Prairie Dog Blog

Bide-A- Wee. That's what we may call our our little place by the sea....our little lounge trailer by the lake....our little gob-smacked shangila-by-the-sea. Our little trailer-up-in-Gimli. what ever..... We just got back from officially closing it up for the winter. When Margot was here last weekend she (being quite nimble, even though she is in her late 20's) put the cover on the air-conditioner for me....I just couldn't see myself clambouring up there and before I would have a chance to get the cover on come crashing thru the damn ceiling! Well, anywho we got the slider in, or the pull-out pulled-in, or the pop-out unpopped.....put in the braces, removed a couple of stabilizing jacks and unhitched the sewer line (yeeew), and bid a fond adieu to the lake for the winter saisonnnnn.

Margot sent her Mom a couple of pair of warm socks and it was greatly appreciated. And Margot has been blogging...woo-hoo....oh and so has Lyn (she told me to say that!).

Well better go and have some din-din. Tomorrow is another day! Peace. Oh yeah, Catherine does her first wedding tomorrow!
Bide-A-Wee

Yesterday I took Catherine to the doctor's for a fallow-up. Her doctor told her that even though her cholesterol is 'normal' , her condition is 'hereditary' and she must strive to lower her cholesterol even more. Apparently because you can only reduce your cholesterol by approx. 10% with dieting the sentence is .....STATIN drugs, such as Lipitor or Zocor. Since everyone is different, the side effects of statins are terrible for me but they may be OK for her. Let's hope. Margot blogged again. She go crazy, Mr Faulty! Crazy! Nice to see. Maybe now we will get some news.

Tomorrow the museum will accept delivery of a Fokker Super Universal CF-AAM. Here is a picture:







It's a spiffy looking plane and it took 18 years to restore.




The guy who restored it has been flying it around to places like Oshkosh, WI and Winning some awards with it.

We have not got much planned for the rest of the week except for taking Catherine for her blood tests tomorrow and I got to work the gift shop tomorrow night at the Museum because there will be 150 people coming from the Royal Bank for a wine and cheese thing in the hanger. Of course we have to get out to the Lake on Friday to deal with the trailer. Catherine has a wedding to perform on Saturday. Well, Sunday is free.

Batter go have a nap, we just got back from a long walk with the doggie....Later....Peace
Meet the FOKKERs

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online: "
Britain

An excellent study on the connection between religion and morality......

RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.


According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.
The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society. "
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

What Canadians Think About Everything -- Globeandmail.com

Try this quiz ...I got 10 out of 20. sheesh
What Canadians Think About Everything -- Globeandmail.com

Build a better Bush

Build a better Bush...better than photoshop.
Build a better Bush

George Bush has come up with some fairly amazing malapropisms, some of which are presented at the web site, Fun-With-Words, which provides examples from others as well.

(1) "I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well."

(2) "Natural gas is hemispheric... because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods."

(3) "The law I sign today directs new funds... to the task of collecting vital intelligence... on weapons of mass production."

(4) "Oftentimes, we live in a processed world, you know, people focus on the process and not results."
"It is beyond my apprehension."

Write your own caption............How about "Hello, Brownie? Is this FEMA? Brownie, you there?"

Tuesday already.....This afternoon we have an appointment with Catherine's GP. Can't wait to hear what she has to say.

Hey, Gary blogged! After 5 days of not blogging, I thought that he went into hiding! Nice pics Gary, thanks. Yes and Jack blogged and Margot....I am overwhelmed.

Yes, Catherine felt well enough to make a trip up to Gimli on Sunday. She put the seat back and slept most of the way there. She really wanted to spend the day with Margot before she left Sunday night and she was keen on selling the old trailer, which we have been trying to sell for two months now. Along with a couple of naps in the trailer, she enjoyed herself and was glad to be out in the fresh air after spending 5 days in the hospital.

Catherine's neck is all bruised and by appearence looks much worse than it really is. Aside from a few twinges and bouts of tiredness, she is getting more alert by the hour. She came through the surgery like a trooper and is well on her way to a complete recovery. As everyone who knows Catherine will tell you, she is chomping at the bit to get out there and do something. She was never the kind of person to wile away the hours hiding from life, she has a wedding to perform on Saturday and she will get back t0 teaching as soon as she possibly can if I know her (and I do).

