Good Karma...

Life is good. I am totally relaxed after a nice Easter weekend in Westree. This morning I enjoyed a fabulous piece of leftover carrot cake with coffee for breakfast that I took home with me, from my visit with Don and Denise and the family. Denise has outstanding bakery talent. But the best reason for visiting is to enjoy the great hospitality and the chance to unwind. It is so calm and peaceful there. On Saturday I was sitting on the front porch reading and then I stopped for a bit to enjoy the quiet. A short time later, I realized I had dozed off while sitting on the porch. How relaxed is that? It was great to see everyone too. Jennifer and her guys were there, so the visit was just excellent. The grandchildren are all getting older, quickly it seems. But Westree is where they do have fun. Denise organized a scavenger hunt for the kids and within minutes they all roared away on ATVs. When Victoria,Tyler and Nathan got back more than an hour later, they were all full of stories and laughing hard. I know these are times they will remember for years and hopefully share with their own children someday. I knew I had some good Karma coming my way. A couple of weeks ago, I went to renew my driver's licence and to purchase new licence plate tags. The girl at the counter forget to charge me for them. I only realized it when I left the building. So I drove back to pay the $170 owing to the Ontario Government. The poor clerk was so pleased that I returned to pay. I figure this past weekend was my reward. The other good thing is that there is a new TV season for Downton Abbey. It is a fabulous television series on Netflix. I watched three episodes last night before finally giving up and going to bed at 1:00 a.m.

The nice people I work with ...

The local media gang in Timmins gets along quite well. Many of us meet on a regular basis to socialize and enjoy each other's company away from the work environment. So with one of our group leaving Timmins to pursue a new job down south, I decided it was my turn to have some company, with a farewell dinner for Paige. It was nice. One of the nice things was that it also forced me to do my spring cleaning. That took about three days. I also enjoying cooking. The menu was pasta primavera, shepherd's pie, glazed chicken with mac salad; a cheese platter, a veggie platter and an anti-pasto plate. Zoom. Everything went. The fun thing was that some of the people were working and so they dropped in after their assignments to eat, chat and laugh. The big surprise came from Lydia, a local TV reporter I've known for several years. She showed up with a very nice birthday cake... a very big cheesecake in fact, complete with two candles, one a six and one a zero. I was indeed caught off guard, but I liked it. So thanks to Lydia, and Emilie, and Paige, and Paige's mom Lori who was in town to help her move, and Amelia, and Nabi, and Shane, and Blair, and Steve, and Brent, and Daniela, and Joey. ***** Also, congrats to my niece Valerie and her man Dennis. Was so pleased to see the photos of the wedding in Arizona. Was also pleased to see my son Neil there, along with several of his cousins who made the trip from Timmins.

Birthday gift ...

Whew, I am 60 now. A freakin' senior citizen in some circles! Anyway I got a nice gift yesterday ... in a way. March 31st was the first day of special hearings into improving health and safety for miners in Ontario. The hearings began in Timmins and I was there to cover them. I have covered hearings like this before, in the 1970s and the 1980s. Miners are still being killed in underground accidents. More miners have died in Timmins in recent years than in any other single mining camp in Ontario. I do feel strongly about this. I am glad that more will be done to try to prevent more deaths.