Toronto Ontario Thieves! the movie

Toronto Ontario Thieves! do you know them?

White male, skinny, skinny line facial hair, distinctive ball cap (says, VIRGO on brim)





White male, big nose, smoker, mustache & goatee.


January 27th, 4pm Victory Fireworks, Toronto, Ontario (Richmond Hill) smashed throught front doors, stole stuff and left in 4 minutes. If you know who they are call 1-800-222-TIPS. Or leave me a comment.

A new view of Mercury

Just because I think it's interesting! I still have my Apollo 11 scrap book, space is cool. (So is stamp collecting by the way!)

Lost; Hopelessly & beyond all hope... Lost!

When a show has to resort to what they used on Lost tonight they should know that the plot is beyond being assisted by captioning!

I think that even Tomtom couldn't help them now. "Tomtom, tell me how to get back to the original well written plots please" "I'm sorry you've wandered so far off the grid, even I can't bring you back."

Give it up, pull the plug. Put a giant volcano on the Island, bring forth giant spews of lava, let them just get out of this miasma with a shred of dignity.

Seriously, I tried, I tried to watch, it was too painful. Thank goodness for good old Law & Order!

Bye Bye Netscape

In 1998, I already had my issues with Explorer. I realized early it was good to have more than one browser available. Back then, not so much choice-wise. My two were Explorer & Netscape Navigator. Every time Explorer was corrupted, which was fairly often, I could still get on-line. When fixing friends' computers, I downloaded Navigator to avoid the same issue.

Of course now I have FireFox but I've kept Navigator too. As of March 1st, it's history. No more support, no updates... it's done. Tonight, for old time's sake, I wanted to log in here using it, I couldn't. Every time I tried to sign, poof... it shut down. So I'm using FireFox to say goodbye to a 10 year friend.

Shhhhhhhh... don't tell anyone!

I just finished taking down the Christmas tree! Yep... one month and 2 days after Christmas. That's a record for me! There should be an award. It wasn't much fun leaving it up. Bob didn't nag me once about it. I think he was using reverse psychology... sneaky that Bob!

The idyllic scene, prior to the squirrel incident

Wendy Woodpecker and Cardinal

Wobert Woodpecker. finally!

Convocation of Cardinals and a Jay

Pajama clad mad woman!

Luckily no one happened to be looking out their back door, camera in hand, as I, in a fury, went out twice this morning! In my purple, kitty cat pajamas; once wearing a faux leopard coat. (Would have been some pic eh?)

The first time, two pigeons had planted themselves on the feeder and were gorging whilst all the little birds sat, with sad little faces, watching! I chased the pigeons away and they retreated to the ground, under the feeder where they belong!

The second time? A squirrel was hanging from the woodpecker suet cage and... voila... managed to open it. He fell to the ground with the suet and proceeded to drag it away! Now... I grabbed my faux leopard, (looks rather predatory!) and raced outside. Grabbed up the suet and put it back in the cage.

10 minutes later, it's back on the ground being eaten by said squirrel. Luckily 1/2 hour prior, my lovely neighbours brought over 5 more suets! I've decided to let the little bugger keep that one. Later I will go out, not in my pj's and move the cage to a spot the squirrels can't get a purchase.

This bird stuff is hard work!

Goldilocks... or Pat's new office.

I'm in my new office. Computer's hooked up, (obviously,) and I'm sitting at my desk. Let me expound; sitting at my desk, uncomfortably! My new desk is 1/2" shorter than my old desk. Robin bought me a new, fancy, ergonomic chair. I hated it. I have now wheeled every chair here, in and out of my new office. I settled on the one in which I'm sitting. Now that I've been in it a while... NOPE!

They are all either; too poofy, too hard, too squishy, too high, too low, too spinny, too squeaky or just too whatever! I'm sure I've tried 10 or more different ones to no avail.

I want my 1/2" taller desk back and my old chair dammit!

*EDIT* I discovered the real problem. As time went on I was not just hating the chairs, I was getting dizzy. I noticed that if I just barely opened a drawer it would finish opening on it's own. Then I put a glue stick down and it rolled toward me! The desk was only 1/2" lower in the front! The desk was off kilter, not level. My sense of balance is delicate at best, (long story, severe case of labyrinthitis leaving a permanently damaged nerve in my inner ear...) if a room, floor etc. is off kilter I actually start to feel dizzy and sick. I guess sitting at the tilting desk was enough today.
Dave kindly raised the front and voila... all is well. Now I need to get the fancy schmancy new chair back from Robin's office and give it another whirl!

