Stay Awake

 Despite a somewhat sleepless night, Sean successfully managed to ace the CFIA greenhouse inspection today.  Well done Sean - now your mom and dad can continue to enjoy Italy!

Spring plantings should begin later this week.  Boston Fern baskets are first up.  Mardi and Irene can hardly wait.

I finished the front garden that I was working on.  It's now ready for spring.  

And I finished cutting the grass, including inside the rink.  It's now ready for David to flood when outdoor hockey begins this winter.

------------------------------------------------

Came home to be greeted by this wonderful scene.

 Mardi said that the date squares in front weren't going to be frozen.  So I have very little time to eat them before they go bad!  She later asked me how they tasted, but I had only eaten four at that time so the jury is still out.😋😋  

By the way Al, you wouldn't like them 😞😞 so don't ask!

-------------------------------------------------

Thought that I should enlarge on the "woke" and "anti-woke" issue that influenced my school board vote yesterday.

The official Wikipedia definition of "woke" is: Alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism.

However, the far right also claim that it includes more far left stuff: Intent to dissolve the nuclear family, abolish capitalism, eliminate religion, rewrite the constitution, and raise children gender neutral.  Sounds pretty crazy and extreme, but the majority of U.S. Evangelicals do think that is what the far left want and therefore they perceive that the "woke" folks are a great threat.

Let's delve into that a bit.  The part that worries me the most is the gender neutral issue.  They believe that the solution to LGBTQ children is conversion therapy.  In other words abusive brain washing to make them "normal"!

And those are the folks who are trying to get on, and eventually dominate, our school boards.  Please, please, spend as much time next election on your school board choice as you do on your ward representative.

I don't want to get too deeply into religion right now, but it amazes me that U.S. Evangelicals, who supposedly believe in the Bible, can be so astoundingly inhuman, and they also applaud Trump and the evil that he stands for.  

That's not what I remember being taught in Sunday School!  I am not a believer, but I do think that most Christian principles are worth fighting for and trying to meet.  And I think that Wikipedia's definition of "woke" is part of that worth.

------------------------------------------

On to better things.  We got the following picture from Yancy with his teething daughter, Rowan.

What a cute pumpkin!

------------------------------------------------

And a question.  How many of you have wine with your mac and cheese?

One of my favourite meals.

And, on that note I'll say good night.  Stay well.

Voting Day

 Enjoyed a beautiful day at Cambridge Golf.  Even golfed decently!

Thursday we head to Willow Valley.  Hopefully, next week back at Cambridge.  Unfortunately, time is running out on the season.  Each game at this point in the year is a victory.

---------------------------------------------

After golf, Mardi and I voted.  Hope you all did the same.  And I  hope that you checked out the School Board candidates.  There are some right wing "unwoke" wingnuts running for the boards.

At the time of writing this, our ward candidate, Jeff Beattie was winning handily, and our choice of school trustee, Todd White, has defeated the anti-woke candidates.

Unfortunately, Andrea Horwath has been declared for mayor.  So, based on past performance, this term will likely be a lot of talk and not much action on her part.  But we will survive.

---------------------------------------------

Tomorrow it's back to work.

Stay well.

Family

 Two comments on a milestone event:

First, congratulations to Rada and John Buckley on their 40th anniversary.

Second, condolences to Rada for the same.  And, Mardi wants to know what John bought for Rada to compensate her for her years of sacrifice.

Lots of love to both!

---------------------------------------------------

Joined Jo-Ann and Kathryn for brunch at Sammy's in Ancaster again.  While their mom and her husband are at church they had a chance to take a break from their daughter duties.  Kathryn looks after her mom, while Jo-Ann manages Mike.  No doubt in my mind that they are both headed for sainthood!

But they have decided that they will resume their lives in late December and they are driving to Florida starting January 1st for a lengthy, well earned vacation.

Nice to touch base with my girls!  Sorry for what they are going through.

---------------------------------------------------

We've talked about the RSV vaccine trial that Mardi and I (and others on this list) have enrolled in.  Here's a CTV news item about the disease.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2547947

Hope what we are doing will eventually help!

----------------------------------------------------

Monica dropped by this afternoon so that she and Mardi could exchange jig saw puzzles.  A nice visit.  

We showed her the Remembrance Day wreath that Mardi's friend Pat made for us.  

A lot of effort went into that work of art!  We'll hang it proudly on Remembrance Day.

--------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy for once again returning to the #1 position in golf.  Stick it to Greg Norman and LIV golf!

Don't forget to vote tomorrow.  There are hundreds of millions around the world who don't get this opportunity.

And stay well.

The Last Rodeo

 Mardi and I headed out and picked up Judy for what was probably our last yard sale rodeo of the year.  Worthwhile!  I picked up six containers of Weed'n'Feed, the kind that fit onto your garden hose and all for a total of $5.  You can't buy this stuff anymore.

Probably have to wait until next year to use it.  If the weeds aren't growing they're not going to suck it up.

Mardi got some more puzzles - she now has enough to keep herself busy in Florida.

-----------------------------------------------

Then headed to the greenhouse to do a variety of tasks.  Finished digging the clay out of the front garden that I have been working on.  Spread about 20 broken soil bags - may have to "break" another four or five to finish the job😉.

Cut some grass and disposed of some trays of dead plant plugs.

Only two hours, but I got a lot accomplished.

