Oh those summer nights
Okay, not exactly summer, but this time of year is what I live for.
The past couple of nights I have had to be out of the house for a couple of reasons. Yesterday was an Ice Hawks meeting (I’m on the board of executives, and for those who don’t know, that’s the local hockey team), and the previous night I had to prepare the paper for delivery yesterday. The paper has to get to the post office by about eight in the morning, so I do all of the things needed to get all the labels on each paper and make sure flyers are inserted into all the papers that the customer requests.
During the winter, this is what it might look like when I get done around 7:30 to 9:00 pm (and sometimes even later depending on the work load).
Dark, drab, depressing. Let’s just say, I’m not fond of that which is a winter wonderland.
Summertime is much better for me, which is why I dream of it during those long, cold winter nights. Because last night, and Wednesday night, this is what I got to see at 9:30 in the evening.
Lots of green, quite warm, colourful sky. The longer days mean my attitude feels a lot better. It’s what comes with having SADs (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I often will go into massive depression during the winter and at times it’s really hard to get motivated. During the summer, it’s a lot easier.
I’ve often been told “You should move to a warmer climate”. Nah, not really. While it’d be nice to move, I really don’t want to move. There are other ways of dealing with depression during winter, and part of that involves some extra vitamins, or even sitting under a UV lamp while I read. It helps.
But the thing that really helps is the longer days of summer, the warm weather and the green everywhere.
Today, even more lazy than others
The newspaper was uploaded to the printer last night, and should be done sometime this morning before I begin the usual Wednesday afternoon grind of labeling all of the mailing labels onto 1200 news papers.
Today, there is only one small publication which we print inhouse that we have to do, and that’s already started.
Tomorrow, the delivery of this week’s issue begins, and once that’s done at around 9:00 in the morning (or perhaps 9:15) then the holidays begin. Two glorious weeks off where I can do whatever I want. Already I’ve been asked if I’d like to travel somewhere far off or take a vacation to some distant and exotic location. But really, my holiday is what I want to do.
I hate driving, really. I hate getting into my car and driving for an hour or two to get to some destination. Driving stresses me out. As for going down to some far off place, like Scotland (because I’ve always wanted to), or the tropics, or go as far south Florida or some other place where it’s supposed to be warm all year round. Well, I’m not into that mostly because it would be much better off to fly to some place like that. And quite frankly, I hate flying. I am deathly afraid of getting onto an airplane. And I’m okay with that.
Also, I never understood why someone would want to go to a hot climate when it’s just that way here. It’s been really warm (though some days have been sweltering) and an all around awesome summer. Wouldn’t you want to wait until winter before heading south?
I’m also debating about getting a new laptop for myself. Replacing my old one and getting a brand new one to act as my lone computer, and set up my desktop computer as a sort of entertainment center. Games, movies, music, all in one location.
That might be something to look into during my two weeks off. Along with writing and other such things.
Photo time!
About a week and a half ago, I got the bright idea to take photos with my new camera. Naturally, it was a sweltering 33 Degrees Celsius, with the humidex setting it around 47. This was obviously a good idea! (sarcasm). At any rate, here’s the photos I took along the river bank.
Looking north up the river. It’s a tad smokey thanks to the forest fires in Northern Alberta and Northern Saskatchewan.
Gulls on the water!
Okay, the Deep Purple reference would have been better for the last picture looking toward the old traffic bridge.
Gulls are a common sight around Saskatchewan, many of whom feast on massive amounts of grasshoppers. Here, they just seem to be kickin’ back and enjoying life on a sandbar on the river.
Looking south, toward the old traffic bridge. Much easier to see the smoke and haze that way.
Recent observations
Dog days of summer
Not really, but it’s kind of this lazy, laid back feeling of “meh” where one just doesn’t feel like doing anything right now. Usually dog days refers to the listless lazy days of summer, and we are right in on that. At work, we’re about two and a half weeks away from a shut down of our office for two weeks, which is alright. This allows everyone to plan their holidays accordingly. Me, I plan on parking it in a lawn chair somewhere. Either on the beach at Elbow, or in the park her in Outlook, or maybe along the riverfront in Saskatoon. Heck, I may even just park it on my balcony.
