The people you meet . . .

It's nice to meet different people in different parts of the country. I was chatting with a craft brewwer from Smithers, BC at the Great Canadian Beer Festival Friday and snapped a couple of photos. I asked his name. He said Mark Gillis. I was surprised to meet another Gillis. Sure enough his family is from the east coast. His dad is Gerald Gillis and his grandfather was Hugh Gillis, who used to run some sort of taxi service and was the first fire chief in Sydney,where they're all from.
The beer fest is fun and a bit crazy and lots of people had plenty of fun including this cute couple, Nolene and Neil. I don't know anyone else in the other photos but they were among the crowd seriously enjoying the unique taste of craft beers.

Beer festival time!

Arrived in Victoria minutes ago. Neil and I were up early and out the door so he could get down to the restaurant and load up the truck with beer. Shortly after that we boarded the BC Ferry to Victoria.
Neil and his buds from Steamworks enjoyed a nice brunch on the boat. I enjoyed the fabulous scenery and some fresh air to help wake up.
Once we arrived on Vancouver Island, there was a quick stop to buy some pumpkins. This is to help show off the fact they have produced a very nice pumpkin ale. That's Neil on the left in the photo with one of his co-workers and the pumpkin.
Just got into my hotel room in downtown Victoria, the Carleton. A very nice 100-year-old hotel. Going to freshen up and head over to the beerfest. The phone rang and it was my favourite niece Melissa. She will be joining me for the the afternoon. How nice is that?

Being a tourist

Thursday (earlier today) I took the train from Seattle back to Vancouver. I rode business class which was about $10 more than economy and worth it because the seats were more comfortable and we got to board the train first and then we got free coffee. That was easily worth ten bucks.

Wednesday’s visit to the Museum of Flight was great. I am an aviation nut so I spent nearly five hours wandering through the place, which is huge. Nearby was one of the Boeing Aircraft plants. I don’t know what planes are being made in there because the entire place is surrounded by high fences and barbed wire.

Some of the highlights of the flight museum included a tour of Boeing 707 No.86970 which was Air Force One during the Jack Kennedy era.

I could only imagine the conversations that went on inside that plane. It felt cool to be standing next to JFK's chair. The museum also had a British Airways Concorde, the fastest airliner in the world which would make supersonic flights across the Atlantic. A lot of the flight museum is about speed.I sat in the cockpit of the SR71 spy plane, a plane so fast that it could out run a bullet or a missile. A high powered hunting rifle will shoot a bullet at 3,000 feet per second. The SR71 flew at 3,200 feet per secont. So fast in fact that the paint would burn off the plane in high altitude flight. I was also pleased to see the museum had a Canadian CF86 Sabre in RCAF colours, which made a unique contribution to aviation history. Iremember Sabres from when I was a child in many of the airbases I lived on. Enough about nerdy airplane stuff.

I spent the rest of the day in Pike's Place market, the place where the fish mongers throw salmon around like baseball practice. It was cool.The great thing about being on holiday is you don't have to stop for coffee or bottled water if you're thirsty. Just step into one of the dozens of boutique pubs for a fresh cold glass of draught beer. Coffee is very popular though in Seattle. Starbucks began in Seattle and Neil told me the very first Starbucks was the cafe at Pikes market.

Also, one of my rules about travel is to always get the nicest hotel possible. That way, if the day is boring, you have a bad meal, or the weather goes crappy, you can also go back to a nice room. I stayed at the Seattle Crowne Plaza. I had a nice luxury suite and amazing service. And because Labour Day marked the end of the summer tourist season, I was able to get a very nice rate.

Seattle is nice

Had to get up extra early Tuesday to catch the train out of Vancouver to Seattle. I didn't expect to see such a crownd at the station at 6:00 a.m. The train ride was amazingly smooth. Don't forget, my last trip on a train was the Polar Bear Express out of Cochrane to Moosonee. This was a nice trip as the train ran close to the Pacific coast most of the way. It was interesting to see the massive nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abe Lincoln heading out to sea.
In my haste to get going I forgot about one very important detail Neil had reminded me about the night before. Tuesday was the first day back to school for Tyler and Nathan. If I had remembered, I would have telephoned my best wishes. I blew it.
The train got into Seattle just before noon, and the hotel literature said the hotel was only half a mile away from the Amtrak station. NOT! I decided it would be a nice walk, but that was a stupid move. I was carrying my cams, my laptop and a duffle bag. Then I discovered that my trek to the hotel was uphill. I mean seriously UPHILL. I figured I'd give it a try, but after about three hundred metres in the noonday sun, a big yellow taxi pulled up to drop somebody off. "Thank you God!" I gasped. The driver let me hop in we drove to the hotel.
The room is fabulous with a nice view, but I didn't stay long. I had a shower, a 20-minute nap and out the door to cruise the streets. The downtown is nice with lots of boutiques, restaurants and pubs. I went on a bit of a pub crawl, enjoying appetizers and local beers in three different places. Manny's Pale Ale at the Hardrock Cafe was the best. The homemade crab cakes at the Pike's Brewing Company pub were awesome.
Today will be interesting. It's raining like crazy, but I am heading out to the Museum of Flight. After all, Seattle is home to one of the largest aircraft plants in the world, Boeing.

