See, Told Ya...

I probably should have waited before posting re: the re-union. Thus, 'see I told, ya '

I repeated the line " Yes, I know who you are ? " all night on Friday. I am very good at remembering faces therefore I knew who they were. And I know voices, memories come rolling back when I hear a voice that I remember.

And when I say " knew who they WERE " what I really wanted to or should have said was " you live in my memories and I see you still as you were 1975 or 6 or 7 or........ "
And I remember good things, the potential , the kindness, the person that they were.

In the movie ' Chariots of Fire ' the funeral scene for Harold Abrams features the soaring hymn ' Jerusalem '. ' Jerusalem ' is called the unofficial National anthem of England. They sing it there w/ passion and enthusiasm.

However, the lyrics mystified me. Until, I discovered the author was William Blake.  WB was a visionary, seer, mystic and most likely delusional; a prolific and iconic author / painter - renaissance persona.

" And did those feet in ancient times
  Walk upon England's mountains green
  And did the face, the Holy lamb of God gaze upon fields of......  "
There is a reference to " build Jerusalem " and of course, the memorable " bring me my chariot of fire ".
Where did this come from ? Oh yeah, Blake but he didn't just make it up.

In the Bible, Jesus is mentioned up to age 12 and then again as a thirty year old man. The bible is a hodge-podge of writings selected by the synod of Nicea ( ? ) by the church. The Bible reflects a view of history needed by the church.

The origin of Blake's words was the possiblity that Jesus lived in England for those missing years. Joseph of Arimethea owned land in England that was connected w/ tin mining. And perhaps the teen-aged Jesus was brought to England for safety or education.

As J.R.R. Tolkien pointed out, the history of conquest in England obliterated the written and oral histories of the founding or existing cultures. Remnants survived but not enough for a continuity capable of creating a mythic past or powerful legend. Thus, Tolkien and the English people need the reinforcement of the LotR or the Jesus story. 

Weather is sunny / partly cloudy and cool w/ the ever present possiblity of rain.

P.S. this is post #297

Validation

Sometimes, a little perspective is required. Usually, time, some space to relate thoughts and events.
Perhaps, this blog entry should have been / should be done 4 days from now.

Last night, w/ trepidation I wended my way downtown ( that itself is an event in my routine ). The Red Rocket had some pauses probably due to traffic load.

The bouncer at the rope let me in. I climbed upstairs and stood in a short line. Happy voices came from inside and I made the front at the ticket desk. Filled in my name on the nametag. A blonde woman greeted me with ' Mr M.... ' ,thank you for coming, You're OK , go right in '.
The rest of the night ran just like that greeting.
I'm positive, everyone needs something to verify their life and their career, job. Once again, I got it last night.

The ex - Leacock grads who turned up, were , naturally, some of the most thoughtful and probably most successful to leave the school.
Probably successful b/c the topic never came up.

Good move, going last night ?  Definato. I'm a genius. I'm a coward. But truly, I didn't have a clue beforehand. Was I afraid, no. It was the thought that I would never fit in.

I was addressed as " Mr " by 60% of the adults that talked to me. One gentleman told his wife that he remembered experiments that I demonstrated, watching me glove up and raising the full face shield, waiting in anticipation. 

I enjoyed every minute.  Thanks to M who encouraged me to go and at least try.

Apparently, I've missed a series of other like re-unions for Leacock.  thats Ok, I would have hemmed and hawed anyway.

Canada gets Omar Khadr back. no, he doesn't play hockey. OK got captured in 2002 when 15 yrs old as an enemy combatant. OK was imprisoned  at Gitmo and was one of the last Westerners to be released. His trial was reported as a much mis-handled PR exercise by the U.S. military.
OK's father is Alqaeda and it is believed took OK to Iran to be a soldier.
Well , he comes home. Generally, Canadians believe that we have the least useful foreign service in the Western world. We don't break a lot of sweat getting help to our passport holding nationals.

The hot ticket at TIFF ( Toronto International Film Festival ) was ' Argo ' which details the heroic and desperate transfer of U.S. embassy personal out of Iran, 1979, by the Canadian Embassy after the fall of the U.S. Embassy. See, what do I know ?

Weather is bright and sunny - coolish - w/ rain on the way.

You know its been a good week. Marvelous visitors from Ohio ( 1/2 my readership, BTW )
and the re-union.

The Universe will continue to unfold as it should.

'The Father of Life has been good, John ' 

 Of course, the ' John ' reference is to the character John Cameron from LotM.

White is in for fall

Normally, fashionistas stop wearing white after Labour Day. A white squirrel from a downtown park is recovering in a Pet Hospital. The albino rodent is famous in the park.
My big whine about the useless news in newspapers is countered when ' Whitey ' gets a banner headline.

Toast sweat, you ask, how is this a topic, to-day. A visitor noticed when I concoct my fake grilled cheese, Ok, its just a croissant w/ cheese on top ( and asparagus ), I toast the croissant and place the croissant on chopsticks. Cheese goes on top w/ asparakeet and you microwave enough to melt the cheese.
With the 'toast ' elevated on chopsticks, There is no moisture on the bottom of the croissant but if there is wet, it stays below the toast.

Apparently, those who detest ' toast sweat ' cannot get across to ' non toast sweat people ' , their particular point of view. As in most issues, your either pro or con ' toast sweat '.

The visitor didn't get to see me wipe the plate under the toast to remove the moisture.
Yep, otherwise, you get wet toast when you put the toast on the plate.

How do we define Obsessive Compulsive, I wonder ???

59 F and sunny, what fall does best.

You Know your old...

... ish, when.  The graduates from the high school where you taught, organize a re-union at the Court House. You got to the website and the venue is a dance club.

I guess that I would have called it a disco - back when - back when , what , I haven't a clue. I'm desperately, trying to envision what you would do at a dance club that fit with a re-union. Maybe the gist is you don't need to worry about entertainment or talking. 
The hostess that answered the phone confirmed there is some sort of high school get to-gether. I'm thinking if I were on Facebook - I could get more info from the re-union site, or maybe  not.

Beuti day going here , bright and cool.

I'm still trying to wake up. Went to bed about 10 and woke at 4:30 and then lay awake til 7 something - roused at 8:10 and realized it was time to rise. Perhaps the day will be good to me.

The joy of Shopping

Or not.  A survey by BMO found that a majority of Canadians shop to feel better. The respondents claim that they spent $ 3750 last year, feeling better.

Fishing was non-productive. 2 trips and 3 rock bass and 1 underclass walleye. Wind was gusting S or SW 20 KPH and blew steadily both Tues afternoon and Wed AM. The temperature was reasonable but the wind was chill. Actually, fairly uncomfortable despite some brief periods of warmth.

Our read on the U.S. presidential race has Obama separating from Romney. I recall in the
the early stages of the Republican primaries, Democrats were saying that they were salivating thinking that Romney would get the nod. Asked about Ron Paul ( I think ) the Democrat think tank said they would never get quite that lucky.