Be careful using short forms and abbreviations
One should always be careful to ensure that the proper short forms are used when writing them out. Even the slip up of a url country code (as an example, .ca being for Canada) can send you some place you weren’t expecting. Granted, some of those can end up being quite amusing. Such as one of the short forms, or abbreviations for cubit meter. It looks very different when read as cu. m.
News saturation
I don’t wanna get down on what happened last night in Aurora, Colorado. And I don’t want to dwell on it. Suffice it to say that 12 people are dead after some idiot decided it would be a good idea to pull a gun in the middle of a crowded theatre whilst watching the Dark Knight Rises and open fire. Thanks to his (or her, I really don’t honestly know) incredible lunacy, 12 people are dead. I don’t even give two twits what race, religion, gender, political leaning he is, because he (or she) killed 12 people. I’m not even gonna make mention of the bastard’s name, because he’s not important. He killed 12 people, and as far as I’m concerned, those 12 were far more important than some twat with a gun.
This morning at work we got into a bit of a discussion about how the news media treats stories like this, and I was going to write something about it. But thanks to wilwheaton‘s tumblr, I don’t have to because Charlie Brooker did such a better job of it. Watch more below.
Let’s hope that this isn’t given 24/7 news feeds for the next month, because I really don’t need to be kept reminded of during the summer.
Heatwave
Heatwave! (by HawkMannequin)
It’s so freakin’ hot!
Currently, as I upload this video (which was last night), it’s 32 Celsius (about 85 F), with a humidex around 43 (that’s around 107 F).
Now excuse me, while I go lay in a pool of my own sweat.
Hot quotes in the summertime
Quotes relating to summer, or summertime activities at the very least. As well, a few points to ponder.
“A gardener is the spirit of the garden, the organizing force, the heart and soul of it all.” ~Jeff Cox
“The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” ~Walter Bagehot
“No matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with!” ~author unknown
“Tell the people that you love that you love them…at every opportunity.” ~author unknown
Related articles
- Quotes about Summer: Summertime is a Great Time to Break the Rules Quote (miscfinds4u.com)
- Quotes to Run By: The Greatest Pleasure? (runningmyles.com)
Summertime!
It’s the first official day of summer! Yay! Also, I talk about what’s coming up next in Rocket Fox (chapter seven is uploaded at my blog in pdf format).
Scroll down to download pdf reads of Rocket Fox.
I also talk about comics. I may be picking up more than just Huntress, Batwoman, Batgirl and World’s Finest.
Oh, and Canada Day.
And because it’s summer…
Those are the most EPIC mutton chops I’ve ever seen.
Late night visitor
I consider myself a cat person, really I do. That is, unless that cat happens to be in a tree, outside my bedroom window, and making the god-awful sounds it makes when it’s mad and I’m trying to sleep at quarter to two in the morning. Then not so much. That sound is incredibly eerie and I’m only glad I woke up before the cat began making its maddening cries. I got up to shout at it and scare it away, but stopped because there wasn’t just a cat outside.
There was a deer.
The cat was hissing and spitting at a deer. Just one, then two more appear once the cat jumped down from the tree and sped off into the night. Good. At least it won’t be making noises outside my window.
I managed to get a few snaps of the deer. Now mind you, this is late at night, I don’t have proper equipment to take nature photos, but I still wanted to take a few pictures.
Crossing the road to nibble on some grass. And most likely because I startled them in order to get a photo or two.
Standing cautiously on the other side of the street.
Continuing on their way.
It’s raining, it’s pouring
Over the past week, that’s been the case in this area of the world. Constant rain, not overly heavy, but just enough to make things wet and miserable. The sun is out today, which makes for a more pleasant situation.
The unusual weather continues around this neck of the woods. The past few days there’s been rain and slightly cooler temperatures, but nothing completely off. A look at the national map from Environment Canada shows that across the country the temperatures vary from east to west, with Ontario and Quebec getting up to the mid teens and low twenties (that’s in Celsius). But it’s one temperature in particular that worries me, as might be seen on this map.