Getting spoiled.

Neil is spoiling me again. Tonight we went out to check out of some of the restaurants in his neighbourhood. Neil lives in the area known as Davie Village, which he says is Vancouver's Gayborhood. Not sure what that's all about, but everyone is so friendly. Even the guys hold hands out here! LOL Anyway, think of Davie Street as being like Queen West in Toronto, which has so many good restaurants. We found a Greek place called Stephos. But there was a line-up on the sidewalk, in the rain. I took that as a good sign. If people were willing to stand in the rain to get in, then so was I. It took about 25 minutes but we got in and got a table. I don't know what the appetizers were, but Neil said not to worry. He was right. They were awesome. Something with cheese, and spinach and philo dough. I wasn't sure what to order, but the waiter said the roast lamb entree was popular. So I ordered it. After enjoying some Greek wine, the waiter brought out a slab of roast lamb the size of a small dog! It was amazing. Potatoes, rice, vegetables, greek salad and roast all for $9.95! No wonder there are line-ups. After supper, we walked home and dropped by the English Bay beach area. It was a bit overcast, but still nice to see the ocean. Then Neil found a liquor store. Eight oclock on Labour Day evening and we bought Scotch and Beer! You can't do THAT in Ontario. Tommorow is a new day. Going to Seattle.

Monday morning. Happy Labour Day from Vancouver. It's just before 7:00 a.m., cool and overcast here. Coffee is good. Neil was clever enough to have some Tim Hortons in his place. I made it extra strong. The sounds of the city woke me up. Somewhere, a garbage truck was backing up, making a helluva racket. As I peeked out the window, something was brought to mind by a comment from one of Neil's friends.Vancouver has an interest recycling system. Poor people, homeless perhaps, are the recyclers. Certainly in the downtown. Set down empty bottle or pop can and within minutes, somebody comes by to pick it up and claim it. This morning, from the height of Neil's balcony, I could see homeless people scouring the laneways and parking lots picking up items. I hope they're okay. There seems to be a lot of homeless in this city. I will have to pick up some loonies and twoonies and make the rounds. The other sounds out here, certainly in the downtown, are the gulls. They're everywhere. They sound annoying, but then again, they remind me of the ocean and that's probably why the air is so clean-smelling and fresh in this city. There's always a breeze. Speaking of breezes, it's not uncommon to pick up a whiff or two of snowboarder smoke. Neil and I were walking by a community festival in one of the downtown parks Sunday and the odor of marijuana was obvious.

We had a bit of rain Sunday night in Van, but Neil dragged me out of the apartment to join some friends at a rooftop barbecue. I met Nolene, his sweetheart, and she put together a nice plate of barbecue salmon for me with potatoes and veggies. Nolene is a very nice, bright, attractive young lady, but as she and Neil were talking to me, I had to zone them out for a few minutes while I ate the awesome salmon dish. Like Homer Simpson, I was thinking 'Can't talk - Eating...' as my taste buds enjoyed the moment. It was excellent. I am being spoiled by fabulous food in this city. Beer seems popular among Neil's friends... I should say specialty beer. I was with a group of the fellows as they popped open a jug of jalapeno beer and poured a round. It was interesting to watch these guys get right into the smelling, tasting and swish-it-around your palette procedure. I chickened out. I was still enjoying the taste of the salmon.

I am posting some extra photos today, click on the pic to enlarge them.

There is a shot of the downtown Vancouver area from the area, somewhere in the middle of that, near the water, is Neil's place. There is a shot of the old Downview airbase in Toronto where our family spent several years when we were kids. It is so changed now. There's also a shot of the log booms on the Fraser River east of Vancouver. I am certain I saw more than 100 booms. There must be a lot of logging in southern BC.

Vegging out in Vancouver . . .

Well it’s overcast Sunday morning in Vancouver. Neil and I got home from “dinner” at about 4:00 a.m. Timmins time. I figured I would stay up as long as possible to beat the lag. Woke up this morning feeling great… it was nice that Neil took the couch and I got his bed.

So, ... Some notes of the thing you notice on a four and a half hour flight from Toronto to Vancouver.(I wrote this on the plane Saturday)

There are only four washrooms on this plane, but 280 people all seem to want to go t the same time. Sit and wait patiently. Kind of sorry I ordered the two beers, but the wait wasn’t so bad.

I haven’t flown in ten years. The technology has changed. Each seat back has a small LCD screen loaded with movies and TV shows. You have to bring your own headphones. Luckily I had some in my laptop bag. Saved the $3 rental fee. I didn’t watch any movies, but I enjoyed two episodes of Two and a Half Men, a really funny sitcom. It’s embarrassing to laugh out loud on a plane where no one else knows you.

Not as bad as having a quick snooze though, and then snoring, and then being awakened by my own snoring! Oh well, it was a nice nap somewhere south of Saskatoon.

