Month: August 2018

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Honeysuckle

It finally happened. After two years, the honeysuckle plant on  the right side of the arbour has grown up to meet the honeysuckle growing up the left side.
Hopefully, by next year, it will fill in and cover the top of the arch.
A side benefit to the honeysuckle is that it attracts hummingbirds and these tiny creatures are fascinating to watch.
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Appointment

This morning I attended the Life Labs location in Barrie to have some Bloodwork done. I had made an appointment on line for 9:50.

I got there at 9:48 and was ushered right in. There was a waiting room full of people.
I mentioned to the nurse that I was surprised more people didn’t take advantage of the appointment option and she just shrugged.
I remember the first time I went for an appointment, I could hear others in the waiting room grumbling about my going ahead of them. But now, when they call you in, they will say, Gary – for your appointment.”
They also have a large TV monitor in the waiting room that lists the order in which patients will be called and also highlight those with appointments so everyone can see.
Love this system.
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Visitors from Meaford

Today we hosted Paul and Diane, friends we made on our European River cruise last May. They had already had us for lunch at their home in Meaford.

It was great to see them again and we had a very enjoyable time including a delicious lunch.
We had to use our BBQ to warm up the dessert because our oven has been acting up lately. It’s likely we will have to get a new stove.
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Tornado Warning

I received my first ever emergency warning on my I Phone last night. We were watching a movie in the Family Room when a piercing wail began to eminate from my phone.

At first we thought it was on the TV but soon realized where it was coming from.
When I picked up the phone to look at it, this is the message that came up.

We paused the movie to check outside and it was definitely looking weird.

I put the car in the garage and the two urns at the front.
Nothing developed in Barrie, however the radar map showed heavy rain around Orillia.

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Progress on My Book

I have been making good progress on the book I am writing entitled If the Walls Could Talk. I recount some of the many experiences I had during my 28 years with Corrections. There’s a lot to tell. Right now my focus is just getting the words on paper.

The next step will be to put everything in some kind of chronological order and to find pictures which lend to a better understanding of the stories I relate.
I am fortunate to have MY Jane helping me with editing.
I figure I am about 75% done with the actual writing so I anticipate being ready to publish well before year end.
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Surprises

It was nice sitting on the back deck this morning just taking in the view. We were pleasantly surprised to see three roses in full bloom on a bush we just planted a couple of months ago.

We are always amazed at the unexpected things that happen in our garden from birds bathing in the corner waterfall to the hummingbirds that now visit our honeysuckle on the arbour.

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S S Kewatin

Today MY Jane and I took a spin up to the Port McNicol area to have a tour of the Kewatin, a steamship test played the Great Lakes between Parry Sound and Thunder Bay using the 1900’s. We took a bit if a detour and stopped at Bayport where their annual corn roast was being held. 

It was nice to re-connect, however briefly with many of our boating friends.
After Bayport, we drove over to Port McNicol and had a tour of the Kewatin.
The tour was extensive and our tour guide, Michelle, was very knowledgeable and thorough.
Jane and I were out on Georgian Bay in our own boat when the Kewatin was towed in to Port McNicol from Michigan in 2012. It is the same design as the Titanic.


We even toured the engine room.

A rainy but enjoyable day.
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Small Projects

Today I have a couple of small projects to do in my garage/workshop. I want to build another trellis for the climbing rose that we planted a few months ago. It has been doing really well considering that, when we planted it, we didn’t think we’d get any blooms this year.

And the honeysuckle on the arbour has almost made it over the top. That was planted only two years ago.

Our garden is pretty much where we want it to be right now. Just a matter of tweaking it from time to time 
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Lazy Day

Today is one of those rare do-nothing days. All I did was make a trip to the Home Hardware and buy some weed killer for the grass next to the curb.

I had called the Weedman who does the rest of our lawn but he wanted another $20 a visit. He suggested some stuff that I could use myself, so that’s what I’m doing.
We’ll see what happens.
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Toronto East DC

Last night I attended at gathering of Metro Toronto East Detention Centre staff, many of whom I had not seen in over 40 years. I had gone there expecting to recognize two or three, but to my delight, I knew at least a dozen or so. Mind you, the fact that everyone had a name tag on made it a lot easier.

We met at a popular Sports Bar not far from Toronto East and gathered on the patio.
Needless to say, there were plenty of war stories being told and plenty of laughs to go around.
I’m glad I went.

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Cloud Constable

Have you heard of Artificial Intelligence?