While Whitehorse, Yukon is sitting at 1 Degree Celsius, it happens to be Prince George that is the one spot to have the negative temperature, sitting at -1Degree Celsius. Fortunately, a look at the local forecast here in Outlook shows that we are looking for some nice weather over the next three days, which is good for the Thanksgiving Day long weekend. I must admit, however, by Friday that temperature of 10 Celsius for a high and 0 Celsius for an overnight low does give me pause. I’m still hoping that this warmer weather does continue on into November, however.
Stands to reason, though, that we’d go from temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius to ones closer to 10 to 15 Celsius. This is the usual cycle here in Saskatchewan.
Autumn turns
I realized that a very important event passed without my notice. Autumn came and went last week. I call it important, because the moving of the seasons is just like turning the pages of a book. Except, last week’s change of season really didn’t feel like a change of season at all. The air was much more like summer than autumn, and the trees themselves are still green, the grass is lush. The Farmer’s Almanac is actually predicting we could be in for an Indian Summer as well. So, to usher in this passing day, some random things about autumn.
First, some poetry for thought:
Off to School
Fall comes again – a little lad
Goes trotting off to school,
To learn to count, and read and write,
And keep the Golden Rule.
Oh, teachers, in your hands is placed
A wondrous trust devine
Please help and guide this fresh young mind,
To climb the heights sublime.
A nation’s leader he may be -
A statesman, true and bold.
To fight the evil, vaunt the good,
He needs a heart of gold
Sometimes the tiny little tikes
Have talents unsurpassed;
To bring them out, and watch them grow
Is now your sacred task.
Author Unknown
Reprinted from Games and Readings by Marie Wankel
On this morning, it did start to feel a bit more like fall. Though, the air was still warm, it had the look of fall.
Pink sunrise. Fifteen minutes after this was taken, the colour of the sky turned grey.
Leaves are turning colour. It looks like fall, but the air still feels warm like summer.
Orange, yellow and red leaves cover the ground. The grass is still green.
The last vestiges of light
I awoke this morning at 5:00 am like I usually do, but this morning I awoke with a sudden realization. The darkness.
It was cloudy out, so that contributed to it. It had been raining when I got home and had been cloudy most of the day. Most mornings when it’s cloudy it’s at least a little light out as well. This, however, is September 1st, with only three weeks of summer left. We’ve had a pretty good run, with some very warm days.
The first indication that summer is slowly creeping away is the darkness. Summer always means, for me at least, very early sunrises. It makes it so much easier to crawl out of bed. Not so much during the darkness of winter.
There is one solace, though. Autumn has some of the most beautiful colours around here. There’s also a plus that this fall is predicted to be a warm one. Which we haven’t had in a while. The past few years it’s always gone from sort of warm during summer to crisp and cool into fall, then straight into extreme cold.
Maybe this year we can get gradual cold with it never hitting extremity freezing temperatures.
I’ll miss the sun in the morning, but I’m safe in the knowledge that it won’t be gone forever. Just another few more months and we’ll be back into spring. There’s a lot to do between now and then after all.
In the summertime…
Two weeks of wonderful holiday is about to start.
It’s that time of year when we head out for our two week shut down. Instead of each person taking holidays here at the office, it’s easier to just shut down the printers for two weeks and be done with it. We actually tried each person having their own holidays, and it was kind of chaotic. And that was when we had six people working here. Now there’s just the three of us.
I plan on spending the time writing, drawing, relaxing by the river, and once my car has it’s tune up, heading into the city for Fringe Festival frivolities. Plus, buy more books.
So, this will sort of be a staycation in a way, I don’t plan on heading anywhere too far away. Not like two years ago when I drove down to Bloomington, Indiana.
In commemoration of this event to come, Mungo Jerry! Summertime!
It’s the end of the world as we know it
Heavy rains! Strong winds! Tornadoes! The world is coming to an end!