We drove to Bobcaygeon to-day for discount shoes. Discount for some people b/c a month ago I paid full price for my shoes. I needed extra width and didn't want to settle for extra length so the shoes would fit. All shoes on sale were the narrow widths.

Story of my life, everything on sale is XXS or XXL or XXXL. Well, anyway its not my size.

Let It Not be forgot....

Camulod fell to-day. In " the Eagle ", the last in the Camelot series of 8 books, Clothar, the Frank, nicknamed Lance tells of his life in service to, Arthur, Riothamus, High King of Briton. 

I was worried when Mordred ( Art's son ) is introduced b/c I've never read a version where I wasn't muttering ' how could you do that ? ' to Mordred.
Mordred is the son of Morag and Arthur. Uther Pendragon is father to both of them, oh yes, they are 1/2 brother and sister. Art's mom is Ygraine and Morag's mom is Morgas.

Mordred is a loyal and faithful son. When Lerner and Lowe penned the songs to " Camelot " Mordred brings about the downfall of Arthur's round table and Guinivere and Lance are lovers behind Arthur's  back.

In ' the Eagle ' Clothar takes Guinivere to Gaul, as Arthur rides north to defend Camulod. This trip is the greatest favour that Arthur ever asks of Clothar. Keep the queen safe.
After news of Briton dies out, Guinivere and Clothar marry.

In English class, there was a device where the weather mimics the mood of the character. I'm in bed, with a ..... I don't know. I was feeling kind of blah all day Saturday. At night, I took a shower and shivered coming out... real quakes. A slight fever. I'm much better now.
Usually, my pattern is feel not good and then toss my cookies. Or, cough, cold - fever. When I'm sick, I do it big time.

Anyway, while I'm feeling sorry for myself,  Camulod falls.  
" Let it never be forgot
that once there was a spot
for happy ever-aftering
Known as Camelot "

In the news.  Two Copts ( Egyptian Christians ) living in T.O. have been listed as associated with the anti- Mohammed video that is causing uproars all over the Muslim world.
The 2 men have asked for extra police protection. The Canadian foreign service will ask Egypt for a clarification of the accustions. Basically ,they're screwed b/c the Canadian foreign service consists of 2 cooks called Michel and Francois. They whip up a mean flan but thats it.
The Toronto men claim that they are outspoken critics of the past and present Egyptian governments and the listing is a red-herring threat to keep them quiet and forced to hide.
It will probably work. Their faces have been on the naional news here. And while, I don't care, I'm sure there are nut bar Muslims planning something already.

Social media. I'm not on Facebook or any other thingy. I blog and read my e-mail.
In theory, I'm cut off from the world and people searching for me, thank goodness.

I am however, Canadian- Japanese.
Friday night, one of the other poker players had met someone from Edmonton, he thinks,  who knew me. There's my networking.

My Problems are small

You know its good when you realize your problems are really, small.
Sympatico headlines include " Tom Cruise not spending time w/ Suri ". Do we need to know about this, nope. Well, I'm not visiting Suri either and they're probably glad.

We have typical S. On fall, oh yes, its official, this afternoon fall arrives. Rain last night, overcast and 57 F. Supposedly, the overcast will mostly go away ,this aft.

Yesterday, I went to the Italian store for taralli. Don't go when you're hungry. Got the taralli and TWO bags of I-tai cookies. At the Superstore which is shopper-ese for - here's a Walmart plus a gigantic foodstore - I bought apple slices and soda water. The prices are low and the slow is checkout. Even self-checkout was time consuming. At the live checkout, you line up and wait for a cashier to signal.

Nobody knew me at the I-tai. store ,  I was a stranger. Oh well, anonymity can be all right too.

The apple slices are fried in butter 'til browned. Add some raisins and honey and I guess its almost candy apples. This apple concoction is combined w/ yoghurt, Fibre 1 cereal and a chopped Fibre 1 bar. This mixture b/comes my apple crisp.

Yesterday, a coolish day, chicken bones, leeks and carrots were the stock. Rice and smoked turkey and green peas were the ingredients for home-made soup.Not bad and so appropriate for the day.

I'll fix you up good

I realize that there is an international or bilateral flavour to this blog. My audience (read victims ) are American.
To further dampen U.S. - Canada relations, a news item is a banner across the Torstar " Athlete Tampers w/ Competitor's Skates ", you got it, not the Russians or Moldavians but a U.S. skater.
Apparently, two years ago, at the Worlds, an U.S. skater was told by his coach to interfere w/ the Canadian's equipment. the Canadian remembers finding the blade bent and couldn't understand the cause. Well, the Americans did it. The U.S. skater in writing to team members, calls the incident ' my darkest secret '. Oops, not a secret now.
Remember, these are true stories ,not 100 % accurate but we'll work that out later. Like the media do.

Headline " 17 000 Government Workers Served  Notice ". Please remember our population is something like 40 million. A whole whack of people out of work. As Will Rogers often appended ' hold the...e phone '.
The government gave workers a written alert about the prospect of down-sizing. Normal attrition and retirement incentives will be used first. Jobs will switch depts and in the end some people will be laid off.
Their ploy worked, I read the whole article.
Some MPs ( Member of Parlaiment ) didn't. They stood up and bemoaned the loss of 17 000 jobs, the effect on the economy and reduced gov't services.
You need a refresher in Canadian life. There is no gov't service. The welfare checks and pension checks are always delivered on time. Now, after that, good luck.
We renewed, our passports two years ago. We were aghast. The form said to expect the new documents within ten business days. 8 days later, there they were. This incident qualified for " Ripley's Believe It or Not ".

" I'd rather be happy than right " is a quote from a series of stories by Douglas Adams a prolific Br writer. To be truthful, all his stories are Douglas Adam-ish. The line is from " the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy ".
A character has awoken from million years sleep. His planet, made a living, designing custom built planets. With a downturn in the Galactic economy, the planet went to sleep.
Having woken, Slartibartfast is walking on the planet's surface and meets a visiting Earthman, Arthur Dent.
Discussing the nature of universe and life in general , the conversation goes:
' Overall I'd rather be happy than right '
' are you ?'
' No, thats where it all seems to fall apart '.
I've thought about this conversation. And to me it explains a whole lot about my life.

A further conversation led by Arthur Dent, on discovering about custom building planets and travelling in time and space goes :

" you know, I've always felt  there's something secret going on that I'm not meant to know about"
" No, thats just universal paranoia, everyone has that "
This last bit from a guy , Slartibartfast, that helps build planets ( he carved the fjords of Norway, yep, they built the  ' Earth ' Mark 1 and are starting on Mark 2 ) and has slept for a million years.
Gives one a little perspective.

Weather cool, overcast and still. We are waiting for a wet week-end clearing on Sunday. And of course , in T.O., the big question is what will they close down this week-end, as in roads and highways. Street fests ,Taste of Something ( ethnic food fairs ) or parades or walk-a-thons, and lets fix the roads before winter blitz.

