An Interesting Coincidence

    My Dad was an out and out extrovert. Dad  would stop on the road anyplace to see some one or something. There wasn't a saw mill or any other plant that Dad wouldn't stop at and go in. He was always curious about how things were done.

    One time he over did it a bit. He was in a medical teaching center with some one who had an appointment. They had some time and were walking around in the building. There were interesting displays in the hallway. One door was open and it looked like a few students were working so Dad went in to see what was going on. There were tables with large sheets over them. They went up to the students and found they were dissecting a body. It gave Dad a bit of a shock, but he stayed anyway. Finally the lab supervisor came over and politely said, "I don't think you should be in here."

     Dad would strike up a conversation anywhere with anybody. There was a deal on in the 1960's where for $99.00 you could ride the bus for 99 days. Dad took this and met many people and had many stories to tell when he got back. .

    Dad spent about 20 winters in Phoenix. Again , he talked to many different people. He met a man one day who had a cap on that said Alberta Wheat Pool. This told Dad that the man was from Alberta, Canada and was most likely a farmer because the Alberta Wheat Pool was a large farm organization. 

   So Dad Started, "Well, how's the old farmer today?" 

    The guy looked shocked and said , "How did you know I vas a a farmer?"

    Dad said, "Your cap gives you away."

    Then they started to chat and they found out that the old farmer had come to Dad's home town when he first came to Canada from Germany. He had worked for Mr. Wilson for two years and then moved to northern Alberta where he set up farming. Before they parted he asked my Dad, "What ever happened to Mr Wilson's daughter Alice?"

     Dad said, "She married my brother."

     So there was a double coincidence. They had something in common as they had lived in the same place. And the old farmer found out what happened to one of the girls that he liked.

     So being an extrovert can lead to some interesting adventures. I don't know how my Dad had a son who is such an introvert.

Power in Clouds

I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.
       From William Wordsworth's I wandered Lonely as a Cloud

This bank of clouds built up in mid afternoon

More of the same cumulus clouds.

More of this huge bank of clouds

     We can think of clouds in a romantic aspect  or we can think of clouds in a scientific way. 

      Clouds are beautiful but at the same time it takes  tremendous energy to build a cloud and that energy is contained in the cloud.

     These clouds built up the other day and stayed south of me. I could enjoy the beauty but had sunshine all the time and I didn't get wet.

Heritage Square

   A few posts ago I set out to get some photos of Heritage Square. That is before I came up over a berm and through some trees to find a spray park. That is before a did some tricks on my bike that people liked. So those posts had to be done before this one.

    So here is our Heritage Square. Our heritage Square is a work in progress. There is room for it to grow but by the looks of it people have lost interest in adding on to the square. 

    I really wanted to get the Loft House. I found it hard to photograph as I ran out of room. I found that is was far more interesting inside than outside. It is filled with all kinds of all things Norse. Of course it has a gift shop. The facility is open during the summer months.

The entrance with flags. I missed the sodded roof which is a feature of this house.

     An interesting little building which was rescued before it was destroyed is the first store that opened in Red Deer. It had been moved several times and was being used as a storage shed behind a downtown business. It's hard to believe that business was carried on in this small 14 by 20 building.

The original store in Red Deer

  This is a close replica of the first Red Deer school. It has been set up inside so that classes can be taught.

This is not a very large building

Fine workmanship went into this replica as I'm sure went into the original.

 Now I shouldn't tell you that there are two steeples from local churches. The steeples were rescued before the churches were demolished.

I Can Still Draw a Crowd.

    I like most people appreciate an audience when I perform!

    I have ridden my bike about 28000 km since 1988. I average over 1000 km per summer.

     With 28000 km there are chances for an accident or two. I've had some. I only had one major accident and that was only a very bad  bruise and lots of road rash. 

     A few nights ago I had a small tumble( more like stumble) on my bike. No harm was done... two little road rashes. 

     I was using a cross walk to get to the traffic light where I could press the button for a walk light that would let me cross the street safely. Cars are in the process of making a right turn when you're in the little cross walk. I had checked for cars and I didn't see anybody I thought was making a right turn. When I was crossing I saw a vehicle making the right turn and I didn't think it was going to stop. I took evasive action which turned out to be awkward and down I went. 