No, it’s actually just another typical summer in Saskatchewan.
After a few years of less than ideal conditions in the province, we’ve gone from cold and crappy summer months to hot, muggy, rainy, windy and every other adjective, adverb or other descriptive word that one could use to describe this summer so far. Some people like the latter, some like the former. I’m sort of in the middle. I can do without the humidity.
Last night with heavy rain and wind, and pitch black clouds, it was the second event and third event of the realization that we definitely are dependent on a lot of things.
A few weeks ago we had a telecommunications outage. No internet, no cellphone (or rather limited might be better) and no long distance or local calling, which also meant no faxing. We just had no phone service at all. It wasn’t just this building, where I work, it was the entire region. Bank ATM’s were down, which meant money withdrawls had to be done the old fashioned way. No business could accept credit cards or debit cards at all. Everything had to be cash. It was like there was suddenly no communication whatsoever. No, it was exactly like that. Like we were stuck in the 80′s. For real! I was waiting for a John Hughs movie to start up, something starring Molly Ringwald.
Last night, the other two things happened. The first was being informed that the apartment building’s water was being shut off for emergency due to a backed up sewer line. I didn’t have much choice, but instead I prepared for it. I hopped into my car, drove to work and filled two small pails of water. For washing, cleaning dishes and morning coffee. Yes, the pails were clean, I made certain of that. Needless to say, there wasn’t a whole lot of water for washing. At least I had enough to brush my teeth.
So there again was the amazing aspect of living without something we take for granted; running water. I am old enough that I do remember the days driving down to the municipal water station and for 25 cents filling a water tank on the back of our ’49 Chev half ton. I’m also old enough to remember 35 cents per litre for gas, and how shocked we were when it rose to 70 cents. Now it’s $1.23 per litre. But water, running water from the tap. That’s another thing that amazes me how much we depend on it. No water for washing dishes, none for taking a bath or a shower, no water for cooking, and no water for going to the bathroom and flushing the toilet.
The irony of all of that, came when the third event happened late last night. Around the time the sky turned black and the first thunder clap roared.
It was one of those storms where you just know the power is going to go down. You expect it, and if it doesn’t happen it’s a complete fluke. Last night stayed true to form, as I was working on my computer (fortunately I had saved along the way, because I had a strange feeling) and saw the lights, monitor and other appliances visibly or audibly flicker. For a brief second it was as though the power struggled to stay on, but it was only for a second.
And then darkness.
Power is that one thing that all the previous things are dependent on, and in turn, that we are dependent on. When the power goes down, the darkness can be quite unsettling, and the quiet can be deafening. Without power, there is no telecommunication of any kind. Nor is there any water, because power is needed to help water move through the water lines. But even more, power operates our entertainment centres, our street lights, our phone and laptop chargers, our refrigerators and freezers.
If the power goes down, then one can still read a book, or play card games (with real cards). But as it happened last night, it was black outside. I needed candles (of which all I had were the scented kind, really need to buy emergency candles) and I needed my flashlight. Once I had those, I could move through the apartment quite easily.
This morning I woke up, with power because it wasn’t out for too long last night, but without water. And the news telling me on the radio that there were several tornado warnings last night issued for Delisle and area, not far from me. We’re a month into summer. This is gonna be a wild season.
Until next time…
…keep ‘em flyin’!
Photostream
I had planned on posting this yesterday, but I got a bit busy. This is just a photo essay, really. different places around Lake Diefenbaker. Take a look, and enjoy.
TSN Coming to Outlook!
The Kraft Celebration Tour is going to be in Outlook, Saskatchewan tomorrow. Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole will be in town to broadcast live. They’ll be in the Outlook & District Regional Park on the crossroad between the Outlook Swimming Pool and the Riverview Golf Course. Here’s what the Kraft Celebration Tour web site had to say about Outlook.