Nineteen degrees

.... the difference between yesterday 7:30 AM and this morning - 34 vs 53.  Wind was wafting out of the south for about ten minutes. Then, we got gusts swinging the boat sideways. Within 30 minutes ,we were dodging 25 KPH.

However. I decided to leave the main engine off and trolled up river to Harvey's. The first five minutes provided a walleye and a smbass that jumped and threw the hook.  The walleye is cleaned and frozen. Later, an hour later, a perch co-operated and he's cleaned and iced.  Sporadic reward. You have to take 'em when you can.
To-day, guys were moving looking for fish and hiding from the wind.  moving boats pretty much means poor fishing. Everyone races to their fav spot. Not moi, fish close to home and then see.

Beauty day now, brisk wind here in QMH, but blue sky w/ wispy clouds. Lovely, September day.

In the news or non news: Our Rob Ford in Chicago, hob-nobs w/ Chicagoans on the street.
" Have you been to Toronto ? "
" No but we've been across the border from Detroit to that Canadian city "
"  Oh Winnipeg, you mean ? "
Right Rob, Winnipeg.  Our mayor. Must be tough to be glib and thinking all the time.

Picture day at QMH

Art or not art. I don't understand how what you put in the frame costs less than the frame. We hung these cute little scenes from some little village or something. The frames were on sale and cost more than the little scene.
I read that the difference between the really rich and others, is that when the rich buy things, art e.g. their purchases go up in value. trust me, these little scene thingies are not going anywhere let alone up.

So, we put up these, ah decorations, thats what they are. You know cover the wall or those places on the wall that need covering.
There are just a few open spots, so we need to visit some more little villages.

On the'bee fishing was not good. I tried diligently, faithfully, real hard and slowly and on the bottom. 2 fish this morning. the afternoon, 2 h of dragging bottom not my bottom,  the river bottom. Although the results were as though my bottom was dragging. Then....

Why do we keep trying ? Thats right, its survival instinct b/c you never know it could be the next spear throw or rock that bags the big one and provides dinner.

On the way home, 700 yds left. Slowly moving down our shore, dragging bottom. Another set of guys are out fishing tossing toward shore and Im tossing out - deeper.  Pull up almost along side them and wham, I drive the rod up and the drag starts to scream. Talk about how to show off - the drag was screaming for 3 or 4 minutes. when the line is taut and under load the wind sings through the line. This smbass was about 3 lb.
I drift back a little, cast out and again the drag starts to scream - another smbass. I'm using 8 # test and had to net both fish. Wow, so fun to show off - in a modest way, of course.  Bet I was smiling something fierce, not my fault.

Sporadic reward, genetic progaramming and fishing

October on the 'bee

Oh my, it was cold this morning. The temp at the Ptrboro Airport was 34 F. The wind was west-ish to start but it swung NW and dropped about three degrees during the morning. My costume this morning was full October style.  I figured that I could remove layers - nope ,just kept doing up buttons.  Hood up and head down.

On the ticker on CityPulse, 4 th Century papyrus indicates that Jesus is cited as referring to a wife. Mrs. Jesus, one assumes.
Shades of the Davinci code.

Lindsey Lohan hit someone w/ a car and drove off. She struck an innocent by-stander. This event occurred in NYC.  Its hard to hit an innocent anything in NYC.
Do we just guess whether she is on probation or waiting sentencing or recently released.  We need a program or she does.

Rainy days and Mondays

Ah yes, the sultry voice of Karen Carpenter --- does it haunt your dreams ??
Ah, but its Tuesday and raining. There was a brief lull between 1 PM and 3 ???. Of course, I decided to slip out w/ the XTreme. Total time out 1/2 h, total catch 1 walleye but a keeper length. I let it go. See,  an humanitarian or fish-a-tarian, I am.
Drinking vodka to celebrate, so sad, 1 fish and he's celebrates. But if you've been following " 2 sentence... " its allowed. No, I won't drive anything - boat or car.

The wind was SW,  as I set out but rain drops came and the wind was NNE or NE and cold. I ran for home. The rain stopped as I docked.
But in the past, that NE wind has swallowed the 'bee w/ storm weather. I'm at home port and safe. I'm such a wimp,  braver men would've stayed and fished out the storm.  I'm warm and dry. Nothing like holding a 7 ft lightning rod in your hand, sitting on a water.

The rule is 1 fish is serendipity, two or more is a pattern. To-day ? , 1 fish is magic and you take what you can get.

There is walleye in the freezer. Further I fished the outside edge of a weedline, classic positioning that, inside or outside of the weedline. The right position and the right time - deadly combination. Fished a plastic fluke minnow. Basic bait - basic presentation - follows all the rules. and a fish too boot.

Stevie Nicks, says

"  When the rain, washes you clean, you'll know "

Typing here in the QMH, yep, pouring out there. A reprieve from the relentless pursuit of fish.

Heat is on, coffee almost gone. Oops, time to get up and do stuff. I'm always complaining of endless things to do at QMH.

Our Rob Ford ( mayor ) is in Chicago ( ' chicken in the car, car won't go, thats how you spell CHICAGO ' - this is a line from the movie ' A River Runs Through It '. never got it, do you ? )
Chicago is our twin city. Both are meat processing centres or were. Both are north of the United States ( thats a Will Rogers line ).
They interviewed some Chicagoans, Toronto ?
I heard its nice. Oh yeah, NICE.

The 'bee is quiet. No boats , of course, not even the XTreme ( my boat ). Charged all the batteries last night. We'll see if they hold charge - all day or maybe even until to-morrow depending on the weather. There is a chance of rain to-night and to-morrow.

Maintaining charge is a sign that the battery is still in functioning.

Woke up this morning, very early, 6:00 AM, treated my eyes w/ drops , since they get very dry during the night. Then for some reason, I read. The book is " Last Light of the Sun " by Guy Gavriel Kay.
LLotS is set in early Britain. The land is dominated by raiders of all kinds. The worst or best come from Nordic countries, but some are Gaels or Picts or soon to be Picts. There are faeries and they interact w/ the people that are sensitive or somehow brave enough to dare to walk up to a glowing figure.

I stayed up, made coffee had a croissant and cheese. Croissant and cheese w/ asparagus is one of my favourites. This tendency comes from a chance purchase in a bakery in Niagara-on-the-lake. Of such, are life's history made.

Boy, this blogging does get personal. oh well, presumeably its carthartic, it certainly appears to be chronic.

The fickle Finger.....

Probably, in the early 80 s, I'm really guessing here, ' Laugh In' starred Rowan and Martin (?). They had a segment called the ' Fickle Finger of Fortune '.

The last 2 outings on the 'bee, I've caught rock bass ( 4 ) , 1 perch and 1 lmbass which was barely longer than the 3 " platic minnow.

I can't find minnows. Usually, I'll spot schools running the surface. Then, I fish under the school. The philosophy is follow the bait. I spent both sessions canvassing for hits. Basically, I'm fanning the area looking for a hit. The hits are not there.

Hopefully, catching lots of fish isn't the point. B/c I'm not.

