Checkered Lounge Pants

Happy Happy.....to one and all that i missed on the august b-days. YOU know who you are. I spent my b-day working in Vancouver. I had to do meetings for contract negotiations and I spent my clicking over to double nickels at Gerry Desharnais (I crash there when working in Vancouver). He sprung for a birthday meal and mixed all my cocktails till midnite sharp, then I was on my own (n o biggy....fall asleep early at my age. Ha Ha). Did get to drop in to Winnipeg for a day and spent intense grandpa time with baby haley and my beloved Val (Val been staying with baby for a spell as reported in earlier post). Bolted to my nephews cabin and did some local stuff (see painted face from Forks museum). Dropped into home long enough to do laundry and some yard work and wash the bike. Off to more road work tomorrow. Ill send you a card from st. John's (the rock). send your postal code, K, eh?

Hey, I got a day off while wrapping up the bargaining work in Montreal and I walked to Old Montreal with a few workmates.Its a beautiful day and we sat on a sidewalk cafe and watched the people walk by. It was a great way to take the mind off the week of negotiations. We stopped in at the Notre Dame cathedral on the walk back to look at the stained glass and I lit a candle for my folks. I talked with my beloved Val and she is at Grand beach with baby and Kevin, and Gary (my brother) and Garys wife Joanne and Rachelle(my niece). Justin (my nephew) owns the cabin and he has the whole clan out there for watersports. They are all sore and stiff from tubing behind the boat. LOL. I am jealous of those beach bums. Well back to my day off. Later.

Well, how was your Canada Day long weekend?? Lots of Bar-B and beers?? Mine was unusually quiet in my pillared community.. Val left for Winnipeg to perform some child care duties and settle in with baby Haley for a spell. I had lots of chores to catch up on after being away for 10 days, and, a few new chores waiting. I also squeezed in some range time with my rescue club and 9 holes at the Oxley golf course down the road. Dont let me fool you into thinking it was all R&R....roof patching, tire fixing, kennel tending, mulching, weed tending, all found their way into my 3 day weekend (as well as a grey goose evening, for those of you who enjoy the fare). Meantime, Val has been saddled with caring for baby at her folks house (I digress, she doesnt consider it as chore by no means). She has started the potty training phase and I get regular reports of every successful mission that is completed (and, some missions that fail as well). She makes the rounds to the park, the farm as well....

So. like I took a week off work that was void of travel and spent the entire week enjoyng the outdoors. Weather was extremely warm and after doing the early mornin g yard chores, it was off to the recreation of the day (except for the 5am reverie onfishing day......) Mountain biked on Monday by the local B&Bs.. Fishing on Tuesday. Riding the Hawg to the beach on Wednesday. Golfing (swoosh, cussing) on Thursday. More golfing on Friday. Riding the hawg through the wine county on Saturday. Sucking up to Val on Sunday. OY. Its all good.

Hi there, how was your week? Have you been watching the weather reports across the country? It’s pretty unstable, eh? I was watching the news and the broadcaster announced that the G8 meetings in Europe was going to focus on the host countries (Germany) agenda to reduce greenhouse gases. “Good” I thought, “it’s about time”. The next news report announced that the goal was to reduce the greenhouse gases by 2050 to 50%. “Did I hear that right”, I mumbled, “that will make me, hum…..97 years old (or, better yet, try how old will the kids or grandkids be)….OY”. The next report announced that the US was blocking the hosts over anxious goal. “Get real”, is what came to my mind. The thoughts that followed are, well, lets just say disgust will sum it up. Anyhow, my week was akin to those stereo-typical country songs. On Monday, I went to get my bike from the shop and the bike wont start. I have to reroup and return tomorrow. Tuesday morning, my beloved Val left a message that she was ...

