All over but the crying...

16:53 hrs.
31 Oct 14

     Happy Halloween 💀
     Yes, things are coming to an end folks. Our latest batch of guests are leaving in a couple of days. It was quite enjoyable to have yet another culture at the WAYWARD INN. However, it has been a constant stream of in-laws, outlaws and foreign nationals for the past six months and I am done. If one more person shows up at my door I might just had over my house keys and go away for my own extended vacation.

     Speaking of going away. The mook who shot the three RCMP officers in New Brunswick will be going away for 75 years and is only eligible for parole after he has served them. Perfect. Did you know his original plan was to set some gas stations on fire? But since his bicycle was broken he decided to kill some cops instead. Give your head a shake dopey! What part of this is a stupid idea did he not understand? Well, maybe he can make friends in the big house. Some one who will hug him and squeeze him and tell him to get up on the sink and brace himself.

     There are two construction cranes now on site at the new hospital site. I've got a pretty good view of the action as the work office has been relocated nearby. Its a shared office and hopefully we will get our own digs in the next six months. The whole restructuring thing still smells kinda rotten to me. I don't know why it all happened, some sort of pissing contest that got out of hand, all I know is it will be worse before it gets better.

     This is All Hallows Eve. My BETTER HALF's second favourite celebration. Do you know why this is? One word. CHOCOLATE. I hope everyone is safe out there. I like Halloween too. Years ago, back when I was in grade five,  I was trick or treating with a couple of friends when we heard this huge explosion from downtown. No, it wasn't some fireworks.  Some nut blew up a phone booth right on a main street with a pipe bomb. A lot of broken glass and thankfully there were no injuries. To this day I don't know if the police ever found out who did it.

big... Big... BIG CHANGES

07:36 hrs.
29 Oct 14

     It will be a busy day here in the VALLEY. After handing over the reins to my COHORT and dropping the kidlets off at school then dash to the store to purchase the fixings for a double batch of pulled pork (always a hit). Then I have to make two batches of pizza dough to feed the kidlets + 2 later on tonight. Somewhere in all of this I have to complete my Cinderella Duties before dashing off to a work meeting at 14:00 hrs. Wish me luck. More later.

     13:30 hrs.
     Waiting to go into the meeting. It should prove interesting. My employer is restructuring the entire location. But as my former local manager put it the senior staff are akin to an old brontosaurus. Too slow to recognize that the raptors are circling, it might be able to shake them off but they are still going to take a bite out of the big beast. In the mean time something else has come up that really frosts my pumpkin.

     You know how someone borrows something of yours or uses one of your tools and when it is returned it may be dirty or damaged or worse. And the borrower acts as if it was all your fault because you loaned it to him in the first place. My dear friend Up Island once loaned his truck to a guy to haul some earth. The guy returned the truck without washing it or even throwing $20 worth of gas into the rank. A while later, the guy asked to borrow the truck again. Not a chance! If you can't look after something you've borrowed and return it in better condition than when you recieved it thrn forget it. Lesson learned. I apply the same ethic in the WAYWARD INN kitchen. If you want to use my equipment please follow my requests or you don't get to use it. It's just that simple.

     So, the meeting was a lot of smoke and mirrors. Nothing that hadn't seen while in the Service. Some individuals swallowed the bait offered up by the MFWIC's but the one kudo passed down was the client that my department handles was so happy with our performance that they picked up the extra two optional years on our contract.

     Sweet Googly Moogly.

    

How are you?

19:15 hrs
27 Oct 14

     There is a huge a storm bearing down on the VALLEY.  It is the remnants of a tropical storm from Hawai'i. High winds, heavy seas and rain is expected to hit the Island and the lower Mainland. I wouldn't want to be out in that mess. I just hope that no one gets caught out on the open water.

     The first week of our guests at the WAYWARD INN has now passed. They've enjoyed some fine foods, a local hockey game, carving pumpkins and lots of fun at the Inn. Their presence in the house has been great. Much like when we have the Japanese students the experience of having these students from Italy has been exciting for all of us. I would suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to host a foreign student for a couple of weeks take it.

My VIEW from the Left Coast

08:55 hrs.
25 Oct 14

 

     Unless you have been living in a cave the events over the past several days has been a shock to the entire Canadian nation. To bring you up to speed there were two separate attacks directed at Canadian military members that resulted in the death of two service members, the deaths of the attackers and the wounding of several others. These murders were carried out individuals who had converted to the Islamic faith and who had become radicalized within that faith.