Weather is idyllic. Cool, sunny and breezy.
Except on the water, that wind is gusting and relentless. Rain is coming, supposedly all day to-morrow. The theory says pre-front fishing is good. The fish are hitting before the storm.  maybe this afternoon will be the ticket.

Well, this aft will involve running into Ptrboro. This trip is 15 min and is S.O.P.  ( standard operating procedure ) when we are at QMH. Groceries and a trip to TSC ( tractor store ) is a guarantee. Gas on the way home. In T.O., the gas prices were $1.30 / L at the Old Railway pumps it was $ 1.20 yesterday.

Our first year, the tax formula was changing. I went to fill up and said to the attendant ' I guess you'll see a big rush before the tax change ? '. The reply was ' we're not paying any tax ? '

The ORR is on a native reserve, Hiawatha First Nations. Oops,  rookie mistake.  They take their rights real serious here.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

' it tolls for thee ' NHL. Appparently, the NHL owners have a game plan. Its my arena and I say ' how much moola, you get '. The players say ' I'm the product, the fans don't come to watch you sit in your gray ' power ' suit or suite.
I'm sure there will be fans and places in the U.S. that will suffer as Canada will during the strike / lockout. Here in the GWN, its disaster city.
To wit, the Maple Leafs sell out every game.
The broadcast audience is a consistent 3 - 4 million viewers ( Canada's population is 33 million ). Networks will not run shows against the Leaf game.
Red blooded Canucks live and die hockey. Growing up, Saturday night was a lock. The Leaf game was on at eight o'clock. We missed the first period, to force you to buy tix to the game ( to see the whole game ).
M was astounded when she discovered a) he doesn't watch hockey b) he watches football but mainly college and mainly in Dec - Jan

When M's cousins were visiting, the son ran into the kitchen yelling " he's going to watch these cars go around 200 times " ( NASCAR ). M says that I'll watch them race anything sleds , trucks , ostriches.

Hockey is a way of life up here. Next door puts his son in a league. $ 3 thousand for season fees and maybe $4 thou for travel ( the whole family goes ) . Across the road, they have 4 boys, two in elite hockey. They're saved b/c one lad who inherited smart genes says, house league is fine ( at hundreds a season ).

The Leafs last won a Stanley Cup in 1967. I decided ' oh, heck, they'll win another one in two years '. Yeah , I pick teams like I pick stocks .

We grew up Montreal Canadiens fans. We were an oddity in my Mom's clan. There were bigger rivalries in hockey but this one was different. It was province vs province, language vs language and culture vs culture.
Les Canadiens received the first 3 picks of the French Canadian draft prospects before the regular draft.
Beehive corn syrup ( yellow bottle and blue label ) never left the table . Look, 3 labels and a stamp, you got a picture ( signed ) of a NHL player or Montreal Canadien, in our house. To this day, toast, butter and corn syrup is comfort food 101. Since I started typing this AM, I've been to the kitchen twice. Coffee once and toast w/ corn syrup right now.

At parties in the winter, Leafs are the topic w/ politics second not second but second we are serious about hockey.

I do watch fishing shows and soccer but it is not a religion.

Thoughts turn to fishing though on Sunday b/c our ' week-end ' in this house starts to-morrow. The 'bee is calling.

You cannot use the word ' electric ' to describe life in this house Sundays. 'Electric' wouldn't fit any morning in this house. Sunday, ' drag-a-licious ' ,is a good fit.
There was the time the skylight leaked, trust me that was some word, such as ' Chinese-fire-drill-ish ' I know very stereotypical anti-Asian etc but.... Got the picture, eh ?
I heard that expression from a colour commentator describing the pass coverage of one team's secondary during a NFL broadcast.

Somehow,' Scottish fire drill ', just doesn't do it, you know the image in your mind.

Movie review, ' the Spiderwick Chronicles  '.
A young family sans father arrives at an ancestral home of the mom. Mom is the leggy, babe herself, Mary Louise Parker. The three children of various dispositions try to settle in or out as they are want.
The house and grounds are haunted / home to ' others ' ogres, globlins, sprites .. can you see it, or ' can you see it ' is the theme.
Overall, this SWC is quick paced not too sentimentally sloppy and satisfying. Do not go out and buy this retail, second hand is good - free is better. I got this free from next door via the Chinese 'pirate' kiosk.

Julie and Julia

In the movie J&J , Julie starts a cooking blog based on her attempts to produce / make every recipe in the  'Julia Child, American Cookbook '. She cooks and blogs.
What does this have to do with to-day ? So glad ,you asked, vous etes tres brilliante.

I made muffins, aujourdhui, and now wait for the little suckers to cool. And I type.
These muffins will not be sugarless ( last batch, missed out on the sugar, the morning after poker is not the best time to make muffins, basically, I can barely find the coffee).

Report on Friday and ' wonderland ' . A and I did go for dim sum at ' Very Fair Seafood Restaurant ' There is a Chinese name but the English sign is biggest. And its the only one that I can read.
You sit and the wizened old grand dames of the serving staff, wheel their trolleys through the tables and bawl out some words.
I know 3 names now of food ( when they sing out in Chinese ).
I feel very secure sitting there. I wisely point when I recognize something. My best move is to shut up or ask A for whatever I need.
Yesterday, I shut up. A ordered Chinese broccoli from the kitchen ( special order ) and we got ribs , hakkow ( shrimp dumpling ), shui mai ( pork cupcakes where the muffin paper is egg noodle ) and Chinese bean sprouts ( well, they taste like and look like bean sprouts ) and ' easter egg ' dumplings. Easter egg dumplings are deep fried dough balls w/ a pork mixture filling. Easter eggs look like easter eggs, duh. The outside is fuzzy looking and its a salty / sweet almost dessert. we were full, we are always full.

Over munchies we discussed batteries, deep cycle batteries for the boat. In the end we ( A ) decided that $ 256 is a waste of money. The expensive battery is lighter by 3 # and spill proof. My situation only requires for me to get the battery down to the boat, once in the spring and back up in the fall. Suffice it to say , A is younger and stronger.
Oh well. The battery at Costco is $88. The batteries will both last the same length of time. Actually, a lie. If treated properly, re-charged every 30 days, the expensive one could last a year longer. Trust me , no one re-charges every 30 days. At best, some guys put the battery on a maintainer circuit. I re-charged once last winter.
The upshot is that  I will wait until next spring and buy a Costco battery.  In the meantime, yesterday , I drove 40 miles and visited 3 Costco-s looking for the right battery. All out of stock.
We did our Tim Hortons coffee break to finish out the day.
What did you do ?

We slaughtered 4 more people on the roads in the GTA. 1 motorcyclist confronted a tractor trailer - bike lost. 2 semi-s met crushed 2 people and a speeding car jumped the median for the last of the victims. Hey ,we're not slouches up here. we kill w/ impunity and cars.

