A refreshing day for Jenn.

Tomorrow (Saturday Sept.12) is going to be an uncertain day for Jennifer. She will begin her chemo-therapy. She is a bit worried about it. But her spirits were sure high tonight when we talked. I think part of that is because she had enjoyed a refreshing shower today with the help of the nurses. She said it sure beats those bedside sponge baths. How much we take for granted eh?
Jennifer also had a visit from Denise, Line and Amy, (her mom-in-law, aunt and cousin) who were able to bring her outside to enjoy the sunshine for awhile. How nice is that? Jenn says she also enjoyed her physio-therapy session and is feeling good about the feeling and strength in her legs… it’s not complete yet, but she is optimistic. She is also practising her balance for sitting up. She says it is amazing how much we rely on our stomach muscles to do things. She doesn’t have full feeling of her abdominal muscles so that’s a challenge right now.
If you read the posting earlier today, you will have noted the information about Care Mail. Jenn says it works. She got my first message today. I plan to send more messages whenever the mood strikes me. But the best part of the day, for me, is the wonderful long talks we have. What a treat that has become.
So let’s hope the chemo-therapy does what it is supposed to do. Jennifer knows she will be feeling poorly, but her main worry is the fact that she will be prone to infection if any germs get through. Scott told the boys today that Jenn is off limits for kisses for the next two weeks; hugs only and lots of hand washing. The upside is that the side effects of chemo-therapy are said to be only temporary and will end once the treatment does. My worry is that with all this H1N1 Flu going around, somebody might be a carrier of the flu bug and not know it. Regardless, I am going to take my cue from Jennifer and keep smiling.

Care Mail!

Denise sent me a wonderful e-mail this morning telling me about an excellent service provided to Sudbury Regional Hospital patients. It's called Care Mail. It lets you send an e-mail message to a patient, which is then printed up by volunteers and the message is delivered to that patient's room. What a nice thing. So if you want to send a quick note to Jennifer you can send the e-mail to her attention at room 4665 of the Laurentian Hospital cancer treatment centre to caremail@hrsrh.on.ca.

I already sent a message this morning to see how it works.

Jenn's new room

Jennifer had her final radiation treatment today; at least for the time being … She said she was happy to do it. And she is feeling pretty good. Next is the chemo-therapy treatment. The medical staff told her that Friday is a day off to relax and gather her strength. Then on Saturday the chemo begins. Jenn says she is pretty sure she is ready for it. She says she has been eating lots and lots. But for Jenn, that’s a relative thing. Jenn was never a big eater. She weighed 120 when she was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago, and she lost a bit of weight since then. She says she is learning to like the hospital food, but she was spoiled today when Junior sent up a deluxe Greek Salad and Bruschetta Bread. If you’ve ever eaten at Pat & Mario’s you know how good that is. On the other hand, I’ve known Jenn to eat only half a dessert of chocolate cheesecake. Who could possibly do that? How on Earth can anyone stop eating cheesecake? Oh well, that’s Jenn. Good thing I like leftovers!
Anyway, she has had her PICC lines installed… they are the double-tubes that will carry the chemo-medication inside her body. They’re inserted through a vein in the arm and go all the way inside her to a point near her heart. You can read more about it here: http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Chemotherapy/Linesports/PICCline
Jenn’s cousin Valerie and Dennis dropped by for a visit today. Jenn said she was happy to see them since they just returned from a vacation in Newfoundland. She said they helped her move down the hall to her new room.
Oh by the way, Jennifer has a new room. She is now in room 4665 at Laurentian Hospital’s cancer treatment centre. If you are able to call her, the toll-free number is 1-866-469-0822. Jenn said she loves the room because it’s the same size as the regular ward room but she has it all to herself. And she is happy that it has a window too. I know Jenn really misses being outside. She and Scott and the boys live in the country and they like it like that. If you look in the Archives over there on the right side of the page, check out September ’06 and see a photo of Jenn and Scott after a day of fishing. She was the “pickerel princess” back then. Anyway, Jenn is pleased the hospital has put an extra cot in the room so that Scott can spend more time there. She figures she will be in the hospital for another month, and so she is already planning a few movie nights with Scott and her boys.

'Kick it in the ass' said the doctor!

Jennifer was sure upbeat tonight when we chatted. It amazing how much we can talk because anyone who knows me knows I am not much of a phone freak. Anyway, she said her Oncologist Dr. Pedro Lopez came in to her room today and had a nice long talk and Jenn says he is sure speaking positively. I sure feel good about that because I am thinking the doctor wouldn’t speak that way unless he was feeling fairly certain there will be a good outcome. Jenn says the doctor is confident the radiation treatments have done much to shrink the original tumour. Today was her fifth round of radiation. Jenn quoted the doctor when she said he told her there is a “very, very good chance we will kick this thing in the ass.” Dr. Lopez also said the effort now is not just to deal with the cancer but also to eliminate it. On the other side, Jenn says she expects the chemo-therapy will begin tomorrow or Friday. The chemo is to kill the cancer cells in her blood. She says she has been told she will lose her hair within a week. She is putting on a brave face, but I know she will miss it because Jenn has always had long beautiful hair. She is also preparing herself mentally for the challenge of dealing with the weakness and sickness of being on chemo-therapy. She also says that as soon as she loses her hair, Scott has promised to shave his head as well. That doesn’t surprise me. Scott is an amazing man. I told Jenn that she and Scott are truly lucky to have found each other in their lives. She says she was also told that her hair can grow back differently. We laughed and joked about whether she would be a chatty blonde or a wild redhead. Once the chemo-therapy begins Jennifer will be moved to an isolation room. But there will be a phone there and I will post the phone number here. By the way, she was pleased tonight when I read her some of the comments that so many people are posting and sending in e-mails. I too am so pleased at the love and kindness so many people have shown her. Let’s all keep good thoughts.

Three phone calls to get through...

Jenn had another busy day today. The first time I called she was on the other phone with Scott. The second time I called she was getting a bath. On the third try, I got through. Yes she was busy, but she was feeling upbeat about her physio-therapy. She says she is feeling more sensation in her legs. But the medical staff was quick to suggest not to get too hopeful too soon because there is no guarantee all feeling will come back. Jenn is hoping that the radiation treatments on the leftover part of the tumour still near her spine will eventually shrink that tumour to the point where it no longer applies any pressure on her spine. Also she is grudgingly getting used to being poked with needles. Today they took a bone marrow sample from her hip and she has to give blood samples every morning so the lab can check her blood platelets. The one thing she is a bit worried about is how well she will handle chemo-therapy. She is a strong woman, but that sort of treatment can be upsetting. We will all be there for her.

A nice Labour Day morning...

I chatted with Jennifer today and she was in such a good mood. She had her second radiation treatment this morning and is feeling optimistic. I think she is glad that something is being done and she is so hopeful that progress will be made. Jenn says she already misses the nurses at Sudbury General, but I am sure she'll soon be friends with the staff at the cancer treatment centre. I didn’t get a chance to see her this morning because I had to head out early to get back home. It was a nice quiet drive along Highway 144 and I enjoyed watching the sun come up. At one point I pulled over on the highway for a stretch, a yawn, a whiz and a scratch when I noticed how pretty the scenery was as the fog lifted off the lake. So I snapped a photo.

