June is Going Out

on a hot note. And the H / H factor is on the rise

Let s sum up the month. Yeah, fishing expeditions [ do one day trips count as expeditions ? ]
Watch the grass grow along w/ the wildflowers which haven't flowered. The wild things are 8 in tall and leafing out

OK. Tomorrow is Canada Day. I put up up a 6 ft Maple Leaf - NOPE !

Re - organized the basement workroom [ means : stuff is lost ] Yepper, flag is AWOL
Luckily, I bought a 12 in flag at Tiger and put that up instead. Guess the boat doesn't get a flag

Celebration time, come on [ Kool and the Gang ]. My review of Kilkenny, Irish cream ale. A Canada Day headstart. Brown and not bitter. Serve extra cold [ ice cubes ] Smooth and slightly sweet. Sweeter than I would normally call reasonable. The SuperStore had wide open spaces [ good for the prarries, not so for the beer aisle ]. Thus, no Eagle [ current fav ] resulting in a potpourri coming home. Innis and Gunn lager [ a past fav ] and Hacker Pschorr, Munchen gold.
Suffering is hard.
Kilkenny. Going down nicely. Yes, a celebrating kind of beer.
Cheers, Skoal, Compari - down the hatch
Rating is a 7.5 / 10 where Eagle is a 8.5 at least. Oh, Yeungling is a 8.1 on this scale. And at SuperStore they have shelf prices and then cashier prices. There was a minus $ 2 difference for 4 Kilkenney at cash price on shelf.

a Day in the Sun

 on the 'bee, fishing.

Hope for the best, prepare for  the worst. We were not exactly  prepared but we had water  and sunscreen and hats. I wore light sweat pants and and a sunshirt.
Still hot. The UV warning said ' extreme ' . However, the wind was cool and the gusts minor. We managed to remain out for 4 h in the morning and two hours [ almost ] at late afternoon. We even napped.

Please note. D the photographer makes every picture look good. Thanks D

And I am smiling. Apparently, everyone notices when I don't smile. Actually, that is gratitude showing

Yes, that is my first bass of the season. I caught a smaller one - cute and a welcome gift.

BTW, this pix is a cinematic recreation by Google photoshop, I'm really much prettier.

Maybe not. Google didn't ask and the cinematic version appeared

I needed a recuperation day, today. That sun takes really leaves me tired.

When you can't [ explain ] facts

properly.

I bought 100 shares of a Bank C. I began a Dividend Re - Investment Plan. Thus, over the years, the stock paid dividends and the trust re - purchased shares of Bank C.
This past month, the Bank C shares,  split 2 for 1. Aha, I hold the paper certificate. Question : how do I get the split 100 shares !

Then my banking rep started to ask ' where do your dividends go '

Eek ! Except. That finally, the Trust Co, lady rep explained the set up to me. All is good.

I'm not an idiot [ really slow ] but not an idiot.
Now, the hard part was trying to explain what I meant. At first, I didn't know the terms. I finally, caught on. Slowly.

On Thurs, we go in to see the rep and hopefully settle the situation. Which turns out was actually alright, w/ one problem. The shares aren't in an account anywhere [ safe ]. Thurs, the shares will be moved to an account, where the shares will be accounted for.

Clouds Moseyed in

 sun to start and then shade creeped in. The wildflowers will have an easier day.

Recall that I have a extender assembly to blow out the gutters, esp the high side [ 2 storeys ]. I can use a chair to hold the blower but the blower needs to be secured to the chair.
I asked the neighbour to help. D said ' lets start on the east side - what ?. He went on the stepladder and blew out the gutter over the deck BUT he was able to blow out 2 / 3 of the gutter over the walkway on the high part. REALLY !
What have I've been doing ! Short story, D did a grand job. And I learned a new way to work. To be fair, D did say that we got lucky. If the wind had been blowing from the North or West, we would have been eating leaves and re - filling the gutters [ in fact, thats what happened 2 weeks ago - when stuff blew back into the gutter ]

Off for shopping at the Tiger. SYS.