The big headline in the Torstar. ' Dream of Playing Dorothy ', refers to a new reality show where the contestants vie to be the next ' Dorothy ' in the stage production of " the Wizard of Menlo ". kidding that was T.A.Edison. ' the Wizard of Oz ' is being produced here in T.O.

BTW - on the game show ' Jeopardy ' on 'power player ' night, the final question was on 'Inventors'.
Normally, this last question ( answer ) is hard. so, I pre-guess the answer ( question, if you know what I mean ). " Who was Eli Whitney ? ", my guess.
Their final statement " he was reputed to have saved the economy of the south, but this boom only lasted 5 years ". Yep, EW. M was flabbergasted. Now, M is usually flabbergasted by moi. This time, it was good.

To wit, I decorate. or more bluntly, hang stuff  up, w/out permission. At QMH, I ' re-decorated ' and she liked it. Wow.
My philosophy is summed up by the ' Dogs Guide to Living w/ People ' this poster, is on the ceiling at the dentist's. One of the sayings is ' better to ask forgiveness than permission ' Dada. My feelings exactly.

Oh yeah, much apologizing goes on here.

The news, all that's fit to report

Whoa, fit to report ??

So, Whatthef**kistan is front and centre in the Torstar.
Next our mayor, Rob Ford, whose following is called the ' Fordnation ', is in deep do-do for misappropriation of city funds.
Call girls / SM sex. Nope, this is Canada. Robbie used city staff / cars and assistants to help coach his football team. You can understand the furor. Next he'll be coaching Team Canada and using city funds. unthinkable.

To-day, is a 'wonderland trip ' - Bass Pro Shops. Its a 35 min drive for me. The far NW of the GTA or actually, a satellite city, Vaughn.
What will I save - maybe 20 - 30 cents per package ( avge cost $5, lets say )
I will wander the aisles, floating on a piscatorial cloud of dreams. The motto of Bass Pro is " if you build it they will come " - they stole this from a movie ' FoD '.
They're real motto is ' if you build it, they will spend '.  I do.

In my defence, some items are unavailable at the normal tackle stores. I have waited and searched but this will be one-stop shopping.
and a cool, $ 300 as a minimum.
On the shopping list  - Zoom plastic, these are the baits that bring walleye to the boat and bolster my success.
A kevlar fishing glove ( yep, bullet proof or knife cut resistant - the walleye don't shoot but I get stuck all the time by a fin  ). The last set of gloves, blew out of the boat, some fish is doing a Michael Jackson imitation wearing a grey glove.

On the Nottawasaga R while fishing, this guy w/ a Dutch or German accent would always say' if you want a cheap sport , fishing isn't it '.
On the plus side M gets rid of me for long stretches, something about Neville Chamberlain's ' peace in our time ' quote.

Olio, olio...

Growing up, I always shouted " olley, olley, oxenfree ". Later, much later I discovered the phrase was " All ye,all ye , in free ".
Ah, naivete, so charming and so dense.

' Olio ' in the crosswords is synomous w/ mixed or varied. Trust me this morning on the 'bee, it was olio-gone-crazy.
I caught rock bass, perch, smbass, lmbass, sunfish and walleye. On the same two baits.

One walleye was barely minimum but I let it go b/c it was so close. The  other walleye (a keeper ) is slam bam thank you ma'am in the freezer.

The wind started out breezy and ended up gusting. To wit, in the morning headed out there were 4 boats that I passed or saw. Coming home, I saw one boat. I turned the bend for home and the wind slapped me in the face. SW at 20 KPH. There was chop on the water.

So, I'm pleased w/ the walleye. More importantly , I got 2. 1 is a fluke and 2 or more means your on a pattern. Ah, renewed optimism. Sporadic reward.

My brother used to come home from a hard week-end fishing ( meaning not many fish ) and say to M, ' I'm fished out '. Only to go back at it next week. See, sporadic rewards.

The Middle East or Watthef**kistan as I'm coming to call it. Crikey, those people got a burr up their ass this time, for sure.
I didn't know Mohammed was gay. Or did they say gray. Gay  / gray,  what the hey.

Gas prices went up 3 cents per litre - Montreal maxed out at $ 1.56 per L, for you southerners, that's a 6.50 gallon, give or take, mostly take.
To-morrow, gas prices fall 6 cents a litre.

We are experiencing H/H, fall style, so its bearable. A/C is on. Heck, its always on in this house. Purely a matter of how many times the A/C cycles in the day.

the Target species

Several years ago, we started out on a fishing trip on a lake.  Two of us had fished to-gether and were experienced ( sort of ). The third of our group was fairly new, who apparently watched fishing shows.
We get to our spot and the newby says " Whats the target species ? " . We almost fell out of the boat laughing. I guess we were fishing for bass but ... anything was going to do.

To-day, the SW wind was building all morning.
My goal was a walleye ( for food ). As the morning wore on it became apparent ' the target species ' wasn't going to co-operate.

I caught a nice size perch. Poor guy b/c he became lunch. 3 other perch added to the total.

Cleaned and dosed w/ soya sauce, the fillets were ready for the pan. Cook the leeks in butter. Save the leeks.
Add dipping oil ' herbes de provence ' to the pan. Roll the fillets in crumbs and fry away.
Homefries are cooked. Dinner is on the table.
Excellent lunch.

Warm, bright and windy. dynamic day, for anything. Trimmed the hedge, took out some landscape lumber and there's the morning and 1/2 the aft gone.

Home-made....

In a never ending effort to upgrade or improve the fishing results, I modify or copy lures or baits.
The latest prototype ( neat, eh - prototype, sounds so, technical ) was a total flop. Back to the drawing board.

Now it wasn't a total failure. The bait keeper that I fashioned out of a bent staple worked great. The purpose of the ' new creation ' was to create a lighter jig ( slow falling ) that could handle a slightly longer plastic and still get good hook set.
Now, the staple idea is rather temporary. the staple is going to lose its grip quickly. However, this morning, I checked the shelf in the boat and saw $ 5 worth of jigs sitting there. There is a lot wood down in the river and I seem to hook my share.
Each jig is 85 cents - my hook creation costs around 20 cents + labour ( which fortunately is me, so its cheap ). and if my staple plastic bait holder lasts 1 day, it paid for itself.

Morning was cool but the sun was warm. the breeze then wind come out of the south or SW, actually gusting. The effect was a very cool back as I was fishing. Jacket was ' off /on ' all morning.

1 lmbass about 1 # or a tad more co-operated, all the way to the boat.

9/11 , means a lot to me, a watershed in my attitude toward the Middle East. Maybe , many people feel like me.

There must have been a big blow that came through the area , here, at QMH. Wood lying everywhere, blown out of the trees, all dead thank goodness.

Monday is....

I'll describe my Mondays or what I think is my Monday.
Somehow, Mon. is contact day. Phone calls to the steel roof company - someone will need access to the roof for the gutter cleaning.
The mobile dentistry outfit needed permission to check my mom's teeth.
E-mail from the Min of Natl Resources about fishing licence requirements, in response to my question.