Busy Sunday eh.

Updated news about Jennifer. She had a radiation treatment today at the Sudbury Cancer Centre, which is part of the Sudbury Regional Hospitals (Laurentian Hospital) at 705 523-7100 Room No. 4661 (Bed 2). Or if you are out of town, call toll free at 1-866-469-0822. I tried the number and got as far as the switchboard, because her room line was busy the times I called. I haven’t seen her today, but Scott says she is doing okay. The boys and I had a good day. We enjoyed a very nice barbecue at Aunt Line and Uncle Mo’s place. The burgers and sausage were grrreat. Line’s cream cheese-caramel dip dessert was fannnntastic! The boys had fun swimming and once we got back to the house, it was such a warm day that we spent another half hour in the pool. It was also nice to spend time with Victoria, Christine and Demetrios.I also took a nice photo of the kids this morning. Tyler just read this over and says its all cool!

Leukemia

It was a long, long day at the hospital today for Jenn. The nice part was the fact that Scott and the boys headed out early with Buddy in the back of the truck. Jennifer loved seeing the dog and yep, she got all teary-eyed. Later in the day Christine, Demetrios and Victoria arrived from down south for a visit. Danny and Collette arrived from Timmins as well. Candace’s husband Ron also dropped in for a quick hello. And then Uncle Mo and Aunt Line dropped by for awhile. So Jenn was indeed pleased with all the love and attention. She also had a visitor from the medical team who informed Jenn and Scott on the type of cancer she has. Jenn has something very similar to Acute Myeloid Lymphoma, which is a form of Leukemia. It’s hard to say much more than that, except it is not a welcome ailment by any means. I don’t know much about Leukemia and I am not willing to speculate on what it all means. Jenn was told it will likely mean her treatment will consist of radiation and chemo-therapy. She admits she is not looking forward to the treatment, but says she does want it to be done so she can get better. Jenn was upbeat just before supper when she was able to move her toes and her ankles too. She says when she concentrates, she is able to do it when she looks right at her feet. So as a test, we put the blanket over the feet and I held her toes. I said try to move them, and she did. It was so cool. She was upbeat enough that we snapped a nice photo when Danny and Collette were there. Click the pic, Jenn looks pretty good eh. Jenn and I also enjoyed a few moments of making smart aleck remarks about the world in general. It was so nice to have a good laugh.

More wine and a manicure please...

Jennifer had a good day on Friday with more visitors and more flowers she could imagine. She really enjoyed seeing everyone. Cousin Candice dropped by along with one of their lifelong friends, Carol Chamberlain from Earlton. It was a great day for those girls. Jenn says she may take Candice up on her offer of getting a bottle of wine and sitting around and doing their nails! Her CT scan on Friday went well so that the medical team could take another tissue sample of the tumour for a biopsy. It wasn’t as puzzling as expected. Scott and Jenn were told than in order to determine the exact type of cancer, the lab people needed another tissue sample. It seems there are many, many different types of cancer and knowing the exact nature of the cancer will allow them to respond in the most effective way. Scott says he and Jenn have been told that Jennifer will likely need radiation treatments. Sometime in the next week or so, Jenn will be transferred from Sudbury General over to the Sudbury Cancer Treatment Centre at Laurentian Hospital to begin her treatment. Today promises to be another good day. We'll keep you posted.

The latest stuff...

I saw Jennifer last night and it was so very nice to spend some time with her. I got into town just before her bedtime, but the nurses were kind enough to let me sneak into the room for a bit. And if that wasn't enought, Jenn had saved me a piece of chocolate cake! Woohoo. What a good kid she is. So Jenn is looking well and she is in her usual good spirits, but I think she is getting tired of being stuck in a hospital bed. The physio department has provided her with a wheelchair and she also has a daily workout with the physio therapists, which she really enjoys. Scott said she was working hard enough to work up a sweat, but after a couple of hours of that she really enjoys hitting the bed for awhile. She is able to move her toes, and she has "twitching" in her legs, but other than that, Jennifer is still "numb" from the waist down. That is certainly concerning and puzzling. There is no indication how long that will last. Jenn says she will take it one day at a time. She is learning to move from the bed to the wheelchair on her own. Like Scott says, she is very independent. Also today, the medical team is taking another biopsy from whatever is left from the tumour on her spine. That's a bit puzzling, but Scott sees is as being more frustrating that worrying. That's because they have to do another CT scan so they can pinpoint precisley where to insert the needle for the biopsy. Scott doesn't like that Jenn has to endure more discomfort than is necessary.

Jennifer is also the animal lover in the house, and when Scott showed her a new movie of Buddy romping the yard, Jenn got all teary-eyed. So Scott and boys will be bringing the dog the hospital parking lot on the weekend, so Jenn can see him. If you haven't seen Buddy lately, he is a massive white husky about the size of a bear. (click the pic!) I snapped a photo of him this morning after we waited with Tyler and Nathan at the school bus stop. The boys were pleased I was in town. As usual, we honoured the tradition and we had chocolate cake for breakfast. We have to save some cake for the weekend. The boys' favourite cousin Victoria is heading north for a visit.

Hoping she gets smart-alecky

What a change from this time last week! I spoke to Jennifer earlier this afternoon and she was in good spirits and feeling a bit tired after a session of physio-therapy. She was waiting for Scott to get her lunch from the restaurant. Her boss Junior says he doesn’t want her eating hospital foods so she has to order her meals from the restaurant menu everyday. Jenn’s a salad hog… wait till he finds out how much lettuce he’ll be missing. : ) . I will be visiting her soon and more of Scotts family will be heading for Sudbury as well. It’s going to be a full house. Can’t wait to see Jenn. Can’t wait for her to start getting smart-alecky again.

She hung up on me!

Just kidding. Actually it was Jenn's cell phone battery that cut out. I spoke to her this morning and she said she has had so many calls from friends and well-wishers that her battery was just about done. She said 'Dad, if the phone cuts out, it's because the battery is dying...' Yeah, right! Jenn is still in the Sudbury General hospital and was having a good day today. She said the nurse was washing her hair and today she begins the physio-therapy on her legs.

Overall, it's a nice, nice day eh.

Much better now...

Updater! Scott just called to say that the results from the CT scans done on Monday show no more tumours and no more cancer for Jennifer. Scott was so happy. Scott said it gave him goosebumps to finally pass on some good news. We both laughed. Damn, it's great to get good news. I can't wait to chat with Jenn again.

Feeling better

We’re sure feeling better today about things. I spoke with Jennifer last night and then again this morning, and it was a great to hear her. She sounded much better than she has in the past few days and said she was feeling better too. She said she had some feeling in her toes. The best part is that she has had lots of visitors dropping by. Even her boss, Junior, dropped in with a take-out supper -- Jenn said it was much better than the hospital food. It’s kinda nice when your boss runs the biggest restaurant business in Sudbury. The boys were up to see her and she says they will be dropping by after school today as well. She also said she is grateful for the many expressions of kindness from so many people. Jenn has her cell phone with her, so if you know the number, give her a call. If you don’t have the number, e-mail me and I will send it to you.

Let's all keep a good thought eh.

