A nice find

It's good to spend time in bookstores -- especially those bookstores that specialize in used books because they sell other things, like old CDs. I was lucky to find a Dave Brubeck album that has some great jazz from the 1950s and 60s. It was a lucky find. Brubeck produced the first ever million-selling jazz tune, Take Five, and it's on this album! Woohoo. He's also the composer for a lot of the tunes in the old Charlie Brown cartoon specials. I also stocked up on half a dozen paperbacks... enough to get me through October. So it's a good Saturday night. Warm whiskey. Cool jazz. And a good book.

Doors Open at McIntyre Mine

I dusted off the old miner's hat, literally, Saturday, to act as a tour guide for the Doors Open event. I was out at the old McIntyre Mine and couldn't believe that more than a hundred people toughed out the weather and dropped by. Some of the stories of the old miners were better than anything I had to say. Thanks to Mark Joron for snapping a the photo.

The most annoying thing . . .

It's very annoying at five oclock in the morning when the furnace kicks on and its only the second week of September! The temperature in Timmins was two degrees and the sound of the furnace coming on -- the first time since April -- woke me up. I am so cheap. I think I get it from my Dad. Whenever we left the front door open when we were kids, he'd yell "close that jesus door..."
Oh well, time to put away the canoe and dig out the snowshoes.

Treat yourself... i dare you!

Some friends used to snicker about the fact I have a few opera albums that I listen to. Yeah, I like rock and country too. But good opera is nice. I’ve never been to an opera, but I’ve followed it for some time. Well it’s Sunday morning and I am having tea, doing a bit of housework and I have the speakers cranked up as I listen to the late, great Pavarotti. It’s sad that he died last week, but my goodness what a gift he had. His voice was magical. I’d listen to him sing Nessun Dorma and I’d get goosebumps. It’s the aria he sang at the opening ceremonies at the Turin Olympics. It’s a fabulous piece of music. I’ve even got a CD of Aretha Franklin, yes Aretha, singing that same aria. I dare you to treat yourself. Listen to Nessun Dorma and then tell me you don’t like opera.

Labour Day in your jammies

It was nice to visit Jennifer and the boys for the Labour Day weekend. I think the only way I can relax these days is to get right out of Timmins. So it was a nice four-hour drive south to Sudbury. I feel right at home at her place. Jenn lets me eat leftovers and drink day-old coffee... but she wouldn't touch the stuff. After eating a big breakfast Monday, Jenn and the boys sat around on the back porch in their pyjamas while Scott worked on the new garage. The boys seem to get bigger every time I see them... maybe they're just growing eh.

I bumped in to Jack Layton this evening who came north to see the new De Beers diamond mine... it's something of a big deal up here in gold country. The gold mines are used to spending lots of money... they usually talk about hundreds of millions of dollars. De Beers is the new kid on the block... they got everyone's attention spending more than a billion dollars. Layton is a not a bad politician. I don't always agree with his style of politics... but I've never caught him lying.

Drill on the lake

When the price of gold is buzzing at more than $650 U.S. an ounce, one can understand why there's a bit of excitement around Timmins. We've got more gold here than condoms at a Madonna concert! So it was no big surprise to find a diamond drill-rig sitting on a barge out on Porcupine Lake this morning, drilling for gold. The funny thing is that no one seemed to notice it -- go figure....earlier this year, they were drilling on the golf course. Anything goes, in a gold town eh.

Bear with it eh

It’s getting to be a common sight in Timmins. Police officers with shotguns are out every day and evening confronting the black bear problem in Timmins. This bear was prowling around a back porch on Lakeshore Drive this evening. As I write this, the cops are trying to scare the bear back into the bush… the problem is, the bush is about half a mile away and there are kids all around watching the action. So far in Timmins this summer, there have been more than 400 nuisance bear calls.

Bear ass!

Some people say there's too much nasty stuff on the internet. So I figured I could just add my picture of a bear ass! Yeah, yeah... I know... it's just a joke. But hey I had to get close enough to the busy old black bear to shoot this photo... I guess it's a good answer to that age old question: "Does a bear sh*t in the woods....?"

Mattawa getaway

It was nice to take a day off and enjoy a long weekend. We snuck over to Mattawa... actually it's a five hour drive south from Timmins. We decided to check out the Voyageur Days and meet some nice people. We found a nice B&B there that had quiet rooms and great food. We also checked out the outdoor concerts and got to see Nazareth, an early 70s British rock band. I was never much of a fan, but my brother Ron liked them. Oh well, they sounded okay,... for a rock band that has been playing for 38 years!