Way warm here today....gonna hit 30 and the humidex will go through the roof. I just got home last night. I picked up some virus while on the road in Toronto last week. Whoaa, shivers and such, for 48 hours, YIKES. It was all I had to make the 5 blocks from hotel to train station to catch my ride home. I wont share my flu bug with my staff so I am taking a sick day. Feelin slightly more human 2 day, but I woke up to an empty house and no car. The bike is still in the shop, so, I will have to bicycle down to Colchester to get supplies to make it through the heat. I will stop at the roadside stands and get some fresh fruit for lunch. Its all good. I was sequestered in bargaining for a week so I have not heard a peep from my Boyz and the text messenger has been quiet except for the odd note from the grandkids Mom. Kevin left for a job out West so I dont hear much about my grandchild and I dont care to be Mr. Inbetween, if you know what I mean. Too bad.....nuff said. Cam has decided not to...

I think I need a time out..........I hit the links and worked on my new golf swing (which is simply trying to acquire my old swing too get my lost distance, back) when I got my desired distance on my shots, but, now, I send the little white ball vaulting wildly in any god for saking direction. OY. I sat on the 19th hole, lost in despair and disappointment, when the bike shop called and said I better drive to the shop because John (the only harley mechanic left that remembers Evo motors) needs to show you how "deep" he has to tear down the bike to be able to complete the work. Ya see, I had taked the sled in to fix a small leak in a gear box seal, and ordered a long overdue maintenance check because I was planning to make one more trip to the Black Hills Rally, in Sturgis, this year. Anyhow, I better drive to the shop or I will be walking to Sturgis.

Spring has sprung, finally. Baby and Kevin visited for three weeks and we visited the Nations capital and toured the usual haunts. We stopped long enough and had a picnic outside the Ottawa hotel. They went home last week. The flowers are blooming in the yard. My beloved Val is nagging to get the yard presentable and I have even snuck in a few rounds of golf. Yahoo. This week is a travel week in Montreal and hopefully the weather will cooperate and chores will be all done soon after I get home.

It was my good friend Fuzzy’s birthday earlier this month. I sent an email telegram for the surprise party b ut I was a little tardy sending, in my usual way, so I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAT FUZZY on the blog. Dave (hubby) sent some pics of the party and it looks like she had fun. Dave and Fuzzy used to invite everyone to their house in Winnipeg for Lobster deals and some of us stayed long after the markets were gone, for beers and Dave and Fuzzy’s hospitality in Winnipeg. We all moved eastward early in the new millennium, but I hear the lobster tradition lives on at Fuzzy’s old house. I was reading a news article the other day about a cricket coach being strangled in his hotel. It appears his team from Pakistan lost their world cup match to Ireland. I never thought of Ireland being a world class force in cricket? I believe golf, rugby, but cricket. Can you imagine?? It’s going to be a long flight home for the squad from Pakistan. It’s a whacky world. I also saw a doc...

Barb walked into my office and said I got myself a dilemma. How can I get a 55 inch TV from London to my living room. Huh, I said, what?? Where did you get a 55 incher?? Relatives upgraded their home entertainment and gave me their old 55 incher if I can transport it from their house in London, she reported. OY...when we get in a squeeze, its Joe to the rescue. Joe measured his van and its a tight fit. But its a fit. Face down after all the seats are removed, we can do 'er. Not face down someone advises. No Way do you move a new fangled flat panel TV anyway but upright. OY....plan B, Joe. We always got a plan B ( circa movie titled Rare Birds) when Joe is doing the rescue. Anyhow, cant tell you plan B cause Joes Ma took ill and he left fore Cape Breton to be with her before we could activate Plan B. Stay tuned.

"Jamaica!!! Jamaica!!!" I replied when my son Kevin called to say that Laura and he had booked a week all inclusive to Jamaica. "Yes" he said. "We went to see a travel agent about a vacation, and." he said, "after scouting a West Coast holiday, we decided it was much cheaper and more inviting to travel to Jamaica for a week". "Why not bring the kids here for a vacation?" I quizzed. Even though it hardly seems fair to make them revisit Colchester when there is a whole wide world out there to see, but what do I care about the wide world when I can arrange a chance to see the kids. Bullocks to the wide world, I say. OK OK OK.....how about a stopover in your flight and drop the kids off to babysit, I am now pulling out all the GranPa stops. "I dont think so Dad". Cheeky kid, I mumble to my self. Anyhow, Lorraine and Starla are babysitting in Brandon. Kev left the mobile phone with them so I have been text messaging with the girls...

