Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Good Neighbours, make for Happy Happy


  Eva and I moved into this house 3 1/2 years ago and every day there is another reason to be pleased to have moved here.


  We have created new gardens from nothing but clay and building debris, my work in finishing the basement is very nearly complete and the work shop down stairs is my sanctuary and playroom.  We have space for the kids to visit, a great view of the conservation area from your deck and more than enough room for all they luxuries that have been gathered.


  Aside from the material advantages we have realized in moving here there is an intangible advantage we had not expected, but appreciate, and can not begin to place a value upon. 


  
   The intangible resource and source of pleasure is our neighbours.  We are surrounded on all sides by excellent neighbours, they are good and helpful folks and today was a further demonstration of our good fortune.


  That photo is 2 cubic yards of river rock spread between our's and our neighbour's home.  That area between the houses does not get enough good light to grow grass and so last year we planted some low light plants and our neighbours had a stepped walk way put in.  Today the stone arrived to fill in that space and I set to work moving it the length of the house two buckets full at a time, it was slow, heavy and muscle grinding work.  When my next door neighbours arrived home at lunch time and saw what I was doing they joined in without hesitation and helped.  Their help meant that the job was done in less than half the time and without me breaking  my back.


  We are so lucky to live in a neighbourhood where neighbours with snow blowers help clean driveways and there are people to look after pets when you travel and people jump in and help with plain old hard work, it is hard to express how happy we are.




Thursday, April 12, 2012

Kieran in the Garden

Last weekend Kieran was down to the family farm for a visit with his Great Grandmother, Aunts and the dogs.  Kieran likes to dig in the dirt and this video shows his desire to develop innovative  new crops in Ontario

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring has Sprung

The signs of spring are many and varied.  Traditionally we look for the first robin or the news that the Toronto Maple Leafs are out the the playoffs. The boys of spring have been the ball players that collect in Florida for spring training and the exhibition season.


Now in my life spring starts when I get my Honda Silverwing out of the garage and go for my first ride of the season.


Today was that day. Hooray.


Honda Silver Wing Scooter 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Home Again, Home Again Jiggidy Jig

This was the view we saw each morning as we walked from the ocean to the dining room for the last week.  One week in the sun and surf with the grand children and their Mom.  One of the best holidays I have been on, great resort and super company.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Know It All

   A couple of birthdays ago my kids gave me a copy of "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs. It was a very interesting read and raised a variety of questions and spurred discussions among the family.
   "The Know It All" was actually written before "A Year of Living Biblically" but I only recently encountered it at Chapters/Indigo on the discount shelves and so I bought it.  "The Know it All" is a semi autobiographical story featuring  his insights  and commentary while he tries to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica.   Jacobs is a writer with an easy to read style and a dry wit that makes the book quite entertaining in places. For me the author's enquiry into the knowledge vs. wisdom, information vs. knowledge dichotomy in of much greater interest than the stories about his friends and family....but that I guess is what keeps the content from becoming too dense.
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
   The central thread of the book is Jacob's reading the entire Encyclopaedia  Britannica, all entries, every page.  He takes over a year and has many interesting comments and experiences related to his quest.  
   I think it is a book that I will keep around and dip into again when I have a little time  to kill.  I am also thinking that I need to get a set of Encyclopedias to browse when there is nothing pressing on my time.


http://ajjacobs.com/books/kia.asp   This is his site and what he says he was doing.