Finished watching ' Tron - legacy '. OK I get it now or enough so that I'm not totally clued out. Since I don't play the " Tron " video game, I think I'm missing context. Oh well, not going to happen. My favourite video game is ' Polar Bear Golf ' and trust me, you don't need an MIT degree in Computers to play that one.

Weather is starting cool. The overnight temp is going to be 50 F for several days. End of the week sees a return of humidity and high 70 s temp.s.

Clothar is still a mystery, although I'm into the story of his early years and its interesting.
BTW - in the prologue its clear that Clothar knew Merlyn Britannicus well. In fact, Clothar in his later years, returns to Britain and the region near Camulod, finds and buries Merlyn's body. Merlyn developed leprosy, later in life and isolated himself close to Camulod. Suffice to say, I don't know Clothar well.

" Stop Moaning and Have Some Fun " ??????
There is the ' Condo Section ' from the Torstar on the floor as I'm typing and that's the headline banner.
The gist of the article is that Canadians spend so much time in the cold and heating their homes, you would think they would enjoy the heat of summer more. I suppose that is the moaning.
The highlights in the article are the value of iced tea ( that's good, I drink iced tea ) and the blade less Dyson fans for circulating air more efficiently ( base price, $ 350 ).
Then there's the  ' Chillow ' a ice bag insert for your pillow. Oops, not for me.

Linen sheets are supposed to be cool - as in to sleep in, comfortable. $557 for an Egyptian cotton and linen blend, Yikes !.
Or simply rinse the top sheet wring it and sleep under the same sheet, nude. Ooh, not sure about this one either.

And the Lee Valley Co. makes the list. For, wait, clothespins !. What clothespins , yep, they sell high quality pins that are longer and built w/ good springs.  OK. OK , yes, been there done that or bought that. Air drying your clothes saves energy and gives the garments a fresh smell.
The time that I call BM ( before M ), saw me line drying my clothes outside. The ladies on staff said my shirts were great smelling.Thats how you attract the ladies, smell my shirt.

Tron - legacy

At the Red Box ( DVD rental kiosk ), I rented 'Tron - Legacy '. Oh yeah, whoosh. Maybe, I'm supposed to be swept away by the colour and sound, the graphics and not be to concerned w/ 'getting it ' b/c I don't. welcome to my world.

For 1 week, I was w/out my QMH cell phone w/ a Ptrbro exchange. The cell is needed, so neighbours on Thompson Rd can dial me up w/out having to dial a T.O. area phone ( long dist ). There is a message centre associated w/ the #. No one calls - really, Harvey phones but everyone else e-mails or sends Bob from next door. Bob next door ,comes over in person. I had the best of intentions.
Actually, I was thinking 2 cell phones is an advantage for me. I carry a cell ph in my shirt or jacket while fishing. If I should fall in or drop the phone at least there would be a spare in the boat that stayed dry.

Or as in the case of Sam - when I jump in to save my fishing rod - not. Anthony and I decided neither of us was jumping in to save any fishing rod .

So, we searched all the likely places. In truth we searched all the unlikely places too, b/c I have a penchant for leaving things
-well - leaving things. On top of a box, on a shelf, in a shoe - things include my coffee.
Searching for my coffee is always interesting.
M finally, said ' check the car, again. Both of us went at it. Within 2 minutes, the cell was back in my hands. Probable cause, tossing the computer bag into the car. The cell phone in the mesh pocket flipped out landing on the floor between the bench seat in the rear and the door but toward the rear.

M's BD is 9 / 11. We didn't celebrate her BD for a couple of years or did so in a reserved fashion. I'm sure there are other dates for other BD people that evoke the same reticence
e.g. tragedies in your family history.
It didn't seem right to celebrate on 9/11.

On the literary front, I finished " Uther " a sequel to the ' Camulod ' series by author Jack Whyte. ' Camulod ' or ' the Dream of Eagles ' series is about Arthurian legend.
JW takes historical fact and weaves a new saga surrounding the myths and legends of Arthur.
As an example, the Camulodians re-discover the stirrup. The extra leverage and stability imparted by the stirrup alters the utility of a mounted warrior. In fact, the Camulodians create a functional cavalry at a time when mounted fighters used the horse to move from place to place and then dismount to fight.

Uther, son of Uric ( son of Ullic ) represents an union of Camulod and Cambria.
The Pendragons of Cambria befriend or co-operate w/ the citizens of Camulod. The grandfathers - Ullic and Caius Brittanicus - of Cambria and Camulod respectively, form a loose coalition across the miles - say, 2 or 3 days journey apart.
Merlyn Caius Brittanicus ( yep, the Merlin ) and Uther Pendragon are cousins. Sisters from Camulod marry within and w/out the Camulod community and Veronica Varrus marries Uric Pendragon.
Uther and Merlyn grow up as brothers.
Uther captures and falls in love w/ Ygraine married to Gulhries Lot of Cornwall. To-gether they plot and cause the demise of Lot's ambitions. Lot himself falls victim to a blood feud w/ a disgruntled friend.
Along the way, Arthur is conceived and both Uther and Ygraine die in places separated by 4 or 5 miles and 2 to 3 hours.
The baby , Arthur, is found more or less by accident. Merlyn Britannicus finds Arthur and swears or predicts ' man of the golden eyes, no one may remember Uther or Merlyn but the world will know of Arthur '. The ' golden eye ' reference is to the trait of eye colour passed down from the Roman line of Camulod.

My overwhelming thought is how different the JW story is than Arthurian legend - knights and armour, and maybe not opulence but some kind of grandeur, that is Camelot. And when I start to think there is no hope - suddenly your back in the legend or you can see where the legend may have started.

Now, I'm reading " Clothar , the Frank " a related book to the " Camulod " series but , of course, focusing on Clothar. I've read all the books in the series. however, 20 pages into ' Clothar... ' I can't seem to place, Clothar. In truth, its been some time since I read the first 5 books, so ,maybe it will come back to me - once JW makes some reference that will bring it all back.

The weather to-day is a harbinger of the fall. The air is cool,partly cloudy but there is a briskness that I associate with the fall.
As well you know, the fish have turned on. The fish are feeding more aggresively.

' Harvey ' lived...

In the movie " Harvey " w/ James Stewart, Elwood P. Dowd ( JS ) has a friend, Harvey who is a 8 ft tall pookah ( a rabbit ).
Watching EQ ( a specialty HD channel ),there was a program on Tasmania. Tasmania as a future tourist destination and an almost virginal habitat that needs protection.
The fossil record shows ancient marsupials and fossils found in Argentina and Antarctica as well. The marsupials were varied and unique.
' Harvey ' lived. There is a fossil kangaroo
that stood 10 ft tall but the bloody thing was a carnivore. It could rip and chew flesh.
thats all I need - imagining a meat eating kangaroo whose chin would hook over the gutters on our house.
We're watching the 9/11 specials. the heroism and process that was involved on that day.

