Say What?

The bank manager noticed the new teller was terrible when it came to counting money and adding up figures.
“Where did you get your financial education?” he asks.
“Yale,” replies the lad. The manager is sure he’s misheard the man, so he asks his question again and the man again responds “Yale.”
That can’t be right, thinks the manager. He decides he’s going to check it out online.
“And what’s your full name again?” asks the manager.
“Yim Yohnson.”

Invitation To The Cariboo

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Ron and Louise's for a few days of visiting and to celebrate the occasion of a great lady's 90th birthday, who is in pretty fine shape for her age and looking great.

Louise and Ron also hosted a great dinner and we all enjoyed a visit and lots of laughs with them, Heather and Al, Jim, Karen, Don and Rhonda.

Jim was having a problem with a loose screw, so everybody had a turn helping him out with that. I should mention it was his eyeglass frame that had the screw loose.

Anyway the screw flew out of the tweezers, so grown people were crawling around on hands and knees trying to find it. Good luck!!! And it's still lost.

The birthday celebration was held at Al and Heather's place this year, which was a great setup for everybody. A lot of work was done getting it ready and it looks great. Check out Boot Hill. Just click on the picture to enlarge it.

There was lots to do, yummy food as usual and games and activities going on all weekend. One of the games involved putting a nylon with a tennis ball in it over your head and then swinging it around without hands to tangle and remove your opponents nylon. Very funny!

We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves very much.

Goats

This is a list of things that get my goat.

Able-bodied people that park in handicap spaces (Lazy is not a handicap)

Proving you didn't steal anything when leaving a store

People who don't pick up their dog's doodoo they leave in my yard

Turning out in front of me on the highway when no one else is coming behind me

People who park diagonally across 2 spaces

Telemarketers phoning at supper time.

People standing next to public building entrances while smoking

People who park their grocery carts in the middle of the aisle

Drawers and cupboard doors left open

Talking in theaters while the movie is on

People that give their children weird names

Phone calls where nobody speaks

Cats turning my garden into their bathroom

Aggressive drivers that have to be in front only to be sitting at the next stop light as you arrive behind them

Doctors that overbook the same time slot

I'm all out of goats, for now!

Out Of Place?

Walking through Chinatown, a tourist is fascinated with all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs, and banners. He turns a corner and sees a building with the sign, "Hans Olaffsen's Laundry."

"Hans Olaffsen?" he muses. "How does that fit in here?" So he walks into the shop and sees an old Chinese gentleman behind the counter.

The tourist asks, "How did this place get a name like 'Hans Olaffsen's Laundry'?"

The old man answers, "Is name of owner."

The tourist asks, "Well, who and where is the owner?"

"Me ... is right here," replies the old man.

"You? How did you ever get a name like Hans Olaffsen?"

"Is simple," says the old man. "Many, many year ago when come to this country, was stand in line at Documentation Center. Man in front was big blonde Swede.
Lady look at him and ask, 'What your name?' He say, 'Hans Olaffsen.' Then she look at me and say, 'What your name?'"

"I say Sem Ting."

