Weekly Musings of the 17th

Wow, that week was different.  You know when you think your week is going to go one way, and off it goes in another direction?  Sunday as dishes were finished we found the sink would not drain.  Completely plugged, so we bailed it out and waited until Monday morning to call the Super.  The plumber couldn't come that day but would come as soon as possible.  We made do and then Tuesday the Super called and said a plumber would be out that day but they would be coming from Toronto (100 km away!?!?!?) Turns out he drove from Barrie (even further away).

Poor guy thought it was going to be a simple unstopping the drain.  Nope, the further he went the worse it got until under our sink looked like this. 

More and more pipe had to be replaced and more clearing of the pipe and the stench was the most awful.  DD and I wore masks and I put Vicks under my nose.  I don't know how the plumber could stand it.  Hubby who had been a medic said that a morgue smelled better.  I just kept praying that it could be fixed.  

The plumber did not give up and did get that mess cleaned up.  We were so impressed by this guy and thanked him over and over for getting this mess unstopped.  

 I remarked to DD that we have an electrician in the family and a carpenter but I think we need someone to step up and become a plumber, maybe one of the grandkids. 

Back to normal and the next day we did our house-cleaning in order to clear the apartment of any lingering stench.  We did lose a shelf in the cupboard from all the mess but hubby is going to see what he can do about that.  He makes really great little shelves around the apartment.  

Hubby got really busy on his writing and I thought about it and figured we should divide the week somehow in order for us both to get stuff out there.  I made a bit of a day schedule, not carved in stone but one to base the week on.   Hubby's writing will be posted Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday and I will post Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  I figure I will take just three days as I have been posting quite awhile and hubby has a bit more to say for now.  At least that is how we shall go along for now.  

I also started updating my recipe book, it had a few recipes to be added and some tweeking of the pages which looks much better.  Also found an old recipe that had disappeared from the book but was a favourite of DD the 1st and one she really wanted me to make again.  The collection is looking much fresher once more.  

So, that was the week that went off in a different direction due to plumbing but all turned out okay.  Have a great weekend my friends.

 

Books - The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael

 

Now this series is another favourite but it is one that you cannot read quickly.  There is a lot more depth to it.  The TV series is very well done but the books are worth the read.  They are more expensive than most but they are available at the library and need not be read in order if you can't.  

Ellis Peters is the pen name of Edith Mary Pargeter, a very well published English author.  Give her a google if you wish to check out her bio.

'A Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey in western England, Brother Cadfael spends much of his time tending the herbs and vegetables in the garden—but now there’s a more pressing matter. Cadfael is to serve as translator for a group of monks heading to the town of Gwytherin in Wales. The team’s goal is to collect the holy remains of Saint Winifred, which Prior Robert hopes will boost the abbey’s reputation, as well as his own. But when the monks arrive in Gwytherin, the town is divided over the request.

When the leading opponent to disturbing the grave is found shot dead with a mysterious arrow, some believe Saint Winifred herself delivered the deadly blow. Brother Cadfael knows an earthly hand did the deed, but his plan to root out a murderer may dig up more than he can handle.

Before CSI and Law & Order, there was Brother Cadfael, “wily veteran of the Crusades” (Los Angeles Times). His knowledge of herbalism, picked up in the Holy Land, and his skillful observance of human nature are blessings in dire situations, and earned Ellis Peters a Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger Award. A Morbid Taste for Bones kicks off a long-running and much-loved series that went on to be adapted for stage, radio, and television.'

There are 20 books in the series and it finishes off with 

this one.  

'For Brother Cadfael in the autumn of his life, the mild November of our Lord’s year 1145 may bring a bitter—and deadly—harvest. England is torn between supporters of the Empress Maud and those of her cousin Stephen. The civil strife is about to jeopardize not only Cadfael’s life, but his hopes of Heaven.
 
