bigugli

There are good facilities and staff. There are also some less than stellar facilities and staff.

An institution is only as good as thee people running it. Last I saw, we had not yet perfected humanity.

That aside, I spent 10 years in health care admin, and am ever so glad I was downsized out. The patient was, all too often, treated as an object rather than a person. And yes, some hospitals have horrible standards of care. It is also true that there are far too many bureaucrats and not enough care givers. A fact of life in any government funded or managed industry.

On the plus side, I have seen some outstanding levels of care. Juravinski cancer facility in Hamilton has been fantastic in every aspect of my wife's treatment and care. My two spinal surgeries have been done with absolute professionalism and great care for the patient. I know of few facilities down here that meet that level of care.

Don't forget bouncing Betty's and spike pits

Weren't that far back when the wealthy in Ontario would have armed guards on their properties ( I'm sure some still do), or lay snares like the trip wire and daisy cutter for the undesirable visitor or poacher.

I may be a Leafs fan, but I'm not blind. Can't have much of a bandwagon when the mules won't pull the cart. A third of the old mares need to be sent to the glue works.

If you want to really shake up the slackers start rotating players up from the farm. They've lost the season already, now is the time to see if they have any real talent in the farm network.

Trip wires, daisy cutters and land mines.

Used to run that route from Barrie to Minden.Can't go wrong,loads of lakes and scenery!!

Beautiful rte. Having family up in Minden I've gotten quite creative in finding back routes that avoid all the traffic there and back.

Any rural route with a mix of woods is great

I'd say run Hwy 12 to Rama rd, hand a right on Reg #45/ old 503, takes you to Norland on #35. Follow that back south to the #115, then the 401. Good 4+ hr road trip.

Dogs and evidence of redneck chique can be very useful deterrents. It may sound too simple, but leaving lights on in the house will work.

Was supposed to go tomorrow but the water heater blew out and I'm still waiting for the gas company's contractor, Enercare, to show up. They've missed 2 scheduled visits so far. They'll be getting a chewing out in the morning.

Big Brothers/Sisters, local scout troop

Not a joke I want my bride to see just before Valentines Day. Just not wise to poke the bear.

Felt like a little kid yesterday playing in the snow. Was out harvesting pussy willow stems at the farm and getting stuck wading through the waist deep snow

The 20 years I lived in and around Toronto were just one big pain for one raised on outdoor living. I was called all sorts of unpleasant things when people found out I fished and hunted. Was called a Barbarian, amongst other things, while travelling the Red Rocket to urban fishing holes.

I just tried to make sure I was out of Toronto every possible weekend with family up in the Muskokas or Haliburton.

Today, a lot of people overlook the simple pot of soup or stew. Cheap to make, great to have on hand, and good for you ( depending what you add).

Tonight a 1 gallon pot of leek and potato soup. Total cost $2.

Might as will give the fans some worthwhile entertainment. They sure aren't getting their money's worth from the Leafs. All they need now is some brass poles and the ballet to move in.

We go out for some fun.

pretty soon City of Toronto won't even deserve a crappy hockey team. All this talk of banning contact hockey in the GTA minor leagues!!! What happens when the kids have to face teams that play real hockey? They all pull a "Leaf" and skate away from the puck.

Add me to the club of winter whiner haters. Drives me nuts!!!

Get out and enjoy it!!! Its only here a few months!

Agreed. Lots to enjoy in winter. Being semi retired gives me the advantage of picking and choosing my outings. Beyond the dampness bothering the joints, and that isn't gonna go away, today was a perfect day for getting caught up on things once the shovelling was done. Tomorrow I'll go do some pruning and pour more jigs.

Single choice would be white jig and white twisters 1" -6" size, as so many others have stated.

That would be a fun thread!

Post your pics of fish caught on the lure you chose in this thread!

We did something similar to that a few years back. We had a Dollarama derby.

And the snow keeps falling..... 5 straight mornings of having to shovel for an hour or longer. Really isn't very kind to my back.

Buy what you need. Not what you want That goes for food, household, fishing.

Pardon my frugal nature, but I've yet to see actual need for a $700 rod or reel.

Do the research, compare shop. Groceries are bought on real sales. A lot of flashy flyers are not offering good deals. Stay away from the supermarkets. Buy bulk, buy from the farm, can and freeze. All make a huge difference. The family grocery bill is still under $100 a month over 20 years..

Biggest thing I learnt. Brand names and designer labels are no longer a guarantee of quality. If the label is important, then saving money is not.

Go Habs go!!

Sorry to brag but man we have a bright future with Patches, Chucky, Subban, n Price.

They certainly handled Boston last night.

I'd be happy with those results.

The thing I liked about the hockey heroes from back then... they weren't full of themselves. They were, and still are friendly, approachable and happy to yak with any fan of the game. Mr Hockey, Gumper ,Bobby Hull, Johnny Bower, Orr, Plante, the Richards, Espositos, Eddy, etc...... are true ambassadors of the game. I'll take them over a lot of today's prima donnas any time.

Would love to be posting reports right now. Just having to stay close to home. Not much opportunity to get out.

I am making a lot of tackle right now, but it keeps me busy.