All I remember is the replays that show the people dancing and cheering in the Middle East as they watched the Towers fall. I understand on some level that this should not be seen as a blanket reaction by all peoples of an area or religion.
That day and those videos now colour how I think and feel about the  Middle East.
I am not sympathetic when considering events in the middle East.
I get that some in that area don't like us ( in the west ), fine. If I were born there maybe Id feel the same. But I'm here - born and raised. Them and us.

Spin...

First a note: two entries back under ' Baklava ' I posted the  fish picture.

Spin. There is a CBC radio program called '_________ Inc ' on the public relations industry.
It might as well be called 'Spin Inc'. The show is almost disgusting when you sit back and think about what you just heard.

Now, in our house , one of us devotedly reads the daily newspaper. The other skims each section back to front and does the 'cryptic' or 'Sudoku '.
My favourite quote is from ' the Shipping News ' when the heroine says of the local paper, the Gammie Bird, ' not even fit for fishwrap '. Our Star fully qualifies for this category.
My take is that at best, what I get to read in the Star is ' spin on spin '. The story is spun to attract readers w/ engineered layout.
The story catches your eye, there is some fluff for human interest , then they tell the story as the reporter thinks they sense the story. The quotes are all going to be quick and spun to show the author in the best light.
See - spin on spin. In the book ' the Long, Dark Tea Time of the Soul ' by Douglas Adams, there is an explosion at Heathrow airport. The death tolls starts at 60, rises to 110 and then falls through the day. In the end, two were injured and one person was misisng.
The truth is that Thor ( the god ) in a fit of pique causes a counter to suddenly lift off to the ceiling. Two terrorists groups claim responsibility and everyone is blaming National Gas. The ground hostess gets turned into a Coke machine and she is the missing one.
My kind of news reportage is way better. Read the headlines and make something up. Is it accurate ? Not even close. But given time - we'll make some subtle corrections - bingo, bango - the truth is revealed.
To wit, a grandmother gave birth to her own grandchild. This is true. Where ? Who knows.
Probably, Indiana or illinois. maybe, Yugoslavia - does it matter ? Somewhere, a young child gets to call a woman ' Mommy or Grandma ' and be correct. egads its almost gross.

We have rain. We will have rain. The prediction is 25 - 30 mm or 1 to 1 1/2 inches. The big boys are fishing Rice L to-day. But they're men - and can take it. I'd be inside organizing tools or something. No sympathy, they're catching my fish.

Gilding a Lily...

I am aware of a cook show host / chef, Giada deLaurentiis. GD is a babe. Fresh, lively and smiling during the show. I had occasion to catch a commercial for Pantene ( hair products ) using GD as the model. They did ' gild the lily ' or gilded Giada. The look on the commercial was pasty and stiff, I'm not sure GD could really smile.
Two days ago, I caught her show. She was radiant. and I said " Self, you were right, they defaced the woman, to their standard in the ad.
Now, you are probably aware, Shakespeare never said ' gild the lily ' actually, WS said ' to paint a lily ' as an expression for overkill and ruining a good thing.

Our news up here in the GWN ( great white north ) contains references to the recent Democratic convention, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama ( and Michelle ).
As one pundit put it  ' he ( BO )has faced the reality and limitations of the Office and the political wrangling that for the most part de-rails or dilutes anything good. This dilution to further political careers or defend the posture needed to present a spin for the people watching.
He is grayer and showing the strain of conflict between what is right and necessary and what looks good.'

Our day is cool and slightly humid w/ rain forecasted. To-day is Mommy day, a visit to the nursing home. What did Clint say " make my day " oh yeah, two martinis at least.

To those who follow the blog and even pay attention. No more condo hunting - more or less. We signed a year round contract for outside services. Lawn / snow / bush pruning / gutter cleaning etc.
So, we now pay maintenance fees , as in a condo. But we keep the house.
The sad part was telling the kids, next door, that we hired someone else. A.L. Co. only do full year contracts, thus all or nothing.

Baklava or close

Whoa, usually, I need to reach really hard for a title. To-day, I think that I had 3.

OK. Not, baklava. Its balaclava. Why, you ask ?  Baklava is the honey flavoured dessert.
In Montreal, as the Parti Quebecois, celebrated a moral victory in achieving a minority gov't ( most likely ), a guy in a bathrobe and balaclava opened fire and hit 2 people. One died. It was not a pajama party.

In New Jersey, a burglar was arrested. The police believe that one of the homes he robbed included Jon Bon Jovi, the singer.
I saw " Moonlight and Valentino " w/ JBJ and Elizabeth Perkins, Kathleeen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg and Gwynneth Paltrow.  It was probably, JBJ's only movie. Definitely, a chick flick. According to a family friend, chick flick is when ' all men are bastards and you can cry a little ' or something.

Correction: to all my loyal readers. I LIED.
The walleye was 2 " over the slot but the upper slot limit is 20 " so the walleye that I let go was 22 " not 28 ". Sorry. It was still big. Pictures available in 2 days, if I can figure out how to attach a photo to this site.

WE did not go to the " Ex" this year. Of course, we're not starting a new trend b/c we haven't been once since we were married.
All told, I guess its 27 yrs or more since we've been to the ' mother of all exhibitions ' as the Muslims like to aggrandize their comparisons.

I'm watching the ' Making of HELLBOY : the Golden Army ' . It was supposed to be low budget or fairly low. The goal was to create a new world or level of imagination. This Hellboy is #2. I don't remember #1 but I re-watch HB II, 3 - 4  times a year. I think it's cute.

I was right. Sept 8 - 9 is a tournament on Rice L. Hence, the big boy rigs were pre-fishing to find the fish.
Two things.
1. this explains , the trouble that I had catching bass in Sept. last year. The competitors take their live fish to the weigh station at Hastings ( far east end of Rice L ). The bass are released close to where they're caught ( Yeah, for sure ) The bass are probably, all dropped close to Hastings, 12 miles from the 'bee. So, this year, I'll fish walleye and skip the hair pulling when I can't find any bass.
2. Previously, I mentioned the big rigs run WOT all the time. Well. I saw a bass boat coming, throwing up a ' rooster tail ' ( basically its a water fountain behind the boat ). I took the hole shot and planed out in 8 seconds, throttled back and followed the rig down the 'bee. I turned a bend in about 20 seconds and guesstimated that the big rig was a good 1/3 of a mile in front. So, in 20 seconds, that boat gained better than a third of a mile on me. I was doing not quite 30 MPH when I turned the bend. His speed was 55 - 60 MPH. Now you know why those guys get 1 mile to the gallon ( WOT ).

I'm such a wimpoid. Of course, at 60 MPH on the water ( remember no brakes on a boat ) they use a fine seive to find all the body parts after an accident.

Is.....aac ?

 I guess Isaac leftovers blew through here yesterday. Rain all day, quitting about 9 PM.
Short name and a long rain.
Foggy, this morning approx 60 F for you southerners. Sun broke through approx 9 AM w/ a nice little breeze, that couldn't make up its mind what direction it wanted to blow from. Started out mostly north and was coming SSW or so about 10 AM.