IBM is currently holding a contest with a prize of $5,000,000.00 for a developer to apply AI to make the world a better place.
My nephew, Michael Pickering has founded a company called Cloud Constable that will use artificial intelligence to monitor the Internet for fraud, phishing e-mails and protect children using the net from inappropriate sites.
I think this is a very worthwhile endeavour and I wish Mike and his team every success.
Originally there were 162 entrants but less than half that number remain in contention including Cloud Constable.
Here’s a link to his website
And a video
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Lunch With a Colleague

MY Jane and I drove to Oshawa to meet up with a former correctional colleague, Reg Dunning,  that I hadn’t seen in over forty years. We had lunch at Red Lobster in Oshawa at his suggestion and it was great!

We reminisced about times when we worked at the Don Jail and shared many stories. 
It was a great afternoon and Jane and I had been talking about Red Lobster just recently alluding to  the fact that it was quite awhile since we had been there.
Driving was good in both directions although, on the way home, Southbound traffic returning from cottage country was stop and go.
Great day!
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Visit With Helen

Today MY Jane and I took Shenanigans from Brandy’s in Honey Harbour up to Whalens Island to visit Jane’s cousin, Helen.

The weather looked a bit iffy first thing, but as the day progressed, it got better. We arrived at Helen’s cottage around noon. She was waiting for us. 
Her cottage has a great view from atop the crest of a rocky outcropping.
The inside of her cottage was all finished in pine including the kitchen cupboards.
We had brought pizza and salad along with some cold drinks and, once the pizza was done, we enjoyed a great lunch while we continued to take in the scenery from inside.
Helen had written a poem long ago but it pretty much captures the essence of Georgian Bay, even today. She has it hanging on the wall:

After lunch, we sat down at the dock watching the boat traffic go by and talking.
We left around 4:30 PM with Jane at the helm.

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Appointments

Yesterday I kept my second appointment with my Optometrist here in Barrie. I had my first one with this Doctor about six months ago to establish a baseline. The tests he conducted yesterday showed no change so both of us were happy about that.

MY Jane also had an appointment with a physiotherapist for her sore shoulder. He used a dry needle method, something similar to acupuncture, and she has noticed a big improvement in her shoulder and neck. She also has a series of home exercises to do five times a day and further appointments.
Our plan today was to take Shenanigans from Honey Harbour up to Whalens Island to visit with Jane’s cousin, Helen, at her cottage, but it looks like the weather is not going to cooperate, so we’ll do it another time.
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Visiting at the Jones Cottage

Yesterday, MY Jane and I – along with our across the street neighbour’s, Allan and Jenny – were invited by our next door neighbours, Chris and Rina, to join them at their cottage on McKay Lake near Bracebridge.

We arrived there shortly after 1PM and were given a tour of the cottage and the outside. It’s a great location, right on the water. It wasn’t too long before we were all dockside, chatting and enjoying a libation or two and appetizers.
The youngest ones, Carson and Thomas, wasted no time jumping in the water and soon after went tubing as did Colter.
Chris took all of us on a boat tour of the lake and, although, small in size, there were quite a few cottages surrounding it. A few of the places are year-round residences.
Jane and I, too, went swimming and I couldn’t help but notice that the water temperature here was much warmer than Georgian Bay.
Later on, Allan, Colter and Carson tried their hand at water skiing with varying degrees of success. Allan, unfortunately pulled a leg muscle on his first try. Colter was successful on his first try. Carson managed to get up from the water on just one ski, a first for him and he was very excited.
We had BBQ shish kabobs on the deck prepared by Chris and Rina and just after supper left for home.
What a thoroughly enjoyable time we had!
Thank you, Chris and Rina and Cokter and Carson, for having us!

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Apple Store

Yesterday, MY Jane and I went to the Apple Store in Newmarket to have our I Pads and I Phone checked. All of them were performing slowly and Jane’s I pad would freeze up from time to time. We were attended to by a very personable young man who very quickly that my IPad was simply old (6 years) and there wasn’t anything that could be done.

He initiated a “Restore” on Jane’s I Pad which he said could take up to twenty four hours to complete so we left it overnight and will check it this morning.
Very good service at this Apple Store.
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New Deck Configuration

Yesterday, MY Jane and I had another discussion about re-arranging the deck furniture with the idea of making a little more room. The main topic of discussion was the placement of the BBQ. Jane was suggesting that it be located at the far end of the deck. 

