Month: July 2012

The Daily EO: July 9th, 2012

My husband is a genius when it comes to computers.   He would be the first to tell you that he doesn’t know everything.   And I would agree.   But back to computers – he may not know everything, but he has a basic inherent understanding of all things technical, electronic and how software interacts with them.  And he has a gift for being able to explain complicated technical things to us mere mortals in a manner which we can process in our tiny brains.

I couple days back he headed to Toronto to take his Comptia Networks+  exam.  He’s been studying for this for a while.  And worrying that he wouldn’t pass.  And studying some more.

July 9th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary: He passed with 889/900.   That is like 99% correct.

The Daily EO: July 8th, 2012

I neglected to put photo credit on the photo from yesterday’s entry.  Although I did the post-processing, the photo was taken by my husband Emile. 

There is a bakery in town.  It is called Schat Bakery.  German or something.  It certainly catches your eye as you drive down Main Street.  In English, the name sounds like past tense of poop.  Like all bakeries, I know it is there, but I do not often visit.  They smell terrific but are like having 3 shots of vodka before grocery shopping.  Suddenly you really need a cake a day for desserts.  So with our fitness kick, I stay out of the bakeries.  I can’t physically run as far as I would have to burn off all those calories.

My in-laws are visiting and we decided to do some sight-seeing and shopping downtown.   Looking for a fast and cheap lunch idea, I suggested the hotdog cart.  Nothing like a hotdog or sausage on a beautiful summer day!  My father-in-law looked at me and the cart like I suggested he scrounge for food in the gutters.  Apparently, he has a problem with hot dogs.  Or perhaps he was cranky due to lack of caffeine.  Whatever it was, he wasn’t eating on the street.  He was going to walk the six blocks to the closest Tim Horton’s and get a coffee.

In all the times I have visited with people from Holland, it doesn’t matter how full you are, how sick of food you may be, you always have a sweet treat with your coffee.  Always.  Even if it is stale graham crackers from the back of the pantry.  You have a sweet treat.  And my in-laws are Dutch.  We needed a coffee and a sweet treat.  And no tubes of processed meat.

Hoping to salvage this situation, I looked up and saw Schat Bakery across the street.  On the window it said “Coffee/Tea”.  We entered the cool shop and the lit glass display cases glowed.  The signs for each item were in English and DUTCH!  This isn’t a German bakery, this is a Dutch bakery.  And I never knew.  Not only had I steered my in-laws to wonderful hometown bakery, but a Dutch one!   They even had a Dutch conversation with the proprietor.  I am their favorite daughter-in-law again.

July 8th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  A Dutch Bakery, coffee and a oliebollen for all.

The Daily EO: July 6th, 2012

What an ironic day.  At least I think it was ironic.  It could be Alanis Morrisette ironic.  I am not totally sure.

I was in a toy store shopping for a gift for my nephew’s upcoming birthday when I received a call from a recruiter.  It’s weird to have a conversation like that in a toy store.  It was a recruiter I’d worked with before – he wanted to know if I would be “too angry” to talk to a certain company about a Materials Manager job (in Markham) and the company had asked for my résumé.  Yes, that is a funny question, but here is a back story:

About 6 weeks ago, a job posting come up on Workopolis.  The job requirements matched exactly to my education, experience and skills – with one exception, they prefered a candidate with pharmaceutical background.  But seriously people – I’ll tell you now:  Manufacturing is Manufacturing.   Good practices are the same regardless of what industry you are working in.  Obviously if you are making pacemakers versus inexpensive pens, your levels of quality control, government regulations and testing are adjusted.  But don’t let anyone bamboozle you into thinking the underlying principles are different.

Anyways, I applied to this position.  I got no response – which given how many resumes postings get when on Workopolis, I can understand.  It’s pretty easy to get lost in the crowd.  Later that week I received 2 calls from 2 different recruiters about the same job.  I told you my background matched the description!  Well, when the feedback came back from the company, I was told that I didn’t appear to have any “MRP/MPS experience”.  Huh??  I’m a Materials Manager!  If you are in manufacturing, you know what this is.  So, I’ll give you examples of what this means to say to a Materials Manager.

To a teacher:  You don’t seem to have child interaction experience.
Electrician:  You don’t know how current flows.
IT Technician:  You don’t how to put together a home computer.
Accountant:  You don’t know how use a spreadsheet.