Rain. But the drops held off until gardeening reclaimation was done. M 's friend A planted Alyssum as a perennial border. Very slow growing b/c ...? I added sphagnum to bulk out the soil and hold water. As well, I re - positioned 2 plants for better watering [ not as much slope ]. And did a clearout of naughty vegetation. Where the wild things grow and not wildflowers [ which seem to be on their way ]

I exercised - pant, pant .... pant
We did pancakes for dinner w/ sausage

It would or should have been a relaxing evening BUT we had to clean for the cleaning ladies tomorrow AM

better than Yesterday

 which is good

The wildflower zone is trying. I had to water last night at 10 PM. I said ' how are the guys doing out there ' NOPE. Some were wilty looking.

However, I read on ' Wildflowers UK ' that early on, daily watering is a must. I am supposed to do the ' knuckle ' test. OK. So, stick your finger into the ground near the boys, if your finger is dry all the way to the first knuckle. WATER is needed ! Who wudda thunk - knuckle test

The U.S. is rapidly giving weight to the adage :

" if you arm one idiot, you have to arm everyone "

Thusly. I have spent the day re - organizing. Not doing anything, but shifting stuff.  Why ?
Our ' den ' has 3 desks.2 medium and one large. For 2 people - what is wrong w/ that picture ?
I formally, decided CHANGE is due. I brought in a file cabinet [ 2 drawer ] and stacking plastic baskets. Emptied three drawers and tossed a shoebox worth of useless stuff. Unfortunately, I likely kept 8 shoeboxes worth.
The upshot is that the large desk needs to go. It serves as a ' filing cabinet ' or hold all for file folders and loose pages. 28 sq ft of desk that is covered in paper. 2 drawers w/ useless [ maybe ] stuff. Oh, and shredded paper in a clear garbge bag waiting to leave the house

OMG. If my brain is as organized or cluttered as that room - well, it might explain a whole lot of my life.
M approved [ she had to - b/c it was one when she got up ] Really, it will be a better use of space.
Oh, I tossed an air compressor from 20 yrs ago [ at least ] and a ' pig '. The pig is a compressed air tank. You fill the pig w/ compressed air and then carry the pig for portable compressed air. This created a whole shelf free - for ore crap to fill.
I left the compressor and pig plus 6 speakers out on the rock in the lawn. The neighbour took the compressor and pig - then the junkman took the speakers 
BTW, I do upcycle and recycle b/c those speaker cabinet become tables for around the house.
Semi - officially, we go fishing Tues [ we pencilled in the date ]

the Ancient Call

 bring out your dead

Well, I qualify. Too much sun and too long a day. I could barely wake this AM.

Yes, Coffee and typing but its 9:30 not 4:30
We will survive this day
to fight another

And Amazon fever continues. We bought a blanket. Biggie Deal ?

I am anti - synthetic for most clothing and housing items. My big bug -  a - boo is synthetics de - gas as they age. Thus, in a room, synthetics build up gases - most are harmless. As well, burning synthetics are a danger, yes cotton and wood etc burn BUT some synthetics melt.

Do we have synthetics, you bet, everywhere ! This queen thermal blanket is cotton. The warmest, no. But a cover none the less, that is pale blue and [ as of last night - perfect for us ]. The blanket that was replaced is ...... 20 years ...... or more old. Yepper, about time. Oh, it is cotton too.

I recall, say 1964 or so, we were skating on the Credit Rvier in Mississauga or such. Great. Open skating for 3 miles and a bonfire plus the coffee shack - cocoa and hotdogs.
We were sitting there and I saw a girl turn her back to the fire. While, I was watching her pale blue ski jacket developed a pattern like leopard spots - cool. Except, the spots were melt holes from cinders that fell on her jacket. I couldn't say anything b/c .... well it was over. Her jacket stayed together and no fire - of course not - it melted instead.

Alright. Today is dedicated to reccovery. Hydrate, rest and try to act like a human being who has energy. Good luck.