After a bit of TV, I found the audio library on the seatback screen and so have been enjoying some amazing John Coltrane jazz for the last hour or so.

The flight is not too bad, but my butt is numb. The view from 32,000 feet is nice. One nice feature of the seatback screen is that Air Canada has a GPS map unit you can check whenever you like to see where you area. I enjoyed flying just south of Lake Winnipeg. I could see Delta Beach where my mom and dad took us as kids during a blistering hot Manitoba summer in the 1960s… back in the year my sister Deb was born.

I also got a kick out seeing the twin strips like an II or the crossed strips like an X that indicated a small airport on the landscape. It’s interesting that as much as the railroad built and connected the country during the mid to late 1800s, it was aviation that did it from the mid to late 1900s.

Got a kick out of seeing bits and pieces of the east-west Trans-Canada Highway which reminded me of my last trip out here in the 1970s when I rode my thumb all the way to the Pacific.

Flying over Banff was nice as it was the first time we got a real good look at the amazing Rocky Mountains.

My watch is still on Timmins time, showing that it’s shortly before 7:00 p.m. but my cell phone has picked up on the local time out here. We will be landing in about 20 minutes, at 4:00 p.m. Vancouver time. Unfortunately, it’s all cloudy skies below us right now so I can’t enjoy too much more of the view.

Will be nice to see Neil in a few minutes.

--- Neil met me at the airport baggage carousel with a nice hot cup of Tim’s Tea, which is funny because I felt so dehydrated after a four and a half hour flight that I was thinking about tea just to get refreshed.

Instead of cabbing back into the city, we rode the new Sky Train thing in. It’s like a single-unit subway train and El-train all in one. The interesting thing is that it works on the honour system. There is no driver. Everything is automated. People buy tickets from the machines that look like ATMs at each station then you get on the train. Neil paid $15 for the two of us. At that price, I think he paid for a few other people who got on without paying! LOL

Got to Neil’s place which is in the heart of the downtown. He moved from his apartment near the beach, but still has a nice view of Vancouver harbour from his kitchen window. There were several ships moored out there this morning waiting to get into the port of Vancouver.
By the way, Neil looks great and says he is doing well. He really loves this city. Last night he and I went out to dinner and instead of cabbing, we walked for a good 40 minutes. He works as a manager at two different restaurants, owned by the same company. I felt guilty ordering a halibut encrusted with macadamia nuts as an entrée, because Neil just put it all on the company tab. It was excellent!

My guilt began to slide away as the evening wore on and Neil insisted I try several of the beers they make right on the premises. I had two types of India Pale Ale, then a super espresso flavoured stout, then pumpkin beer which was really good, but sometime after midnight I settled on a few big glasses of wheat beer. I really got rid of the guilt when they began pouring shots of Jamieson’s Irish Whiskey!

It was a hoot meeting Neil’s co-workers. People kept coming up to say ,Hi Mr. Gillis!’… Jeez I felt old, but there are a lot of nice people at the restaurant. Interestingly, a lot of the young people are from Ontario, places like Ottawa, Kingston, St. Catharine’s, London and Huntsville and they all swear that Vancouver is the place to be right now.

Sending this out from an internet cafe at Hastings and Richmond Street... near Gastown.

Holidays!

So it's Saturday morning and the second day of my vacation. I had a great day with Nathan and Tyler yesterday. I think I wore them out, we did so many things. Of course breakfast at McDonalds was fun and then the ice cream! The exploring around Science North. Then the Sudbury Ribfest. Meeting Mario from Nintendo. I even managed to get some time to drop by the old newsrooms at CBC and CTV where I was pleased to chat with friends. The boys had too much fun I think. I was even able to grab some new photos of the boys, and grandparents are always happy to share photos of their grandchildren. Jenn and Scott made a great supper, and we even enjoyed some chocolate boston creme cake. (gonna finish it for breakfast here soon) It ended last night with marshmallows and weiners around the bonfire. I enjoyed sitting back and just enjoying the non-news moments. Of course it helped that I picked up one of those kegs of Heiniken.

One duffle bag ... for two weeks.

So here's the challenge. I am travelling next week, and although I have done a lot of travelling in the past few years, it was always by road. This will be my first time on a plane in ten years. I will be gone a couple of weeks so I am determined that I need only one duffle bag for my clothes. I was inspired by the fact that the last time Neil flew from Vancouver to visit, he carried only a backpack ... and he was visiting for two weeks. So today is my rehearsal. I am going to see how much I can stuff into a 24-inch duffle bag. My Motto: If it doesn't fit, I don't need it! I kind of like the idea that I can sling it over my shoulder without a lot of trouble. Oh, I should mention that I will also bring my laptop and case, and my cameras, which I stuff into a little packsack. We'll see how it goes.

It's a Gillis thing.