MRP/MPS is the basis of any materials role.  If you have worked manufacturing, you would know that you cannot run your department without it.  MPS = Master Production Schedule.  MRP = Manufacturing Resource Planning.  That sounds fancy pantsy.  But really, it means having a plan, knowing what you need for the plan, and knowing what you’ve got for the plan.  If you have ever planned a dinner party, you have done MPS and MRP.

Anyways, I’m not angry – I just thought it was funny.  Their loss and I moved on.

But now, they are back. (And so you’re back! From outer space!  I just walked in to find you here! With that sad look upon your face!) And the recruiter thought I might be too angry.  Angry??  This is what all Richard Marx listening break-up victims dream of.  Ha ha!  Oh, I’ll interview alright, and you’re going to see I look fabulous, I’m thin and I so do know what MRP/MPS is!   Ha!

Later that afternoon, I got another call from a recruiter for another position (Mississauga).  One that I think they copied requirements directly from my résumé.  They want to know my interview availability.  What??

Why is this ironic?  Several reasons:

  • I haven’t received a call from a recruiter/company in about 6 weeks.
  • Emile has been working on landing a position in Orillia with his former company after deciding that perhaps Toronto is not the place for us.
  • We are leaving on Wednesday (or perhaps Thursday) for a long sojourn across Canada and the USA.  We have so much to do to get ready!
  • Our car needs an oil change and check-up before we head out.  The car will be out of commission in either Monday or Tuesday.
  • Emile is working Monday and Tuesday for a friend.  So he will not be available during the day to assist.

So needless to say, these two calls fly in the face of short and medium plans we have finally been able to put together.   And I’ve had ample time over the last couple of months to do these things – yet now I have to try to perhaps to fit in 2 city interviews and all the prep for being away into a short period of time.

July 6th, 2012  Extra-Ordinary:  Do I really have to say?  2 calls in 1 day?

PS – Yes, we are coming to a city near you, so you west coasters, we’ll be there soon!

The Daily EO: July 5th, 2012

There are 5 ice cream shops in Huntsville – The Nutty Chocolatier, Kawartha Dairies, Yog’s, Belly and The Purple House.

The Nutty is the oldest and most established – it’s been on Main Street for years and draws in the tourists with their huge selection of ice cream, chocolates, and candy.  It’s open until 11 pm in the summer allowing for treats after other events in town.  They carry Nestle Ice Cream.

Yog’s used to be located on the Main Street (across from Nutty) and had every inch of their shop decorated with photos of patrons enjoying their ice cream.  There were 1000s of pictures.  They tehn moved just off Main Street for a fresher look (read: no more pictures).  Yog’s also carries Nestle Ice Cream.

Kawartha Dairies is a recent addition.  They built a huge log cabin-ish building outside of town on Highway 60 (on the way to Algonquin Park or Ottawa).  They are part of Kawartha Dairies (obviously) which is a large dairy in the – you guessed it – Kawartha Lakes area.  Kawartha Lakes is not in Muskoka.  They obviously serve Kawartha Dairies ice cream.

Belly is a new gourmet ice cream shop this season and all of their ice cream is blended in Huntsville.  They are located also on Main Street, but in a small gazebo in a tiny park.  They serve local and seasonal flavours like rhubarb or Tall Trees Butter Tarts.

The Purple House opened after River Mill Park did – it’s now located just off Main Street directly across from the biggest children’s play area in Huntsville and the waterfront.  It is a tiny purple house.  The serve Kawartha Dairies Ice Cream.

So if you are a consumer in Huntsville looking to purchase an ice cream cone – you are in luck, you have lots of choice and a decision to make.

Do you go with Nutty Chocolatier – the original?  Yet the tourist trap?  Do you want the originality and quality of Belly?  Two things that you pay extra for?  What about Kawartha Dairies?  It’s a bit of a drive out to Highway 60 and it drags people away from our downtown core but they have a huge selection.  Or The Purple House?  Across from the park and the waterfront?  Or Yog’s that serves exactly the same ice creams as Nutty just around the block?  Yet also a tradition?