Hi there, Not much to gab about this post. I will do a blurb to keep up my monthly blog diary. Worked a heckish schedule in December and January logging about 30K airmiles and weeks away from home I spent the majority of this month working out of the house when it was permitted by my admin. Did a lot of texting with the kids and d/l some swell pics of Baby Haley. My favourite is included (guess who's picture she's holding, eh?). Dont she deserve a big ole chomma? Mwaaaa. Cam's girlfriend Marie had her 23 birthday this weekend and my stepdaughter Amanda turned 25. March is just around the corner, but this month was nice and quiet, so far. Be well, all.

Hi All, Just a quick post to bring the gossip up to date. I spent Xmas at home with friends and family and even caught up on some long overdue commitments, eh Denny? I took my long lost colleague, Dennis, out for his retirement dinner and enjoyed the company of a few of my nearest and dearest Union friends at the same time. It was a gas. Also got to hi-jack my grand-daughter for a few days and she really plays strange with me. OUCH. It was a good thing my beloved Val had the good fortune of being the "maternal shoulder" in our breakaway with Baby Haley. She and Baby were inseparable until Mommy Laura could stand to be apart no l onger, and we had to return the little bundle of joy back to her Mom. My long-lost stepdaughter, Amanda, also was in touch. I was so overjoyed to hear from her. She works on a $40M yacht and was presently docked (I am struggling for the correct nautical terms, being, a railway man and all!) in Seattle with plans for exotic ports of call in the New Ye...

Driving down the road to Kingsville the other day, my beloved Val seemed quite unsettled about the fact that we were, soon, passing by her 40th birthday and zooming in on Xmas and there was no snow to be seen anywhere in our neighbourhood. Now, that really is not all that unusual in our neck of the woods, but she seemed right agitated. Never really gave it much tought, but, while in Montreal this week, I snapped a pic from my hotel window towards Westmount, and, "loe and behold" it is December 17 and ne'er a flake to be seen. Have a peek, see? It occurred to me , as well, I called my folks in Winnipeg a few days ago, and they reported the weatherman was forecasting rain. RAIN.........RAIN. Be still my heart, well Santa really has arrived, when folks in Winnipeg are not freezing their butts off in December. Or has he??? Can you beleive that? Now I dont recall the last time I did not have a white Xmas, but I do want one. It just dont seem Kosher to have Xmas without snow ...

Hey all, what a weekend. WOW. had some chores to complete in Toronto regarding work and getting these signs up in 18 cities, but once the job was done, it was time for some play. Tons of tinis and good dining was the order of the day. Danny Michaluk from Winnipeg, spared a few hours to give us (my beloved Val accompanied me for the weekend) a tour of Chinatown down on Spadina and, then, walked with us down to Kensington Street and we frequented a few bars that were not much bigger than a post stamp and the beer was not much more expensive, either, and shops that I can only describe as , ecclectic. We scored some good deals and even managed to squeeze in some last minute gifts for Xmas. Great deals, man-o-man, I mean GRRRRRRRREAT deals as some tiger once said. Anyhow, the weekend ended much to quickly, and it was time for everyone to catch their trains and planes and head for home. Ahhhhhh wee laddie, the good times end much too quickly.