Living Will... a great email I got today!

MY LIVING WILL

Last night my sister and I were sitting in the den and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no quality of life at all. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

(In my case, read: "my darling daughter Michelle" for sister.)

Woman in tree.

Not that I'm catering to the woodpeckers at all eh? It was about -22 degrees and windy. The neighbours had so kindly bought me two more suets, one a special woodpecker blend so I had to go get another cage and hang it in Doug, the Pumpkin Ash tree!

It is a success and well worth the trouble. Wendy woodpecker has been there every day. I have yet to see "Wobert," (gotta love his name,) the male up close but I have, as of this morning, from a distance. He was pecking at the big tree behind my house.

ps... the same kind neighbours who bought me the suet reported the sighting of an "old crow" in my back yard and were kind enough to email the pic! whatever! :þ

pps... yes I'm on a ladder, no I didn't fall off!

1972 James Earls Jones; "The Man"

When I was 15, my Father took me to see the movie, "The Man." It has stayed with me over the next 35 years and I have often asked people if they had ever seen it. I have yet to meet someone who has. Apparently it has played on tv a few times but has never gone to video/DVD.

By sheer accident, (a building collapse,) James Earl Jones is the next in line for the presidency. He assumes the office, reluctantly. The movie is powerful and thought provoking.

I have been thinking of it often with the rise of Barak Obama. His assuming of the office, should it happen, would be very different in that it would be no accident of succession.

Interesting question...

I was asked today what I thought was the top news story of 2007. The question gave me pause. There were so many choices. Here's my list.


1- the assassination of Benazir Bhutto
2- the Monks protests in Burma
3- the Chinese re-calls, from pet food to toothpaste to toys
4- the last Harry Potter book
5- the melting of the Arctic ice caps, (ongoing story.)
6- the dying off of bees, (ongoing story.)
7- the mortgage melt down in the USA
8- I had the de-listing of Pluto here but that was 2006! (dang!)
9- the I phone

I'm going with 9 as everyone does 10! ha!

A banner morning at the feeder

Introducing... Wendy Woodpecker!

Michelle & I have not yet seen the male. According to Mich, he cannot be named until we see him as we don't know the name that would suit him. Remember this is the girl that named her fish "Fluffy", her cat "Zapato," (Spanish for shoe,) and her hamster "Alphabet, ABC for short."

Downy Woodpecker, (from Google)

So I couldn't wait, here's what she would look like if I ever get a good pic.

I should mention that last weekend I was on the computer and out of the corner of my left eye saw something flash across the yard at an incredible rate of speed. Then I saw a cat, um... well no nice way to put it, tearing something apart. Michelle feels like an accomplice to murder as she is luring birds to their doom. It is really, just nature taking it's course. At Bob's sisters house, on New Years' Day, I saw a huge hawk land on a branch of the tree holding the bird feeder. Apparently he visits, shops, eats and leaves! I say "smart hawk." Mich says "lazy hawk." At my house, no hawks... yet, just a grey and white cat.

I love all our birds, well, I tolerate the pigeons as there are only 4 of them. I saw the cardinals and the jays today. I heard the woodpeckers. The dark eyed junco, nuthatch and mourning doves are all accounted for. Sparrows we're having a sale on!

Now back to the cat. I hope, by sheer numbers if he comes back, bird shopping, he gets a sparrow. I know that's mean but hey remember "God has his eye upon the sparrow," the woodpeckers only have me and I haven't even set my eyes upon them!

We have woodpeckers!

The other day Bob saw a bird at the feed and described it to Michelle. She thought it sounded like a downy woodpecker and went and got her guide book to show him a pic. Yep, he said that's what it was, a male. Today both of them saw the female, so we have a pair! I've yet to see either of them. *EDIT* I googled the downy woodpecker and it turns out I have heard them. Every morning, for about a week, I've been getting up from my computer chair and looking out the window as I've heard a bird song I've not heard before! Turns out it's the woodpeckers. Not the "pick, pick, pick," noise but the song. Google it, it's pretty cool.

This is not the greatest pic but it's the female enjoying the new berry suet. I will try to get better pics.

Men... funny little guys that they are!