While Cadfael has sometimes bent the abbey’s rules, he has never broken his monastic vows—until now. Word has come to Shrewsbury of a treacherous act that has left thirty of Maud’s knights imprisoned. All have been ransomed except Cadfael’s secret son, Olivier de Bretagne. Conceived in Cadfael’s soldiering youth and unaware of his father’s identity, Olivier will die if he is not freed. Like never before, Cadfael must boldly defy the abbot. The good brother forsakes the order to follow his heart—but what he finds will challenge his soul.'

Each book is a real treasure of history and mystery.  I really recommend this series whether you spend the extra to buy or get them from the library.  They can be hard to get as the author has past away but so very much worth it.  

Have a great day.

 

State Departments - by Robert

 

I’m afraid I’m going to lop off more departments. No more provinces or territories.  Please don’t even think of dividing Canada into several countries. Again, I’m thinking of poor Texas becoming the third largest state.

We have the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police), la Surete du Quebec (Quebec Provincial Police) and the RCMP  (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for all the other provinces and territories.  I propose we transfer all of them under one state police department.  I would suggest they  be called either the Canadian Rangers, or Marshalls.  You must keep the stetson hat, red serge tunic, yellow striped riding pants and perhaps just to please me (you already guessed) seal skin

cowboy boots and spurs.  There may be one or two wearing a turban.  I know PC.  Then again in the future there might be a hijab too, you never know.I suspect we’ll have more cops than we require in the state.  You know I’ve given that some thought.  I was thinking of the FBI, somehow it just doesn’t fit.  You can forget the CIA, they seem to have a bad rep on NCIS, you know the TV show and nearly any other show as well.  NSA and all the other undercover agencies just won’t do, after all you could see them coming a mile away, in their uniforms.  The perfect post would be the Secret Service.  Okay, I can just hear everyone saying, they won't look secret.  Do you honestly believe that the guys wearing the same dark suit, the ear bud with the wire attached dangling down the back of the ear, along the neck, under the jacket and sleeve can’t be seen.  Not to mention the secret service pin on the lapels of their jackets.  I still have one of

those pins somewhere.  The nice agent handed me one, when I worked in security at External Affairs.  (Oops sorry!)  Don’t worry buddy, it was so long ago, I don’t even remember what you look like. As for your name, man, sometimes I have to look at my license to make sure who I am.  There is another plus, they can quickly jump on their horses and run whoever tries something. After all, they always catch their man. (I know, it’s to serve and protect).

As for buildings, I think that Parliament Hill should be vacated. Let’s face the only reason Ottawa was chosen, it was far enough from the border. They didn’t want it to be set on fire, say like the White House. Alright all you historians, it was the British that came down from Canada. I just realized, we have a long history of terrorists going from Canada to the States It’s a wonder you want us to join Mr. President elect. (Sorry!) What to do with the buildings you may ask, I’m ahead of there. Give the hill back to the natives. I can just imagine the grand opening of the new Casino/Hotel complex. Wow! Look out Reno and Vegas, you ain't seen nothing yet.

I would recommend Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver as the new state capital. They

all have covered stadiums.  Maybe Vancouver, the stadium is newer and it did have the Winter Olympics. (Just a side note; why is it when you add an s to the word roof it sounds like you’ve replaced the f for a v.  Maybe it’s just a local thing, or just my hearing.)  I have a plan for the stadium. You’ll just have to wait.  Here’s the plus side, Ottawa can now be free of demonstrations.  Even some demonstrations have a plus Mr. President elect, they bring their own hot tubs and playgrounds. The music at night tends to be loud, but you can dance to it.  Ottawa can go back to what it was like in the 50’s.  The sidewalks roll up at 5PM and nothing really gets going before 9AM.  The exception would be the Casino, of course.  Besides, you can drink till two AM in Gatineau just across the river.

Man there are so many things that must happen before the gala that we’ll have once congress accepts us as a state.