It’s a hard choice. But it is the little things that make the difference to me – I don’t want Kawartha Dairies because they are a new interloper is from Lindsay or the like.  Go back to where you came from with your fancy store away from the centre of town!  And if I am only buying an ice cream cone – I have to stand outside – I can’t purchase in the store.  Telling me as a consumer what to do never bodes well for you.

Yog’s never got past their tiny little dingy store with me.  Even now that they moved, I have to wonder why they aren’t doing something to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Belly – I haven’t been to yet.  It’s next on the list though.  I’ve heard it is very expensive and the portions are small – but isn’t anything that claims to be gourmet?  It will be an occasional treat – but I need to find a less pricey regular place.

The Purple House.  Brilliant location.  Supported the “Band On the Run” by giving two for one ice cream cones to racers on race day.  Kawartha Dairies Ice Cream, but it’s not like Nestle’s is local.  And also a frozen yogurt machine that you can make your own.  So love that.

For years, our choice was The Nutty – but the portions have been shrinking, the prices rises and there is a feeling that perhaps you are not valued as a local consumer as you should be.

The Purple House welcomed us warmly when we returned to support them for supporting us in Band on the Run.  Fair prices, solid selection, excellent service and good portion size.  Sorry Nutty.

July 5th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  A dumped supplier.  A new place.  And another important decision in my life made.

The Daily EO: July 4th, 2012

I’m not a hunter.  It’s just something that I don’t want to do on many fronts.  Nobody in my family ever hunted and nobody in my husband’s family either.  I am not against hunting – in season, for purpose (that doesn’t include trophies) and within guidelines that protect people and the species hunted.   Removing all ethical considerations, I can understand the satisfaction found in the successful challenge of tracking and accurately hitting a bullseye.   So, I sit in the middle of the fence – it is not something I want to do, but I respect responsible hunters’ right to hunt for food  – especially if it is part of their culture – such as in our Inuit and Native communities here in Canada.  I just don’t want to myself.  Just like I don’t really want to know where bacon comes from.

I am a bit squeamish.  I don’t want to see death or blood, or know that my actions caused the death and blood.  You’d think this would carry through to my “family” as well, but frankly when Beavis shows up with yet another chipmunk in his teeth – I am really proud of him.  After all, he started out as an indoor condo cat – who didn’t go outside willingly until he was 8 years old.  And he is tied up on his leash – a long one granted – but restrictive.

Beavis doesn’t even eat the chipmunks – which I am really thankful for because I don’t want to have to clean up the guts (see squeamish above).  I really think he thinks that they are playing together.  (if you can consider sharp teeth sinking into your abdomen “playing”).  The play date eventually becomes less fun.  So then he tosses the poor fellows in the air assumingly for resuscitation purposes.  Bored, eventually Beavis just wanders off in search of new cat chores to perform.  But not before he sits near his kill for a while with an aura of smugness.  I am sure that it is smugness.  It couldn’t be shame.  I should condemn him for it, but I seem to be just proud

July 4th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Reduction of the chipmunk population in a 20 metre circle in our back yard.  Excuse me now, I have to go bury a chipmunk.

The Daily EO: July 3rd, 2012

I wear contact lenses.  I’ve corrected my vision since Grade 2.  The first time I wore my glasses, it was for the Christmas pageant at school.  My classmate Caroline – yes, I remember her name – said to me “Angels don’t wear glasses” and that line has lived in infamy in my life since then.  I was originally diagnosed as near-sighted with an astigmatism, the latter I seemed to have grown out of as no optometrist has noted it subsequently.  I wore glasses from that fateful Christmas pageant until I was about 25.  Playing softball is difficult if your depth perception is off.  So, you either miss the ball every time, or you correct your vision and deal with the sweaty lenses.

By that point, contact lenses were moving into the daily types and so much more comfortable and affordable.   I figured I would correct my vision AND avoid the inconvenience of glasses.

I have two strong memories of vision:  when I first got my glasses, your brain needs time to adapt the new distorted images and although you can see properly for the first time, my brain had spent almost 8 years adapting the images for me.  So when I first got my glasses, I could see the TV better, but I my brain also interpreted my height as being significantly higher than I was actually tall.  That was pretty disconcerting for a kid.  I remember running across the street from my house, looking down and wondering how I got so high up from the road.