I am losing my hair … from two directions! I really don’t think it bothers me too much … I look in the bathroom mirror in the mornings and I start laughing. First of all, I have a high forehead … that means my hairline is heading backwards. I also have a bald spot in the back that is slowly moving forward. I think I get the high forehead from my Dad’s side of the family. Many of the Gillis men have it. I get the bald spot from my Mom’s side the family. Many of the MacLean men are balding. I mentioned it to my son Neil that my hairline is getting high enough I could show a movie on my forehead. He said “Yeah, Dad … Imax!” That was so funny! He is such a smart-ass at times. That’s a Gillis thing.

Trains, books and church music

Wow, it must be the rainy weather. I can't believe I slept in to 8:30 this morning. Oh well the coffee is good. And I am listening to church music. Yup. There is a small congregation that meets about half a block away from my building and between now and noon, they sing up a storm. It's not too bad.
I am also exploring the idea of e-books right now. When I go on vacation I plan to go bookless. But I will try to download a few books on my laptop (Yes! I am bringing my laptop of vacation. I am a news junkie and I will be updating my blog)So today I am looking at downloading books, but the choice is limited, unless I want to re-read old classics by Mark Twain or the Bronte sisters. I am going to be on the VIA Rail Canadian for a few days, so I am sure to have some time.
I have booked a roomette on the train, so it means I get my own bedroom, which is good. And all the meals are included. (You should see the menu!) I have one worry. When I go to sleep I might miss some nice scenery. I like riding trains for that reason. The scenery is amazing. I still remember the last time I travelled through Saskatchewan... I loved seeing the wheat fields. Even at night, the scenery is nice. My last train trip was last summer and I remember looking up at the moon through the trees and the forest. It was nice.

Legendary prospectors and Minefinders!

I was pleased this week to cover an announcement in Timmins by the local prospectors association. They announced a $200,000 legacy project in honour of the three fellows who found the Big Three gold mines in Timmins. They will be creating three bronze statues of Jack Wilson, Sandy McIntyre and Benny Hollinger. They found the orebodies for The Dome, The McIntyre and The Hollinger gold mines. Forget whatever you've heard about the great gold rushes in history. The Timmins gold rush and the creation of the Porcupine Camp (in the early days gold towns were called camps) is by far the largest in North American history. The big rushes in California, the Cariboo, Cripple Creek and the Klondike were dribbles in the bucket compared to Timmins. They're still finding gold in Timmins. So it was nice to cover that announcement. By the way, the announcement was made this week at the Gold Mine Cafe and as I was driving up to the building, I couldn't help but notice there was a diamond-drill rig running not more than 50 feet away. Right now, Timmins is the mining exploration capital of the world. More than a hundred different companies are out there looking for new mines. This other photo (below) shows the guys from the prospectors association making the announcement and holding up the bronze castings of the prospectors. Heres' something interesting. The prospectors being honoured are all in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and are known by the unique title of Minefinders -- those rare individuals who have actually discovered a mine. There have been hundreds of famous prospectors in Canada, but not all become Minefinders. Take a look at the ordinary-looking fellow on the far right there. (click the pic to enlarge it) That's Brad Wood of Timmins. He is a modern day Minefinder. Back in the day, more than 20 years ago, when Brad was a student geologist, he spent one weekend fishing along a Northern Ontario river. That's when he found some kimberlite rock samples. Where you find kimberlite, you might find diamonds. Sure enough, Brad's discovery resulted in the first ever diamond mine in Ontario. It's now called the De Beers Victor Mine. But those in the know at the mine still call it Brad's Pit. How cool is that?

Books and Movies.

I had a nice chat with Jennifer a few days ago to get caught up on everything and she is well. She went for her latest blood test and she is confident all will be well. So am I. I will be traveling to Sudbury at the end of the month so I can depart from there for my trip west. I am doing that because on the trip back home I will be riding the train. The VIA Canadian (that's the name of the train) doesn't stop in Timmins, but it will stop in Sudbury. So it will be nice to spend a bit of time with Jenn and her men before heading out.
I am in book withdrawal this week. I had half a dozen novels on my desk at the end of June, but I've read them all. So I have to go to the bookstore this weekend. I have decided to do a bit of research on the net to find some new authors and new novels. Jenn says she likes to read true crime. Never would have guessed that. But maybe I will try a few chapters. I can't wait to see what Neil has on his bookshelves. He always surprised me with his choices. He has read some pretty interesting books.
I have been researching on the net and have found a wealth of amazing movies available for download. In the past week I watched Motorcycle Diaries, a fantastic tale of the early days of Ernesto Guevara, also known as Che. Great story. I hate to admit it, but some movies are just too good and I am confident they're better as a movie than as a book. Tonight I watched Julie and Julia; a story about the famous chef and cookbook author Julia Child. Another great movie. If you get the chance, see it.
On the weekend I did something quite different. I went to an old-fashioned cocktail party. A friend and his wife were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. It was quite nice. Everyone was dressed up. There were fresh flowers, wonderful drinks and they even had a chef who came to the house to cook. Incredible food. A fabulous way to spend a summer evening. Keep smiling.

I'm addicted!