The swimming pool in Outlook has been in existence since after WWI. It was upgraded in 1989 making it a first class Jr. Olympic facility. It is ideally located in the Outlook Regional Park along the beautiful South Saskatchewan River. It is an asset to the community and the Regional Park drawing countless Campers from across the province and country. In 2005 this park was awarded Saskatchewan Regional Park of the Year. Park use has steadily increased. Camping sites are in demand. The picturesque 9-hole golf course adjacent to the park adds to the appeal. The pool is the jewel of the park. Swimming lessons are offered to all ages from late June until September. The pool is used extensively by the community for exercise and recreation. There is designated lane swimming every day of the week.
This program is well used by the public including several octogenarians! Aquasize classes and water polo clinics have been offered. The pool offers the opportunity for lifelong swimming for patrons from a radius of eighty kilometres. Grandparents have their grandchildren spend a week or two in Outlook over the summer to take advantage of the pool programs. Fun Days are organized promoting interest and activity at the pool. The pool has hosted the first leg of local triathlon races. From poolside one can see the “Skytrail”, Canada’s longest pedestrian bridge. This bridge was built in the early 1900’s and was decommissioned 20 years ago. With financial support and free labour provided by the community and the Canadian Army, the walking bridge was created. It is a source of pride for the community spurring a renewed interest in walking, running and a healthier lifestyle by people of all ages. This area was the site of the SHSAA Provincial Cross Country Championship two years ago hosted by our schools. High school sports are hotly contested throughout the school year as Outlook has not only a public High School but also a residential Historical High School, the Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute. The entire community of Outlook has a passion for sports. The Jim Kook Memorial Sports Complex houses a modern skating rink, 4-sheet curling rink, bowling alley, gymnastics facility and archery range. Four softball diamonds and one baseball diamond and two beach volleyball courts surround this facility. A source of dismay to the locals is that the main street to this complex is one of the first to be ploughed after a winter storm, long before residential streets receive attention. We take our sports very seriously. The upkeep of the pool requires considerable financial resources. This year, a loan for new, state of the art boilers was approved. A local contractor installed the boilers at considerable personal expense making this project a reality. The pool has worked well for many years, but its seemingly idyllic location has become its bane. Because it is located on the riverbank on not so stable ground and because of its substantial size, the weight of the pool is causing it to slowly tilt towards the river. This tilting causes the pipes to break intermittently, usually over the winter months. This delays Opening Day in the spring and necessitates costly repairs to the circulating pipes. Presently the water level is exactly 3.75 inches lower on the river side of the pool. It has dropped .25 inches since last year. If the sinking continues, the pipes may break necessitating costly repairs. This would be tragic for the Park, Outlook and surrounding communities who all benefit from this facility. Discussion about rectifying the situation by employing a special engineering procedure called “Mud Jacking” to help stabilize the pool has taken place but the cost is prohibitive for this non-profit park. This procedure would add many more years to the longevity of the pool. A $25000 Community Refresh Award could rescue this pool from total collapse and help keep community spirit alive and well in Outlook.
Looking forward to a great day tomorrow, and hoping the weather is great!
Summer moves into autumn
August is almost done with. It has been a great summer thus far here in Outlook. Even with all the rain. The first two weeks of August, which also coincided with a nice time of relaxation, were also very warm. The mixture of rain added to the humidity in the area, which can be a bit of a pain sometimes. However, it gave me the chance to sit down and get caught up on some reading and on some writing.
Image by jen.young via Flickr
Image via Wikipedia
The reading included some of the books in the Jim Butcher Dresden Files series. At some point in time I’m actually going to watch the series that has been airing. I like to equate the Dresden Files like a new kind of hard core detective. Like Mike Hammer had he investigated mystical crimes.
I also cracked open the Sherlock Holmes anthology that I bought recently, revisiting a lot of the stories I remember reading as a kid, and even some of the stories that I watched with the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes. I’ve yet to see the latest movie, but I’m going to at some point.
