your car? Why can’t they put them in the windshield also? Surely they could put maybe one or two at the top and bottom of the driver's field of vision without making any observation problems. Of course, the people that make all the vehicles probably don't have to scrape their windshields on a daily basis like we do.

Weeks Observations and Events…

Posted Speed Limit = 80
My speed at the time = 90+/-
Estimated speed of the school bus that passed me = 100+/-?
(Between Espanola and Birch Island, know the road? Not a lot of places to pass in that area and no, it wasn’t at the passing lane. He was empty and maybe just late for his pickup but…)

Posted Speed Limit = 70
My speed at the time = 78+/-
Speed of paddy wagon that passed me = 90+?
(No reason for it, not a car on patrol, not an emergency, no lights flashing, just a routine prisoner shuttle. Abuse of power?)

Gas prices creeping back up a cent at a time. Now 87.9 at some stations around here. Why is nobody screaming this time and why is there a 12 cent difference between Espanola and some Manitoulin stations? It’s only a short drive away.

Warmer this week. No shoveling to do. A Hairy Woodpecker showed up to keep company with the 3 or so Downey and the Pileateds will be back soon, had 4 of them last year. We’re now also feeding about 30 Goldfinches, 30 Purple Finches, 15 Chickadees, 10 Pine Siskins, 6 Tree Sparrows, 3 Mourning Doves, 2 Rabbits and a Red Fox with maybe a mouse or two and an ermine thrown in. Getting expensive….

My kids lost a good friend this week.

Sad… wonder what could/should have been said/done. Would it have made a difference?

There is a saying that every time an old person dies a library is lost.

What about a young person... who knows what legends will never be recorded now...

...RIP buddy.

The Perfect Drive...

What a great day for a drive yesterday. Bright sun but far enough up in the sky that is wasn’t glaring in your eyes, lots of tracks and wildlife out there… just an all around good day.

By the way, did I tell you we have a new visitor around the house? He’s got a regular trail that he follows through the woods and right up onto our deck. Fine with me as long as he gets any mice that are out in our shed. We’ve also got partridge and rabbits around so they’re probably what he’s hoping to dine out on. I wouldn’t mind a nice rabbit stew right now myself, maybe I can make a deal with him!

Photo courtesy of Ben Lawson.

So?

You have a new leader… it happens every 4 or 8 years doesn’t it? Enough of the hype! Can we get to work now? I’m sure President Obama will do a great job but a lot of people have said the same thing about a lot of others also.




I was once fortunate enough to hear General Norman Stormin’ Schwarzkopf speak at a convention in Montreal and one of his comments has always stuck with me. What he said was “When placed in a position of command, take charge…… and do the right thing.” That truly is all there is to it but one thing I’m fairly certain of is that once you reach any top position things begin to look a lot differently and all your well made plans can’t or won’t always be implemented when or how you want them to be. If you’ve ever seen “Yes Minister” on British television you know what I refer to and it’s a good bet that the President and our own Prime Minister are often handcuffed by procedure and protocol the same as that leading character was.

Anyway, enough of the parties and propaganda! Heck, we enjoy our own elections so much we have one every few months it seems, but you don’t see Canadians going completely nuts and gah gah over our leaders or their coronations… not since P.E.T. anyway. (Yes, I was a Trudeaumaniac but let’s have a little style people, not fanaticism).

How about we all wait and judge this one on the results when they come as THAT is what we elect politicians for and nothing else, results. As always, feel free to disagree with me. You know I like a good discussion and by the way, anyone remember this movie and more specifically, the ending?

It's Just a Trick!

So I’m starting to think that this retirement thing is over-rated and a conspiracy. There just seems to be no end of things to do or places to be and people to talk to… and you all know how much I enjoy socializing!

What I’m feeling is that when I was working full time there was always a cut-off point for the day when I could theoretically walk away from the job and declare the few remaining hours my own. It was time to get out of the store and head over to the house to grab a bite to eat, watch TV, read a book or whatever else pleased a person. Now it’s “after hours” all the time and without some kind of clear division in the day I’m slowly getting lost.

I have loads of things to do from updating web sites, answering emails, calling Watkins clients and prospective associates, mailing out catalogues, keeping track of my eBay auctions and yes… housecleaning. Since I’m home full time and Gloria has decided to work a few more years I have started doing the dishes, cooking and baking, tidying the house, washing the occasional window and even cleaning the bathroom! All this is much to her dismay sometimes and I’m sure my work isn’t always up to her standards but it seems to me that after her taking care of me for the past 30+ years it’s time I give something back if I can. (Can't depend on those beer-goggles to last forever can we fellas!)

Anyway, back to topic. I think I’m going to have to treat my day’s activities as more of a job than I have been the past few months. Those 35 years of daily routine bred something into me that just won’t go away and without something that I can treat as “work” there is no break-out to “down time” or time for myself when I can feel relaxed and content with a day well done. Each day just seems to go by the same from dawn to dusk and it's getting monotonous. Does that seem confusing? It does to me… but this is Day 137 of retirement and it’s starting to get to me!

Warm and Happy...

Did I ever tell you about how to keep your extremities warm when you’re out shoveling the driveway at -30 degrees? Pepper… yup, sprinkle pepper in the fingers of your gloves and a good amount down towards the toes of your boots. Sound funny to you? Try it… it works and you’ll be nice and warm and toasty until the job is done.

Of course I highly recommend the Watkins brand of pepper because in my opinion it is the best on the market. Our pepper is granulated, not ground up to a powder like others. This allows it to keep the true flavor that pepper is supposed to have which mostly disappears in a cloud of dust with other brands. You want another little tidbit of information? Watkins pepper (because of being granulated not ground) will not make you sneeze!

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