Over the Holidays....

26 Dec 18
20:00 hrs

     This fall a next door neighbour to the Wayward Inn was moved (by his family) south to Capitol City. He had been diagnosed with having dementia and Alzheimer's last year November and it wasn't getting any better. The Couch Monkeys and I were there when his family came north to pack him up. It was troubling to see him decietfully placed in a vehicle with some of his belongings and taken away. This man had been a serving member of the Queens's Cowboys for damn near 30 years and to see him diminished was - and is - troubling to me. Of course for insurance purposes someone must be looking after the residence. I had informed the neighbour's daughter that we would keep an eye on the place for them. She and her brother countered that they would pay me at which I refused payment. That's where our Jr. Couch Monkey comes in. I taught him how to carry out a proper security check of the premises and they are paying him as he needs the monies for schooling.

     The other day I was helping him carry out a walk through and he asked me this question: "If you have dementia is the make-up of your personality still the same? Are you still you locked inside your mind?

     Pretty heavy questions I would have to say.  But it comes to mind as there is a dear friend of mine, the mother of a high school chum, who is also suffering from the same conditions. She and her partner had been married 50 or more years. He was a naval veteran she had been afflicted with polio and had survived. Her early life was a torturous one that I will not divulge but now as the final curtain drains near her husband has passed from cancer several years ago and she is in a care home due to her Alzheimer's.

     It is quite sad really. Whe I was in high school she had been as a second mom to many kids when things were bad at home and her house was akin to the Wayward Inn. Things were prim and proper. Respectful, if nothing else. Oh, one guy did take financial advantage of her good will and later did the same to her eldest son. But for the most part there was never any issues.

     Things are different now. The last time I went to visit the Sages I made a point of going to see her. I may have even blogged about it but I haven't checked. Regardless,  the Jr. Couch Monkey's questions got me thinking about her. I know that I did not send her a Christmas card this year as she would not be able to connect the dots so what was the point in sending one.

      Her son and I have not spoken in quite a few years ever since I had taken it upon myself to chew him out for not being there for his parents. Not that we had been on speaking terms before but ever since my faux pas he has ignored all my  attempts to contact him.

     This brings me back to my Loin Fruit's question as one of the Sages has been going through similar symptoms. Is this individual still the same inside his/her mind? In the discussion with my progeny I used the analogy of a computer wher the subject's brain is the hard drive and the disease is a virus that is allowing the CPU to access the ROM - long term memory - but cannot process the RAM - short term memory. This leads to frustration and angst as the virus slowly eats the ROM as well. Individuals on the outside looking in can only gain access to the ROM when an icon in the form of a scent, a photo or a song snippet makes mysterious connection. All this being said, I think what makes the individual who they are is still they same but they cannot come out for us to enjoy because of the deterioration caused by the affliction.

28 Dec 18
07:15 hrs

     The Oma-nator has been knitting up a storm. Her current task is to make pussy hats. At first she was confused the process so Elric the Stalwart came over to the Wayward Inn to lend assistance. Elric the Stalwart is a Knitting Master and was able to set her on the correct path. Would I wear one of her hats? Not a problem. I care not a wit what people think of me. In fact it's fun to poke their sense of right and wrong. I once had a local Redneck tell me to go back to where I was born when he spotted me wearing a kuffi cap. He had taken offense when he thought the hat indicated that I was a Muslim. I pulled out my birth certificate and showed the mutt that I was born in Saskatoon and as it was the middle of winter I had no intention of moving back to the frozen prairie - EVER!
Fun and games

     Well Dear Readers that's all for now. The New Year will soon be upon us and the only thing I am going to do is wait for the fall out from the Special Council investigation of the Tangerine Tyrant.

     Enjoy!

Updates

20 Dec 18
18:00 hrs

     The Oma-nator has been at the Wayward Inn for a week and we have played 13 games of Trouble this far. We are looking to break the previous record of over 50 games during a visit. All in good fun.

     Yesterday,  I walked about five miles and went nowhere. I had to keep track of a contractor who was plotting over 1000 GPS survey points. Back and forth through the muck and weeds. The only good point was the winter weather held off until the end of the day. The contractor has an extreme type A personality. Trying to keep a handle on him would have been easier with a leash.

     Mount Washington has received more than enough snow to open for this years ski season ...if you have the money. Its definitely not a cheap sport that's for sure.

     Construction throughout the Valley has continued at a record pace. Houses and some businesses as well. Kelly O'brien's is opening up in the old Applebees. There is also a new 72 seat pub that has opened up near the Wayward Inn and another that is under construction. All good  I just have to convince my Lobster that we have to check them out.

     The premier fiddler Ashley MacIssac will be performing in the Valley in February. We watched him at MusicFest several years ago and he truly is amazing. I consider it to be a date night and I have tickets for the two of us and one hanger-on. Surprisingly, the Sr. Loin Fruit has decided to join us. I think the three if us should hit the Cornerstone before the show. A couple of drinks and some appies will go well with listening to a rock and roll fiddler.

     The Sages are doing well. Life is simpler now that they down sized several years ago. Not down sized like the movie although I recently read that scientists at MIT have discovered that it may be possible to do so.

22 Dec 18
09:15 hrs

      When I was in the Service there are a great many things that we had to do -  exercises, discussions, courses, etc - to work towards having a more cohesive unit. Team building they would call it. The directives always came from on high from some Nonner driving a desk in Air Command or NDHQ who used us as guinea pigs for his Master's Thesis. The one thing those clowns never realized was we were already a cohesive group but we had to now learn all the new the buzzwords and catchphrases. More often than not it was a waste of our time, a waste of their budget and if anything drove a wedge of resentment between the Ringmasters and the Circus they created.

