Month: September 2018

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Jane’s Phone

Jane’s I Phone cannot handle all her apps and photos so we are going to look at getting a new one tomorrow. We spoke with a couple of our unpaid tech advisers (Steven & Sara) and were advised on some things to consider like data availability.

Not only are we looking at a new phone but a new carrier as well. I was extremely unhappy with the customer service from Rogers Mobility after being surprised with a $225 extra data charge from Them last month. I had to go through all kinds of telephone hoops before they finally agreed to waive that charge. 
We are now leaning toward Bell seeing as we have our internet and TV with them.
We have an appointment with Bell tomorrow.
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SCOTUS

I watched with great interest the Senate hearing on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh for the position on the Supreme Court of the United States.

A number of things come to mind.
1. The Supreme Court has gone from being somewhat impartial to a lot political.
2. The United  States Senators do not think for themselves. They are more interested in party position
3. The culture of somehow making victims of sexual assault feel inferior remains prevalent
4. The belligerent and disrespectful demeanour of Judge Kavanaugh when being questioned by Senators would not be tolerated by a Judge in court if he was a witness in a trial
5. The reluctance of Republican Senators to have the FBI do more on a background check of Kavanaugh is very telling
6. Kavanaugh has been described as a sloppy drunk
If I was treating this as a job interview for such an important position, Judge Kavanaugh would definitely not be my choice.
IMHO
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Impromptu Dinghy Ride

Yesterday MY Jane and I did one of those spontaneous things that retired people can do – we went for our last dinghy ride of the season up on beautiful Georgian Bay.

We had no particular destination in mind but ended up at Tonch Point East on Beausoleil Island – the exact spot where we got married.
We had a little picnic there and watched the infrequent boats passing by.
It was bittersweet returning to Brandy’s Marina for the last time this year. Nonetheless it was an enjoyable day.

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If The Walls Could Talk is now available on Amazon.com

My book, If the Walls Could Talk, is now available on Amazon.com at the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1726331954

I am pretty excited to have this project completed. I want to thank MY Jane for her support and encouragement in getting this done. Her editing skills helped enhance the quality of my book and make it a much better read.
I am already thinking of another book, perhaps a murder mystery. First though, I have to come up with the “perfect crime”. I thought I had one already but my across the street neighbour already heard about the method I had in mind. 
The murder weapon was going to be an icicle which, of course, would melt after the deed was done leaving investigators having to try to figure it out.
So I have to come up with another one.
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Farenheit 9/11

Last night MY Jane and I went to see Michael Moore’s latest movie and both of us found it both entertaining and enjoyable. But besides that we learned about some very worrying things like what happened to Bernie Saunders during the Democratic primaries in 2015.
Democracy in the US is so watered down its shameful.
We would highly recommend this movie. Your eyes would be opened.

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Proof Copies

Last night UPS delivered proof copies of my book called If The Walls Could Talk, a collection of stories from my Corrections days.

It was good to have a hard copy to review because there were a few minor typos and punctuation issues to correct.
Overall, I am very pleased with the look and content.
I am going to do one more read-through of the fifteenth iteration today and then finalize it for publication on both Amazon.com and Kindle.

Feeling very satisfied.

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Dress for Jane

Today MY Jane and I went to a Vaughan dress store so she could do a final fitting for the dress she chose to wear at Sara and Steven’s wedding. It was the first time I had seen the dress and I think it is stunning.

I won’t post any pictures until after the wedding. I will leave that to Jane.
On the way home, we stopped at Tanger Outlet near Cookstown and she found a necklace and earrings that are a perfect match to the dress.
Needless to say, she is very very happy.
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Paint on Garage Floor

Today, I decided I would tidy up the garage a bit. I noticed there were some stains on the floor so I tried scrubbing them off with Mr. Clean and a brush. They didn’t really come out as well as I wanted and the floor was now missing paint in some spots.

I decided that, with the floor now clean, it would be a good time to freshen it up with another coat of garage paint.