Political parties are in abundance here.  Let’s start with the Conservatives (like the republicans).  Their motto, no more spending.  Next the liberals (democrates) spend and make everyone happy.  Let’s not forget  the NDP, spend even more.  The Green party, I might even vote for them as long as they not just promise, but actually bring the price of organic fruits and vegetables on par with non organic. The Bloc Quebecois now that crew will give you a real hard time.  Remember there is no deal, unless Canadien (you know Franglais and Joual) is honoured.  I know you only have four years,  but if you want your wish to come true, there is a lot of give on your part to take.

I keep thinking ahead, when your 4 years are done, there are candidates I can only dream of taking your place.  Unfortunately, some of the people I’m thinking of are long gone.  Rene Levesque instance.  What an orator.  I can still see him, sitting at the table like a desk, cigarette in hand, occasionally taking puffs between sentences.  He really convinced me, I was not a second class person because I was Canadien. I was really tempted to vote for him, but I still want Quebec to stay and not separate.  Then there was Justin’s papa.  If he lived now, he would have kicked your ass.  There is no way you could out-talk him.  He hit the political stage like a hurricane.  Perhaps you remember Trudeau mania, the man had the women in the palm of his hand.  He gave my mother-in-law shivers .  I’m talking about the

good kind.  He had a great catch phrase.  Who could forget the response for the reporters who insisted he could not institute the war measures act.  “Watch me.”  Then there was fuddle duddle.  Ok it was fuck..  It almost became the battle cry of both Canadiens and Canadians.  We even have song, you can find the song  by Gerry Morgan,on Spotify.

Speaking of the word fuck, I noticed  it’s become more popular over the years.  It’s become used more by the Canadiens.  Now let’s not mistake it for the word phoque, which sounds like fuck but means seal.  I knew I could get my seal skin boots in this.  I have an nephew who can actually use the word fuck, as a noun, verb and adjective, all in the same sentence. A little hard to follow at times, but he somehow gets the message across.

Another thing.  Hopefully I can find someone, I’ve got rid of from whatever agency, can come over and fix this autocorrect on the computer to Franglais.

Chat with you later.

Bobby

New Favourite Walker - Kelinda

 

A lot of creativity beginning this year.  As you know Robert started back writing.  There is a lot more to share but thought I would give a pause to another creative family member DD the 2nd has started off a walking videos on YouTube.  I was going to share one another walker but I just had to take the time to post DD instead (yes, I am bias to family - LOL)  

Here is the link to her first walk (in case the share gives you trouble) 

https://www.youtube.com/@LadyPurza 

Well Done Kelinda!  Looking forward to seeing more of our old city.

Have a wonderful day!

USian - by Robert

American is a name used throughout the world to designate someone from the US. Try not to get upset too much, when I say this word should be replaced. Here is my reasoning for the change. Chinese are Asians right? French, Germans, Greeks and so on, are Europeans. All the nations of Africa are Africans. See what I’m getting at here. I just don’t want us to be mixed up with the Mexicans, Argentinians and so on. United Statesman first came to mind, but it’s two words. It hit me last night, while I was trying to sleep. How about USian. Think about it, you have the US postal service. US embassies, see what getting at. “Sorry!”

Onto some things that would have to change. There is no room for discussions on the following. I will concede on the Stars and Stripes as a national anthem. However OH Canada will also be played at every state function.

The color of the state of Canada on every map will always be pink. I’ll explain why in a moment. Just want to tell you a little story beforehand. Many years ago, I took a thousand island tours. If you’ve never taken it, it’s as much fun as going to Niagara Falls. We had a great tour guide. Part of his speech included pointing to the smallest international bridge. Shortly after, he mentioned that you could see the border between US and Canada by looking down at the water in the St Laurence river. On the Canadian side the water was sort of graying because of the coldness, and the US side blue. You wouldn’t believe how many Americans looked down into the water. “Sorry!’ 

