For Your Enjoyment - And Mine

If this doesn't make you smile I don't know what will.. I've watched it over and over tonight.



I need a little help tonight, the news from Greece is not good.

High Gas Prices - One Way To Reduce Global Warming

As we head into the first real (family day in February doesn't count) long weekend of the year I shudder at the cost of gas. Hovering at around $1.27 a litre depending on where you are in this city, it is becoming prohibitive to most people to drive far from home. I suspect the regular Friday night exodus to cottage country will slow down. I know myself as I filled up my tank for $80 that doing this every weekend as we have in years past may not be possible. Of course that will reduce the amount of emissions and that's a good thing, but what about all the businesses in cottage country, small towns with small populations, that depend on cottagers for their income? What will happen to them, will they close up and do what? Go on welfare or move to cities for employment?

And where will they work. Figures out show that people are spending less money, everyone is so worried about the fallout from the American mortgage fiasco that they are tightening their belts so the speak. I'm not an economist, in fact my mathematical abilities suck but even I know that purchasing and travelling stimulate the economy and keep things humming.

So higher gas prices = less money for other things = less production or import = less use of electricity = less coal fired plants to produce electricity = ...you get the point. Where are we headed here. Am I looking at this too simplistically, will this all work out in the end?


Today it cost me 80 bucks to fill up the gas tank on my ridiculously inefficient vehicle, oh yes I already said that. Then there's this little gem, a carbon tax, that the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition wishes to impose on us if elected in the next federal election; just what we need. It has been estimated that a carbon tax could add up to 50 cents to a litre of gas. Just what the economy needs.

Stephane Dion...read my lips, we don't need a carbon tax, meanwhile we're heading out to play with the blackflies...shudder.

THE DION TAX
Would Dion's Carbon Tax Save The Planet ?

Yes, we Canadians can save the world (300)	13%
No, he's crazy as a bed bug (1916)	82%
I don't know, tough call (117)	5%

Total Votes: 2333

Gone For A Few Days

I'm still around but will probably not blog for a few days. I'm getting up at 7 AM tomorrow morning, having my coffee and getting my knitting needles and wool all ready for Sock Wars III.

At exactly 8 AM, I will be given the sock pattern and the name of the person I must assassinate by knitting and sending them their socks. I have never done anything like this before but hey, for 500 bucks worth of yarn at stake I will give it my best shot.

Reuters describes it as;

the "bloodiest death-by-knitting tournament," enlists players from around the world to take part in a game that shows knitting is no longer just a grandmothers' hobby.

Wish me luck...

Get A Load Of This...

I lieu of going out with my sweetie to play bridge and have fun, I'm looking for interesting stories to write about. I really wanted to go but I still feel so crappy I know I wouldn't have fun and probably not bid well, causing whoever was my partner to want to kill me.

Here is a story I saw on the news the other night. It's about an 101 year old man who is going to run the London Marathon on April 13th. Let's all cheer him on.

Now what this news story doesn't tell you and what I saw on the telly is that he stops every 5 miles for a cigarette and a beer before continuing.

Cows Go Walkabout

Last October in Germany some lobsters went for a walk and minks ran away.

Today on Toronto's busiest highway some cows decided to try the same thing. They got a little further, created lots of havoc but in the end, their walkabout was short lived. It did make for funny TV for a little bit until they got a little to carried away. Unfortunately one had to be shot to keep it from hurting someone. The rest I presume carried on to the slaughter house. Guess you can't escape your fate...

A Blessed Good Friday to all.

A Mammoth Storm

This is getting kind of boring but that's life here in T-Dot right now. We are buried and I mean buried in white stuff. Just a few statistics, the worst March storm that I remember was March 4, 1985 where we had 24.5 cm and I remember it well. It was Steve's first winter in Canada having come here from southern California, and he was awfully close to going back. The Toronto total snow fall record was 207 cm which was in 1939. We are within 10 cm of beating that record at the moment and March and April can and will bring more snow.

Our front stairs this morning...

Pristine walkway, where the heck is that newspaper!

