Friday, October 22, 2010

A soggy but mild day

Conditions at 6:00 am - 10* and light rain
Expected later - more rain and a high of 8* so I think this is as good as it's going to get today

Yesterday was once again a beautiful day. It clouded over a bit in the afternoon, but most of the day was lovely. When I got home, there was  a message to call Brenda, who graciously invited me for supper - one of Lloyd's personal favorite meals, spaghetti with warm garlic bread.  She only has to work this afternoon as some schools have parent teacher interviews today so she's getting a bit of a head start on her weekend. We're having trouble finding green tomatoes to make her chow recipe. I'm going to check a couple of places in town today to see if we can find some. This has been a different year for her with a busy summer followed by driving the bus, so not as much preserving has gotten done as in past years. I did several things last year and have done nothing this year either. Now that I'm working on Saturdays, it makes for a very short weekend. Craig, the fellow who alternates with me is back at UPEI part time so after the end of October, I will likely work every Saturday for a while, to give him more time for school assignments. Now he works 3 days a week. In the summer, he works full time. I really don't mind working on Saturdays. Because I work a longer day now, I come straight home at the end of it to let the dog out, so if I have any errands to run or things to look for, I don't have time but it's not usually something I will make a trip to town for. But on Saturday's I finish at 2:00 so it gives me time to do any running around I might need to do. So it's kind of a win/win for everyone.

There's a wedding on Saturday so this Saturday will be another busy day. Next Saturday is the playground build day. Let's hope the weather next weekend cooperates.

Every day Honda feels more and more like Balnar Management. The service manager is married to the owners wife's sister, and the sales manager has the same last name as well, so I suspect he's related as well. It's very much a family business, as Balnar was. Even the bank feels the same. When I was in Guelph, I routinely went to the Royal Bank and dealt almost daily with two ladies who were in the business cage - Fiona and Sylvana.  Now I go to the Royal Bank everyday only here I have Louise and Jen.  But it feels the same and the signs inside the bank are the same so there's a little bit of a sense of deja vu.

Next weekend Lloyd is moving into the apartment at Jana's house. He's sold most of the furniture he's accumulated while he was at Lynn's and apparently his place is now looking quite bare. He will keep all of the small appliances he has so when he does move here, we'll have lots of toys to play with (doubles of most things). It's now only one year and 3 months till he can take retirement at 60.  It's amazing how fast the time will go (well maybe not fast enough for him!).

I received this email from an old friend:

The Stranger

This is very interesting and not the ending I had expected!!!!
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our
small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting
newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly
accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he
had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me
good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger...he was our
storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures,
mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew
the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to
predict the future!  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  He
made me laugh, and he made me cry.  The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad
didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each
other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace
and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never
felt obligated to honor them.  Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our
home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors.  Our longtime visitor,
however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad
squirm and my mother blush.  My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol.
But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.  He made
cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.   He talked freely
(much too freely!) about sex.  His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes
suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly
by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he
was seldom rebuked. And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.
He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.
Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him
sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch
him draw his pictures.
His name?.... . .
We just call him 'TV..'

He has a wife now...We call her 'Computer'.

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