Eat a carp save the Great Lakes. " copi ' is the new name in a marketing ploy to utilize ' asian carp ' and help  control the 4 species

The federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is funding the five-year, $600,000 project to rebrand the carp and make them widely available. More than two dozen distributors, processors, restaurants and retailers have signed on. Most are in Illinois, but some deliver to multiple states or nationwide.

"This could be a tremendous breakthrough," said John Goss, who led the Obama administration's effort to halt the carp invasion and worked on the renaming project. "The next couple of years are very critical for building confidence and acceptance."

And the kicker to this - ' we hope that the program is not too successful, we wouldn't want new ' asian carp ' farms popping up.
You see that is how the problem started. Fish farms grew the carp to control water vegetation. Some carp escaped. Bingo, an exploding carp wave in the Mississippi etc. The carp replace native species by out competing and destroying habitat.

The flavour of the ' copi ' is mild. But carp are difficult to fillet. Chefs have turned to ground ' copi ' in burgers etc. I not a fan of ' veggie burgers ' but ' copi ' goulash - OK, I'll bite !

Why They Call It Fishing

 and not catching

We didn't CATCH so we didn't fish. Great day, sun and breeze. Thank you, rock bass - you saved the day. B/c thats all that I landed.

However, we got away and enjoyed the time. Maybe we are fools [ of course we are ] but being able to use a cottage, the bassboat and fresh air and sport

Gracias, muchacos

a Mini Heat Dome

 is here. A 2 day - r, so not a baddie

Whoa ! Monday and the lumberjacking really took it out of me. And another fishing trip tomorrow. It was today but got switched based on the forecast. 
Less humid and hot on Thursday. We decided ' no cooking ' for dinner. We'll bring in halibut and chips.
Netflix is on the verge of leaving us - I mean that I'll do w/out 4 000 movies OR " hunt a flick "

Tooo ! hot for being in the usn - work in the garage in the shade
YEAH, its only 85 in there. What got done ? Re - organizing the mess. Plus its like a treasure hunt, ' waht did you hide - a - way and where. Alright, the big find - sample bottles for biology specimens. The 2 inch bottles come in handy for travelling size containers - creams etc.

Thats it ? Mostly. I put out a hundred weight of metal, hoping that the junk guys want it. PLEASE !!!!! take the crap. Often they do. 
Once, I left a shower door and trim. One guy comes by and takes the trim [ aluminum ] Boo ! he left the door. One hour later - door gone. Something about ' one man's meat ........ '.

I'll write a sonnet ' the Junkman Cometh ' Hallelujah, y'all

a Tree Fell In Brooklyn

 or Scarbororugh [ sorry to the author of ' a Tree Grew in .... ' ]

plus at the QMH.
Really, folks !
Alright, the truck is in the drive and I hear a CRACK ! -look over and the mostly dead birch tree is moving and bounces off the drive. The tree was 30 ft tall and denuded but still - whack. The trunk missed the truck by 6 ft.
D next door has been waiting for this [ if he took the tree down, the city might charge him for a replacement. ].
In fact, we were both in our driveways.

Thus, we have a thirty ft roadblock and I was expecting the fishing guys. We started to assess the situation and the guys arrived. We moved some small chunks and sawed the main piece to make the weight manageable. After ten minutes, the tree and leavings are off to the side on the boulevard.

We take off for the Q. The drive, gas up and at the cottage get ready to head down to the boat

NOPE !. A large tree limb off a spruce had finally let loose. This branch and its sister had snapped in the big storm [ 4 weeks ago ] however the current ' fallee ' had been hung up by bark and friction from the other remaining branches. I guess gravity took over.

The ' branch ? ' was over 25 ft long and weighed about 600 lbs. I got the bucksaw and gave two branchlets a trimming and said ' no way '. I went next door and borrowed a chainsaw.
Well, 20 minutes and some huffing and pufffing [ me, the others are younger ] and the whole shebang was in man - handle-abe bits.
Come on !!! 2 trees fall on our trip.