I spent nearly three hours last night reading blogs! Other people's blogs. I'm addicted. If you look toward the upper left area of this page you will see a line that has the phrase 'Next Blog'. Click on that and it will take you to other blog pages by other people. Keep doing it and you travel the world. It's fantastic. And the photos are amazing. People like to snap pictures of their children, their families and where they live and what they do. Some people are beekeepers, some are farmers and some are high-tech graphics programmers. And pets! I am amazed at how many people are so attached to their pets whether they're cats, rats, horses or reptiles. People get comfort from other creatures. Some people have music piped in on their websites too. Usually that uses up a lot of bandwidth, but I am going to look into it. Keep smiling.

They took a look inside me.

I am easily impressed by things I am not familiar with. That’s how it was today when I had an ultra-sound and biopsy on my neck. Lots of people have ultra-sounds. It’s really amazing technology when you think about it. Well, I am old enough to remember when they didn’t exist. The idea of sound waves taking a picture inside you impresses me. I had to turn my head for the procedure so that allowed me to watch the monitor. Then they inserted a needle to take a tissue sample and I could see it on the monitor as the needle moved around. That made me a bit nervous. So I gulped. And I saw that too! Everything moved. Cool. Then I had a CT scan where they injected a fluid dye into my arm that would show up on their X-ray video. The guy says it will be in my system for 24 hours before I “pass” it. Gonna turn off the lights in the bathroom and see if anything glows. LOL Will keep you posted.

What's the buzz?

I had a chat with Jenn this week and she says she is feeling fine and doing well. My spies tell me she has been walking outside in the yard without her cane. Ahh, yes, my fave daughter has an independent streak a mile wide. When I say walking in the yard, you have to remember Jenn lives in the country and her yard is about the size of a football field. If this keeps up, I will have to buy her a skateboard! This has been a fun week in other ways as well. I zoomed over to Foleyet Thursday to have a quick visit with Tyler, Nathan and Victoria, who are three of the greatest kids in the world. Of course it was also nice to see Denise and Don there too, and just as nice, got to see Aunt Line and Uncle Moe. The whole gang was at the Red Pine Lodge. I was pleased to leave a chocolate cake for the kids. Ty said he was going to have it for breakfast.
The drive back to Timmins was great. The highway is remote enough there was very little traffic so I opened the windows and enjoyed the amazingly fresh clean northern air. That's when I noticed how much fireweed was in bloom everywhere. There are huge patches of it. It's always nice to see to break up the endless rolling landscape of lakes, rocks and trees. It's called fireweed because it's usually one of the first plants to come back in the boreal forest after a forest fire has occurred. So I snapped a couple of photos and got a bit of action as busy little bee, on the right, went from blossom to blossom. (click the pic to see it close-up) So that was nice.

This morning, I covered a little news event that really got to me. A local police inspector has retired and there was a little ceremony at police headquarters. Holy sugar, I thought, I remembered when this guy joined the police force and now he is retiring! I started wondering when I am going to retire. I can't imagine that right now. I get bored too quickly. And I am wayyyyy too nosey. I think I am blessed to be doing something I enjoy. I scoot around town all week snapping photos of people winning awards, or doing things they like, and most people are happy to see me ... unless you're the guy coming out of the courthouse with the handcuffs on.
I booked my hotel rooms this week for my stay in Victoria in September. It will be nice to take a few days off I suppose. Seeing Neil again will be nice. And my niece Melissa lives in Victoria. She's a hoot so I am sure we will all be having fun. Well it's Friday afternoon and there's a cold glass of wine waiting somewhere. Keep smiling.

TV or Internet

I called the cable company this week. I was going to order digital cable. But at the last minute I backed out. I did however decide to order up the new and improved ultra-fast Internet service. I find I am just too busy to watch TV and I am at the stage now that when I do watch, I feel guilty that I should be doing something more productive. And I sure don't need TV for the news anymore. As funny as it sounds, TV news is too slow. If you want fast up-to-date news, check your newspaper website. (CBC Radio is pretty good too.) The internet thing will also let me buy TV programs I truly want to see and download them. So we'll see how that goes. When hockey season comes back, well who knows what will happen. Apparently my new TV allows me to play television programs right from my laptop. (I just haven't figured out how that works.) I am also looking into downloading books from the net -- Just to see how that goes. I think the folks over at the Third Avenue bookstore will be worried. LOL

Good news ...

Good news 1 - Jenn remembered the chocolate cake that was in the back seat of the car and she says the kids tore through it very quickly. I talked to Jenn this morning. "That cake is history," she laughed.
Good news 2 - It's a bit political I know, but Canada has just placed an order for 65 brand new F35 aircraft. I think this is amazing. I am an aircraft nut of course. This is no ordinary fighter jet. It is a stealth aircraft. It is also has Joint Stand Off Weapons, which means it can launch deadly accurate cruise missiles from hundreds of miles away from the target thus not putting the pilot in danger. The cockpit also has voice recognition to allow the pilot to fly and operate aircraft functions by voice command. I can't wait to get the video game version of this plane.
Photo Credit:U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes

Jenn, cake is in the back seat in a box ...

Thursday morning P.S. I am hoping Jennifer remembers I put a frozen chocolate cake (for the kids of course) in the back seat of her car just before she drove away Tuesday!