 Now getting back to my insistence of pink. This involves another story. While I was posted to Germany during the cold war, a friend of mine was engaged to a British girl. He asked myself and another friend if we could come along with him, to meet his future in-laws. The parents lived in a small town just below the Scotland. We were in a pub drinking beer, when the prospective father in-law asked how we got back to Canada. It seemed like some Americans, he didn’t really know much about Canada. As you’ve probably noticed in my writings, Canadians have a sense of humor. Now the other friend, who had been invited to join, began to reply “First off,

we fly or take a boat back to New York city.” He paused for a moment waiting for the question as to why New York. Since there were no questions, he went on. “From New York, we take a train or bus up to the border. Once we get across the border, we either rent or if we’re rich enough, we get on our dog sleds and mush to wherever we live.” Now the father in-law seemed to start thinking we were pulling his leg. “But what about all those buildings we see on the telly?” He asked. My friend replied. “Well we paint the ice blocks.” Then he added. “You do know why Canada is always colored pink. This is a known fact, that at sunset, just as the sun is at its lowest in the west, the snow and ice turns from white to the most beautiful pink.” So when you Yanks come up in July, with skis strapped up on the top of your cars and feel embarrassed, when we laugh. “Sorry!”

Another thing, we have two official languages and a fondness for our natives. This will have to be enforced at all federal agencies. Let's start with French. I prefer the term Canadien. None of that Parisian French. You know who speak Parisian French, those who live in Paris. I’ve been to France, toured Marseille. It's just a little different. Whenever I hear a Canadien speak Parisian, it always gets my goat. Just imagine a Brit teaching English to a Texan, and you’ll understand what I’m getting at. Up this way the common language of Franglais and Joual. Franglais is easy to explain. You have a conversation, you can either start it with English or French words, it doesn’t matter what order, because somewhere in the sentence you will change to the other language and back again. May seem confusing but with a little practice you’ll get the gist of it. Joual is a little harder to explain. Let us start with Joual, now the proper Parisian word would be cheval, meaning horse. Whether you say cheval or Joual, it’s the same. Don’t worry we have a Joual dictionary with all the Joual words. You may have to write to the National library, to get a copy, but I’m sure they have at least one. Come to think about it, we could have a lot of unemployed federal and provincial employees, become teachers and or start a printing company for Franglais and Joual dictionaries. See, I’m always thinking ahead, these folks can’t all be on unemployment benefits, it would ruin the country.

Before I forget, a law should be introduced. No spraying of fur coats or any other animal hide with paint. I would go as far as having the person who does such a grievous act, be made to strip naked and be sprayed from head to foot on a daily basis. The number of days would depend on the fur. This country was built on its natural resources including the fur and pelt trades. I would even go as far as only allowing the natives to hunt these animals. Somehow, the white man just doesn’t get it. White men seemed to hunt to have trophies hanging from their walls. I’ve never seen a bison head hanging from the wall in a teepee. Come on people, use up all the animals, stop the extinction of the animals. Natives hunt for survival. A good example is the muskox. We had to send some to Russia a few years back. Why you may ask. Some bozzo convinced everyone that muskox oil added to perfume accentuated the person’s individual scent. I have a very sensitive nose. Yes, there was a slight scent of the perfume, but the person’s odor was also quite noticeable, in fact most smelled like an armpit that hadn’t been washed in weeks. Look at the Inuit, they use all the seals they kill. (I knew I would get my seal skin boots somewhere again). Back in the sixties they came out with sunglasses that were tinted, but leaving the center part clear. Guess where they got that from. You're right, the Inuit with bone specks. Notice I didn’t call are far north brothers and sisters Eskimos, remember it’s not PC. It didn’t help the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, when they changed their name to Edmonton Elks. Ever since the name change, the team dropped in the league standing. Almost as bad as the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL. To paraphrase the words from the movie Twisters, LOOSERS! “Sorry!”

I’m really and truly glad that we are now recognizing the various native languages. But we have to go a little further. We must find a way to be able to communicate with them. Perhaps we should devise a way of making communication easier without having to learn the various languages. I was thinking of China, they have mandarin and cantonese. The emperor who invented Chinese writing was really smart. There I go again, another idea for those unemployed from the various federal and provincial employees.