I spoke to Jennifer last night, and she was in some pain, but overall feeling better. I could tell by her voice that she is nervous about today. Today is when she will have a full body CT scan so that it can be determined if there is any more cancer in her body. We are all hoping and praying there isn't, but we have to be realistic as well. The good thing is that Jenn is determined to fight whatever is ahead. Like Scott told me, "she's a tough as nails".

On the plus side, I will be picking the truck up from the shop this morning. $14.95 for a fan belt. Whew... that sounds reasonable. I don't know what the labour charge will be. Keep smiling.

A few days in hell...

It was Thursday that Scott called to say Jennifer wasn’t well. For a couple of weeks now, she had such a sore back that she could hardly sleep at night. For several days, her only sleep was on the couch propped up with a bunch of pillows. Scott took Jenn to the emergency room several times and the doctors said they couldn’t pin down what was wrong. Jennifer was having severe back pain along with numbness in her belly. First they thought it might be muscle pain, and then they thought it might be a kidney infection. Then Jenn was out grocery shopping with the boys last week and she was having difficulty walking. She couldn’t feel her feet as they would touch the ground. Finally, the hospital people decided to do an MRI. That was Thursday and that’s when they discovered the tumour on Jenn’s spine. What a shock. A tumour! Where the hell did that come from?! Jennifer has always been healthy and fit and always makes a point of eating the right stuff and being safe and healthy. So our big question was, is it benign or malignant? That doesn’t matter said the doctor. He said we have to cut it right now and take the pressure off the spine.
Seeing her in the hospital bed was heartbreaking. Scott was hurting so much to see his sweetheart like that. Jenn and I spent some moments talking and she saw the fear in my face and I saw the fear in hers. She reached out and grabbed my hand just like she did 20 years ago when she first came to Sudbury General Hospital. She was in high school then and was washing dishes one night after supper when she seriously cut herself on a broken glass. I remember seeing the cut and telling Jenn we’d have to take her in for stitches. She was terrified then and I remember being with her in emergency when the doctors sewed up her hand. She had a fierce grip on my hand. It was the same thing a couple of days ago. Jenn grabbed my hand and held it hard. We both knew how scared we felt. We both had tears in our eyes. Jenn was worried for the boys. Thank God Scott’s Mom and Dad, Denise and Don, drove in from Westree to look after the boys and keep the house running.
On Friday, the surgery didn’t happen, but Jenn was prepared with anti-biotics and then steroids to reduce inflammation.
Friday night Jenn seemed in better spirits. I sat with her and Scott for awhile and then she said she wanted to walk. So Scott and I held her arms and we walked all around the hospital. For a moment I was so encouraged, but then the reality of it hit me… Why did we have to hold her up? Why was she losing all feeling in her legs? What the hell is going on?
This morning as she was getting ready for the surgery, things were not better. She had less and less feeling in her legs. I tried to be positive. I told her Jenn - you’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna get through this. Jenn seemed to sense my own fears. “I love you Dad,” she said with tears. “I love you Jennifer,” I said as I started crying. “I love you Dad,” she said again. I couldn’t talk. I could barely see as my eyes fill with tears.
I had to come to Timmins this morning for a few hours. I cried all the way home.
This afternoon, Jenn was still in surgery, I showered, put on fresh clothes and started driving back to Sudbury. My thoughts were everywhere. I barely noticed anything. Suddenly steam started coming out of the engine, from under the hood and then through the vents in the truck. The engine was overheating because my fan belt broke. I sat on the side of the highway for a couple of hours waiting for a tow truck. We dropped the truck off at the shop and I got in the door just before 11:00 p.m.
Scott says Jennifer came out surgery okay this evening, but not everything is okay.
It broke Scott’s heart to tell me that the tumour on her spine was cancerous. The tumour was also bigger than expected. The surgeon says he hopes he hopes he removed most of the tumour, but says he is not sure. Tomorrow Jennifer is resting and recovering. On Monday, the doctor says she needs a full scan, head to toe, to see if there is any more cancer. I spoke to Neil some minutes ago. I could tell by his voice that he too has a hard time accepting this. This is all so unhappy. I can barely write anymore. My heart is broken.

FROST WARNING!

Yes, it's hard to believe for August, but Timmins has it's first frost warning of the "fall season" for tonight! Oh well, such is life in Timmins.
ENVIRONMENT CANADA: Forecast
Issued: 4.00 PM EDT Wednesday 26 August 2009
Tonight:
Clear. Low plus 2 with patchy frost.
Thursday:
Sunny. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud in the afternoon. High 15. UV index 6 or high.

Grumpy stuff

Saturday Things:
I am grumpy about phone voice systems… they keep telling you to hit the Pound Key! This is the Pound Key - £. They really want you to hit the Number Key, which is this - #. I sure hope somebody else speaks up about this.

Don’t argue. I got into an argument this week with a guy on the phone. I was fed up about something else, but this guy didn’t like something in the paper so he called to B*tch about it. Well, I B*tched right back. It wasn’t nice. I should really know better. We agreed he should write a letter to the editor. That should be interesting when it arrives.

Lost any socks lately. Yeah, me too. For about two weeks I have been wondering where my socks went. Today I went to throw a load of clothes into the dryer. Woohoo… there was about six pairs of socks in there.

I will be going to the library today to do research. I notice lots of kids go there on Saturdays… but nobody reads books anymore… they’re all on the internet. Everyone thinks Google and Wikipedia are research. Hmmm… they’re not. They will point you in the right direction, but always check it out. NEVER trust the internet.

I having buying beer lately, but not at the Beer Store. In Ontario we have Beer Stores and the Liquor Store. Lately I have noticed that its cheaper to buy beer at the liquor store!

Hmmmmm. That is all for now.

Sabre makes a comeback

I am sorely going to miss seeing the annual air show at the Canadian National Exhibition this year. When I was a kid I went with my Dad often. When I grew up, I took my own kids many times. This year the Ex air show is featuring a CF86 Sabre fighter jet, in the colours of the Golden Hawks. What a fabulous plane. I remember seeing the Hawks when I was a kid living on the airbase at Portage La Prairie. The Hawks would land there often. It was a time when Canada’s air force had real fighter jets for an air show team. The Snowbirds are nice, but nowhere near as cool or fast or good looking as the Hawks. Interestingly, in those days, the jets were not required to fly at a safe distance from spectators. Flying low and fast right over the crowds was done often. The Sabres were fabulous birds and even though they were created by the US, the Canadian-built version was actually faster since it carried the Orenda Engine. And oh-my-god they were so fast. I remember seeing one zooming over the field at Portage. It was like a blur. There was not a sound. That’s when we knew to cover our ears. It was breaking the sound barrier. Then the sonic boom hit like the sound of the throat being ripped out a dragon. What a thrill! When we lived in France, the Canadian Sabres were screaming over the base all the time. Canada had two complete fighter squadrons there and they would patrol over northern Europe back in the days when we all hated the Soviets. If you want to see the first flight of the “Hawk One” Sabre, go here: http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=605190c0
Photo Credit: Canadian Forces Combat Camera

Just some stuff...