The day remained normal. I was mostly skunked and got outfished. Great sun, a brisk wind and quiet.  

Recovery Happened

 for the wildflowers. Most have straightened up and look healthy

Sun. And cool, lovely cool - th. And Europe is broiling, already, at 38 - 41 C

Sunday, I go to the Tiger. This trip is tradition. Nothing on super sale but mini tomatoes were not bad and rye bread [ $3 for a half loaf, but it is real bread ] and lasagna for fishing. Except A. bought the Costco whopper tray - then A got the message
' my flight got cancelled ' !
Echo was travelling home from Edmonton. He called the airport and they said ' what flight ? ' The fliight was cancelled yesterday
So, another night in Edmonton for our boy.

Thus, its 3 fishing on Monday and not 4

OK. Real bread ? At Walmart and SuperStore, bread is a daily special at $1. However, we are talking about ' tissue ' bread. There is nothing to them - well, air.

And the capper for the day. Our main PC was flashing ' Google Ads ' for McAfee and some other companies ' And I mean flash plus the 'pinging sound '. Say, 8 ads in a row. NUTS !

We may have figured out a way to stop the flashing ads. W/ the computer its wait and see. The AI figures out a way to come back

Elusive - ness

 is sleep

Yepper. Woke to P and stayed awake. So, coffee and typing to the ether
Hope you are not up as well.

A cooler day in the offing is predicted. Job 1 is to dislodge a twig or piece of branch in the gutter right over the picture window.

I was watching the ' Great Wall ' [ again ] while exercising, yesterday. Yes, the pretty girls in blue shiny armour - WOW ! I re - looked up, the reviews for GW and discovered a quote from Matt Damon.
" I saw the struggle between Yimou [ director ] and the money people for the film ' Recall, that GW gets lukewarm to poor ' professional ' reviews. Ah, the artist and the capitalists went to war as well, as the Tao Tei.
Bethca, the Tao Tei were less trouble

The gutters. Wouldn't you know the wind blew debris UP as the crap fell from the gutter - right back into the gutter - REALLY

Talk About

localized. We waited out the downpour, lightning and hail and

8 km away at home, M said maybe sprinkles. Where we were trees got snapped and puddles took up whole curb lanes on McNicoll.

Oh, we had dim sum. A. apparently, is doing the ' take care of your elders  schtik ' or  take a senior to lunch. B/c we have lunch about once every two weeks. 
Does he know - that 
a) I miss Chinese or Japanese food. We don't do it much here

b) M thinks that I need the socializing [ I gave up the pub ]

The sun is beaming in and the day is booming. The wildflowers have made a limited comeback. After being smooshed flat in the gutter overflow, the little sprigs are slowly rising [ phoenix like ] " Come on Boys, Rise Up !! "

My Father s Birthday

 was today.

M is very diligent at recalling birthdays. Me, not so.

Ah, coffee in hand and typing away. My social calendar has a luncheon appt w/ A. And a fishing trip on Monday the 20 th coming.

A T - storm rolled through plus hail. The water bucketed down for 20 minutes [ lightning etc ]. Then a blanket of humidity settled in.

The Ides of June

A downpour in T.O. for 10 minutes BUT gutters spilled over and my wildflowers drowned in the overflow. Hope they are as tough as boots

Just pummeled really.

Now, come hot and humid for 2 days.

Alright. The day after, reckoning. Still tired out or run out or out. I'm physically wrung. Now, it was hot and even w/ the breeze down by the water, hard work.

I used a Dirt Devil ' rug and carpet ' spot remover machine. Not meant for whole carpets but it was the boat carpet - all weather deck carpet. So, a lot of area for a ' spot' treater. BUT the Devil comes w/ a scrubber and vacuum for liquid ' suck up '. Sort of ' 2in one ' duty. And, I used ' Dawn ' dishwashing liquid as the detergent. You use Dawn for ' all the cleaning '
Tiles, floors and ALL washing jobs -DAWN. " Delta Dawn " whats that stain that you got on "
Paraphrased from the song

As well, I left the truck out for a rinse. I went out after the rain and soaped the dirty spots and rinsed the soap off. Actually, not a bad job, considering....
We cheated for dinner and ordered Harvey s burgers. Harvey  s is a primarily Cdn company owned by a conglomerate Cara Foods. I was sent an email coupon. 2 burgers, 2 fries and drinks for $ 15 and change

And we loved it ! 