I worked all day, stopped picked up Tims, put air in my tires and came home. Bob was "napping." I started the laundry, got out the pots and pans and started making dinner. During the dinner prep, I ran downstairs to add the fabric softener, empty the washer and so on... Did I mention, Bob was napping?

Dinner was served, eaten and just as we were finishing, the buzzer went off on the dryer. I asked Bob, "will you empty the dryer please?" He replied "no." When dinner was finished I decided to check my emails. Bob got up from the table and I asked, "are you really not going to empty the dryer?" He came back with, "oh sure, I'll empty the dryer while you're sitting on the computer!" I then asked, "what did you do when you got home from work?" He replied, "nap." I asked, "what did I do when I came home from work?" His answer... "I don't know, I was napping!"

Michelle, laughing then says, "hey I'm on your side but you have to admit, that was funny!"

whatever! :)

ps... he's downstairs emptying the dryer

Happy me!

I just hooked my computer back up, (the newest computer back from the shop.) It was just the fan. (Yay!) I cannot believe how quiet it is now! I guess we just got used to the noisiness of it as it grew noisier!

PC Outfitter's Rock! (google them, they are great, ask for Trevor.)

I made my first lasagna today.

I made my last lasagna today.






(Actually, it was edible but well... not much beyond that!)

Late Christmas story I forgot to blog

I just realized I blogged about our Christmas Eve open house, Boxing Day and Michelle's birthday. I left out Christmas breakfast! First, some history. It started at Debbie & Robin's house, just the two families and Robin's brother Kim. It grew, and grew and then out grew Debbie & Robin's house.

It moved to mine. Still Robin's breakfast, just at my house.This moving did cause more houses to get involved as I had to have my oven empty for the breakfast but needed to get my bird in the oven for dinner. Solution? Get up at 7am, prep the bird, carry it to a neighbour's house and put it in their oven until mine was available. Now, the sight of me, in my jammies, carrying a turkey down the street at 7:30am Christmas morning may have caused some neighbours to wonder but, oh well!

One year, a guest left his car and took a cab home Christmas Eve. (smart) The next morning, as the sausages were bbqing, the asparagus steaming, the hollandaise sauce bubbling and the eggs poaching, I happened to look out the window and saw Jeff returning for his car. His Dad was driving him. I love Jeff's dad. We ran out, and invited them in for breakfast. Bob, knowing Jeff's dad, broke out the sliwowica. Polish plum brandy made by a guy at Bob's work. Well... didn't the festivities begin! I truly thought we'd end up with two of their family cars there and a third needed to come get both Jeff & his dad! They showed restraint and were both fine. Another year I drove a guest home at 3:20am and then debated just staying up and waiting for the breakfast guests! That year, I didn't even have to do my hair or face in the morning, didn't stay in bed long enough to muss up! I also stayed in my jammies, but did add appropriate under garments. :)

The next year, I decided to make a champagne punch. It had orange sorbet, berries, ginger ale and champagne. The first bowl was gone in minutes! Luckily I had a couple more bottle of champagne... we went through 2 more bowls! Not to worry, Patty happened to have a bottle in her car! woo hoo... out it came, another bowl of punch whipped up and I think I spotted someone licking the bowl at the end.

This year... I wised up. I bought magnums of champagne. Good for 4 bowls, tons of berries and enough sorbet; I was ready! I was making the last bowl, (number 4 for anyone counting,) poured in the berries, spooned the sorbet, poured all the remaining champagne in, (it was more that one bowl should have had but hey, it was the last one, and went to get the ginger ale. There was only 1 can left. I poured it in and Debbie left to go a mere three doors down to get 3 more cans. She returned, I went to the punch bowl to pour them in and... EMPTY! So much for punch, I should just pour booze in the bowl and let them at it! hehehe, actually they like the sorbet/berries too.

So that's now my whole Christmas week story, just a couple of weeks late.

Happy Birthday Tasha!

Michelle & I are now off to Tasha's birthday party. I've been to everyone since she was 2. This year, it's at Tasha's house and she's the hostess!

I feel old.

Comupter trials and triumps!

Our newest machine, running XP is our main machine. We also have an older Windows 98 machine networked with it so if needed Michelle and I can both be on at once. Now getting XP to play nice with 98 was no small matter but I won in the end. (The 98 machine has been upgraded since original purchase and what's in the tower is only about 4 years old. The operating system is the only really, really old part.Though in computer terms, 4 years is pretty old!)