Saturday morning and it’s a hot morning in Timmins. I shouldn’t complain. We’ve had so much rain this summer that it’s nice to get some days without rain. But the heat just comes on so quickly. I spent the night flipping my pillow trying to find a cool spot on the cotton. The only thing I enjoy when it’s hot is my cup of coffee.
I went to grab some photos last night as the Trailer Park Boys were at The Mac. I didn’t hang around for the backstage stuff. I find concerts just too crowded and noisy. Its one thing when I’m working, but I can’t relax with all that noise. They keep sending me free passes to concerts, but I don’t find it relaxing. It didn’t help that the arena was sweltering. It had to be 35 degrees in there. The show itself was as funny as I expected. But I couldn’t believe some people brought kids to the show. How dumb is that? I went to bed early and got up early. It was 6:00 a.m. and I suddenly had this craving for stew. Then I remembered that I had a really good beef stew at Jennifer’s place a couple of weeks back. Funny how cravings happen. I had coffee and chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

Grrreat weekend

It was sure a nice weekend. I got back into town last night after visiting Jennifer and Scott and the boys. It was nice to just relax and forget about everything. Jenn and Scott live in the country and it is sooooo quiet I actually slept eight hours! I was able to spend time with the boys and we went out to a restaurant where it was fun to order dessert BEFORE our meal. So we had a round of chocolate fudge sundaes as appetizers. I was able to snap a nice photo of Tyler and Nathan because they're great guys and really cool brothers for each other. The drive along Highway 144 was interesting. Aside from seeing two bears, I also noticed there has been plenty of claim staking going on near the junction of Highway 101 near Timmins. Prospectors are finding lots of new gold zones out there so it seems everyone is looking to cash in on the action. I could easily count at least a dozen claimposts along the side of the highway. And even though I was tired getting into town after a four-hour drive, I stopped at Wal Mart to grab a few things before going home. That's where I bumped into Aline who was on her way home for supper. So I was pleased to enjoy a nice hot meal of lasagna, garlic bread, red wine, chocolate cake and ice cream!

Friday, another summer Friday : )

The sun was shining in Timmins today, but only briefly. I was out in the bush for a bit and saw a very nice blue flower. I don't know why, but I like BLUE flowers. So i snapped a nice close up. Hmmm... maybe i should make it into a nice framed print. It's a nice close-up if you click on the photo.
Today was also interesting because there's a bunch of people over at the college tearing apart old cars. It's an auto-extrication competition for small town fire departments. It's interesting because small town firefighters are usually the first ones called out when there is a bad auto crash on nearby highways. These guys have to know their stuff and how to rescue people who get trapped in car crashes.Also had a nice chat with Jenn this morning and it was good. But I feel guilty because I haven't seen the boys in awhile. I will have to do something about that soon eh.

In other news that day...

On Thursday I posted a photo from the front page of the Toronto Daily Star showing news about Apollo 11. If you noticed at the very bottom of that page, there was another interesting news story that happened at the same time. Yeppers,... That's when U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashed his car, drove off a bridge and left the scene of an accident and a woman in his car (wait a minute, he was a married man!) was left to die. Her name was Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy did not report the accident until her body was discovered the following day. It was a HUGE scandal back then.

End of an era

Walter Cronkite’s death on Friday indeed signifies the end of an era in journalism. He sure was admired, mainly because he was a straight shooter… no B.S. about Uncle Walter. I have read his book “A reporter’s life”. Interesting that Cronkite noted that TV journalism is losing its edge with soundbites being as short as eight-seconds. He also noted there is too much “entertainment” in TV news. “There is a powerful lot of junk on our airwaves.” Well said, Walter.

Hard to believe it was 40 years ago this day that the Apollo 11 rocket lifted off on the moon mission. I know my friends and I were amazed. Some of us wondered if it was really possible. I remember watching TV and seeing Walter Cronkite on, hour after hour, explaining how even though the rocket was travelling three times faster than a bullet, it would still take three days to reach the moon! I kept a copy of The Toronto Daily Star newspaper from back then. I took it out last night to read through it. Amazing times back then. The real funny part is there are still people who believe that it was all fake, that Apollo never actually reached the moon. Check it out here: http://www.newuniverse.co.uk/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_accusations.html

Timmins rocks!

Construction in Timmins usually means there has to be some blasting. There is just so much rock all over the place. When somebody says Timmins rocks, they usually mean it literally. I was waiting in traffic on Ross Avenue today when the road crew had to blast the big rock on Texasgulf Road... That rock actually used to be an island because at one time this whole area was underwater as part of the original Gillies Lake. (Click on the pics to see 'em full size!) Here are a couple of shots; one taken just before the blast and then another taken seconds afterwards... ....BOOOMMMM!

Crazy times eh

Well it sure has been a crazy week since I was here last. Aline and I made the trip north to James Bay, but it was overcast and raining. The train was more than two hours late arriving on the coast and then it was late leaving, and then it was more than three hours late arriving back in Cochrane. Thank goodness for the trip to the liquor store where we grabbed some Bacardi Breezers and drank them on the sly! We did meet an actress, author and opera singer on the trip. All the same person! Quite an interesting lady she was. Also met a fellow from Washington DC… he gave me his business card and he was from the US State Department -- and get this -- he was the Director for Political Affairs in Iraq. Okay, I have read too many spy novels. This guy is not from Foggy Bottom. He had Company written all over him! But he was nice to talk to.
Anyway, the train trip was 20 hours of less-than-great travelling. But I did manage to beat Aline at Crazy Eights somewhere around Otter Rapids. She will deny it of course.
Work has been good this week, but today I had to write an obit for an old friend. That sort of ruined the day. Jim Prince died of a heart attack Wednesday. That just sucks. Jim was just a damned good reporter and broadcaster. I’m sorry I didn’t make the time to check in with him more often.
Had dinner at Aline’s place with her Mom and Dad. She made barbecue pork chops and mashed potatoes. I like meat and potatoes. With all the fancy foods we can pick from these days, it’s nice to have meat and potatoes.

The Flag March

Timmins has a nice tradition which has been on for nearly 15 years.Every Canada Day, rain or shine, a group of local citizens takes part in a flag march, and they walk a couple of miles to a local park where they sing O Canada. And sure enough, even though it was raining steadily this morning in Timmins, the people were out with the flags and smiles. It's a nice thing. So Happy Canada Day.

Oooh Yuck... stuck in the muck!

Every now and then something unusual happens in Timmins that raises the level of conversation at Tim Hortons.This is summer road construction season and so its not unusual to see large pieces of construction machinery around town. Except one poor fellow decided to move his excavator off the road and got too close to one of the swamy areas near the old Hollinger Mine tailings. Schlurrrp! He sure had that sinking feeling Thursday. They had to build a new section of road to rescue the excavator... they got it out Friday afternoon.

Good movies!

Saturday night is good for movies. I watched a great one last night that I hadn't seen in years.
The Joy Luck Club. I liked it years ago and I liked it again last night. I recommend it highly. Amazing story. The screenplay was written by author Amy Tan, the same person who wrote the original novel. I will have to find a copy. Hmm... I am betting Jenn will really like the movie.
And because I was at the video store I picked up Clint Eastwood's latest film... Gran Torino. Really good story. I watched it this morning with a pot of coffee. Eastwood is always great to watch. The ending really surprised me though. Never saw an ending like that!

Good Saturday morning, people.

