Global warming ... is over?

Yeah so this was the weather Timmins woke up to this morning. It was only a few weeks ago that we were enjoying sunshine and warm weather, but now this ... yeah, I know, I know... climate change. Well climate is what you're supposed to expect. Weather is what you get.

Books, books and Bo Duke!

So I have been reading like a fiend in the past few weeks, and even though I feel guilty spending so much time reading, it has been worth it. First of all the nice weather changed into yukky rainy weather for a while, so it was good to grab a cup of Red Rose and bury my nose in the pages. Since March 30th I have gone through six books and I am about two thirds the way through the seventh book!

The latest book is a Ken Follett novel called World Without End, which is a sequel to Pillars of the Earth, one of my all time favourite books. The woman at Coles told me I should go back and re-read Pillars, but I didn't take her advice. Now that I am so deep into World Without End, (about 1000 pages with SMALL print) I think I will take the advice and go back an re-read Pillars. This stuff is like chocolate. Some of these books are so excellent. So I am making a new list of authors I haven't read for awhile and I will be visiting the book store soon. If you haven't read Follett's stuff lately, treat yourself. Pillars and World Without End is all about life in small villages in feudal England from the tenth century to the 13th century. Amazing stuff. You won't be able to put the books down... real page turners. I did break away from the books for awhile yesterday ... I went out Saturday night with friends. We all ended up at a house party playing a game of Rock and Roll trivia. I feared that I wouldn't know a thing about it ... because I don't much attention to the "new" music. Well it turned out to be about rock performers from 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Luckily I knew my answers. Neil (the music expert in the family) would have been proud.

Planning some fun with Tyler and Nathan

Spent a bit of time on the Internet last night planning a trip to the big city with the boys. It's going to happen in June. Haven't worked out all the details yet, but I know we will be staying in a very nice hotel. That's my travel rule... always get a nice hotel room and you will have a good trip!

ATV Adventure

Easter Weekend was a bit more fun than I imagined it would be. I was pleased to be able to get down to Westree to the Alexander camp to spend time with Jennifer, Scott and her boys Tyler and Nathan, Don and Denise Alexander, along with Christine, Dimitrios and Victoria. I got into relaxation mode right away. As soon as I arrived, Denise was serving appetizers. We had all wonderful seafood dinner, and there was a fabulous full moon Friday night. We sat around the big fire and enjoyed drinks and conversation.

Saturday proved to be a big adventure. It was decided we’d go on an ATV ride and have a picnic at a nearby lake. So we head out on what was supposed to be a two hour trip. But the trails were a bit mucky in places and that slowed us down quite a bit.
The real fun began we came to a part of the road that was washed out. The washout was old and was not supposed to be much of a challenge. But the beavers had been at work creating dams, so there was too much water to cross the washout. There was a bit upper dam with the big pond behind it and a lower dam with a small pond about a metre deep.
I took a minute to enjoy the fact that we could see a couple of the beavers working on their little house in the middle of the pond. Look right in the centre of the second photo.





After a bit of discussion, Scott and Don determined the washout could be crossed if they could figure a way to lower the water level in the lower dam. I thought, No Way! But Scott and the boys set to work tearing out sticks and mud from the lower dam with their bare hands. Well, what do ya know? After several minutes the water began receding. Don was able to cross the washout with the bigger ATV, but a couple of the smaller bikes had to be “walked” across the upper dam. Sure enough, those fellas did the job and got everyone across. Who would’ve believed that?

After awhile we all stopped by a perfect Northern Ontario lake and had pop and sandwiches. No wonder Westree people smile a lot. After that nice little break, we made our way home. The two hour trip took more than four hours, but it sure was fun.

Happy April

I got a real kick out of the fact that the boys called Saturday morning with BDay withes for old Papa Lenny. It was fun to chat with them. They're still kids, but they talk about lots of interesting things... they're pretty thoughtful. So yes Saturday was a good day to buy myself a gift. Sure enough, I found myself browsing the shelves at Coles where I picked up two news book by two of my favourite authors, Ted Bell and Ken Follett. So that will keep me occupied for a week or two. I also bought an apple pie! Got home, put the tea on, cut a slice of pie and began reading. Before long it was nine oclock. I forgot all about the Earth Hour thing about shutting off lights for one hour. I sure wasn't going to read in the dark. So I poured a Jameson and drank a toast to all the environmentalists out there.
So today is April and that means it is Tyler's Birthday. No foolin! He is twelve years old. I will get to see him on Friday. That will be fun.Here's a pic of Ty and Princess Curly Mom in Timmins last summer.
April will also have Earth Day. I know that the local school kids head out on the local highways every year on Earth Day to pick up litter. It makes them feel good. So I am going to do my part. I will take my Tim Horton's paper coffee cup and toss it out the window that day, so the kids will have something to pick up and they will feel so good about themselves.


Just Kidding!!!