It’s almost naptime, not to mention the pain in my neck and shoulder from looking down at the keyboard. Man, I miss the old typewriter

Lots more to come

Love Be.

Today is my 91st Birthday - by Jean Chretien

This is just way too important to let slip away on the Facebook feed (that allowed hubby and many others to get hacked) so I am doing a second blog post to keep it here.  Truly very much worth the read.  

Jean Chretien is 91 today and he gave himself a birthday present. He told Donald J. Trump to piss off in the The Globe and Mail. Here's his column:

* * *

Today is my 91st birthday.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. To look back on the life I’ve had the privilege to lead. And to reflect on how much this country we all love so much has grown and changed over the course of the nine decades I’ve been on this Earth.

This year, I’ve also decided to give myself a birthday present. I’m going to do something in this article that I don’t do very often anymore, and sound off on a big issue affecting the state of the nation and profoundly bothering me and so many other Canadians: The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

I have two very clear and simple messages.

To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world – and make no mistake, that is what we are – to join the United States?

I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world – when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.

We’ve also built a strong social safety net – especially with public health care – that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.

This may not be the “American Way” or “the Trump Way.” But it is the reality I have witnessed and lived my whole long life.

If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don’t know a thing about us. You don’t know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up – both times – years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.

We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.

We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds.

We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness.

And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow.

I know the spirit is there. Ever since Mr. Trump’s attacks, every political party is speaking out in favour of Canada. In fact, it is to my great satisfaction that even the Bloc Québécois is defending Canada.

But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence. We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail.

We need another approach – one that will break this cycle.

Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.

When I came into office as prime minister, Canada faced a national unity crisis. The threat of Quebec separation was very real. We took action to deal with this existential threat in a manner that made Canadians, including Quebeckers, stronger, more united and even prouder of Canadian values.

Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.

And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.

Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good. So is lobbying hard in Washington and the state capitals, pointing out that tariffs will hurt the American economy too. So are retaliatory tariffs – when you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.

But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.

We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.

We also need to reduce Canada’s vulnerability in the first place. We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as real national energy grid.

We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.

Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.

The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.

Canadians know me. They know I am an optimist. That I am practical. And that I always speak my mind. I made my share of mistakes over a long career, but I never for a moment doubted the decency of my fellow Canadians – or of my political opponents.

The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.

That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.

I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.

Vive le Canada!

(This photo is from an appearance by M. Chretien on The Agenda with Steve Paikin in 2018).

Becoming American - by Robert

 

For those who’ve read my previous notes, I hope you enjoyed it. For those who think I’m either doolally, crazy, fruit loops, dodo; tough shit. “Sorry!” Look, I’m 78 years old, short term memory getting shorter every day and, I don’t care. “Sorry!”

Before I forget, when it comes to printing money, I really wish the two dollar bill would be printed again. I know it went out of use a long time ago. I can still remember Floridians not accepting it way back then. They always assumed that it was a phony bill. But I always thought there was a different motive, back then the Canadian dollar was higher than the American buck. To be honest I have more personal reasons to get rid of the toonie (two dollar coin). Rolls of toonies, I find too heavy to carry around in my Levis. Not to mention, the bulge it causes is rather suggestive. The other reason is to prevent widening the slots on pay machines. You know, like washing machines, coke machines etc. Okay, I’m cheap too.

Let’s talk about sports. I love to watch hockey and football. I don’t see any changes to be made as far hockey is concerned it’s already NHL and, even going back to the fifties there were always more teams south of the border then up here. (Look it up, I really don't want to spend my time explaining that). Now we are quite PC (politically correct) up this way, but please, please, please don’t change the name of the Chicago Black Hawks. I have always thought their logo was sharp looking. As for the Ottawa Senators, well, that name may have to be changed. I’ll explain that later, so try to remember that when you read more of my babble.