Winding down ...

It’s Wednesday (or early Thursday morning) and I am winding down. What a great week. Jennifer arrived last Thursday and we sure enjoyed each other’s company for a few days. She went back home Tuesday. We spent five days together and went out to restaurants for five days. It was fun. It was like a vacation for me. We had dinner at home though on Thursday. I was pleased to treat Jenn to a nice steak that we bought at Pick of the Crop. I was worried that I wouldn’t cook it right, but it turned out just fine. It was also time to use the good dinnerware. I always use the same two plates myself. But with Jenn’s visit, we brought out the Royal Doulton so that was nice too. (It was the first time I ever used it!) I forgot to unpack the crystal wine glasses, but we still managed to put away a few bottles of wine. I think the best part was seeing Jenn up and about puttering around my kitchen and doing dishes. Life is good eh.

Jennifer had a nice time too especially because she got to see some of her favourite aunties who were all in town for the weekend. (Front row from left) Lorraine, Suzanne, Lorraine, Helen, (back row from left) Linda and Lilliane sure seemed to be enjoying themselves when we dropped by Moe's place for a backyard fire.

Enjoying the weekend

I have been enjoying a great weekend with Jennifer as she came home to Timmins to relax for a few days. One of the things we did was visit her old elementary school where she reminded me that there was a line on the wall of the school that could be seen by every kid in the schoolyard. Boys were allowed to play on one side of the line in the schoolyard and girls were allowed to play on the other side. Hmmmm…I found that a bit unusual. Oh well. Jenn sure turned out okay! It has been nice to spend a few days with Jennifer, but celebrating with family members all over Timmins is more fun than we imagined. Tiring too. But it's always nice to enjoy great people with the amazing summer weather we have been enjoying so far in July. I shot a fresh photo of Jenn with her new hair style. She missed her long hair, but everyone agrees that she is still a cutie with short hair too.

Happy Saturday.

A fine hot Saturday morning in Timmins. I am enjoying a cup of coffee and munching on chocolate cookies. I have company this weekend. Jennifer is here and it's very nice. The best part was Thursday afternoon when we went out for a walk downtown, in and out of the stores, shopping. Yup, Jenn can walk just fine. She has a cane now and she is determined as ever. I haven't shot a fresh photo of her, because I can barely keep up to her, but I will get a few. Jennifer's hair is slowly growing back and all the aunt's and cousins are telling her how beautiful she looks. Down in Sudbury, Scott and the boys are enjoying a 'boys only' weekend, while up at camp, Denise and her sisters are having a girls weekend. Soon I will be enjoying more of the homemade jams Denise sent up, strawberry and rhubarb. Wow. Yesterday it was nice when some of the Maltais women arrived in town for a visit. Lorraine, Lilliane and Helen Richer showed up. The kitchen table party at Aunt Sue's place went on till two oclock this morning. Helen and Tasha are on their way in from Red Lake. If anyone has ever wondered how big Northern Ontario is, it is taking them two days to make the drive from Red Lake to Timmins. It will be nice to see them. I slept in this morning to eight oclock. Time for another hot cup of coffee.

Grreat Canada Day and wonderful fireworks!

Canada Day was wonderful in Timmins. I was so busy but it was nice to bump into so many smiling faces and the weather was perfect! I think the best part was the amazing fireworks put on by Goldcorp to celebrate Canada Day and the 100th anniversay of gold mining in Timmins.

A pretty darned good day

It's a bit overcast and chilly today in Timmins, but it's a good day all the same. Item 1 - I found $20 in a jacket pocket while looking for a pen! Woohoo. Item 2 - VIA Rail reached an agreement with the CAW union last night, so it doesn't look like VIA will be on strike this summer. That's a good thing because I have already booked a train trip between Sudbury and Vancouver.

Disgusted with the G8 protest...

"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time --the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression." ~Dr. Martin Luther King.

Another nice day.

I don't get to see sunsets from my balcony. But I think I do have a nice view. We had rain Saturday afternoon and the clouds looked interesting, so I snapped a photo as the sun was setting. Today is father's day. That's cool but I feel that most days are like father's day. I had nice chats with both Neil and Jennifer this week, so that was good. And tomorrow is going to be the longest day of the year. If I am energetic, I will get up early and join in a sunrise ceremony with the Timmins Native Friendship Centre.

Intermission!

I don't watch a lot of movies, but when I do I like to make it an "event". Such was the case earlier this week, when I purchased Lawrence of Arabia on Blu Ray DVD. I had seen it before, but like a good book, I figured it was worth seeing again. The music score alone was worth the price. So I had a fabulous ribeye steak, a bottle of wine and salad and sat down to watch the movie. It was grrreat. Suddenly, the tv screen went black and the word INTERMISSION appeared. Wow, it has been years since I saw that. I remember years ago in cinema houses that meant it was time to get more popcorn and pop. So I enjoyed my intermission with a visit to the loo and then another glass of wine. By the way, the movie really was worth seeing again. The photography was outstanding. The film was produced in 1962. It was nominated for TEN Academy Awards. It won seven, including Best Picture. One thing I noticed was there was no profanity in the movie... I think the worst word was damn!

