| (no subject) |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|07:05 pm] |
My son and his girlfriend came up to Stirling for a visit this weekend. Their train got in at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. On Saturday we had breakfast at Jenney's with my sister and her husband. We did the great circle tour on Saturday afternoon: Church Key Brewing Company
Their motto is "Drink it religiously". The circle also included the chocolate store and Canadian Tire in Campbellford and the Empire Cheese Co-operative about 1/2 way between Stirling and Campbellford.
I barbecued steaks over maple hardwood and mesquite chips for dinner.
On Sunday, we attended the Open House at Canadian Forces Base, Trenton.
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| Summer! |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|03:27 pm] |
First strawberries of the season picked this morning. :)
Today is the first really warm day of summer. Actually, it is officially the second day of summer. Temperature is +25°C.
Now I need my car air conditioning. However it will cost me an additional $475.00 for a new "accumulator" (whatever the heck that is). My Ford dealer in Stirling has to order it and it will be installed Wednesday afternoon. |
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| Strawbwrry Shortcake |
[Jun. 20th, 2009|05:56 pm] |
Strawberry shortcake at Jenny's this afternoon:
Cake baked in-house, whipped cream from local cream and mountains of local strawberries. I must purchase some strawberries from a local roadside stand before they are all gone. So much better than the cardboard berries imported from California! A treat once a summer!
Had to purchase a new cordless phone yesterday. My 12-year-old Bell South phone worked well but it is no longer possible to get batteries for it.
I'm also using a loaner cell phone from Bell Mobility as the video display on my current phone has failed. Fortunately, it is under warranty.
And I have to take my car to the shop on Monday. I turned on the air conditioning for the first time this season on Friday and no cooling. Mind you, that may have well been Stirling's only day of summer this year. temperature today is +17°C in the rain. |
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| Canada Revenue Agency |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|07:57 pm] |
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I received a mailing from the Canada revenue Agency. It seem that they now agree with my initial tax filing. I now owe $1200 clawback on my disability pension rather than the original $6000, I now have to fax my tax reassessment to the Trillium health plan to maintain my drug benefit. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 9th, 2009|06:58 am] |
I took VIA Rail to Toronto to see my shrink on Monday. I can report to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dzuunmod that VIA trains were on time in both directions and the car didn't smell of stale urine this time. Apparently I am safe to be loose in the community for at least another two months.
I am having a fight with Revenue Canada. I e-filed as usual. While my print-out of my return shows that the tax man wants to claw back $2,000 of my disability pension the tax man is claiming that in 2008 I earned more money than I ever have in my life, roughly 2½ times my actual income last year. I need to straighten this out as it will effect both my pension and my deductible on the Trillium Health Plan for my diabetes meds.
The sloop "Empire Sandy" photographed with my cell phone from a passing streetcar in Toronto harbour yesterday. |
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| More for Laurel |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|06:12 pm] |
Perhaps not so cute but a mother osprey watching over her family from her nest at Glen Ross.
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| (no subject) |
[May. 21st, 2009|04:04 pm] |
I tested the new telescope last night. As the finder scope was not aligned, I wasn't able to pick out specific targets. I was able to ascertain that star images were sharp pinpoints of light in my 40 mm Plössl eyepiece which is a good sign. I also aligned my finder scope this afternoon.
I also defied Gaherty's Law: "When a new telescope, eyepiece, star chart, etc. is acquired, the sky will be overcast for 7-10 days."
I finally brought my snow shovels in from the side deck and the car trunk thus assuring snow tomorrow. ;) |
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| New Toy |
[May. 20th, 2009|08:00 pm] |
I bought a new toy on Tuesday.
This is a 114 mm Newtonian reflector telescope on a German equatorial mount. It was in the display window of a Campbellford pawn shop and I couldn't resist. I have been meaning to get back into amateur astronomy but my Dobsonian Newtonian just won't cut it except as a second scope. I called my first scope "Arthur" after the plant that kept appearing in MAD Magazine. When the Beatles first came to Toronto there was a press conference and somebody shouted out, "What do you call your haircut?" One of the Beatles, I can't remember who, replied "Arthur". CITY-TV was covering an RASC Toronto Centre public observing night at Humber Bay Bark West and Geoffrey and I were setting up the Dobsonian for it's first light, it wasn't even painted. We had finished building it the night before. Someone from the TV station shouted, "What do you call your telescope?" And I said ... So i have to think of a name for my new scope, and, no, "Bushie" won't do. |
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| More cutebness for Laurel |
[May. 19th, 2009|04:47 pm] |
Sheep on a farm on Hoard's Road about half-way between Stirling and Campbellford.
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| (no subject) |
[May. 11th, 2009|05:48 pm] |
Following my sister's suggestion, I drove out to Sandy Flat Sugarbush this morning.
The drive through the Trent Hills north of Warkworth was truly beautiful. As I drove into the Sugarbush from the road, I stopped to let a family of Canada geese cross the driveway between a wetland and a pond. The larger of the two adult geese (the male?) stood traffic cop in the centre of the road watching me until the smaller of the adults and the five goslings were safely across. He them moved to the side and let me proceed.
I stopped in Warkworth on my way back for breakfast. Warkworth has a very picturesque and vibrant downtown. At the advice of the store keeper at Sandy Flat, I breakfasted at Jeannine's Talkback Café. The breakfast, sausage, two eggs over easy, home fries and toast was well-prepared and excellent.
I was amused by a sign within the café: "Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy." Something to terrorize parents. |
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| For Laurel |
[May. 5th, 2009|04:31 pm] |
More major cuteness from Frankford. The llamas now have companions.
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| Remembering |
[May. 3rd, 2009|01:41 pm] |
Four years ago today, in the early morning hours, my wife, Joan Gilmour, passed away at the Neurology Department of Toronto Western Hospital. Nine days earlier, she had been operated on for a brain tumour. The operation had gone well and arrangements were being made to transfer her back to Belleville General Hospital. But infection set in and she had a heart attack. I hope it was while she was sleeping but we will never really know. Joan gave me a magnificent son and a great deal of personal happiness.
Her ashes are buried on the Gilmour family property outside of Frankford Ontario on a hill that overlooks the Trent River.
Sleep well, Joan. |
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| May Day! |
[May. 1st, 2009|10:22 am] |
Today is May Day!
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| Spring |
[Apr. 28th, 2009|12:43 pm] |
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My crocus' are now all gone. :( They are such a fleeting harbinger of Spring. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 24th, 2009|03:03 pm] |
Again, there is something to be said about country living. Last night when I got home, I realized that my cell phone was not on my belt. This morning, I retraced my steps and the first call was at the Trenton A&P. As I approached the service counter, the clerk said "Hi Mr. Taylor. We have your cell phone" and then she reached into a drawer and handed it to me.
White crocus' are now up. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|11:02 pm] |
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I will never be a birder but saw my first redwing blackbird of the spring today and noticed that the cormorants have returned to Frankford. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 20th, 2009|04:40 pm] |
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One of the joys of living in a small village (pop: 1,800) is that you get to know people and merchants know you. I went into Balu's Pharmacy here in Stirling this afternoon to renew a prescription for Lantus insulin. When I got there they told me that they had checked my records for the past several months and discovered that they had shorted me on previous prescriptions. I ended up getting 25 pre-filled syringes (one month's supply) at no charge. Would staff have bothered to check if they were in Toronto? |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|05:50 pm] |
Spring is starting to appear.
Perhaps I can put away my snow shovels and block heater extension cord. |
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