     My Lobster and I work pretty well together,  especially in the kitchen. For us, our team building exercise takes place when we make a weekend brunch. The menu varies but the dishes are divied up and we subconsciously coordinate our efforts to create a fine repast. It is while we cook that we discuss a host of topics and issues.

     Dear Readers, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Take care and there will more scribblings in the near future.

OH, the weather outside is...

11 Dec 18
05:30 hrs

     That's right Dear Readers. The weather outside is crap here in the Valley. High gusting winds and lots of rain. The temp is at about 6°C which means it going to be a boat load of snow up on the Beauforts. It will look real pretty when the clouds finally disappear and our local ski hill will more than likely be open. They say they need at least a metre for a base and when the conditions are right they can get that in one night. Sometimes by the end of the season they have had well over ten metres of the white stuff still covering the ground. As long as it stays up there I'll be happy.

     Did I happen to mention that the Oma-nator is coming to visit for Christmas? That's right,  the Eagle will land in a couple of days. It's all good. It will take a couple of days for all of us to adjust but overall she is a joy. Just no onions!

     It is exam season for our Jr. Loin Fruit. He is in the midst of his finals for his first college semester. He's been studying hard not hardly studying and we expect him to do well.

     My friend from Over the Hump will be returning from a double ended cruise through the Caribbean. He and his Better Half are both long time cruise fanatics and the embarked on this latest sojourn to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Impressive to say the least. I must tip my hat to them. My Lobster and I took the Couch Monkeys on a repositioning cruise from LA north to the Pearl of the West. It was fun but I found that the ship was a wee bit confining.

12 Dec 18
04:45 hrs

     It's now the second night of this work project. The weather has been most cooperative with clear cool skies and no precipitation. One more night and the job should be completed.

     A friend from long ago  who now lives in the Valley, makes a regular pilgrimage with her Lobster to warmth of the desert in the Hugh-ess for the winter months. She was hanging Christmas lights on their mobile residence and fell off a ladder breaking an arm. She sought out local medical attention and despite having travel insurance she learned that she would require surgery which was not covered by the insurance. Oh, she could pay for the operation but it was cheaper to rustle up a set of airline tickets - at a moments notice - and fly back to the Valley to have the operation carried out for nothing with socialized medicine. I think she traveled alone unless of course they left their fur baby in the care of a neighbour. Once she is able to travel she will have to return to their desert hideaway to retrieve their mobile residence.

13 Dec 18
15:15 hrs

     In a little more than two hours the Oma-nator will be here at the Wayward Inn. We have not yet put up the Christmas tree as we want her to be a part of that tradition. It's been quite some time since she has enjoyed many of the Holiday festivities. I know I'm looking forward to it as is my Lobster and the Couch Monkeys.

     There was a bomb threat at a local rv dealership. The threat arrived via email. Interestingly enough the Hugh-ess was also hit with a number of emailed bomb threats today. I wonder if it is from the same Whackadoo. Bomb threats are no laughing matter and they must be taken seriously. The local Constabulary is on the case.

     It rained all night here in the Valley and it will continue to rain as there are many systems pounding against the Left Coast. This means lots of snow up on the Beauforts which we need.

     I've been making lots of spoons lately. In fact a lot of people will be receiving them as gifts. I hope they enjoy using them.

     Well, Dear Readers this tome is done.

Crap!

02 Dec 18
22:45 hrs

     Is your part of the Great White North looking good for the coming Christmas Season? To tell you the truth the Spirit hasn't taken hold of me just yet and I don't know if it will even reach me this year. There are those who are making a big deal out things but so far I am not feeling very festive.

04 Dec 18
05:33 hrs

     Last evening my Lobster and I were entertained by a traveling improv team. We had been given a pair of tickets from Elric the Stalwart's Better Half. It was kind of a friend of a friend who couldn't attend sort of deal. Not to put down improv - as our own Jr. Couch has been practicing the craft for years - but these two were really on the ball. Or - out to lunch - depending on your view of improv. Now, I've seen Robin Williams and Jonathon Winters do improv and the guys I saw last night couldn't touch them with a ten foot imaginary pole. At least they tried.

11:45 hrs

     There was frost on the Ram this AM and I had to teach the Jr. Couch Monkey how to defrost the Kiddie Kar. Really? Yeah, really.

     I'm at work at the new FWSAR building that's going up on Base. The manufacturer of the new SAR aircraft is constructing the training building. The idea to provide a training facility was first proposed by the other aircraft manufacturer so these guys had to sweeten the pot by saying they would provide a similar facility. In the end, in my opinion, the wrong aircraft was selected. But that's my opinion. You can (should) do your own research.

     With the frosty weather that has settled into the Valley I would ask anyone who is reading this blurb to take some time to aid our presidentially challenged persons by providing some gently used winter clothing. Or, if you are at WallyWorld Christmas shopping for your Better Half, pick up a bag of thick woolen socks and drop it off at Dawn to Dawn, or your own local assistance agency. They do a great job teaching out to those in need.

     I just read that a new Seniors complex is proposed to be built between the local Constabulary and a Prime restaurant.  This is great as we have been growing a bumper crop of seniors every year. It will have 140+ residences. I would hope that some non-gouging property developer would build a shitload of bachelor and single bedroom apartments for our young kids trying to strike out on their own.

22:45 hrs

     This just in...from The East Coast...the ongoing trial of Mr. Oland, accused of bludgeoning his father to death, has heard gruesome testimony from the coroner/pathologist who stated that due to the number of sharp and blunt force blows (45 of them) to the head and neck of Mr. Oland Sr. he could not have survived more than a couple of minutes.

     Sleep that.