So off I went to Home Hardware and got a gallon of gray paint. Just as I was finishing near the garage door who decides she wants to check things out? Yup. Minnie.
She started walking on the garage floor. Fortunately I was able to chase her back inside before she walked on a wet area. Geez. She never comes out through the garage. Just today!
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New Flags

MY Jane and I decided this morning to get a couple more Autumn theme garden flags so we headed to Thornton, the location of the original flag store. We picked up a couple of nice ones and took a roundabout way home.

As soon as we got there, we put the new flags on display.
We have quite an assortment now; different ones for different seasons and holidays.
The trip was enjoyable and we made a little detour to Sigrids Bakery where we bought a couple of pastries for dessert tonight.

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Road Trip to Fenelon Falls

First thing this morning, MY Jane and I decided to take a day trip to Fenelon Falls. Jane drove on the way down and we took in the sights along the way and strolled along the Main Street there after which we sat by the lock watching boats.

We then headed toward home with me driving this time, stopping in Lagoon City for lunch on their outside patio.
We arrived back home in mid afternoon.
A great outing!

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Promise

Yesterday morning I received this election postcard in the mail.

There was a message on the back of the card in which Mr. McCann proudly boasted that he answered every phone call he received from his constituents.
He closed by writing, “In the meantime, give me a call at 705-627-1691. I will get back to you right away.”
Well, I called Mike YESTERDAY at noon exactly. As of 1:30 PM today, Mike hasn’t called me back.
I’m afraid Mike is on the way to losing my vote.
Update: Mr. McCann called at 6:00 PM. He has my vote

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Preparation

I have been finalizing my speech for Sara and Steven’s wedding which will be happening next month.

In addition, I have been reviewing the wedding ceremony itself as I will be the officiant for this very special occasion. 
It is amazing how quickly time goes by these days.
Exciting stuff!
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Waiting for Proof

After 13 iterations, I sent the manuscript of my book, If the Walls Could Talk, in to my publisher and I expect to get a proof copy back by October 5th.

In the meantime, I am exploring marketing options for sales of the book.
Right now Amazon and Kindle are at the forefront. 
Although I have had the opportunity to review digital copies of the book, I am looking forward to actually holding a hard copy in my hand.
MY Jane was a great help in getting this project finished and I very much appreciate her suggestions and help.
I am already thinking about tackling another book – maybe this time a fictional mystery who dunnit type book. We’ll see.
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New Gas Range

This morning our new gas range was delivered

The gas fitter is on the way to hook it up. As you can see, this one has a stainless steel finish which matches the other appliances in the kitchen.
In addition, the new one has a centre griddle and a simmer setting on the burners.
We are looking forward to trying this out tonight.

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Table Inserts

I had an interesting start to the day. I decided to put the patio furniture back on the deck this morning starting with the table. I forgot that two large tiles in the centre were in there loosely. They were not fastened in place.

When I tilted the table on its side to get it back up, one of the tiles fell out and smashed on the deck!
Because it was an odd sized tile, it was very unlikely that I would find a replacement so, at MY Jane’s suggestion, I made two inserts out of cedar.
Tomorrow, I’ll seal them.
They go with the deck now.

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Sealing the Deck

Last night, MY Jane and I decided on a date night. We first took in a newly released movie called White Boy 
Rick starring Mathew McConaghy. Good movie. 
Then we went to Kelsey’s for dinner. Also good.

This morning I set out to seal the back deck with Thompsons clear water seal.

The weather is supposed to be good for the next couple of days, so its a good tine to do it.
Just finished.


Nice to get that cedar look back.

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Power Washing Deck

This morning I power washed the deck for the second time in two days. We want to get it close to looking like it was when I first installed it. Then I am going to put clear sealer on it before the winter sets in.

It’s looking pretty good right now. Maybe a couple of touch ups will be required.
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New Stove

We have to get a new kitchen gas stove. The last couple of times we used the oven, we could smell gas.

We had a gas fitter check it out last week and he said that the one we have is an older model and it would be better to simply replace it instead of  trying to repair it.
The new one cones next Monday.
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Hurricane Florence

I have been watching reports on Hurricane Florence which is heading for the South East part of the United States.