What a nice morning in Timmins. Only 16 degrees so far. I have been up for awhile; put the coffee on; made a fresh batch of muffins; got two loads of laundry on the clothes line and read about 30 pages in the latest novel I am devouring. It's amazing what happens when the weather is "nice" eh. I must be getting older. I am working on a story about how young people in Timmins have managed to find an open pit mine filled with water and they go "cliff diving". There was a time when I would have thought it was a cool thing to do. But now I can only imagine how crazy dangerous it is. Because it was a former mining operation, there are slabs of broken razor-sharp rocks everywhere.
I had a nice chat with the Jennifer and the boys last night. Those kids are amazing... Both Tyler and Nathan had excellent report cards and they're all excited about the first week of summer. By the time you read this, their cousin Victoria will be on the road for a trip of a lifetime to Newfoundland with Don and Denise. I imagine they'll have a fabulous time. I sure hope so. And Jennifer and Scott and the boys will soon be heading off to a place called Great Wolf Lodge, sort of a them park and luxury hotel all in one. Aline and I are planning a trip "down North" next week. Here's a hint. We might see a Beluga.
Well now that poor Michael Jackson is dead, the rumours are alive and well. Even though the autopsy indicates no foul play, the conspiracy theories are already spreading. It seems that MJ may have been the victim of over-medication. I can just imagine what the supermarket tabloids will be writing. I will predict that Elvis is involved somehow. LOL. Stayed tuned. Keep smiling.

Too darned hot.

It's just after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and already the temperature is 25. It has been crazy hot all week. On Monday, Timmins was the hottest place in Ontario with 32 degrees. I have to find a lake soon and get cool. I am NOT a warm weather person. Oh well, lots of other people seem to be enjoying it. I just close my eyes and think about how much I enjoy snowshoeing!

Father's Day

Father's Day is nice only because I remember how lucky I am that I have two truly amazing children... They're adults now of course, but they're both kind of special and unique and I am so blessed to have them in my life. I never took any training to be a Dad. It just sort of happens, but I am glad to be their Dad. Yup, Father's Day is good.

It's still June eh?

It's funny how I feel guilty when I haven't dropped in here with a note. Usually in June, there's lots going on that I write about. I have just been lazy. Some good things have been happening with my life. One is that Neil dropped by Ontario for a visit and was able to see plenty of his friends. He stayed at the house for a few days and I think the best part was that he was able to just crash and take it easy without any pressure to go anywhere or do anything new. The warm weather has arrived in Timmins and for sure there are a few forest fires going on. Luckily Northern Ontario is so huge that there is no serious threat to any towns yet. Interestingly the entire area of Southern Ontario, stretching from Windsor all the way to Ottawa to North Bay, doesn't even make up one-tenth the size of Ontario. I took a hike in the bush the other night and the bugs were pretty bad. But it was nice to hit a few bush trails and feel the breeze through the trees. I even heard a loon, but I couldn't get close enough to the shore to see it. It has been pretty warm though for most of the week... temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s! That kind of heat just saps all the energy out of me. So I have been hiding in my cool rec room and reading a lot. I promised myself to get over the the library to do some more research as the Wintergreen group is planning to publish another history almanac to make the Timmins centennial. I was thinking about that when I was out on the trail near Simpson Lake Wednesday night. Goldcorp is turning most of the mining lands back to a natural state. After 100 years of industrial abuse, it is amazing to see how quickly the bush restores itself. It's not perfect, but it sure is getting better.

Park with the cops!

It was a great weekend. So much going on and I was on the run Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes when I park, I just pull over into a fire zone (my friends at the Fire hall won't be happy to hear that!), but it's always good to get cozy with a cop car when you park illegally. That makes it real hard for anyone to give you a ticket. ; )
More good news. Got a text message this morning. Neil is back in Ontario for a few days and he is heading for Timmins. I guess I will have to stock up on a couple of cold ones. ...or I could just give him all the beer that Jennifer so generously left in the fridge after her visit. : )

Cool riders

It was a good weekend. The RCMP Musical Ride was in Timmins to help celebrate the 100th anniversary. I was allowed to pose a shot on the shore of Pearl Lake. It was also cool to watch the riders going through town. The horses were stabled at the McIntyre Arena, but the performance was at the Hollinger Park, so they rode through town.

Cool cruisers eh.

Timmins has done something interesting to mark its 100th anniversary. The local police service has come come up with a new design for its police cars to mark the occasion. The new black and gold design was unveiled last week and is winning a lot of approval locally. I think it's pretty cool. And at night, the gold trim is super highly-reflective. That should make it interesting for anyone getting pulled over.

Michaëlle Jean is too cool.

I don't care what any bleeding heart Europeans think, I think Governor General Michaëlle Jean rocks! She went to the North and met The People (literal translation of the word Inuit). She showed them great respect by engaging in their traditions and she ate a tiny raw piece of a seal's heart. Of course this action just flies in the face of the decision by the European Union to impose a ban on all seal products. I think it's a fantastic gesture. And I say to hell with the Europeans. Like my Dad used to say, we saved their asses twice in two world wars, why don't they just shut up. LOL. That is my rant for this week.

Lucky me! : )

Woohoo! I must be special. I just know I am lucky. This is what arrived for me at work today... flowers and chocolates! I even checked out the card, and it wasn't a mistake. Of course, working at a newspaper, I always figured I was the nosiest person in the office. It seems everyone else around here is just as curious as moi! Interesting eh?

A nice weekend... and poutine too!

What a grreat weekend. Jennifer was in town so we could drop by at a nice family gathering for Gerry and John. It was indeed a nice time to see most of the gang again and everyone seemed especially happy that it looks like the warm weather is here to stay. Jennifer asked for a weather update before heading home. We fired up the airport weather frequency only to hear there is a FROST WARNING for tonight. It was still nice enough this morning get two loads of wash out on the line. I took it easy most of the day and did something I've never done before. I enjoyed a take out order of Poutine from the famous Chez Nous store in Timmins. Apparently it's where Shania would hang out for poutine. It's also the first ever time I have had an order of Poutine. Oh I tried a taste of it before, when Neil used to come home late at night, but up until today when Aline treated me, I've never had a full feed of it. It tastes great, But I think I will be on the treadmill early tomorrow morning.

100 years of gold

It has been mentioned here before, but it's worth mentioning again because of a couple of things I have seen. Last night I got up close and friendly with a rare piece of high-grade gold. It was found in the Dome Mine in 1928 and sent off to Toronto where it sat in various government vaults and offices. Yesterday, the Ontario government gave it back to Timmins since the city is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of gold here. It is a gorgeous sample. (click the pic) This is the sort of stuff that prospectors drool over. The Klondike gold rush was seen as one of the greatest in history, but it lasted about five years and yielded 12 million ounces of gold. The rush is still on here in Timmins. It has been 100 years and 75 million ounces! Sometime in the coming months, the newest mine, Lake Shore Gold will officially go into production. They've already identified a million ounces in their ore zone. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited on a scavenger hunt to find things that represent what Timmins is all about. I found something interesting that I now have in my office... although I am not sure it's legal to do that.It's a genuine four-foot long claim post. The claim was staked in a remote area north of the city. It was left in the bush some years ago, but its not that old because the claim tag is aluminum. They used to be brass. Either way, i think it looks cool.