I do have a suggestion however: How about log riders? As for all you English sports

announcers, please learn how to pronounce Canadiens after all it used to be a mostly francophone team. I mean you seem to have no problems pronouncing all the foreign names of players. Okay, I’ll make it easier, call them Habs. By the way, the CH logo on the Canadiens jersey does not stand for Center Hice.

Enough about hockey, let's talk about football. Now this will make Torontonians happy, they will finally get the NFL team they keep wanting. I know, I know there are some slight differences between CFL and AFL/NFL. For instance the size of the playing field and the number of players on each side. I leave it up to the owners to work that out, after all they make the big bucks, let them earn it. One advantage for all CFL players is that they will earn more. To paraphrase my favorite saying: that's all I have to say about that.

Let’s go on to something a little sadder. The federal government. Unfortunately we may have to drop some of them. One in particular are the Senators. (Told you above the name would come up again.) We could retire many of them, I’m sure they have a better pension plan then I do. This would also save a lot of money for the new state of Canada. As for the rest, we can vote them in and ship them off to Washington DC. I really wouldn’t want to piss off the state of Washington, by accidently shipping the old senators to them. This may cause cramped seating in the senate in Washington DC. As for how many we would ship down, I would recommend we designate a crafty, sly negotiator for that job. I think one of the provincial Premiers should have that job. Unfortunately,I only know one that I would love to do the Job. “Sorry Mr. Ford.”

One department that would be redundant is External affairs. Let’s be realistic here, you can’t have two ambassadors in each embassy. Again cost comes to mind at what you could do with all that staff. Retire the older ones, again they have a better pension than mine. Some could even be appointed by the new governor to state postings. Don’t worry all of you at the bottom of the ladder, I’ve thought of a job for you. Some of you could become seamstress, like Betty Ross and sew a new star on old US flags. Others could print up the new flags with the extra star on it.

The old mind is just whirring with more ideas. If I keep this up, I’ll miss my nap time.
Until again.
Bobby

Walow Wah La La La - by Robert

I was watching a stand-up comedian who made a comment about Canadians. He mentioned how we are always apologetic. It seems we say “sorry” all the time.whether we mean it or not. I thought it was funny at the time, but it’s true. How many times someone has bumped into you and you automatically said “Sorry”.

I’ve been thinking about becoming American. I have a great imagination, but I would like to run through some of my ideas and helpful hints. But first Mr. President elect, I would like to apologize for not showing up at your inauguration, on January the 20th. I do have good reasons for not being there. First, I wasn’t invited. Second, I have no passport, so I can’t even show up uninvited. Lastly, it happens to be the date that the love of my life and I shacked up in 1989. For you conservatives out there, we did a civil ceremony on the same date in 2014. So Mr. President elect “Sorry!”

Now back to the subject. There are a lot of pros and cons to becoming American. I’m going to list some. I’m sure I will come up with a lot more later.

The offer to appoint either Wayne or Justin as governor of the new state of Canada. Really nice choices. But I would assume it would be just interim while we have a new election, say in two years time. My nominee would be Mr. Ford. In fact I would even nominate him for President in four years time. “Sorry.”

I really like the idea of lower taxes. But that would mean quite a lot of lost revenue for the federal government, not to mention no tariffs on our export to the States. Of course paper money would now all be green in colour (and we would be dropping the U in colour). I really enjoy our colourful money, it’s much easier to tell the difference from one denomination to the other. Hey, maybe we could work out a deal and have all American currency changed to our colourful ones.   Food for thought. It would also be nice if the exchange of money were at par with the American dollar.   Now that would be a plus.  Might I also add; no need for a passport to visit Disney World or to visit my in-laws in Florida.

Let me go on to more important things like border control for instance. There would be no need for border control. Let's be honest, they are not that effective in the first place. Then again, a lot of people would lose their jobs. I’ve given this a lot of thought. Here is a suggestion: transfer them all to the department of transportation. After all they are used to checking vehicles and, with a little bit of training they could do all the safety checks. See the way I think? Of course this would cut down on gun trafficking from the States into Canada. Also terrorists would no longer come from Canada the country but rather from the state of Canada. Meaning Americans. “Sorry!”