Still have to go back to the lake to winterize the trailer. I have to remove the stabilizing jacks and let the trailer rest on just the wheels and the tongue jack. I have to retract the big slide back into the trailer, and generally stow everything before the winter winds blow. It's supposed to be nice this weekend, lets hope that the forecast holds.

5-Day Forecast for Winnipeg :
Tuesday 71 ° 41 ° Scattered Clouds
Wednesday 53 ° 41 ° Clear
Thursday 64 ° 41 ° Scattered Clouds
Friday 78 ° 50 ° Clear
Saturday 62 ° 48 ° Clear

Better go and have dinner. Peace
Tales from the Gimli Hospital...er, RV Park.

Margot Land

Hey, Margot blogged! I am soooooo proud.
Margot Land

Big day today. Catherine felt up to it and was anxious for Margot to see the new trailer so we all got up early and buggered off to Gimli. I had an ad in the paper to try and sell the 'old' trailer and several people called to say that they could come out on Sunday to see it. Two things happened....(1) Margot really liked the new trailer , and (2) I sold the old one! Woohoo! Yes, an older couple from out Carman, MB way bought the darn thing. Boy that's a load off my shoulders! We all ran into town to have ice cream to celebrate! We pack up a few things and took off back to the city to have dinner and drop Margot off at the airport.....I showed her how to get a boarding pass on-line in the morning so she was well prepared, all she had to do was go right to the gate when she arrived at the airport. We went to Montana's for din-din and had a good chat with Margot before she had to leave. Too bad Joel couldn't come with her but he is very busy with his business.

Catherine has booked off for this week and most of next week to recuperate. All we have to do is get her to her doctor's office on Tuesday for an exam.

later
RUN DMC...ice cream and dindin

Sitting on the chef's lap.

Pictures from Catherine's arrival back home after her operation......

Catherine and daughter Margot .....Catherine is hiding her neck operation.

Dare to be naive.
-----
Well, all went well and Catherine is back home now. We got some flowers from Gary and Carol and I think Catherine called them and left a message of thanks on the answering machine. She has a great big bandage on the right side of her neck and she has limited mobility moving her neck but other than that she is right as rain. We were so happy to have her come home that we stopped and got a Jeannies cake.......

Margot is searching the internet for recipes for cholesterol reduced diets as she is going to make supper ....let's see I know that there is a steak in the fridge somewhere.......

Better go, lots to do......later Peace
Damn them all ...let them eat cake!

The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.
-------
Just got off the phone with Gary. I have come to the conclusion that I have too many phones...land lines, computer lines, cell phones.....Skype, Trype, Hype. sheesh

Catherine had her operation this afternoon at 1 PM. it took two and one half hours. She chose to have local anesthetic (six paiful needles in the neck) and a 'mild' sedation so that she could be relatively awake and responsive to the doctor's questions, thereby assuring them that she was OK and there were no complications (little errant platelets to the brain) happening. She could have opted to be knocked out but chose to be talkative instead........after awhile I think they got tired of all her talking and put her to sleep anyway, and she woke up in the recovery room. All went well, phew. It was nice having Margot here to cheer and support us both during this ordeal, and she and I spent a lot of time today talking over cups of coffee and even a glass of wine ( we are both winocerouses!). If all goes well I will be able to bring Catherine home tomorrow.

PEACE
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.
-----

Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you to Gary and Lyn and Helen Kirkwood for your kind thoughts with regards to Catherine. Tonight she is feeling anxious about her surgery tomorrow. It is scheduled for 11:30 AM. I will be there of course and our daughter Margot is making sure that she'll be there...She is spending the night in the hospital! It's kinda like déjà -vu, I remember spending the night in the hospital with Margot when she had her tonsils out....Man, what goes around comes around. It is nice of Margot to do that because it is pretty darned uncomfortable in trying to sleep in those dang chairs. Mom came to see Catherine too. All I can say is that I will be devastated if things do not turn out all right...Devastated.

Well, better get to bed and try to sleep....Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is surrounded in sleep.

Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... And the only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor.
--

Went to see Catherine today. She had another CAT scan...This time with a dye for higher definition. They found that it was a lot worse than first suspected....A 90% blockage. Margot arrived tonight and I picked her up at the airport. It is going to be wonderful to see the look on Catherine's face when she sees Margot tomorrow morning! That should really pick up her spirits! Catherine has been wanting to phone Margot or get Margot to phone her and I have been stalling because I knew she was coming. Margot looks mahvellous, Dahlinks....Just mahvellous. Joel is very busy or else he would have come too, but he did offer to come to Winnipeg to help Catherine convalesce. And it looks as if the surgery will be slotted in for Friday morning for sure. That means that she will get out on Saturday at the earliest. Let me tell you, they do not keep people in the hospital any longer than necessary....That's for sure.....You're in you're out!.....Except that is for the waiting! Catherine of course is getting bloody bored, having to be in her bed most of the time. She goes for the odd walk but soon gets dizzy and has to get back to bed. After her artery is cleared she will be struggling for a while with her blood pressure.....There is a 'natural' sensor in the carotid artery that regulates blood pressure and when the 'improved' flow starts it will be all confused and be turning on and off for a while.....All should straighten up in a week. She will also have to take cholesterol meds because 'normal' is not good enough anymore and she may be taking blood pressure meds too....At least for a while.

Well, better get some rest...Hope I sleep better tonight than I did last night. Nitey-nite. PEACE
42 42 42 42 42 42

That Love is all there is,
Is all we know of Love.

Well, it's been a long day. It all started when Catherine came home after teaching this AM. She was complaining about a pain in her left leg and some pains in her left arm and hand. She had been feeling a bit dizzy at times, at school. It went away. We went to the Superstore to do some shopping and she started dragging her left foot, saying that it felt like it was heavy, it was like walking in water she said. It would come and go....one minute painful and the next OKAY. Just so happened that the same kinda thing was happening last May and then we ended up going to the hospital ( I was not allowed to say anything then). She had some tests then and went to see her doctor. All summer it was fine....no pains. Her doctor arranged for her to have an ultrasound of her Carotid arteries. The doctor phoned Catherine today and told her the results....A 70% to 80% blockage of the right carotid artery and when Catherine told her doctor of the numbness and pain in her left side, the doctor told her to get to the St. Boniface Hospital right away to get it checked out.

from the internet :

When the carotid arteries become blocked with cholesterol plaques (atherosclerotic plaques), blood flow to the brain is compromised. Also, small pieces of plaque can break off and block small arteries in the brain. This blockage of the blood vessels can cause transient-ischemic attacks and strokes.

A wise thing to do considering it was her second such episode. At St. B, they did another battery of tests and then arranged for her to be transferred to the Health Sciences Centre to have a consultation with a vascular surgeon. He recommended to us that Catherine have surgery right away and then kept her in the hospital. The surgeon said that if the surgery is done with in 48 hours of an episode, it will be that much better. Soooooo....Looks like Catherine will be having surgery within the next two days.
The strange thing is that Catherine's cholesterol is normal.....So how could it block and artery?

It was 11:30 pm by the time I got back home and did not have time to call anyone except for Margot...I left her a message.
I will be off to see Catherine in the morning. Wish us luck.
It's so quiet here, I don't think that I'll get much sleep.......


Life would be much easier if I had the source code.

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Historical gas price charts - Winnipeg Gas Prices

Boy 79 cents can per litre in Oklahoma. That would be nice! Here we export oil to the USA and they have cheaper gas! Gives me gas!!!
Historical gas price charts - Winnipeg Gas Prices

It's so nice to have someone like brother Gary that blogs. People don't do enough blogging! They love to sit back and read blogs but when it comes to actually writing in a blog.....nope, no time. I can see it, it must take 10...15 minutes out of one's day. And pictures, well they can be seen next time I see you....in a year or two!