 

     Should the entire Muslim faith be blamed for their acts?

     No. It should not. The basic tenets of Islam,  Christianity and Budhism all say the same thing. Believe in and live in accordance to your faith. Love and care for your fellow man. And teach others about your faith. Yes, there are specific rules or law's in all of these faiths forbidding this and that but the truth is basis of all three are very close together. It was the power hungry theocratic leaders within these religions who have changed them forever. Case in point: with Papal Assent, the Treaty of Tordesilla, signed on 07 June 1494, and the accompanying Treaty of Saragossa, signed 22 April 1529, divided the unknown lands of the world between Portugal and Spain. The treaties gave these two countries the right to conquer any non-Christian lands in the name of his Holiness, the Vicar of Christ,  to convert the populace to Christianity and to keep any plunder as long as they provided a tithe of 10% to the Church.

 

     The audacity! Yes, the Bible says to teach people about the Word but it was a man, the Pope, who brokered a deal between Spain and Portugal so they would stop slaughtering each other in their pursuit of riches in the New World. Funny thing is Buddha said to teach people about the Path to Enlightenment and Mohammed also professed how to instruct a person to be a Muslim but neither of them, to my knowledge, said to convert the non-believers, slaughter all that don't convert and rob them blind. Man did that. The constant wars between the schisms of Islam and the oh so many battles between Catholic's and Protestants over petty differences were all about who held the power over someone else. To say that it was a Holy War or a Fatwa is all BULLSHIT. Listen up assholes, sharia law does not say that women's genitals have to be excised. That is some man's method of subjugating women. If you don't believe me look it up.

 

     The security personnel in Ottawa had the scene secured and the bad guy bagged within 3 1/2 minutes of the first shot. Security on parliament hill could be strengthened in depth and I am sure it will. Its the intel that has to be beefed up. Prevention is the best defence.

 

     These two incidents are such a rare occurrence in Canada that it made all of the major American news networks. Even President Obama offered support to us. But by the end of the week some whack-a-doo attacked a pair of NY police officers with a hatchet (only to be gunned down by two others), a distraught teen walked into his school cafeteria and shot three people before eating a bullet himself and a gunman killed several sheriff officers in California. With that The Skirmish on Parliament Hill was forgotten because it doesn't even rate to the gun violence that occurs on a daily basis in the States. Its time to wake up people.

 

      As for those individuals who want to go and fight for their "homeland", I say bolt some wooden chairs onto some wooden pallets, strap these guys into the chairs and then LAPES (Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Altitude_Parachute_Extraction_System them out of the back of a tactical C-130J onto an active battlefield . It would be a quick introduction to reality as they get pulled out of the back of a plane moving at 250 knots and only 10 feet off the ground. As they slide off the ramp have the loadmaster tell them their Canadian passport has been permanently revoked.

 

Tomorrow is happening now...

23:01 hrs.
21 Oct 14

    Tomorrow is many things.
     First and foremost it is my Li'l Sis's B'day. It also happens to be my maternal grandfathers B'day as well. He passed on many years ago but I, as the oldest grandchild, remember him well.

16:45 hrs.
22 Oct 14

     They are here!
      Our two female Italian students have arrived. Chiara and Viola. Lovely young ladies who are shy, well mannered, well groomed and a welcome change to the testosterone fuelled atmosphere that permeates the WAYWARD INN. Od all its residents my BETTER HALF is most excited. Go figure.

09:55 hrs.
23 Oct 14

     Well, they are off and running. Everyone had a pleasant nights sleep and the extra female presence seems to be having a calming effect on the entire household especially Loin Fruit #1.  Maybe something has been awakened. It is unfortunate that the timing of their visit has placed them smack dab in the middle of the aporoah to winter. Here on the Left Coast this means an exorbitant amount of liquid sunshine. Hopefully the clouds will part long enough for them to see why we decided to make the VALLEY our home.

The lights are on but there's no one home!

18:35 hrs.
20 Oct 2014

     I met my BETTER HALF at Costco for lunch today. Lunch wasn't the main reason for going there, she had some items to pick up for work and I just wanted to meet her, sans Yard APES. A win win situation.

     So, we're wandering through the aisles getting the odd things that were required when I spotted this guy. He was one of the PRODUCT DEMONSTRATORS hired by Costco to push some new item on those who really don't need a new item especially when it comes in a flat of 24 individually wrapped items for your convenience. And if your really only wanted one item what the hell would you do with the other 23? At least they would stay fresh as they are all individually wrapped (for your convenience). Anyways, back to the guy...