Snow on the morning after the long weekend!

So here is a photo I shot at 6:30 a.m. today as I was heading out to the office. I threw a copy of Friday's paper on the windshield so you know this is not a joke shot saved from last February. Look at the snow on the truck and the neighbours lawns! Can you believe this is May19th? LOL Lots of grumbling at Tim Horton's this morning.

The list.

A friend recently e-mailed a copy of their list of things to do and things they have done. It's the thing now to have a "bucket list" as outlined in the popular movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was inspired. I am working on a bucket list, but I already have a wacky list so far:

I have slept outside in minus 35 temperatures and taught others how to do it.

I have interviewed five Canadian prime ministers. (Trudeau, Clark, Turner, Mulroney, Chretien)

I have interviewed one PM’s wife.(Mila)

I was at the controls of a cargo plane flying through the Eastern Arctic one night with five tons of frozen halibut from Greenland. The real pilot had been drinking and needed a snooze. He woke up a few hours later so we could land in Sanikiluaq.

When I go canoeing, my blood pressure goes down.

I once went 14 days without a bath or shower. I was on a northern canoe trip and this sure helped keep the bugs away.

I was in a coma for three days from injuries after falling out of car when I was a kid, which might explain why I think I have a problem when I read.

On the other hand, I read about two books a week.

I dread going to the dentist. But my dentist says it’s okay to have a shot of whiskey before going in for a check up if that’s what it takes to calm down.

I am blessed with two grandsons. I marvel at how smart my grandkids are. They are probably no smarter than any other kids, but I enjoy talking with them and am amazed at what they see and how they think.

I am afraid of heights. I don’t like ladders and that’s why I don’t put up Christmas lights. This does not include airplanes. When I am in a plane, I don’t mind hanging out the door upside down to shoot photos.

I was a smoker for 22 years. I quit a two-pack a day habit when I was 32.

I am an airplane freak. If it flies, I like it. When I go to air shows, I go to the display area and touch the airplanes. Some days I go to the airport, just to watch planes take off and land. Some of my earliest memories as a child were of living on a jet fighter base and hearing supersonic jets taking off day and night.

I also like trains, especially older trains. But not as much as I like planes.

I once rode a freight train through the Rockies from Banff to Revelstoke, through the Spiral Tunnels and the Rogers Pass. It was awesome.

I don’t like hot weather. Anything hotter than 25 and I am uncomfortable. I am okay with cold weather.

I got horribly drunk on lemon gin when I was 14. I chopped down a tree in a city park, puked all over the place and passed out.

I woke up early on Christmas morning when I was six and opened all the gifts. My mom didn’t think it was funny when she found me playing with stuff that was supposed to be for my brothers.

I have been in five oceans. Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Mediterranean, and the English Channel… but that’s not really an ocean is it?

I ate raw caribou in the Arctic once. It wasn't exactly a sushi feast, but it was good.

Forest fire season

I don't usually do this, but I am putting another person's photo on the blog. I think this is the first time. OPP Sgt. Mack Pettigrew got a nice shot of a flying fire tanker at work south of town this week when they closed the Sudbury highway because of a forest fire. Apparently, despite the fire, there were still patches of snow in the bush! Only in Northern Ontario eh. And wouldn't ya know it, with the long weekend coming, we've got rain in the forecast for the May Run.

Finally...

Clothesline weather is here in Timmins. I have been doing laundry for the past two days 'cause I love the smell of clothes from the clothesline. Gotta tidy up the house a bit. Jenn is coming to town next week. Better get rid of those dust bunnies eh.

Busy, busy

Saturday morning, the coffee is good and I am a bit tired. I stayed up late last night watching that old favorite with Bogart and Bergman, ...Casablanca. Watching it on Blue Ray HD TV was amazing. Each time I see the movie, I get a kick out of seeing some of the characters in a new light. I really enjoyed Claude Rains in his role as Captain Renault. I think I am on a classic film kick. Last week we sat down to watch The Magnificent Seven.
I was happy to attend the Ontario Mine Rescue dinner in Timmins last night. Some people may not know it, but Ontario mine rescue began in Timmins 80 years ago, in 1929 after the Hollinger Fire Disaster. The dinner was nice. They were honouring the winners of the mine rescue competition and the 80th anniversary of mine rescue. It was great to meet some of the older fellows I worked with years ago, and I did take some pride in the fact that I was once a Drägerman when I was a hardrock miner. It has been 25 years since I left the mine, but it's nice to see the guys every now and then.
Blogging here is a fun thing and I am happy to advise that a very nice friend of mine has joined Blogging. Victoria is Scott and Jennifer's young niece and she has started a blog to outline things going on her family and I enjoy it because it's about her and Tyler and Nathan. It's pretty cool. You can see the blog here. http://familybuzz-victoria.blogspot.com/ Nice work Vic!

May 1 and SNOW!

I knew it! Here we are, the first day of May and the snow in Timmins is all melted on the roads and grass... but the snow still fell from the sky for more than hour today! You can see it there in the photo. I was heading out of the office just after lunch when I decided to shoot this pic. I don't think it will last... but it sure is annoying.

Happy Day Neil Michael Gillis!

Woohoo. The young man is 29 today. Pretty soon I am gonna have call him Mister Gillis! Keep smiling Neil.

Pontiacs

It is sad to hear that General Motors is phasing out the Pontiac line. I always had a fondness for Pontiacs because my Dad liked them. He bought his first new Pontiac in 1965. It was the same year Uncle Rannie took the train to Toronto and he bought one too. I remember the first time I drove a car on a public road was my Dad’s new ’66 Pontiac Laurentian (above). We were living in Toronto and got hit with a snowstorm. Dad didn’t take the car to work but called the base to be picked up in a staff car. He told me to move the car and shovel the driveway. Yes sir! So I shovelled like crazy and when the time came to move the car, I didn’t merely move it to another part of the PMQ parking lot. I decided to take the long way around. I drove the car out of the parking lot and around a few streets and then back onto Sheppard Avenue. I was 12 years old. I could barely see over the dash and reach the gas and brake pedals at the same time. It was a hoot. People kept staring, but I just kept driving. I got back to our neighbourhood and parked beside the road. When Dad got home I could tell by his look he was wondering how the hell I got the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. He didn’t ask. I didn’t tell. A few years after that, I was thrilled because Dad bought another Pontiac… a sleek new ’69 Parisienne, which was the Canadian version of the classic Bonneville (below). This was the car I drove all through high school. Cool or what?

Maybe it's spring... maybe

I've started putting away my winter clothes. I have this funny feeling that this might somehow cause a turn in the weather. It has been nice weather all week. The snow is melting on the lawn. There's still about two feet of snow there, but it's going away fast. I wouldn't be surprised if we had one final winter storm. It has happened before. A few years back, I think it was 2001 or 2002 we had a late cold snap and there was ice on the lakes for the May 24 weekend. The river is open but there is still ice on many of the local lakes. Oh well. Back to putting the clothes away... I am also bagging up any winter clothes I did NOT wear this winter. Those go to the Salvation Army store.