We just got back from the lake. There is a definite nip in the air. We had to have the furnace on to take the chill out of the last couple of nights. Glorious scenery, the leaves turning. Today it was beutiful, sunny and warm.
The big brouhaha about flooding on lake Winnipeg is being blown out of proportion. There are definitely two camps on this...one says that the lake level is going down and there will be no problem later on, and the other says that there will and want millions of dollars to protect a few houses along the shore. There is no problem for the trailer though, although it would be nice to end up with shorline property! I think the whole thing stems from a few of the people right along the shoreline that have built HUGE cottages recently and want to protect their property from the perceived damage. We'll see.

Well, better go, its supper time ...time to eat! peace
Its so nice

Friday, Sept. 15, 2005

Morality is doing what is right, regardless what we are told. Religious dogma is doing what we are told, no matter what is right.

Well.....It's off to the museum tomorrow AM, then its off to the lake. Looks like its going to be a nice few days. Catherine will have to drive back in Thursday PM to sub and she will leave Cujo...I mean Suzie with me out at the trailer. She will return though and we will spend the next few days there.

I understand Gary is situated in a Tsawwassen RV camp. They hope to meet up with Margot and Joel for lunch on Thursday and then catch the ferry back to Zanadu later Thursday night. Hope all works out for them. They missed each other on Gary's way north because of traffic.

You know, there is so much electronic stuff that runs on batteries nowadays.....I am sitting here on the computer and SOMEWHERE in the house there is a bleeping sound....could be a cellphone, a smoke detector, a vibe....no it couldn't be that, it could be that the washer or dryer is finished. Christ, now I have to go hunting. Reminds me of one time when Margot was just 2 or 3 and I had situated a smoke detector right over her bed because one can't be too careful.....well in the middle of the night there is this *beep* *beep*...the damn smoke detector RIGHT OVER HER BED has a battery that is low and I have to stand on top of Margot's bed to change it......her WATERBED. I was awake after that and so was Margot, but she promptly went back to sleep, the little angel.

Well, better get to bed now. Nitey nite..don't let the bedbu....never mind. Peace
*beep* *beep* can u spell TSAWWASSEN?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables; what does a Humanitarian eat?

Famous last words: "You're doing a great job Brownie!"

Went to the endocrinologist this morning for a follow-up. I've been following up with him since '97 ....a momentous year. Anyhow, BP is a tad high, cholesterol is uh...okay. My long term blood glucose is just within normal...(good control). Now its off to see a cardiologist this pm because it is time for a stress test. Fun and games. Sure wish the Reh-fit would open again soon. Apart from walking and biking whenever we could at the lake we haven't been getting much exercise.

We must get out to the lake tomorrow. I have to start winterizing the trailer...at least the water. You never know in these parts when we are going to get a frost and all it takes is one to freeze the pipes! It has still been nice weather and it would be nice to get out there and enjoy the last of it. Besides, we have a ton of crap to start bringing back from there. Catherine has a teaching job (her first this year) on Thursday afternoon, so we have to be back in town for that.

Must go....take care. Peace

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday,
Happy birthday,
Happy birthday toooooooo youuuuuuuu!
.
.
.
.
For she's a jolly good fellow?....uh
For she's a jolly good fellow,
For she's a jolly good fe...el...oooooooooow.

And so say all of us...
Happy birthday Honey. Love you.
Happy Birthday Catherine!!

Glad to see Bush thanking Canada for helping out in the relief effort in Lousiana. After 9-11 happened he thanked lots of countries but forgot Canada, but since he had never visited here before, he probably forgot. Hell, come to think of it, he never travelled outside of the USA before he came to office. Think of it, the leader of the free world not being well travelled, deciding on foreign policy that affects pretty near everybody. Yahoo.

I see that a Canadian Search and Rescue group from Vancouver chartered a plane and beat FEMA into the hurricaine ravaged area on the gulf by three days! 3 days. Two days into the aftermath, I saw on CNN a group of three college boys that when they heard of the trouble jumped into their Hyundai Elantra and drove right to the front door of the Superdome and this was when FMEA said they could not get in there and the army could not get in there.....they could not even attempt to get busses in there! How did they get in there?.....got in the damn car and drove....a Hyundai.

There was a thing on CBC that told of a flooding in New Orleans that happened in the 1920's? Anyhow, they evacuated the whites only because they did not want to lose the low paid manpower. The blacks were told to wait it out on the levees. I can understand why they are anxious now.