As I stated earlier, there is some writing that I’ve done as well. Blood of the Moon, Flag on my Backpack and even the outlines for a Halloween story (just in time for October) staring Black Mask & Pale Rider. Plus, I set up a site dedicate to just Flag on my Backpack, which runs a little more to the political at times, as that’s eventually how the story will take it’s turn. Real life, social issues will be focused on, while the story will still contain a light feel to it, and somewhat campy at the same time. By the time the end of August rolls around, I probably will be setting Blood of the Moon to the side for a little bit, as I’ve found it difficult to get moving. There may be a re-evaluation of Chelsea and her co-stars that comes with the story, because I honestly don’t want to leave it hanging.
As the end of the month comes upon us, it is a bit disheartening. The sun was setting at 10 o’clock at night and rising at 4 in the morning. Now, it’s started setting at 9 and rising around 5. Still that leaves a lot of sunlight hours in the day, but it’s also a reminder that soon the days will grow shorter and colder. Hopefully we’ll get a nice, warm autumn out of the deal. After all, this summer was much warmer than it was last year.
Until next time…
…keep ‘em flyin’.
Photos to music
A video I put together with several photos I took around Outlook, all put to the tune Home, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Flag on my … laptop bag
It's my laptop bag. And there's a flag on it.
The first week of my staycation (that means my vacation where I stay at home) is almost done. Presently, I am putting together a video of my walk yesterday down to the Skytrail bridge, which I’ll post on my Youtube account soon enough. Today, I wanted to kick back and relax (like I’ve been doing for the entire week already).
Part of why I like this vacation is that there’s no pressure. I can be at ease and do things at my own pace. Not that I don’t mind going long distances like last year, or even head into the city to take a break from Outlook. But this year, I wanted something quiet and no hassle. And that’s just what I’m doing.
The only thing that could make my Breakfast of Awesome even better would be to add toast and Saskatoon Berry Jam. Hindsight is 20-20.
Part of the awesomeness of a staycation is the food. I know, you might say “but Tim, you get awesome food when you go out someplace else”. Yes, I do, but I also get to try a few different things, or even have something really familiar. Like this morning’s fair of a sliced up apple, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs. Jealous yet? I should say so!
Look to the left. You may begin drooling now.
As I said earlier, I will have a video posted later, and that was of my walk down to Skytrail. Anyone who follows me on twitter will have seen the seven photos I posted yesterday along my walk. I’m going to do another one tomorrow, as I sling my backpack (laptop bag) over my shoulder and head on over to the Outlook & District Museum. I’ll take photos and shoot some video, and I’ll post that tomorrow as well.
I’m also thinking that tomorrow’s food picture of the day should involve ice cream.
Anyway, I only showed a sampling of the pictures I took yesterday. Here’s a bunch more.
Until tomorrow…
…keep ‘em flyin’!
Wow! Just… wow!
How was your Canada Day?
Mine was interesting. It started with a slow start, but knowing there were a couple of exciting things to see. It ended with some exciting fireworks, but sadly, I forgot my camera. Because I was too busy going “Wow, just… wow!” after the opening day game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes. The game started off bad, but then something happened.
The most explosive back and forth battle in the CFL occurred. The third highest scoring game in CFL history, with the final score being 54 to 51 in favour of the Riders. In double overtime.
To say that the game was incredible is one thing, but it included a moment of deja vu. In last year’s Grey Cup, the Riders lost on a too many men penalty. It happened again, but this time the Riders had time to score. And they did.
After Montreal booted a field goal, the Riders marched the ball down the field and capped it off with a pass to Weston Dressler. As Dressler said in the post game interview, the Riders were just laughing when the penalty call was made, and Dressler looked to Durant and said “we gotta score again, let’s get it done.”
This opening game for the CFL season was broadcast on the NFL network, and what a game to open the season. The comments on the NFL network board were amazing about the game that got the ball rolling, so to speak. An interesting side note: Weston Dressler and Prechae Rodriguez both scored touchdowns last night. Dressler, who won the 2008 Rookie of the Year in the CFL, was up against Rodriguez who played for the Hamilton Tiger Cats in ’08.