So we unhooked the BBQ from the natural gas hookup and tried it. Both of us agreed that it made more space, especially around the table.
Because the gas hookup was at the other end of the deck, I needed a much longer hose connection. So I went to nearby Napoleon BBQ  and bought a 20 foot length. It wasn’t cheap. However, the connectors were not compatible and I ended up getting a gas fitter to come and extend the pipe under the deck. He wasn’t cheap either. Here’s what it looks like now:

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Window Cleaning

Shortly after we got home yesterday, I decided to try one of the things we bought at the Port of Orillia.

I soaked it in water for five or ten minutes, then wrung it out and tried it on the glass door at the front entrance. This thing is fantastic!
With no trouble at all, the window was sparkling clean.
We could never get it streak free before, especially when the sun was shining on it. I ended up doing all the windows, inside and out, within reach.
Highly recommend.

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Port of Orillia

We did one of our spontaneous road trips today. After breakfast, we set out for the Port of Oriilia. It was a beautiful summer day and I thought it would be nice to set up our lawn chairs by the boardwalk there and watch the boats.

As it turned out, there was some kind of function at the waterside and there were all kinds of booths set up selling just about everything. We ended up buying new sheets for the spare room, some special glass cleaning cloths, a shish kabob holder for the BBQ rotisserie and a new fedora for me.
We even saw an aqua car driving up the boat ramp. Very cool.
Then we had a quick bite at a nearby restaurant and returned home.

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Visiting Annemarie and Jim

Today, MY Jane and I are off to visit with our good friends, Annemarie and Jim. Jane has made a delicious dessert to take with us and we’ll use our little portable fridge to keep it cool until we get there.

Stopped at their place then walked to the Copper Kettle for lunch.


Great visit great day!

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Rogers Sucks

My most recent Rogers wireless bill had $224 tacked on for extra data usage. I knew I was getting close to my limit when I was up at the cottage and, at the time, took them up on the option of paying $20 for more data.

Well, apparently it was not enough, hence the additional charge. I decided to call Rogers and after going through the “for billing press 5” etc recordings and waiting for a live person to come on the line, I was finally speaking to Simone. Simone kept putting me on hold for no apparent reason, although I could hear laughing and giggling in the background. After explaining my issue at great length, I was disconnected mid sentence. &@$)(!
I waited five minutes with the idea that Simone would have the brains to call me back. That way I wouldn’t have to go through the whole scenario again. Well, Simone did not have the brains to call me back. Now I am ticked. “You think you can get rid of me that easy, Rogers?” I muttered.
So I called back and went through all the “press this number” hoops again and ended up speaking to Ebhissek. Although I had to get him to repeat things over and over because of his heavy accent, he was much better than Simone and extremely apologetic. Very quickly it became apparent the he didn’t have the authority to do ANYTHING. He did, however, tell me that he was initiating a case file and would transfer me to someone higher up.
 
By now I had been on the phone for 45 minutes. Terrible customer service.

After being on hold for about 15 minutes I talk to Nick, a higher up. He assures me he us going to resolve my issue. “What do you want to happen here, Mr. Pickering?” I tell him I want Rogers to waive the $224 in extra data charges. Let me check with MY supervisor.
After a few minutes, he comes back and sounds very enthusiastic. My supervisor says we can waive that $224 – all you have to do is sign up for our more expensive plan which will only cost you $170 a month. Then you can cancel the plan after a month.
So I said, “Let me get this straight, Nick. You want me to sign up for a $170 per month plan to waive $224.” “That’s right!”, he says. 
“So, overall, you’re giving me a credit of about $54. That’s an insult,” I said. “I’ll be cancelling your service.”

Nick says, “Sorry to hear that, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with?” I’m thinking to myself…you’ve gotta be kidding.

But I restrained myself and responded by saying, “Well, you haven’t been much help so far. No thanks.”

2 hours later,I get an e-mail advising that there will be a $224 credit on my next bill.
Once I actually get the credit, I will be cancelling Rogers. They suck.
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River Stone

There are a couple of areas in the back yard that are bare spots. Nothing wants to grow there. We decided to try an elevated planter in one location and that seems to have covered up most of the bareness  and the plants seem to be doing ok.

But there was still a big patch of ground with nothing, so when my next door neighbour offered to give me a bunch of River stone, I jumped at the opportunity. Here’s a before and after.

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Back at Brandys

Yesterday morning my cousin George and I set off to get my dinghy and return it to Brandy’s. On the way, we stopped at the Barrie Soccer Club, where George is a volunteer, to unload some things that had been used at Kempenfest this past weekend.

We had breakfast at a nearby restaurant and then continued on our way.
Shenanigans was already out of the water when we got to Sturgeon Bay Marina and we got it hooked up to George’s truck in no time.
We dropped it off at Brandy’s with the intention of putting it right back in the water, but were unable to do that because the launch ramp was being repaired and out of service.