Cars? What cars...they are under there somewhere...

Jim, the neighbourhood hero is out there again plowing out driveways...

This afternoon Jim and his wife Eileen will make a big roaring fire in their fireplace and have invited us all over for a retirement party for our other neighbour Betty. I'm sure we will all bitch about the snow...

Do Not Try This At Home!

At least without some serious consequences. My chuckle of the day... just a little extreme in my view.

Another Storm - A Valentines Day Contest

Looking out the window at the snow that is falling again, on top of the snowbanks that have never been cleared from the last snow fall is enough to depress anybody. We are expecting another 20 cm today. Complaining to the "powers that be" does no good whatsoever. I'm sure that my local councilor has a file on me already filed under Nutbar, but geesh, I don't know why I pay such exorbitant property tax when they can't even clean the damn snow. As for the new garbage rules, well that's another rant coming soon.

Meanwhile there is a Valentines contest over here that could be fun, I mean we need all the help we can get on this dreary February day to cheer us up and what better way than to enter a contest, right?

Monopoly - The All Time Favourite Board Game

I love that game although I haven't played it for a long time. It was and still is our favourite cottage game but you really need more than two people to play which is why we haven't played for a while. Seems that in the last few years we haven't had that many visitors to the cottage and certainly no kids.

I still have the old game stashed and it's about as old as my offspring. Now Parker Brothers is coming out with a new game, a World Edition and all of us, you and me get to vote for cities that we'd like to see in the new game. Of course I cast my vote for Toronto, what the heck gotta support the old town, but feel free to go over to their site and vote for your favourite city. More than one vote is allowed. It will be interesting to see which world cities make the final cut.

Happy New Year

This is what we woke up to this morning, about 12 centimetres of heavy, wet white stuff, sigh.. On the other hand shovelling this stuff sure gets rid of the hangover from last night, just kidding, didn't have one, didn't drink enough. I'm getting smart in my old age. Happy New Year and Happy Blogging...



And this just about sums up my year. This quiz thanks to Expat Traveller.

You Had an Average Year

While you had some setbacks, your year also brought some good things. All in all, things mostly evened out. That's just how life works. Focus on what went well for you - and what you can improve. A new year is a perfect reason to give yourself a fresh start!

How Did Your Year Rate?

Where's The Army? Record Breaking Snow Fall

Back in 1999 our then Mayor Mel Lastman called the army when we had this much snow.
This time we are on our own, (insert giggles here) and the neighbours seem to be enjoying themselves outside. Me, I just watch from the door, camera in hand.

So here are the pictures of this now,officially record breaking snowfall, a sixty year record to be precise and a present from our American friends in Texas. I guess they are getting even for all the cold fronts we send their way.

This is what it looked like yesterday afternoon before the storm. We had already had a couple of storms under our belt but nothing like what was coming.

By midnight, the winds were howling and it was coming down fairly steadily.

Couldn't open the back door this morning.

It does look pretty though...

Steve's threatening to move to California again, sigh...he does this every year.

Jim is the neighbourhood hero. After the snowplow blocked all the driveways again he his opening them up for all of us with the trusty snow plow, what a guy. Every neighbourhood needs a Jim...

I know we are not alone in this and at least we haven't lost our power so we are warm. Some of our southern neighbours in the U.S. have been without electricity for days. I think some of my buddies in Northern Ontario along Lake Huron and in Sudbury are also getting this weather and I hope they are safe. Not a good day to to be on the roads. In Cleveland they are playing football on a field covered with 3 inches of snow! Are they nuts? It is still snowing but it's expected to stop later tonight. Time to go bake my usual Sunday cake...

Runaway Critters!

I have to interrupt my travel posts for a moment to bring you a couple of gems out of Germany. Runaway lobsters in Stuttgard, I kid you not. Last seen heading down the street from the Asian supermarket where they were waiting to go on the dinner table.

These guys had a little help though, they didn't get out of their cages alone. There are 7,500 mink missing and the army has been sent out to capture them. Fun stuff...