Food stuff

Monday morning was a good start to the week. There was a communion celebration in Aline's family on the weekend and somehow a nice piece of cake ended up in my fridge on Monday morning. It was a nice breakfast.
While on the topic of good food, I have to confess that rice pudding is a really nice desert, and very easy to make. Here's a tip: Uncle Ben's makes great rice. But don't buy the bag of rice that is pre-flavoured with garlic. It just doesn't jive with rice pudding.

Melissa heads west

In my rush to write Sunday, I forgot to mention that we all had a nice little get-together last week at Casey's. Melissa, Ray and Diane's youngest daughter, is moving back out west. She'll be living the good life working at a golf resort in Victoria. We are going to miss her, but I have a feeling she will be burning up the e-mail lines in no time. And of course, Neil is happy because he has another west-coast beer drinking buddy to call on now.

Such a nice weekend

This was a nice Easter weekend. The weather was perfect. The highway south from Timmins was clean and clear Saturday morning, but there is still plenty of snow in the bush and even on the boughs of the spruce trees. I got to Don and Denise’s camp at Westree in time to enjoy a great cup coffee and say hi to everyone. And of course, everyone was there enjoying the day including Christine, Demetrios, Victoria, Tyler and Nathan. I was so tempted to stay for a late breakfast… the house sure smelled good, -- but I had decided to move on to Sudbury to spend the day with Jennifer. She has a new job and had to work on Saturday. It was a good thing I dropped by since Jenn took me out to dinner Saturday night, and even paid for the Guinness. We got all caught up on the gossip. Sunday morning was nice and lazy, and oh soooo quiet at Jenn’s place. Jenn made brunch and then I hit the highway to head back home. I think spring is finally arriving. I stopped at the chutes north of Onaping Lake to snap a photo. The water was running high and fast and the snow is melting quickly.

A good day eh.

Today started quite nicely, thanks to couple of birthday cards (yes, I finally picked up the mail!). I received two fabulous hockey cards from my grandsons, showing off the achievements of couple of outstanding little guys who are the most important hockey players I know. Do those guys look cool or what, especially Nate with that missing tooth! I just had to celebrate. So I grabbed the last two chocolate cupcakes I had and decorated them ... and named them for Tyler and Nathan! And then I ate 'em for breakfast. Yum yum! Thanks guys!

Well the weather has cleared a bit today, but the forecast calls for snow on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday... cloudy Thursday and Sunny on Friday! I just know that spring is on the way.
Spent about two hours clearing the driveway yesterday. Actually, the shed door was iced shut and I couldn't get at the snowblower. But once I did (after chopping away the ice), I finally got the driveway cleared. Went out to see Aline's new mega screen TV. Watched an old movie and had brie with strawberries stewed in Amaretto. That was good. Got home to discover that the plow drove by our street and created a new snowbank in front of the driveway. I was tired, so I put the truck in four-by-four and drove over it. Sometime today, I will have to get out and clean that mess.

Snowing again!

It has to be my fault. On Friday morning I put the truck into two-wheel drive. The roads were clear and dry. It had been four-by-four all winter. By 2:00 p.m. Friday we were getting slammed by another snowfall. By suppertime, it was a blizzard. Then the power went out in the North End of town around 8:30 p.m. It came back on after midnight. This morning I found out that police had closed all highways into and out of Timmins. Highway 144 from Timmins to Sudbury was closed. Highway 11 between Timmins and North Bay was closed.
Here's the Environment Canada forecast from this morning:
Issued: 5.30 AM EDT Saturday 4 April 2009
Snowfall warning in effect.
Today:Snow at times heavy and local blowing snow. Amount 10 to 15 cm. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60. High minus 1.
Tonight:Snow. Amount 2 cm. Local blowing snow early this evening. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light overnight. Low minus 5.
Sunday:Light snow ending in the morning then cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries in the afternoon and evening. High plus 1.
Oh well, so we are all stuck in town. ...well, my goodness, why would anyone ever want to leave Timmins?

How do ya like them Apples!

Just to bring you up to date on my Mac problems... I took the G5 into the Apple repair shop yesterday. The guy at the front rolled his eyes and yelled to the guy in the backshop "Another Apple for ya..." The guy in the back shop just groaned. I described the problem of the monitor blacking out, and he advised it was common with Apples. Why, I asked. They just do, he said. And they're expensive, he added. How expensive, I asked. He went to his computer... which by the way was a PC... in an Apple repair shop. (Oh, the irony!) Fifteen, he said after punching in a few keystrokes. Hmmm, I thought. That's not so bad. Yeah, he said, fifteen hundred dollars with all parts and labour. I nearly choked, then I grinned at the thought of breaking this news to the boss. The repair guy explained that Mac parts are "good parts" but they're very expensive. I asked, what if we just hook the Mac up to a different monitor with a long cable. Yeah, that should work too, he said.
Mac Repairs:
Their solution = about $1500
My solution = about $50
Explaining it to be boss = Priceless.

It's April!

What a day. Busy as heck. Today was Tyler's ninth birthday... woohoo... can you imagine that? I got a phone call from Tyler and Nathan last night. They sang to me on the phone. It was soooo funny! Jenn and I had a good chat as well. And Neil called too! We yakked and yakked like a couple of old women(as my Dad used to say). I also got a call from my fave sister Debra, but I wasn't home. She left a very nice message. But here's the funny part ... just to be sure I knew who it was on the phone, she said something like, 'oh by the way, this is Debra...". And her call came in AFTER I wrote up yesterday's entry in the blog, in case you read the comment attached to the March 31 posting.(good thing there is a time stamp at the bottom of each entry)

I think the warmer weather is gonna hang around this time. We got 20 centimetres of fresh snow on the weekend, but I don't think it will last long. I still have the snowshoes rattling around in the back of the truck, but I think I will put them away on the weekend. I was out in the west end tonight and I noticed the river is open. There is still plenty of ice, but the water is flowing pretty strong. It will be a few weeks yet before the big melt begins and we find out whether there will be flooding. Then between May and June, it will be forest fire time. And then... you know it, blackflies! So floods, fires and flies and you know that summer will be here. Ahhhh, the good life in Northern Ontario.

55 and counting

It's a good day. I forgot what day it was, but for some good reason I had chocolate cupcakes with my coffee this morning. I don't know why that happened, but I feel good now that I didn't just have cereal! Then at work, my calendar popped up on the screen to note that it was March 31. That's when I remembered today is my birthday. I used to think being middle-aged was old. Well I sure don't think like that now. I am old-ER, not old. Luckily I have some great friends who keep me young... or at least I can pretend eh. And when I turned my home computer on this afternoon I noticed I had several birthday messages on Facebook. I even got a note from one of my cousins who is traveling around North Africa, but was nice enough to drop a quick line. How cool is that?

Dust to dust...

It’s Saturday morning and I dust. I should say I try to remove dust. It’s one of those house cleaning things I don’t like. So I took a cloth and ran it along the board that frames the top of my bedroom closet. I did this two weeks ago. I did it again this morning. Dust. Damn dust. Where the hell does it come from? Surely I don’t make that much dust. Somebody is sneaking in and putting dust in my house! That’s gotta be it! Whew! Now I feel better.

* * * *

I felt sad, and yet somehow heartened yesterday, when the body of slain soldier Trooper Jack Bouthillier arrived at the Timmins Airport and was being carried to his hometown of Hearst, a lumber and railway town not too far from here.