    Picture this in your own mind. Five foot nine, mid to late 20's, about 210 or so, dark hair, his PRODUCT DEMONSTRATORS smock slightly askew as he places the PRODUCT on the folding table in the prescribed manner all the while standing with a THOUSAND MILE GAZE and a open mouthed slack jaw that you just know is about to start drooling any second.

     What is it with these people? You see them everywhere. Walking with their mouth half open, staring blankly out into the great void. They should be looking inwards because that is where the great void is. It's between their bloody ears that's where it is. And it appears to be that entire generation. I say round them all up and issue a chinstrap that hold their mouth closed. You can't say that they have to have it open to breathe because that is what their nose is for and if you can't breathe through your nose then blow it out. But for heaven's sake shut your PIE HOLE. If it hangs open any longer your IQ is going to run out, if it hasn't already. It reminds me of the guy in Ferris Bueller's economics class who awakens to find he has been face down in a puddle of his own drool. If only he had had his chin strap on it never would have happened.

     Just spotted something that irks me. Once again the BEEBS has demonstrated that he has no working knowledge of anything inside his head. According to the press, his royal Bieberness has been scolded for kicking a soccer ball around the corridors of the Vatican. Can you imagine? This spoiled brat should be sent to Singapore and let loose with a can of spray paint. Why? Because the residents of Singapore don't put up with BULLSHIT. I can just see punk ass Bieber with a can of red day glow Krylon in hand. One swoosh and he will be facing the lash. In Singapore the 1966 Vandalism Act, originally passed to curb the spread of political graffiti and which specifically penalized vandalism of government property and he would be subject to jail, fines and lashes from a rattan cane. With his history of spoiled brat shenanigans I doubt very much if anyone would come to his rescue but there would be a number who would line up to administer the punishment.
    
     Bend over Bieber and make sure you have your chinstrap on.

 

This was taken a few weeks ago. Construction crane on site at the new hospital in Courtenay.

 



 

Another day gone...

20:40 hrs.
16 Oct 14

     Another day has passed. Winter in the Valley is fast approaching. The wind is picking up. Its blowing stronger and more often each day. There's still a lot of leaves still on the trees but they are beginning to drop faster and faster. The amount of rain falling is also increasing.

15:10 hrs.
18 Oct 14

     Over the past two days the VALLEY has experienced gusty winds that have blown leaves from trees and tumbled garbage cans down the street. Unlike some Daily Rag delivery persons my two Couch Monkeys have learned the best methods of properly delivering newsprint from the very best, yours truly. Since they started I doubt if they have recieved a hslf dozen complaints in five years. An impressive record for sure. I am proud of them and they should be just as proud of themselves.

     I just noticed in my list of completed blogs that I have made amends and apologized for lagging my entries.  Well ...NO MORE! I'll write when I can and unfortunately, my dear readers, you'll just have to suck it up. This writer will be a slave to no one...except my BETTER HALF, of course.

     Speaking of my BETTER HALF,  tonight she is hosting another in her series Ladies Movie Nights. In the bonus room above the garage we have a quasi media centre (flat screen, sound bar, game consoles) with seating for seven or eight. So, pack'em in, put on a romantic comedy and feed them chocolate while I sit downstairs, watch a bloody war flic and sip a fine Islay. Everyone's happy. Upstairs tonights movie is Crazy Stupid Love while downstairs it will be The Eagle Has Landed. With Loin Fruit #1 hanging out at Ivan's place tonight Loin Fruit #2 and I will be manning the fort.

    

 

Days behind in Blogging...sorry

21:15 hrs
11 Oct 14

     Sorry Kidlets and all other faithful readers but I have been remisis in my duty to you. It was the normal functioning of life that got in the way. Work, Loin Fruits and other life thingies have kept me busy. But now it is time for our ANNUAL FAMILY PILGRIMAGE! For the past several years we have been schlepping our way towards the northern end of Our Island, to a place called Alder Bay Resort. It sits on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, just south of Port McNeil and across the strait from Alert Bay. Its a great place. As this is the off season the price is less.

