Winter comes quickly!

It's amazing that the picture on the right (with the yellow leaves and green grass and two strange people holding hands) was taken only ONE WEEK from the picture in Steph's entry (below)

I believe we've made a grave error....

Well, it's been awhile since I've written a post on our blog. To be quite honest getting used to a new school has taken all of my energy and then some. But we're starting to get into a rountine....and this situation absolutely needed to be commented on....

The forcast in Barrie today said: "Rain this morning, not warm (but above freezing). Potentially some wet snow...that will not stay. And sunny breaks this afternoon." Well, we're back into the seasons where the weatherman has no idea what he's talking about!

It has been snowing all day! And here's what we have: Need I remind everyone that it is OCTOBER. We should NOT be accumulating this kind of snow yet! Therefore I believe we've made a grave error in moving this far North! (I keep telling everyone it's not THAT far north....let me put this on the record: it IS that far north!). Does anyone want to shovel our driveway??? :)

Yet another book - but a different review.

So Steph has been reading a series that starts with "The City of Ember," which also recently became an interesting study in how Hollywood can take a good book and totally butcher it on the big screen.
I knew that Steph wanted to see this movie, for lack of anything else interesting to see in Hollywood, and the fact that we had gift certificates.
I had yet to read the book. So yesterday, during a number of breaks I took while sanding and painting our new garage closet, I read the book.
It was a good book, and I thought it would be a good movie. So we went.
Ten minutes into the movie, both Steph and I looked at each other and said, "What is this?"
The movie butchered the book. They lopped it up and put it back together with a few extra ingredients - Like a random mutant gopher that feasts on people? The book doesn't have any mutant animals!!!
They also invented entirely new characters, and abandoned the entire conclusion of the book.
So, we DO NOT recommend watching the movie. You'll walk away terribly upset with Hollywood.

The benefit of only two t.v. stations in Barrie.

We've been told that getting two television stations in Barrie is pretty good...! Naturally, these stations rarely have anything good on. So Steph and I have been enjoying a lot of reading lately. Hence, I have finished, not only book two of the 'Dragonkeeper' series, but also books three, four, and five. The series was still good and I'd recommend it for Christian children's literature.

I've also recently read a book called "Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel (the author of the Silverwing Series). Airborn is a GOOD read. I had a really hard time putting down the book.
Airborn is the First book in a new children's series. And I'm having difficulty putting down the second novel in the series as well.
So. All I'm sayin' is that I heartily recommend "Airborn" for a good weekend read. That's all I'm sayin' and that's all there is to it.

Here's a Beauty

Looking inside the driver's side "window", I realized that in the 1920's, I'd still have been relying on the ol' Horse'n'saddle... There isn't much leg room in this old car!

Bad poetry, but sucre bleu! (sugar blue!) Michael's nuts!

Oh brother of mine,
Hast thou lost thine mind?
Have thine senses jumped from thine head?
To think that jumping would not leave you dead?











Oh brother of mine,
Once thou tried biking,
and pedalled up to a creek, thine brakes did not grab,
At the edge you freaked, and landed with a splash!











Oh brother of mine,
Once thou tried climbing
Up in a tree, a branch you held snapped,
You must have peed, as down you crashed!










Oh brother of mine,
All these things hurt,
So what were you thinking?
Did you not contemplate the end?
If the cord was not pulled?
If the shute would not open?

Oh, brother of mine,











I wish I'd gone with you!



(To those who have read this, you can find out if Michael survived SKYDIVING if you call him in Alberta, but maybe in a few days -- he still might be recovering...)

Ros, the stinkin' dog

Due to the fact that I was working in the area, this past week I was able to go to Steph's parents for a couple nights. On the particular night in question... a Tuesday... I was casually reading through my 'how-to' book on coaching a girl's basketball team... when Ros the stinking dog came along.
"What stinks?" asked I.
"Oh my goodness, can't you smell that Simon?" asked Mrs. Shirley VandenDool to her husband, Mr. Simon VandenDool.
"Well I can't tell!! It stinks outside!" replied my father-in-law.
"Oh, send her back outside! That's horrible!" demanded my mother-in-law.
"It's hard to breathe," observed I, as I rose to a walk to another corner of the living room, where there was equally less air to breathe.
You see, Ros the dog, went out at approximately 9:45 pm to do her evening business, when she came across a skunk underneath the deck. Naturally, as all dog's are persuaded to do, out of cordiality, she probably stuck her nose up close to the skunk in an attempt to say, "hello". The skunk of course, being a prude, promptly turned face and sprayed Ros. Henceforth, Ros became Ros the Stinking Dog.
Something needed to be done.
My father-in-law decided he would kill the skunk. One way or another.
I observed.
He challenged me, saying, "Well, David, what kind of a man are you?"
I, knowing full well what kind of a man I am, inwardly rolled my eyes and followed my father outside.
I tip-toed across the deck. I didn't want any sudden noises to alert the skunk to my presence.
I watched as my father in law tried shoo-ing the skunk out from under the deck using an old flat-headed shovel.
This didn't work.
The skunk went further away from the edge of the deck. We were outsmarted.
"I'll go in after it!" said my father-in-law.
I contemplated. Visions of my father-in-law crawling underneath the deck to try and get a skunk crossed my mind. Yes, we were being outsmarted.
I thought some more.
"I could use the hose and try to spray it," said I.
"Oh, that might be a good idea. We can try that," said my father-in-law.
We tried it.
The skunk didn't come out.
We tried it again.
The skunk still didn't come out.
If I could only get closer... thought I.
I tried it again, this time by walking on top of the deck and above the skunk. Oh, if it sprays me through the deck... thought I...
It worked. The skunk came out. Somewhat nonchalantly. Somewhat ticked off. Skunk emotions are really hard to tell.
It hugged the wall, and wandered through the flowers before having no-where else to go.
"It came out!" I shouted.
My father-in-law swung the shovel.
Nothing really happened.
I think the skunk was a little ticked off now. Skunk emotions become a little clearer as you get to know them.
The shovel came down again.
My father-in-law had succeeded in getting the skunk away from the flowers, where he would be free to swing away without worrying about wrecking the flowers.
I could tell you without a doubt that the skunk was quite irritated by now. It's tail was raised.
Many things happened at once.
The skunk's tail was raised, and its back was arched. It was ready to let loose.
It was aiming at my father-in-law.
I stood to the side and wondered where I would run to should this turn ugly.
The shovel came down.
I don't think that could have been any closer.
The skunk was dead. My father-in-law was this close to sleeping in the garage. And Ros still stank.
This just happened to have happened when Steph and I were seriously thinking about looking for a border collie for ourselves....