Speaking of guns, I kind of like the NRA mind set on this subject.  Let me give you

an idea on how this would affect my dress code. I’ve always enjoyed what was known as spaghetti westerns. It would be a little different, because I wouldn’t want to insult the Texans. Let me start with the hat. I’ve always had a preference for the ten gallon hat. I tried one on in Calgary many years ago. I must admit, when I saw myself in the mirror, a vision of Spearmint gum came to mind. “Go figure!” Then again, a nice large pom pom would dress it up a bit. As for a outer wear top, I really like a serape, a nice woolen one with printed beavers all over. Since we are known to wear what is called a denim tuxedo, a nice tight pair of Levis for pants. As for shoes, nothing looks better than seal skin cowboy boots. We don’t seem to have either alligators or rattlers up here. Beside seal skin is much more Canadian. I would keep the spurs, I really enjoy the sound they make as you go along. Now that you have kind of a vision of what I would look like, imagine this. A tall skinny old fart walking slowly down the street, tan wrinkled face, wearing thin rimmed glasses (my eyesight isn’t, or should I say ain’t as it used to be)., spurs jingling with each slow step.The reason I’m walking slow, well age does have something to do with but also the accouterments I would be wearing. I’m not stupid enough not to wear a bulletproof vest under my beaver printed serape, when I go for a walk. Hey if I have the right to arm myself so has everyone else, right?  I would also carry my gun permit in my jean pockets everywhere I went. The reason for the gun permit you ask.  Again I must remind you of my love for westerns. You see, there would be the old style 45 in a holster strapped to my leg, in full view. Lets face it, if you’re going to carry a gun, make it visible.   After what is the sense of hiding a gun under a jacket or in my case under the serape. Besides, it would take me too long to draw it that way. It would take a little practice, but I’m sure I could draw the gun almost as fast as I did when I was much younger with my toy gun.  Of course the gun would be old style, because in the old movies, the guns never seemed to run out of bullets.

I would also be wearing ear buds, connected to my cell phone, listening to the theme from 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' movie. You know, 'walow wah la la la'. Yes, I can just see myself walking in the mall, facing a bunch of kids (who should be at school, in the place) giving me the dumb look, you know the one I mean. Then watching their eyes widen with fear as I draw my trusty 45, spin around my index finger a few times and slapping back down in the holster. Hopefully I wouldn't miss the holster and drop it on the floor. Or worse still, the gun goes off accidentally. Then again I could always say “Sorry!”

Enough for now. Look, I'm not writing a book here.

Tata for now. I got more to say and, I promise I’ll write more in the near future, if God gives me the time.

Love Bibert.

Weekly Musings of the 10th

Good Morning my friends and family.  Here we are through another week and a pretty cold one at that.  

I finally figured out the solution to my walking in the cold months when you can't be sure if there isn't ice on the sidewalks or streets.  The parking lot, sidewalk in front of the two apartment buildings makes a really good loop to walk, 6 times around is a mile but I don't count times around, I just set my timer for 30 minutes and keep walking while I say my rosary and listen to a book until it goes off, then I am inside quick as a bunny.  They keep the lot pretty clear of any ice and the sun shining on the asphalt warms up each day and keeps it from forming so I can walk with confidence that I will not be stepping on any surprise ice.  I can do this walk until the warmer weather comes and I can get out walking the neighbourhoods.  I figure I will keep the stairs in my back pocket for those freezing rain kind of days and the loop for cold but clear days. 

 I still get to watch the sun come up as I loop around.  Cloudy but pretty pink glow this morning.  

One thing I noticed on my walk was this pole.  It didn't have this dent yesterday morning but it does today and it is leaning.

Wonder who hit it and what their car looks like after that.  Bumpers not being what they were in the past.  