It is reported to be one of the biggest storms in recent history. Storm surges of up to 13 feet are projected. Winds projected to reach 120 mph.
Over one million people have been mandatorily evacuated from their homes and many are worried whether they will even have homes after the storm.
Let’s hope people will get to some place safe.
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Autumn

This morning the temperature was only 10 degrees Celsius when I awakened to have my morning coffee.

In fact, I switched the furnace over from Air Conditioning mode to Heat mode. Just to get the dampness cleared up.
It appears that Autumn is just peeking around the corner. Some leaves on our big backyard maple are already getting tinges of colour.

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Copyright

Jane is continuing to edit my book and I am sorting through the photos we took on our trip to the Don trying to decide which ones to include.

We are getting there, though. It seems to be taking almost as much time for this part as it did to actually write the material.
I have e-mailed a few newspapers to get permission to use their copyrighted photos. The Star has an arrangement with Getty images. One picture I wanted was going to cost $418 for seven years.
Forget that. I’ll use my own
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Thousands of Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s a few thousand for you. Pictures we took yesterday at the Don Jail.

We are making great progress on my book, If the Walls Could Talk.

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Pictures at the Don

MY Jane and I had a great day in Toronto. We went to the Don Jail where I began my career in Corrections. It is now the admin offices for Bridgepoint Health.
I wanted some original photos for use in my book.
We got several good ones like this one of Father Time looking down over the main entrance.
After about an hour and a half there, we went to the Astoria Restaurant on the Danforth where we enjoyed a delicious souvlaki lunch, then home.
Very productive day.

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A Visit to the Don

Tomorrow, MY Jane and I will take a spin down to Toronto so I can take some pictures of the inside of  the Don Jail where I started in  Corrections over 43 years ago.

The jail, built in the mid1800’s, is still being used only now it serves as the Administration Building for Bridgepoint Hospital which is on the site of the old Riverdale Hospital.
There are some pictures I want to include in my book, If The Walls Could Talk, but I don’t want to get entangled in a copyright situation by using internet images, so I’ll just take my own.
It will also give me a chance to show Jane some interesting parts of the Don, especially the huge rotunda or Dome as we used to call it.
In the meantime, Jane continues to work on editing my original manuscript.
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If the Walls Could Talk Coming Soon

I have completed writing all the stories I have to tell about my time in Corrections (well the ones I could tell anyway).
I have sent the draft manuscript over to MY Jane who will edit it from the perspective of a person who has never seen the inside of a jail. Once she has done that and we proofread it and are happy, I will self publish and it will become available on Amazon.ca.
Over the years these are stories I have related to friends and family and I cannot count the number of times people have said, “Wow! You should write a book about that stuff!”
Well, I finally did it and had a lot of fun doing it too.
Stay tuned for the official release.

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Visit With Chris and Steve

Yesterday afternoon I drove down from Barrie to Chris’ place. On the way, I stopped at IKEA to pick something up. It was a zoo there.

Shortly after I got there, MY Jane and Steven arrived.

We had a great afternoon enjoying the patio and then Chris made some flatbread with potatoes and another with mushrooms.


Both were delicious but a lot of work.
Both Tonya and Sara are away in Montreal for Sara’s bachelorette.
Won’t be long now.
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The Old Mill

Last night Jane took Steve to The Old Mill in Toronto for their Mother/Son pre wedding dinner.
They had a great time.

Jane’s Mom and Dad were frequent guests there and it was where I took Jane on our first real date.
Some history there.
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Mother Son Visit

This morning I’ll be dropping MY Jane at the GO train station for a weekend trip to Toronto. 

She is taking Steven out for a Mother/Son dinner just like she did with Chris before he and Tonya got married. She will stay at Steven’s overnight.

Tomorrow I will drive down to Chris’ place and Steven and Jane will join us there. Sara and Tonya will be in Montreal for Sara’s bachelorette party
Jane and I will stay overnight at Chris’ house and come back home the next day.
Looking forward to this.