Hundreds and hundreds of Timmins residents stopped what they were doing on a Friday afternoon to line the roads and highways from the airport, all through the north end of the city and on the highway leaving town. They stood in honour of the dead soldier and held flags as the procession escorted by police and many of Bouthillier’s childhood friends moved slowly through Timmins. It was a thing of kindness. It was a thing of respect.

Medical research?

I have a bit of a cold today. It's annoying. I am going to blame the reporters from the other paper. On Monday I was at a city hall meeting and the reporter there had sniffles. On Tuesday I was at the press gallery in court and another reporter was there...and had sniffles. So last night, I was stuffed up and it continues today. I was reading recently that 16th century monks would deal with this by praying, singing and drinking copious amounts of wine. Sounds like good science to me!

Bad news: My glorious I-Mac G5 finally crapped out yesterday. The monitor is fried and because the monitor and computer is all-in-one, I can’t use it. So I called company I.T. department in London, ON. They don’t have a solution either. I cannot even download all the current files because it requires a special cable.
Better news: I will be doing all my work on the Mac G4 laptop. Interestingly, despite its age, it always ran better than the G5. I spent Friday evening setting it up for work and everything appears to be running fine.
Best news. It’s Saturday morning. I made a half-decent pot of coffee and I am enjoying that with chocolate cupcakes! Yum. Too bad the boys aren’t here.
I guess I shouldn’t complain. The world is not a perfect place. Some people are poor. Some people go hungry. Some people go to war. Some people are in bad relationships and some people, sigh; have to use a McIntosh computer.

Spring is on the way eh.

In just a few hours from now, it's gonna be spring again. It's always one of my favorite times of year. It'll be slushy and mucky for awhile, but then the trees will have new buds and the air will smell a bit fresher. Yep, it's gonna be nice. Of course, in Timmins we're always good for one major blizzard before spring really arrives. I hope it's not the long weekend in May!

Macs are so frustrating

Talk about embarrassing. A police officer showed up at the office today... they needed some of our news photos as evidence in a criminal case. So once we agreed on what photos we could share (just the one's we actually published) we were pleased to give him an electronic copy of the digital photos. So here's the problem... Macs only seem to work well one function at a time (they're just so useless!). So I wasn’t able to burn a copy on my Mac, which happens to be the newest one on the market. And the other Macs in the building were just as useless. The poor cop was as exasperated as I was… He has to keep a “chain of evidence” going from the point where he sees the photo to the point where he gets his own copy. This was important since each photo was stamped with the time and date and it establishes that certain persons were at a certain crime scene (I had no idea at the time who I was taking photos of!) Finally we found a computer in the classifieds office that was able to burn a fresh disc and get the photos handed over the policeman. If the bad guys get away, blame it on a Mac!

My cool new coffee machine.

It was several days ago I noticed my old coffee pot (Well, not THAT old -- maybe a year old) had a rust stain on the bottom. Then I noticed that the heating plate on the coffee maker was all rusty... and I clean the danged thing everyday! So I figured I would buy a new one. I was out at Wal Mart and was not impressed with the selection, or the prices. On Wednesday this past week, I checked out the Airmiles rewards page on the net... sure enough, there was a nice coffee pot for only 700 airmiles. Ooooh ... a Cuisinart with all the bells and whistles! So I ordered it. I got an e-mail back a minute later, saying that delivery would be about four weeks. No problem. Friday afternoon, I drove up the driveway and there sitting on my front step was a cardboard box with an Airmiles sticker on it. I was impressed. I had to read the instruction book because of all the stuff on it. There's even a charcoal filter to filter the tap water... for a better tasting cup of coffee. Oooooh, how cool is that?

My place on the planet

If you go to Google Earth and enter my address, this is what you find... my neighborhood. Actually I was cleaning out photo files today and I came across this one I shot last September. That is Blahey Court, in the north end of town, right beside the bush. I never thought we were so crowded! Maybe that's why the bears like to visit so much.

Anyone we know?

When you enjoy your morning tea and really read a newspaper through and through, you find all sorts of interesting things… such as a tiny personal classified ad from the New York Times. It seems there is an “alluring red head with model figure and beautiful legs” who is seeking an 80-year-old man. Hmmm… I think I have been around the mining business long enough to know a gold digger when I see one!

Grapefruit....Mmmmm. Yum.

I have to confess it’s a good thing no one sees me eating breakfast … I have been enjoying grapefruit this week. I think I am on a grapefruit binge. I picked up a couple last weekend and they were just so juicy and sweet I just inhaled them… slurping and slushing grapefruit juice all over my face. Well, not that bad… but close! I cut them into four pieces and eat ‘em like orange wedges. That way you get all the juice. I bought four more today and had one before supper. It’s like I can’t get enough, they’re just so tasty.
Oh well, I’ll be over it next week … back to Quaker oats.

All the news thats fit to print ... and then some.

Aline snuck off to New York City for a few days and brought me a couple of fabulous souvenirs. One is the Sunday copy of the veritable New York Times.  The other is the Saturday night copy of the notorious New York Post. Talk about opposites eh. One will be pretty serious reading; the other is a scandal sheet.  Which is which depends on your point of view!

The quest for gold...

The annual prospector’s convention has just wrapped up in Toronto, and even though mining companies around the world are hurting, everyone is still talking about Timmins. That’s because the price of gold is as strong as ever. What’s even more interesting is that there are nearly 100 mining exploration companies active around Timmins… they’re the people looking for new gold mines. That makes Timmins the mining exploration capital of Canada… if not the world. No one seems to be able to name anyplace else where there is such a hunt for new gold. I know a few prospectors. They’re interesting people. One thing they keep saying is absolutely stunning… they say there’s been lots of gold mines in Timmins, but every one of them is convinced that the big one, the motherlode, has not yet been found. I can’t imagine how big a find that will be … I hope it happens in my lifetime.

Cold weather and cobwebs

Well I have to write something of interest here … so today it’s cobwebs and cold weather. So I noticed a cobweb in the upper corner of the hallway downstairs. So where did that come from? I keep a clean house. I really do. Some of my friends think I am a clean freak. Anyway, I went on the attack with the vacuum cleaner and found five or six friggin cobwebs! Actually they’re not really cobwebs… because those are made by spiders. I don’t have spiders. What I have is dustwebs… very annoying. But now they’re gone. But from what I’ve read… they’ll be back.
And now cold weather. Okay I like winter. I do. But here in Timmins we’ve had quite the cold snap… and snow, more snow last month than we’ve had in years. For some reason today, I was daydreaming of nice sunny skies, warm temperatures and summer breezes. Oh well, two more months and spring will be here.

It always happens.

An interesting story Saturday took me out to a remote bush area north of Timmins where Cree Indians- Canadian Rangers - were teaching bush skills to Canadian Forces infantry guys. Some of the fellows were reservists with the Algonquin Regiment. Sure enough one of the fellows asked me about my name and about a certain Sgt. Ronald Gillis. It always happens when I meet older Canadian Forces guys. Sgt. Rob Bartlett, the guy on the left, was based with Ron at Petawawa back in the days of 2-Commando of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. They also served together on a peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. So Ron, if you see this, Rob says hi.