Stone Soup

It is raining, it will rain all day long! It has been pouring so hard I can hardly see avross the highway outside my office window. I am not unhappy with that, as a matter of fact I am very pleased. The rain is melting our snow away. It is washing the salt away, it is cleaning all the grey and soon it will be GREEN!!!

I am wearing mismatched socks because tomorow, March 31 is the 3rd International MisMatched Socks Day when we wear mismatched socks in memory of our eccentric loved ones. Read the beginnings of this special day at Amy's blog.

Toronto did well for Earth Hour. The city managed to reduce hydro usage by 8.7% compared to another late March Saturday night. Across the province we reduced it by 5.2%. Downtown street level lights were on but above that the lights in office towers, hotels and condos switched off.

I live out in the 'burbs. Around my neighbourhood, most homes were dark. As 8:00 PM approached I opened my blinds tomake use of the last of the waning daylight. I lit a candle and turned the lights off. I was online for a while, thanks to my laptop battery which has enough juice to run for a few hours.

A friend of mine, tells me he missed the last hour of the hockey game because of Earth Hour and wouldn't you know it...Toronto BEAT Montreal. Of course, I had to call home right away. Sister and brother in law were sitting in the dark except the hockey game was on. Serves them right. Every home in Montreal had the game on to see Les Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Laughs (that's is what they call us lately). Well, I am pleased they watched us win! They are number 1 in the rankings and we didn't make the playoffs.

It does my heart good to see the city go dark, not from a crisis but voluntarily.

I have a web cam on my laptop and I am wondering how to use it. The little camera lens is at the top of my monitor. I can't see any way to launch it and I have searched for software that might work but there doesn't seem to be any. Do any of you know how to use it?

On this day in 1998 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Viagara!

This drug was originally synthesized to treat hypertension and angina but the chemists at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals found that while the drug had little effect on the conditions it was developed to treat, it could induce penile erections.

Pfizer decided to market the drug for impotence. Sildenafil, the chemical name for Viagra, was patented in 1996, and a mere two years later--a stunningly short time compared to other drugs--it was approved by the FDA for use in treating "erectile dysfunction," the new clinical name for impotence. Viagra's massive success was almost instantaneous.

An estimated 30 million men in the United States suffer from erectile dysfunction and a wave of new Viagra competitors, among them Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil), has blown open the market.

The long-term effects of Viagra on men's health are still unclear (Viagra does carry warnings
for those who suffer from heart trouble), but its popularity shows no signs of slowing especially as the baby boomer population continues to age.

Happy Birthday, Viagra!

I am sitting on my sofa with the laptop waiting for Seal to sing on Oprah. When I got in the door the scene was rather emotional, but I missed the beginning so don't really know why...it was something about his childhood, which I gather was difficult.

Today, I lost it with a fax service company. They send me spam faxes I do not want, I call every day to have my number removed but get more faxes the following day. I called again today and instead of using the fax removal number I called their sales office. Didn't get a real person, of course. Left a message on their voicemail that if they do not cease and desist immediately I will call the advertiser featured on each and every fax and make a complaint.

I'm sure there will be more faxes in the morning advertising wet basement repairs etc. so do you think it would work if I actually called their clients? Hmmm, I wonder. Problem is I am too busy during the day to do it....but sometimes I wish...

Seal sang one song on Oprah...wonder if he will sing again. I like him.

I have been wanting to join Mona's Friday Dare, almost did it a few times then I popped over today and the theme is "signs of Easter in your home."

Oh darn, I thought to myself, there ARE no signs of Easter in my home, there is ice on my patio,it is too cold, too early and I haven't felt in the mood. So I looked for signs of Easter past. Hope this will do.

An Easter Bunny who appeared on my patio in a gift bag. For a while, I had no idea who it was from. It sits in my china cabinet now.

1

A real bunny who lived with me for a few weeks. Below, one night when he was naughty.

He was a houseguest who kept a messy room.

And liked to drink wine, liked it a little too much!

and below, a sign of Spring, my favourite Spring meal, usually serve this at Easter dinner. Leg of lamb stuffed with couscous with spring vegetables.

If you would like to participate in Mona's Friday Dare, leave your link here:

http://monaswe2007.multiply.com/journal/item/105/I_dare_you...

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!

Today is the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known to most as Dr Seuss writer and illustrator of whimsical children's books. He was born on March 2, 1904 and died at the age of 87 in September 1991. His first book, The Cat In The Hat, was published in 1957, I was just 7 years old. My parents weren't very tuned in to children's books but as a child who loved books I ran into Dr Seuss early at the library. I think his books may have been frowned on by educators at the time but he certainly was more interesting than Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff. See Dick run, Run Dick. Run. Seuss had greater appeal than those ,and by the time my children were born there was near fifty books published. I read all of them aloud with my sons and loved the stories and lyrical rhymes every bit as much as they did. A favourite was The Sleep Book, which left us all more stimulated than sleepy at bedtime, it was such fun. He published a few books with a serious and darker tone, The Butter Battle Book (protesting the nuclear arms race) and The Lorax which addressed the environment. He even wrote a book for adults, Oh The Things You Will See which became popular as a graduation gift.

My sons and I enjoyed many happy hours reading aloud when they were young and Dr Seuss was a memorable part of the experience.

The question of the day on CHFI this morning was what is the one thing women can do on February 29 that they can't do any other time. Guesses were...pick up the tab on a date,ask a man to dance and #3 was ask a man to marry them. #3 was the correct answer.