Well, we were going to buzz out to the lake for today and tomorrow (Monday) but just couldn't get up the energy. We would have had to come back for Monday night anywho becuse we have appointments and such on Tuesday and Wednesday. Too bad as the weather has been real nice the last few days.....went to 30 deg C today. Supposed to cool off later in the week, but still it is supposed to be sunny. The leaves are staring to turn and it can be quite beautiful in the country.

Better go and get to bed...agian its late and I am on the damn computer. nite
Canadian Hyundai rescued in the Bush! Thanks.

CANOE -- CNEWS - Politics: McGuinty rejects Shariah law:

"TORONTO (CP) - Ontario will not become the first Western jurisdiction to allow the use of a set of centuries' old religious rules called Shariah law to settle Muslim family disputes, and will ban all religious arbitrations in the province, Premier Dalton McGuinty told The Canadian Press on Sunday. "

Hurrah the fight has been won! Ontario will not allow the Muslims to use Shariah law in arbitration court. Not only that, all religious arbitration that currently exists, I.E. Catholic , Jewish, and others will no longer be allowed. Humanists have always believed that in the case of Muslim arbitration under Shariah laws would discriminate against Muslim women who would feel coerced into using the arbitration court by Muslim men. One law for all! This is why we and others demonstrated. You must stand up to these people!
CANOE -- CNEWS - Politics: McGuinty rejects Shariah law

"In recent speeches, President Bush has offered several reasons for staying the course in Iraq. One of them is the almost 2,000 Americans who have already died in the war. 'We owe them something,' the president said on Aug. 22. 'We will finish the task that they gave their lives for.'"

Read more here: The Sunk-Cost Fallacy - Bush falls victim to a bad new argument for the Iraq war. By Barry�Schwartz:

The Sunk-Cost Fallacy - Bush falls victim to a bad new argument for the Iraq war. By Barry�Schwartz

Thanks for the advise on "The Forty Year Old Virgin", yet I had heard that it was quite good. Guess it depends on your outlook....if you're still a virgin, not a virgin, etc.

I was going to go and see the "Exorcism of Emily Rose" but apparently they yanked the movie...seems there is this litigation....and I thought that POSSESSION was nine tenths of the law! yuk, yuk

It's funny but I looked forward with a load of trepidation to leading a discussion at our Humanist dinner meeting tonight. Catherine and I showed a tape of a TV show, done by Dr. Robert Buckman, the president of the Humanist Association of Canada, called, "Can We Be Good Without God" . It actually went quite well and I was wishing that the discussion would go on and on. AND, we didn't even get into the Flying Spaghetti Monster! Pastafarians rule!
Actually, I like Abe Lincoln's quote, "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad I feel bad. That's my religion." A good moral compass if ever there was one.

Anywho, better get back to bed.....could not sleep so I got up and mad the mistake of turning on the computer. nitey nite

The Flying Spagetti Monster rules!

Whenever I wonder about what I shall do I will think WWFSMD.

THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR FSM (KALAM STYLE)
P1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause of its existence.
P2. The universe began to exist.
P3. Therefore, the universe has a cause of its existence.
P4. Since no scientific explanation can provide a causal account of the origin of the universe, the cause must be supernatural, i.e. a god.
C1. Therefore, a god exists.
P5. Gods create humans in their own image.
P6. The brains of humans resemble a bowl of spaghetti.
C2. Thus, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the one true god.
Pastafarianism...I'm down with that!