Lately the newest machine has been making funny noises at boot up. I've been ignoring them as they didn't last long and went away. Today I booted up and well... I think someone was grinding coffee in the tower. It went away. I had been saying I was going to take it in. I was planning on doing it Friday but my trip into work was different than normal so I said it could wait until Monday. WRONG!

There I was playing on line poker, drinking a Tims and OMG, the noises it started making! Seriously I couldn't even concentrate on my cards. I shut it down, after folding a fairly decent hand I might add.

Now, the desk for the sick machine is the most comfy so I had a genius ides. Unplug and switch the monitors and keyboards and voila... The 98 computer is running at the comfy desk. Did you note what I did? Monitor & keyboard... any problem there? hmmmm?

Yep forgot the dang mouse. So I couldn't even shut down to switch mouses and just did it running. I figured the mouse was no biggie and luckily it wasn't. (note, not USB plug ins.)

Anyway all is solved. We still have one up and running computer and yet another spare should I need to have two going.

Hopefully it's not a big deal. I'm hoping fan, I'm NOT thinking hard drive!

Karma, bumps and my life.

Bob, my oh so supportive spouse, is always saying things to me like; "why is it I've been driving for 40 years and have never had an accident? You can't go to Tim Hortons without actually having one or almost having one?"

Once, I was hit by a Doctor coming out of the hospital parking area at 8:30am on a bright sunny morning with no other cars on the road! I tried to avoid him, I swerved, braked, cursed... nothing worked. After we exchanged information, in a funeral home parking lot, I went home. Bob was asleep as he had worked afternoon shift. I woke him up, told him I'd had an accident. He mumbled "ok," rolled over and went back to sleep! I shook him and asked incredulously, "aren't you even going to ask me anything?" His reply; "you're here, you're talking, you're walking, you're obviously ok." I was shocked! "Don't you even want to see the car?" His reply, "I've seen it smacked up before!" rude, rude, rude! He finally tore himself awake, stomped outside, glanced, told me to go see Joe at Dominion Collision and stumbled back to bed.

He says things like, "why is it every time you go out, you come home with some weird story?" I can't help it. I'm a magnet, I admit it. Last night, Michelle and I met at the Mall. We were leaving, Mich driving her car behind mine, when a crazy lady pushing a shopping cart across the driveway, in the dark, parked it in front of my car and started banging on my passenger window! I signaled for her to go away, she was actually frightening me. She wouldn't leave. I kept yelling "go away!" I started inching my car ahead, she moved, I turned the corner then stopped to make sure Michelle was ok behind me. The lady didn't' bother her.

Then we were coming up Crawford Ave. There was a car ahead of me being driven slowly and strangely. It took a huge wide berth when passing parked cars, it swerved into the oncoming lane. It braked for no reason. It finally stopped and was signaling a left turn, I went to go around it, it turned right! I braked, honked, yelled and missed him!

So you see, it's nothing I do wrong. It's just my Karma. Some are meant to walk this earth with on a path that is smooth and straight, I, however, am given the path with bumps, pot holes, pitches and detours.

I'm not complaining, I just wish Bob would realize that I'm on a completely different road than he is. We both end up in the same place, it's the getting there that's the story.

George's legacy project... too little, too late, too bush league!

"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967," Bush told reporters in Jerusalem. "The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people." OMG... seriously he's talking about ending occupations?

"I am confident that with proper help, the state of Palestine will emerge." Georgie's understanding of the English language has always been lacking, obviously he has no concept of the meaning of the phrase... "with the proper help!"

I have to go take an aspirin now...

Tata Nano - the $2,500.00 car!

The People's Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system. Meets all safety requirements, environmentally friendly, (per their standards...) 25 km per litre!

"Lost your job yet? Keep buying foreign" as the CAW/UAW bumper stickers tell us.

Well folks, the foreigners are doing something that we aren't doing! Responding realistically to the current climate. Both literally and figuratively considering the environmental and financial situations.

*Edit* Michelle has pointed out to me, and upon thought I agree with her that environmentally this will NOT be a good thing for an area already battling awful air pollution. I also wonder if a country where only 7 in 1000 own a car if the infrastructure will be able to handle the sudden increase of cars?

DeChristmasing and why it sucks!

