TubaOrNotTuba

As we waited for someone to clear our parking spot, the realization that our trek of over 6600 km in 26 days had ended set in. Home, where the grass grows green and tall, and the warnings about the danger of dogbite mark her territory. Home, where we now have to unpack the van and repack the house. The savoury odour of home. Too late/lazy to unpack things tonight, I’ll just put the last of the food in the kitchen and then try to convince my back that life on a real mattress is good.

Read the rest of this entry »

The sound of gentle surf from just over the cliff edge is soothing; we’ve had great sleep for the last few weeks. However, surf from high winds can take on a whole other tone, closer to that of a passing express train in volume. Last night and this morning had the best white water conditions since the start of our stay at the Cove. Our tents did not set sail, but morning found us less than well-rested.

Read the rest of this entry »

The rain has arrived. From yesterday onward we’ve been treading water, figuratively. Helping to push some young lad who had a broken heart and a broken car off the road just before getting to camp was an exercise in blinking, to keep the vision clear. No tears on our part, just victims of the incipient precipitation. In fact, my plan to liberate trees from the ditches might be sidetracked, as I am unwilling to water-test my sandals to the degree required.

Read the rest of this entry »

We spent the afternoon hanging around the train station, watching the two passenger trains come and go. Only one derailment while we were around, due to an enthusiastic gentleman in the last car, but the crew simply lifted the trucks back on the rails and off they went, down an impossibly steep grade. Son #3 made the trip, and reported new infrastructure. I was too busy chattin’ up the ladies in the waiting room to get on board, but I caught up on all the local news.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is something very zen about waking to the sound of a good surf. Lay back, allow your ears to resonate with thousands of tiny subharmonic notes. White noise, in the original version. We had no rain overnight, but the campground is running on a low note right now, as the fairweather campers have all gone away. I feel like someone caught in a last man on earth movie.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes we go to a restaurant based purely on the reputation. Location doesn’t really matter (even when you are very hungry and you are standing just in front of the doorway). The menu seems interesting, and the price isn’t an issue, (especially when you are very hungry and you are standing just in front of the door). Besides, at the critical moment, no lineup to form an inpediment is worth a great deal on the grid of the “should we or shouldn’t we?’

Read the rest of this entry »

Think smaller. Your silhouette is your identity in our new well-fed world. Tonight the dog and I went for the annual checkup – the one where the vet examines the animal and then blames the owner for everything. Well, not everything, because I didn’t growl with menace every time the white coated human approached the white coated canine. But in a world where big is not better, my dog now has some lifestyle changes on the calendar.

Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, let me extend my deepest sympathies to the citizens of Huntsville, Ontario. A lovely community, really; a population of about 18,000. Beautiful countryside, nature in the driver’s seat. Quiet, for the moment. They now have about 24 months to get their barricades in place, because the current government announced today that the G8 summit will be held there in 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

If I had to create a lexicon for the workplace, I think I’d try to apply foods as metaphors. For example; to describe an occupation that was “predictable”, as in “I know what’s going to happen next”, then the food would be porridge. Porridge from the hand of the holy grandmother. An acquired taste, which I never acquired. One that can be modified with brown sugar and fresh milk, but that remains bland.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m in the midst of devolution. Much more and they’ll be sending in a film crew to catch my meltdown. No, nothing that is really important, just a swamp of details. For example, at least three computers around here are demonstrating that a virus has taken control of the desktop. After putting in more hours than I like to think on one machine yesterday (victim of Vundo), the family seemed pretty much reconciled to a reformat and regroup our forces, when two others started randomly flashing a popup window that claimed to be “personalizing settings”. At least, that’s what we’ve determined the message to be.

Read the rest of this entry »