The second was when I was 25.  For those of you who do not need corrective lenses, you will not be able to relate.  When you cannot see properly without glasses, it’s something of an anchor.  You have these things on that dint the side of your head, leave red marks on your nose, and that get so filthy you wonder how you could see through them.   And after spending about 1/2 hour trying to jam lenses into my eyeballs that my reflexes just weren’t having, the first drive home without the glasses anchor was miraculous.  I could see, I couldn’t feel the lenses, it was like normal people.  It was amazing.

Now that I am old, my eye doctor has informed my that my vision is changing yet again.  And that would explain why I cannot see to pluck my eyebrows with my lenses in.  In fact, I have to be correctionless to be able to see about 50% of the hairs.  So, every two weeks when I remove my lenses for a 12 hour rest, I also pluck my eyebrows.

July 3rd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  If you cannot see to pluck, you cannot see you need to pluck.  When life taketh, it giveth.

 

This week’s CSA half share:

  • Baby New Potatoes
  • bunch of tat tsoi
  • bunch arugula
  • a bag of lettuce mix
  • small heads of bok/ joi choi
  • snap peas
  • green peas

 

The Daily EO: July 2nd, 2012

Huntsville is built around lakes, leaving our downtown core as one of the most charming, picturesque areas I have ever been in.  The new Riverside park runs along part of it, and it a perfect place to sit and watch locals and tourists alike.

I spent most of the weekend consuming oh so delicious calories, and yet some how I was able to find room to agree with my husband on a trip downtown for treat.

Downtown was bustling, it was warm but breezy.  And an old standby caught my eye.

July 2nd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Pralines and Cream Ice Cream and watching the boats float by.

The Daily EO: July 1st, 2012

I don’t really understand what it means to live without, to generally be concerned about my safety, or need to protest in the streets to get basic human rights for me or my fellow countrymen.  I don’t know what it means to not have EI to turn to, worry about getting sick because I cannot afford the bill, or face the workings of a corrupt police force.  I do not like Stephen Harper much – he’s is a bit of a stuffed shirt – but I don’t have to worry about him eliminating the Québécois in massive act of government-sponsored genocide.  And I will not be taken from my home for voicing a negative opinion about him.  I don’t have to bribe a government official to receive a licence.  And I can log into Facebook any time I want (which I do not want).

My generation – and the ones that are coming after me – for the most part don’t get it.  Those who came before us fought – both literally and figuratively – so we didn’t have to understand it.  So suffering and misery were replaced by hope and opportunity.

I know some of you would point out the challenges we face here:  many Canadians living under the poverty line, social issues prevalent in our Native populations, the erosion of our Peace Keeping reputation on the world stage, the underfunding problem in healthcare, cheap imports devastating our manufacturing base, and conservation of our generous nature resources.  There will always be problems for us to solve.

But we have the basics of the basics down.  And today – despite it’s predictability – I am thankful.

July 1st, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Celebrating my Canadian Citizenship.

The Daily EO: June 30th, 2012

It was my friend’s 50th birthday party today.   Not her birthday – that is in August – but her surprise party thrown by her husband.  He did a great job keeping the secret, but it is a little easier when it’s a month early.  Why a month early?  Well, because a bunch of friends were already planning to be up wouldn’t be here in August.  So, 50 is 50.  Celebrate when you want, right?

The party was held in “the shop” – which is a 3 bay garage that by day is used to make paint repairs to cars and boats.  That’s funny right?  Sounds hokey and kinda  like “Really?  The shop?”.  But it wasn’t.  It was fun – it was neat and it it didn’t matter if you spilled your drink.   Now this shop isn’t like your mechanics shop with oil and stuff all over the place – it is more like an upscale garage.  Complete with decorations, a DJ, and a huge pig roasting BBQ, we were pretty set.   It wasn’t white linen napkins – but it shouldn’t have been.  It was exactly how you wanted to kick off a long weekend in Muskoka.

That’s the wonderful thing about Muskoka – come as you are.  In the summer, you can easily tell the shiny, primped tourists from the wrinkled, comfortable locals.  We’re a little smug about it really – laughing at the traffic heading North on Friday evening and again heading South on Sunday night.   I suppose they laugh at us idiots trying to make a living in a town increasing dependent on tourism.

June 30th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Drinking Bacardi Pina Colada Coolers in a paint booth.  Weird, but perfect.