Well Worth A Read

This is an editoral written by Paul Willcocks

It’s not really Ida Chong’s fault. She’s a cultural victim.
The minister for health living and sport ran into a storm of criticism when the Times Colonist reported she claimed almost $6,000 in meal allowances last year – while living a few miles from the legislature.
All MLAs can claim a $61 a day for meals when the legislature is sitting or they are in Victoria or Vancouver on government business. (If they live outside the capital, they can also claim up to $19,000 a year to rent or buy a place in the capital.) The capital city allowance, it’s called.
Chong, the public accounts revealed, claimed $5,921 in meal expenses — about 98 days worth. Even though she lives about 10 kilometres from the legislature. And the legislature only sat for 60 days out of the year,
Pack a lunch like the rest of us, angry voters said, especially when your government is cutting programs and telling people belt-tightening is needed.
Chong argued all MLAs collected similar amounts. (Unfortunately for her, Murray Coell, her neighbour and fellow cabinet minister, undermined that defence by claimed $1,321.)
And she said, correctly, that the meal claims were within the rules.
Which raises two underlying issues.
First, the rules are remarkably generous. Most employers reimburse reasonable expenses when people travel on business. But they don’t usually give you $61 for food if you have a long day at the office. MLAs don’t have to provide receipts. If they buy a $6 sandwich for lunch and a $10 pizza for supper, they can still claim the full $61.
It’s not just the expense claims. MLAs have increased their base pay by 34 per cent in the last five years to $99,000. Most get extra money for various roles. Cabinet ministers, like Chong, are paid $152,000.
But the average wage in B.C. rose about 12 per cent in the same period.
MLAs also voted to give themselves a generous pension plan, with taxpayers picking up a large part of the cost.
But only 25 per cent of British Columbians have any workplace pension plan. The majority of taxpayers are paying for a good pension plan for MLAs while they have no plan of their own.
The gap between the rulers and the ruled has widened.
The examples are striking. MLAs think they need up to $19,000 for a part-time home in Victoria. But the government expects a disabled person income assistance to find accommodation for less than $4,500 a year. Perhaps MLAs need nicer places than someone with a disability — but four times as nice?
Chong’s $6,000 in meal claims is twice the income assistance provided to a single person for all living expenses, except rent, for an entire year. It’s five times the monthly income of someone working at minimum wage.
The disparities suggest MLAs have a high opinion of their value and importance — and a low opinion of their constituents’ worth.
Second, MLAs’ sense of entitlement is showing. Just because the rules allow a $61-a-day claim doesn’t mean they have to grab the money. MLAs could submit expenses that reflect what they actually paid for food. At incomes of $100,000 and up, they could opt to pay for their own lunches.
Chong is not an exception. Her claims were revealed because cabinet ministers’ expenses are reported as part of the public accounts.
The five New Democrat MLAs from the capital region have rallied around Chong and — appallingly — refused to say how much they claimed for expenses. Taxpayers are paying the bills, but according to the New Democrats, it’s none of their business what the cost is.
Which suggests that the claims are high and raises real concerns about the kind of accountability and openness an NDP government would provide.
No one should begrudge MLAs an adequate income. But many people are rightly angry at this casual excess.

Footnote: The latest pay and benefit increases followed the recommendations of a three-person review panel appointed by the premier. But the trio included a senior labour relations lawyer, a former B.C. Supreme Court justice back in private practice and a University of B.C. business professor. Their average income was likely north of $250,000, shaping their perspectives.
For more than 20 years, the State of Washington has had a 16-person salary commission to deal with pay for elected officials. A member is selected at random from the voters' list in each of nine geographical areas. The politicians appoint five members — one each from universities, business, professional personnel management, the law and organized labour. The state's HR department and universities get to name one person each.

So......
How come?
*Citizens get taxed to death because of the poor economy
*Government officials get huge raises, enormous pensions and have insane expenses
*Campbell gets a 53% wage hike and according to rumors a $2 million per year pension
*Government ministers got a 29% wage hike
*Government gets to throw our money away and we don't even get a say
*We get to pay more and more and they get paid more and more
*Our political officials think belt-tightening doesn't apply to them
*The NDP is rushing to Chong's defense (because they are feeding from the same trough?)

Ohhhh! I know, I know!
We pay them to make the rules. Boy, how stupid are we?

Memories Of Mom

It has been ten years today since we lost Mom.

She had congestive heart failure and died of a heart attack. She was probably terrified not knowing what was happening to her and not having any of us there with her at the time. She was 82 years old. She was one of nine children and the last of her siblings to go.
Mom was twenty-four years old when she married and raised four of us kids.
She only had a few years of schooling as in those days you helped out at home if needed. She could not read but could pick out words from the newspaper. She had beautiful handwriting as she would copy the letters even though she didn't always know what they said.
Mom lived a simple, no frills life. She never knew much about the world around her. She didn't like talking on the phone and if you were far away, she thought she couldn't hear you very well.
She had no concept of distance. Our family didn't have a car and didn't travel when we were young. When us kids were older and leaving home, they did have the opportunity to travel some through us or friends.
Cooking was not Mom's best attribute, but every Sunday, we would have a big meal. It would be roast beef or chicken with potatoes, gravy, vegetable, a simple salad and probably pie. She did the best she could, I'm sure and none of us ever starved.
Mom loved to have fun. She was quick to laugh and giggle and loved to tease and be teased. She enjoyed having attention and people around her. I remember her always looking out our front window, just watching people and what was going on.
Mom would never leave the house without lipstick and her hair fixed, even to go to the corner store up our road.
When we were older, Mom would want to go out for a beer and dancing, but Dad didn't want to go so she eventually just went without him. She could be found many a Saturday night at the local pub having a good time.
Mom really enjoyed music. When we were younger she had a squeeze box and would play that thing for hours, just making up tunes as she played. The music was in her bones and the songs in her head.
Mom absolutely adored babies and would always gravitate toward them as if they were magnets. Mom had other passions as well. She would quite often play solitaire or do jigsaw puzzles, but her biggest one was bingo. I think at one point, before they moved away from the coast, she would go to bingo almost every night of the week. After they moved to the interior and she got older, she didn't go as often.
Mom was very mobile for her age as well. She walked a lot, probably because they didn't drive. Then when she was in her seventies, she slipped on some sand on a curb and broke her hip. She never walked again after that without a walker. She was afraid of falling again. Mom went into the care home and never left there. We thought she wouldn't be happy there, but she liked being waited on and came to expect it, until the staff got her doing some things for herself.
In her later years Mom loved watching game shows on TV (she had her favorites), looking at photos, going on outings and watching the world go by out her window. Rest in Peace, Mom. We love you.