Others to score during last night’s game for the Riders; Wes Cates scampered into the endzone from ten yards out. Cates hit the opening game of the season with over 100 yards rushing, here’s hoping he can eclipse last year’s rushing totals. The Canadian Air Force continued to dominate as Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz both grabbed touchdown passes. Bagg’s came on an 87 yard pass and run into the house, while Fantuz’s had to go to video replay to see if he was indeed past the goal line when he caught the ball. Chris Getzlaf added points on two point conversion rounding out the air force. Darian Durant also scored on a short quarterback option play.
If this game is indicative of the rest of 2010 for the Riders, then the Riders are looking to repeat in the West and challenge for the Grey Cup again in their 100th year.
Oh yeah, it was Canada Day yesterday as well. There was cake, and fireworks.
And… wow! Just… wow!
Flight of the Skyhawks: Summertime
Summer is here!
In Saskatchewan it officially came at 5:51 a.m. (I know this because my alarm clock radio was blaring the news at the time and it said so). Summertime means summer like activities, you know, like going outside and braving the scare ball in the sky. This also means that Black Mask & Pale Rider will be taking a short vacation as well. This will give me some time to do some much needed clean up on the story, plus present the next part in a much better fashion than what I presently have.
Fear not, dear reader!
This doesn’t mean there won’t be any stories to read. After all, Blood of the Moon will be continuing, and Flag on my Backpack begins July 1st, which will be the summer replacement (think of it like TV, but with text, and your imagination creates the pictures). Also, look for a new draft of the first series, complete with stills drawn by Clarissa R. Hummel. I’m using the summer months to do some sun shine activities, relax and do some reading (which means adding some much needed reviews to current web lit I’ve been reading at Web Fiction Guide). Also, I’m going to be preparing for this coming October’s 31 Days of Ghosts: 2010 Edition. I’ve got something special this time around, that factors in with the western style that Black Mask & Pale Rider have been involved in. Thet’s raight, pardner! Ghost stories of the Wild West! Plus! Blood of the Moon will have a Halloween Special, as each day in October will have a new, ongoing series dedicated to all things spooky!
So that’s the deal for the summer months. Hope you have an enjoyable and fun filled summer. Flight of the Skyhawks will return! Fear not dear readers!
Welcome Summer!
Memorial Day weekend poses for a lot of things, specifically the start of the summer season. Pools open, services are held for those that need to be remembered and cookouts happen! I love and hate this season at the same time.
Yesterday, May 29th the pool in my complex opened. I was quite literally dragged from my bed by my four year old who begged me to go swimming; at 10:30 in the morning. So we donned our swimsuits (of which i bought a new one for myself) and went to the pool.
With the smell of sunscreen and chlorine in the air we trekked the lawn to the pool. Within minute my son became a fish. Only getting out of the pool to jump right back in. Me? I jumped in decided it was too cold and got right back out again to bask in the heated rays of the sun. Along for the poolside fun besides me and my son were my brother’s best friend (in Indiana) Michael, my hobo friend Tony, his friend Ricky who we’ve dubbed as Giggles, Sara, Mallery and Donella.
This was round one. After about 2 hours of swimming we declared lunch and sped off to our houses to get food. We planned on going back to the pool a couple hours later. However, the events of the morning were enough to cause both me and Rhys to pass out after lunch. It was a nice nap. Shortly after waking up, we put our swimsuits back on and went right back out to the pool. Joining us this time was my brother and his friend Kyle.
Now when I say he’s my little brother I say that jokingly. My brother is a whopping 6’9 and just slightly over 400 pounds. So when he makes splash, he MAKES a splash. Him and his friend Kyle who is just a heavy and slightly shorter than my brother, were doing cannonballs into the pool and everyone was cheering, laughing and enjoying the huge splashes they would make.
All in all it made for a great day, even if it did end with some serious cases of red lobster like skin. Rhys and I only have a little bit of color but it still stings nonetheless. I’m looking forward to what excitements this summer holds for me. At least the good ones.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Trade Show Weekend
I was going to write about this on Sunday, but a case of the lazies came over me, so bad that I didn’t decide to do this until today (actually, yesterday I was quite busy at work and had a couple of other things to blog about).