How would you like to have a twit like this living next door? He has erected a 25 foot high cross in his backyard....visible for miles and lit up at night. It could only happen in Winnipeg. This guy says that he has personal conversations with God and God told him to put it up. This is all in preparation for the second coming of Christ. He lights it up at night of course. This has all angered his neighbours but being self-delusional it doesn't phase him one bit. The city council agrees with him and in spite of a petition form his neighbours asking that the 'sign' be taken down the damn thing stays. what next? landing pads for UFOs? A 25 foot high statue commemorating Jimi Hendrix?........All legal according to the dingbats at Winnipeg city council.
God speaks to him

Yes, we have been having a good time at the trailer. We like it muchly. I just wish though that I could get rid of the old one....soon. Too bad we had so much to do this week that we could not make it out to the lake. The temperature was about 24 deg c today and sunny and tomorrow it is supposed to be close to 30 deg c. and sunny....it would have been nice to be out there but it was not to be. retirement keeps you so busy! We took Mom to the denturist today to have her new choppers adjusted. I hope that is it for her teeth. Now, just her eyes and what was it?....her almost cancerous but not quite, spot on her head, appointment at the cancer clinic....a follow -up. Mom took the opportunity to take us, that is Catherine out for dinner. It is her birthday on the 12th. We bought a Jeannies Cake and had cake before we went out to dinner because Momsy had to get back to the Manor to participate in a "Mystery Night"...a Whodunnit thriller of the senior citizen kind. She was looking forward to that. Thay are also starting cribbage tomorrow....woohoo.

I heard from Jack again and he went into a little more detail about his palpitations of the heart thing. He said that it happened one morning. He woke up at six o'clock in the morning. Christ, if I woke up at six o'clock in the morning I would have heart problems...what an ungodly...er, unbig-eye- in- the- skyly hour to be up and about. Anyhow he went and got it checked out and they kept him in the hospital for the day. Click on his blog site in the right margin. Gary suffers from roughly the same thing and says that his 'triggers' are aspertame and coffee. Is it hereditary?...in the genes? Possibly, but I don't have it so I will keep putting aspertame in my two cups of coffee that I drink each day.

I drove Catherine around to a few schools today in order for her to disseminate some business cards announcing that she is 'back in the substitute teahing business'. Seriously though, she doesn't expect to get much work this month...but maybe a couple of days? Who knows.

Well better get back to bed....*YAWN*......nitey nite. peace

Yes, you could say that we had a bit of a storm Sunday night. Winnipeg was spared the worst of it, having only branches and the odd tree down, but Selkirk (about 20 mins north of Winnipeg) bore the brunt of it. Here is a picture of the damage done to an airfield in selkirk. Looks kinda like an acrobatic airshow.
Storm of Aug 4th.

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

Back from the lake. We have a couple of things to do this week and we have a dinner meeting on Saturday so I don't think we can make it back to the lake until Sunday? Too bad, it's supposed to be nice weather after tomorrow. We had some nice weather for the Labour day weekend, getting to 30 or so on Sunday. Still, it cooled right off at night, so much so that we had to run our little electric heater to take the chill off. We took some walks and went for bike rides and generally caroused around the town for the three days. Still reading about the trailer and tinkering around with it. Still have to get up on the roof and oil the antenna mechanism...its a bit stiff. fun stuff, anyway. Since the dog is more comfortable with being at the trailer now, we are able to get away just Catherine and I and do things, so that is nice. Poured cats and dogs on Sunday night but the 'old' trailer did not leak, so we caulked it well. Still no bites on anyone wanting to buy it.....I hate waiting.

Got an e-mail from Jack. Seems he has had a spot of health problems. An irregular heart beat. Sounds like what Gary gets every once in a while. Mine went irregular once but we won't go there. And he has some dental problems. It's a good thing he has insurance down there as this would cost him a small fortune. I don't have dental coverage anymore and I don't pretend to know how dentists operate but I had a root canal and a cap done for $200.00 cash, where 'with' insurance it would have cost approx. $1300.00 CDN. Cash in an envelope please.....thank you.
I hope the hoops that Jack has had to go through to purchase his new (as Gary would say, 'new to him') will dissapear and he will get to move in before the snow flies in Oklahoma! $2600.00 USD!?!? what the %$*&?%$# is that for? Closing costs? Crap!