Don't Snuggle with your Purex!

Guys should take note, since they don’t seem able to master the intricacies of doing laundry as well as women. It’s bad enough trying to figure out lights and darks, especially since I have a dark laundry room. But now I have to master the liquid laundry soap VS. the liquid fabric softener. It's easy to get them mixed up. I guess I learned the hard way when I noticed the clothes get really soapy in the dryer when you add soap in the rinse cycle.

Guess what I found!

Every now and then you hear about people who rip down the old sheetrock and find valuable stuff behind their walls. Well, I am renovating the basement … so I tore down the sheetrock and guess what I found. Nuthin! That’s what is pissing me off today. There was supposed to be insulation there!!! But there was nothing there but concrete! I have been living in this house for 12 years and the basement rec room is always cold. I just thought it was the normal Timmins weather. Oh well, now I have a s**tload of work to do… and some insulation to buy.

Rain, rain go away...

Our summer is being ruined by rain! It seems every day now there are showers, downpours, drizzles... you name it... everything is wet, wet, wet. I am starting to think they've moved Timmins to Vancouver. I guess it's good for the lawn, but the yard has been so wet for three weeks that I can't even cut the grass.

bread rant

Okay, so I may be getting crusty these days, but what's with the price of bread? I was out shopping this morning and I guess I just noticed it... bread, a single loaf of ordinary bread, was $2.37! What the hell is that about? Is there gold in the flour or what? I don't think that's normal. It's not like we see wheat farmers driving those sissy SUVs and taking trips to Europe! Friggin' $2.37 for a load of bread! Somebody's getting rich eh.

Chocolate cake for breakfast!

It's great when my grandsons come to visit me in Timmins. It's nice to sit around in your peejays on a Saturday morning and have chocolate cake with whipped cream! Kids are easy to please, eh.

Grrrreat weekend. Happy Canada Day.

Yup, had another great weekend celebrating Canada Day. Who knew that Bacardi coolers would cause heartburn!? Oh well, live and learn. We were pleased to have lots of great things to do, despite the cold and rainy weather. But if you live in Timmins you get used to changes in weather. And for some reason after every Canada Day weekend, I just find less and less to gripe about. I guess we really do live in the best country in the world eh.

Father's Day

I know it was yesterday... but it's still one of the best days there is because my kids feel obligated to pick up the phone and call their dear old Dad! Poor Dad was out canoeing and catching some sunshine, followed by a great spaghetti dinner, some wine, a movie and lots of pampering. Sorry Kids... I love you so dearly and I loved getting your phone messages, but I don't hang around the house on a sunny Sunday. Thanks for the thought... It feels great. I think I am good till Christmas now. Oh by the way, is canoeing relaxing... hmmm... got home and checked my blood pressure. 111 over 72 woohoo!

Beat the heat

It was 35 Celcius in Timmins today. I have a hard time with the heat. I guess I am like my old Dad that way. He never did well in the heat. I do have memories of hot days when I was a kid. Dad would sit on the step with a water hose, a beer and a smoke. And he would water the grass with the hose. The funny thing is he’d only water a patch of grass about two feet wide and 30 feet long. I guess it was too hot to move the hose eh.

Holy smoke eh

Small town journalism is getting me into church. I have been in four churches in the past two weeks. First there was the anniversary at Sacred Heart, then Father Olenga had his 25th priesthood anniversary at Notre Dame, tonight the bishop is celebrating his 45th anniversary at the cathedral,and this afternoon there was a fire on the hydro pole outside the old Nativity church. Holy smoke!

River is so high

The Mattagami River is running a lot higher than normal this week. We may get some flooding in the next few days, according to the local flood committee. Of course I couldn't just take their word for it, so I climbed a couple of nasty fences and hiked through the bush to get a close up shot of the water pouring over the floodgates and shooting through the dam at Hydro Bay. Yep, the water is high

Wait for the first new moon in June!

You never plant your garden until after the first moon in June ... if you live in Timmins. That's the rule! It became apparent last night why that rule is there. Temperature dropped to minus two this morning. Lots of plants and flowers hit by frost! The first new moon arrives on June 15th. I will be planting my flowers the next morning.