This past weekend was trade show weekend in Outlook. The Fourth Annual Outlook & District Chamber of Commerce Trade Show to be exact. 96 booths were featured with businesses throughout the area and even some from Saskatoon came out to show off and describe everything from products to safety (as was seen at the RCMP roll over demonstration). There was even a chance to get a glimpse of two members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders as Marcus Adams and Darian Durant made an appearance in the afternoon.
Of the three trade shows I’ve attended (I missed out on last year’s) this has got to be the best attended one so far. There were a great number of spectators and everyone at their booths mentioned how this was better than last year. And naturally, most everyone was sporting some form of Rider apparel (myself included). As has been said in the past, a picture can speak a thousand words, so without further ado, here’s a sampling of this past weekend.
Marcus Adams and Darian Durant make it to the trade show. Durant, in his first full year with the Riders as starting quarterback, lead the Riders to a first place finish and a berth into the Grey Cup. Adams helped anchor one of the best defenses in the Canadian Football League last year.
The crowd gathers as the arrival of the Riders is anticipated. People could sign the.. well, sign displayed at the back which boldly states Rider Nation.
Almost one hundred booths had different products available. From farm equipment to clothing to furniture to food. This year's trade show had a lot to offer everyone, including the kids, as there was a pony ride and a bouncy house.
The RCMP had their roll over demonstration and a small demonstration with an available police dog.
Saskatchewan Alley Cat Allies made their third appearance to the trade show, this year adopting out a cat. The organization rescues abandoned cats, gives them medical attention and finds homes for them. Sask Alley Cat Allies only had to put down 5% of the cats they rescued last year, compared to 75% by the SPCA. All cats rescued by Sask Alley Cat Allies received treatments and are spayed and nutered. And yes, that's an iguana sitting under the sun lamp.
This is the place I got my new Rider jacket. I needed a new spring/summer jacket anyway, and got it here at the trade show. Tried on the Friday before, but almost all of their Rider gear had been packed away to travel over to the Jim Kook Recreation Complex for the day of the show.
A crowd gathers around another of the attractions, a silent auction. In this same area was where the antique appraiser Vern Reese came to give his expert opinion on items that everyone could bring in for appraisal.
And that’s another successful trade show. Until next year (for the show, at least)…
…keep ‘em flyin’!
Farmer’s Market
A while ago, I did a write up on the local Outlook Farmer’s Market. I like going to farmer’s markets, there’s all sorts of produce and products to buy, and often times you’re pretty sure it’s locally grown or produced.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Saskatoon Farmer’s market. It was awesome! Located in the city’s downtown and part of the river front project that is ongoing right now in Saskatoon, it was a nice change of pace from the bustle of going through a major shopping centre. It’s also proof that establishments like Wal*Mart will not be the end of all smaller businesses. Mostly because a lot of those smaller businesses have produce and products that Wal*Mart can’t (or will not) carry.
When I walked into the farmer’s market, I had a sudden feeling that this was like the exhibitors lane at the Saskatoon Ex, but on a smaller scale. And it’s held year round, as opposed to just for the ten day duration of the Ex. Or, in the Outlook Farmer’s Market case, just during the summer months. To be fair, this building was set aside by the Saskatoon City Council and by the business community. It adds to the River Landing.
Locally grown produce and locally manufactured food stuffs and hand crafts are all on display. Even a couple of restaurants have set up smaller food court versions in this place to give the place a nice sit down area to have a bite to eat. And next door to it all is a specialty beer and wine store, filled with imported (both internationally and interprovincially) alcohols. From pale ales, to stouts, to bitters, it’s got it all.
It’s one of many wonderful things to do on a Saturday afternoon, or during the week over the lunch hour. Be careful about heading out to the Farmer’s Market during the work day, however, because you can easily lose track of time while you’re browsing the wares. But it is an experience that should not be missed at all. Markets like this are a great thing, whether it’s in a city the size of Saskatoon, or a town the size of Outlook (or smaller). But the bottom line is this; support your farmer’s market. You are in a win win situation when you buy locally grown and produced products.
Until next time…
…keep ‘em flyin’.
