Reminiscing , Chuckling and Enjoying !!

Usually I write a thematic blog but during the Summer months I have decided to change my style and do a little reminiscing about old TV shows and movies , songs , golden oldies etc and a few odd sundries that some of you might remember and can relate to. The following is one of my alltime favourites....... Jackie Gleason in the Honeymooners' The $ 99,000 Answer !!

Poor Ralph Kramden  , much like his counterparts in comic relief ..... Daffy Duck , Sylvestre Cat , Yosemite Sam , Fred Flintstone , Hagar etc .... provides the chuckles by being the victim of his bloated ego and his own stupidity.

Friday Night At The Movies !!

 

We have Star Choice Satellite at home so after supper Fluff and I decided to check our movie channels to see what our home entertainer par excellence had in store for us this evening. The following is but a few of the Oscar - worthy masterpieces scheduled ...... title and summary.

Flight of the Living Dead : A genetically engineered virus turns passengers aboard a 747 into zombies.

Ogre : Hikers encounter an ogre that requires a human sacrifice.

Lust in Lace : Scantily clad beauties excite eager men.

Swamp Devil : A mysterious swamp - dwelling creature terrorizes small-town Southerners.

Earthstorm : A man must stabilize the moon to save life on Earth.

...........................................AND ..............................................

Harold & Kumar  Go To White Castle : Two stoned roommates go looking for burgers in New Jersey.

AND I REST MY CASE........  

Residual Leftovers from History Class !!

Adam and Eve : They lived in Paradise , near Eden. Raised Cain.... and Abel also !. Chatted with a snake , ate some fruit and blew it for the rest of us.

Noah : Built a big boat , survived the flood and saved Darwin's species for later classification.

Job : He lost his family and all his worldly possessions ...... yet all the while sat patiently on a heap of manure praising the Lord. My hero !

Herod the Great: King of Judaea at moment of Jesus' birth.... responsible for the Massacre of the Innocents and whose very name still remains to this very day a choice swearword in everyday French speech here in Québec.

Punch Us Pilot : Roman Procurator in Judaea who believed Jesus innocent....... yet gave Him over for execution.

Nero : Roman Emperor. He played fiddle while Rome burned !

Confucius , Aristotle , Saint Thomas Aquinas... and my Dad !

Mohammet : Holy man and great prophet. I feel certain he would have condemned the 9 /11 perpetrators.

Leif Eriksson : Viking explorer who discovered Vineland , later identified as Newfoundland , and this is why Newfoundland vineyards and wines enjoy such popularity throughout the world today.

George Washington : First president of the United States. Cut down a cherry tree just outside Oval Office ..... and then LIED about it !!

James Madison : President of the US betwen 1809 and  1817. Had to move out of the White House in 1814 when Canadian and British forces burnt it to the ground during the War of 1812. 

Abraham Lincoln : President of the US who liked Black Folks. Went to the theatre once too often !

Shakespeare : " All the world's a stage and all the men and women on it , merely actors ".

Hitler: He told a great number of people that they were supermen . UNfortunately for the world most of them believed him !!

George W Bush : The American voters willingly and wilfully put him in charge of the world for eight years !!! Thanks , guys !

 

Time out! A timely, linguistic Curio!

 

Just sitting here wondering and reminiscing about a word from my youth. Were you to visit my hometown ... Saint John , New Brunswick.....at this tme of year ..... and be having breakfast in any diner or greasy spoon  ..... and tuning in to the local yokels' conversations around you , you would hear one word recurring over and over again. The word is "freshet "! This  word has a high frequency rating in late April and early May in and around Saint John..... and , to boot , it's in Webster. I know of no other place in the English - speaking world where  this word is still used. How about you ?

Flood Update 2008 !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After playing cat ad mouse with us for four days , la Rivière Jaune showed its true Spring colours yesterday evening after supper...... setting all three pumps in motion....... spewing water from the sump shafts back outside where it belonged. I stayed up all night to watch over the pumps ....... ready to troubleshoot any snags that might occur....... replace burnt out motor by another new one , make sure floaters don't get tangled , adding a second pump to shaft should inflow become too much for one pump , etc Anyways I made it through the night .... kept the water out of the house.... and shall sleep like a hibernating bear tonight. The river settled back into its arroyo - like bed around one oçlock this afternoon ..... still high though.... and the pumps are now silent, Buíochas le Dia !

This flooding business could be getting a bit hackneyed .... even boring for some readers ...... so I do not expect you to make any comments. This is mainly for my own logbook info in general..... as next year I will have an " aide mémoire " when dealing with next year's aquatic challenge. Thank you for your patience.

P.S. Pics taken this morning of the falls , cascades some 400 meters upstream from our home........ the current picks up speed here and literally flies by some 10 meters from our house. Great fun !!

Jusqu'ici ça va !! So Far , So Good !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Given the vast stockpile of snow still in the hinterland and the exceptionally hot weather of late .......... our swollen friend , the Yellow River , has been flowing by our backyard .....almost to spillover level ..... for the last four days and nights. Our pumps stand in readiness and click on every now and then . This whole situation recalls the story about the guy who jumped off the top of the Empire State Building .... and who was heard muttering  as he passed by the 64th floor ,  , "So far so good !!"This anecdote expresses my attitude as I write these words this evening as the big threat usually follows the breaking up of the ice in some 20 - 25 lakes way upstream in the backlands. In the meantime we are staying alert .. watchful .... an ready to respond to any emergency. We'll keep you , our friends , in the loop. 

Arm in arm with all the aquatic fun and adventures I have been potting dahlias and  gladioli out on the sundeck and having a ball . My "meowmix "is particularly potent this year and I shall add the sheep manure when transplanting them into the flowerbeds sometime in early June. Ihave bought quite a few new dahlias lately ... and have posted a couple of pics above.

It is at this point that I wish to ask forgiveness of my blog friends and buddies..... I do not often make the rounds commenting  on your excellent creations . I'll try to do better once the imminent danger  that set afloat Noah and his gang has passed us by.. 

 

Multitasking : Manning The Pumps And Potting Dahlias !!

 

Although the Yellow River had peaked last night , levelled off somewhat for a while overnight and then  dipped maybe a foot early this morning...........the poetic babbling brook is presently bubbling over with enthusiasm and Spring hormones once again. During the day the best vantage point from which to keep a close eye on the nearby creek is our sundeck. So yesterday aftrnoon I set up shop.... mon chantier ..... on the deck where so far I have managed to pot some 40 individual dahlias and also about ten flower boxes of gladioli and baby dahlias. My "meowmix " which I have named in honour of our dear McDuff is my own special recipe of lime , earth , peat moss and sheep manure. Crazy , eh ? Gardening with still a meter of snow on the ground !!! You all remember my greenhouse buried under deep snow barely three weeks ago ! And just seeing my rocking lawnchairs appearing out of all that snow after all these months truly warms my heart.  Might be another busy night , my friends.  

P.S. I received a call from the Pope while on deck earlier today.   

It's 1 : 30 am and water is slowly seeping into the sump holes .... not yet risen high enough to activate the floaters to set the pumps in motion.