    My fall must have been interesting to say the least as two cars stopped to ask if I was okay and two cyclists stopped as well. So I drew a crowd. 

    Now what I'm really pleased about is that four people stopped to see if I was all right. I appreciate their caring and concern. I feel better about this place that people do care. I just wish the first car that blew by making the right turn had stopped. I would have had some things to say to him/her!

    I also look back and think how fortunate I've been doing something I really like and being safe.

    Now this is one that I don't have any pictures of.

     Some blogger comments recently were about laughing when some one falls. I'm sure they would have laughed at me when I fell the other night.

I just Discovered That I've Been Living Under a Toadstool

     I few days ago I was walking through part of downtown to a place where I wanted to get some photos. When I walk through downtown I take many short cuts. I cross parking lots diagonally. I go through back alleys. I go between buildings. I go through buildings I do all of this to get to the place I want to go. I'm not quite as bad as my friend Walter, because he goes through people's yards.

     So the other day I came up over a berm and through some trees and I saw something I had never seen and I didn't know what it was. I had seen construction at the location for about six months but it's behind the trees. I had read about the site in the paper , but I did not remember what it was.

    What I saw looked like large plastic colorful flowers. I immediately began taking pictures so that I could make an identification. There was no one at the scene so I couldn't ask about the site.

    So here are the photos. You tell me what this is. No peeking now!

   

So, a poor picture but you see the flowers

Rocks and a trail

More rocks. Man did I stink on these pictures

More flowers

       So I asked some one a few blocks away and they told me that it was the city's new spray park! Am I out of it?

      Now that I know what this is, I'm wondering if I could go there at night when no one's around so that I could try the Spray Park. I wouldn't want to be seen as that might be embarrassing!

Again, the Reluctant Handyman.

     Once again I've had one of those handyman jobs that I dislike. I've posted on this topic before.

      There are many little repair jobs that crop up around the average home. There are people who are in business and they fix the things that fall apart. They are usually good but when they're bad they really stink. When we first moved into this house we needed a repair to the oven. The reluctant repairman (me) was not practicing then. An appliance repair man came to the house to repair the oven. A bill was paid and when we checked the oven it still didn't work. The appliance repairman came back and said, "Oh your oven element has to be pushed in." A service call was charged. So the debate was should I pay for the first call and repairs that were not needed. After a vigorous argument we did not have to pay for the first call where nothing was actually repaired. Maybe this is why we became leery of appliance repairmen and I started to do repairs.

    Now I don't have a mechanical aptitude. I'm not good with my hands or tools. I don't like doing repairs.

    But there I was the other day with just a little job. The washers on the bathtub taps were leaking. So the parts were 98 cents(a dollar here  because we don't have pennies). So would you calla repair man for a $105.00 service fee? Of course not.

Some of the parts.

Now I think I should do something with that tile color.

    So here I am taking taps apart and replacing washers and voila no more leaks.

It's Tomato Time Here

    I love tomatoes. I love to grow them. I love to eat them. And I love to cook with them. And I've posted previously on tomatoes.

     My tomatoes have started ripening in the last week or ten days. I know some people have been posting that their  tomatoes are finished. But for here this is the right time for tomatoes to ripen.

Tomatoes just starting to turn

    I plant my tomatoes on the south side of a brick house. The soil has warmed up in the spring. It is warmer on the south side of the house and they  are protected from early frosts.

I can't wait for these to ripen!

    I keep my tomatoes going until Sept. 30. I know I have to baby them from frosts so I do some covering. They do produce in Sept. but very slowly. 

Cherry tomatoes

    I love eating fresh tomatoes. As a kid I would reach into a box of tomatoes my Mom had and take two or three and eat them like apples. This was the after school snack. Now I just make sure I have tomatoes for two meals a day.

And here we go!

    When my tomatoes ripen faster than I can eat them, I freeze them. For freezing , I wash them, take out the two ends and put them in a bag and throw them in the deep freeze. You can take the skins off the tomatoes by dropping them in hot water for 30 sec. of so. The skin comes off very easily and you don't have to contend with a skin that doesn't cook. When I want tomatoes for cooking later on I just bring out a bag of tomatoes and I'm in business. 

    So this is a time of year that I look forward to and enjoy a special treat from my garden.