Curling Season has begun

The days in Canada vary drastically between summer and winter. In summer, the sun shines on us until 9:00 pm or later, but in winter the sun sinks beyond the horizon as early as 4:00 pm. So, now that we are approaching winter and the sun is making shorter daily appearances, I like so many other Canadians, turn to the sport of curling to help get through the dark evenings.

I began curling when I was 11, so obviously I have been doing it for a long time. During my teens and early 20s I was extremely competitive and had some relative success before taking seasonal breaks on and off for travel and other interests. But for the last three years I've become once again addictive and hope to regenerate some of my competitive ways and if I'm lucky, equal some of my earlier success. (So far I've curled seven games in the club, three mixed and four womens and have a record of seven wins - yeah!)

This upcoming year, we host the Olympics in Vancouver. Curling is one of the sports where Canada is hoping to medal in both the women's and men's competitions. Our representative have yet to be determined so all eyes are on our potential teams. Trials begin in November and conclude in December.

In the Toronto area these last five days, an mens elite international curling competition was held - with with five of Canada's top teams competing. I was lucky to have won tickets to the event and saw some fine play. Good practice as well for these Canadian teams before they enter the Olympic trials by playing the top teams from other nations that have already been declared as their country's Olympic representatives.

I'm just home from the finals where Canada's Glenn Howard (the 2007 world champ) won the competition. Here are some pictures from the competition.

Brad Gushue from Newfound and 2006 Olympic Gold medalist.

Alberta's Kevin Martin, 2002 Olympic Silver medalist

The Randy Ferby team from Edmonton Alberta, four-time Canadian and two-time World champs

The Ontario Glenn Howard team, 2007 world champ. (Glenn has won the worlds three times and his vice-skip Richard Hart is a 1998 Olympic silver medalist)

Autumn Splendor - My favourite season

There is something that I like about every season, but in Autumn it's the colourful trees in this part of the world and the cool crisp air.

These photos are all from the Laurentian Mountains in the Province of Quebec. Lost River, Lake MacDonald, Mt. Tremblant and Campbell's Bay Road (in that order)

Happy Birthday Boys

12 years ago these two brothers were born with four other siblings in the basement of my old house. Me and my ex discovered them after returning home from our favourite indian restaurant.

Over the years they have given me much joy and comfort. I love them very much!

Here's to you Leo (Leopold) and Rory (Rorschach)

Ta Da !

An airline totally devoted to pets?

Believe it or not, it's true!

A company, Pet Airways, is now flying from airports in five American cities and plans to expand into Canada next year for its “pawsengers”. In fact, the only humans allowed on the flights will be pet attendants and the pilots.

According to the airline, an estimated one million animals fly each year in America, and Pet Airways' goal is to capitalize on that statistic.

Flights begin at US$149, and come with the promise to "transport your pet with lots of love, care, safety, and comfort in the main cabin," according to the company. The planes are entirely designed with animals in mind so there are neither seats nor overhead baggage compartments.

The airline also offers a "pawsenger lounge" where pets can be checked in up to 72 hours prior to take-off.

Dan Wiesel, president and CEO of Pet Airways, said most pets travelling by air are transported in the cargo hold and "handled as baggage."
Operations began on July 14 with flights between Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles, with plans to expand to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2010.

There is some competition here in Canada, however. While their mandates aren't as pet-centric as Pet Airways, major carriers West Jet and Air Canada both offer pet travel options.

Both airlines charge a $50 fee for pets that travel in the cabin, but Air Canada ups the fee to $105 for pets that are transported in the baggage compartment.

If you want more information, or don't believe these words – here is their website: http://petairways.com

Almost finished!

This summer in my front yard I've been dealing with goutweed (as per my blog post a few posts below).

In my backyard, I had more goutweed (that used to be at the base of the trees shown above) and discovered another weed called "Deadly Nightshade" (also known as "climbing nightshade" or "bittersweet nightshade"). This is a poisonous weed that can be fatal to humans if they eat the leaves or red berries that it produces. I also had about 15 cedar trees in a row that were unsightly and at one time used to be a cedar hedge.

With time on my hands earlier this summer, I decided to get into "destruction mode". I pulled out the goutweed and started to cut down the trees [full stop] ..... that was until the city of Toronto had its strike because some of their outside workers collect yard waste and brush. Now that the outside workers are back at work I tackled the trees once again and only have the limbs on 1.5 trees left! yeah! The brush from the limbs is at my curbside awaiting pick-up and the stumps of the trees (seen in the photo above) will be cut down in pieces that will be just perfect for friends chimineas or campfires.

The remaining 1.5 trees will be dealt with in a couple of weeks, just in time for the my neighbourhood's next yard waste pick-up day.

Once the trees are all at low stump level I'll be completing the same goutweed treatment as on my front yard. I'm tired at the moment but have a good sense of satisfaction as I dream about what I can plant in both yards to make this piece of land my little oasis.

Something new from Pete. Guess we'll all be meeting his "Walter" in a couple of years. Wonder if he'll be related to his "Tommy"

Mr. Townshend has announced plans for a new musical. Apparently this new project called "Floss" concerns the angst of the ageing Baby Boomer generation.

"I am writing a new musical," he writes in his blog "Floss is an ambitious new project for me, in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia". The songs will be interspersed with surround-sound 'soundscapes' featuring complex sound effects and musical montages."

Townshend said the album is designed as an outdoor "son et lumière piece", to be debuted in 2011. Currently he's talking with producers in New York but hopes to release some of the musical's more "conventional" songs on a new Who album next year.

The musical tells the story of Walter, a pub-rock musician, who hits it big when one of his songs appears in a car advertisement. Suddenly wealthy, Walter becomes a "house-husband" as his wife, Floss, takes up horse riding!!. "When [Walter] tries to return to music after a 15-year hiatus," Townshend wrote, "he finds that what he hears and what he composes evoke the ecologically rooted, apocalyptic mindset of his generation. Shaken by this and torn by personal difficulties, he and Floss become estranged."

Townshend described the piece as a bit of a response to My Generation, the 1965 hit he calls "the most explicitly ageist song in rock". "At 64," he wrote, "I now want to take on ageing and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock'n'roll."

Don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to hearing more about this project and eventually listening to it.