I love Christmas. I don't get ready too early. No lights right after Halloween. No tree until well into December. Therefore, I feel no great rush to take it all down! Plus I hate, hate, hate taking it all down!

I always use, Orthodox Christmas, aka, The Epiphany as my excuse. It's January 6th. BUT... the Orthodox religions use the Julian calender, if you use the Gregorian Calender, (which I'd like to point out, we do,) that falls on January 19! ha! This argument, fails when Bob is determined that Christmas is over. After January 6th, he starts hinting. Lucky for me, he went back to work on the afternoon shift and I won't see him until Saturday.

There may be the odd note, with a gentle hint left on the kitchen counter between then and now but obviously those can be accidentally lost when one unknowingly places a sticky pot down over the note and it ends up in the sink when washing the dishes and sadly becomes illegible.

I would like to point out that this evening I did remove the remaining presents from under the tree and put them away. I tried to set up the new coffee maker, but it doesn't work! The chocolate bowl on the coffee table runneth over from the stocking contents and a can of cashews was discovered! Oh and 3 Tim Hortons cards and a heavy duty extension cord! Progress has been made.

A few years ago I was really, really NOT in the deChristmasing mood. The notes got more forceful, the shift changed, Bob was home when I was. The "hints" became verbal, it was quite annoying! I suggested hanging hearts for Valentine's Day, Clovers for St. Patty's Day... (my personal favourite!) Eggs at Easter; you get the idea. He didn't go for it.

Bob went out somewhere and I had a genius idea. We had a back room, we didn't use, with french doors with eyelet lace curtains. We have all hardwood floors. What does this have to do with deChristmasing? It should be obvious. I had an epiphany. I moved the furniture, grabbed the trunk (steel pole,) in two places, slid the whole tree into the back room and closed the doors!

Bob came home and said "hey the tree's gone." I said, "yes it is." There was no lie involved. He didn't say, "hey you took the tree down." A week or so later I hear him calling me and where is he? In the back room! He had NO business being in there. It was an empty room! He accused me of fibbing, I clearly pointed out the words that were actually exchanged. He said I knew what he meant, I said that he should have been more clear! ha! I took down the tree.

I'm sure you've gathered by now that mine is still up right? Don't tell Bob, maybe he won't notice!

Al Gore has spoken!

*UPDATE* 11:00 pm; The tornado warning is now up to us! Hello? Janu-fricking-ary! (Geography lesson: Detroit, 1 mile across the river North of my house)

As this is Canada, here's the Environment Canada warning for Windsor.

Tastes good, but in good taste?

photo - CNN

I've seen some tacky stuff at weddings, this... takes the cake! (pun intended) Who does this? Well who, except her, the one so sweet on herself! (stop me before I pun again!) Well not everyone can be her cake and eat it too! She should have had a teeny little groom doll clutched in her hand; that would have just been the icing on the cake no? It's obvious that this is not going to be a well balanced marriage! Seriously, I'm going off half baked here and really had better stop before I get whipped to a peak and beat this to death. :)

Happy Day to "The Ced"

Happy Birthday Cedric! Love us in Windsor xoxo

I knew it, I knew it! HA!

Too busy to write any more; going to get a snack! (Click to read the teeny print.)

Thirty pounds of cat just chillin'

No way is the floor good enough for this feline. Sitting up watching tv with Bob.

Feeder frenzy!

The cardinals flew away when I moved the curtain to take the pic. They were lined up! I'm going to have to put up one of those, "now serving # ___" thingys.

Britney; enough and leave her alone already!

strapped down, "deer in the headlights eyes," no one deserves this.

photographers pressing against the ambulance, they chased it down the street!




I'm no fan but enough is enough. Obviously the girl has problems. Obviously there are some serious mental health issues be they dependency or psychological but it seems that she's being pushed into rash action. She cannot get gas for her car without being swarmed.

The brightest light, no; Mother of the year, no. She does not, however, deserve this! Fame does not mean you are owned by your "fans" or the paparazzi. Infamy though seems to bring out the worst in the pack.

I wonder, chicken or the egg? We've all made bad life choices, we have not all had the world's attention and criticism for them!

It's raining iguanas... hallelujah

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. the freezing temperatures have caused the iguanas to fall out of the trees and lay in suspended animation, all over the ground! (They are fine, just cold and will re-animate when it warms up.)