The tradition started in L'il Abner cartoon comic strip in November 1937. Does anyone remember this comic strip? I used to love it as a child (1950's and '60's) It became an annual event in the comic strip but I have no idea how it became associated with Leap Year, February 29.

Sadie Hawkins was "the homeliest gal in the hills" who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'. Her father, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was even more worried about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life, so he decreed the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day, a foot race in which the unmarried gals pursued the town's bachelors, with matrimony the consequence.

I remember annual Sadie Hawkins dances in High School and the thought of such a thing today makes me shiver! We weren't chasing the fellows for matrimony, though. The girls merely were allowed to ask the boys to dance. I am showing my age aren't I. I think attitudes have changed, more than a little!

Happy Sadie Hawkins Day, everyone!

I took these shots from my hotel window at the Westin Prince in Toronto where we did a large meeting last week. Preparations for the meeting were very demanding, I had worked late every night for two weeks before the meeting, so it was good to be able to kick back at a hotel and relax.

The view was so pretty, especially at night, I didn't draw the curtains. Just turned the lights out and enjoyed it! The view above looks south towards Lake Ontario.

Below is the view looking east, towards Scarborough and Pickering. I had a corner window in my room...quite nice.

So the big meeting is done for another year and I am almost caught up again at the office.

Sunday was such a nice day, I went for a drive, didn't know where when I set out but ended up in St Jacobs Ontario. Browsing through a local paper while drinking my coffee in Tim's I noticed an article on a local covered bridge. It is the only covered bridge in the province of Ontario and I was within minutes of it, well maybe 20 minutes. It wasn't difficult to find the bridge, the first person I asked told me how to get there.
I drove up to and through the bridge, parked near these old sheds and walked back. I know they are just old sheds but I found them interesting and the light was good, I was already loving the feel of the place and got my camera out. The air was cold, my fingers were freezing as I held the camera.

The sun was strong but it didn't warm the air as I walked toward Ontario's last remaining covered bridge. It stretches almost 200 feet across the Grand River.

This bridge is still standing after more than 100 years because of the roof that has protected the huge timbers and trusses. Uncovered wooden bridges have a life span of only 10 to 15 years.

The bridge was built in 1881 and underwent major repairs in 1999. Light traffic still crosses the bridge daily and many horse and buggies cross on Sundays. This is Mennonite country.

I am told horses fear rushing water and often become spooked as they approach bridges. A horse will trot up to the opening of a covered bridge and clip-clop through, reassured by the side walls and the light at the end of the tunnel.

The blue sign to the right of the bridge opening reads:

This structure, the only remaining covered bridge in Ontario was designed by John Bear in 1880, on the authority of Woolwich Township Council, to replace an earlier bridge over the Grand River. Built a year later by John and his brother, Benjamin, the 198-foot bridge was covered to protect the wooden flooring and frame against the elements. Known locally as the Kissing Bridge, it later came under the jurisdiction of Waterloo County. In 1937 the province assumed responsibility for the Guelph-Elmira Road, including the West Montrose Bridge, and its floor and sub-structure were subsequently rebuilt and reinforced.

The bridge is often referred to as "The Kissing Bridge" because it is enclosed and the soft light provides a feeling of intimacy for the romantic.

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I bought my new laptop at FutureShop last night. When it is configured, they will call me to pick it up, later today. It is an hp, pretty fast, and best of all, it is wireless!!! Woo Hoo! I can check email in bed or while I watch television. I can look up recipes online from the kitchen. I will be able to load Photoshop on this one. I am rubbing my hands together, looking forward to it all.

Here is where I am having a little problem and would like your advice:

The salesman offered me an extended service plan (including 3 years warranty on parts and labour)for $329.00 and I told him I would think about it. Since I am still not sure if it is worth the extra money, I thought I would get the opinion of you guys at Multiply. Without the plan, I will have 1 year parts & labour plus 90 days accessory coverage. They tell me even the keyboard on a laptop is an accessory! He pointed at a little wire and said people are in here for that one all the time, it costs $120. Is he ;just trying to sell me another $300 worth of coverage I do not need? I don't think I ever spent $300 on my old laptop (a Toshiba Satellite Pro).

Would you buy the extra coverage or not?

We are not used to a lot of snow in Toronto and sometimes the rest of the country finds humour in how we, in Toronto, panic when more than a few centimeters fall. During a winter storm some years ago the mayor called in the army and to the rest of the country (who were hit by much harder storms) we have never lived it down.

Down the highway, in Montreal, ploughs and salt trucks are out on the job at the beginning of the storm but in this city they wait until the last flake has fallen.

I stayed indoors most of the weekend because we got 20 centimeters of snow on Friday, beginning in the wee hours of the morning and ending after midnight. Accidents were happening at the rate of 200 per hour on Friday afternoon--it wasn't snow and slippery roads I feared on the drive home Friday, it was other drivers.

Driving onto Highway 401 Toronto 7:00 AM.

Traffic moving slowly but at least it is moving!

Average speed 50 km per hour but no accidents.

Off the highway, on to city streets. Same thing, traffic moving very slowly but it is moving.

I arrive in the parking lot, plenty of places to park. Many have decided to work from home today.

The drive home, 3:00 PM. Plows have passed once during the day. No salt on the roads, traffic moving vey slowly. Many accidents on the roads but I don't pass any. We are being super cautious. One false move and it will be "BANG!"

I am home and resolve to stay home for the weekend. Here is the view from my bedroom window.

Later in the evening, it is still snowing. It is very quiet outside, sounds are muffled by the snow.

Early Saturday morning, this the view I woke up to.

Pine trees outside my bedroom window

Another window