We imported help for seeding from Whitby [ Margaret s friend A. volunteers each year to garden a touch. Her expertise is in borders and she puts in Alyssum for us. I garden w/ a chainsaw or huge loppers. A sort of large effort type of gardening.
I am ratheer good at ' large effort ' gardening. And the bushes pay the price. And I use a swedesaw or bucksaw, too.

Fishing Stories

 go ..... it was this big BUT he got away

except - I had a net. And the smallmouth came aboard the boat.

Could I get a picture, barely. I finally, did ' timer' and lined up the picture. Not the greatest.

I'm wearing the floatation vest

Coming Up to

 mid June

The yellow sun is blasting away. A jumpin' jiminy, kind of day

Looking for validation. OR
What is your most impressive achievement ?

Hey, about ' splitting the atom ' ?
And who invented the popsicle stick ?
[bet they thought it was a tongue depressor ]
or [ an ' ah...h  ..h - stick ' ]

 We needed peanut butter [ I needed peanut butter ! ]. At the Tiger on Sunday, ' ADAM S Only Peanuts - peanut butter ' was on sale [ $1 off }. At home, this morning, I was turning the jar upside down, so that the oil  would mix w/ the solid stuff. The best before date was Ma 24, 2022. Oops !
Back to the store - we were out of coffee too - and returned the Adam s peanut butter. I checked the peanut butter shelf. Yep, the Adam s bottles were best before dated ' 2022 MA 24. But one jar was ' 2021 DE 2018. Does peanut butter die ?
Anyway, I had to settle for Planter s Crunchy PB [ 2023 MR 20 ] see I did look !

Velcro is a winner !

Re - inforcing Info

 well, I watched a video on YouTube hosted by appliance repair dude

and did he back up my advice from yesterday. More or less.

The skinny :

1. side load washers beat top loaders - mostly.

2. American made or branded appliances are usually better w/ lots of exceptions

3. No ice makers. Ice makers create an environment in the fridge that is sure to fail [ love our icemaker - thus, tough luck there ]

4. squirrels destroy washers [ they build nests ]

5. Gas stoves will last. Electric stoves will die if you use self clean.

OK. Weather. We got rain last evening and night ( ? ). The wildflowers got watered mega. The day should clear and Mon - Tues are fair days. Sun, warmth [ not broilking ] and all round days

We had rain but sprinkles really. I left the truck out to wet it down - NO. Drops fell. Figures ....

In the list of life's misunderstandings or misprints -   ' the filter sleeve is transparent plastic so that you can see dirt or debris on the  filter screen '
So says the owners manual. Of course, my sleeve is black plastic. Well, at least, the steps  include taking the filter apart.
Hey, I hope that ther eis a filter inside or I have the wrong nozzle looking thingy

When You ' Google '

 not only do you find an answer [ sometimes ] but you are reassured that

about 2 000 folks before you had the same problem.

Here goes, sharing my wisdom [ god, this will be short ]

Do not buy non North American brand, dishwashers and refrigerators. Our repair guy said ' that those were made not to be repaired '

If you find a non digital appliance - buy it. The digital motherboard on an appliance costs more than the whole appliance to replace

Plant things.

' Love, love, love - its easy

all you need is love

all together now ' [ stolen, of course from JPGR ]

The day is starting out fine. But there is a chance of rain

AND the internet can tell you !

" Sriracha hot sauce maker warns of shortage "

A Sunny Day

 in a green, green world

The canopy surrounds us. We are in the living cocoon of the ravine

Shopping was E Z P Z. Hardly, anyone there - and I walked up to the cashier and Boom ! all done !