Movin' In

Every morning when I get up, I come down stairs and I go over to my front window and look out.

The other morning, there on top of our rock sign, sits a Cedar Waxwing. I was amazed to see him, because just the other day I happened to see a photo of one and was reading about them. It was quite a coincidence.

His mate was flitting about in the dwarf lilac tree by the front corner of the house. There is an old robin's nest in there and she was landing on it, then off and on. Then the mate joined it in the tree and was doing the same thing.

It seems like they had plans to do a little renovating and settle in. Short lived plan though.

Along comes the neighbor from hell's cat, slinking along the front flower bed. They caught sight of it and took off across the road to a bigger tree.

I chased the cat away and the pair of waxwings came back briefly, but they must have sensed the cat nearby and changed their plans.

I saw them off and on the rest of the day across the road, but they haven't been back over here since. Anyhow, the front lawn now has a cat bed imprint in it.

When I looked out my front window this morning, there is that cat in her bed, relaxing and looking up at me. Seems like the decision to move in has been made.

Maybe I'll let her stay, but I really don't want her chasing all my birds away or using the garden for a potty. I'm not sure if it's a him or her, but we'll see how it goes.

If it becomes a problem, I will have to issue an eviction notice!

Duck In The Bar

A man walks into a bar with a metal box under one arm and a duck under the other. The man walks up to the bar and asks the bar tender "if you give me a free bottle of beer, I'll show you my dancing duck".

The barman is surprised, but gives the guy a Bud and asks the man to show him the duck dancing. So the guy puts the metal box on the bar, and stands the duck on top of it. A few seconds later the duck starts to jump around, as if he's doing an Irish jig.

Everyone in the bar is now watching this duck dancing, and the barman offers the guy $50 for the duck and the box. The man accepts, and the pub is filled day and night for 3 days with people watching the amazing dancing duck.

So, 3 days after he sold the barman the duck, the guy walks back in to the pub and sees his duck dancing on the box on top of the bar.

The barman sees the guy and offers him a bottle of Bud on the house. As he gives the guy the Bud, the barman asks, "Could you tell me how you stop the duck from dancing on top of the box?"

The man replies, "Oh that's easy, you just take the hot coals out."

Number 39

Today is my baby's birthday. He hates it when I call him that, but he will always be my baby, cause he was born last. This is the boy that refused to be born 'til the sun shone. We had weeks of rain and a yard full of sloppy mud with boards thrown down just to get across from the driveway to the house. We were all waiting for his birth, especially me, as he was long overdue. Then the sun finally came out and so did he!!
Happy Birthday Steve!!

Camp-A-Long Visit

The weekend after we got back from Creston, Wade and family all drove up to Penticton for some R&R.

Too bad the weather wasn't cooperating. They were going to go back Saturday, but it was the best weather day since arriving, so they stayed an extra day and went back Sunday instead.

Being experienced campers, they had tarps protecting everything so they were nice and dry, but the temp was a little on the cool side.

They invited us out for a visit and supper, so I brought my blanket and we had a nice visit and enjoyed a good meal together.

We had marinated chicken done on a charcoal bbq, an asian salad and new baby potatoes, and it was really good!

Who's That In The Pool

It's me! Gulliver finally talked me into the pool today. It was 82 degrees, so I thought it would be OK.

A little cool when first getting wet, but the water did feel nice and warm.

I stayed in my lounger and paddled around for about half an hour and my hands and feet didn't get cold, so that's a good sign.

Maybe tomorrow I'll go for a swim.

First Swim

Yesterday, Craig went for the first swim in the pool this year. We are a little later this year because of the stupid weather.

With a tease of nice weather here and there, summer was a long time coming.

The pool was 80 degrees and I was going to go in too, but the sun got the better of me and I don't think the air quality was great either.