Where do you eat?

We've considerably changed the location. TV dinners have become the norm, not when family visits, of course. In the good old days, 'family' dinner was sacrosanct. Many times hubby worked late, and I had meetings. Retirement brings changes, too.

In the meantime, with our cat issues: Dorah has her own food, Annabelle is on diet food, Buster has to have his wet food laced with his Rx in the evening. Annabelle often offers to help everyone finish their food, except for Daisy. Daisy thinks wet food is for chumps, and tries to cover it up as if it is poo. She and Buster are a good size, not too fat. It is complicated!

Breakfast in bed. Since Buster bullies her.

Dinner by the fire with his special medication!

Somebody likes to eat on the table. She likes to finish up any jam someone leaves on his plate. She likes to 'read' the newspaper, too.

Where critters eat is an interesting point of view! The special Robin suet has gone to the birds... Grackles. I moved it, to get a better photo of them. I'd made some suet, to put into Fat Head  and thought I might as well hang up the rest of the stuff in the pot.

 

The crows have taken to the deer food. They are shy. Just a small movement at the window and they are gone! I love watching them hop.


I love my Fat Head. So do the woodpeckers.


We still have (at least) a pair of robins. They like the sumac berries.

Tim Horton's Brier!

We like to watch curling. It is better than watching reports about Trump, AKA Drumpf. has been fodder for comedians.

His failures and bankruptcies are numerous.

Hubby watched the Tournament of Hearts women: Scotties. Daisy liked them. She won me a broom, which we donated as a fundraiser.

Next: the men, in Ottawa. Tim Horton's Brier. That is this weekend.

It makes me laugh, since Ottawa journalists aren't aware of curling, for the most part. Ottawa is a hockey and soccer town, methinks. Curling is more for rural peeps.

I identified Glenn Howard, curling legend, for CBCOttawa!

Hubby prints off the matrix. It's not great. In the bottom section they list teams by geography. Seriously! West to East. They could be listed alphabetically, or by the date of the games played. It frustrates him no end.

Drugging and driving

Many of us have fought long and hard for the right to use medical marijuana (MM). I've had several clients; with catheters or colonoscopy bags (or both), some with unmitigated pain, who would benefit from certain strains of MM. One client, whom I escorted to the pain clinic in Ottawa, unable to afford it she was told to find a kid in her neighbourbood from whom to buy some.

This has been the whole argument around MM.

Then there are the 20-somethings. Little remorse for drugged driving, at least amongst Facebook buddies.
 Arrested...

"after the vehicle lost control on a curve on Hwy 416 at around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 and slid into a tractor-trailer in North Grenville."

Continue reading...

His Facebook page makes for dubious reading...

Mailbox madness

It's supposed to be March Madness, but it was mailbox madness.

My mailbox was tipsy, after the big storm. Garbage wasn't picked up. In hindsight, I bought the wrong kind. The previous one was metal, I thought the new one would be a good heavy-duty one. Turns out, it is meant for the two-piece ones, like those in the 2nd photo. Whoopsie.



I didn't know how to attach it. The holes were too large. According to the side of the box, you can buy this plate, but I still didn't see how. It's amazing how many US products we get. It meets the US Postal Service guidelines, the box brags!


I figured out that I could use the above brackets, inside the box, and screw them length-wise on the inside of the mailbox. Thanks to my specialty drill attachments It worked out. These are two pieces, the elbow attaches to the length extender. Yay, Lee Valley Tools!

It was a cold, cold day. (Duh!) I was wearing my sunglasses and couldn't see the inside of the dang box, either. I sort of felt my way. I was cold, peeling off my gloves, but inside the mailbox, in the sun, it was warmish.

The rural mail truck came by. I told her that I was dubious that it was going to work. She handed me my mail.

File photo!
Right-hand drive!

Traffic zipped by, but I got the job done!



My water bottle froze. But we've got mail!

Book Review: Deception On His Mind

9th of 19 books!

This is a log series of books. I like to latch onto an author's mystery series, to see the development over time. It's rather like a long movie. This series was tricky. Elizabeth George is wonderful. I began the books, then realized that the library didn't have them. Next, we took off to a used book store, where they had some. Borrowing hubby's Kindle, I chose to download two of them, just for posterity.