" Wake me up - before you ' go - go ' " by Wham

cuz Im not thinking of going solo or ...... Chewbacca

Toruk Machto - rider of the last shadow ( Avatar )

There has never been an age of Toruk Machto ( Star Trek )

Alright, this was supposed to be culture or retro trivia. And besides the ether is anonymous and non - judgmental, really non judging
TG for that

Did It Sound

 a bit whine - y, I mean yesterday s post

Actually, it was supposedly reportage.

Oh, I'm  battling the ingrown toenail affliction again. Online advice says ' NO, to bathroom surgery '. Foot soaks and maybe dental floss under the nail. Yeah, in 2 to 12 weeks the situation should ease. And I thought that I was getting good at the self surgery procedure.
However, the doctor is allowed to do the partial nail removal - but not me

The weather is typical for temperature and a bit rainier than usual. What does that mean ' usual ' anymore, it is what it is.

So, yesterday. And reportage.
I failed to add a decision that I made early, yesterday. Going down the first time to the water - say, 9:30 AM, I said to myself ' 6 times up and down the hill and no more '.
 I reckon my knees, can only handle limited strain from climbing. Thus, when I might have gone down - once more - Nope ! C'est fini. I stopped.

Here is the wildflower bed as it is today

You're supposed to be ' wowed ' bythe progress. Aren't you ?

A Fishing Run

 up to the Q'

Weather co operated and thats it.

Thus, I go down the 60 steps to the water. Lovely scenery and ... a 12 ft log or loggy branch lies over the marine rails. The wood is water logged and floating low.
Solution. Back up the steps and grab the chest waders. Back down. Waders on - I moved the log off the rail and shove the wood to the side

While, I'm dressed for it, I figured that I'd check the rails and in fact, braced the pylons to make the rails more even. Good

Okey dokey. I start by taking the tarp off the boat. I'd noticed earlier in the year that the linkage for steering the motor was dry looking. I squeezed some grease into the linkage. While looking, I operated the engine lift mechanism and it was noisy - greased that as well.

The boat is loaded and rolling down the rails. No problem. I have the boat floating at the dock ........
Did I put the plug in ?????? Ooh ! not really. Yes, boat comes back up and the plug gets put in. Dum Dum !!!
Finally, ready to head out. Very quiet out there, maybe 3 boats in mile or so, in view.
One small bass and some tiddlers. But a peaceful day.

You have to make choices - we know that. The grass around the boathouse was a foot and half high. I thought ' trim the grass, now and it won't be thigh high next week. Well, the waders were down there, so, I put the waders on and trimmed the grass down. 
Waders ? I've used the trimmer before on thick, long grass and brush. I pay for it w/ itchy skin and sneezing.
Well. No problem. Sweaty. But no allergy symptoms

That was my fishing day. Oh, and I vacuumed the living room rug. The rug needed a go over b/c it hadn't been cleaned since the power outage up there -two seeks ago. A good deed, indeed.

' In Inclement Weather

the people are fay
ten thousand years stories
as the night fades away '    from Giant by Stan Rogers 

Stan Rogers was a Canadian folksinger. He died in a plane crash [?] and way too young. He sang about Canada and performed in his homeland almost exclusively [ I think }

Stan Rogers is part of the running joke in our house. W/ the tendency to play Canadian music, we say that CBC has poor taste in music [ for us ]
however, I heard Stan Rogers and sent away [ yes, I wrote to Stan's mother to order his CD ]. And subsequently, I could buy his music commercially. M is not fond of Stan Rogers [ too folky for her ]

Recently, Stephen Colbert was asking then guest Michael Buble about Stan Rogers and sea shanties. They ended up singing ' Barrett's Privateers '

Rain is thrumming !

Two stories :

1. My android phone alarm sound wasn't working only to discover that YouTube [ called media on the phone ] had no sound either. I struggled through resets of the clock app, and the sound system. Nope. I tried different fixes from the Google advisor - no luck. This work took place over two days. Well, my cousin- in - law out of New Mexico dropped by. I said ' can you make my alarm sound '. I handed her the phone. Right back at me ' you had do not disturb ' ON ' - really ???? Crikey.