DD still has cut hours since Christmas but all the store employees have been cut.  I get a little miffed at a company that made billions through the Christmas season can't even keep their employees at their regular hours.  Bet they didn't cut the executives wages after Christmas.  

I drop her off and do my weekly shopping at that point.  

As you saw from the blog yesterday, hubby has started writing once more which I just love.  I love hearing stories of his growing up.  He had such a huge quirky family and since mine was so small it is like peeking into a different world.  As well, his family being French Canadian and mine being English Canadian.  There is a huge difference beside language and just so much fun to read when hubby gets writing.  I do hope there is a lot more to come. 

Hubby had his eye check up last Thursday and this Thursday was mine.  He got new glasses which came in on my day so we went together.  Him to pick up his glasses and drive us home since my eyes would be wonky.  I don't need new glasses this time around which is great although maybe next year I might just get a new pair anyway.  We shall see.  

So a pretty quiet week with just daily walks and puttering at home but of course I saw a great poster - thinking of printing this one up and putting it on the fridge. 

 Have a great weekend!

 

Fun With Words by Robert

 

So, if you check around my blog you will see a few little changes that I am really tickled pink about.  Hubby aka Robert has done some writing and is happy to share it with family and friends on my blog and so I made it our blog now.  The things I share will still be here but now family stories, musings and the like that Robert writes will be posted in between.  So, without further ado.  Here is Robert's first post. 

Fun with Words

The French word for given name is prenom. If you look up a prenom in French-English dictionary,it is your Christian name. So if you are not Christian, I guess you belong to the no name brand. (Joke OK)

My christian names are: Joseph, Albert, Robert.

Now you would think my name should be Joseph, well you’re wrong. Joseph should only have appeared on my baptism certificate.  Back in the old days, Joseph was given to every Catholic boy when baptized.  Girls were baptized with the name Mary.  Now imagine if you were a girl, and your parents wanted to call you Mary.  Your baptism certificate would read Mary, Mary.  (would she end up being contrary?)

Now that I took care of the name Joseph, let’s move on to Albert. As a kid I was curious  where the name Albert came from.  So, I asked my mother.  Her response was. “Your Godmother wanted you to have that name.”  Okay, that was, shall we say, acceptable.  However a few years later, I wanted to know why Aunt Alice, my Godmother, had chosen that name.  Now Aunt Alice’s response was.  “Your mother gave you that name.”  Confused?  How do you think I feel?

So my name should be Albert, right?  Wrong!  Let me try to explain how Robert became my given name. Prenoms [plural, because of the 's' at the end of the word] are all the names given to you before the family name, ergo Joseph Albert Robert.  Are you with me far? Good!  Prenom [singular, see no 's' at the end of the word], is the name just before your family name, which is Robert.  Please tell me you understand.

Fun fact:  I knew that I had the names Albert Robert, but didn’t realize in what order they were until I got my birth certificate at 14.

Dealing with various government agencies is a lot of fun.  I’ve had letters addressed to J. Potvin, Albert R Potvin JA Potvin.  The exception is Revenue Canada,  guess what,  yes, J.A. Robert Potvin.

Now if you honestly think, I’m going to call, write or get involved in trying to correct any of these agencies and explain what I’ve written above, you’re crazier than I am.  The only reason  I added the J. A. on official documents was the amount of R or Robert Potvins listed in the Ottawa phone book (15 pages worth of the old book) if there’s still such a book any more.  Not to mention one Robert Potvin seems to owe a lot of money to a lot of people.

As for nicknames there are Rob, Robby, Bob and Bobby.  Now there are nicknames that I hold dear.  Dad called me Be, pronounced bay.  He rarely used that name in front of others.  To me it always meant 'I love you'.  My cousin Macky always called me Bibert, pronounced Bee Bear.  Macky and I went to grade school together and you couldn’t ask for a better guardian angel.

Hope you enjoy it. Had fun writing it

Be.