Posted on August 10, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

We were hit by lightning. No kidding!

 

I was driving Betty around to yard sales on the weekend and ended up at a house in the country where this goat resided. This was not a farm. The yard had all kinds on interesting animals. As she tells me ( repeatedly! ), you never know who or what you are going to see when you’re on the hunt for stuff that other people are trying to get rid of.

We had a very interesting weekend as many of you know. Our house was hit by lightning late Friday afternoon. I was home at the time. You always see people being interviewed on television after some natural disaster and they have trouble finding the correct words to describe what they heard. Include me in those numbers. We’ve all heard loud thunderclaps, especially when they are nearby. Magnify this sound by a factor of 10 and it will give you some idea of the force of the hit to the house. The house shook. I shook. Truthfully, I was unaware that we had been hit until Betty arrived home from work.

You see, the lightning struck the upper reaches of the side of our house and knocked out power to that area alone. Had the power gone out downstairs, I would have been inclined to go looking. When Betty came through the back door, I knew something was wrong. There was concern ( alarm ) written all over her face. “We’ve been hit by lightning” she said. I registered a look of surprise and then went outside to see the mess in the yard and the gaping hole in our house. The arrival of the fire department certainly caused quite a stir in the neighborhood.

It’s not very often that a story just lands in your lap. I already have this one sketched out and believe it or not, there were some funny aspects to the whole affair. Once we realized that no one was hurt and that the property damage was not insurmountable, we found dark humour everywhere we turned. As you know, our house is for sale and we thought that we could add the line “air conditioned” to the description.

One of the interesting things about the lightning hit was that we lost internet, cable and telephone. With cellular devices, this is not a huge issue but it was still weird not being able to access services that we take for granted. It was particularly problematic for me with my writing as I was unable to post my Saturday story. We hope to be up and running with these services mid week.

So, my Saturday story, “Bugged” will appear tomorrow. I have a few others in the queue as well including the lightning story.

Thank you for all the messages of concern on the weekend … and the birthday wishes. From your responses, it is evident that natural disasters are more popular than birthdays! ( although some days, Betty considers me a natural disaster ).

I know what Betty wants for her next birthday: a firemen’s calendar! We were both extremely impressed with the response and professionalism of our local fire department.

Have a great week.

Posted on August 7, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Morning glory on the Main

 

 

Is it proper to say that a day can be delicious?

I took the picture above very early Wednesday morning on a walk. There wasn’t a breath of wind and the temperature was simply exquisite for walking. When I turned the corner onto Main Street from College, I saw the sun’s reflection on several buildings along the Main. It was quite stunning and looked like an artist had taken a brush and a can of bronze paint and decided to “paint the town.”

Walking is a major part of my health regime. And speaking of health, I heard a very interesting show the other day on CBC radio. They were discussing dieting and they were interviewing a doctor. He basically said that dieting simply doesn’t work. He went on at length about our food habits and our exercise regime. The word “balance” came up over and over again. He made an insightful observation that people should spend more time in the kitchen ( not eating but thinking about what you eat )  than the gym. Too many people think that exercise is the key to keeping the weight off but , sad to say, it just ain’t so. I remember on some of my marathon training runs, burning anywhere from 1500 to 2000 calories. That’s great but only if it is matched with proper nutrition.

When it comes to food, I have terrific willpower. Except when I don’t. When I’m good, I’m really good, but like most people, I fall off the wagon. Still trying to find the elusive balance.

While we’re on the subject of food, is it just me or is there a general rise in the consumption of chicken? I am heeding the advice to reduce my red meat intake but the result is that every other meal seems to be chicken. We have eaten so much chicken lately that ( gasp! ), we had to throw a few pieces  in the composter the other day. We try not to waste a scrap of food but occasionally, something gets pushed to the back of the fridge and has to be tossed. When Betty called to ask me about its “best before date”, I told her that I was “chickened out.” The words weren’t out of my mouth and I was off to the races writing a story of the same name, about the proliferation of chicken.

I didn’t get a lot of “shares” on the picture of the earwig the other day. Coming up Saturday is my story called “Bugged” which speaks in glowing terms about all the interesting bugs creeping around our houses and yards these days with warm temperatures and high humidity.

The second last Art Fair is tomorrow evening at Chisholm Park. Turn the barbeque off and come down for some fabulous ethnic food, an evening of first class entertainment and a chance to meet several artists and artisans. Starts at 6:00 p.m. and goes until 9:00 p.m.

Have a great weekend.

Posted on August 6, 2014 under Storytelling with 3 comments

Site of MacCormick’s tree rope swing

 

 

“Kick a stone, down the road,

Run and catch the wind

Theme song:  “Up ,Up With People”  ( The Up With People Movement )

 

So, how do you get your children to sleep at night?

Over the generations, this has been discussed and debated.  There have been volumes of books written on the subject and countless articles in parenting magazines.  But no one ever asked me, so I am going to give you the definitive answer.

The other day, my daughter commented (gleefully!) that her two year old daughter had slept the entire night.  This was stated with something bordering on incredulity.  What had her daughter done that day that so altered her flight path into bed?  A careful inquisition unearthed the fact that her child had spent a good deal of the day outdoors.

I was walking to work recently when I found myself kicking a stone.  Good thing no one noticed.  At least no one alerted the authorities.  This simple act, so ingrained in my persona, was something we all did as children.  Even when there wasn’t anyone to play with, you could kick a stone to alleviate boredom.  It was all so simple back then.

When was the last time you waded through a field of hay that was up to your chest?   Or how about experiencing the bitter taste of an un-ripened crab apple?   Do you remember climbing up a tree to survey the vast universe in front of you?  Or soaring to the heavens on the MacCormick’s tree swing?

Do kids build tree houses anymore?  Fort building was a rite of passage when I was a child.  You didn’t have to go far to find the forest for the trees.  With the preponderance of softwood trees for building material you invariably got spruce gum stuck on your hands, which mysteriously turned black.  Occasionally we tried chewing the spruce gum.  Most of us decided that Double Bubble was much more pleasing to the palate.

Do you remember chestnuts bursting from their burrs in the autumn of the year?  We drilled holes in them to make necklaces.  I can still easily recall the smell.

We tossed balls back and forth and played every imaginable game and sport … all without adult supervision.  There was no such thing as parents duking it out over their kid not getting enough playing time.  Any skirmishes were handled democratically and privately by the kids themselves.

Businesses are forever doing cost benefit analyses.  What cost inputs are required to get the desired benefits?

There is no cost to simple play while the benefits are priceless.  So, here is the ultimate solution for getting your children to bed.  Run them ragged outdoors and fill their bellies with fresh air.  Present them with some of life’s simple pleasures.  You might want to join in occasionally, just for old time’s sake.  And if they have a smidgen of fight left in them as they stagger to bed, read them a story or two.

Move over Julie Andrews.  These are a few of my favorite things.