I had seen that option and turned it ' on then off ' but no joy. Now, you realize that it was ' on ' but I turned it off and then ' on ' once again.
Truly a ' DUH ' moment.

2. A simple chore for today. Job 1 .... clean the lint out of the dryer exhaust system. Remove the back panel and withdraw the actual sleeve that connects the drum chamber to the outlet for exhaust air. 
History. 5 years ago, after watching a YouTube video in which a presenter takes out a ball of lint, close to a baby kitten in size. My lint ball was surrounding the channel but not blocking the tube. Say, half a baby kitten.
I wrote a reminder to clean the sleeve again.
All goes well. There are a few scraps of lint in the sleeve and I vacuumed everywhere that I saw fluff.
Alright, put it all back. Sleeve is in place, drop the first screw into the drum chamber. Fished the screw out w/ a magnet [ 5 minutes ].
Drop the screw again - yup, same screw. But its not there in the chamber [ I guess ].  Searched w/ a magnet. Shook the dryer. Searched again. This time its 1/2 h of looking. I opt for a replacement screw or a close match [ 5 minutes }

I call for help to hold the parts in place. Re - assemble the back, only to find that I left a screw in the machine housing  - so it wouldn't get lost. Yep, off comes the back and loosen the screw.  Finally, the back goes on.

You can guess the rest. Move the dryer back into place and KICK the missing screw. Obviously, under the machine. BUT I find 2 screws !!
So, we'll wait for the machine to ' clank ' or rattle and then put the right screw in place.

Ah !!!!!! 

It Was th 6 th of Jun

 when the Allies landed on Normandy Beach.

Well, the wedding weekend turned out to be a winner.

A chance to meet relatives and especially after an almost 3 yr hiatus from contact. However, it is becoming obvious ' the cousins ' are getting older in leaps and bounds.
One cousin is dealing w/ heart trouble at 60. And b/c of all sorts of factors 5 cousins not 24 were together. In fact, a cousin from down South dropped by for a visit. The picture that I showed from quite a while ago, shows about 7 missing people from today.
Oops ! 

Weather : we get rain in heaps for 30 hrs. Estimates may see 6 2 inches of rain spread over not too long. Ducks look out. Sorry, thats a conversion error. Two inches in 20 hrs is a bunch

' Coming Home '

 Well, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

OK. Sunday is supposed to be quiet. But in T.O. the city shts down roads. Big ones
We reached the city limit and saw brake lights. Yeah. We soon relaized that bad was not that bad - we were doing 35 mph, not good, but moving. Then real slow and I said ' here it comes - the split for express and collector lanes '
Well, there it was. Everything started to fly and kept it up all the way to home.
Yes. The ' the city that works ' [ T.O. s sometime nickname ] 
Worked.

However, we weren't near the three shut down roads [ w/ a Blue Jays game down there as well.

' Wedding Bell Blues '

 is a Laura Nyro song

' Will you marry me, Bill ? '

We are on the road for a wedding.

So, instead of one night we decided to make it a road trip. 
Sun is beaming and the long range pegged this for a 70 something day w/ sun. Here s hoping that the weather gods get it right

The rental has Roku, TV relay or such. I get to watch ' Deadwood ' the moive

Terrific wedding. Modern. Young. Real young. They're pups

Crikey, everyone is a pup .....

The food was tasty and plentiful

Busting Out All Over

as in ' June is busting out all over ' Wow ! sunny and bright, no rain in sight

the weekend starts a winner

Oops ! there were showers and lightning [ sky got dark too ! ]

We are on the road. One hour and 20 min down the road                       [ that s Google map time ]
except it took 55 min to clear the city.
 On cue the # 401 and the QEW [ bottom of the city ]
were being used to evacuate the city
b/c I swear that there cannot be anyone left in the place - they were on the road beside us.