Can you dig this?

If I am smiling the biggest smile today it's because I lucked into a jazz album I sure never expected to buy. Well, maybe that's not true because with ebay and amazon.com you can buy almost anything. But on Sunday I dropped into a record store that I rarely visit. I was actually looking for a movie DVD, but I dropped by the jazz section and found a fabulous CD by Miles Davis called Kind of Blue. It was recorded in 1959 by Columbia Records. Among some of those joining Miles was John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. I am a jazz fan, but I don't know enough to be a jazz snob. I'm working on it. Some people consider this not only Davis' best ever album, but the best jazz album ever produced. So I snuck out of the office today and I'm working from home with the stereo just sizzlin' with some of the best music I've ever enjoyed. Some of my friends know I have this silly rule "55 to 75" that basically says if the music wasn't produced between those years of 1955 to 1975, it's not really that good. Think about that!
Album Photo Copyright: PHOTOGRAPHER JAY MAISEL.

So what's up?

About time I dropped by here with an update. Had a quick chat with Jenn this week and she is doing great. The boys and Scott are great too. There's something about the arrival of nice summer weather that makes you feel good. I can't wait to go jump in the lake. I know a lot of people like pools. Some like swimming in the ocean. My preference is a nice cool, clear Northern Ontario lake with the sun rippling down to the rocks and sand on the bottom. I've a few friends who have nice lakeside cottages. One of my favourite memories is getting up early in the morning, sipping a hot coffee, having a quick sauna and jumping into the lake.
This week was busy but good. I covered the provincial mine rescue event this week and was at the dinner last night when it was announced that Timmins won the big competition. That was a nice thing.
Was up early this morning and got around to a bit of housework. Then today I was out shopping on picked up one of those Swiffer dusters. I saw it on a TV commercial so I will have to try it out. Woohoo... my life is fuh eh?
Speaking of TV, I hardly watch it, but I have been checking out some of the World Cup soccer games. It's not as much fun as hockey, but I can see why people get excited. I have to say that I find the noise of the spectator horns just too much to listen to, so i mute the volume and watch the action.
Well I spoiled myself again today. I dropped by Pick Of The Crop and picked up one of those marinated ribeye steaks. I usually buy strip loins, but a friend convinced me that ribeyes are better. Will be sure to let you know.

A frost warning... first week of June : )

What did I tell ya? I mentioned in the last post there is a saying in Timmins not to put plants or flowers in the ground until after the First Moon In June. So what happened? Today Environment Canada issued a Frost Warning for overnight for Timmins. Who would have believed it eh.
Summary
Frost over the regions for Tuesday morning This is a warning that at or near zero ground temperatures will cause frost in the parts of these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.
Details
A high pressure ridge combined with a cold air mass and light winds tonight create ideal conditions for the formation of frost overnight tonight into Tuesday morning.

Rain, plants and books

It's another nice Saturday morning in Timmins. The heat wave broke and we have had a bit of light rain for the past few days. That's nice. I think I might buy some flowers, or at least a flowering plant, for my balcony this week. There is a rule in Timmins -- Don't plant before the first moon in June. That will be next Saturday. But I think I might take a chance. The forest fire situation is very calm, thank goodness. As much as I like aircraft, I was getting annoyed by the constant noise of helicopters. My new entertainment/wall unit was delivered yesterday. It's bigger than I thought. It's huge. It takes up the whole wall. Oh well, at least now I can begin unpacking some of my books.

Bing Photo Contest - Mac in the fall

Bing Photo Contest - Mac in the fall
Go to the link and vote for my Photo! : )

My litte truck

I put my little Nitro to the test last week with some hill-climbing and narrow bush roads near Timmins while getting photos of a forest fire. The little Chevy Tracker I had before would go anywhere, rain, snow, mud, whatever. I am still not sure about the Nitro since it's a 1000 pounds heavier than the Tracker. It's built on a Jeep chassis with an excellent 4X4 package, but it doesn't seem as nimble. Although I was able to get over some big rocks without any trouble. Maybe I'm the one who is nervous, since the paint job is still so new eh.

Chatting with my brother

Had a great lonnnnnnng chat tonight with Ronald. It was good to hear his voice. He was a bit tired still from the jet lag from Afghanistan, but said he was glad to be home and relaxing. He is still active duty, but has built up some vacation time. We will be seeing each other in September and, for the record, he has a bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich for me. That should be a good thing.

Oh Doctor, what's that smell?