     The drive up was great and having left without having sustenance we decided to stop at Roberts Lake. We were looking for some of their famous sticky buns. You know, the ones the size of a baby's head! Nope. Fresh out. So, let's have breakfast. A simple menu of only six different items with a couple of variations each. Something any roadside cook could handle. The only thing to be aware of is there were NO PRICES LISTED. I'm sure we would have ordered differently had we seen the prices. Its not that we requested a mountain of food but $$$ was a little too much for roadside diner food. I think the reason for the lack of prices on the menu keeps customers from leaving because the food rates only🌟🌟🌟 out of five.

     Our journey continued north for another couple of hours.  At times there was no rain and then the road would be awash. The trailering skills I learned from my parental units sure came in handy as we arrived safely at Alder Bay. With my BETTER HALF sorting out the interior the Loin Fruits assisted me in separating the trailer from the tow vehicle, leveling the trailer, dropping the awning and connecting our services (electrical, H2O and sewer). The price for staying three nights and four days in the off season, with full hookups is only 3/4 of a C note. A great deal.

08:35 hrs.
12 Oct 14

     All is quiet in our mobile WAYWARD INN. Everyone is in that groggy sleepy state of not "quite awake but I'll be damned if I'll be the first one up". So everyone stays in bed pretending to sleep. Sometimes you do doze off again as extra sleep is great self care as your internal batteries recharge. But, everyone stays in bed until the first individual breaks wind which is soon followed by a chortle and a thunderous reply by the rest of us. If nothing else, we are a classy bunch.

     So, after a sumptious breakfast we piled into the truck and headed out. Our first stop would be a gas station that I swear was staffed by a bunch of highwaymen from yesteryear. It would have been cheaper for me to purchase four new jerry cans, fill them in Comox and bring the fuel north. It's 30 cents a litre more here than in Comox. That's $1.25 a gallon (for us old guys). That's Crazy money. Next stop was the thriving metropolis of Port McNeil.

      The three largest towns on the north Island are Port McNeil,  Port Hardy and Port Alice. All three town are hanging on to their existence by the skin of their teeth. In the summer months tourists and sportsmen flock to these locations to stage their adventures and in the winter months you would rather visit a Gulag. We snagged some supplies in Pt. McNeil then cruised around town testing out the Geocaching app on my phone. It works! After Pt. McNeil we pressed on to Pt. Hardy followed by Coal Harbour. In total we added another five geocaches to our found list. My BETTER HALF and I, with the aid of Loin Fruit #2, could have spent the rest of the day poking around for more treasures but that left the Senior Couch Monkey doing nothing so we headed back to the Mobile WAYWARD INN for several  games of Snakes and Ladders.

10:37 hrs.
13 Oct 14

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING !
     The rain is not falling. It being driven by the 60km winds. So much for going to Telegraph Cove, the preeminent tourist trap on the north Island. Its closed for the season but it would be interesting to look around. The most amazing thing to look at are the outrageous prices they charge for the most ordinary items, $5 for a bar of Irish Spring soap is not uncommon. Then there are the touristy trinkets ... and you wanted to go whale watching? Its cheaper to buy your own boat than send a family of four out to sea for half the day. This is Land of Make It While You Can where the shops are operated by Mr. Gouge and Mrs. Usury.

     We made a great Thanksgiving Day dinner. A whole turkey breast (both left and right), mashed yam and potatoes, steamed and then sauteed brussel sprouts plus stuffing. For dessert, apple pie and ice cream. Not bad for being out camping. It was a real bonding moment as we all had to work together in these tight quarters.

19:35 hrs.
14 Oct 14

     We're back home now. I had fuelled the truck right to the gills yesterday. Paid $1.42 a litre in Pt. McNeil. When we started off today I decided to push as far as I could with the Mobile WAYWARD INN following close behind. We made it back to Comox in two and a half hours with the only stop being at Roberts Lake. This time   there were giant sticky buns available so I picked up two for us to share. By the time I backed the trailer into its slot on the first attempt, a big thanks to my BETTER HALF for her excellent marshalling signals, the truck was close to sucking fumes. On the way to taking Loin Fruit #2 to karate I threw in $60 worth of gas at $1.15 per litre. Our next adventure will be hosting two Italian students starting next week. We have no idea what our menu will consist of. Wish us luck.

You never Know

10:55 hrs.
07 Oct 14

     You never know when things are going to occur. Everything can be going fine when the floor suddenly opens up under you. Even when you expect the event is going to happen in your heart of hearts you still don't want it to happen. Case in point: dear friends of mine suddenly lost their father to dementia/Alzheimer's.  They knew it was going to happen and I am sure that they had prepared themselves for it but when it occurred it caught them off guard. I, myself, had only met him a few times but his passing made me think of my own parents and how I will someday face the same event. While relating this incident to my BETTER HALF I found myself choking back the tears. Yes, I am human.