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Retrieving Shenanigans

This morning my cousin, George and I, will head up to Sturgeon Bay Marina to retrieve my dinghy and return it back to Brandy’s Marina.

Dan Noble, owner of Sturgeon Bay Marina and Shayne Ronald, Manager of Brandy’s have both been so good to deal with. Shayne kindly loaned me his trailer and even had it out of the water and ready for pick up and Dan was good enough to let me park the dinghy at one of his docks for a few days – no charge. He even launched it for me at the boat ramp because neither George or I have ever backed a trailer up.
Of course, I have to thank George for giving up so much of his time to help me out with getting the dinghy back and forth.
There are nice people in the world.
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Writing

For some time now, I have been giving thought to writing a book. My inititial idea was to recount some of the things that involved me during my 28 years in Corrections. Frequently, when I would tell people outside corrections about the prison system, they would say, “You could write a book about that stuff.” And I have responded by saying that I suppose everybody that worked in corrections or any profession dealing with people could do the same.

In fact, though, a former correctional officer with whom I worked many years ago, Stephen Lonsdale, has already authored several books including one called Inside Looking Out. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the prison life from a correctional officer perspective. It’s available on Amazon.
I would highly recommend this one. It’s a great read.
His latest book is called Above the Fold and, it too, is a great read.
Yesterday morning I called Steve and we chatted for about an hour during which time he offered several helpful tips on writing. I very much appreciate him taking the time to talk to me. 
I am still pondering this idea of writing my own. 
Yesterday afternoon, MY Jane and I invited our across the street neighbour’s, Allan and Jenny over for cheese and crackers and a few libations. We wanted to personally thank them for watching over Minnie and taking care of the flower garden while we were away. We had a great time with a lot of laughs.

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Last Cottage Day

Today is our last day at the cottage. We check out at 11AM. We already transported most of our stuff yesterday and packed it away in the car. That way, we’ll have minimal stuff today.

It has been a wonderful two weeks made even better with having Sara & Steven as well as Tonya & Chris each spend a few days with us.
After breakfast, we’ll tidy up,  and do our final packing.
Already its shaping up to be a beautiful day. Here’s what we’re leaving behind. 

But we’ll take the memories with us!
Maybe back next year.
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Trip to Pointe au Baril Station

Yesterday, after breakfast, MY Jane and I loaded stuff  into the dinghy that we would not need in the next couple of days. We were going to nearby Port au Baril Station by car to get rid of some garbage anyway, so we thought we could minimize the stuff we would have to transport this Saturday – our last day at the cottage.

After we dropped off the garbage, we went into the nearby store to get some ice cream. Then we decided to explore the road beyond.
We came across a local cemetery with a number of crypts and a War Memorial. One of the inscriptions was particularly interesting:


After returning to the cottage, Jane floated around for awhile in the floatie chair and I relaxed and dozed in the hammock.

We had a great BBQ steak dinner then watched some TV.

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Smoke

Yesterday was overcast all day with a light rainfall in the morning. MY Jane and I were OK with that. The very dry bush needed the rain and we were hoping that the out of control forest fire to the North of us would be suppressed somewhat. That wasn’t the case, though, because they didn’t get much rain up there.

There were reports, too, that the fire had spread closer to the Trans Canada Highway 69. It was 5km away whereas the day before it was 6 km away. If it gets too close, they would have to close this main transportation artery between Sudbury and Toronto. 
It really hit home with us yesterday afternoon when we could actually smell the smoke. And we’re about 75 kilometres away from the actual fire. 
We were playing Monopoly inside when MY Jane first smelled it. We closed the doors and windows to keep it from coming inside the cottage.
This morning is better. No smell of smoke. 
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Breakfast on the Bay

Yesterday, MY Jane and I decided to have breakfast on the Bay. So Jane made up a couple of egg mcmuffins, wrapped them in foil and I poured coffee into a couple of thermos mugs.

We were heading toward Port au Baril Station, a fifteen minute boat ride away, for groceries and stopped on the way.

The bay was very calm and I cut the motor while we drifted, enjoying our breakfast and the scenery.

Jane took the helm for the trip back, after which we cooled off in the lake.
Later on, we played horseshoes for a bit in front of the cottage. For a first timer, she did pretty good.

I lazed and read in the hammock for awhile and Jane did some reading at lakeside,

After dinner, we played a game of Scrabble then watched some TV to find out more about the serious Forest Fire to the North of us. Firefighters continue to battle this blaze and several communities have been evacuated.