Fishing news. Got my first bass on a spinnerbait in 6 weeks or better. There are minnows everywhere. I'm using a small minnow imitation called a ' baby fluke ' which is apropos b/c thats my fishing style - fluke.

Also, this morning, in a clear space in the weeds. I got a hit and I knew it was a walleye from the start. Good weight and downward pull. Got my first look and right away, I said " too big ". Yep, measured, 2 inches over slot and picture and he was gone.

Slot is an arbitrary designation by the Min of Natural Resources. Above and below slot size the fish has to be released. This walleye was over the 28 " that is allowed.
Still, a great catch.

The walleye flopped all over the boat. The boat smells like fish. But, Dad's favourite line was " only one thing worse than a boat that smell likes fish - a boat that doesn't smell like fish."

I visited the dump, to get rid of gasoline and used oil. I was willing to pay $ 10 to get rid of the stuff. Arrived and explained, the attendant said gas here - oil there. bingo, bango, done.  And I've been worrying how to rid of oil and gas, especially, gas. Everyone said that the transfer stations took oil but no one knew what you did ( container etc ) and people said " Gas " and it sounded as though I had a disease. I don't and the gas is gone.

Noise. The summer rush is over. Monday, the 'bee sounded and looked like Indianapolis Speedway. Tuesday, started quiet and was a little noisier toward evening.
All day to-day, the 'big boys ' bass rigs w/ 200 - 275 HP have been tearing around, up and down the 'bee.
Normally, this would not be good for me. The ' big boys '  zoom from place to place, searching for good bass water, hit and run. they stir up the cover and the bass typically get pretty gun shy.
Since, I'm fishing mostly, walleye right now, there is a better chance that they'll have little effect on my fishing.
I like how, ' I'm walleye fishing now ' b/c I've switched to lighter gear. But its true, I'm in a different mode.
I'm looking for weed edges and clear spaces between the weeds and slightly deeper water.
As opposed to all summer, when the priority has been wood and weed cover and 'skinny water' was OK.

Strange happenings

Its raining or very o/cast here at QMH. I'm internetting inside and service is slow.

Yesterday, H/H , for sure. A deerfly or horsefly went after someone else besides me.
There were two other guys in the boat and somehow the ' biter ' found them and not me. I was in shorts and T-shirt b/c of the heat.
Couldn't believe it when the other guys started swatting and avoiding the little blighter.
However, they're both Oriental ,so maybe its an Eastern thing for these deerflies.

Went adventuring this morning b/c I got chased off the river w/ thunder and rain.
It was uncomfortable in the QMH, so I took off for Ptrbro. No, Tractor store. came home w/ bags of ?????? stuff.

Updating at 8:00 PM

Service on dial- up internet, was so slow this aft that I gave up.

This morning, I slid out for 25 min or so. Got 1 lmbass and I think a muskie bit off the line. whatever I had on the line - had real weight.

I tried getting out again about 5 but the downpour never let up. Went down to the boat. Figured that I would prop up the rails on the marine railway, since I was getting wet , anyway. This meant going into the water.

Fitzed around the QMH, there's always something to organize or re-do.

At Michael's - a arts and crafts store - it was Senior's Day - 10 % off. The prices are very good for most stuff, so another 10 % off is decent.

Hoagy Carmichael ?

" the falling leaves, drift by my window " I think these are HC. What is the reference ? I'm watching the leaves fall, a little but enough.

Alright - tools.

From the time that I was about 18 y.o., my Dad started giving me tools as presents. Sam encouraged us to learn to do odd jobs around the house. Especially, his house.
The upshot, I collect tools - my brother blew him off.
There is a store / company called Lee Valley.
LV makes and imports good quality tools for all uses around the home and garden.
These tools are excellent gifts if your trying to buy for me, as M does. Each year , she gets a wish list filled out in the LV mail order form that comes w/ issues of their catalogue ( 4 or so per year ).
I once did a tally as I scanned a catalogue.
The list filled two pages.
Now, using these tools. Honestly, there are 2 or 3 items that are still in their wrappers.
Some tools got used once and sit somewhere.
Others, are phenomenal aids as I go about 'fitzing ' around the house. No its not a misspell. Thats what I call my work,          ' fitzing ' around the house. To call it carpentry or any term that denotes compentance would be fallacious.

What  I do best is ' organize ' my tools. Can I find anything, occassionally. I sharpen all the bladed tools and put everything in boxes or cases. See. Organize.
The greatest buys at LV.
A squeeze drive, screwdriver. Its a gun w/ interchangeable bits and reverse drive. You squeeze the trigger and the bit turns. The gun is a ratchet as well. B/c you're holding a gun shaped instrument, its a lot easier to turn a tight screw. This means that I can drill a starter hole and insert a screw part way and then drive the screw  w/ the drill later. W/out constantly changing the bit on the drill.

A little careless, I wrenched the trigger and the trigger went cock-eyed and wouldn't go back. Sheepishly, I returned to LV and said that I'd twisted the trigger out of shape and was it possible to repair the 'squeeze-gun'.
The LV agent took away my defective gun and returned w/ a new one and said " fixed ".
Thats their customer service.

Window washing. We have several windows at second floor level from the basement walk-out. LV sells a Mallory Co. window washing set w/ telescoping handle good to 20 feet.
I can do the high windows in 10 - 15 minutes and no climbing.
Next door's wife saw me do the windows and asked to borrow the equipment. Her husband said where did you learn to do that, b/c it was so fast. Huh, me of course.

Blades. I collect or hoard all kinds. Knives , axes and anything sharp. Fascinating in that after a while you can see a special use for each tool and how important it is to have the proper intsrument for each job.

The most useful blade.
I have two Lagouile folding pocket knives. The area in France around the 2 cites of Lagouile and Thiers, are famous for steel and hand-crafted blades.
The competeing cities both claim the right to make the Lagouile knife. The knives are high quality steel, rockwell hardness 57 - 59, and fine instruments.
These knives are trademarked with a ladderback finish on the top edge of the blade. A ' bee ' symbol is found close to the handle on the top edge.

A non - LV blade, is a sheath knife that I bought when I was 16 y.o., approx ten yrs ago. The steel is Swedish made by Mora Co.,  well known steelmaker.
I tried shaving w/ the Mora once as you see in movies, heck, you can hardly notice the scar, now.

When my father down-sized about 12 years ago, I inherited / seized all his tools that he didn't put aside. My ' collection ' doubled. Seems Sam held onto blades, too. Its all genetic.
Problem was, my Dad was a blue-print carpenter and builder, no ' fitzing ' there.

Ah, I live in my father's shadow. But I sharpen tools better than he did.

Another LV buy was a vertical belt sander. The belts come in different fineness of grit.
The 10 micron belt can hone an edge on most blades w/out stripping or over-heating the blade. So, the blades are sharp but lonely in their racks.

Long live Lee Valley - yes, along with the Tractor store and Costco, there is Lee Valley ' amusement park ' for men.