Heyyyy Mannnn, only 24 days until Xmas, eh? I can actually say I started my Xmas shopping this year. I normally spend the day before doing the necessities gifts and Boxing Day getting the "out-of-towners" gifts. What made me think of that??? Oh Yeah, the sea of red (as in Santa's suit) in Montreal. I am finishing the week up at the bargaining table for one of the National railwyays, amongst, the heady aura of the Liberal convention to select a new leader. Red scarves, red buttons, red posters, red shirts, red red red red. Its been a real attraction for the Union colleagues to expound on their individual theories on the eventual outcome for the leader of the BIG RED MACHINE (not to mention all the shots about the new "Nation" the Tory party "established"). For the most part, its been more of an amusement of celebrity watching for me. One of my colleagues was determined to take Ken Dryden's autograph back home to her family. I took a great deal of s...

Hey boomers, how freaky is the water thing in Vancouver, eh? The stories coming out of BC about the water crisis is hauntingly familiar to Bangladesh and the drought. Lets all think about the story that Matt Damon tells about watching the village school girl that walks 5 miles every day after school to get a clay pot full of potable drinking water. Now flash back to Vancouver and the gas prices arent such a big thing when you think you might have to drink water th at you boiled for an hour and you still cant get the brown silt to allow the water to become crystal clear before you satisfy a thirst that has long since left the realm of QUENCH and gone right into DEHYDRATE, in some parts of the city. Never mind showering in it. KEEP PUMPIN THOSE FOSSIL CABONATES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. Whadda we need, a shot upside the head, or what? I quote, "Amid the controversy that surrounded Environment Minister Rona Ambrose at last week's UN Climate Conference, little notice was given to a num...

Aye’s da bay dat wrenches the bike, an’ aye’s da bay dat rides ‘er. I spent the weekend wrenchin and ridin……..which is not a big deal, UNLESS yer a biker aficionado type that relocated from Winnipeg and yer ridin in NOVEMBER. Well now, I remember when a fella would call me from Vancouver on New Years Day to say they were on the golf coarse, to which I responded what possessed them to golf on New Years Day, and was inundated with “BECAUSE WE CAN”. I can tell from the edge on the North wind, though, winter is not far. We had a nice fire the other night after spending the day at Joe’s splitting logs and my beloved Val filled the trunk of the Grey one (term of endearment for the car) after her and Joe bartered for her operating the hydraulics on the log splitter (the pic is Joe teaching Cyress the fine art of operating a wheel-barrow when the kids were visiting in October) . Who knows, might be a few more riding days before I have to start my Xmas shoping. WhooooooW...

Sitting waiting for a plane, again......its the first posting from the road. Been away for almost 2 weeks and unexpectedly, I found travel schedule had me going home today instead of later in the week. Its been a long trip this round (by days end I will have rode 4 trains and 4 planes this trip). I been hard-pressed to keep my mind from wondering from the tasks-at-hand. I found myself daydreaming about travel songs and the next thing I know I whipped off this poem. Dont read anything into it, it was just a mind google filling in some wasted moments while I waited in the Montreal airport for my flight to Fredericton. It goes something like this: Poet Tree I called home the other day Just to gab and hear her say How the home fires flickered while Im away And tell about the church I visited and stopped to pray Wasn’t much else going on I had been on the road all too long The thoughts of home and family was getting strong Living in hotels and restaurants got to feelin...

Well time really does fly when your having fun.......or when yer chasing kids. Ha ha. As I mention in an earlier post, my son, Kevin and his better half, Laura visited us last week. It was really fun seeing the house get REALLY lived in. Whoaaaaa, the spare bedroom will be forever christened the "Boyz Room" and "in need of a bath" will always hold the image of Kevin running with Baby Haley for the bath-tub after a full diaper was aromatically evident at daybreak. Grandpa and Gramma (Val was a vision to behold with the kids) have never been so vigilant and active around the beach-house since we moved in, unless we were in full yard mode, and then never for a full week un-interrupted. I took lots of pics but my favourite so far (some still in development) is what I like to call "Proud Gramma" (in the tune of Proud Mary). It was a gas, check it out. The time to ride back to catch the train came all to soon and heavy hearts were abundant on the drive back ho...