Sometimes we will go to unusual lengths to get a photo of people doing their jobs. So that’s what happened Friday afternoon when I followed some forest fire fighters into the thick bush to snap a couple of photos of them at work on what they call hotspots. After the main forest fire is contained, there are always little pockets of fire. The problem is that the bush was black and charred from Wednesday’s fire. And the bush in Northern Ontario is thick like a jungle. Anyone knows, except me of course, that a charred branch is like a pencil and leaves a mark. These fellows were wearing dark pants, long sleeves and special boots. I had dress shoes and light khaki dress pants, with a short sleeved shirt. When we came out of the bush, my clothes and arms were criss-crossed with black stripes and scuff marks. It looked liked somebody with a black magic-marker attacked me. I even had char marks on my bare arms. That’s wasn’t the worse part. I had a four o’clock doctor’s appointment to pick up a prescription and no time to run home to change or shower. So I went and sat in the doctor’s waiting room and for several minutes endured the stares or ordinary people who must have wondered what I was up to. To make it worse, I was a bit sweaty and when that mixed with the smoky fragrance of a burnt forest, I must have been a delight for the senses. I just enjoyed the moment because I had several snappy answers in the back of my mind in case anyone asked … like, “Oh they’re shooting a Tide commercial next door, I just dropped in here for a break. - Or – Isn’t this the internet dating office? I’m hoping to meet the outdoors type!
Oh well, it’s now Saturday morning. May Run time in Timmins and the coffee smells great.

This is what it's all about in Timmins, Ontario

There was a big mining show in Timmins this week. One of the more popular exhibits was sitting right out in the open. Well to be fully truthful, there were two armed cops nearby. This is a brick of gold from one of the local Goldcorp mines in Timmins. When this photo was taken Wednesday morning it was worth roughly $880,000. Of course the price of gold has gone up a few points since then. The brick is a bit dark, because there were some 'impurities' in the gold... several ounces of pure silver. To give you an idea of the size of the brick, I took of photo of it with a couple of the mine managers.

Grrrreat news!

I was going through the e-mails this morning when I noticed there was a comment left on Wednesday's entry in this blog. The comment was from RAG ... that means it was from my brother Ronald, who has been with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan for several months. He wrote " ...I am home. Safe and good to go."
Great news Bro! Welcome home!

A long, long news day

I wrote here a few weeks back that May is usually one of the busiest months for news. Oh yeahhhhh. Just got home after a lonnnnnng, lonnnng day. Timmins had not one, not two but THREE forest fires today. Big ones! I am tired also from the fact that at two oclock this morning, I was following the story of a young lady who took Timmins Police on a high speed pursuit, through town, out of town and then crashed her car on the highway and rolled it over. Luckily she is alive. She's in the hospital under police guard, but still alive.


So yep, a really busy news day and a long one. I am signing off now to have a frozen TV dinner from the microwave and a beer so cold it will make my teeth hurt.

It a good morning eh

Saturday morning and the coffee smells great today. I am drinking tea on the weekdays and coffee on the weekends now. Wow, I can understand why somebody wrote that phrase "Wake up and smell the coffee!" It's a good thing.
I covered the Ontario Mine Rescue dinner last night. It was nice to see the fellows from Goldcorp in Timmins win the competition for the second year in a row.
I was happy to see my brother in law Moe there. (click the photo at the right!) Moe is an outstanding mine rescue guy and I have to admit I felt some pride when it was announced he was one of a just a handful of guys who aced the written exam. Way to go Moe!
By the way, I think we're in for some interesting NHL hockey in the coming days. I notice there are a lot of fans out there for the Canadians ... there are still a few who are fans of the "Canadiens". Somebody the other day said, Jeez, there's a lot of Habs fans. I wouldn't call myself a Habs fan, but I do hope the Canadian team wins : )

Watch a wedding...

I will do something this week I've never done before. I will be watching friends get married. But I will be watching it online because they're in Las Vegas and I'm not. Oh how the world in changing. It's still kind of neat though. Jenn and Scott's sister (in law), Christine is marrying Demetrios on Wednesday at The Little Chapel, Chapel of the Flowers. You can go on the Internet Wednesday and peek in. (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 4:00 p.m. in Las Vegas) Here is the Link: https://plan.littlechapel.com/Guests/Default.aspx?PlanID=551850.
I hope to be right here by my computer. I have a handful of rice and a box of kleenex! Woohoo.

Changing reality

Going through some old photos, I have decided I want to make a few nice prints to get them framed. But I am struggling with the colour on my computer. I am trying to get the old "1950s postcard" look, with the moody washed out colours. I am not sure if I can do it, but I will keep trying. The first photo with the fall colours is the original. The second photo is the one where I am experimenting with the colour.


As always, click on the pics to see them larger.

An interesting day . .

It has been an interesting morning. I have been covering a visit by Governor General Michaelle Jean who visited the Goldcorp's Dome gold mine in Timmins, the longest running gold mine in Canada. I think even her security people were impressed with the level of security at a gold mine. I have seen tougher security in only one other place, the De Beers diamond mine.

It's May eh.

Saturday morning on the first day of May. The coffee is good. The sky is overcast. We had a bit of rain and it's about 10 degrees. That's not bad compared to this day last year, when we had SNOW! It's true, I checked the blog from last year. I am looking forward to this month. For some reason, May is one of the busiest news months of the year. On Monday and Tuesday, I will be covering Michaelle Jean, our governor general. That should be interesting.
Photo Credit:Patrick Boyle. CP