We found the best pub in Burlington [ not Vermont ] by driving by. Well, for beer they offered Newcastle brown ale. The entree was Yorkshire pudding stuffed w/ steak pie. Or.... a yorkie steak
Delish.

The sun is trying to reappear

And. Did I mention that the ' Dune ' DVD was only Pt 1. Good. B/c I won't need to buy Pt 2

Cozy Sunny Main Floor Guest Suite Near RBG

Reads the advert for our short stay. RBG BTW is Burlington Royal Botanical Gardens.

It seems not only did we pick the best pub in Burlington but as well our supper was from Easterbrooks, a Burlington institution since 1930.

Although we didn't have their ice cream - well its early and we 'll have a chance tomorrow

our News

 from the Grreat White North [ above the U.S.A ].
You can sit on your plane at the airport for an extra 30 minutes to 2 hours. The extended stay is free. If people ask why you sat there, say ' oh, we were waitng for the customs and security lines to thin a bit '

There is a shortage of third party security personnel. Customs is understaffed a bit. In truth, that 2 hour wait is rare. Mostly, its 30 - 45 minutes on the plane. Canada, still retains COVID protocols that require in person checks w/ staff.

However, in true Cdn fashion, the delays will ease in a month - maybe. We've been promised more hirings and expedited training for third party workers. As well, CV 19 checks will be simplified.

Welcome to Canada ! Do not move from your seat, thank you.

Approx 8 - 10 years ago, Toronto had ' the summer of the gun ' - well, we've replaced that year w/ this. Oh, its been building up but this year, we've achieved real status in gun deaths and shootings period. AND we have not hit the hot weather, yet. Apparently, we shoot better when its sweltering. OR guns aim better when the metal is warmer.

We passed the first heat warning of the year. Ah, it was a 2 day event. We are cool w/ rain and then warm w/ sun. 

Further to the lead:

Montreal couple forced into 14-day quarantine for failing to fill out ArriveCAN entry app

FYI - ArrivCan is an online form that organizes your Passport and health card w/ info on vaccination status plus your travel time. The ArrivCan app [ valid for 3 days ] is to be presented at border crossings. 

OK. My crown is in place. The chip was severe and the fillings meant that there was not much tooth left to attach anything to.
The crown is beautiful. But thank goodness that I can chew on that side

the Numbers Are Right

 the thermostat says 74 F but I was warm upstairs. Couldn't get back to sleep after waking.

Thus, on Jun 1 at 5:30 AM, I'm typing and drinking the first coffee of the day.
BTW, I'm taking Vitamin D3 as a supplement. The hope is that the ' D ' will aid in sleep.
Recall. I've stopped using a computer screen before bedtime. I do fall asleep more easily or more properly, I can sleep, it seems. In a vlog, yes, its Cecilia from Svalbard [ Miss Polar Night ] she, actually, did bloodwork to check Vitamin D levels.
Even taking 4 000 IU [ no daylight remember ] she found that her Vitamin D levels were barely adequate.

Anecdotally, she commented on the tiredness that she and her partner seemed to feel. There is a need as well to keep up calcium levels b/c calcium levels amy fall as you take Vitamin D. This effect is due to the use of calcium in bone foramtion etc.

Aha ! its all connected.

The heat falls off today but the humidity soars, so the real feel will be the same as yesterday. Yick - a - roo.

My ' wildflower ' garden. NO, not the big pink one b/c thats plastic. Look real close above the grass [ green ] and see the little shoots. That white line is the string line and the white rectangle at left says               ' wildflowers '. The goal is for you to see the wildflowers before the gopher or rabbit or deer find the stash

Yesterday, was work day at the Q'. A. must have explained what he wanted to do [ or implied ] - his phone is often fuzzy. Or I'm fuzzy. His aim was to lay down plastic interlocking tiles [ black ] to surface the back deck. He was solicitous of my health BUT it was smokin' out there. And I couldn't let him do it all.

I survived, today I am out of it  - tired or wrung out