Anyhow, better get to bed. Too bad about hurricaine Katrina. Bush should have acted sooner, the arrogant twit. And who is that incompetent head of FEMA and why does he still have a job?? And what the heck does it have to do with Homeland Security and why are they calling the shots?? Are the terrorists using toxic water as a weapon? Massive bureaucratic bungling and it started while the President dude was on holidays.....Karl Rove has a lot of 'covering asses' to do this time!

nighty night. oh and PEACE
Bush the twit

"It's a gimme!"
There have been three bear attacks in Manitoba this summer. Seems that there is a shortage of berries. Frankly, I'd let the bear play through! That is three of my friends golfing...I am in the bush. Haha. Just kidding....I wanted to try this new way of posting pictures that blogger has. Neat huh?
Bearly a gimme

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

I am here at the Gimli library. The lake level is pretty high and they are sandbagging at Winnipeg Beach, most of the boardwalk is gone and they want to save the rest....and some cabins too. The water is high because of the rain from the south, east and mostly from the west....most rivers from the prairies drain into the Lake and then the lake drains into the Hudsons Bay. There is lots of shore erosion both on the lake and on the Red River banks in Winnipeg. People are losing their property to the river at a frightening rate.

Glad Gary, Carol and Lou are having a good time at Mike's place. Have you gone out hunting bears? We had a black bear attack and kill someone in Selkirk (just north of Winnipeg)....a black bear! no bells! I understand that the berries and such, the bears normal food, is in real short supply, hence the attack. Some guy picking wild plums and the bear took offense.

Yes, I filled the car with gas yesterday at $1.14.9/lt. It had a 1/4 of a tank and it cost me $58.00!!! damn oil companies! I understand that gas is about $.79/lt US in the States...thats about $1.00/lt Canadian.......I feel better now.

All those poor people in the Big Uneasy. Still waiting to be helped. Where is the National Guard?..in Iraq. What is the Iraq war costing Americans?...1 BILLION dollars/day. That could help people in New Orleans now! But Bush goes on TV and shows empathy by kissing a few foreheads and musing about his very rich friend Trent Lott and how he lost his house to the storm and how the poor fellow will have to rebuild. Amazing how all the stranded people are negroes. Would they have left white people standing on roofs for 5 days if this happened in Kennebunkport??? I think not.

Well, better go and get back to the trailer. Luckily we have Suzie the Wonder dog at the trailer to protect us from the bears....no bears around here! because Suzie the Wonder Dog is on the job! We will probably take in the drag racing this afternoon...they have a new track over at the old Gimli airport.
Peace
Plums give gas to bears...what a drag.

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

I see that Gary has made it to Mike's place and all the kids are fine and growing like weeds. I suppose that they are all happy to be going back to school in a week or so. I know that after a summer of absolute freedom that when I was a kid, the LAST thing I wanted was to end it by going back to school....yuck. Well you get over it and when you get older, it's like going to school full time....yuck. Well, anywho, how is Lou enjoying the trip? Is there any women up there to date? How is Carol making out? Rheumatoid Arthritis acting up at all? Must be hard on the back all that rumbling around on those roads. How is the golfing Gary? hey gas is pretty cheap there......give it a day! Gas here went up 15 cents per litre in a DAY. It is now around $1.199 per litre. AND that's better than the average around the country ($1.21 per lt). They blame it on hurricane Katrina...what a bunch of crap! A hurricaine happens in the Gulf of Mexico and two days later the price of gas in Winnipeg goes up 15 cent a litre??????? Looks like the family that will benefit the most is the Bush family.
Anyhow, better go and get ready to go to the trailer. Catherine is giving me dirty looks....are you getting ready to go???? Yeah, yeah, in a minute...just gotta finish the blog...... Bubye...peace...say hello to Mike and Charlene and the kids for us, Gary. later....yoiks....ow

I once applied for a job as a human canonball.....I didn't get hired...they said that they wanted someone of a higher calibre!!!

We came in from the Lake on Tuesday and we will leave at first light on Friday. Of course we will fill up with gas early...before they have a chance to post the new daily rate......let's see, what is it $1.09 per litre? I heard on the news that in the US South West. gas is selling anywhere form $3.00 per gallon to a high of $6.07 per gallon in Atlanta. This high price, apparently has to do with pipeline problems caused by hurricaine Katrina. I wonder what Gary is paying for gas in northern BC?

Well, better go, I have to get a few things before we head out to the trailer tomorrow.....a hose, a couple of jacks, uh, oh I am sure I'll find something else.
Peace.....
canonballs full of gas?