------------------------------------------------

Came home and had a nap!

Mardi beat me at Skip-Bo - surprise, surprise!

Stay well.

102!

 A couple of birthdays to celebrate today.  Mardi's niece Rhiannon is celebrating one.  Best wishes!

And Calvin is in Montreal to be with his mother, Bessie Lee Wong, to help her celebrate number 102!  Awesome!

-------------------------------------------------

Threw out some more plants today.  Boy, the Boston Ferns present a challenge.  Their roots are very aggressive.

They have to be pulled back in order to get the pot insert removed.

But, today we had extra help.  One of Mardi's golf buddies, Irene Cousins, came out to help.

Coincidentally, Irene was a member of our Order Entry group at Dofasco.

If you're wondering why we have to throw out so much, it's called "farming".  When Covid hit and people were stuck at home, gardening took off and it was hard to keep up with demand.  So, David planted extra.  But in 2022 a lot of people called Covid over, and went back to whatever they were doing before gardening.  

That's life on the farm!  Better luck next year.

----------------------------------------------

Tomorrow, I'm back to digging in the garden.  And Sean is finishing his preparation for a Canadian Food Inspection Agency visit next week.  They are the government agency that controls the greenhouse industry.

Stay well.

Socked In

 I sent yesterday's blog and then tapped back into my email to discover a copy of the diary message that Sue sent to her four kids:

"David and I just happened to drive by a cemetery for Canadian soldiers who died fighting off Germans in 1943 in Ortona, Italy. We stopped and went in. Gardeners carefully tend over 1600 graves, with every stone planted with perennials. I was overwhelmed and could not hold back some tears. Such a waste of life. Each stone identified the fallen soldier and gave his age at the time of his death. I couldn’t help but think of my own children as I read many headstones. We can’t forget our soldiers. I also thought of what is going on in Ukraine and wish we could do more to end the senseless death and destruction."

Amen!  A mother's message to her 20 to 28 year old children.  

And think about the men and women who served and died in Afghanistan.  I can't believe that there will be anyone tending the graves of those whose bodies never made it home!

There are no easy answers.  Unfortunately, man's inhumanity to man will not end.  But thankfully, at least there are people in Europe who appreciate the sacrifices that have been made and who tend to those graves.

-------------------------------------------

Mardi and I headed to the greenhouse today.  Main activity - composting the end of season remnants.  That's Mardi and Brooke.

Ewen manned the tractor and I broke up and stored the Canna Lilies in the foreground.  Also organized the storage area a little better.

Charlie was begging at lunch time.  He even tried to steal some Canna corms to chew on.

He's getting to be a big boy.

-----------------------------------------------

Made the best of a crummy weather day.  We'll be back at it tomorrow.

Meanwhile the boss is having fun in Italy.  At Maiori on the Amalfi Coast.

He commented: "The driving is the most fun I've ever had!"

I'm afraid to ask why!

-----------------------------------------

Stay well.

Looking Back

 We had breakfast with Liz and Al at the Casino Deli this morning.  Once again, good food and good friends.

Mardi and I spent a bit more time at the slots today.  I lost some but I'm still ahead (barely) for the two days.  Mardi won some more - enough to pay for two turtle necks at the Outlet Mall.

A great time.  We'll have to do it again!

---------------------------------------------

At breakfast, Al and I reminisced about our time at Dofasco and our retirements about 30 years ago.  He headed north and started an antique business, something that he loved doing for years.

In my case, about two years before I decided to retire, the company needed to go through a cost reduction program.  President Paul Phoenix advised that we needed a 20% manpower reduction and asked all departments to work on that.  But no "or else", so only two departments apparently took it seriously.  My department was one of the two that accomplished the goal - the folks willingly came on board to help eliminate or streamline their jobs.

But two years later the edict came down from new President John Mayberry that all departments must reduce by 20% or else, and no exceptions.  Firm action was required, but it was not fair to the two departments that had taken the first request seriously.  It appeared that the people in my department would face an unfair penalty and potential job loss after helping to achieve the earlier goal.  So I decided to help the process by being part of the 20%.  Not exactly what I wanted, but what I felt that I had to do.

Two weeks later I started working for Larry's Truck Inc. as an assistant to the President.  After he sold the business four years later I left and began to apprentice for a farm labour position, helping David at the greenhouse, a job that I love.  I  show up when I want, leave when I'm tired, do what I think needs doing, and David ignores me unless he needs my help with something specific, which for a few years meant running the garden centre.  

A dream job!  Have I mentioned that I'm happy?

--------------------------------------------------

As requested, David forwarded some more pictures and a brief commentary from his travels in Italy:

"Missed a turn heading back across Italy to the Amalfi Coast and ended up at a Canadian War Cemetery just outside Ortona. The first picture is from Wikipedia showing one brother at the grave of another brother in 1944. Next picture, we found the head stone for the dead brother. Next is Sue among the graves. Last, there were two men looking after the cemetery. Everything was perfect. I did a quick count of head stones and came up with 1200. I was wrong. There are over 1600 of which over 1300 are Canadian."

That last picture is pretty impressive.  Other than three fallen Maple leaves in the foreground (which are meaningful in themselves) you can tell the reverence that is felt by the people of Italy for the people who died fighting for them.

Thank you David.  Keep it coming.

----------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow it's back to the greenhouse.  Stay well.