     On another note...the old derelict building near the Black Creek General Store has finally been torn down. Many years ago it was a store but looking back some thirty years I can't remember when it was last used. Recently, its windows and doors had been boarded up to prevent access by local HOODLUMS.

     And speaking of HOODLUMS, did you read about the four bored morons in California who, armed with a golf club, decided on a whim to dispatch 920 chickens. That's right. They broke into a large farming operation and took turns playing whack damn it with someone's poultry. Obviously, the farmer wasn't home or there would have been four youth to be interned. Call it DEATH BY STUPIDITY. Now, I must admit that I did some crazy shit in my youth too. But I never did anything this insane.

     Speaking of insane, anyone following the Luka Magnota trial? This clown has plead not guilty of first degree murder and dismemberment. He must be crazy, which is no excuse in my books. In this instance I say we should look to the Good Book. I don't recall which Testament its in but the passage reads: Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You. How about we change that. It should read: Do Unto Others As They Have Done Unto You. Might give some of these Crazy HOODLUM MORONS pause to consider their actions. Kill 920 chickens with a golf club? How about we whoop your as with a golf club. Nine hundred and twenty times split between the four of you. That will be 230 whacks each! Now, Bend Over! Yes, I know capital punishment is not an effective deterent to crime but when someone kills and dismembers an innocent person you really don't feel like paying for his three hots and a cot when there are homeless people living under the bridges right here in The Valley.

     Another friend of mine, who just had to get away, has come north to THE VALLEY to do just that. To be alone. So I set him up on the side of the Beaufort mountains,  under a Blood Moon, all by himself. Back in 2012, he had been with me OUT IN THE WEEDS so he's out beating the bushes by himself for the next couple of days. Pretty Ballsy if you ask me. I wish I was out there with him.

Everything is Fluxed

OH DARK 30
03 Oct 14

     Good Morning Sunshine! And isn't it a lovely morning? I wouldn't know because it's dark outside. It might be raining or not. It could be snowing...only if this was Whitehorse! Ha ha ha!

     So this past Tuesday the four of us (the Loin Fruits, my BETTER HALF and myself) piled into the Rondo right after work and headed for Nanaimo.  We had tickets to see the CBC DEBATERS, a travelling group of comedians who argue with facts and funnies over such interesting topics as "Where as the act of gardening utilizes time and effort, be it resolved that gardening is is bad for you", or the notion if replacing BC Ferries with a bridge to the mainland. I listen to this program all the time on CBC so it was great to see them and finally put a face to the voice, so to speak. We left home at 1700 hrs, the show started promptly at 1930, ended at 2245 and we arrived home by 0015 hrs. A long day for everyone but it was worth it.

     My Darling Dearest has volunteered our residence for another Scouting Bottle Drive because our location is ideal. However, I am really just about done with it all. I have put in more than my fair share to the scouting movement, as has the rest of this family including my parental units. It is time to let it go and to move on to things for the two of us. I say the two of us as the two Couch Monkeys are weaning themselves off of family activities.

     For those of you who are interested, the weather in THE VALLEY is slowly winterizing meaning that the amount of liquid sunshine is increasing. I am sure that we will eventually get some of the white stuff. So far this year my Li'l Sis has had snow in Calgary as have friends of mine in Whitehorse. They'll get much much more by the time the season is finished. I'm not bragging that we get so little snow I'm just tired of people bitchin' about the weather they have. If you don't like it then move. We did.

     Next week a friend of mine is coming up from Victoria. He's taking a self imposed vacation. He had been OUT IN THE WEEDS with me two years ago. Nice guy and pretty dependable. I've helped him out by finding him a secluded place to do some investigating on his own. As I won't be able to accompany him OUT IN THE WEEDS another local has volunteered to check on him a couple of days later. Safety first.

     Did you read the LOCAL RAG today? I
Seems the owner and driving force behind the Crown Isle development has had quite the difficulty in dealing with the City of Courtenay. By his reckoning the constant bureaucratic obfuscation has cost the local economy upwards of $40M. That's some chunk of change. In response to the snails pace of development approval he has taken out a full page ad displaying the scathing letter he sent to the City's Chief Administration Officer with a CC to the mayor. GOOD FOR HIM.