A Cheer

One of our local newspapers carries a "Cheers and Jeers" section where people can write in and cheer about something in town or complain about something.

Look at what appeared in the last row of the "Cheers" section this week.

The Curse Continues

I wish my first big motorcycle trip had been a complete disaster.  That way, I would have just quit right then and there and saved myself a lot of misery.

The first year my brother "Lenny" and I went to the Black Hills and it was great!  Perfect weather.  Perfect roads.  Tons of fun.  Since then we have endured eight days of rain in BC, freezing temperatures in Montana, more cold and a tornado warning in the Black Hills (part 2), and broken tent poles and being blown off the road in North Dakota.

This year had to be better, right?

Nope!

This time we thought we had a really good plan which was - no plan at all! We really had nothing to see or do, so we dubbed it the "Anything can happen tour".  We should have been more specific and called it the "Anything GOOD can happen tour".  In short, we rode for seven days in Northern Sask/Alberta and got rained on for six of them.

We even tried chasing the sun, to no avail.  In Meadow Lake, we looked at the forecast that said it was going to rain in Prince Albert, but be sunny in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.  Since we did not have a plan and since we knew there was a really good car museum in Wetaskiwin, we decided to head west toward the sunshine.

Half way there it started to rain a little.  About an hour out of Viking, Alberta it rained A LOT!!!  One hour to the east - nothing!  One hour to the west - nothing!  Where we were, where it was supposed to be sunny, 2 inches of rain.

When we got to Wetaskiwin, we found out that the hotel we booked was over a liquor store.  We asked if we could check in early and they said we could, but we would have to pay the hourly rate which was $10/hour.  Interesting that they knew the hourly rate right off the top of their head.  We stay in classy places!

The next day it was still raining, so we looked at the forecast and it said that "Cypress Hills Provincial Park" was in for four days of sunshine.  Decision made and we rode through decent weather all the way to the park..... where it was really cold and wet.  We woke up the next morning to the sound of rain pounding on the tents.

Last stop on this misery tour was a show and shine car show in Weyburn- one of my favorite events of the year.  Usually lots of cars, lots of people, lots of food and just a good time.   But it was raining so we had less cars, less people, no food and not much fun.  So I headed home, only to be caught in the worst rain storm of the entire trip!

I am not sure which one of us is doing something wrong, but which ever one of us it is, he needs to stop it!  I can't take the punishment any more!

It wasn't a total loss though.  We did manage to share some of our joy with others.  For example, as we came out of our hotel in Viking, this man approached us and asked if we were riding those motorcycles, where we were going, etc - standard stuff.   He then said that he was a farmer and that he did not mind the rain.  In fact, they needed it.  We told him that anytime he needed more, he could call as it seemed to be following us around.

As we walked away, an RCMP cruiser pulled into the parking lot, drove up to our farmer friend, grabbed him and tossed him in the back and took off.  The next morning, his vehicle was right where he left it the night before.

We thought about going to the jailhouse to apologize to the poor guy, but we thought that maybe he would get a life sentence if he had any more contact with us.

If anyone knows how to remove a curse, please write to me..... preferably before our next bike tour!

The Perfect Ending to the Perfect Week!

This past week was the 6th edition of the Pippus Motorcycle tour with my brother "Lenny".  We were gone for 7 days..... and we got rained on for 6 of them (and that is the best part of the week..... stories and details to follow.  Check back in coming days).

However, tonight we went to the fair.   I like the fair!  I like walking around and visiting with people. I like watching the little kids laughing and having fun.  I like the small town feel of the whole thing.

Most of all though.... I like caramel apples.

As usual, I waited until the very end to get one.  In fact, the girls actually stood in line and got it for me - and I was so happy!!

Then - I went to take my first bite....... I put it up to my mouth..... and the stick broke!!!!

My precious apple treat fell in the dirt and rolled 5 feet down a hill.  I just stood there in disbelief.

I WAITED ALL YEAR FOR THE FAIR TO COME TO TOWN SO I COULD GET A CARAMEL APPLE AND ALL I GOT TO DO WAS LICK THE STUPID THING!!!!

Sara offered to get me another one, but that seemed silly.

Besides, it was the perfect ending to my bike tour week!

Umm - what now?

Preparing for an upcoming camping trip, I went to Canadian Tire where I saw this.....

It is a package of sticks!!! And look at the price tag above it......

1. Compare the size of that little tag to that bundle of sticks and you will realize that the bundle is not very big and ......

2.  Someone is making a killing on sticks!   $9.49 for a pile of sticks that is smaller than what falls off my tree in the front yard on any given night???  What sort of tree-less concrete jungle do you live in if you can't find a handful of sticks outside????   For that matter, where are you going camping that you can't find kindling and have to buy it at Canadian Tire??????

Then I thought that there must be something special about these sticks.... that they had been doused in some chemical to make them burn better or something.  NOPE!  The side of the box actually says, "All natural fire starters!" 

So here is what I am gonna do..... I am going to stand in Canadian tire - right beside this display - with a slightly bigger bundle of sticks and sell them for $8.

I may have just found my retirement fund!

SundayStuff

You don't know what you got

We have a water cooler at our house, which means that every couple of weeks I have to go to the store and fill the water jugs. 

Every time I do this, I think to myself, "My Grandfather - and certainly my great-grandfather - would think I am a total moron right now!"  You see, they had to haul water all the time and they dreamed of living in a house with running water.  Now I do live in a house with running water and I am still hauling water.

The reality of how nice it is to have hot and cold running water came home to us in a different way yesterday when the main water line for our entire subdivision broke yesterday afternoon.  About a hundred houses and a school were left without water.

It is shocking how many times we turn on a tap in a day.  This really comes home to you when - for the 4869784397389th time - you have turned on a tap that does nothing but gurgle at you.

However, all is well this morning.  We woke up to running water again and we were super happy to have it.  If you did too, you may want to take a second to think about how even the little things that you take for granted are very nice. 

Sometimes, you don't what you got until it is gone.