The book series was begun in 1988, and the last was published in 2015. I like the development of the various themes. This one deals nicely with racism against certain races in the coastal town. It adds to the tensions and .

What has caused a slow-down in Kindle buying, and other eReaders, is that the books aren't any cheaper on an eFormat. The two I bought were $13.99 apiece. What the heck! My hard copy was $9.99.  Then, I discovered that one book (A Suitable Vengeance–1991) was a prequel. Did that ever tick me off! I am sure my fellow book club fiction authors could tell me how and why an author would do this. Anyone?!

Anyway, she is a creative writer, with an amazing vocabulary. The two books I read on Kindle were enhanced by the dictionary in the toolbox. (That was a learning curve!) They all take place in England, and you really ought to read them in order. I found, too late, this list: Books in Order. Hubby printed it off so that we could take it about with us.

They (Books in Order) also state:

Elizabeth George’s books have not only thrilled readers across the world, they have wowed audiences on television for six seasons. The-Inspector-Lynley-Mysteries (Masterpiece | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | PBS – 2002) is a BBC-television series based on the characters and stories of Detective Inspector Thomas “Tommy” Lynley of Scotland-Yard, played by Nathaniel-Parker. The series also featured Lynley’s partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, played by Sharon Small.

Elizabeth George

Elizabeth George
Writer · elizabethgeorgeonline.com
Susan Elizabeth George is an American writer of mystery novels set in Great Britain. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley, 19 in number as of 2015. Wikipedia
Born: February 26, 1949 (age 67), Warren, Ohio, United States

Book Review: The Forest

THE FOREST

This is a massive tome. I really enjoyed it. It is 784 pages long! One cannot finish it in one sitting, and it takes time to digest it all. I thought it amazing. There is such a epic story that shows the how human changed over the years. It covers 6 families, of varied segments of society, over 900 years all who live in this 100,000 acre woodland in southern England.

He is a prolific author and I truly enjoyed his style. It is a rich, amazing book, and I have thought of it several times, and suggested it to a number of fellow bloggers. Life in Canada is very different from these anciently civilised countries, where the land has been inhabited for ever, resources are exploited and people vie for work or land.

It is an historical fiction, and I enjoy seeing how people's lives have changed from a Hunting and Gathering Society, to Agricultural, and so on. With technology, as well as the changes biopsychosocial and emotional changes over time, it makes for a thoughtful read. (I taught Primary/Junior student teachers one semester: Social Studies-Mar. 2005.  This would have been a good background read. )  

THE FOREST (2000) is the natural companion to SARUM. From the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day, the New Forest, which lies just south-east of Sarum on England's southern coast, has remained an almost mystical place, famous for its deer, ancient oaks, thatched cottages and forest ponies. It has also been known for smuggling, the building of great sailing ships, and witchcraft. 

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@Barrie Summy

From hunter - gatherers, to techies! Life sure has changed. I first began working on this PPT while trying to teach my grade 6 students the differences in hunting and gathering societies, then agricultural societies, and on into the newest eras.

History of Nepean, Ontario from Jennifer Jilks

March is here!

Time to take down the Valentine's Day decor and put up the greens. I listened to my wise friends, like poster boy  for physical fitness: septuagenarian Red, who told me to take it easy 'till Spring. I just loathe looking out at the broken branches, knowing I'll have to bash away at them. I have a bruise on my arm, which is my only incident so far!

I never have really celebrated St. Patrick's Day, since I'm not Irish! Also, In 25 years teaching, we were always on March Break on March 17th!
Since hubby is of Irish decent, what the heck! I complained that I didn't have a green flag. He bought me one, as well as a happy shamrock!

The Golden Goose had a bit too much to drink, and she's got a hat on her head. Silly goose! I've since removed the heart, but that was a two-day process.

You may question Frosty's outfit, but he is dressed for March Break vacation –in a warm clime! I think he could visit Cloudia or Kay, in Hawaii! I'm sure he would be welcome!

P.S. When I was out re-attaching a mailbox, a woman stopped, in her car, lowered her window – in the middle of the highway– to tell me how much she enjoyed my decorations! That was so nice.


P.P.S. Hubby went out to check out my flag, and the wind blew hard and broke the post. I'm so sad! I shall fix it later. I think it calls for duct tape!

2012 and 2013!